It's like they know nothing about ADHD. Why assume everyone wakes up before 7am? It's also AI slop 🙄

I just had an appointment with a nurse practitioner that supposedly specializes in ADHD amongst other things. She isn't my normal practitioner, but I was due for an on-site appointment and she is closer.

She's asking me all the regular questions about how my Vyvanse is working for me, and eventually asked about my work. I don't work. She asked me "so what do you need to focus on?"

This was my first time meeting her, so I don't know if it was a genuine question or if she was asking me why do I take Vyvanse if I don't work (implying that I don't need it). My first impression was that it was the latter.

Ma'am, even medicated, it is a struggle every day to focus on what I intend to focus on. Or initiate any task. For example, I took my shower at the last second before leaving for the appointment.

I think I struggle more now than I did when I worked because now, there's no set schedule or outside pressure to get the thing done.

Idk. Maybe I don't need the meds to stay at home and I could just see what happens. But I'm scared of what that would look like. I already have so much shame around not "doing enough".

That's it, just needed to put it somewhere. Thanks 🩷

Let me start.

- I was labeled as rude at my elementary school. I was notorious as the most obnoxiously chatty girl. If my teacher told me something, I would talk back 10x as long (she said that to my mom).

- I was labeled as lazy. I would come home from school, have lunch (in bed), and fall asleep while still wearing school uniform. I sleep with with the dishes in bed. I hated to shower; I always felt like it was such a big task.

- My friends in high school thought I was lazy, too. I would spend my entire day reading novels, never taking notes or paying attention to my teacher. I would copy my friends' homework, and photocopy their notes to study for tests, of which I never studied until the night before. Despite that, I still scored high in all my tests.

- I lost so many things, including glasses, a cellphone, and many others, that my dad labeled me as irresponsible until this day.

- I was SO terrified of rejection. I would over analyse every interaction, over thinking every statement, replay awkward moments over and over again thinking why tf did I do/said that.

- Clutters. I was labeled a messy child because all my knick knacks and stuff were strewn across the desk and floor in my bedroom.

- I always went to bed at 12AM the earliest, most days I stayed awake until 1-2AM. This was in elementary school. I went through so much grief from my family telling me off to go to bed earlier. I just wasn't able to.

These are just a few amongst many others. Thinking back I wished I could've given the younger me a hug, telling her that she's not a terrible or abnormal human being. For the longest time I hated myself so much for being lazy/emotional/sensitive, because that's what everyone told me. Obviously because I didn't run around and scream all the time, there's no way I had ADHD; I was just a bratty, disobedient child /s.

I'm not saying it isn't helpful or that it's bad in any way. I know many people who found medication to be absolutely life-changing, and I'm sure many of you did too. But what I am saying is that I think sometimes we hype it up so much that we create unrealistic expectations.

Pretty much every time I look at this sub I see at least one of the following:

• someone who just took medication for the first time ever talking about how it just fixed their entire life
• that same person 2 weeks later saying their medication "isn't working anymore" because they no longer feel that way
• someone who just took medication for the first time ever talking about how it didn't fix their entire life and wondering if that means meds don't work for them or they were misdiagnosed
• someone considering starting medication asking if it's going to solve things that have nothing to do with ADHD
• someone asking how to get an ADHD diagnosis as quickly as possible so they can get medication as quickly as possible, which they see as the only way to address any of the difficulties they're having
• someone who doesn't respond well to medication worried that they've failed somehow and that there's no hope for them

The goal of medication is to remove some of the friction from your life and allow you more flexibility to choose where your attention is directed. It will not turn you into a different person. All the difficulties you experience will still be there. You will still have ADHD. If you don't have supportive people or environments in your life, medication will not create them. You will still need to learn and consciously choose to apply coping mechanisms. To use the popular "racecar with bicycle brakes" analogy, medication gives you the racecar brakes, but you still need to drive the car.

Many people experience euphoria when they take their first dose. It might not feel like euphoria (in my experience it feels more like sudden calm and clarity), but that's what it is. It's a very normal response to ADHD medication (especially stimulants - I mean, your brain is literally being flooded with dopamine), but that euphoria is not actually the goal of treatment, and it's not representative of what it feels like to be medicated long term, nor should it be.

Also, medication isn't necessarily the best option for everyone. Many people either don't respond well to it, are unable to take it, or even choose not to take it for various reasons, and that's okay. It's not the only option, and having it not work the way you expected it to doesn't mean your life is over.

Medication is a tool, and a very powerful one that has genuinely turned lives around. But it's not some magic pill that's going to solve every problem you've ever had, and I seriously don't think it's doing anyone any favours for us to talk about it like it is.

