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I've observed this whole drama unfold first hand. Having been born in the early 80's, I grew up on Ritalin and most of my classmates did too. I actually do ha

I've observed this whole drama unfold first hand. Having been born in the early 80's, I grew up on Ritalin and most of my classmates did too. I actually do have ADHD, but I'm unmedicated for well over 15 years now. This is completely by choice; every time a new doctor sees my medical history they basically ask in a rather pushy manner, "Ya want some pills for this?" I didn't grow out of ADHD, but I have had to learn a lot of coping mechanisms. I can't work with silence, I always have to have music on. If I don't, I start wandering around the internet and getting nothing done. Pair programming is basically God's Gift to ADHD. All of my team knows that they are encouraged, and appreciated if I'm driving and they're like, "Whoa you are WAAAAAY off on some tangent here. Our card says to do X, let's do X." To-Do lists and journaling are a way of life. Note taking during meetings is simply a must. If I don't, my short term memory gets really slippery and I start interrupting people with questions and thoughts lest I forget them in the next 20 seconds. But the point is, while I have all sorts of weird hoops to jump through, they really aren't things that normal, non-ADHD people don't do. I just rely on and need them far more than non-ADHD people. Yet every doctor wants to give me a prescription for my ADHD. This is extremely ironic give a later point in this comment. Meanwhile, while medication isn't an answer all the time, sometimes it is really the only option. Taking the medication is hell. I know a group of people I grew up with who can't get through a workday without prescription stimulants. Then, they have to try to handle kids sporting events, social events, etc. on the weekends without it to try to keep their tolerances down. Still, those tolerances don't quite reset fully. Almost everyone in that group has to take regular PTO every 6 months and go off them for two weeks. They can't work. They can't clean the house. They can't care for their kids. It's pure misery. Sure, they may run off to a resort, but they're mostly just doing that so they can drink and sleep their way through withdrawals while their other half handles the kids. In same group, there are a few that actively struggle to take their medication as prescribed as opposed to eating a 30 day supply in 10 days. We're talking getting the day's doses each morning from a significant other with the rest kept in a lock box that only said SO has the key. Also, it's insanely embarrassing and stigmatized to get your medication filled when you're an adult. Pharmacies will be out of Ritalin when you show up to fill your prescription in the morning. "I don't know when we'll have more in, sorry." Then, a few days later you'll hear that same pharmacy filled your friend's daughter's prescription in 20 minutes a few hours after you left. So on one hand, you have Big Pharma pushing the diagnosis and medication on children who are still neurologically developing. On the other hand, you have an informal cadre of pharmacists that think it's okay for kids to take this, but if an adult is taking it they're some meth'ed up tweaker. So kids who don't and probably shouldn't take these drugs are flooded with them. The adults that need it just to hold down a job and make rent can't get it. The entire ADHD situation is just one massive, never ending mess. I'm so glad I'm on the lighter end of it and can side step the medication entirely.

6stringmerc 10y ago
As another who probably sits right on the border of "could use medication, but isn't interested in it after self-management for 20+ years" I really like how you mentioned practical habits that can alleviate the downsides to the symptoms. To-do lists. Taking notes. These can be learned and if they work, to make life more constructive while not really getting into the physiological side. Honestly I enjoyed having the mind-set to be rough & tumble in the Proposal Coordinator (or Manager/Writer/etc) type role with 2-6 overlapping projects. It is/was almost a natural fit for being kind of hyper & then shutting down at the end of the day (go home to cook, beer, pets). Having multiple projects was plenty of stimulation, and breaking them each into smaller, prioritized To-Do lists with lots of human contact meshed nicely. Stressful at times, sure, Murphy's Laws are like that, but being the relentless, focused type to put all the pieces together for the whole is quite important when the scale increases (e.g. billion dollar construction projects).
reitanqild 10y ago
> I can't work with silence, I always have to have music on. If I don't, I start wandering around the internet and getting nothing done. > Pair programming is basically God's Gift to ADHD. Just keep in mind that there is a huge variation, not every AD(H)D-er is the same. > Taking the medication is hell. Then you should possibly contact your doctor, it shouldn't be that way as long as you follow the recommandations, but sometimes even minor changes can make major differences, even changes in dosage or even type based on the same active ingredient. > Then, they have to try to handle kids sporting events, social events, etc. on the weekends without it to try to keep their tolerances down. This isn't R, is it?
- krinchan 10y ago
  > Just keep in mind that there is a huge variation, not every AD(H)D-er is the same. I covered this later on. The whole "sometimes medication is necessary" bit. > Then you should possibly contact your doctor, it shouldn't be that way as long as you follow the recommandations, but sometimes even minor changes can make major differences, even changes in dosage or even type based on the same active ingredient. It's less the effects of the medication and more the way that medication impacts your life as an adult. You're often accused of not actually having ADHD and faking it for "legal meth". Some people actually struggle with the temptation to use recreationally. > This isn't R, is it? Relevant? Yes. It is. If you can't make it through a workday without your medication, you can barely handle your social life. ADHD trying to be social is always late, always harried, always forgets to bring the thing it promised to bring, and much more. Trust me, I can't tell you what my plans are for this weekend without checking my calendar and every appointment on that calendar has a checklist of things to bring if any. The problem is, when you go off meds, it's ten times worse than if you never took medication. Alongside that, there are the usual stimulant withdrawal symptoms, though to a lesser degree if you're not taking above as prescribed. The reason people do this is because if you find something that works for you and you take it daily, you'll be well past the maximum dosage in a few years. Then you'll have to change medications and that medication may not work as well or the same way. You also may end up with withdrawals. Furthermore, you really do need a reserve of pills. The only way to get that is to skip doses. The legal structure around Schedule II drugs is fuzzy. Most pharmacists will only allow you to refill your medication 30 days from the fill date of a 30 day prescription to avoid liability. If you try to fill it and something goes wrong, you could be up the creek on a Sunday with a week of work ahead of you. Insurance, pharmacists refusing to fill a prescription because they suspect you're abusing (which is literally as little as, "I thought they looked strung out"), family emergencies, and everything else under the sun can cause this. Also see the bit about pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions. This does actually happen, a lot. Being prescribed a Schedule II substance is bad enough, but pharmacists and pharmacies tend to take adults and ADHD medications to the furthest limits legally possible to make your life a living hell. Imagine if schizophrenia medication was that difficult and strict to keep a steady supply of. They have trouble getting a refill and it's completely within the realm of possibility they could lose their job (or worse). Same thing with people with serious, debilitating ADHD.

