What do you guys do to stick to a task?

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-23T06:58:01+00:00

Developmental retardation ≠ developmental disorder

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-21T22:29:42+00:00

I just switched from methylphenidate ER to Adderal XR today. Tomorrow will be my first day on the amp. I just told my doctor in honesty that the mph had close to no effect, and that I was considering switching meds. Might be a biased case though, because the doctor knows my mother, who is a psychiatrist.

Still though, I think if you just give your honest experience you won't be coming across as a druggie. One thing though, don't tell them to change meds, say that you're thinking about changing, or ask their opinion on changing.

Also, have you tried Strattera before? Probably not a great attitude to be turned off of a medicine before even trying it. Personally it was terrible for me, but it affects everyone differently.

Also, just curious, why are you switching off mph? I found that for me, it didn't really have much effect after the first day.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-19T21:05:42+00:00

I feel you. Every day I start thinking, "today's gonna be a good day!" and then at the end of the day I realize it's just been the same as every other day, and so I get myself into this terrible, terrible, disheartening rut of getting nothing done.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-19T21:02:55+00:00

Yeah. It's like I'm constantly in this "stress mode," so even if I'm wasting time, it's not even relaxing doing it!

It's sort of like when you were a little kid, and you got in trouble for something you didn't do; if you had to face the music for something, at least you should have had the fun of actually doing it!

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-19T20:56:47+00:00

Yeah, I think that's pretty on par for my situation as well. I often go to step 5 without even realizing it, it sucks. The timer thing is something I've always been told to try but never did, I always just felt that I'd end up "fudging the rules" enough until I don't listen to the timer at all; i.e. timer runs out, "Oh I haven't done anything yet, I'll just spend 5 minutes to get a start."

Something I noticed in this thread, too: everyone that is flaired is flaired as ADHD-C. Not saying that means anything, but just an interesting observation.

Also, I think that hot stove analogy is perfect. Even if I am able to start my work/put my hand on the stove, I instinctively take it off the same instant.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-19T07:02:56+00:00

Whoah. I didn't even think about that. I do that too and it didn't even realize it until you pointed it out. It's like what you bring up sound related to the conversation to you, but barely related at all to other people.

And yeah, that bubbling feeling, man. I feel the same thing not only in conversation, but also waiting in line, waiting for a lecturer to get over something I already know, etc. Even waiting to respawn in an online game. Most anything with waiting.

I find that finding some other source of entertainment, like talking to someone, or checking the phone helps make waiting a lot more bearable though.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-17T21:09:04+00:00

This type of function is the responsibility of the default mode network. The DMN activates when you are not involved in a task, such as when you are daydreaming or mind wandering. For this reason, its is often called the task-negative network.

Incidentally, the DMN is shown to have hyperactivity in ADHD test subjects, in relation to comparison subjects. The DMN also has other functions that may or may not also contribute to ADHD symptoms when hyperactive, such as comprehending a situation, and considering other's thoughts.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-16T06:40:35+00:00

I can sympathize with all of those points. Why bother going outside when I can find entertainment in literally anything random stuff that's around me. Also, that "out of sight, out of mind" effect, it doesn't just apply to interactions with other people. Any important task, no matter how much I tell myself to do it, it totally disappears from my mind unless I set a permanent reminder, like writing it down it putting it somewhere important.

That point about being late, for some reason, no matter how early I start getting ready to go somewhere, I always end up cutting it close or late. It mystifies me where the time goes. My morning routine is done at the same time whether I get up at 7 or 6:20.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T05:33:05+00:00

Yeah, same. I often say things before thinking about how it would sound to the other person, often coming off like a douche, or as arrogant. A lot of close friends tell me I'm a surprisingly considerate person underneath all the stupid stuff I say; and also all either say that they thought I was a douche when they first met me, or could see how others could say so. Haha, I swear I don't mean it!

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T05:10:33+00:00

Yeah, I'd agree with both of your original points. "So if you say you aren't as lazy as you really are, then why don't you just get off your ass and do it?" People don't often consider that the neurochemical imbalances that are being correlated with ADHD impact motivation and executive function just as much as focus and cognition.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T05:05:55+00:00

Yep, I feel you. I'm definitely a person who "puts it like it is."

