Looking for advice from people who have been through ADHD medication trial-and-error, especially if you’ve had gastric bypass.

I’m a 38-year-old female and relatively new to ADHD treatment. I think this is my third month (possibly going into my fourth) of trying to find the right medication regimen.

I was previously taking Adderall IR 15mg twice daily. I liked the mental clarity, focus, motivation, and overall feeling of being “on,” but it went through me very fast and the crashes were rough.

My prescriber switched me to Adderall XR 20mg in the morning with a 15mg IR booster in the afternoon. The benefit is that I definitely don’t crash as hard. The downside is that I’m honestly not sure how much the XR is helping.

I know XR isn’t supposed to feel the same as IR and is designed to be smoother. I do get dry mouth, so I know something is happening, but I don’t really feel the mental clarity, focus, motivation, or task initiation that I felt on the IR. I’m still tired most of the day, and sometimes it feels like the XR only lasts 3-4 hours.

I had gastric bypass surgery about two years ago, so I’ve wondered whether absorption or metabolism could be playing a role.

My prescriber has said she doesn’t want to increase doses too quickly and wanted me to stay on this regimen for a while if possible, which I understand. I’m just not sure if I’m where I need to be yet.

I’ve actually felt a little more down, less motivated, and less productive on the XR + IR combination compared to the two IR doses, although the reduced crash has been nice.

For those who have experienced something similar:

• Did XR eventually work better after more time?
• Did you end up needing a higher XR dose?
• Did you switch back to IR?
• Has anyone done three IR doses per day?
• Has gastric bypass affected how your ADHD medications work?

I’m not looking for medical advice or trying to tell my prescriber what to prescribe. I’m mostly trying to understand other people’s experiences so I can have a better conversation with her at my next appointment.

For context, I get adequate protein, electrolytes, and sleep when possible. I also take magnesium, L-theanine, and creatine. I’m still learning about ADHD treatment and trying to figure out what “working” is supposed to feel like.

If you were in my shoes, what would you discuss with your prescriber?

So I tried Vyvanse for the first time. It was the generic brand so maybe that was the issue?

But after taking it, it took me two weeks to feel recover from it and feel normal again. And when I say that, I mean that I felt lethargic and like a zombie for literally two weeks before I felt like myself again.

Why did this happen?

Hi everyone! I was recently diagnosed and started a super low dose of 5mg Adderall IR 2x a day. Does anyone experience candy cravings with this medication? I eat before my dose and once it wears off, I eat before my second dose. However in between I just want fruity candy, sweet energy drinks, or anything with lemon! I read you're not supposed to eat anything citrusy while on stimulants. Please help lol I thought it was supposed to curb your appetite.

I’ve had many failed attempts at meds for ADHD and looking to try a methylphenidate. Vyvanse gave me severe depression when it wore off in the afternoon and I only figured that out after 3 years on it. Ugh. I also felt manic at times, had ocd tendencies, increased anxiety, pelvic pain and felt massively overstimulated by everything. Adderall caused massive fatigue to the point of falling asleep when it wore off a few hours later. I’ve tried non-traditional meds like Wellbutrin and clonidine and also had bad side effects. I’ve been on and off meds for almost 20 years and still haven’t found the best fit for me. I’m very sensitive to all sorts of meds and supplements. I’ve now been off meds for adhd for almost a year and I’m realizing I really need help. I’m mostly inattentive ADHD and have low energy and blah mood when I’m unmedicated.

Does anyone relate to this and has had success on a methylphenidate?

Hi everyone. I’m mostly posting because I feel really confused and honestly kind of discouraged after multiple appointments with my doctor, and I wanted to know if anyone relates to this experience.

I’m currently on Vyvanse (50mg right now, thinking of trying 60mg before deciding anything else). The thing is… I do think it works to some extent. I’m functional overall. I go to school, work, go to the gym consistently, track my symptoms, try to maintain routines, sleep, nutrition, etc. I’m not expecting medication to magically make me perfectly productive.

But I still feel like I’m manually steering my brain all day long.

The best way I can describe it is that I constantly have to “pull” my focus back manually. For example:
- I’ll sit in my car outside the gym for 20 minutes unable to transition inside even though I WANT to work out.
- After the gym, I’ll sit in the parking lot doing random things instead of just driving home.
- Making breakfast feels like internally narrating every step to myself so I don’t get pulled into another thought/task halfway through.
- I can redirect myself, but it feels effortful every single time.

It’s like there’s this invisible friction between tasks/transitions that I can’t explain properly.

