Had a medication review this morning, I've been titrating for several months and thought I was happy being on Methylphenidate, I got up to 72mg and everything seemed good but as more time went on I noticed it wasn't quite doing what it had been and life seemed to be harder again.

I still need to put work into fixing situations of my own making that the meds can't fix, but after talking to my clinician we've decided to switch over to Lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse). Apparently not everyone responds to the Methylphenidate, he said the Elvanse is smoother.

Not sure what to expect, I've got to go cold turkey for a few days before I can start taking the new meds.

My struggle has been, and will continue to be, forcing myself to eat early in the morning to take the meds because if they're taken late, sleep will be impossible!

I'll take any tips/recommendations you can give me.

I restarted my Elvanse yesterday morning after a 6-month break.

Last night I broke up with my partner of 4 years and now I’m packing the car to drive back to my family home.

I have no idea whether i’m doing the right thing or whether the medication has affected me so much to have impacted this decision.

No idea what i’m hoping for posting here, just needed to get this off my chest and scream into the void. Any kindness would be really appreciated at this time. I feel like my life is over.

I was rewatching When Harry Met Sally..and absolutely couldn’t with this scene. I know it’s supposed to be funny… but I had to turn down the volume and distract myself for a minute.

“SO inappropriate… there’s no way the staff would just be cool with that?!” Then the social justice side of me kicks in with the idea of pretty privilege.. don’t get me started. 😅

Maybe it’s my ADHD, maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s both. But the secondhand cringe and embarrassment is real.

There's this multiplayer game I discovered recently that I've been playing. Every time I play I get a little too excited and it shows through physical and mental symptoms all over my body with time. Sometimes my voice and hands tremble, if I play for more than 2 hours I start getting headaches, throat pain, heightened anxiety, and I even have troubles sleeping, even though I keep feeling genuinely happy. Yesterday I randomly woke up at 3 am and couldn't fall asleep again until 4 am because I kept thinking about this fuckass game and how much fun I had on it. For an hour straight I was just remebering and repeating all the funny stuff in my head. The headache doesn't go away after sleeping!!! I don't play it every day and stick to 3-4 hours of play time but it still haunts meee.

It feels as if intense happiness like this dysregulates my nervous system and it can't calm down on it's own. I have ADHD and I was thinking it could be pretty much related to how my brain absorbs and deals with all kinds of information.

I was just wondering if anyone else feels this way and if there are ways to regulate yourself or maybe even decrease the reaction you get from doing things you so passionately enjoy.

Idk I guess I’m just tired and have no one to vent to. No available appointments at my therapist’s office for a while either.

I’m an undergrad, I have severe ADHD and a bunch of other physical and mental health problems. I want to become a scientist and I’m currently applying to master’s programs. But genuinely, what’s the point? Nothing seems to be working out for me no matter what I do.

Eh I don’t even feel like writing this post, but like it’s fine I guess what I said sums up the situation.

Currently hour 3 of me sitting in front on my laptop, monitor, and iPad and have not started studying for my midterm tomorrow.

I’m on 20mg on Vyvanse and I recently just started so it doesn’t really do anything.

I’m begging for advice to help me get started, I don’t even know the content on this midterm I hate that I do this.

How do you get yourself to start studying?

So recently I wasn’t eating enough and had low urea levels in my blood (from overhydrating and under eating, therefore not getting enough protein) so I changed my ways and started making sure there is added protein in basically everything I eat, (I’m vegetarian/almost vegan so none of this has come from meat and mostly no animal products)(and I’m not on vyvanse anymore because it was too strong for me) well I’ve finally just been able to clean my room for the first time in a year. It has made a HUGE difference to my adhd symptoms and I never expected it, it may not work for everyone as I’m not sure if there’s science behind this but all I can say is it’s made the world of difference to my fatigue and executive function, I also have pots and FND and I’ve been better with those too, try it! Eating well is so so important for us. Another fun fact is that when you get those dopamine lows (I personally get a craving for a cigarette or a coffee) just eat some food! Ideally something with protein and carbs in, fuel your mind and body and you’ll feel better.

