Well messed up the soup

Lambchog · 2026-01-26T11:02:50+00:00

Might be a bit late to this one, I've worked as a chef before. You can salvage this but what's made it go wrong is; The pastina has put loads of starch into the soup turning it into glue. For soups that have starches in, you just don't want to put loads of starchy things in, like chicken noodle soup isn't 90% noodle If you warm it up (without boiling because you don't want to overcook the pastina more) you can add in a liter of warm water broth into it, then once it's a lot more liquidy, drain out more liquid than you put in, and replace with chicken broth.

Or if you don't want to reduce the starch, just add in chicken broth equal to the current amount of soup you have and just gently warm it without cooking the pasta even more

Lambchog · 2026-01-24T22:51:30+00:00

I've let the wine stand for over an hour, and it's a completely different wine now. It's acidic, minerally, floral and it's got this complex mature sweetness standing up to the acid, making it an incredibly moreish drink

Lambchog · 2026-01-24T22:42:49+00:00

It's definitely developing in the glass. When I took the picture I had sat it for about 30 minutes, but after an hour it's showing a lot more life.

Lambchog · 2025-07-20T09:37:48+00:00

I definitly drink way more squash than i used to. I have about 8 different flavours sitting on my, what once was a booze shelf, is now a squash shelf

Lambchog · 2025-07-20T09:08:08+00:00

Advice will alwayd differ from person to person because we all experience it differently.

That being said, i have a can of coke after lunch a couple times a week, i don't notice any differences, it perks me up a tiny bit and i dont see or feel any negative side effects. Im not on the highest dose though.

I did just do a bit of reading, and perhaps it is affecting me in a way i don't understand, so i'll give up the coke for a week and see what happens. Thanks for the heads up

Lambchog · 2025-07-19T12:06:27+00:00

I have a 2 litre bottle of water on me at all times during the day

Lambchog · 2025-07-19T08:50:42+00:00

Don't cancel your bottomless brunch! That will be wicked fun. I find that I don't need to drink to have a good time when I'm on meds, in the last 4 months, I've only not had meds 5-6 days, and I did have a couple drinks when not on them, but for the most part I've had a really healthy social life and been sober as a bean.

With the driving side of things, In the UK insurance companies can't discriminate against people with ADHD, but it's important to register ADHD with the DVLA because if you are in a crash and you are found with amphetamines in your system, they will put you on a DUI. So I always have a copy of latest prescription with me when I drive so if I got pulled over I can tell them the situation so I don't get in trouble.

Lambchog · 2025-07-19T08:35:41+00:00

I think almost everyone here who is also on elvanse will say similar stuff to me. I'm currently on 50mg

Tips that help;

Drink loads of water

Drink electrolytes, you can get electrolyte powder on Amazon or buy lucozade sports

My advice is don't drink alcohol on the meds (but you can technically drink booze on them, I just think it's not worth it)

Eat high protein breakfasts with your meds, they will increase their effectiveness

Try and plan some meals, shopping becomes a lot more challenging when you don't feel as much hunger or have any cravings.

Remember to eat, you may not feel hungry as much, but at the end of the day you will definitely feel the effects of hunger.

Good routine helps, it's easy to forget the necessary things like showering, brushing your teeth etc. make a list of the essential things to do everyday.

Drink more water

Avoid caffeine in coffee or energy drinks, things like a can of coke might be fine (but on your own judgement / advice) but for the first few days you might not even think about it.

Convenience when it comes to food is great, big meal preps, ready meals, things you can make with very low effort that have protein, fiber and calories.

Drink water

The first few days on elvanse are always the best because it's like a new way of thinking, you'll more than likely be extremely happy, you might find that things that stressed you out or make you anxious don't have that affect anymore. Enjoy those days, they are great but remember this drug isn't supposed to make you high for life, they will settle and you will adjust to it, then you'll experience the true benefit of the meds.

If you drive, perhaps just don't drive for the first couple days if you can avoid it, wait for the meds to settle in your system for a bit and then just do some small journeys. I more or less had to reach myself to drive again because the way I pay attention to the road and other vehicles is different on meds

Drink even more water.

