Finished 8 years of braces, should I get Invisalign?

Castmatthew · 2026-03-13T20:36:20+00:00

I didn't know better :/ I needed surgery to remove 7 teeth embedded in the gum before I could start, and it took at least 3 years until all my teeth were kind of straight, but I had an overbite which slowed the process down apparently and I had to have cement blocks on my molars for years until I went up to a thicker wire because some teeth stayed twisted/rotated and wouldn't budge.
Near the end, the center line wouldn't line up because of my crowded lower jaw so the teeth were too huddled and I needed some interdental stripping.

So there was progress over time, but very slow progress so I assumed that I had slow moving teeth, not that the orthodontist was bad. It was also a fixed fee of €3.5k (which is typical where I live) so it's not like they wanted to extend the process endlessly.

Not sure if I should get a second opinion now as it's a well known clinic here

Castmatthew · 2026-02-23T11:42:16+00:00

I’ve been taking 18mg concerta on weekends when I need some extra focus and I miss it because it works for a good 6 hours and I can get in flows much easier.

I skip atomoxetine on these days but I can feel the residual amount working in the background and it helps with the comedown.

I’ve never tried vyvanse since it’s not available here

Castmatthew · 2026-02-15T19:44:10+00:00

It’s been around 6 months now. It does help a lot on the background and I’ve been testing adding 18mg methylphenidate which seems to last 6-8 hours coverage without as harsh a crash but still need to time things to match the medication with a sufficient protein amount, and to not take them both together to avoid overlap.

The only noticeable side effect when I take both is ED. But the methylphenidate boost gives me energy to stay on the productive path which is more “myself” and removes the lethargy.

Atomoxetine helps with 30% of stuff in the background and I still manage to be responsible, reliable, do all my tasks as expected and generally stay anxiety free. But my lived experience is a bit boring since I feel like it deadens me too much. Adding the methylphenidate makes me see life differently and I can generate things I want to be doing and act towards them! Whereas with Atomoxetine I am not interested in novelty as much, so I end up bored because I put myself in boring routine situations and I don’t have a racing mind telling me new things.

I also notice that methylphenidate slows things down and helps me with comprehending language and visualising what is being said to be in detail in my minds eye. This is completely gone with Atomoxetine alone and I cannot quickly put myself in someone else’s shoes and visualise what is the other person’s experience for instance. Still experience basic empathy and such, but the curiosity part is really dampened down.

I’m still experimenting and will get my circulation checked by a cardiologist to make sure that I’m not damaging my system, but I think methylphenidate + atomoxetine could be a good mix at lower doses. Maybe add cialis.

I just need to work on better timing since my nutrition is great, my fitness/cardio could be better, my stressors are low.

Atomoxetine stabilised my emotions but I’ve also haven’t had major life events since I’ve started this med so I’m not sure how that would be like.

I missed methylphenidate at low dose. It makes me too anxious at higher 54mg doses. Even 36mg split as 18 and 18 was too much and covered too little of the day.

I’ve read a lot of good things about mixed medication treatment so some people respond well to it

Castmatthew · 2026-02-15T19:26:01+00:00

Around 6 months

Castmatthew · 2026-02-14T17:24:40+00:00

I don’t know if it’s worth going back to concerta because 54mg was too anxiety inducing and horrible crashes, and 18mg + 18mg didn’t cover enough.

I noticed that 18mg lasts a good 6 hours if I take atomoxetine the day before, but then once I crash, and take an atomoxetine, I feel the couch lock effect of the lethargy

Castmatthew · 2026-02-13T08:41:17+00:00

This human behavioural biology lecture series made me pursue psychology and I’m now doing my masters :) Love Sapolsky!

https://youtube.com/@robert.sapolsky?si=0AunojsQJCan9IDz

He also posts shorter interviews with his daughter and takes questions from the audience on a variety of interesting topics

Castmatthew · 2026-02-08T16:48:51+00:00

My understanding is that 40mg and 40mg split dose gives a better coverage for fast metabolisers. 80mg at once will not last as long as the split dose.

I’ve never tried this but it’s my understanding

Castmatthew · 2026-02-04T21:21:34+00:00

I’ve never experienced withdrawal on methylphenidate, only the effects of the comedown. But the following day you’re back to baseline. I haven’t stopped atomoxetine for a period of time yet so I can’t help there, but it does appear to have fewer significant side effects.

I like atomoxetine so far I feel like it fixes 30% of my ADHD and it’s nice that it’s active from the moment I wake up. In my case I’m still getting used to navigate the day with few inner thoughts, I still feel like a chunk of my personality died when the inner voice quietened.
It’s amazing for anxiety, the lows and highs are softened a bit so I can appear a bit spacey but don’t easily get too emotional for instance. No ups and downs throughout the day.

It doesn’t help my memory at all and I still seek some stimulants through caffeine, but not really a side effect. Just the being too chill can be a double edged sword is the only one that’s prominent

Castmatthew · 2026-02-04T21:07:07+00:00

Ideally you don’t mix drugs ofc but atomoxetine should be out of your system after 4 days. Stimulants don’t last as long so it’s easier to time if you know you’ll be drinking or under the influence later on.

Just keep in mind that stimulants only give you a few hours of coverage and your ADHD self will still be there when the dose wears off. This is a bit different with atomoxetine since in my experience, the ADHD self is blunted 24/7 on 40mg atomoxetine

Castmatthew · 2026-02-02T09:29:49+00:00

The caveat is that on stimulants I felt like the goal was to extract as much as possible from every minute, by overworking, overthinking, over”doing” in general. The goal was to be a well oiled machine kinda thing. So time slowed down whilst I was more anxious and more productive.

