Question for those on meds that WORK | ADHD Information
[QUOTE=bcgirl1978]Thanks guys, that does make me feel better. I just hope and pray this isn't a coincidence, and I go back to feeling nothing tomorrow! [/QUOTE]
On Conserta, it is a sneaky med and it is so subtle as far as my experience of it goes. On the 54mg. dosage watch out for noticable hand and or head tremor. Has any of your friends or work collegues commented on how your eye contact has increased or become more intense, almost stare intensity! Watch out for oversenitivity in anyway in your interaction with family, friends,etc.
It sound overall that u have found a med that suits u and it must be great for u? Give it a month before review, unless there are contraindications.
I started a diary on how i was on the meds and compared it to me premeds. Have fun with this, i did, and it comes in handy when reviewing with Docs.
Wow! Thanks for the positive story guys. I gave up after my first medication experience bombed but I think I'll start searching again. I want to see that fog lift, I can't imagine not struggling with it every day-Strattera turned me into a slug. Adderall XR is the wonder drug for me. I love it. I started Strattera 3 days ago - 80 mg. per day - anyone haveexperience with Strattera? My fingers are swollen starting this
morning and haven't gone down, but I don't know if it's from
that. Definite insomnia - anyone found a way to deal with that?
Hands and feet are tingling a little. Any comments at all about
Strattera, effects, effectiveness, etc., are appreciated.GlenW,
May I ask what med you, personally, found success with?
How delightful you didn't have to "trial and error" as so many of us have.
Now that I can tell the difference, its VERY apparent when the meds are working.
I think the oddest thing I've noticed is the feeling to NEED to work. Before it was something I did half heartedly only because I was supposed to. If I missed a day, or quit (or got fired) got behind on bills, it just didn't phase me. Now I feel a genuine NEED to work, be productive, pay bills ON TIME, etc etc.
I still fidget with my legs some, my mind still sometimes wonders, but I feel more 'connected' then ever before.
BC...so glad you've finally found a med that is working for you! Sounds like increasing dosage just since Friday is lookin' good.
As for still staring out the window...heck if anyone who works near a window doesn't take the time to occasionally stare out it
I was never so fortunate wherever I worked. 
We all need an R&R from whatever we're doing, so go for it!
And just remember...the meds don't do it all alone...you still need to work with them, as I know you're aware. Good luck with continued success.
Thanks guys, that does make me feel better. I just hope and pray this isn't a coincidence, and I go back to feeling nothing tomorrow!
That's about the effect I get from Adderall. That exact experience actually.I've been on
54mg of Concerta now since Friday. On Friday, I felt very sleepy - it
might have been a coincidence, but I don't recall having a bad night's
sleep the night before. Anyway, I even remembered to take my meds over
the weekend (something I was not doing before with the other stims). I
was hoping to help my body acclimate to the dosage, and I also read
recently that stims shouldn't really be skipped while on holidays or on
weekends. I didn't notice anything in my focus, but then again, I don't
work on the weekends, so there would have been nothing to test it on,
really.My question is, how do you feel when the meds work? Is it a subtle difference? Can you actually see a difference, or do only your friends/family notice? If you do notice, is it a drastic change?
I ask because, I have accomplished more work this morning than I would normally do in 2 days, or more. A co-worker even made a comment about what good day I was having (he does NOT know about the ADD), and I joked that I was as surprised as he was. Also, my radio is on... I could NEVER listen to my radio while working. It only helped to pull my attention away, but today, it is serving as a nice bit of background noise that I almost think is helping to keep my attention where it should be.
The strange thing is, I'm still having little moments of staring out the window, but I'm able to shake them off more easily when I notice. My legs are still bouncing under my desk, though I don't think I'm doing it as much as normal. But I'm getting my work done.
If your meds are working, do you still occasionally space out, but you notice anyway that you are accomplishing more?
bcgirl wrote:
"If your meds are working, do you still occasionally
space out, but you notice anyway that you are
accomplishing more?"
Yes! That's very much what happens to me. I find
medication (or coffee, yerba mate or green tea)
helps me to NOTICE when I'm not working on what I
wanted to be, like when my mind drifts when I'm
reading a book, I actually notice it - AND, the next,
important step that it also helps with, is getting back
to the task, or changing it if it's time to do a new
thing. I used to take, literally, 3 hour breaks between
essay writing sessions, no matter how long I'd been
working on it first. (1/2 hour or 5 hours - there goes
the cutting work time into small amounts, for me,
although it works great with meds).
The cool thing is that, since actively noticing this (i.e.
now that I'm used to it, and not just constantly
amazed that I get stuff done, OR, not annoyed that I
don't automatically do all my work simply by taking
some dexedrine, funny thing that), I've been able to
learn to do it a bit on days when I don't take any
medication. Not consistently, and not through the
whole day, but on some things such as getting ready
and leaving for school or an appointment on time.
That's what I was hoping to learn, and I am, though
it's very, very slow and limited.
[QUOTE=GypsyWomyn]GlenW,
May I ask what med you, personally, found success with?
How delightful you didn't have to "trial and error" as so many of us have. [/QUOTE]
Yeah, it seems from what I've read I really lucked out.
