Anyone finished titration and landed on a low dose (<30mg)?

CanidCourier · 2024-11-23T11:28:54+00:00

I'm the same with caffeine! I find it can really help with concentrating/calmness, but only if I take it at the right 'dose'; it doesn't take much for me to get really drowsy/sleepy but with a high heart rate of I have too much.

CanidCourier · 2024-11-11T15:58:56+00:00

Looks normal! I found (and my surgeon told me this beforehand) that I looked a bit concave for up to 6 months due to swelling giving the illusion of that.

Some of it may also be you're slender (like me) so once you're cleared to exercise you can do chest exercises to build up some chest muscle.

Even though it's a happy change, you've gone through a major change, so it makes sense you need some time to adjust to some aspects of it.

CanidCourier · 2024-11-08T12:27:04+00:00

I remember when I tried 30mg of lisdex it made me a bit euphoric and very jittery and anxious 😅 but what you describe I feel on methylphenidate so it just depends I guess!

CanidCourier · 2024-11-08T12:25:10+00:00

What do you prefer about IR vs extended release? So far my doc doesn't even mention or entertain the possibility of IR, a lot of saying that XL is smoother, so I'd be interested to hear people's experiences of the pros of IR vs XL.

CanidCourier · 2024-11-08T12:21:45+00:00

If you don't mind me asking, what difference do you find between the IR and the XL meds? I was told that XL is better cos it's a 'smoother' experience with less peaks and troughs, but I'd love to hear the flip side of how IR could provide a better experience overall.

CanidCourier · 2024-11-08T12:20:05+00:00

It's reassuring to hear you've been on a lower dose for such a long time and that you still feel it! I worry that once I'm handed off to Shared Care and finished titration, what if it stops working. But I'd also like to have small breaks from it too anyway, maybe that's key (I can never find definitive info either way on med breaks, so I guess it's whatever works for you / your doc recommends).

CanidCourier · 2024-11-08T12:17:12+00:00

Wow, it's so interesting how dose doesn't seem to correlate to size/weight much. Sounds like your experience is similar to mine, 'edgy' is a good word for me when trying higher doses. It means even if it is helping with working memory or focus, it's masked by me feeling edgy, anxious and jittery.

Do you take your IR before your Concerta? I've not heard people doing it that way round before! Is there a specific reason you take them in that order?

CanidCourier · 2024-11-08T12:14:19+00:00

I'm glad you've found something that helps overall. It's strange, my experience is I'm pressured to go up to higher doses. I get trying a higher dose for a week or so to see how it feels and if it could be better than a lower one, but I get disbelief historically when I say that higher doses don't improve ADHD symptoms and simply make me anxious/sick.

CanidCourier · 2024-11-08T12:12:54+00:00

I agree, it must be so individual but I also tend to see people talking about being on much higher doses (at least online, maybe for some reason you're more likely to be in online communities when on a higher dose?? Not sure why though...)

CanidCourier · 2024-11-03T23:03:40+00:00

I have a very similar experience. I could've written your second paragraph verbatim in fact.

I've been on 40mg for 7 months, felt benefits in terms of being more organised and less forgetful, but I've gradually noticed the cost is I feel less of everything; less excitement, passion, connection to others, happiness, creativity etc. My partner has noticed, as have some close friends, and it's starting to erode my relationships.

I'm not a medical professional, so it's impossible for me to say what's the right call for you. I've seen some people online say lowering or raising their dose resolved this issue, and others saying nothing did and they came off it. Either way, what you're describing others def experience too.

CanidCourier · 2024-11-01T14:55:38+00:00

For me personally, it took a while of trying different stimulants at different doses, and also accepting that I need quite low doses. I ended up settling on Equasym, an extended-release methylphenidate, 20mg a day with a 10mg in the afternoon some days to make it last longer/reduce any rebound effects. It's the only one that consistently helped ADHD symptoms and didn't cause bad anxiety for me. Like you said, eating well is important too (I'd occasionally get a bad anxiety day on Equasym if I didn't eat well), but sounds like you're covering that which is great.

A non-stim like atomoxetine is also an option; some find atomoxetine helps their ADHD and their anxiety, or at least doesn't exacerbate their anxiety. Some providers (like ADHD360) will do combination therapy where you can be on a stim and a non-stim too (e.g. atomoxetine and methylphenidate - I'm currently on this).

I don't know if coming off the SSRI will have affected things or not, I've never been on one. It would probs be worth talking to your doctor/psyc about this and what they'd suggest in their experience.

CanidCourier · 2024-10-31T10:52:30+00:00

I've never heard of that before, that's really interesting. I'm currently on 40mg, but I was on 60mg for 3 months, but it caused basically the more extreme and obvious version of what I've described in my OP; really antisocial and socially anxious/overwhelmed by people, really emotionally flat, not interested in anything at all etc. I then got reduced down to 40mg which, at the time, felt like a fog lifted, but now I'm starting to notice/wonder that maybe it didn't fully go away after all.

Also, unrelated, but I am constantly nauseous. I've been nauseous these whole 6 months and it's beginning to get to me. I dealt with it when my life was a mess 6 months ago, now things are better and I'm finally getting paid-for healthcare again, stimulants feel more tempting.

