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No problem, serious answer: This is the DSMV criteria: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html Doctors a
by anon9001 6y ago
No problem, serious answer:
This is the DSMV criteria: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html
Doctors are typically screening with a quiz that looks something like this: https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/adhd-quiz/ https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/adhd-quiz/
It's perfectly reasonable to say "I think I may have ADHD based on what I've read online, my symptoms match and people who know me have suggested I try adderall".
Some doctors are fine with letting everyone have stimulants, because they're pretty harmless unless you're really binging on them, and they won't give you enough to do that for very long.
Other doctors would prefer to put you on an SSRI or SNRI or wellbutrin or some other "non-addictive" medication (which ironically are more addictive, dangerous, and less effective), so avoid those IMO. You may have to shop around a bit, but your primary care doctor technically can write the prescription, but some prefer not to and you might need to find a specialist.
Contraindications for stimulants are if the patient has a history of heart conditions, complains about racing heart rate, excessive sweating, trouble sleeping, trouble eating, etc.
You generally want to start with a low dose of "instant release" as opposed to "extended release" pills, so you can have more fine grained control over the dose. IR pills can be broken in half, XR cannot. Some doctors are more nervous about IR than XR because they think it has more abuse potential (not true, but it's a common belief).
With all that said, stimulants will fix the problems OP described, but don't mistake that for a pleasant experience. The truth is that amphetamines are extremely mentally exhausting, and if you don't take good care of yourself (planning proper meals, staying hydrated, resting at appropriate times, not taking more pills when you shouldn't), you can quickly spiral out of control. It's hard to explain to someone that doesn't do drugs, but stimulants can leave you feeling like a shell of yourself, and it's really disconcerting. It's sort of like being over-tired where you're awake but your judgment is clearly impaired and you don't feel like "you". If you stay on them long enough, you'll start to feel like a zombie just going through the motions (successfully, mind you), but without identity. I make sure to take weekends off to preserve their efficacy for the work week and to make sure I don't become too dependent.
I'd 100% recommend having stimulants in your toolkit, and chances are you're already supplementing with worse stimulants (like mountains of coffee or soda), so do give them a try, but be careful.
- hanniabu 6y ago> IR pills can be broken in half, XR cannot You can always take the XR pill apart and split it into blank capsules. Or you can just dump a little out and take it without the capsule.
- georgespencer 6y agoI think this depends on the actual formulation of the drug, right? For example two of the titrations of Concerta (XR methylphenidate) which I have experienced first-hand are a hard candy-like tablet, and the pharmacokinetic result is that you receive 25% of the dose within a couple of hours, and then over the course of the rest of the day the remaining 75% hits your bloodstream. But I now take an XR lisdexamfetamine which looks like it would be possible to split into smaller doses, but it's a prodrug so it's a totally different experience. I know it's a luxury some folks can't afford, but there really are a great range of optimised formulations of the treatments for ADHD out there, and rather than guessing yourself, it'll be better to have an honest conversation with your doctor about the ability to mix XR/IR in a way that works for you.
- anon9001 6y agoThis is correct. Concerta is interesting because it's a laser-drilled time release. Vyvanse is interesting because it's a prodrug of amphetamine that releases chemically over time.
- projektfu 6y agoThe XR part is usually the particles inside the capsule. To make them faster acting you also have to pulverize those.
- blaser-waffle 6y ago> I'd 100% recommend having stimulants in your toolkit, and chances are you're already supplementing with worse stimulants (like mountains of coffee or soda), so do give them a try, but be careful. I'll second this. I've got an old friend and former coworker who clearly has serious ADHD and self medicates with tons of coffee/soda/cigarettes. He's killing himself and he knows it, but hates doctors and has a negative view of shrinks. Anec-data: I cut out carbs and only eat during certain windows and that has done wonders for focus and stick-to-itiveness. Coffee and alcohol hit me extra hard, and I've cut back on them.