8 ms·

Another sad fact: medicating such kids is often a problematic solution. ADHD drugs make one lethargic and just feel "off" (according to my sister, who was on th

Another sad fact: medicating such kids is often a problematic solution. ADHD drugs make one lethargic and just feel "off" (according to my sister, who was on them for a long time). What we need are more vocational schools to give the "hyperactive" among us a realistic, career-oriented outlet.

2trill2spill 8y ago
I got "diagnosed" with ADHD and tried taking the medicine for two weeks and it was terrible. What's the point of doing better in school if you feel terrible, lose your appetite, and have problems sleeping?
- snerbles 8y ago
  Compliance. You're more easily molded into an economically productive little cog for the workforce.
  - organsnyder 8y ago
    In addition to making me a better worker, my ADHD meds also make me a better father, allow me to follow through on hobby projects, and other non-"cog" pursuits. I also started and ran my own business for a while. And my current workplace is about as un-factory-like as they come.
  - andybak 8y ago
    I actually enjoy the meds. Not in every situation and not all the time but the effects are definitely not unpleasant. I don't get the "zombie" thing. Talking about Concerta/Ritalin. I actually asked to be taken off Vyvanse (more similar to Adderall) because it was a little bit too pleasant and disconcertingly similar to recreational substances.
  - cowboysauce 8y ago
    Tell me, how do stimulants make someone more compliant? Why is it that when someone comes to the hospital in an agitated state, they aren’t given adderall? Why isn’t ritalin given before surgery? Why are people with schizophrenia given antipsychotics instead of vyvanse? This type of attitude is as ridiculous as it is cynical. People act as if the idea of a Ritalin zombie is the goal for ADHD medication. It’s not. I’m not going to deny that stimulants do make some people lethargic, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Do you want to know what it’s like to take medication for ADHD? For the first time in my life I can make choices. I can choose to clean up my desk without something deep inside me rising up to stop me. I can sit down and read a book and not feel the tensions building up inside me until it feels like a rubber band about to snap. I can wait at a restaurant without feeling the need for stimulation itch over me. My mind no longer jumps from idea to idea until I get lost in my own head. I can speak without stumbling over words because my mind is three sentences ahead. I can read a paragraph and actually remember what I just read. The notion that I’m just some lobotomized zombie shuffling to the strings of my corporate masters is frankly insulting to everyone that struggles to live a normal life with ADHD.
- Mtinie 8y ago
  If you reacted poorly to the medication, it could have been that your diagnosis was off, or that you didn’t benefit from the type the doctor prescribed. I’m not positive about adolescent applications but my ADD is treated well by Adderall/Vyvanse vs. Ritalin, as the active ingredients in Ritalin made me feel hyperactive and on the others I feel “normal.” After stopping your course of medication did the original symptoms which lead to the diagnosis go away?
- HaseebR7 8y ago
  have you tried a different medication ? a lot of the time some people don't respond to a medication that works well for most people.
- roguecoder 8y ago
  A good psychiatrist works with you to find medication that addresses your challenges with a minimum of side effects: the nice thing about most ADHD meds is that they work relatively quickly and don't have the terrible withdrawal symptoms some psychiatric meds do, so you don't have to wait six weeks to see if its working. And whether or not you are interested in medication, there are strategies and adaptations that can make it easier: support from a professional therapist can be super-helpful, with or without meds.
insertnickname 8y ago
How do you get "often problematic" from one person's experience? People have different reactions to drugs, and "ADHD drugs" isn't even one particular drug or kind of drug, although stimulants are the most widely used kind of drug for treating ADHD.
- all_factz 8y ago
  Who said I’m just going off one person’s experience? That’s just the experience I mentioned above. But there have been numerous articles on this topic over the years IIRC.
  - insertnickname 8y ago
    You said it, at least it's the only source you referred to.
    - all_factz 8y ago
      I see how it could have come off like that. I didn’t mean to make the point based solely on her experience, and I was perhaps a little too strident. But her experience is visceral for me and helps to drive the point home.
azeirah 8y ago
There's so much negativity in this thread towards ADHD meds. I want to chime in with my own experience, when I was in elementary school, there were suspicions that I had AD(H)D, and I got tested, but apparently "I was the quietest and most compliant kid they had ever had". Didn't get a diagnosis. ~15 years later, and I have serious trouble with executive function, I am insanely easily distracted, I have trouble with emotional regulation, I was physically incapable of focusing on something that I did not enjoy for more than 10 minutes, ever. I have no idea how I got through college, heck, I almost didn't. In addition to all this, I was hyper, impulsive, and completely incapable of ever taking a second off, I couldn't relax, at all. At some point, I saw ADHD somewhere, and I decided to take a more serious second look at it, "what actually is this thing?", and it resonated with me to the core. So after that, I pretty quickly got myself a diagnosis, and not much later I got a ritalin prescription. I have barely any significant side-effects, I'm calmer, I can focus, I can talk to people without losing my train of thought during the conversation, I can relax better, I can take time to prepare my days and weeks; clean my room, make and follow todo-lists, continue work on a single project for more than a week, I could finally read books without going like "oh huh?!" to every single sound around me 10x a minute, etcetcetcetcetcetc... My life is pretty terrible still for all kinds of reasons, but no, ritalin doesn't make me feel lethargic -- especially not if I take a slightly lower dose than I'm prescribed -- nobody forced this onto me, I'm not doing this for "compliance" or whatever, I'm not abusing this to be more productive or whatever weird Silicon Valley stereotypes there are about ADHD meds. Ritalin helps me maintain a relatively stable foundation for my disturbingly disorganized life. It's not magic, and there are real downsides to it, but it really, really helps me very, very effectively.
- all_factz 8y ago
  Fair. I didn’t mean to imply that medication is never beneficial. I just think it’s over-prescribed (but this is anecdotal so if anyone really wants to take me to task on it, I forfeit in advance).
- skksjsnaahs 8y ago
  Have you ever considered whether you suffer from depression and/or anxiety? I was in a similar place after my ADHD diagnosis. Ritalin helped my career greatly, but I was still unsatisfied with life in many ways. After I started taking an antidepressant (Remeron), things got really good for me. I took control of my life and fixed a lot of problems. I find my work and my social relationships more fulfilling. It also fixed my insomnia.
jonhendry18 8y ago
"ADHD drugs make one lethargic and just feel "off"" Your sister was on the wrong medication. I've never felt that way.