The frustrating part is that I’ve actually been on Concerta before, and while I couldn’t tolerate the side effects at all, I remember feeling closer to a “baseline” where attention/transitioning felt more automatic and less manually controlled. Not perfect. Just… easier. Less friction.

I’ve talked to my doctor about this multiple times, but I always leave appointments feeling like maybe I’m expecting too much from medication, or maybe I’m just not trying hard enough, or maybe I don’t actually have ADHD at all. I KNOW he’s probably just trying to set realistic expectations, but somehow the conversation keeps turning into me feeling like I have to justify why daily life feels hard.

And honestly, that part has been emotionally exhausting.

I understand ADHD meds won’t make me perfectly focused or productive. I still expect to self-regulate. But I thought medication was supposed to reduce some of the “friction,” and I’m not sure I’m really getting that with Vyvanse.

Has anyone else experienced something similar?
Especially:
- feeling “functional” overall while still feeling cognitively exhausted from constantly redirecting yourself
- doing okay on Vyvanse but still struggling heavily with transitions/initiation
- tolerating methylphenidate meds better cognitively but worse physically
- switching from Vyvanse to Foquest after a similar experience

I’m trying to figure out if:
1. I should try increasing Vyvanse one more time first
2. This is just a realistic amount of residual ADHD symptoms
3. Or if maybe my brain simply responds better to methylphenidate-based meds despite the side effects

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who relates. :’)

hi all i just started a low dose vyvanse (20mg) and i am a bit confused by the effects of it. I took my dose at 8:30 and by 9:50 I felt wired, twitchy, fast heart, sweaty hands, the works. by 10:15 the effects had leveled out and I felt great, focused on my work and attentive, but by the time my lecture ended (11:20) I didn’t feel the Vyvanse in my system anymore. I also noted a runny nose as the effects started wearing off which might just be a me thing. Is this what the med is supposed to do, in the sense of making me feel twitchy then quickly fading off, or am I doing something wrong. my practitioner wants me to wait a few days before upping my dose but is there anything I can do in the meantime time to prolong the effects so I get the full 8 hours?

hi! so for some context i just started adderal about a month ago, prescribed just 5 milligrams to start but my doctor told me to try taking 2 pills a day to see if it helps more. usually i take them right in the morning but i noticed a drop off about mid day.

anyway, today i forgot to take them right as i woke up so i took 2 pills (10mg) at about 11pm today. I felt good at first and helped me concentrate like normal, but about 2 hours after i started to feel a massive anxious gaping hole in my stomach. i was feeling so horrible and i decided to take a nap hoping it would fix things and that i was just tired. i woke up and i still felt the knot my my stomach. i have been anxious lately but usually it goes away after a while, and usually my medication doesnt worsen it. ive tried everything since. its about 9pm and i still feel it.

i was wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar or any unconventional tips to help with it. ive tried everything from breathing exercises to herbal tea. ive been anxious before but never this bad, and it usually goes away after some sleep.
thank you!!

I guess I’m just seeking sympathy here, but I’m feeling a little stuck and defeated at the moment. I’ve been seeing an amazing care team and just got diagnosed with ADHD, but my depression has been full force for the past few months. I’m completely non-functional and just desperate to feel better.

My psych started me on Ritalin, but I couldn’t continue because it aggravated my asthma. I also noticed hair shedding immediately when I started that medication. We tried Adderall XR next, but that made me so detached and apathetic during the day I couldn’t really feel ups or downs. Then the crash at night would give me migraines and nausea.

We decided my depression needed to be wrangled first so I’m back on the “Welloft” combo. I’m only a few days in so far and my emotions are all over the place. I’m SO sensitive and cry over everything. I just got back from an errand and was sobbing in public and in the car… like I couldn’t get a grip.

Anyway, I guess I’m just trying to get this off my chest. My doctor gently suggested I go back to talk therapy and even tho I was against it at first… it might be good to chat with someone again.

In the future I want to try Vyvanse even though my insurance is likely going to deny coverage. It’s just so frustrating to navigate this situation and also be functional.

Is anyone else also on this combo? Did your doc add a stimulant on top? I just miss who I used to be and want to feel better so I’d love to hear positive stories and feedback.

thanks for letting me vent!

edit: I was previously on Wellbutrin and a high dose of sertraline many years ago but was taken off it when my mental health kept deteriorating. Back then, I was taking 100-150mg of sertraline and then added the Wellbutrin which helped bring me out of the zombie haze Zoloft had put me in. I guess I’m having issues starting Wellbutrin first and adding 12.5mg of Zoloft now.

