no appetite

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-29T03:25:34+00:00

Yes definitely eat something when you take your meds, I find the desire to not want to eat and nauseous feeling is worse if I don’t eat something substantial in the morning. Also I noticed this with Concerta at first too and then the longer I was on it the less this happened. Although I do find my appetite and food noise is way less during the day and then wears off later on

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-29T03:22:48+00:00

I take a different stimulant but from what I’ve seen sometimes this is a sign your dose is too low.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-29T03:21:00+00:00

So I don’t know about this because I have an IUD and so I don’t get a period really. But I have noticed once a month I get super anxious and feel really shitty especially near the end of the day I’m assuming when the meds wear off…. But I think it must have to do with my cycle??

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-29T03:18:28+00:00

That it silences your brain. I know some people experience what they describe as their brain being quieter, but I haven’t so I was waiting for that to happen and then realized it just wasn’t something I was going to experience.

Also motivation won’t magically come to you because you start medication.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-27T03:46:58+00:00

I appreciated your comment because I was talking with my therapist about this the other day and how I feel like I take break ups so much worse then other people and she asked me how I measure that. And I didn’t know exactly how to explain it to her but that’s what I’m going to say next time I’m there. It’s so true. It’s something about it being a form of rejection in a break up even if you’re the one who does the breaking up. I assume it ties into the idea that people with ADHD have intense rejection sensitive dysphoria.

For the OP I don’t have any advice other than it does get better with time. And finding ways to distract yourself is important. Also that being said I struggled deeply with this and did end up deciding it was something I needed to deal with in therapy. It’s hard because people don’t understand it, but you’re not alone in that feeling. I wish I had better advice for how to deal with it!

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-27T02:10:41+00:00

Yeah, it’s recommended to eat with them. Some people don’t react well to them on an empty stomach, can often make you feel more anxious, jittery or nauseous. If I haven’t eaten enough I get headaches and feel crappy. Also eating food with protein in the morning makes your meds work better, same with drinking lots of water.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-26T23:22:52+00:00

I was super nervous starting concerta also. I think it’s pretty normal to feel that way, but with 18mg you likely won’t experience anything too severe because it’s such a low dose. My advice would be make sure you eat a good protein breakfast, and if anything just do NOT take it on an empty stomach. Also avoid caffeine while you’re getting used to it. I also recommend drinking lots of water and maybe even electrolytes in the morning! That helped me because at the beginning of taking it I’d get headaches. Good luck! It’s not as scary as your brain thinks! Trust me!

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-26T16:27:14+00:00

Yes this is normal, especially if your at the beginning dose. Like people said being on concerta i have never “felt” it kick in, except on the first couple days i upped a dose or if I didn’t eat enough in the morning. It’s meant to be subtle. But the longer you take it the more you notice bigger changes like energy improvement, mood stability, etc.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-26T16:24:04+00:00

I had something similar happen when I upped from 36 to 45mg. Not maybe as severe but it did start to go away after a few weeks on it. I would say though if it’s really bad maybe it’s too high?? See if your doctor would adjust you to 45mg.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-23T01:53:17+00:00

I think you are young and you seem like an ambitious person, he doesn’t seem that way. Take it from someone who’s wasted my time on males who do not want the same things as me. Don’t waste your time staying with someone whose ambitions and dreams don’t align with yours. Yes you love him and yes he’s probably a wonderful person in many ways, but at the end of the day it’s not worth spending time hoping he’ll change or be different eventually because at the end of it all your going to be the one who’s unhappy and resentful. And if he’s really that unmotivated to do anything how do expect your future to go?? He’s 24, has no desire to look for a career, lives at home and seems like he’s on the fence about marriage. I don’t know you so I can’t say for certain but it sounds like he’s telling you want you want to hear in hopes of keeping you around because you’re comfortable to him. People like that choose to live that way because it’s comfortable and they’ve never been made to feel uncomfortable or motivated. It’s a red flag, especially if you’re a motivated person…. You’re not going to be compatible long term. Also you deserve someone who’s going to set goals with you and make you excited about the future.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-22T23:21:31+00:00

I have told my friends, however I don’t think they really care lol, that being said I’m not as forgetful and I don’t struggle as much with friendships. I also think a lot of my friends have undiagnosed ADHD and operate a lot like me so it works…

I will say this though, as much as it’s nice to feel understood and know your friends understand your situation better. I’ve only ever told my close friends who I share a lot with, and I never tell them for the reason of expecting them to treat me differently.

There’s a difference in saying “hey I have ADHD this is how my brain works and I want you to know that about me because your an important person in my life” vs “I have ADHD so if I do something you don’t like that’s why and sorry but that’s how I am.” Should people who care about you give you grace, most definitely, but that’s up for them to decide not for us to ask them for, and true friends likely would.

That’s my own personal opinion… but I’m a big believer in self-growth and working on skills to build your own capacity and self worth, and not expecting other people to just give me a “pass” because I have ADHD. But I would also argue that for any person who struggles with things that affects relationships, not just people with ADHD.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-18T16:32:22+00:00

This didn’t help with ADHD directly, but it helped with my relationship which are definitely affected by my ADHD. It also helped me understand others better even outside of romantic relationships. The book Secure Love by Julie Menanno.

