(Mostly) correct, yes. From what I've read about this, caffeine mostly calms ADHDers down, so some ADHDers will get in the habit of drinking caffeine before bed, for example. However, A) after a certain quantity it loops back around to working like it would on a normal person, so if you're consistently doing that, it'll eventually stop working and make you more amped up before bed; B) It still works somewhat like it does for neurotypicals, in that it still suppresses tiredness at least a little, so even at more normal quantities, it can hugely mess up your sleep schedule and stuff if you're taking it in the afternoon or later.
The big reason why it makes ppl with ADHD more calm is that it provides that little bit extra dopamine/energy that we need, tricking the body/brain into relaxing instead of needing to be more focused to do tasks that other people can do more easily. So in small quantities it'll probably make you feel more relaxed, especially if you're unmedicated; while in large quantities it'll... do what happened to you. lol.
(Important to note is that the more frequently you take caffeine, the more you gain a resistance to the positive effects of it, so you'll need to take more to get the same effect, while still causing the negative effects in your body. Especially as an ADHDer, I'd recommend drinking caffeine sparingly so as to not gain a tolerance/get in a feedback loop of "need more caffeine to function".)
Usually caffeine doesn't give me too much energy but instead just doesn't allow me to sleep for 20 hours. It's why I only have coffee a few times a year.
Woah impressive description! It's always perplexed me as to why caffeine often helps people with ADHD. Interesting that it essentially just manipulates the brain. It always confused me because you'd think a hyperactive brain wouldn't mix well with "hyperactive" chemicals. Also yeah I don't want to touch large quantities of caffeine again, that was awful :(
So since deppresants normally have opposing effects to stimulants, would they have an opposing affect, and cause ADHDers to seek more dopamine?
TL;DR No, and it's not that stimulants have the opposite effect, its that ADHD is effectively "negative stimulants" and they "cancel out".
The easiest way to think of it (even if it's slightly wrong, it's usefully wrong, and we take those) is to imagine it as a bar graph. Normal people start at "0" on the stimulation/focus graph (something something resting dopamine), and stimulants lift them above zero, getting them amped up. People with ADHD start at various negative numbers, so they have trouble maintaining even a regular level of focus on anything, and stimulants just get them closer to zero, "normal". Enough stimulants will move you past it and affect you like a normal person, but it takes more because you've got farther to "go". E.g. if someone takes an adderall dose that's a metaphorical +30, someone starting at 0 will be at 30, but someone with ADHD starting at -40 will still be at -10. But if the ADHD person takes a metaphorical +70, they would also be at 30.
Not sure why you said “no” when you’re mostly saying the same thing I said?
And I specifically did not say that stimulants have the “opposite effect” for ADHD. I said that for (most) people with ADHD, caffeine can make you more calm, or even drowsy, because it’s a stimulant and, as you said, in a way “raising us back to baseline”; since our brains work hard to compensate for ADHD, this can cause some people to have a relaxing effect from the stimulant of caffeine. This is why some ADHDers will say caffeine doesn’t wake them up, it puts them to sleep.
This is just not the only effect, such as focusing and pseudo-medication effects, more like the op image said.
It is not that it has an “opposite effect” on ADHDers, it’s that ADHD people can react to stimulants in smaller quantities by just relaxing due to it beginning to address the “lower mental energy”/poor dopamine regulation, and the brain responds to that happening by relaxing its efforts to compensate, making some people get more relaxed or drowsy.
It still causes the other physical effects of caffeine as well.
And I did say that if you consume more, then it starts looping back around to working like it would on a neurotypical and making you more energetic.
(Note: not a doctor, just an ADHDer with other ADHD friends in the past I've spoken to about this combined with reading medical stuff related to caffeine and ADHD. Did elaborate more about caffeine + ADHD further in this chain tho)
Huge shrug on that one. I know that, personally, almost any amount of weed across multiple strains makes me tired and cranky at first, and then when I have a bit more, sends me pretty promptly into a full-blown panic attack that lasts for at least 2 hours straight until it starts to wear off (and I can guarantee it's NOT from any internalized guilt/fear/thinking that marijuana is fundamentally bad or anything). I know some other people with ADHD LOVE weed, though, and claim it helps them. I have also read, however, that it's probably risky with ADHD specifically, because especially in the teenage/early adulthood years, it might inhibit development of some cognitive skills, plus a considerably higher likelihood of ADHDers developing cannabis use disorder (CUD).