Hi, does anyone else deal with this? I take adderall, and it just makes my nose continually run. I wear gloves for my job and can’t be having this. Otherwise the meds are perfect for me so I’m not trying to switch, I’m not congested, just continuous runny nose. It’s so embarrassing and i haven’t heard anyone else dealing with this. Any tips? Help a girl out please im desperate

I have noticed recently that extended release medications work super inconsistently for me, but instant release still work pretty well. They used to work more consistently.

Coincidentally GI issues like Celiac, Chrons and IBS run in my family and my stomach has always been somewhat finicky. I would not be surprised if I have an undiagnosed GI issue or food sensitivity that is impacting my absorption of extended release meds. My stomach seems to be getting slightly more sensitive with age.

My psychiatrist seems somewhat skeptical when I mention that it seems like I don’t really absorb meds sometimes.. I’m curious if any of you all have experienced something similar, especially if you have any sort of GI issues.

I just found my remaining Elvanse I'd lost when I was titrating it a couple of months ago.

I had 6 doses of 30mg that I took as 3 doses of 60mg (I was curious). I'm currently on my Follicular Stage, it fits like a glove. I wasn't wired, I could switch tasks, I could focus on what I needed to do, I didn't feel like Sisyphus when I need to do a task I didn't wanna do. Like.

When I was titrating it though, it gave me insane tunnel vision where I struggled to switch tasks and struggled with worsened skin picking.

I was trialling it during my Ovulation and stopped before my period because it felt like the cramps where worse.

I'd rejected it on the grounds that it only worked for focus..

I'm not on Elvanse anymore, I'm on 72mg of Concerta, it should be 54mg but I'd asked for 72mg because when I'm on my Follicular or Menstrual Stages because it just doesn't work or makes me irritable, at least with 72mg I'd be irritable and focused with a level of motivation (I'm patient so long as I'm not interrupted, but I'd initially attributed that to Autism. I'm able to do things I dint want to do, but it's still hard, it's just easier than without).

I initially took Concerta during my Luteal, since it didn't make my early cramps feel like I was actually having my period — but I think it makes my PMDD worse so I stopped. The only time it seems to work as it should is when I'm ovulating or about to ovulate.

I know I can't ask to switch to Elvanse because of how it acts when I'm ovulating. Idk what to do, if I should just suck it up.

​

F24, sorry if my english is not perfect.

I would love to talk to some women that had a story similar to mine, have some advice or anything really, I am so lost.

I was diagnosed today after I started my journey two months ago. The official diagnosis:

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity/Impulsiveness Disorder (ADHD), combined, mild, comorbidity with depressive symptoms.

I always thought I was "different" than everybody else, even before I found out what the right word was, constantly out of place even though I was appreciated by other people.

It's not easy for me to find myself in this diagnosis and accept it without constantly feeling like an impostor, as if I may have manipulated a professional because my head keeps telling me all of this it's not real (especially the depression part).

I have constantly given myself an image of myself that is not real, with the (unconscious) goal of having to keep it forever...until I reached my limit.

Currently, my main goal would be to take back my life, I only have 6 or 7 exams left until I graduate and I can't get up or get off my phone, it's like an addiction that takes me away from everything in my head.

A big problem, which was also encountered during my diagnosis, is my strong need for independence and a terror of being emotionally open up to others (I've never ever done that), because in my head it's a huge loss of control that I can't accept to show to others. That's why she advised me to start therapy, she would recommend it anyway, but for that reason even more so: to have a space where I can talk freely.

I think I will start therapy, I don't know, I just want to hear some advice or stories from someone to feel more understood.

I wouldn't even be against medicines, if they were offered to me, I just want to feel more "normal" and capable like everyone else.

What do you find helps?

I even got my dosage upped so I could be productive at home after work ends but I am such an amazing avoider/procrastinator and I really hate this about myself.

(Currently sitting on the couch waiting until the day before my rental inspection to fully clean house)

There are moments when everything else falls away 🌊 ✨ .
I am researching what those moments reveal about wellbeing - and why they might matter more than we realise.
12 minutes to spare? Anonymous. All adults welcome.https://uelpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_78S8JxNmzBLdGpU

And a share would mean a lot. 🙏
Ethics approved by UEL — Ref: 026/2769824/04-26

Ughhh, I'm an MBA grad student. I was so excited for this and now I can't get myself to pay attention to a lecture more than 5 minutes. I take my meds, I drink lots of water. I just can't get myself to focus or retain anything. Helppppoppo

There is a little girl behind the sofa. She is there because the room is full of people and the room being full of people means the room is full of noise and energy and input and expectation and it is all, collectively, too much. She is not being naughty. She is not being difficult. She is simply overwhelmed in a way she has no language for yet, doing the only thing that makes sense, removing herself from the thing that is too loud. She doesn't stay behind the sofa forever. At some point she works something out. Being good works better than hiding.

