I have always been god awful at taking notes because I struggle with my handwriting. My son on the other hand would not fare well without the meds. this is one of my favorite stories i've read here. Like you, I just assumed I was terrible at coping with things everyone deals with. Best friend. I have been putting it off since I was diagnosed 5 years ago because I thought I was too old to start meds. Same notebook, same pen/pencil. EDIT: I was diagnosed at the age of 26. ADHD interferes with how you function in your daily activities at work, school, or home. Isn't She Lovely?” That was supposed to be my college experience. At work, a new team lead was hired, a guy a couple of years older than me. I’m on Concerta XL 54mg with an extra Ritalin 10mg early evening to top it up. Can’t see. I religiously took the medication. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Sure, be skeptical, but don't buy the "it can all be regulated with eating right" BS. Pill shaming happens when someone expresses negative opinions about you taking medication.They may say things to you like “Anyone who takes Adderall will develop psychosis”, and “Adderall is just a legal form of meth”. I was constantly accused of not caring enough in certain classes because I did really well in others and they didn't understand how I could get a D in math and an A in English without purposely being lazy. I'm scared of taking the drugs as well, but mostly because I'm worried they may exacerbate the anxiety and PTSD that a life of struggle and turmoil (and two years of combat in Africa) has created. Look at the effects your adhd has on your life and multiply it with 20 years and that should be motivation enough. Press J to jump to the feed. I still doodle on my notes on drugs. I'm also only able to learn something if I'm actively interested in it and I end up asking the teacher a lot of questions, Probably to the degree of being annoying and interfering. ), also do very well because I can skip from task to task and I'm pretty good at thinking on my feet. I decided to do a side by side comparison with my own "before" and "after" photos for kicks...:http://imgur.com/GOtplca. I never noticed how much my notes sucked until after adderall. For children with ADHD younger than 6 years of age, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends parent training in behavior management as the first line of treatment, before medication is tried. I also work as a sysadmin (WTH... Is that a thing? • Often blurts out an answer before a question has been completed. I also noticed that your handwriting changes a lot in the before. I was anxious to give it a try. He referred me right back to Dr. I held a button in one hand, like a contestant on Jeopardy. I told my psychologist afterwards that the experience was worse than my colonoscopy. So I know ADHD. I’d come in, fix some problems, then begin to drift. She had won a college scholarship and landed a berth in an exchange program in Costa Rica. Press J to jump to the feed. From what I've heard (from my doctor) there's not much chance of an actual 'tolerance.' It's going to a job that you like doing, medicated or not. I was tested over two appointments. My suggestion is to try it and use that time to build routines. 15 December 2016. At the age of 51, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Still, it wasn’t satisfying. Not only did I get an A, but my teacher read excerpts from my answers aloud to the class. My high school notes looked like this too. This doesn't work for major shopping, but for when your SO sends you out to get a few things: Checksum it. I can only wonder what direction my life would have gone if I’d been diagnosed with this thirty, forty years ago. Nor is it sustainable as my mid 50’s and early 60’s loom on the horizon. I have just gone through the same ordeal. Haha, other OP (edit: not sure if that is the proper term in this case... reddit lingo confuses me, either way what I meant was that the other set of notes are mine.) Don’t get me wrong, I love where I am now – great job, great wife, great kids. Instead, what I felt was… nothing. It doesn’t matter if you’re late or you don’t like to eat in the morning. That is what I do. I thrived in that kind of environment and became very good at it, eventually earning the very good income I do today. This kind of behavior continued throughout my life. Not many opportunities for 60-year-old sysadmins, so I need to get going before I age out of the field. It takes longer to make connections, it often feels kinda fuzzy, sometimes it fails to load, and way too often the something rings through and breaks any connections you are trying to make. I felt no different, before or after. I'm both impulsive and "day dreamy", Sometimes I just lose my self in my thoughts and before I know it, a couple minutes had passed in what seemed like just a moment. Adderall XR lasts approximately 12 hours. Wow! I had maybe 1 or 2 thoughts going on at the same time. I'm 39 and work in IT as well, your story is so familiar it could easily be mine. ADHD Medication Mistake #2: Not eating breakfast. Cure for treatment. ; Concerta (methylphenidate): Concerta is a long-lasting methylphenidate medication that uses a unique delivery system called OROS (osmotic controlled … A random Redditor posted her notes "before" and "after" medication about a year or so ago. This was a shock to my coworkers when I first started taking it. My conjecture is that it's more a change in the patient's perception: Before medication your 'average' day feels like a 2/10, for example. A few days ago the Intel bug hit the news, which explained the previously-incomprehensible