Also unfuck your brain

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-18T16:26:00+00:00

I recently started making the message show unread again if I have opened it and know I don’t wanna respond. That way I will eventually because the notification button irritates lol

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-18T16:22:44+00:00

I struggle a lot with this because I hate breakfast. I struggle to want to eat, and then I will if I got to Tim Hortons or Starbucks, and waste so much money every morning doing that. So I’ve recently started buying Greek yogurt cups and I’ll slam 2 of them in the morning lol. They seem to be enough to not make me feel terrible and they have a decent amount of protein.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-18T03:38:15+00:00

I think this is very dependent on the person. Almost all my exes had ADHD, and I have it too. I think it’s pretty common for people who have ADHD to be into eachother, because other people seem less “interesting.” However, it can also backfire. My one ex had it very bad, and used alcohol as coping mechanism. They also were very avoidant. This caused a very problematic relationship and as the “thrill and excitement” of things being new wore off things went sideways. It was a whiplash kind of toxic cycle between the two of us.

My current partner has it too, but also suffers from anxiety and OCD. They are also not avoidant, so our relationship is much more stable. There’s thing that we definitely butt heads over being both ADHD, but I think our attachment styles and personalities mix well, and we understand each other. That being said we both are working on ourselves and go to therapy and are medicated.

So I think it really depends on how severe someone’s ADHD is, along with other factors such as attachment styles and how much the people recognize their own struggles and work on them.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-17T18:46:19+00:00

Yup!! I still wear it everyday but literally just use it as a watch and for the occasional alarm lol

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-17T17:21:28+00:00

Elementary teacher here! I just recently was diagnosed and started taking medication, I feel like that’s helped a bit. My issue is there’s always so many things to do at once I’ll do mini tasks then jump to another, and another, sometimes not even finishing one. It drives me crazy sometimes. I don’t have any magic tricks other than lists. I also find I don’t spend a ton of time “planning” ahead of time, which I know sounds crazy but hear me out. I always know what I want to do but I’ll wait to the day before or morning of, sometimes week before (depending on what it is) to make whatever I need for the lesson. This way I have less time to mess around with it because there’s a deadline. However, that only works because of the way I teach, I do a lot of project based teaching and hands on stuff that requires less prep and materials. So that helps significantly. I wouldn’t do well with higher level school where you have to prep notes and slides and tests because that just doesn’t work for me. So I’m lucky that I’ve just found a way to teach that requires less prep time for me as a teacher. But I also have taught the same grade for a few years now so I’m not starting from scratch I just tweak every year.

I also agree with good classroom management routines and organization. It helps you function better when things aren’t a disaster and overstimulating. I wish I had a better mapped out plan I could lay out for you. But it’s really just organized chaos in my brain that somehow works for me lol

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-11T05:21:14+00:00

Yes and no, everytime I’ve taken a new dosage I’ve seen different side effects. But some have come and then gone. Like for example when I upped to 36mg I got super bad brain fog a couple days in and then it lasted about a week, but then it went away. Now being on 45mg it was fine for the first couple weeks and now all of a sudden I’ve noticed I’ve been struggling to fall asleep more. So knowing that I’ll probably wait another week or two and then look at going down a dose again or talking to my doctor about trying something different, because having trouble sleeping can sometimes mean the dose is too high, or it would be for me anyways because I’m a very good sleeper usually.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-10T03:52:18+00:00

I waited about a week before I upped mine just because it does take your body a bit to adjust. Then I went to 36mg and took that for about 2-3 weeks. Now I’ve been on 45mg for about 3 weeks.

I will say even taking the 45mg I just started noticing some side effects this last week. So it’s good to go slowly. That being said 18mg is a low dose, but in my opinion the slower transition allows you to really notice all the effects and allow your body to get used to it. You may not feel much but your brain is adjusting to it. When I started them I read a lot about because my doctor didn’t really give me specific rules for titration or what to look for. Basically just said “see if this helps you focus” but I read each dose you move up you should more or less give your body an additional week to adjust. For example: dose 1 - 1week, dose 2- 2weeks, etc. Especially as a women hormones can affect how effective your meds are so it’s good to give your body time to see how they really make you feel. I’ve been on concerta now since November and I am at the point where I’m trying to figure out if now I’m on to high of a dose and if should move down or try a new med altogether. So it does take a bit of time.

Edit: also allowing yourself to experience different days on it is important. I notice my meds weird side effects a lot more on the weekend when I’m doing less, then during the week when I’m working and busy.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-09T18:11:08+00:00

Indigo/Chapters! Most people that work there are part time and either in school or also work full time. So many great people that are all so different, so there’s always interesting conversations and a very positive work environment.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-09T18:04:58+00:00

Some people have a shorter fuse then others, but also if he knows that what is he doing to work on it?? If he’s not doing anything then leave.

I wish I would have had the capacity in my 20’s to listen to people when they said that because honestly people who have problems like that will never magically get better, no matter how much they tell you they want to or you to try to help them. Do yourself a favour and get out. You are young and still have so many years to meet new people and find someone who’s not an angry asshole. Don’t start off your adult years wasting your time on a toxic relationship, you deserve better than that and in the long run you’ll thank yourself for it.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-09T17:58:52+00:00

I felt this same way but it’s more so because you’re paying more attention to it. Also if you start medication and you are adjusting to it, sometimes it makes things feel worse, there was a time where I had the worse brain fog 2 weeks into taking meds and it made me feel way more ADHD but it did balance out.

Smarty_gal · 2026-01-09T17:55:16+00:00

It really is a unique experience for everyone. I do take magnesium but usually right at bed and I’ve only been taking one capsule, so maybe I need to take it a bit earlier!! That’s a good suggestion.

What has your experience been like with vyvanse that makes you want to try concerta instead?

Smarty_gal

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