6stringmerc 10y ago

As another who probably sits right on the border of "could use medication, but isn't interested in it after self-management for 20+ years" I really like how you mentioned practical habits that can alleviate the downsides to the symptoms. To-do lists. Taking notes. These can be learned and if they work, to make life more constructive while not really getting into the physiological side. Honestly I enjoyed having the mind-set to be rough & tumble in the Proposal Coordinator (or Manager/Writer/etc) type role with 2-6 overlapping projects. It is/was almost a natural fit for being kind of hyper & then shutting down at the end of the day (go home to cook, beer, pets). Having multiple projects was plenty of stimulation, and breaking them each into smaller, prioritized To-Do lists with lots of human contact meshed nicely. Stressful at times, sure, Murphy's Laws are like that, but being the relentless, focused type to put all the pieces together for the whole is quite important when the scale increases (e.g. billion dollar construction projects).

reitanqild 10y ago

> I can't work with silence, I always have to have music on. If I don't, I start wandering around the internet and getting nothing done. > Pair programming is basically God's Gift to ADHD. Just keep in mind that there is a huge variation, not every AD(H)D-er is the same. > Taking the medication is hell. Then you should possibly contact your doctor, it shouldn't be that way as long as you follow the recommandations, but sometimes even minor changes can make major differences, even changes in dosage or even type based on the same active ingredient. > Then, they have to try to handle kids sporting events, social events, etc. on the weekends without it to try to keep their tolerances down. This isn't R, is it?

krinchan 10y ago
> Just keep in mind that there is a huge variation, not every AD(H)D-er is the same. I covered this later on. The whole "sometimes medication is necessary" bit. > Then you should possibly contact your doctor, it shouldn't be that way as long as you follow the recommandations, but sometimes even minor changes can make major differences, even changes in dosage or even type based on the same active ingredient. It's less the effects of the medication and more the way that medication impacts your life as an adult. You're often accused of not actually having ADHD and faking it for "legal meth". Some people actually struggle with the temptation to use recreationally. > This isn't R, is it? Relevant? Yes. It is. If you can't make it through a workday without your medication, you can barely handle your social life. ADHD trying to be social is always late, always harried, always forgets to bring the thing it promised to bring, and much more. Trust me, I can't tell you what my plans are for this weekend without checking my calendar and every appointment on that calendar has a checklist of things to bring if any. The problem is, when you go off meds, it's ten times worse than if you never took medication. Alongside that, there are the usual stimulant withdrawal symptoms, though to a lesser degree if you're not taking above as prescribed. The reason people do this is because if you find something that works for you and you take it daily, you'll be well past the maximum dosage in a few years. Then you'll have to change medications and that medication may not work as well or the same way. You also may end up with withdrawals. Furthermore, you really do need a reserve of pills. The only way to get that is to skip doses. The legal structure around Schedule II drugs is fuzzy. Most pharmacists will only allow you to refill your medication 30 days from the fill date of a 30 day prescription to avoid liability. If you try to fill it and something goes wrong, you could be up the creek on a Sunday with a week of work ahead of you. Insurance, pharmacists refusing to fill a prescription because they suspect you're abusing (which is literally as little as, "I thought they looked strung out"), family emergencies, and everything else under the sun can cause this. Also see the bit about pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions. This does actually happen, a lot. Being prescribed a Schedule II substance is bad enough, but pharmacists and pharmacies tend to take adults and ADHD medications to the furthest limits legally possible to make your life a living hell. Imagine if schizophrenia medication was that difficult and strict to keep a steady supply of. They have trouble getting a refill and it's completely within the realm of possibility they could lose their job (or worse). Same thing with people with serious, debilitating ADHD.