6 ms·

I'm still not sold on the medication and prefer to follow strict routines + good diet + exercise. To me, it's obvious who is taking ADHD pills. People are almos

I'm still not sold on the medication and prefer to follow strict routines + good diet + exercise. To me, it's obvious who is taking ADHD pills. People are almost zombie like or they space out, or even on low-doses they almost can't "keep up" in conversation or meetings. Not being drugged and finding coping mechanisms has allowed me to plow through multiple degrees and find career success, albeit at the cost of "other things", relationships, social skills, health, etc. I'm not going to risk my livelihood when life is good-enough atm.

madamelic 6y ago
Good for you, I am glad you have found something that works for you. It is inappropriate and rude to assume what others need. I am the complete opposite of what you assume on Adderall, I am more verbose, my thoughts are more coherent and I can keep up with meetings because I can actually pay attention to them. The first time my spouse heard me conduct an interview after medications, he told me how much more cohesive, steady and assured my speaking was. It helps no one, not even yourself, to tear down someone else because they are using a different solution than you.
q3k 6y ago
> People are almost zombie like or they space out, or even on low-doses they almost can't "keep up" in conversation or meetings. What you describe sounds more like symptoms of untreated ADHD rather than treated ADHD.
- borski 6y ago
  This is exactly what I was thinking.
- novok 6y ago
  Or sleep deprivation...
  - aidenn0 6y ago
    People who are sleep deprived will actually have many of the symptoms of ADHD; poor subjective sense of time, difficulty focusing, &c.
    - nullsense 6y ago
      To make matters worse ADHDers often have terrible sleep quality due to not being able to get to bed on time because there's almost always something more interesting.
borski 6y ago
ADHD medication has different effects on people, and you’ll know very quickly what it’s effect is on you. Furthermore, it does not make me spaced out or zombie like, nor does it make me strung out. It simply calms my brain down so I can actually focus on the problem at hand, rather than the opposite of that, with my brain flitting back and forth with other thoughts. I don’t take it on a day when I’m being creative or brainstorming, because the lateral thinking required does that is actually something ADD helps, but I take it when I have to get something done. Take it from a guy who has had ample coping mechanisms, got a CS degree from MIT, founded and sold a security startup, etc.; all of those coping mechanisms worked, but got much easier once I accepted the ADD and found the right meds. It only made me more productive and a better contributing member of the team. YMMV, but I suspect your assumptions about how it affects people are very wrong.
jdgoesmarching 6y ago
You prefer to do the exact things that people with ADHD struggle with. This is like saying “for depression I prefer to just not be sad.” It wasn’t until after I was diagnosed and medicated that I finished my undergrad after almost a decade, started my career, and started grad school. You do you, but don’t be sanctimonious about mental health treatment based on your anecdotes.
knowhy 6y ago
I got diagnosed with ADHD age 15. Methylphenidate gave me these zombie like spacing out symptoms. I later switched to Amphetamine and didn't feel the negative side effects of Methylphenidate. Methylphenidate is the only authorized substance for ADHD treatment here in Germany. I had to pay for my Amphetamine treatment by myself. I had the impression that the pharmaceutical industry doesn't have an interest in getting an authorization for amphetamines as that substance can be produced by a local pharmacy on site. Even thou I can confirm that the side effects are much less with amphetamines. Now age 35 I haven't taken any medications for ADHD for 8 or 9 years. It was good to help me with school and university but now I don't need to put myself into a position where medication could be helpful. Still wouldn't want to work in an open floor plan office. Not sure if that is an medical condition.
- adhsdeutschland 6y ago
  Amphetamine got authorised in Germany a year ago in the form of Lisdexamphetamine under the name of Elvanse: https://www.adhspedia.de/wiki/Elvanse_Adult https://www.adhspedia.de/wiki/Elvanse_Adult I got it from my doctor and have been taking it for a year after trying Methylphenidate which did not show any positive effect on me.
  - krono 6y ago
    How is Lisdex for you? I've recently been considering asking my doc if I can try it out. I'm currently on a rather high daily dosage of Medikinet CR (2x30mg + another 1x20mg on long days if anyone's curious). It works but too inconsistently. It's also rather expensive here in the Netherlands.
    - adhsdeutschland 6y ago
      I started with 50 mg, and I experienced a heavy effect for first couple weeks: very calm and clear thinking, but the focus was too heavy - I often fell into “deep thinking / introspection sessions” with my body frozen and an unfocussed stare. It could happen in the middle of a conversation. I thought I would need a lower dosage, but this initial heavy effect was gone soon, and the focus became milder. Now I am on 50 mg. The medicine stimulates my focus and makes me more enthusiastic about activities, which can be annoying since I need to control not to apply my new powers on wrong or useless activities. I am also very verbose for couple hours after taking a pill. I would not say I am completely cured from ADHD. In the evenings, positive effect disappears, so I need to plan accordingly. I avoid drinking coffee in the morning now, as the combination of two stimulants makes me shaky, I experience muscle tension, and it affects my ability to interact with people. We tried 70mg with the doctor as well, but it made me aggressive and grim in couple months without noticeable improvements over 50mg. To manage tolerance I often skip taking pills on weekends. I also lost a few kilograms, which is good. All in all, I am only half satisfied with the result - based on what I read I expected a better effect. I think my type of ADHD may be addressed with more sophisticated medication. Unfortunately, in Germany there are not a lot of other options to try, and my doctor seems to lack experience in treating ADHD. I try to combine pills with diet, exercises, and sleep management.
xyzzy_plugh 6y ago
This comment strikes me as full of ignorance. Strict routines? Good diet? Exercise??? Good luck doing any of these if you have even moderate ADHD. It's hard enough getting out of bed. As a sibling mentions, your description of people who are "drugged" sounds more like people who have undiagnosed-ADHD and are not medicated. The drugs don't make you drugged -- that's sorta the default state. The drugs make you functional enough to try and develop coping mechanisms in the first place.
bpye 6y ago
> they space out, or even on low-doses they almost can't "keep up" in conversation or meetings For some of us this is the experience without any medication. I still get this now with medication, but it's definitely less frequent.