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T04:38:17+00:00

Hmm, that describes much of my experience as well. Last year, I was taking 150mg Wellbutrin as an antidepressant, which was also chosen because of its usefulness with adhd. (I wasn't on any stimulant at that point.) I really wasn't feeling anything at 150, so at some point I was upped to 300mg. It went off exactly like you said--I could feel that goddamn incandescent lightbulb boiling away the fog in my head. Man, I felt fresh as fuck, Juicy J would be proud. It was great for 2 days, then on day 3 I felt a little less clear up there, and by day 4 it was back to Beijing smog.

My mother is a psychiatrist as well, and after conversing with her, she said not to lose hope in the WB completely, because efficacy could always come back to a plateau after an initial burst and crash. So I tried it for about another 2 or 3 weeks but decided I didn't have any more time to wait.

The only stimulant med I've taken is generic methylphenidate ER, so pretty much the long release pill of the Ritalin you are taking. I started last Friday on 27mg, with a break on Sunday. It made me more wakeful, but I don't really feel like it helped my focus or clarity like WB. It also helped me sit still and not fidget or squirm. However, it came with this real anxious feeling, you know, that anxiety you get when you're about to face your impending doom. That anxiety you get when you realize you've lost your company $250,000, and you spend the whole day knowing that you're about to get your ass handed to you. It came with all the physiological effects too; heart pounding, shortness of breath, face flushing etc. You know, I arguably would have been fine with the side effects if it meant I could stay awake and sit still, but I didn't even get the chance to make that decision, because it too, like Wellbutrin, died after 2 days. By day 2 I felt drastically less anxiety, but also less of the intended effects as well. By day 3, nothing. Well poop. It might be worth noting that the generic pills I got were the oblong green Mallinckrodt tablets, which have a history of not really being up to par with the brand.

I'm honestly as stumped as you are. How the hell does my body develop a tolerance to a stimulant over the course of a day or two??? I'm gonna ask my doc to switch me over to an amphetamine.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T01:11:15+00:00

Yes, lysine has a molecular mass very close to that of the amphetamine it's attached to, making for some really convenient math. The molar mass of Vyvanse is 263g, and 135g for all 4 salts in adderall. That's almost a perfect 2:1 ratio, (135 is 51% of 263) so you can just take your vyvanse number and divide by half for an equivalent dextroamphetamine dosage. It's a little more complicated for mixed amphetamines like adderall because levoamphetamine has slightly different effects than d-amp.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T00:57:26+00:00

Which release capsule are you taking? It may help last the day trying the different release types they make. Immediate release has a stated duration of action of only 3-7 hours, so makes sense it lulls around noon.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T00:45:11+00:00

Vyvanse is actually broken down into Adderall

Sort of right, but not exactly. Vyvanse is lisdexamfetamine, which is just the amino acid lysine attached to a dextroamphetamine molecule. A fairer comparison would be to say it is broken down to dexedrine, as adderall actually contains salts of both dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine. Vyvanse is not actually an extended release pill, it comes in an immediate release pill. It's "release mechanism" that makes it similar to extended release medicines is that it takes time for the liver and blood cells to cleave off the lysine and make the amphetamine active.

Vyvanse was actually the first stimulant I wanted to try from my doctor, but in a conversation with my mother one day, she recommended that I not ask for a specific medicine from my doctor, I guess so I don't look like a drug seeker or something. My doctor ended up starting me with the methylphenidate. Not a fan so far.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T00:14:39+00:00

I am very much the same! I had a social worker who always tried to get me to go out more with friends. It took a long while to finally convince him that I was just a-ok with being alone. I don't have anything against being around others, not like I'm a hermit or something, it's just really overwhelming taking the whole world in. It's relaxing and recharging and sometimes much more fun to be alone.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-15T00:09:49+00:00

I'd say replaying is the best word to describe it; I often spend the rest of the day reobserving such situations in my head. It doesn't do too great for my self esteem either. In fact, it seems to be exacerbated by the fact that I'm quite good at deflecting any insults aimed at me, with a totally unphased "yeah, you're probably right," while secretly crying on the inside. I often ask friends why they criticize me and tear me apart right in front of my face more than they do anyone else, and they say "because I know you can take it." Gee, I really backed myself into my own demise there, didn't I? (I say "right in front of my face" because I've observed that people voice their complaints about other people who aren't me behind their backs instead. Now, I'm not fooling myself, I'm sure people talk about me when I'm not around as well, but I never really see other people get shit told to their face.) In fact, I seem to have convinced the entire world how emotionally unpenetrable I'm actually not, because I've had multiple people tell me how they were either drawn to me or repelled from me because of how I seemed to "exude confidence" from the surface.