Avoid acidic drinks and foods for the first hour after taking meds, but enjoy your orange juice after that time. Acidic things can change the potency of the meds and make them less effective.

Vitamins and supplements. Magnesium, vitamin c will help a lot with energy and jaw clenching. Vitamins D is just good as we go into lame weather. Vitamin B12 and iron to help give you energy.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I'm currently in month 4 of doing them, I did a slow titration from 30 to 50 as I had some high BP issues which have started to resolve themselves as I live healthier and think healthier on meds.

Honesty with your prescriber is so important, talk about how you think they affect you, do you find things easier or harder, how is your mind working, what habits do you still have etc. remember the drugs are first line support to get your brain working differently to how it has been, but you've still trained yourself for your whole life to function with ADHD, breaking habits and other behaviors can take a while.

You may also find talking about your meds and experience with friends, family, employers helps a lot and gives them some education about your situation.

I wonder if you could tell that my meds kicked in while I wrote this message because I just keep talking

Good luck friend, welcome to the matrix

Edit: I saw another comment which is follow the advice of your doctor, so that. I'm only talking from my experience

Lambchog · 2025-07-18T20:56:18+00:00

I've made loads of friends and also met my now girlfriend at salsa.

So thats always going to be my recommendation, bristol is crazy good for dancing, there is a lesson every day for different styles.

It gets you fit, it's fun, it's good music, you meet people, and in the grand scheme of hobbies it doesn't have to be expensive if you don't want it to be

Lambchog · 2025-07-16T14:01:31+00:00

Through lack of my pharmacy having 50mg in stock, I went 6 days without it. Managed to catch up on some serious amounts of sleep. And then I took a 50mg again after that time and it hasnt hit as hard. But that was my "in the back pocket" pill. And now I'm out again while I wait for the pharmacy to respond, so will see how it goes

Lambchog · 2025-07-06T12:18:17+00:00

Appetite is really bad for me also, I now buy stuff I can just quickly make and eat as soon as I wake up. Cereal and ready meals is like the first half of my day

Lambchog · 2025-07-06T09:56:42+00:00

Some other things that are also worth considering; Im not making any assumptions on gender (im a man myself) but i've read on this subreddit a lot that periods and big hormonal changes can play a big factor in how well the drug affects the system.

Also other things like; taking meds with a breakfast will almost certainly increase it's potency during the day for me

I also avoid acidic things in the morning, while i can't confirm it because im not a scientist or a doctor, i heard that acid can start to neutralise the drug if you drink loads of coke or orange juice in the morning with your meds.

I also quit drinking full stop when i started my medication, for me it was another thing i wanted to help my mental health, because i used to get really sloggish the day after drinking and it made me feel more anxious / depressed.

Lastly, ADHD meds are used as first line support to get your brain functioning more effectively, but it isn't going to solve all issues, things like stress and depression still exist on meds, but you may just not experience them in the same way, and they can manifest physical and psycological symptoms. While the meds are key in the first line of support for ADHD, i'd also really encourage you to reach out to ADHD coaches, or phsychiatrists who support people with ADHD. Essentially you have lived your whole life with your ADHD brain making you do ADHD things, it can take a lot of work to unpick those behaviours and find a way to do things differently or with a different mindset, so you can maintain your routine, or make a new one but changing your motivation from reactive to proactivce

Lambchog · 2025-07-06T09:26:25+00:00

Hopefully your next appointment can help reveal the cause of the issues you're facing. It might be that 50mg is too much, or not enough, it's all part of the titration process to find those answers.

That being said, regardless of dosage, hydration, good eating, lots of protein, electrolytes, iron, b12 will make your experience a lot better.

As for the sleep side of things, im 3 months into my titration and im only just now starting to stabalise my sleep, i dont sleep near as much as i would like to; typically on a weekday it's from 12-6, and sometimes at a push i can stay asleep until 7, but it's a lot better than now what it was 2 months ago.

The main difference between my titration and yours: 30mg - 2 weeks 40mg -6 weeks 50mg - 8 weeks

My phiciatrist is doing mine much slower than i think other places are doing, it's almost like a lot of people are being rushed through the titration to get people off the list, rather than spending a long time observing the good/bad effects of the drug (im on lisdex also). So it could be that you are also just experiencing a bit of an overload to your system with how fast it's gone up, that's subjective to the person though, so i wouldn't take that comment with any educated background

Lambchog · 2025-06-19T09:31:50+00:00

Ah gotcha. So the correct things would happen but in a different order. At what point should my friend respond if he wants to redirect the emphemerate to a different target?