Generic dexedrine in spansules (time release). I started at 10mg twice daily and I've levelled out at 30mg twice a day. I take it twice a day because I'm often on 12 hour shifts and twice daily gives 12 to 18 hours coverage.
I found at first it was a little tough - rapid heart/breathing (went from avg. 60-80bpm to 120bpm) that went away in a week or two, hyperactivity that went away, and cramps that I'm still working with. Even if there was more side effects I think I'd stick it out because it works so well!
My one big hope is that everybody can find the same level of happiness I have now. I know I'd never want to go back to where I was last year and the last 31 years.
[QUOTE=bcgirl1978]
My question is, how do you feel when the meds work? Is it a subtle difference? Can you actually see a difference, or do only your friends/family notice? If you do notice, is it a drastic change?
[/QUOTE]
WOOHOO!!! Glad yer asking girl! LOL
YES!!! There is SUCH a difference before/after. I luckily hit paydirt first try and got a perfect med for my ADHD. Within 30 MINUTES I felt the fog lift!!! Every day is like a new one. It's been 31 years of fog and disappointment for me - but I feel like I'm starting my adult life for the first time!! Also, my memories of the last 31 years are no longer directed to the sad and hurt times but I see the happy moments - everything is in one unbroken piece now.
Work is great! I had the first excellent meeting with my manager EVER!! All other jobs I got fired or just muddled through. The meds led me to be a better worker and better person.
So guess how I'M feelin'!! hehehe!!
Truthfully , it's awesome every day now.
Hope you find that it's the same for you.
[QUOTE=Frac] I started Strattera 3 days ago - 80 mg. per day - anyonehave
experience with Strattera? My fingers are swollen starting this
morning and haven't gone down, but I don't know if it's from
that. Definite insomnia - anyone found a way to deal with that?
Hands and feet are tingling a little. Any comments at all about
Strattera, effects, effectiveness, etc., are appreciated.[/QUOTE]
Your doctor started you on 80mg! That's crazy! Strattera is a medication
that takes some time for your body to get used to. To avoid the weird
side-effects you describe you should take afew months to get upto an
80mg dose.
Strattera is aomewhat effective but less so than Concerta for me.. Mkes
me a little sleepyI have been on Strattera (now 40 mg) and it helps a bit but my ADHD is still bothersome as I realize .. so will see psy for a diff one or higher dose of Strattera
bcgirl
Sorry to hear you don't get the same effects as I do with your meds. Perhaps the "hidden me" was always so perky and optimistic and the ADHD me just kept clubbing him over the head to shut him up! LOL
Any improvement though is good. I know what it's like to walk about - not really sure why you are even trying because the results of your actions are either lackluster or flawed in some way. It tends to take the skip out of your step I find.
Once I found that I could really interact in the real world just like every mundane, run-of-the-mill person out there I was overjoyed!!! I spent many nights wishing I could just be normal - just "blend in". It's not easy when you are a kid and it's so easy for the other kids to spot you as uniquely flawed. I grew up on a farm for quite a while in my younger life and would see chickens interact. If one chicken had a defect or for some reason would become wounded the other chickens would instinctively pick away at the flaw or injury. I often felt like that chicken throughout my life.
It's nice that if I keep my control over what I say and just smile and be good that noone sees me as different than themselves.
I know a lot of people these days crave attention and want to stick out as above the rest or special in some way. I got what I wanted - just to be "good ol' me".
I don't know - is it just me? Have any of you just wanted to "blend"?? I know a lot of ADHD discussions tend to focus on "you ARE special!!! flaunt it!!! you have special abilities noone else has!!"
I'd be interested to see how many swing either side of that pendulum. How many of us just want to blend in , and how many want to be emphasized and excel?
Hmmmmm....
[QUOTE=GlenW]YES!!! There is SUCH a difference before/after. I luckily hit paydirt first try and got a perfect med for my ADHD. Within 30 MINUTES I felt the fog lift!!! Every day is like a new one. It's been 31 years of fog and disappointment for me - but I feel like I'm starting my adult life for the first time!! Also, my memories of the last 31 years are no longer directed to the sad and hurt times but I see the happy moments - everything is in one unbroken piece now.Work is great! I had the first excellent meeting with my manager EVER!! All other jobs I got fired or just muddled through. The meds led me to be a better worker and better person.
So guess how I'M feelin'!! hehehe!!
Truthfully , it's awesome every day now.
Hope you find that it's the same for you.[/QUOTE]
Wow - I'm glad the meds are working that well for you, but I can't say the same for myself! I don't feel a
difference, really, I just seem a little less restless, and more able
to snap myself out of drifting off. Work is certainly not more fun, and
I honestly can't say that my day is "awesome" now.
As Ryan said,
this Concerta seems very sneaky. If I didn't know better, I'd say it
wasn't working at all. But my productivity at work says otherwise.
That's it - no bells, whistles, or feeling like I'm walking on air. No
great sense of feeling like I could tackle the world. Just... a bit
more control over my overall attention span. I still drift, I just
realize it now.
Strattera gave me bad dry mouth. the insomnia was cured by Nyquil Nighttime.
I dropped it now. I'll try something else soon.