2trill2spill 8y ago

I got "diagnosed" with ADHD and tried taking the medicine for two weeks and it was terrible. What's the point of doing better in school if you feel terrible, lose your appetite, and have problems sleeping?

snerbles 8y ago
Compliance. You're more easily molded into an economically productive little cog for the workforce.
- organsnyder 8y ago
  In addition to making me a better worker, my ADHD meds also make me a better father, allow me to follow through on hobby projects, and other non-"cog" pursuits. I also started and ran my own business for a while. And my current workplace is about as un-factory-like as they come.
- andybak 8y ago
  I actually enjoy the meds. Not in every situation and not all the time but the effects are definitely not unpleasant. I don't get the "zombie" thing. Talking about Concerta/Ritalin. I actually asked to be taken off Vyvanse (more similar to Adderall) because it was a little bit too pleasant and disconcertingly similar to recreational substances.
- cowboysauce 8y ago
  Tell me, how do stimulants make someone more compliant? Why is it that when someone comes to the hospital in an agitated state, they aren’t given adderall? Why isn’t ritalin given before surgery? Why are people with schizophrenia given antipsychotics instead of vyvanse? This type of attitude is as ridiculous as it is cynical. People act as if the idea of a Ritalin zombie is the goal for ADHD medication. It’s not. I’m not going to deny that stimulants do make some people lethargic, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Do you want to know what it’s like to take medication for ADHD? For the first time in my life I can make choices. I can choose to clean up my desk without something deep inside me rising up to stop me. I can sit down and read a book and not feel the tensions building up inside me until it feels like a rubber band about to snap. I can wait at a restaurant without feeling the need for stimulation itch over me. My mind no longer jumps from idea to idea until I get lost in my own head. I can speak without stumbling over words because my mind is three sentences ahead. I can read a paragraph and actually remember what I just read. The notion that I’m just some lobotomized zombie shuffling to the strings of my corporate masters is frankly insulting to everyone that struggles to live a normal life with ADHD.
Mtinie 8y ago
If you reacted poorly to the medication, it could have been that your diagnosis was off, or that you didn’t benefit from the type the doctor prescribed. I’m not positive about adolescent applications but my ADD is treated well by Adderall/Vyvanse vs. Ritalin, as the active ingredients in Ritalin made me feel hyperactive and on the others I feel “normal.” After stopping your course of medication did the original symptoms which lead to the diagnosis go away?
HaseebR7 8y ago
have you tried a different medication ? a lot of the time some people don't respond to a medication that works well for most people.
roguecoder 8y ago
A good psychiatrist works with you to find medication that addresses your challenges with a minimum of side effects: the nice thing about most ADHD meds is that they work relatively quickly and don't have the terrible withdrawal symptoms some psychiatric meds do, so you don't have to wait six weeks to see if its working. And whether or not you are interested in medication, there are strategies and adaptations that can make it easier: support from a professional therapist can be super-helpful, with or without meds.