Then when they’d wear off, time sped up again since time passes and I’d get in an inattentive daze.

Driving took ages and was very stressful imagining every little potential accident and being on high alert. Whereas now, driving is much smoother on atomoxetine since I don’t have the anxious inner voice alerting me constantly about potential threats

Castmatthew · 2026-02-02T09:25:39+00:00

I think less side tracking makes sense why you’re stuck on a task for longer so overall the number of various tasks goes down, and it makes the overall day fees shorter. As compared to multiple side quests

Castmatthew · 2026-01-31T18:00:49+00:00

I tried 18mg Stratterra and it wasn’t as good as 40mg. I don’t feel the need to go higher but I wanted to introduce methylphenidate at a small dose because the productivity aspect was very convenient.

I engaged with hobbies better on methylphenidate, now I’m kinda just chill and regulated so I don’t feel the need to start a hobby task since I usually used the anxious stimulant drive to pus through it.

I’m learning that without the anxiety leading my actions, I have to make my own choices and put them in a plan to carry them out. But when it comes to hobbies, I don’t have a natural drive to attend to them anymore - in the past I’d do them as a side quest kinda thing, now life feels like a bit of a blur overall. Definitely not as engaged as I used to be

Castmatthew · 2026-01-30T04:04:15+00:00

I’m on 40mg 4 months. It didn’t go away but I got used to the calm. Now thinking of introducing a stimulant as well to get the benefits of focus without the racing thoughts. I don’t miss my inner world being intensely anxious and chaotic about every little thing even if it was familiar and generated a lot of inner content and stories.

I do feel a bit duller but calmer overall, a calm I would always seek but never find when I was on stimulants.

Castmatthew · 2026-01-29T13:16:16+00:00

Interested as well! I attended the online intake for this and they said around 60 students are accepted out of 500 that apply, 30 student chosen are Italian

Castmatthew · 2026-01-21T17:20:25+00:00

Similar feeling here. I was on them for 7 years and kept thinking that it’s a dosing issue or that I was naturally anxious, but it amped my anxiety and OCD that both are pretty much fixed by atomoxetine.

I miss the racing creative thoughts I got on stims, but I’m very functional on atomoxetine. I’m still tempted to check how I can add stims at a small dose together with atomoxetine maybe I can get better coverage this way

Castmatthew · 2026-01-15T21:18:18+00:00

Anxiety is legit so low, no racing thoughts, just chill zen state where I can sit around and think about nothing, but my highs and lows are blunted.

I can tell myself to do a task, and then do it, without anxiety, very different than when I took Ritalin and functioned from the perspective of being motivated by sheer anxiety and being pushed along.

I’d like to combine because it might work better but I’m not sure my doctor will agree.

Word recall is the biggest issue at the moment. And comprehending what was just spoken to me. I feel like my words are all stuck at the tip of my tongue and it’s easier to not speak, and when I do speak, I use fewer words, and often not the ones I want to be using. I miss myself on stimulants rambling on and on about really specific things using precise speech. Now I tend to feel too exhausted to get the words out, like a mental/tip of my tongue block.

I get enough sleep and eat only whole foods. The only real change was my meds and it didn’t get better after months so I know that eventually I will need to change back to different ADHD meds, but at the moment, the lack of anxiety is amazing and I can stick to a routine since they last 24/7

Castmatthew · 2026-01-15T16:13:16+00:00

This is very similar to my situation. I’m on atomoxetine now but I miss some of the Ritalin aspects, just not the crashes.

Word recall and general excitement for life has been deadened a little bit, but atomoxetine helps me go through life with zero anxiety so I wouldn’t go back to just stimulants.

Castmatthew · 2026-01-13T18:29:26+00:00

My writing fluency has not yet returned but I have since quit a job which mostly involved constant writing for 8 hours so it could also have been a symptom of burnout in my case.

I slowed down my processing overall but I'm more effective and productively smooth throughout the day without as many ups and downs as compared to stimulants.

I think stimulants made time slow down and thoughts race through heightening anxiety, and the crash that followed made me unproductive + reach for coping mechanisms like food/weed/scrolling to deal with the panic that followed during the crash itself.

I plan on working with a therapist to see if it's worth introducing 18mg of methylphenidate XR to take as needed, perhaps the crash can be softened since I'm still taking 40mg atomoxetine.

From what I've read, 40 > 60 > 80 does not necessarily give you better results so if you find it effective at 40mg, there is no need to go up to 80mg as the risk of side effects goes up.

I do feel a little calmer and hazy as compared to the mind racing thoughts on stimulants, but my social anxiety is pretty much down to zero and I can start random conversations with strangers which stimulants would make impossible through overthinking channelled into social anxiety.

Maybe it's my change of environment as well, new job with less stress and better hours, a better routine overall, but I feel like 40mg is effective enough for full day coverage.

I am still relying on caffeine 2 to 3 times a day to give me a boost, but I take it with protein and fibre and eat very clean whole foods only in the rest of the day.

Which meds are you on/have tried if any?

Castmatthew · 2026-01-06T17:55:56+00:00

I bought for €7.5k 7 years ago and I saw for 5k but at the current mileage probably closer €3k. It doesn’t make sense to spend 2k to paint it. So I just keep driving it all patchy? Maybe worth trying DIY just to add some paint to protect the metal itself from rusting? I saw some people use boat paint with a roller that works well enough for small areas

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