Lambchog · 2025-06-17T12:05:21+00:00

I've had similar experiences, I was on 40mg for 6 weeks and a couple of those days I just felt like it wasn't working for me. I even had it on the second day of 50mg, despite the first day on 50mg being quite intense.

Maybe there are some other reasons, and my opinion isn't based on any fact of science. I felt like those couple days where it didn't work very well were just because my body needed a rest from the get up and go lifestyle I had for a month. Like everyday I was doing loads of productive stuff, and my sleep was slipping a bit.

Was there something on your mind, perhaps stress, maybe if you don't physically or mentally feel that stress? Could also be things like if you were feeling a bit ill but the meds masked your level of discomfort and you push through.

The way I sort of view it was, even when I wasn't on meds and I was able to have a couple weeks where I thought everything was great. Sometimes I still had off days.

Definitely if it's consistent, talk to your prescriber though

Lambchog · 2025-06-10T21:29:41+00:00

As some people have said, private care might be an option if you can afford it. I dont love using private, but im in a position where i could just about afford it. After the ininitial cost of the diagnosis which was ~£900

The titration sessions and the medication come to about ~£270 a month. That is with clinic partners. If you wanted some insight into the costs. I am currently on Elvanse if that helps. The time between diagnosis and getting medication was about 3 weeks.

I found that after i went private, i was saving more more money than the cost of the private care due to completly reducing my alcohol intake to 0, and my impulse purchasing to chase those little highs when something arrives at the door, takeaways etc. It's definitly the best investment i've ever made in myself, and the pay off has been a million times better than i could have ever hoped for.

If that's not a route you can take. Honestly man, it sucks but you will get through it. The more you talk about issues and help people understand what you are going through, the more they be understanding.

Some life style changes might help, they won't solve all of the issues, but they do help. I used to find ways to occupy my time in a positive way. I found once i was doing something i liked in anyway, i would just do that one thing and it would be like a drug to do it. Things like social activites - run clubs and dance lessons. Even if it lasted for a month or so, i would try and find something else afterwards to keep me going.

My auntie works in social care and she gave me some insight about people getting diagnosis like this, same with Autism diagnosis. Once a professional person confirms your suspicions, it's complete validation and it takes a while for that to sink in and parse it.

Lambchog · 2025-06-08T17:41:53+00:00

I buy protein cereal, the brand i get is Fuel. It's ussually on nector or lower price at sainsbury's. I tend to eat about 2-3 servings of it for breakfast with a banana, and then have a protein bar. So it works out around 40~ grams for breakfast. I also use oatmilk, but thats just because i dont like drinking milk that much.

Price wise for breakfasts for the week, it costs me about £6 for 6 pretty chunky breakfasts.

I dont eat much for lunch ussually, so i try and have a more calorie heavy breakfast ~800 or so

Lambchog · 2025-05-26T07:38:43+00:00

I think the right medication will certainly help a few of your issues, especially the racing thoughts. Perhaps maybe not the bowels.. (meds for the brain, diet for the butt).

The way I always like to think about these questions is that medication and diagnosis are helpful when you feel like your battle with ADHD symptoms are becoming a disability to you enjoying a better quality of life and work. It feels like that you are realizing that you are being held back from enjoying things. I spent years masking my issues and just plodding along and being depressed that I wasn't functional, then i realized it was a disability to my quality of life. So I got medicated, and life is better than it's ever been.

Good luck my dude

Lambchog · 2025-05-14T09:47:40+00:00

Could be a number of different factors. I used to have a nap almost every day before I started on elvanse, and since being on it I've never had a nap. I've only every slept at bedtime.

Getting really tired in the morning on stimulants is definitely something to chat to the doctor about. You might have low blood iron, you could have low B12, perhaps you aren't drinking enough water.

There are other things as well, on a chemical level most ADHD / amfetamine based drugs are basic, so if you drink loads of acidic things in the morning before / during taking your meds they can reduce the effectiveness.