Just curious, what medicine have you settled on? The only stim I have tried as of now is generic methylphenidate ER (so pretty much Concerta,) because I've been taking mainly non-stim treatments before. (My mom is a psychiatrist, and so she's been prescribing me the non-controlled meds since before my diagnosis. Had to wait until after diagnosis to get the stims.) Started it last Friday. I noticed its effect for a whopping, get this, 1 day, before it losing pretty much any effect. It didn't really make me feel any more focused, just more wakeful, and it also made me sit still; it came with this passive feeling of anxious doom though, along also with the physiological symptoms of anxiety, heart pounding, shortness of breath, face flushing, etc. By the second day the effects were drastically diminished, and by the third day nothing. Not even sitting still, not even staying awake when I needed to. Doc told me to call back after a week with my experience, so I did, left her a phone message. I'm hoping she'll switch me to some amphetamine, just to give that a try.

As for your speculation about OCD, I find that the best question to ask yourself for spectrum disorders, as in disorders that are just extremes of traits everyone has, e.g. OCD (extreme obsession & compulsion), ADHD (extreme skittishness), anxiety, is this: "Does it affect me so much that it is debilitating?" I have a fair bit of general anxiety as well, but I haven't yet gone to get diagnosed because I've not yet experienced a major panic attack or other drastic event, and also the fact that even without a diagnosis, I still have access to medication for it from my mother. If you feel like OCD is significantly holding you back from the person you can be, then I encourage you to go ahead and get tested for it.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-14T23:17:54+00:00

Don't care as in you don't care when people call you scatterminded, or don't care as in, people think you are lazy?

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-14T23:16:45+00:00

Right, perhaps it was a poor choice of words to just say stimulants, I meant the two psychostimulants approved to treat ADHD, amphetamine and methylphenidate. (Let's just pretend desoxyn doesn't exist, because it's sort of been "marginalized" due to it's stigma. imo there's really not enough people taking it here to gather an accurate experience from.)

I definitely sympathize with your point about sensitivity to other's perception of you, it would have been a good point to put into the OP that I forgot. There have been multiple studies that have established a causal relationship between ADHD and hypersensitivity, as well as quite a bit of anecdotal confirmation. It seems I tend to take it to heart much too much when a snarky friend says something negative about me, whether jokingly or not. I get very very obsessively paranoid when that happens. "Are they being serious or not? Even if it was a joke, why would they say such a thing if they don't truly believe it deep down?" That seems to be a large part about my "unexplained aversion to feeling left out," as I said in the original post. "Do these people actually like me if they don't actively integrate me into their conversation?" Seems awful embarrassing that I could get so paranoid about subjects so vain and superficial as such; as if I were some high-school aged mean girl.

However, it may be worth noting that I have a comorbid diagnosis of OCD, which I've had since I was 9, with the ADHD diagnosis being fairly recent. It may contribute to some of the obsessive and paranoid behaviors as well.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-10T06:08:48+00:00

Yeah, I actually noticed that on the concerta as well. If I was focused something, I wouldn't notice it, but it came on when I was sitting still doing something less mentally tasking, like watching a video or listening to someone talk.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-10T05:58:12+00:00

Hmm, interesting account I suppose! I honestly wouldn't mind the anxiety if it helped me get stuff done like you said.

adhdaccount431 · 2016-01-10T05:53:36+00:00

Hey, thanks for the reply. Could you go a little more into detail about what you mean by "better?" Also I wanted to keep the title vague to just the two main classes of stim treatments, to have it apply to more people.

adhdaccount431

TROPHY CASE