4 ms·

I tried a couple times to get off caffeine, never worked properly... I don't feel obvious caffeine effects, but I need it to not be a wreck. Later I discovered

by speeder 11y ago

I tried a couple times to get off caffeine, never worked properly... I don't feel obvious caffeine effects, but I need it to not be a wreck. Later I discovered I was self-medicating my ADHD... Now I am taking proper ADHD meds, and this allowed me to greatly reduce my caffeine use (that was wandering into dangerous and expensive territory, with me needing to drink litres of red-bull clones to work), still need it sometimes though, my ADHD meds dosage is still too low it seems (my medic is adjusting my meds still). Without caffeine + meds I can't do anything properly, I lose random objects (including a cup of coffee! I made myself a coffee yesterday, moved it somewhere in the house, and could not remember where, I spent 5 minutes wandering around looking for where I put my coffee), forget to do stuff, including important stuff, forget to eat/drink water/sleep, and all other sorts of not good behaviour.

swah 11y ago
Do you still live in Brazil? I've read criticisms here on HN, of doctors too eager to diagnose ADHD (specially in children) - did you felt that your doctor was aware of those issues? I ask because I'm not sure if I have ADHD or just regular anxiety/lack of focus that could be fixed by exercising/meditation/finding another job. And I don't want to go to the doctor to get hooked on drugs I don't need...
- speeder 11y ago
  I am still in Brazil... And I've been hearing about the ADHD overdiagnosis problem for a while, and I've been staunch that I didn't had ADHD until my life was the shithole that it is now (I am 28, unemployed, don't own any property, have negative net worth, no friends, no romantic partners...) Then what I found was the opposite, as an adult, seeking for ADHD diagnosis (or diagnosis of whatever I had), led to most doctors spin around in circles trying to find everything that I could have that is NOT ADHD, because they assumed I was just some kind of junkie or someone wanting to cheat tests in university, because here in Brazil all ADHD meds are of highly controlled nature (ie: they are classed the same as Morphine for example). Eventually I found my current medic... that still is going VEEEERY slow in the dosage, the highest dosage she ever gave me was 1/5 of the maximum, and about 1/3 of what people get on average. Still, even this low dosage helped, before I had the meds, I reached a point where I was spending more on caffeine than food every day (and this is in a country that exports coffee and erva mate, thus caffeine in general here is really cheap)
  - callinyouin 11y ago
    > ...they assumed I was just some kind of junkie or someone wanting to cheat tests in university I live in the US and had the same reaction from doctors. One doctor spoke with me for a few minutes (literally like 5 minutes) and decided I was trying to abuse uppers to gain an edge at school/work, despite having been previously diagnosed with ADD and treated as a teenager (and despite asking for help, not medication). It was a really, really humiliating experience. I eventually was prescribed medication but I've since lost and regained medical insurance, so I no longer have that prescription. I often have difficulty staying on task, but I cope with it myself out of fear of going through that awful process again. To me it seems that adults seeking help with ADD/ADHD are looked at with immediate suspicion. I always assumed it was a lack of mental health education for doctors in the US, but now I suppose it might be a global phenomenon.
WalterSear 11y ago
I'm with you. I quit caffeine for almost two months last year. About six weeks in, I admitted to myself that I was still feeling shitty and tired, and was having as much trouble focusing as on day one. Is this 'self-medicating'? Focus and tiredness have always been big problems for me. I scored in the 80th percentile on the Wender Utah Adult ADD test a few years ago. Nothing any doctor has plied me with has worked for more than a few days before tolerance sets in. IMHO, much of this 'quit caffeine - you'll feel even better without it' is uninformed zeal. Some will, some won't. Mileage will vary.
TrevorJ 11y ago
I've found caffein to be far nicer on my body than my ADHD medication. Unless I am really in a bind, I go to coffee when I need to focus. I'm careful to take a day or two off a week if I can so that my overall consumption never needs to be more than 1 cup/day. Coupled with L-theanine caffeine has really been a useful tool for me.
pc2g4d 11y ago
> Now I am taking proper ADHD meds You've replaced one stimulant with another, it seems. The meds don't come along with a bunch of calories, so that's a plus, though ADHD meds do have their own set of side effects.

by speeder 11y ago

swah 11y ago

Do you still live in Brazil? I've read criticisms here on HN, of doctors too eager to diagnose ADHD (specially in children) - did you felt that your doctor was aware of those issues? I ask because I'm not sure if I have ADHD or just regular anxiety/lack of focus that could be fixed by exercising/meditation/finding another job. And I don't want to go to the doctor to get hooked on drugs I don't need...

speeder 11y ago
I am still in Brazil... And I've been hearing about the ADHD overdiagnosis problem for a while, and I've been staunch that I didn't had ADHD until my life was the shithole that it is now (I am 28, unemployed, don't own any property, have negative net worth, no friends, no romantic partners...) Then what I found was the opposite, as an adult, seeking for ADHD diagnosis (or diagnosis of whatever I had), led to most doctors spin around in circles trying to find everything that I could have that is NOT ADHD, because they assumed I was just some kind of junkie or someone wanting to cheat tests in university, because here in Brazil all ADHD meds are of highly controlled nature (ie: they are classed the same as Morphine for example). Eventually I found my current medic... that still is going VEEEERY slow in the dosage, the highest dosage she ever gave me was 1/5 of the maximum, and about 1/3 of what people get on average. Still, even this low dosage helped, before I had the meds, I reached a point where I was spending more on caffeine than food every day (and this is in a country that exports coffee and erva mate, thus caffeine in general here is really cheap)
- callinyouin 11y ago
  > ...they assumed I was just some kind of junkie or someone wanting to cheat tests in university I live in the US and had the same reaction from doctors. One doctor spoke with me for a few minutes (literally like 5 minutes) and decided I was trying to abuse uppers to gain an edge at school/work, despite having been previously diagnosed with ADD and treated as a teenager (and despite asking for help, not medication). It was a really, really humiliating experience. I eventually was prescribed medication but I've since lost and regained medical insurance, so I no longer have that prescription. I often have difficulty staying on task, but I cope with it myself out of fear of going through that awful process again. To me it seems that adults seeking help with ADD/ADHD are looked at with immediate suspicion. I always assumed it was a lack of mental health education for doctors in the US, but now I suppose it might be a global phenomenon.

WalterSear 11y ago

I'm with you. I quit caffeine for almost two months last year. About six weeks in, I admitted to myself that I was still feeling shitty and tired, and was having as much trouble focusing as on day one. Is this 'self-medicating'? Focus and tiredness have always been big problems for me. I scored in the 80th percentile on the Wender Utah Adult ADD test a few years ago. Nothing any doctor has plied me with has worked for more than a few days before tolerance sets in. IMHO, much of this 'quit caffeine - you'll feel even better without it' is uninformed zeal. Some will, some won't. Mileage will vary.

TrevorJ 11y ago

I've found caffein to be far nicer on my body than my ADHD medication. Unless I am really in a bind, I go to coffee when I need to focus. I'm careful to take a day or two off a week if I can so that my overall consumption never needs to be more than 1 cup/day. Coupled with L-theanine caffeine has really been a useful tool for me.

pc2g4d 11y ago

> Now I am taking proper ADHD meds You've replaced one stimulant with another, it seems. The meds don't come along with a bunch of calories, so that's a plus, though ADHD meds do have their own set of side effects.