4 ms·

In 40s now. Diagnosed a couple years ago. My career was a mix of huge successes and horrible failure. Really hard complicated and interesting projects I woul

In 40s now. Diagnosed a couple years ago. My career was a mix of huge successes and horrible failure. Really hard complicated and interesting projects I would shine at. Basically CTO founder type roles I was amazing. I stunk at routine day to day work. For me the worst pain possible is boredom. I’ve had kidney stones. Boredom is in same range. First time I took medication was shocking to find that the pain of boredom was gone. I had no idea that was possible.

whycome 4y ago
What did you end up taking? Similar boat
- treeman79 4y ago
  Vyvanse works best for me. But Causes me a lot of pain. So I only rarely take it.
  - JoeJonathan 4y ago
    Was your doctor reluctant to prescribe it for occasional use? As I understand it, providers typically expect you take ADHD meds daily. I ask because my attention issues are task-dependent, but doctors tend to view even the suggestion of occasional use as a red flag for recreational abuse.
    - projectazorian 4y ago
      > As I understand it, providers typically expect you take ADHD meds daily. I don't think this is the case - mine recommends 5-6 days a week maximum to avoid building up tolerance, and I believe this is fairly standard advice. And occasional longer breaks are encouraged for the same reason.
    - treeman79 4y ago
      Oddly enough I was prescribed it initially chronic fatigue syndrome and early onset dementia. Later figured out that Demtia was from autoimmune and other conditions Later I got a proper diagnosis for adhd.
ojl 4y ago
I recognise myself in this (except that I don’t have a diagnosis or medication). However, for me it’s a certain kind of boredom that’s painful. I like reading, running, sitting and thinking, and similar activities which might not be very intense. But at work, routine tasks or even technically interesting tasks which aren’t urgent in some way can feel painfully boring to me. The most successful moments in my career have been when I have been at a place long enough to know the domain and being reasonably comfortable in the code base. Because then I have been able to take on those really difficult and urgent tasks. And I don’t get nervous or stressed while doing it :)

whycome 4y ago

What did you end up taking? Similar boat

treeman79 4y ago
Vyvanse works best for me. But Causes me a lot of pain. So I only rarely take it.
- JoeJonathan 4y ago
  Was your doctor reluctant to prescribe it for occasional use? As I understand it, providers typically expect you take ADHD meds daily. I ask because my attention issues are task-dependent, but doctors tend to view even the suggestion of occasional use as a red flag for recreational abuse.
  - projectazorian 4y ago
    > As I understand it, providers typically expect you take ADHD meds daily. I don't think this is the case - mine recommends 5-6 days a week maximum to avoid building up tolerance, and I believe this is fairly standard advice. And occasional longer breaks are encouraged for the same reason.
  - treeman79 4y ago
    Oddly enough I was prescribed it initially chronic fatigue syndrome and early onset dementia. Later figured out that Demtia was from autoimmune and other conditions Later I got a proper diagnosis for adhd.

ojl 4y ago

I recognise myself in this (except that I don’t have a diagnosis or medication). However, for me it’s a certain kind of boredom that’s painful. I like reading, running, sitting and thinking, and similar activities which might not be very intense. But at work, routine tasks or even technically interesting tasks which aren’t urgent in some way can feel painfully boring to me. The most successful moments in my career have been when I have been at a place long enough to know the domain and being reasonably comfortable in the code base. Because then I have been able to take on those really difficult and urgent tasks. And I don’t get nervous or stressed while doing it :)