madamelic 6y ago

Good for you, I am glad you have found something that works for you. It is inappropriate and rude to assume what others need. I am the complete opposite of what you assume on Adderall, I am more verbose, my thoughts are more coherent and I can keep up with meetings because I can actually pay attention to them. The first time my spouse heard me conduct an interview after medications, he told me how much more cohesive, steady and assured my speaking was. It helps no one, not even yourself, to tear down someone else because they are using a different solution than you.

q3k 6y ago

> People are almost zombie like or they space out, or even on low-doses they almost can't "keep up" in conversation or meetings. What you describe sounds more like symptoms of untreated ADHD rather than treated ADHD.

borski 6y ago
This is exactly what I was thinking.
novok 6y ago
Or sleep deprivation...
- aidenn0 6y ago
  People who are sleep deprived will actually have many of the symptoms of ADHD; poor subjective sense of time, difficulty focusing, &c.
  - nullsense 6y ago
    To make matters worse ADHDers often have terrible sleep quality due to not being able to get to bed on time because there's almost always something more interesting.

borski 6y ago

ADHD medication has different effects on people, and you’ll know very quickly what it’s effect is on you. Furthermore, it does not make me spaced out or zombie like, nor does it make me strung out. It simply calms my brain down so I can actually focus on the problem at hand, rather than the opposite of that, with my brain flitting back and forth with other thoughts. I don’t take it on a day when I’m being creative or brainstorming, because the lateral thinking required does that is actually something ADD helps, but I take it when I have to get something done. Take it from a guy who has had ample coping mechanisms, got a CS degree from MIT, founded and sold a security startup, etc.; all of those coping mechanisms worked, but got much easier once I accepted the ADD and found the right meds. It only made me more productive and a better contributing member of the team. YMMV, but I suspect your assumptions about how it affects people are very wrong.

