ADHD

9638 readers

18 users here now

A casual community for people with ADHD

Values:

Acceptance, Openness, Understanding, Equality, Reciprocity.

Rules:

No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments.
No porn, gore, spam, or advertisements allowed.
Do not request for donations.
Do not link to other social media or paywalled content.
Do not gatekeep or diagnose.
Mark NSFW content accordingly.
No racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, or ageism.
Respectful venting, including dealing with oppressive neurotypical culture, is okay.
Discussing other neurological problems like autism, anxiety, ptsd, and brain injury are allowed.
Discussions regarding medication are allowed as long as you are describing your own situation and not telling others what to do (only qualified medical practitioners can prescribe medication).

Encouraged:

Funny memes.
Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
Questions on confusing situations.
Seeking and sharing support.
Engagement in our values.

Relevant Lemmy communities:

Neurodivergent Life Hacks

lemmy.world/c/adhd will happily promote other ND communities as long as said communities demonstrate that they share our values.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Simulant meds for inattentive ADHD? (lemmings.world)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm a 45-year-old dude who's only now coming to grips with having probably lived my whole life with undiagnosed inattentive-type ADHD. My wife and online communities like this one (and formerly Reddit) have helped me see that I may have been playing life on hard mode by pretending I didn't have ADHD.

My doctor had me try Strattera (atomoxetine) about a year ago, but all it did was make me feel like I was nervous.

Have any of you inattentive-types had any success with simulant meds? I know it would be a lot of trouble to get officially diagnosed and even more trouble to fill the prescription, so I wonder if it's worth trying.

edit: Thank you everyone who shared their experience. It sounds like Adderall or Vyvanse are effective for focus and executive dysfunction. If anyone is still keeping tabs on this conversation, have you had any improvement in forgetfulness/distractedness with simulant meds?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

it is absolutely worth it. It's so life-changing that it's worth the struggles to get on a medication. I'm on Adderall, and have tried Focalin and Ritalin but neither worked for me (caused anxiety among other issues), once you find the right medication for you it'll change your life for the better.

Also for what it's worth, it might not be as hard as it seems to get diagnosed and get a prescription. I originally went to my family doctor talking about my experience and research into ADHD, and she prescribed a low dose of Adderall that day. The real hassle, at least for me, has been having to remember to call every month to have the doctor refill my prescription, and scheduling and attending appointments every 3 months. There are no auto-refills for stimulants, at least in the US, because it's so federally regulated. and it's a medication you'll be on for life most likely. even so, it's definitely worth it in my opinion.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

oh that's interesting. I was under the impression that a GP wouldn't prescribe simulant meds without sending me to a psychiatrist first. I'll have to talk to my GP about it then. I haven't discussed it with her since I came off atomoxetine.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

From my understanding it's uncommon but worth asking about! I started seeing a psychiatrist shortly after to manage it further, and still see one to this day for 3 month check ins (and to manage various other conditions). I doubt my GP would have been willing to raise my dosage as high as I needed it, but it was a good starting point then because I was already on the medications, it has been easy to transfer to other doctors and continue getting my prescriptions. I've never been screened for ADHD or anything like that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Was the right medication alone the perfect fix for you or did you need therapy as well?