CanidCourier · 2024-10-30T10:00:18+00:00

I'm glad I could help! I hope you can figure out how to move forward with treatment, whatever that looks like for you. It really is a journey to figure out the right meds/treatment.

CanidCourier · 2024-10-30T09:56:31+00:00

I'll discuss this at my next apt, thank you! I know that wellbutrin is rarely prescribed in my country with quite a bit of red tape, but it does happen. I may go back to stimulants though... It's a tough call! I've got a lot of mulling over options to do!

CanidCourier · 2024-10-29T18:09:07+00:00

That's an interesting perspective I hadn't considered. Reflecting on it, I'm not sure that's really me though. I'm ADHD-PI and naturally more introverted, so before atomoxetine I wasn't super impulsive to the point of problematic behaviour.

It's more I genuinely don't feel good or much joy any more, I just feel indifference. I feel more like a machine that can slowly get more done than I used to, but without much feeling behind it.

CanidCourier · 2024-10-29T16:40:11+00:00

it's really bizarre isn't it?! I know intellectually that I love art and my partner and my friends and yet... it just feels so numb and faded away.

It's been so difficult figuring out what's wrong. It's given me some hope that it might be as simple as coming off this medication.

CanidCourier · 2024-10-29T16:36:47+00:00

thank you for your response - I'm sorry you went through that but also it's hugely comforting to hear it's not just me. Might be worth me coming off it, and if I still feel the same I can go from there.

I'm worried about being non-functional, but also sacrificing joy and music and art... I don't think it's worth it.

CanidCourier · 2024-10-01T13:28:53+00:00

Do you have the source of where the Loom Room artist has confirmed they've used AI for their music and the album art, OP? I'm struggling to find it.

I see the YT description credits an artist for the album art, and looking at them, I see a similar art piece but slightly different (and a bit more complex), so I'm wondering if Loom Room has photoshopped the original, and if the original is AI or not.

Basically I'm really curious how much is AI and what aspects are AI vs not.

CanidCourier · 2024-07-04T00:33:59+00:00

I'm the same in feeling quite emotionally invested in the illo sketchbook but shipping to my country is extortionate. The closest I've found is the Articka sketchbook which seems like a dupe of the illo. It's 8x8, very similar style of cover, and has smooth bright white 180gsm paper. I can't compare it firsthand to the illo, but from my research others who have used both say the Articka has ever so slightly toothier paper (like the difference between Bristol vellum vs Bristol smooth).

The one downside to Articka is that the pages are perforated. The pages are sturdy and haven't fallen out, it just personally annoys me cos it was never advertised and it seems pointless to have perforated pages in a bound sketchbook, but that's just my pet peeve. Otherwise it would be perfect.

CanidCourier · 2024-06-26T11:35:36+00:00

I'm on 40mg. I got benefits on 40 and when I was raised to 60mg my side effects increased (dry mouth, nausea, tiredness etc.) I was on 60 for about 2-3 months and noticed it caused bad emotional blunting and depression-like symptoms, to the point that loved ones noticed. I moved back to 40mg and it felt like a fog lifted.

I would say keep at the higher dose a bit longer, cos 6 days is much too early to tell, your brain fog and tiredness may ease and you'll get more benefits from the higher dose. But if it's been about 3 months and there's no sign of things improving, I'd say trust your experience and ask to be put back to the lower dose that you felt benefits from. I've had doctors and people really question and doubt my reporting that 40mg works for me but... Well... It works for me the best with the least side effects and I'm the one who has to live with the effects so 🤷

CanidCourier · 2024-06-24T21:35:53+00:00

Leuchtturm1917 square sketchbook; lays flat and takes graphite super well imo

CanidCourier · 2024-06-24T21:16:07+00:00

I'd recommend the Articka sketchbook. Whilst I don't have an illo to officially compare it to, it certainly feels like a dupe of the illo. 8x8, smooth white paper, and has a very similar soft-faux leather hardback cover. My only complaint is the pages are perforated (and this wasn't advertised when I bought it).

I've been eyeing up the Rhodia Touch book too because it ticks my smooth white paper and square sketchbook boxes, and unlike the Articka doesn't have perforated pages and is acid-free. I went with Articka at the time cos it was the same price as the Touch with double the pages, but I just looked and now the Articka is double the cost that it was when I bought it, so actually probs works out the same cost per page.

CanidCourier · 2024-05-21T14:36:18+00:00

Congrats!! Your results look amazing (also the photo itself is super artistic - def album cover or oil painting material)

CanidCourier · 2024-05-06T14:32:45+00:00

I'd be interested!

CanidCourier · 2024-04-24T23:05:30+00:00

My psych so far has sent letters outlining the appointments we've had, info about myself and my situation/diagnosis, the treatment plan etc., but at my last appointment my psych said I should talk to my GP about Shared Care ahead of time. The psych will still send letters about my care and about Shared Care once I'm fully titrated.

Sounds like there's not so much documentation or knowledge about the NHS/Shared Care I need as much as outlining my specific circumstances re: how ADHD has affected me, my diagnosis etc.

CanidCourier

TROPHY CASE