behavior of Microsoft, who had been forcing us to move our virtual machines from one host to another in an accelerated fashion without explanation. Before Medication. They had the ability to overcome the malaise that inevitably came over me; clearly I wasn’t a good person. Concerta is an extended release medicine, whilst Ritalin is the same active component (methylphenidate) but shorter duration. I have dyscalculia. ADHD Medication Timeline . Behavioral education should be considered as first-line treatment for any case of ADHD, particularly in children aged less than 6 years of age, with mild symptoms, or if the family prefers this option over drug therapy. I coasted through high school doing as little work as possible because I hated doing the actual work and just got by on my brains. I can’t focus myself, and the stark contrast is unsettling. This is probably a thing with ADHD because my handwriting is unreadable even by me. If I try and write quickly it becomes incoherent and unreadable (At my last job I had to write orders for the cook, he would get so frustrated and tell me I needed handwriting lessons haha). Now, in my 50’s I was taking a controlled substance. There are downsides. The only class where my notes looked neat was English, because I was able to hyperfocus on transferring my thoughts to a page. She was captain of the cheerleading squad. Over a million users here say they 'feel at home' and 'finally found a place where people understand them'. Answer text. Around the time my wife is driving me to the train station, at 7am, is when I usually start to feel the medicine working. See a full list of drugs, including stimulants, nonstimulants, and more. In one incident, in high school I showed up for a test on “The Human Comedy” without ever having read the book. So I just stopped taking notes, Not to mention that when I was taking notes I couldn't focus on what the teacher was saying, It was better off just not writing a thing and get a chance to actually learn something. And for me, Adderall changed my life. Oh, right, don’t sleep in contacts. Helps me read in public places and long texts. On the other hand, I notice that your handwriting changes. Medication and therapy have made all the difference for me! I took a 5mg dose and waited for the pink elephants to appear and the loopiness to begin. Armed with the information that this might be ADHD, I made an appointment with my physician, Dr. We hit it off right away; we think alike, code alike, approach our jobs in much the same manner. Boo me :/. Studies show that ADHD medication safely and effectively improves communication between neurons in the ADHD brain. That's when you know you have found a good job. Weekly threads to plan and notice the positive in our lives. God I fucking hate grocery shopping! These notes will serve as a baseline you can use to compare before and after medication patterns. I just… couldn’t. The history and questionnaires he’d gathered suggested a long history of inattentiveness. The day to day challenges were constantly changing, usually quickly solved, and didn’t require long-term planning. How I got there was a strange odyssey. I'm a board game designer, I don't have regular "hours" in the relevant sense of the term, basically at all. • Often has trouble holding attention on tasks. Mine is just like that before picture. Dr. I actually am a zombie when I'm not on Adderall. "I absolutely have ADHD, and ADHD is part of who I am at this point," Alan*, 28, told Mic. A random Redditor posted her notes "before" and "after" medication about a year or so ago. Started a top up dosage of Ritalin at early evening to enjoy the benefits whilst I’m home as well. He in turn referred me to a psychologist. I couldn’t start. You have convinced me to call today and set up a meds appointment. “Sara was wild, cranky, arguing constantly,” says Debra. I will never forget when my 8th grade math teacher told my mom (in front of me) that the way my eyes glazed over, and how I vaguely smiled at him when he was teaching, made his blood boil, and he despised me. Problem: ADHD Medication Doesn’t Work All The Time If mornings are difficult: Think about how you or your child act when you’re on ADHD medication and when you’re not. Eyes are open. I can also work A LOT compared to many of my peers. I think 20/20 is the right dosage for me. And once you get the job, the Adderall will help you keep focus enough to keep it. The ADHD morning in my head looks like this: Open. I couldn’t seem to bear down. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. It's like I'm just more comfortable with words than numbers, which is strange because they're all just abstract symbols anyway. If that black box contained a smaller, white box inside its boundaries, I was to press the button. Started medication (Concerta XL) in October with increases until mid November. The first was information-gathering, including a history of behavior back through middle school and a questionnaire to give to my wife regarding my behavior. Weekly … Press J to jump to the feed. It’s important to eat something before you take your ADHD medication. Talk to your GP about switching from Concerta to Ritalin. The fact that this might all be a mental disorder that could be easily treated never, ever occurred to me. Close • Posted by 1 minute ago. I used to be against medication. After you have a system in place, it's easier to go unmedicated if that's what you prefer. Looking forward to walking down the road now that I can see where to put my feet. A place where people with ADHD and their loved ones can interact with each other exchanging stories, struggles, and non-medication