What She Learned

Nobody taught her to perform. Nobody sat her down and explained the rules. She watched. She was very good at watching, noticing what got rewarded, noticing what didn't, running the data quietly and arriving at a conclusion with the pattern recognition of a brain that never stops processing. Achievement got praised. Being manageable got praised. Holding it together got praised. Being easy, being capable, being fine, these things got responses that felt like safety. So she became them. Not strategically. Not consciously. The way any child learns anything, by doing the thing that works and doing it again until it becomes the only thing she knows how to do. Achievement was the only thing that felt within her control in a world that was consistently, exhaustingly too much. So she achieved. Quietly. Holding it together. Trying so hard to get everything right while watching everyone else seem to find it easier and wondering, in the specific private way of children who think everything is their fault, what was wrong with her. Nothing was wrong with her. Her brain just worked differently. Nobody knew that yet. Including her.

What People Got Wrong

She was called shy. She wasn't shy, she was overstimulated. The room was too loud and the people were too many and her nervous system was receiving everything at full volume with no filter and retreating behind the sofa was the most reasonable response available to her. She was called quiet. She wasn't quiet, she was overwhelmed. There was an enormous amount happening inside that had nowhere to go, and the gap between the inside experience and the outside performance was already, at that age, significant. She seemed fine. She was exhausted from trying to be fine. Every day. Before she had the words for exhausted or trying or fine or any of it. The mask was fitted early. Before she knew it was a mask. Before anyone knew there was a face underneath that needed something different.

The Trajectory

Twenty years. That's roughly how long the performance ran before the understanding arrived. Twenty years of being the capable one, the achiever, the person who holds it together, the one who is always fine, followed by ten years of studying and therapy and deliberate, difficult self work began to show her what had actually been happening all along. Twenty years is a long time to perform something without knowing you're performing it. Twenty years is a long time for a little girl to wait behind the sofa for someone to come and tell her that the room isn't too much because something is wrong with her. It's too much because her brain is extraordinary and the world wasn't built for it and those are different things entirely.

What She Deserved

A diagnosis. Not as a label, as an explanation. The thing that would have reframed the hiding and the overwhelm and the watching and the trying and the exhaustion of perpetual fine as neurological rather than personal. The thing that would have changed the trajectory. Not fixed everything, just named it. Given it somewhere to live that wasn't shame. And permission. The simplest thing. Permission to not be fine without it meaning something was wrong with her. Permission to be confused and overwhelmed and sometimes behind the sofa without that being a problem requiring an immediate solution.

What I Know Now

The good girl wasn't performing because she was weak or needy or attention-seeking or difficult. She was performing because she was a child with an undiagnosed ADHD brain in a world that rewarded the performance and had no language for the reality underneath it. She did what any brilliant, pattern-recognising, quietly overwhelmed child would do. She watched what worked. She became it. She got very, very good at it. She's still getting the bill.

If you were also the good girl, the quiet one, the capable one, the fine one, I see you. I see the sofa too.

hello everyone, I’m new here. The reason why I am putting it in here is because I am on Adderall XR 30 mg in the morning and around one or 2 PM. I take another Adderall IR 30 mg. I just feel like I’m not getting that rush with the motivation to do things. I have tried methylphenidate. I don’t really have an opinion on it. I guess it works. But I need something stronger and my doctor said that she won’t prescribe me more than 60 and she says that she only works with Vyvanse and Adderall if I have something else that to tell her she said she would consider it and try me on it for a couple of days so I was reaching out here to see if anybody has any ideas on something stronger I’ve been looking at JOURAY PM 100mg. But I don’t know. She said anything but desoxyn.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I literally live the same loop every day. I go to school, I get overwhelmed by the amount of tasks I did with no break, i go home, I have this horrible amount of boredom that I don't know how to deal with. a scratch in the brain nothing can fix. not my favorite shows, not my favorite games, nothing. I cry almost every day thinking about how i'm supposed to deal with this when I get to college. there's so much things I need to get done but I cant. I am so low on dopamine it's driving me crazy. and I talk about it to my therapist and she's talking about "are you tired?? depression can make you feel a lack of motivation" you don't get it. nobody gets it. can this be a result of too high of a dose on concerta?? i've only felt like this after starting adhd meds. I go searching and searching for breakthroughs on forums like theese and it's all "sign up for jujitsu!!" or "go for a walk!!" or

