New Diagnosis + New Medication???? | ADHD Information
Hi,
At almost 31, on the verge of failing my senior year in vet school I was diagnosed with ADHD inatententive type. It has been a few weeks now since the Dx was official and i just started on Concerta and Lexapro 4 days ago.
I have really mixed feeling about having a diagnosis. Most of me is glad that all my past "failures" finally make sense and that I have hope for a more succesful future. The rest of me is worried that it is in my nature to use this as an excuse (Lazy) and that I am going to be in that small percentage that the meds, therapy, coaching ect.. do not work for them. I know I have to let go of these fears or I won't succeed, but I felt the need to share them with people who may understand
My concern now (the reason I joined the forum) is the medication. I started on the 18th with Concerta 18mg for 3 days, then 36mg for 7 days then 54mg plus 5mg lexapro for 6 days then 10mg. Today was my first day on 36mg.
How do I know that it is working? So far I don't think it is. I am not sure wether or not I am less distractable (I don't think so) but I am definetly more lethargic. Being primarily inantentive, high activity was never my issue, but it is worse now. I don't even feel like doing the few things I was will to do before. I have been struggling not to take naps during the day because my sleep at night is lowsy enough at it is. I do manage to fall asleep (exausted) at a decent time, but I am awake just a few hours later. I am not sure wether this is becuse of the meds directly or because that is when I become hungry. I am not at all hungry during the day, the idea of food is unpleasent (until 3am). Unlike most ADDers sleep was never a major problem for me and I miss sleeping through the night
. Does my body need time to get used the med's, or is it time to thow in the towel and try something else? I don't want to give up to quickly because I am a VERY broke college student and the meds were expensive.
Please Help. Thanks....Jessi (DVM2Be)
.IMac38947.420150463[QUOTE=IMac]I think it is unfortunate that you were started on two very different medications at the same time; hard to judge if the stimulant is working. [/QUOTE]
The reason they did that is that my "leave of abscence" for veterinary school ends in a few weeks. High anxiety was one of the reasons I left, so I wanted the anti-a to be fully functional when I start back. The problem now is, like you said, I am not sure which of the two is causing the issues. My vote is still the Concerta that is the issue because I felt even worse when I upped the dosage from 18mg to 36 yesterday.
I explained what I was feeling to my therapist yesterday and he passed the message to the doc (both part of psych service at school). Then I was told to continue with the 36mg through the weekend and see how I feel on monday. I understand that he may think that I was trying to change to soon, being that I had only been on the meds a total of 4 days with only one day on 36mg, but I know my body and what has been happening DOES NOT FEEL RIGHT
.
PLEASE ANSWER: Am I giving up too soon? Does it take time for Concerta to work properly? If so, when and how do I know that it is working?
Any advice would be most appreciated. Thank you
Higher doses of stimulants can cause sleepiness and lethargy. If the med, dosage (and dx) are correct you should notice a difference.It sounds like it is not working for you and you should discuss this with your dr. My 17 yr old ds is very sensitive to slight changes in Methylphenidate and is very aware of slight changes in dosage and his ability to focus. Too much and he is sleepy. Two big cups of coffee put him to sleep one morning!
Good Luck and please let us know what happens
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