strategies. It’s not that I didn’t acknowledge that it needed to get done, I just… couldn’t begin the work. Do whats best for u and ur brain. The biggest and most pleasant side effect was loss of appetite. (Dad was regional bank manager.) Edit: Also, just worth pointing out: there's no evidence that Adderall causes super-tolerance (that is, taking Adderall and then stopping can't make your ADHD worse because of a tolerance you've built up) so you can always stop if you don't like how it makes you feel. Source: rawpixel.com. The Concerta starts to wear out in about 10 hours for me, so I need the top up with Ritalin so that I can enjoy the benefits whilst at home as well. Suddenly, there’s enough quiet to be able to say, “Hey, you’re bit hungry. Ahhh yes, all my notes are covered with those damn doodles. But anyways, thankyou for your story! They're still all over the place since I don't know proper note structures and stuff but they're loads better now. My experience with ADHD meds isn't numbed at all, they allow me to get way more done in my day... the most surprising aspect of being on medication to me is how much more time I have in the day! I have lived a cigarette-free, alcohol-free, drug-free existence my entire life. I believe everyone with ADHD who is physically able to should try medication before deciding wether or not to make medication a part of their life. Ow. And get evaluated! We hit it off right away; we think alike, code alike, approach our jobs in much the same manner. It really sucks when I'm drawing a circuit diagram, and then I get distracted and start drawing doodles inside the diagram. No. I’m seeing Dr. Ur dose seemed high. Thank you so much for writing this. I just had to keep the pen moving in order to listen at all, and I couldn't really focus on writing down notes and listening at the same time so I doodled instead. Hyperactivity and Impulsivity: • Often fidgets with or taps hands or feet, or squirms in seat. After the diagnosis has been made, a treatment plan should be developed in consultation with the physician or other medical professional. Now I'm trying to get a diagnosis and that has proven much harder than I thought. Intrigued, I went home that night and read up on ADD, which I found out was technically a form of ADHD. By far the most reliable indicator was the test I took. A lack of appetite, weight loss, sleep troubles, headaches, and stomach pain are common side effects of ADHD medication. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. I strongly encourage you to talk to a professional; a good one should know all about how the medication affects everything. Two brothers with ADHD, dad, wife and one kid diagnosed. Same thing with me. If it helps at all, I’ve always been described as full of life and energy. • Is often easily distracted • Is often forgetful in daily activities. I cannot begin to describe the anxiety I felt taking a controlled substance for the first time. I think about it whenever I catch myself in a "vague smile," which is my defensive facial expression when I'm nervous or unfocused, haha. Medication is a tool for you to use. Still, Dr. This is scary. I'm just scared of turning into a 9 to 5 zombie.. numbed.. you know. Cure emphasized what my own online research had shown: that this was by far the most effective treatment and that the risks of addiction are practically nonexistent if I stick to the prescribed dosage. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. He is heavy on H-part of ADHD and because of the meds he will be able to do well at school and not run a very, very high risk of dropping out and worse. In my opinion, the nine to five zombie isn't about being medicated enough to tolerate the torture of a 9-5 job. I can't find nicotine; apparently it's highly toxic to spiders. Hopefully the therapists and doctors I've finally managed to engage will help me navigate that. My life before and after medication. My team lead called me at 9pm to tell me that now the news was out in the open, Microsoft was accelerating the timeline even more, and asked if I could log in and do some work that very night. He noted my weight loss – no danger there, I have many pounds to go before “obese” is removed from my description – and increased my medication, directing me to step from 10/10 to 20/20. I can't really comment on my school experience on medication, because I only went to school medicated for about half a week. • Often does not follow through and fails to finish work (e.g., loses focus, side-tracked). Since I didn't see the first post and I won't skip this opportunity: Also the obligatory "this is your drug on webs.". Instead, I am just able to control my actions as a result of my emotions much easier. And I wondered why I couldn't study before medicine. At the age of 51, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Little things were easier – like I could easily remember that my wife asked me to get milk from the store on the way home, where normally there was a very good chance I’d forget. Dr. Bradley's studies on the use of Benzedrine was once thought of as heralding the modern era of ADHD treatment, but that role has likely now passed to the newer, once-a-day ADHD medications that most kids take. I hope you can find a dr that will understand that and help you. It also seems to regulate my emotions better, I don't know how much better my notes are, because I didn't take any notes for years. There are more research studies done on these types of medicines than on any other medicine you will ever take. Thanks again just for putting it out there. Being diagnosed at 35 isn't cool either. How is ADHD Treated? Most problems occur before the medication starts working or when the dose doesn’t last … Taking medication definitely helps me get more work done. This is interesting. I could sit and not actually have 10 different thoughts in my head at the same time. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. I recently went on vacation and loved it, but also found myself looking forward to returning to work. Get ur adhd meds back and maybe a new dr. Only you know whats best for ur body. At work, a new team lead was hired, a guy a couple of years older than me. Editing to apologize for my atrocious handwriting, but you'll notice it's way better on focalin. Here is the criteria for diagnosing ADHD/ADD that I seemed to meet: Inattention • Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or with other activities. When my non-performance became something that might threaten my employment, it was easy to get a job at another company. I'm 44 and I wish I'd understood earlier. We got to talk about our very similar work habits, and he mentioned that he’s been on medication for ADD for many years. I can't take notes well at all.. seeing this, maybe I'd better push for adhd meds.. Forgot my medicine one day and had a very similar outcome. ‘punches out of sleep tracking app on phone’ Hmm… New text. This was fixed by taking a lower dose. Whilst Concerta stays on your system for up to 14 hours, Ritalin wears out in about in 3-4 hours. It goes both ways though. There, it required actual work to get good grades, and I couldn’t just get by on my brains alone. Weight loss would be very good for me. I guess it's never too late to start treating this shit. My doctor said this could be due to low blood sugar from not eating or dehydration. log in sign up. But I'm starting to think therapy and medication might actually assist me a lot in daily life. I couldn’t do the stuff I needed to do. A person with ADHD often feels like their brain is running on dial up. You know what, I have the exact same thing and I never even realised. Getting started seemed a little easier, but really not much. I've alway been an introvert, and I drag myself to work (always been hard to fall asleep, so I don't sleep enough). This doesn’t have to be a big meal. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. But it was a long and painful road to get here. Not only were my reaction times measured, along with the number of errors (I pressed the button incorrectly four different times), but he was also observing my behavior as I was taking the test. However, when I take my medication, I'm so energetic. I've just been questioning the benefits of getting an actual diagnose aka "a label".. Mine changes throughout the day, depending on the class and the mood I'm in. My mental torture was obvious in my mannerisms – a leg I set to bouncing, the sighs that grew louder and longer as the test progressed. “In school, she was doing zero. Common Symptoms of ADHD. It's certainly a part of IT. It's undiagnosed officially, but I mix up numbers constantly, and can't remember a number for longer than 2 minutes-- but I'm fine with remembering words and I never transpose letters. I felt vastly inferior to highly-motivated people who could come in and do things. Over a million users here say they 'feel at home' and 'finally found a place where people understand them'. I did notice that I was bearing down at work more than I had been, but I didn’t feel any different. But it's a consistent style afterwards. Getting back to sleep? The really messed up ones on the bottom are caffeine - self explanatory - and chloral hydrate, which has alcohol-like mechanisms and effects but less body load. Cure (really). Im surprised a decrease in ur adhd medication wasnt suggested with wellbutrin at night. I couldn’t focus. The second appointment involved me sitting in front of a computer monitor. Because my symptoms mainly manifest in the “Inattention” list, I appeared to have what is called the “Predominantly Inattentive Presentation of ADHD”. Maybe there’s something on this line of work for us. The difference treatment can do for you multiplied over 22 years is a lot, I would imagine! It can be life altering, but it isn't a cure. Whether you’re an adult or child taking ADHD medication, you’ve likely experienced guilt, and pill shaming. • Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to do tasks that require mental effort over a long period of time. If it helps, I am the very opposite of a 9-5 zombie. My team lead at work described a “night and day” difference when he began taking Adderall. ADHD and some of the medicines you take to treat it -- Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse -- could lead to unexpected changes in your body weight. Dr. Gosh, thanks for telling me, Doc! If I am angry or frustrated, then I can still do my work; whereas, before medication, I would have shut down and let the emotions consume me. I wake up at around 6am each day, shower, and take my medicine. 83 votes, 32 comments. r/ADHD: A place where people with ADHD and their loved ones can interact with each other exchanging stories, struggles, and strategies. 