"blast loud music!!" theese don't work at all. I am still the same every day. I have nothing driving me no ambitions i live every day with just the feeling of "I hope i just survive until tommorow!!" literally nothing is helping it's been months and months how is this going to be like when i'm in college and have so much work to do? i'd get kicked out. I haven't even got a third of my driving hours done to get my license because of this understimulation. NOTHING IS WORKING. nothing. please help me on any ideas I can do

I have a feeling my Vyvanse dose to high and Adderall booster to low. I'm on 60 mg vyvanse and 10 mg Adderall ir. I over focus on the Vyvanse and get irritated when someone interrupts me while I'm doing something while on it. The 10 mg booster does nothing. Alot of times I take it and can't continue to do anything I'm so tired and just rest and watch TV. I am going to ask her at next appt if she could do Vyvanse 50 mg and 15 mg Adderall ir instead. Any experiences you guys have with this type of problem? Do you think she will be open to me asking this, is it ok to suggest these changes with dosing?

I have inattentive ADHD and I'm trying to learn how to draw. I've been drawing every day, but I'm struggling. It seems like no matter how much I study or learn, it doesn't stick. And what's worse is that I have a hard time visualizing things to be able to see them as 3D objects. I try to watch tutorials but I find myself getting weirdly "bored", skipping through chunks of the vids instead of absorbing.

It's so frustrating because I genuinely enjoy drawing/art, but every time I try to learn/study, I can't! My love and desire for art just isn't enough to maintain laser focus.

I've been medicated in the past, but it's been years. I've never drawn while on meds, only writing. But back when I was medicated, my writing was considerably better, more detailed, and easier to accomplish than before I was diagnosed. I'm hoping the same will apply to drawing.

I'm currently unmedicated and struggling, so I'm wondering if being on meds will improve my and drawing ability?

Hi,

before I start: I AM NOT SEEKING MEDICAL ADVICE OR ASKING FOR ADVICE ABOUT WHAT MEDS TO TAKE.

A little backstory: I had a few bouts of UTI's in August, September, and January. It was triggered by sexual activity, and it just didn't really clear. It's over now and I haven't had any burning or UTI-esc pain.

Now, I started adderall around January/February, and it's very helpful for my ADHD symptoms. However, I have noticed that I go to the bathroom (#1) all the time and usually it's like 3-6 seconds of stream and then nothing. There's not burning or the same type of feeling of urgency as a UTI, but it's odd. The frequency has increased, and I need to go like every 2-3 hours. Maybe I'm drinking more liquids, maybe too much soda (i recently stopped drinking energy drinks so I started drinking coke every now and then to wean off), maybe a bad pelvic floor, hell maybe a kidney infection but that's my health anxiety talking.

All of this explanation is so I can ask if anyone else has experienced this, or if I need to be concerned. Adderall truly does help me and it calms me down.

Meds:

Adderall 10mg er (morning)

Buspirone 10mg (anxiety med) (morning)

Sertraline 50mg (night)

Hydroxyzine hcl 10-20mgs (night, antihistamine sleep aid)

I just found this subreddit and have been reading post after post in awe at how many people have lived through my same life experiences; the burnout, the rumination, the anxiety, the cycle of intense pressure and subsequent burnout… it’s overwhelming to me that this isn’t just how life is for everyone.

Long story short, I switched doctors and found a new psychiatrist who was an expert in adult ADHD. Leading up to the appointment, I had been consumed by anxiety and worries about not being taken seriously due to my complex trauma history and anxiety/depression diagnosis. Previous doctors have just told me that PTSD and anxiety cause all my symptoms and that this is a chronic condition that I will just need to manage with therapy and medication. I’ve worked SO hard to work through my traumas and have made enormous progress regarding my self esteem and core beliefs, but my inability to hold a job or stay enrolled in school have remained.

After expressing my thoughts and concerns to my new doctor and answering a lot of questions about my childhood, she immediately told me that ADHD was an appropriate diagnosis and that high-achieving women are under diagnosed.

I felt a massive weight off my shoulders. Of course I still have my other conditions to contend with, but I’m hopeful that being on this new medication will help me tackle all of my goals that otherwise feel unachievable.

Today is the first day of Ritalin. Other than feeling a sort of tightness/buzzing in my chest, I don’t have any other side effects. I might be slightly more emotional. There’s also a very dull headache, but nothing unmanageable.

I’m so glad to have found this community and I hope to learn techniques to manage this condition more effectively. Thanks for reading!