selective adaptation? | ADHD Information

Anyone understand the science behind that?

I was discussing with my Doc about how I think that sometimes my meds work pretty well, then others I wonder " did I even take that pill this morning?" He had then commented that I may be experiencing some selective adaptation and that it does happen to some people, but not all.

So, what the heck is selective adaptation?  At the time, I was guessing that I had adapted to the second dose of the medicine ( I take 20mgs metadate cd in the am and then another 20 at lunch) essentially making the first dose not as effective.. but when I looked it up on the net, I wasnt so sure...

Any thoughts?

Sherry

Selective adaptation is adoption outside of the norm, usually due to some other influence. For example, let's say that for most people taking a medicine at the same dose and at the same time everyday generally have the same reaction. However, there may be a smaller subset of people with the same characteristics that have a different reaction.

In fact, there was a study published in 2002 that theorized that ADD started in humans as a way to cope with the environment around 10K - 40K years ago. This basis for the theory centers around the gene that is thought to cause ADD. Researchers think that at some point in human development, this change provided some evolutionary advantage. This is an example of selective adaptation since a subset of humanity adapted to the environment in some way.

Having said that, I would first look for other reasons. For example, I was convinced that I was experiencing the same with Adderall after 6 months. I went off of the meds for 4 days and basically slept most of those days. By the fifth day, I started back on the med and felt that way I did months and months ago. I also realizrd that I was not getting enough sleep and that there was underlying exhaustion. It was deceptive because the Adderall was masking the exhaustion.

Try taking a hard look at your routine, diet, activity level, sleep stress, etc., to see what might be different versus when the meds worked normally for you. I would bet that there's another reason instead of selection adaptation.

I haven't ever heard of selective adaption, but I can relate to what you described.  When I first started taking meds they were incredibly effective.  I was the queen of motivation and organization.  My brain was towing the line for once!  But after a few months, I got comfortable being on meds and I wasn't inspecting my thought processes every five minutes. 

My normal ADHD characteristics started coming back.  It wasn't because the med stopped working, it was because that is just the way I am.  I can concentrate just as well as I did at first, but it isn't automatic.  Left without direct instructions, my brain will wander as it ever did. 

Dunno if that is selective adaption or not, but it seems to be pretty common after people are on meds for quite a while.