I feel like the meds ended up making me aware of how evil the world is. I feel like before that, I was just living in a dissociative state 24/7. Being on the meds helped me to realize that I was being bullied by my friends and coworkers. It’s also helped me to realize other parts of my childhood. I just feel like everything is so pointless now. Like what’s the point? Everyone is just so mean and cruel for no reason, and I was made to feel like the problem this whole time.

How many of us don't get enough daily fiber (or completely forget to eat) 🙋

How many of us are using water drink packets to increase our daily water consumption 🙋

Well, if you're like me, and likely millions of other people, you may fall into this category. It became extra apparent to me how lacking I was in getting enough fiber when I started taking wegovy (IYKKY), so I decided that since I was eating even less than I normally do thanks to my ADHD and forgetting to eat sometimes, I'd need to get it some other way, so I bought metamucil: a flavorless psyllium husk fiber supplement you can dissolve in your drinks. I started off with my flavored water. I have a giant 42oz cup I use to drink water, with the goal of drinking the whole thing while at work. So, I tried the metamucil with it, and I don't taste anything! I'm already adding packets of powder and stirring, so why not just add two more scoops anyway? (Disclaimer: the metamucil is a bit sticky and tougher to dissolve, but it only takes a few extra seconds). I also drink a cup of chai in the morning, and same thing, there's no flavor or anything noticable. And just like that you can drink some of your fiber.

I am aware of the importance of getting both soluble and insoluble fiber, and I do try to still get it from my food as much as I can (shout out to beans, carb balance tortillas, and raspberries), but this can at least help meet the gap. Also, complete side note, I would also like to say that you should be careful when using water packets. Many of them have electrolytes and vitamins added in, and drinking a lot of these can be harmful. I recommend trying to find drink flavor packets that are just the flavorings with no extra additives, and limiting the other ones to maybe once a day.

Also, feel free to share your favorite fiber-tastic easy meal or snack! I really like edamame 🫛 you can get steamables, toss them in the microwave, and viola, hot delicious mean snack with no prep. A great low effort snack for when you're burnt out or are having a low functioning type of day.

just as the title says!! i was diagnosed about a year ago and am just kind of coming to terms that my adhd is forever and i have to learn to live with it and not despite it, so im wondering what’s the best thing you guys have done for your adhd to make your lives a little bit easier :-) whether that be a mindset, habit, impulse purchase, anything— all very appreciated!! 🩵

I'm not sure what the disconnect is between me leaving the house looking polished and put together, to seeing a photo of myself out and about or in a bathroom mirror, with mascara and eyeliner smudged, the hairs falling out of my ponytail, and/or my clothes looking really sloppy. I've just gone back to wearing no makeup and a wash-and-wear hairstyle most days, but when I do make an effort it seems futile because of this!

Does anyone know any solutions to this other than incessant self-consciousness?

Anybody else simply have to fix a problem and think up super creative ways to do so? - My work mixers sensor has gone funny so I was having to stand there and hold the lever and a particular point and not move while mixing ... until today 😂

And I definitely "burnt" my feel on hot kernels trying to turn it off. Popcorn everywhere in the kitchen

I just feel like a failure a feeling I don’t know rejection sensitive dysphoria maybe about it? It’s been so long since the accident happened. It’s happened on May 3. I still can’t seem to move on because the story just doesn’t make any sense because he should’ve seen her and been able to break. She made a mistake too because she should not have gone but the amount of time we went out to the intersection and he should’ve been able to break. It was a big truck the guy had a cdl. I think my sister was through the intersection almost and he looked up saw her and swerved into her it seems. She should’ve not gone but it also seems like he could have saved her life by even trying to stop so I don’t think he saw her.

I’ve been obsessing over the like reality of it and trying to understand the laws around the situation and my mom thinks I’m crazy I think. I did use the robot to help with some math which I know is questionable but still I’m really bad at math lol. I checked it tho and went to any sources it pulled to be sure it really applied. It just seemed like it would be pretty clear that we’d have a case and that my sister wasn’t the only one at fault. I printed documents and highlighted things from the law and drivers manuals and I talked with a lawyer today and went to the intersection, but he didn’t really seem like he knew what he was doing. I feel like he didn’t understand what I was saying and seemed to think those laws didn’t matter over her stop sign. He’s technically the second lawyer I’ve talked to so that makes me feel even more crazy. My mom thinks I’m rationalizing everything cause of grief. The truck was penalized for hauling too much during her accident it seems from the court database but he seemed to think it didn’t matter.

and I went to go to work today and then but the thing is he had called me and wanted to go to the intersection and I stupidly agreed and then it was right before I had to go to work and then I ended up crying and telling them that I couldn’t go. I haven’t been back to work since this whole thing. My mom said she’s just frustrated and worried about me.