insertnickname 8y ago

How do you get "often problematic" from one person's experience? People have different reactions to drugs, and "ADHD drugs" isn't even one particular drug or kind of drug, although stimulants are the most widely used kind of drug for treating ADHD.

all_factz 8y ago
Who said I’m just going off one person’s experience? That’s just the experience I mentioned above. But there have been numerous articles on this topic over the years IIRC.
- insertnickname 8y ago
  You said it, at least it's the only source you referred to.
  - all_factz 8y ago
    I see how it could have come off like that. I didn’t mean to make the point based solely on her experience, and I was perhaps a little too strident. But her experience is visceral for me and helps to drive the point home.

azeirah 8y ago

There's so much negativity in this thread towards ADHD meds. I want to chime in with my own experience, when I was in elementary school, there were suspicions that I had AD(H)D, and I got tested, but apparently "I was the quietest and most compliant kid they had ever had". Didn't get a diagnosis. ~15 years later, and I have serious trouble with executive function, I am insanely easily distracted, I have trouble with emotional regulation, I was physically incapable of focusing on something that I did not enjoy for more than 10 minutes, ever. I have no idea how I got through college, heck, I almost didn't. In addition to all this, I was hyper, impulsive, and completely incapable of ever taking a second off, I couldn't relax, at all. At some point, I saw ADHD somewhere, and I decided to take a more serious second look at it, "what actually is this thing?", and it resonated with me to the core. So after that, I pretty quickly got myself a diagnosis, and not much later I got a ritalin prescription. I have barely any significant side-effects, I'm calmer, I can focus, I can talk to people without losing my train of thought during the conversation, I can relax better, I can take time to prepare my days and weeks; clean my room, make and follow todo-lists, continue work on a single project for more than a week, I could finally read books without going like "oh huh?!" to every single sound around me 10x a minute, etcetcetcetcetcetc... My life is pretty terrible still for all kinds of reasons, but no, ritalin doesn't make me feel lethargic -- especially not if I take a slightly lower dose than I'm prescribed -- nobody forced this onto me, I'm not doing this for "compliance" or whatever, I'm not abusing this to be more productive or whatever weird Silicon Valley stereotypes there are about ADHD meds. Ritalin helps me maintain a relatively stable foundation for my disturbingly disorganized life. It's not magic, and there are real downsides to it, but it really, really helps me very, very effectively.

all_factz 8y ago
Fair. I didn’t mean to imply that medication is never beneficial. I just think it’s over-prescribed (but this is anecdotal so if anyone really wants to take me to task on it, I forfeit in advance).
skksjsnaahs 8y ago
Have you ever considered whether you suffer from depression and/or anxiety? I was in a similar place after my ADHD diagnosis. Ritalin helped my career greatly, but I was still unsatisfied with life in many ways. After I started taking an antidepressant (Remeron), things got really good for me. I took control of my life and fixed a lot of problems. I find my work and my social relationships more fulfilling. It also fixed my insomnia.

jonhendry18 8y ago

"ADHD drugs make one lethargic and just feel "off"" Your sister was on the wrong medication. I've never felt that way.