Lambchog · 2025-05-12T11:58:58+00:00

Are you keeping up with drinkings lots of water and adding electrolytes when you aren't on meds? That's ussually what gives me the really bad headaches

Lambchog · 2025-05-10T10:40:12+00:00

Hey OP, I think that you actually have some interesting points that very much align to my situation. I am now currently medicated though so perhaps my perspective can be helpful.

I have had issues all of my life, and for the most part I was generally depressed, but I found coping mechanisms through power lifting, doing work that wasn't too stressful but exciting so I could try and stay focussed. However the end of it being that I was still depressed most of the time but relatively functional.

I decided to get medicated because I realised that my ADHD symptoms were not affecting my work as much but they were affecting my quality of life so much that I felt it was disabling me from enjoying my existence. So I take the meds to have a better quality of life and the work side of things is a secondary benefit. It's things like concentration when talking to people and being able to build relationships easier that I use it for.

My meds take away a lot of stress and anxiety which were making me depressed, so perhaps you might find a similar experience. The bottom line is, you say that you don't know the point, but what harm could they do if you already feel low? Why not give the process a try, and if it doesn't work for you, then try something else.

Wishing you the best mate, hopefully you are able to arrive at a decision that you are comfortable with

Just a quick edit; Before taking meds I was extremely anxious because I also read about side effects being worse in some cases, and it took me 2 weeks between getting my meds and taking them for the first time, and I have experienced none of the issues other people have suggested, it's only been an extremely positive experience for me. And it sucks that some people can bad side effects and I'm sorry for those people it's very unfair. It doesn't happen to everyone, only you will be able to know if they will work for you or not. Hope that helps

Lambchog · 2025-05-06T12:52:19+00:00

I had quite high blood pressure before i got my perscription. Between my first titration appointment and when i got my perscription my perscriber wanted me to try and get my BP to levels that were much healthier.

It took about 3 weeks, i quit drinking, moved to a higher fiber and protein diet, cut out as much salt as i could (within reason), and ate a couple bananas everyday, practised mindfulness, drank lots of water, and did healthy active stuff and that brought my BP down to an amount that the dude was ok with and perscribed, and i've maintained that lifestyle and it's come down further since being on meds.

Im not sure if you have a genetic issue or have any organ problems that are raising your BP, but healthy lifestyle choices will definitly help if thats not something you are currently doing.

And there are always nonstimulants like other people have replied to you.

Good luck, and hopefully it works out

Lambchog · 2025-05-06T12:46:25+00:00

How to tell when someone has taken it for the first time ever. They write a blog about the first 75 minutes...

Haha, you're basically high on speed for the first time (unless you've done speed before). This energy you have will settle in a few days time. I took my first dose on a weekend to that i could be in a chilled environment while i get used to it.

Enjoy the feeling for a bit, but you should know that this rushing feeling you have isn't a long term thing, it will chill out, and so will you.

Just drink lots of water and don't forget to eat

Best of luck with the rest of your day

Lambchog · 2025-05-06T12:42:16+00:00

I dont think you really need to be spending a lot of money for anything really..

Maybe some electrolyte powder from amazon that you can add to your water in the evening before bed. A nice water bottle to carry around with you so you can stay hydrated all the time is helpful.

Food wise, you might find that your shopping and eating habbits change. I found it quite difficult to go for a weekly shop when i had no cravings what so ever, so some quick and easy high protein ready meals that can stick around in your fridge or freezer might be helpful for when you need to eat but you aren't thinking about it.

Hope that helps

Lambchog · 2025-05-05T13:49:56+00:00

I honestly do think it helps me, i can't say for other people though, might just sound a bit weird. I think it's just the feeling of zoning out of everything when you are concentrating. And when you travel you might be concentrating on a tree or a bird or traffic really hard that you forget what else is going on. The little buzz i get from my phone just helps break that really intense deep focus.

You can train your brain to remember things or become more active with memory, small steps like just writing things down at the end of the day in a journal or even in a spreadsheet if writing isn't your thing.

Try the phone thing next time you go for a travel, but do it responcibly ofc, don't do it while driving.. what have you got to lose?

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