jdgoesmarching 6y ago

You prefer to do the exact things that people with ADHD struggle with. This is like saying “for depression I prefer to just not be sad.” It wasn’t until after I was diagnosed and medicated that I finished my undergrad after almost a decade, started my career, and started grad school. You do you, but don’t be sanctimonious about mental health treatment based on your anecdotes.

knowhy 6y ago

I got diagnosed with ADHD age 15. Methylphenidate gave me these zombie like spacing out symptoms. I later switched to Amphetamine and didn't feel the negative side effects of Methylphenidate. Methylphenidate is the only authorized substance for ADHD treatment here in Germany. I had to pay for my Amphetamine treatment by myself. I had the impression that the pharmaceutical industry doesn't have an interest in getting an authorization for amphetamines as that substance can be produced by a local pharmacy on site. Even thou I can confirm that the side effects are much less with amphetamines. Now age 35 I haven't taken any medications for ADHD for 8 or 9 years. It was good to help me with school and university but now I don't need to put myself into a position where medication could be helpful. Still wouldn't want to work in an open floor plan office. Not sure if that is an medical condition.

adhsdeutschland 6y ago
Amphetamine got authorised in Germany a year ago in the form of Lisdexamphetamine under the name of Elvanse: https://www.adhspedia.de/wiki/Elvanse_Adult https://www.adhspedia.de/wiki/Elvanse_Adult I got it from my doctor and have been taking it for a year after trying Methylphenidate which did not show any positive effect on me.
- krono 6y ago
  How is Lisdex for you? I've recently been considering asking my doc if I can try it out. I'm currently on a rather high daily dosage of Medikinet CR (2x30mg + another 1x20mg on long days if anyone's curious). It works but too inconsistently. It's also rather expensive here in the Netherlands.
  - adhsdeutschland 6y ago
    I started with 50 mg, and I experienced a heavy effect for first couple weeks: very calm and clear thinking, but the focus was too heavy - I often fell into “deep thinking / introspection sessions” with my body frozen and an unfocussed stare. It could happen in the middle of a conversation. I thought I would need a lower dosage, but this initial heavy effect was gone soon, and the focus became milder. Now I am on 50 mg. The medicine stimulates my focus and makes me more enthusiastic about activities, which can be annoying since I need to control not to apply my new powers on wrong or useless activities. I am also very verbose for couple hours after taking a pill. I would not say I am completely cured from ADHD. In the evenings, positive effect disappears, so I need to plan accordingly. I avoid drinking coffee in the morning now, as the combination of two stimulants makes me shaky, I experience muscle tension, and it affects my ability to interact with people. We tried 70mg with the doctor as well, but it made me aggressive and grim in couple months without noticeable improvements over 50mg. To manage tolerance I often skip taking pills on weekends. I also lost a few kilograms, which is good. All in all, I am only half satisfied with the result - based on what I read I expected a better effect. I think my type of ADHD may be addressed with more sophisticated medication. Unfortunately, in Germany there are not a lot of other options to try, and my doctor seems to lack experience in treating ADHD. I try to combine pills with diet, exercises, and sleep management.

xyzzy_plugh 6y ago

This comment strikes me as full of ignorance. Strict routines? Good diet? Exercise??? Good luck doing any of these if you have even moderate ADHD. It's hard enough getting out of bed. As a sibling mentions, your description of people who are "drugged" sounds more like people who have undiagnosed-ADHD and are not medicated. The drugs don't make you drugged -- that's sorta the default state. The drugs make you functional enough to try and develop coping mechanisms in the first place.

bpye 6y ago

> they space out, or even on low-doses they almost can't "keep up" in conversation or meetings For some of us this is the experience without any medication. I still get this now with medication, but it's definitely less frequent.