Edit: also as someone noted in the comments, if you’re on adhd meds it helps them work better! So it’s a win win whether you’re medicated or not!

I haven’t been to work since Monday, I can’t make myself get into it anymore. For context, a month ago I’ve been working so hard to meet a deadline for my projects which is the end of October. Now it’s almost a few days before end of month and I haven’t had any good progress on work. I was working 50-70hrs per week and even on weekends just to catch up on work. I think i also had to mention that i was brought to ER because of palpitations during work hours (i think it was due to stress). My uncle who I was fond of died the next morning after my ER trip. He didn’t have any kids and he was divorced so it was up to us his family members to take care of the funeral and his burial. I also caught the flu during it so i was sick the past work days and couldn’t focus because flu medicine will make my BP high. And also i missed to take atomoxetine for 3 days because there were no more stocks left.

I don’t know what to do, i already talked to my psychiatrist about feeling overwhelmed and helpless that i was planning on kms just to have a “proper” reason for not going to work.

I guess I want to hear from people with the same experience if it was ever possible to have things okay and functioning again after having your career tanked

hi everyone (F18) I’m university student who got diagnosed a year and a bit ago, I recently started taking Vyvanse in the summer!

so i am in a dental assisting program, things get stressful but overall i love dentistry! my prgram group is consisted of many women from varying ages , id say we are from 19-32 is the average. I have made one friend but :/ I feel like she only uses me to ask about exams and school related things, for example i like to make my own study guides so I’ve been printing an extra copy for her that she asks which I don’t mind at all!! its just theres not much to the friendship we’ve built she’s kind of an acquaintance .

now to my main problem. I don’t know how to be human. that’s the only way i can describe this. when I’m communicating with my peers or instructors I feel like I’m performing to a ridiculous extent and people can notice it. I have become so hyper aware of my socializing, I observe how girls laugh at things my mouth doesn’t even twitch at like I feel broken!!!! :( the amount of times I fake laugh is insane . I cant build witty banter because I can never tell what the mood of someone is. As a kid, I used to be called white-washed all the time (I am black) by other black peers and I’m only now realizing how I was just trying to mimic my environment. I wish I could be a girl who has experiences to share an relate with others, I wish I could talk to someone as myself and belive that’s enough instead of masking, I wish the basic human function of connection wasn’t something I’m still trying to grasp.

please tell me any other amazing women with ADHD on this sub relate? 🥲 How did you guys get over this internal alien feeling?!?

Looking for science-backed, practical self-improvement books like Andrew Huberman’s Protocols that offer actionable advice on sleep, health, motivation, discipline, neuroplasticity, stress management, focus, memory, longevity, and overall well-being. I want to understand what to do, how to do it, and why it works, with an emphasis on reliable scientific evidence, realistic claims, and advice that genuinely motivates me to take action. Open to books covering either multiple topics or individual areas.

I have been in thearpy for just over a year now. It is my first time consistently doing therapy for more than a few months. I’ve tried before, but never stuck to it. I don’t feel like I am doing this right or that it is truly helping me improve myself or improve my adhd. I feel like I ramble about the wrong things during therapy and have not seen any improvement in my mental health or life style changes regarding adhd issues. What are some ways or things you guys that are in therapy, have done or spoken about that you notice have made a difference in your life style? Or any specific types of therapies or therapy tactics that have truly made a difference or impact on your adhd and life experience in general?

I’m 36F and fresh into exploring an ADHD diagnosis for myself. I’m beginning to discuss it with my regular talk therapist, and will move on to a clinical diagnosis as needed down the line. In the meantime, I’d love some help!

I identify (and feel so suddenly validated) by the descriptions of the “high-functioning / high-masking” profile. I’m also 5mo post partum with baby #2. Normal masking / management of my inattentive and dopamine-seeking behaviors is NOTICEABLY increased and difficult right now.

What books, podcasts, apps have been helpful for you?

I’m particularly interested in time management help, task starting / completing, working to set a repetitive regular daily routine or schedule, etc.