'When I started taking ADHD medication it was as if someone flicked a switch' After having been treated for depression unsuccessfully and asked to … You don't need to commit to taking it for the rest of your life. It makes me less of a zombie, especially in social situations, because it turns down the volume in loud places and lets me focus on a person. But what I can say, is that my handwriting was absolutely awful, and I never even read my notes or prepared for any tests in my life, anyway. Remember the sum of different items. Oh, and it helps me play video games more, and practice them better. Sometimes it looks like godly cursive, others the Zodiac killer's. Cure. Maybe you should get breakfast now.” And then my brain goes, “Yeah, OK, let’s do that.” So I get up, and have breakfast. What you describe school as... wow! That was my night-and-day experience. I coasted through life this way – until I hit college. A diagnosis of ADHD and six months of medication later, Sara was back on top. I described my experiences, and he told me he’d expected little effect given the small dosage and my weight. Before and After My Daily Dose of ADHD Medication. I was anxious to see the day. I grew to like him right away. I did this for twenty minutes. I feel like I just want to talk to everyone and be open. Weekly threads to plan and notice the positive in our lives. May your days be happy, and your life yield the sense of accomplishment and serenity we all deserve from such herculean efforts. A The third appointment was to discuss the results. You can always try medication and go off of it at any point. Adderall and Adderall XR (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine): Adderall starts to work in approximately 30 minutes to one hour.The effects of Adderall typically begin to wear away after four hours. >.<. There’s a passage from “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire, as Glinda ruminates on why her education isn’t going as she’d hoped: “She supposed, glumly, that she had meant to be a sort of living marble bust: This is Youthful Intelligence; admire Her. What notes could I possibly have studied from? At 51, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Just completely emotionless, and not able to even talk. This information will help you and your doctor differentiate what changes are related to the medication and what may be related to the ADHD that is being treated. It is medication. The closest I came was when I was taking some classes at the University of Minnesota and tried to get an appointment with a counselor there, only to find they had no openings and maybe I could try next semester. I'm 25yo and suspecting I may have ADHD (for a while now). If my wife gives me a short list. Before taking the medication leap, it’s imperative that you do your research and find out everything you can about your options. You can take it multiple times a day and stop taking a few hours before sleeping. Each person considering medication treatment for ADHD should first have a careful, comprehensive assessment to clarify the diagnosis, identify other medical, psychological or learning problems that may be present with ADHD, and learn about ADHD. What the Adderall will do is allow you to focus enough to actually do the hard things that will lead to finding a good job. I'm medicated now but I can still hyperfocus on that, hence this wall of text ;). ADHD usually starts during childhood and may continue into adulthood. I thought to myself, if this is what normal is like then no wonder normal people can get shit done. Off of it, I suddenly revert to the kind of behavior that has created so many obstacles in my life. It didn't fix all my problems—therapy is huge for that—but it has been a scaffold that has made my weird, unstructured life easier to live. ADHD usually still persists into adulthood; however, some people have learned how to manage their symptoms better so it may not be as noticeable. CBT didn’t work out (they weren’t really prepared to deal with ADHD on the service I went to) so I’ve asked to be referred back to the ADHD clinic. Thats not uncommon at all. Thank you for taking the time to write this. Yet even then, there were challenges. I've always liked to hide in my own little world. If I haven't eaten enough or drank water throughout the day, I will become a zombie while the medicine is wearing off. I'm very lucky to be doing what I do. Here are some signs of ADHD that you’ll notice in children: Interrupting - A child will have trouble waiting for a person to finish before interjecting their opinion. I can't believe how much time I spend when unmedicated idly shifting around between tasks never getting any real work done. Eating (even a little bit), drinking lots of water, and working out just 30 minutes completely removes this "zombie crash". Doctors can prescribe this medication to children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD. I feel a fire in my chest start to burn. • Often has trouble organizing tasks and activities. But no, they required actual work, and rather than do it, I fled across the country to move in with a woman. It was great to read your story. The following may increase your risk for ADHD: Being born prematurely, or being male On the Adderall, I am so much like a normal person I forget I was ever any different. I could have done so much better in school and in my career. Your meds will work better and you’ll get a meal in before the medication suppresses your appetite. Mine look the same but the "before" is just a blank page, haha. • Often interrupts or intrudes on others. ADHD Women BEFORE and AFTER Medication: ADHD in adults is like living with a brain running on dial up. The experience I had was that my brain was finally quiet. It is not a "drug". I eventually found that being a Systems Administrator was good for me. A medication break can ease side effects. I'm hoping for the same thing now that I can focus. Now I get to enjoy all the psychological benefits of Adderall all day, not just after 3 p.m. My husband has said that since he’s seen how well I’ve done on it, he wants to get checked again to see if medication might be right for him.