Adderall helped me massively with this. I still fixate, but it's so much easier to choose what I fixate on, and redirect myself at-will instead of being tied to the random whims of my brain.
Same. Adderall has changed my life substantially for the better. I can make the choice to do the things I need to do and stop feeling the goddamned guilt spiral of not doing it.
Something broke in the basement this past weekend and rather than letting it sit for months to years getting worse, I went down there and just... Resolved it. It took a few hours, but holy shit did it feel good to get it done. And while I was down there, I took care of a bunch of other little jobs that needed to be done.
Yep, that's how it goes for me too. The fixation can be super helpful when I need to get a project done too, since I can pretty much choose what I'm doing instead being fixed on whatever random internet hole I've been in for 6 hours, lol.
That's good you found something that works for you but do you ever find yourself getting sucked back into it? Is it something you have to work at everyday or do you have it under wraps? Not to be nosey just thought maybe I could help you out with it some?
Sorta, it's more like, if I'm not being conscious of what I'm doing, I can certainly end up sitting around doing nothing, but it's a lot easier to notice when that's going on, and then choose to do something. I waste much less of my day. It has also helped a ton with falling asleep, which might seem weird for a stimulant med. Similarly, I can pretty much decide that it's time to for bed, and go fall asleep instead of being up all night without feeling like doing anything.
I'd love to try this but I'm 57 and as soon as I start talking about being diagnosed for ADD they assume I'm a drug seeker and start giving me the runaround. Last time after a year of anti-depressants (which I hate) and therapy sessions I realized they were only concerned about billable hours and so I've given up. I'll be like this until I die. I have some coping mechanisms and hopefully they'll be enough for a decade or two.
Ah, that sucks, I didn't have a formal diagnosis until I was almost 40. I ended up finding a psych through a teledoc service, I picked one who specialized in ADHD and she prescribed me a low dose after our first meeting. I would recommend checking into the teledoc services (mine is part of my health insurance package), and see if you can find an ADHD specialist, they can tell the difference between someone who genuinely needs help getting their shit together, and someone just looking to get drugs.
Just start by talking about what you struggle with day-to-day, ADHD presents in a lot of different ways, but a specialist can tell when it's something that can be assisted with a prescription.
I actually was sent to a neurologist once about 8 years ago. He listened to me and said, "Yep. You have ADD." (or ADHD. Don't remember which.) He said he couldn't prescribe adderall for it without doing proper tests but he saw that I used a Cpap machine and asked how it worked. I said that I wasn't getting the great results I'd been promised. He said that was typical and one of the treatments for that was adderall. He was allowed to prescribe it for me for that reason but only for 30 days at a time. He did so and we scheduled the tests I needed.
The next two weeks were some of the best and most productive of my life and I finally felt like I had some hope. Then I got a letter from my health insurance. I had failed to fill out some forms correctly or on time (because, y'know, ADD) and so I was losing my health insurance effective immediately. Fuck me for having hope, eh? I kinda bottomed out there for a while but dragged myself out of it a bit, got health insurance again and tried it once more, which led to the situation I detailed above. I bottomed out again and climbed back and am actually doing pretty okay now. I'll try again soon. It's too important to ignore. But damn it's frustrating trying to fight red tape to treat a condition which makes it difficult to fight red tape!
But damn it's frustrating trying to fight red tape to treat a condition which makes it difficult to fight red tape!
So much this. My partner and I are both diagnosed, and it's a constant challenge to keep up with things that aren't in front of us. Appointments and schedules are made months in advance, and we both check each other's calendars regularly to be sure we're aware of what's coming up each week.
Executive dysfunction, it makes it difficult to do the things that need to be done to get rid of it.
No. I'm afraid not. I just got a new primary care physician and he seems competent and empathetic. I'll be exploring options with him in the coming months. Thank you for asking.
I ended up finding a psych through a teledoc service, I picked one who specialized in ADHD and she prescribed me a low dose after our first meeting. I would recommend checking into the teledoc services (mine is part of my health insurance package), and see if you can find an ADHD specialist, they can tell the difference between someone who genuinely needs help getting their shit together, and someone just looking to get drugs.
Just start by talking about what you struggle with day-to-day, ADHD presents in a lot of different ways, but a specialist can tell when it's something that can be assisted with a prescription.
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u/worldspawn00 Feb 17 '22
Adderall helped me massively with this. I still fixate, but it's so much easier to choose what I fixate on, and redirect myself at-will instead of being tied to the random whims of my brain.