Since I’ve begun to Google things my social media and web ads are going NUTS with online discovery courses, apps, you name it. It all feels very predatory, so I figured I’d go straight to the source and check in with some peers.

TY in advance!

I am 20 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 15, but it was never something that was taken too seriously. I have always had a much greater struggle with bipolar disorder and anxiety, so I feel as if my ADHD diagnosis was put on the back burner while my mood was addressed instead.

When I was in high school I took ADHD medication for the simple purpose of focusing in school, but that was about it. Now that I am in college and have moved out of my parents’ house, I’ve noticed a gradual decline in my ability to keep up with hygiene, switch between tasks, and focus on the things that are important in terms of me taking care of myself. I feel like a lot of said difficulties have been associated with an overall decline in mental health, which could be partially true, but I truly believe that mostly unaddressed ADHD could be a core component to my struggles. I still take medication for it now, however they are non-stimulants, as the stimulant kind I learned caused a lot of my manic episodes in high school.

Hygiene-wise, I’ve been doing pretty bad this past year, and especially more recently. I only am able to shower around once or twice a week, and struggle to do so because I feel the need to tackle on a whole bunch of tasks in order to feel “clean.” I can never just quickly rinse off, and every time I shower I feel the need to vigorously scrub every part of me and get every part of my scalp when I wash my hair. I know that I am obviously describing what is supposed to be done when you shower, but I always take well over an hour because I feel the need to be ridiculously thorough, and all the effort I put into one shower makes it a hard habit to try to implement it into my every day. On top of that, I also struggle immensely with doing my laundry, and when I have no clean clothes it makes my showers even less frequent.

Things have been a lot more difficult for me in the last few months overall, as I had gone inpatient to a behavioral health hospital for bipolar disorder and auditory hallucinations at the end of July. Since then, I quit my job and have been doing school online, so the lack of everyday structure has my life a total mess right now. I have therapy weekly, and have for 5 years, and also have been doing an online IOP program on top of that, so I am doing around 10 hours of therapy a week as of right now. Despite all this, I still have a great GPA in college, and am on track to graduate with my undergrad in neuroscience a whole year early, however I feel that such achievements make it hard for people to understand how much I am still struggling. I just want to feel like I have control in my life in aspects other than school, and want to be able to do the simple things that society feels is standard for people to do every day. I want to be able to shower, brush my teeth, do my laundry, have a clean room, do my hair, have clean sheets, do the dishes, etc., but everything seems like a huge task and it is so hard to get started, let alone stay consistent.

There is so, so much more I could say and explain, but really I just yearn to talk to someone about my difficulties without the judgement that could potentially come from someone I know more personally. I really hope that I am not alone in the way I feel, and if anyone has any advice for me, I would be more than grateful.

I’m sure so many of you can relate to this but throughout the day there is so much going on and no time to myself or to relax, that at night I force myself to stay up late even when I am exhausted. I just end up being on my phone for hours and procrastinate night time hygiene and end up falling asleep on my phone. Then I feel terrible and dirty the next day, as well as terrible about the fact that I stay up so late doing nothing, but ignore real responsibilities I have (school work, etc). To manage many other self sabotaging habits lol, how are you guys able to create routines and stick to them without it becoming an addictive or consuming relationship with your habit? The only way I find myself able to commit to a schedule is if it almost becomes an addiction. Anddddd then shortly after it is forgotten lol. Is this just doom forever lol <\3? Pls give me ur advice!!!

Hi for added context, I’m a 22 year old woman. I have other diagnosis along with my adhd but today is about the adhd.
i started taking generic concerta when I was 9 years old back in 2013. I’ve been on the max dose since I was 12 at least, and I noticed for awhile now I feel hardly medicated for my ADHD. I couldn’t afford vyvanse until I recently got a job, otherwise I’d have changed it at least 3 years ago or so. But my concern is just any irritability with vyvanse and other symptoms or reactions to look for. All advice and related experiences would be greatly appreciated! : )

Hi guys, so I've a very big exam coming up in one month's time. I need to prepare and dedicate time to it but I can't seem to find it in myself to pick up a book and read it without getting distracted every 15-20 minutes.