I just wish that I had somebody else to fall back on, but my dad who agrees with me that the driver should have some fault is in Mexico on a vacation and so I’m all alone. It’s hard to stay strong when I’m all alone. I feel really lost and I’m broke too. I need to go back to work because the disability payment didn’t go through really and so I have no money but I just couldn’t do it. I wish I could be a better daughter and worker and person. I feel guilty like my lack of self control and hyperfixation and everything was all just me rationalizing my grief or something. I feel so alone

Sometimes I'm just so fed up with feeling different from everybody else.
Wether it's hobbies, opinions, lifestyle, time and time again I find myself being the outsider and it's just gets exhausting.

I'm tired of being the weirdo, having shown my freak flag for so many years to attract others only to be more and more alienated. And sometimes, just sometimes, I find someone on the same frequency, but it's not guaranteed to end in a longterm friendship.

This feeling is very fluctuating for me, but sometimes it hits me so hard as an adult to still be the outsider. I swear it must be some sort of trauma. I just naively hoped it would be easier as the years go by, but lately I find it's not...

Rant over.
Disclaimer: am pregnant and unmedicated, bear with me lol

I know there are messages in there. I haven’t looked but I know they’re there

and there’s this thing that happens where just knowing is enough. like my brain has already allocated some part of itself to holding that open loop. I’m not anxious exactly. just… aware. there’s a low level thing running in the background that I can’t quite switch off

I deleted the notifications a while back. that helped a bit. but the knowing is still there even without the badge

I think the part that gets me is that I haven’t even done anything wrong. I’m not ignoring anyone. I just don’t have the capacity right now and the app doesn’t have a way to know that. so it just sits there. waiting. and I sit here knowing it’s waiting

does this happen to anyone else or have I made this weird

This is how much hair I lose in almost every brush. I feel like I’m going to be bald soon!!!! I don’t have a lot of hair to begin with.

To summarize: I went down a rabbit hole on this sub to find out why my hair was falling out and it seemed like a lot of people have had this same problem. I lost quite a bit of weight since I started meds so I linked my hair loss to lack of nutrients etc becuase I am eating less (as many people have mentioned). My blood work came back perfect and now I’m feeling hopeless. I really don’t want to have to drop medication because it’s changed my life for the better and has actually given me a will to live lol.

Currently I’m trying a bunch of hair oils a few times a week to try and stimulate hair growth and I do have some baby hair coming in. But it just seems like the shedding will always outweigh the hair growth.

Has anyone experienced this same thing and have a different method to help stop hair shedding? Or something I can ask my doctor about during our follow up?

Thank you!

I got diagnosed with ADHD last year at 30.

Told my parents I have adhd. Apparently they took me to get tested when I was maybe 5-7 year old. I was never medicated because I seemed fine at school and was able to focus watching tv. And did not look the same compared to my male cousins who were diagnosed.

They thought I could outgrew it as in Asia the name of adhd contains the word “kid”.

I think in high school they learnt that you don’t outgrew adhd as one of their friends kid got late diagnosis. But they still never told me.

I still grieve what I’ve missed when I was so close to getting the help I needed.

I’m still not medicated as we are ttc.

This rage, it comes on so quickly and disappears so quickly. It’s so intense and I end up crying afterwards. Is it:
A. ADHD
B. Perimenopause
C. Both
But also, how can I handle it better? I may have slammed a door tonight.

I realized just today that having coffee early in the morning is sending me straight back to bed for a couple of hours, regardless of how long/well I slept. I read that it's because of the interplay of caffeine and the sleep/wake hormones (adenosine/cortisol) that are already trying to do their jobs when you wake up.

I'm hoping that I can just move coffee an hour later? Has anyone had this issue? Is there a solution that doesn't involve cutting coffee altogether? My husband and I are coffee lovers. We roast our own, and we really enjoy the morning ritual.

30 seconds after I popped them I grabbed the rainbow pill holder that holds my morning meds: (Venlafaxine and Vyvanse) and triple checked. The Wednesday slot was empty. IT'S TUESDAY!

I purposefully have a rainbow pill case (daytime) and a black case (night time) to prevent this very thing from happening.

I tried to expell them but the only thing that came up was water and a bit of dinner (tomato soup).

So I did what anyone in my shoes would have done: I doubled my nighttime dose of trazodone.

I have to be at work half an hour earlier than usual tomorrow, too.

WHYYYYYYY?!

Diagnosed last week at age 33, after about a 2 years of seriously looking into it (purely because I just couldn’t get myself to take the necessary steps)

My usual routine on my day off:
- Make a list of things I want/need to get done
- Pick one to start with
- Do that one thing in increments throughout the day, taking random breaks and separating it into steps
- Spend the rest of the day on the couch

Yesterday I took my first half tablet of Ritalin in the morning. And this is the difference I saw:
- Made a list of things I wanted/needed to get done
- Completed the first thing on the list from start to finish
- Completed the next thing on the list from start to finish
- Completed the entire list
- Felt like doing more things so I did

I couldn’t believe it. Is this how people who don’t need Ritalin operate each day? I felt like a SUPER HUMAN. I AM UNSTOPPABLE. I EVEN PUT THINGS DOWN AND THEN REMEMBERED WHERE I HAD PUT THEM WHEN I NEEDED THEM.