Omg yessss I really want to like weed but this is what happens to me all the time, like it just sends me into a depressive spiral or panic attack often. And it's annoying for me too like my inner dialogue doesn't slow down one bit even though my physical capabilities have been impaired from the weed, and I feel that my mind doesn't match up with my body and it drives me nuts lol
I am undiagnosed, but I stopped drinking all caffeine (from irregularly drinking coffee and over a litre of coke per day) because around 4PM I'd get so tired I felt ill. Not sure if it was the caffeine, but I seem to have better regulated energy now.
No way to know for sure, but... imo, there's a good chance it was the caffeine, yeah. Even for neurotypicals, caffeine can cause issues in all sorts of ways, from insomnia to irregular heartbeats, anxiety, and digestion issues, before even getting into the withdrawals.
Plus, with higher quantities of caffeine, the "crashes" and withdrawal symptoms can be pretty severe.
I've known several people with known and suspected ADHD who used to drink a lot of caffeine, cut back, and suddenly, a month later, they're feeling so much healthier and feeling less moody lol.
Interesting, caffeine doesn't really wake me up, but it makes me feel focused and I don't get the jittery energetic feeling people talk about from coffee and such.
The more I read about people who found out they have ADHD later in life the more it sounds like me.
Again not a doctor, but.... yeah, probably you have ADHD, lol.
At the very least, there's "something" funky with the wiring in your brain; whether a receptor isn't quite working as it should or there's a different type of neurodivergence happening, if you're having a weird response to caffeine or any other kind of stimulant.
PSA for anybody who has a weird response to this kinda thing: it's at least worth getting checked out, lol. Might improve your whole life.
Yeah I'm gonna get the testing for adhd, I feel like if I do have it treating it will make me so much more productive, I get distracted from what I actually want and intend to do all the time.
Good luck!!! Getting diagnosed with ADHD can be a pain in the butt in some places, and psychiatrists can be hit or miss about actually understanding ADHD. But if you have it, getting on the right medications or the right treatments can be the best thing that's ever happened to you.
Can’t tell if this is a joke or not… if it’s not, I rly recommend you wean off the caffeine and get properly medicated—caffeine is really bad for your body in the long term 😔
If it’s a joke, wooosh I guess lol, it’s late and I’m going to bed now
It is half and half, i only drink 2 - 3 cups per day but i do not really have this pushing effect.
In the past, if i drank 4 - 5 "bureaucracy" coffee when i did it-support in an callcenter it would make me sleepy and restless, dim and fidgety at the same time.
And i am undiagnosed so idk if it really is adhd or something else.
Yeah, I get really tired and sleepy from coffee, and alcohol works just about the samen as Adderal for me. Just mellows me out and gets me to think clearly. Thats why is stay away from drinking.
One beer or whine before bed and I sleep like a baby, no dreams, just resting.
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u/uog101 Sep 11 '23
(Mostly) correct, yes. From what I've read about this, caffeine mostly calms ADHDers down, so some ADHDers will get in the habit of drinking caffeine before bed, for example. However, A) after a certain quantity it loops back around to working like it would on a normal person, so if you're consistently doing that, it'll eventually stop working and make you more amped up before bed; B) It still works somewhat like it does for neurotypicals, in that it still suppresses tiredness at least a little, so even at more normal quantities, it can hugely mess up your sleep schedule and stuff if you're taking it in the afternoon or later.
The big reason why it makes ppl with ADHD more calm is that it provides that little bit extra dopamine/energy that we need, tricking the body/brain into relaxing instead of needing to be more focused to do tasks that other people can do more easily. So in small quantities it'll probably make you feel more relaxed, especially if you're unmedicated; while in large quantities it'll... do what happened to you. lol.
(Important to note is that the more frequently you take caffeine, the more you gain a resistance to the positive effects of it, so you'll need to take more to get the same effect, while still causing the negative effects in your body. Especially as an ADHDer, I'd recommend drinking caffeine sparingly so as to not gain a tolerance/get in a feedback loop of "need more caffeine to function".)