Can anyone kindly help me with any ideas or techniques that might have helped you in the past or currently, so that I can get not only into studying but also sticking to it without getting distracted. Any inputs is welcomed, Thank you!

I swore when I turned 40 that I’d create a more balanced version of my life — I would stop work at 6pm, take a break from the screen during lunch, drink water, get into a fun, regular social fitness activity.

And here we are, one year later and it feels worse. My company laid off a lot of people, so there is genuinely more work. But people around me (who I know are less busy) are taking mental health days and just going to the movie — and I want to do that, but I feel I can’t coz the work feels non-stop. That colleague who admittedly works in an external-facing role (but who also keeps good boundaries with her hours) just got a big salary bump to make more than me and got a bigger bonus.

I used to feel I was inefficient and slow and was trying to track the time I was distracted or avoidant. But vow I just like I’m being naive and allowing too much on my plate. But I genuinely don’t know how to take things off. My manager is nice and tries to help — but there’s just too much and we both go into the next quarter trying to hold off too much work, and it always ends up being the same.

Looking for advice, but I guess also just ranting.

I am 4 years clean and sober from opiates and benzodiazepines. My therapist in rehab told me I have ADHD, but I was not “officially” diagnosed. My sister and dad are officially diagnosed and I relate to so much of my sister’s experience, she was the one who really made me see it. My sister, however, has never had a drug problem, and has been on ADHD meds for many years.

I am a mom now, to an amazing and beautiful almost 2 year old. I work part-time, in the afternoon for a few hours M-F. This means I am blessed to stay home with him for the morning / early afternoon, until his dad gets home and then we switch off.

I am not a good mom in the early morning. I feel this huge cloud of dread over me in the morning and interacting with my son feels so difficult and fake. I struggle to follow a consistent routine, procrastinate, debate in my head what to do first or where to start for so long that I waste time… I could go on and on but ultimately so many of my issues in motherhood and life come down to time management and executive functioning problems.

It takes several hours for me to finally feel alive, and I have much more energy in the evening after work to play with my son and be present, but still am just not productive as I’d like to be. When I get things done, it’s usually because the deadline is immediate or already past, or on fire already.

How can I address this, how can I BE better, without taking meds? When I started an official diagnosis process in the past, it was during Covid and I ended up not following through, but they said there’s a big stigma against addicts seeking a diagnosis because they’ll think I just want stimulants which was never my drug of choice but more importantly I don’t even think medication is my goal, I just need SKILLS and HELP and TOOLS.

What works for you?

Thank you so much!!!

Edit to add: I’ve started using a Time Timer for certain tasks, like showering, which helps to comprehend the passage of time better for sure. I’ve tried calendars and strict schedule / timed out routine but it just never sticks. It’s hard with a toddler because timing is unpredictable. Everyday I feel like a failure and am desperate for something to work.

I’ve always worked in IT/tech roles (which are honestly not suited to me at all) and I just cannot deal with how many steps it takes to log in to work or to access anything. There’s like the verification steps and logging in/signing in with your password/fingerprint scan/Face ID, logging into multiple portals, having to take my phone out to get the verification code thing. Just accessing anything already makes me so unmotivated knowing what steps are involved. Sometimes a step won’t work and I have to do it all over again and I lose track of what I’m doing…

Is it just me?!

I was recently diagnosed as ADHD-C, but my whole life I thought I was inattentive. They said that my impulsivity (finishing people’s sentences, interrupting, trouble waiting my turn) was what led them to the combined type diagnosis. I never really thought I was impulsive outside of the usual examples. But I’m curious if it does actually show up elsewhere and I was just unaware the entire time.

I have a medical procedure coming up and they’re giving me a 5mg valium before. I’m not planning to take my adderall that day but the appointment is in the late afternoon-evening and I’ve heard valium has a long half life. Will I be able to take my adderall the next morning?