So yeah, feelin’ good gals. I’m feelin’ good.

I saw the psychiatrist today for the first time this morning. Ive waited years... like 6+ years.

He was sweet, gentle, softly spoken and KIND. After some questions he said 'well, ive known you for 45minutes and i can say with 100% certainty that you have ADHD. It's causing all these problems and burnout is to blame. Let's get you on meds if that is something you want to consider'.

Holyshitballs!!!! He validated EVERYTHING i explained and experience.

I have NEVER not been gaslit or dismissed. It's a whole new world of emotion and feeling seen and heard and UNDERSTOOD.

Fuck me though it is a lot. Im 45 and life has been on EXTRA HARD MODE. No wonder im exhausted.

I feel like i've been ran over or something. Hit by an articulated lorry carrying grief and relief in equal quantities. Wow wow wow.

(Tagging as rant/vent because it is, but any helpful practical advice also appreciated.)

It is my mammogram appointment. Both times, I kept thinking it was a different time even though it was on my calendar correctly. Last week, I checked my calendar to see what time my appointment is, and it was earlier that day. I rescheduled for this week. I got up this morning to check what time my appointment was today, and was shocked to see that it was yesterday.

I‘ve forgotten appointments before but never the same appointment twice in a row. This is extreme even for me. I do feel like my ADHD symptoms have been getting worse. I don’t know if it is perimenopause/age or what (early 40s).

I‘ve generally been outwardly functional-ish with all my systems in place for most of my life and I’m kind of scared for myself now. I just recently had my wellness exam and I didn‘t even think to bring this stuff up but should I be getting a neurological exam or something??

In the meantime I texted my husband my entire calendar as well as some series of to-do items and asked him to make sure to do them. I don’t think it’s fair to ask him to manage my entire life for me though. I’m not his child… He’s already the only reason I eat a proper dinner every night. But at this point I don’t trust myself to be able to do anything anymore.

The one thing that’s different lately is that I am normally a heavy exerciser (like 4-6x/week) but due to sickness and injury I had to severely cut back. The sickness/injury are better now but it has been a struggle getting back my fitness. I feel like my worsening symptoms started before all that though, but maybe this is not helping??

Also my workload at work has gotten heavier but that is very recent, and I’ve had MUCH harder jobs years ago in years past and I was never this dysfunctional…

Ugh I just feel like such a mess. 😞 Am I just old? Is it going to be like this now? Am I developing early dementia??

I have a lot of work friends but few really good friends outside work. I have my husband and kids and family but no real “best friend”, just acquaintances. I struggle with feeling rejected so don’t put myself out there to meet people and only go out to do things if someone invites me first.

I also gave up alcohol years ago so the friends I would socialize with for after work or weekend drinks have dwindled away.

Are there places where more neurodivergent people go? I wish there was a meetup or group that meets in person that takes the rejection element away where you can go for coffee or do a hobby, etc. I’m in Canada and haven’t found anything.

I take adderall 20 mg adderall (10 mg in the morning and 10 mg after lunch). Lately, I feel like I’ve been having trouble getting started once I get to work. Sometimes I’ll open my phone and mess around on it for a while before doing anything and other times I’m staring off into an abyss. What are y’all doing in the morning that helps you get going? Are there any cues or certain tasks that you use to switch the mind into work mode?

girlies i have about mcfucking had it 🥲 my psych switched practices about a month ago, wouldn't be working for this whole month (which she deserves, she is an angel on earth and i love her), so she wrote me an "emergency" supply of meds! (2 months, 2 individual scripts) my normal is 3 months, 3 scripts, no drama, been on it for a long time. So. why did UHC randomly fucking block my emergency supply completely with no warning and now i have no fucking way of fixing it bc my psych isn't in office rn???? they blocked my beta blockers too. which i. need???????

i'm probably irrationally more angry than i need to be, i'm also being affected by my state dropping like 50% of their state healthcare users and i've just been horrifically stressed trying to sort that out, and found out today my new pcp won't send through ANY medication (like, my bc that i've been on for 7 years w no issues) without a phone call at the very last minute which made my med synch completely worthless! 😃 i'm just! mad! i'm extremely mad and exhausted and dealing w death in the family on top of all this and i am at the end of my rope and finding this out with like 2 pills left broke my fucking heart.

please excuse my swearing and anger i just? need to be told i'm not insane for feeling this way i guess? i don't know? i'm tired of managing my adhd just to feel like the powers that be want me dead. i go out of my way to make my life easier and.... nope. not allowed suddenly. how do i cope with this. how does anybody cope with this!