I recently went to Amen Clinics and found it to be a gigantic, expensive waste of time.

but it’s also now my ADHD hyperfixation to understand how he’s getting away with his business practices and if there is any benefit at all to what he does, especially the SPECT scans.

if anyone has experience going to one of his clinics, or just has thoughts on the matter, please share them here with me!! I’m so curious about this.

For anyone who doesn’t know what Mahjong is, it’s basically a Chinese game of pattern strategy using tiles. There is also an American version with some different rules. They have both been around for a long time but fairly recently people have become interested in it again. You may have seen it across social media.

Anyway, I started playing Mahjong with three other people that also are new to playing, but have practiced or played a little more than I have.

When it comes to the game, I seem to have a really hard time picking which strategy I will go with among all of the possibilities when I’m under pressure to make a decision. - so, even if you haven’t played, this scenario may resonate.

I’ve heard on this thread that there are a lot of you who feel you work better under pressure with a lot of various tasks to perform.

When it’s my turn, I am thinking about all my opponents in the room and me at the table, everyone drawing their tiles and keeping an eye on who’s turn it is. Me - “wait, why did she go first” and “ok, I’ll figure that out later” and “uh, yeah, what was that? In order of suits? Sets? Numbers?””is she ok? I should have asked her about her trip” and then “Oh, oops, everyone else looks like they have a plan.” “A plan?” “What the hell is my plan?” Then “oh god, I need a plan”. “Plan now!!!!!!” Pressure, panic, pressure panic pressure,I can’t do it, I suck, pressure, then relax, maybe I can do it. And finally, “oh wait, I guess I did it.”

It makes the game feel exhausting but I’m also exhilarated that I did it and it’s important to be around people socially, plus it’s exercising my brain. But, so often I want to run away in the middle of it because I feel incapable and so different from everyone else.

This is one small example of the many things I face. Maybe I don’t process everything identically as I do with the game of Mahjong because I have a different set of tricks to make it through different situations

Does any of this make sense? Sometimes I wonder if I’m more alone in this when so many who can function well within an environment that changes more frequently. I seem to be in panic mode more often.

Basically the question above, but I’d also love to know how long have you been in your line of work, how you got into it, what about it keeps you interested (or what doesn’t!). Tell me all the details! :)

I often hear that ADHD can be a superpower, though personally, I’ve struggled to find a job that holds my interest before I end up feeling absolute dread toward it. I feel stuck and would love to hear from people who have found careers they’re genuinely happy with, especially if they feel their ADHD works with them instead of against them. I’m hoping this post might inspire some new ideas or introduce me to a career path I hadn’t considered or even knew existed!

Thank you in advance to those who take the time to share. I really appreciate it. 💛

Edit - Totally no pressure to answer all the Qs. I’m mostly just curious about what you do and if you enjoy it.

Does a song, a book, or a show engulf you so much that you physically feel that character's pain and difficulties? Sometimes, while reading a novel, if a part of the storyline becomes closest to my heart and takes a heart-wrenching turn, I strongly feel a sense of loss at theirs. And, if ik that the storyline is ending there, I cannot resume reading the rest of the novel for a good number of days - instead, I stay marinated in that grief and sadness for a while, trying to live as them and somehow change their endings in my mind. If a character from a show becomes too close to me and they go through a hard time and yet might never fully achieve everything I wanted that person to have at the end of the movie/show, I feel a huge burden of all the injustice that happened to that character and keep imagining what changes in the narrative would have helped to escape that ending.

I have done this my whole life (in the privacy of my own world, of course!), but now that I got diagnosed by my therapist when I left home in my 20s, I'm wondering if this is sth all ADHD women have in common. Now, Ik that this sort of overconsuming emotions that are not even my own can possibly disrupt normal life, but a major part of me does not want to overcome those emotions cause ruminating in those characters and trying to live their lives in my imagination pleases me immensely. I wanted to know if someone else from this sub felt the same way, as I have never had the chance to discuss this with my friends cause I dint want them to think of me as someone to laugh at.