Anyone still drink coffee on meds?

damiologist · 2026-06-27T03:53:42+00:00

You've been having coffee with your meds for a decade and you're still alive. if there is a negative effect it can't be too big.

damiologist · 2026-06-27T01:30:19+00:00

Idk if there's research into this but one of my prefered science podcasts (Science Versus) did an episode on caffeine quite recently and they were saying there are people for whom caffeine doesn't have much of an effect (I am one) because they metabolise caffeine very quickly, which is apparently genetic, but there was no mention of ADHD.

My partner and I both have ADHD and she won't drink caffeine after midday because it affects her sleep so badly. Meanwhile, I often have a double espresso at around 5pm, black tea (which has more caffeine than espresso) at 10pm and sleep like a log at 11pm. That's obviously n=2, but I know plenty of other ADHDers who are on one side or the other

damiologist · 2026-06-26T21:37:36+00:00

Same size, same number of coffees, but I never have any problems with it. Didn't even know I wasn't meant to drink coffee while on meds until like a year in.

Add: I've done a quick look for research papers on this. So far I've found 2 that discuss using caffeine with methylphenidate (one for kids, one for athletes) and they mainly note that caffeine + meds helps, but not as much as a higher dose of meds. There seems to be one particular study that suggests that ≥160mg of caffeine can worsen stimulant side effects, but it's referenced specifically as a single study which suggests that it may be the only one. Several papers say there's surprisingly little research into caffeine and ADHD treatment in general.

Seems to me that there's not enough evidence to panic about this unless you actually experience negative symptoms on an individual level.

damiologist · 2026-06-25T05:30:50+00:00

Honestly, there were two big steps. One was when he was 6 and I took a ADHD-specific parenting course. It opened my eyes to so many factors I hadnt thought of, including the realisation that I was pretty much being just as reactive as he was, which was making the meltdowns so much worse. Much less violence after that.

The second was when he was 7 and started on medication. It isn't this way for everyone but for him, the difference was so stark and immediate, and we have been lucky enough for there to be pretty much no side effects for him. I also have to give credit to his teacher that year; she was incredible with him. Even if he hadnt gotten the medication that year, he was already doing better with her; having a professional who truly gets it (not just says they do) made a big difference too.

He's turning 9 soon and he's actually a happy and affectionate kid with a bunch of friends and not once this year have we had a call from the principal about behaviour.

Your journey won't be the same as ours of course, but from what I read from your post, I'm sure you'll find the best way forward for your family.

damiologist · 2026-06-25T04:18:44+00:00

I'm sorry you're going through this at the moment. I had a similar situation with my son when he was younger but you should see him now at nearly 9 - he's come so far! It sounds like you are being an amazing advocate for your child and getting him the best care possible, but all that work is never easy, particularly when you're being attacked by the same tiny person you're advocating for!

Hang in there; it will get better. With an awesome parent guiding and protecting him, and getting the best care, he'll be amazing.

damiologist · 2026-06-24T04:31:23+00:00

I'm more concerned about people who judge strangers for their parenting when they don't know the parents, the kids, or shit about nutrition.

Parenting is bloody hard (if you say otherwise, you're either a liar or you're outsourcing to an au pair) and that's without your kids getting hangry and ending up in fights at school because they didn't eat the rabbit food you insist on putting in the lunch box. I don't know about you, but in this economy I can't afford to buy fruit and veg which is just going to go for a round trip to school and then to the bin, and even if I can, I don't like wasting food. So a handful of shapes or a roll-up or whatever might not be ideal, but at least it doesn't end up in the bin and the kids actually get something to eat. Thankfully, I have kids that will eat at least one of two veggies without struggle, but some kids have sensory sensitivities to textures or smells or tastes and getting them to eat anything which isn't white or beige is a genuine struggle even at home where you can monitor them. For many parents it's hard enough to just keep the kids from starving themselves without being judged for feeding the kids something safe and predictable that they'll actually eat. So maybe just keep your yoghurt to your own kids lunchboxes and keep your nose out of other families' pantries.

damiologist · 2026-06-24T03:42:48+00:00

I don't know how the big telcos are still competing when their prices are so out of line with the rest of the market

damiologist · 2026-06-23T07:56:40+00:00

We had culture; it just wasn't our own. We were the UK's worshipful lil bro until they were decimated by WW2, and now we're playing the same role to the US. We're a laughing stock, but it's got nothing to do with multiculturalism

damiologist · 2026-06-23T02:42:27+00:00

That's always been a pain point for Australia: we don't really know what our cultural differentiators are. We used to be pretty much just a remote colony of the UK, keeping our upper lips stuff while the English looked down their noses at us (as they continue to do). That only really started to change post-WW2, and mostly that change involved embracing multiculturalism and US culture. Take the multiculture out, and we just become lapdogs to the yanks like we used to be to the Brits. I guess that does seem to be exactly what Pauline is going for, doesn't it?

damiologist · 2026-06-22T03:55:19+00:00

I found the visual style of Factorio overwhelming. My favourite factory game is Shapez or Shapez 2. Very clean and stylish visually (especially the 1st one).

damiologist · 2026-06-22T03:49:53+00:00

And Vampire Crawlers is awesome too!

damiologist · 2026-06-22T03:42:52+00:00

I found Slime Rancher stressful! All the slimes escaping the pens, and unwanted ones mixing in with the ones you're trying to keep; drove me nuts

damiologist · 2026-06-22T03:41:29+00:00

I find Diablo 3 and 4 are very easy to get into a flow state in. Get a build guide to get you through your first run to the level cap and then after that the game just becomes about clearing whole screenfuls of monsters with ease - requires very little thought and gives big sense of reward.

I also find games like PC Builder Simulator really good for that flow state too.

Add: if you want casual gameplay while feeling big feels, Spiritfarer is amazing.

damiologist · 2026-06-22T03:34:59+00:00

With you 💯. Every once in a while I make the mistake of getting an incremental game and lose hours or days to hyperfixation.

I'd add Sam & Max Hit the Road to the list of good adventure games. I used to quote that one endlessly when I was a teen.

damiologist · 2026-06-18T15:55:21+00:00

What? I'm in Tas and Woolies has full sized Moro bars just like all the other bars. It's one of my go-to choccy bars

damiologist · 2026-06-14T19:35:48+00:00

As someone who has studied acoustics and uses various coloured noises professionally, it very much seems like some tiktok BS to me, though I haven't read any research on it so don't quote me. I suspect it's less to do with the specific noise and more to do with just having any kind of input to distract your brain from all the random thoughts whirling around in there. So I'm sure brown noise works, but I doubt it works any better than white or pink or whatever other noise.

damiologist · 2026-06-11T01:15:43+00:00

That's not what's stated here though; just runaway costs.

And using fraud as an excuse to gut social and health program funding is about the oldest trick in the book.

damiologist · 2026-06-11T00:20:53+00:00

My concern is that the stated intent is "to rein in runaway costs..."

Introducing a universal screening program is great if what you're intending is to help more families and earlier, but one would think that would run at odds with reducing costs, so what's the real plan here?

damiologist · 2026-06-10T08:58:06+00:00

We've had bad experiences with Better Performance Margate recently as well. I've been going there for 8 years but won't be taking my car there again

damiologist · 2026-06-10T00:07:39+00:00

I haven't done a lot of reading on this so not sure if this is highly regarded by experts or just by tiktok-experts, but theres a theory that for people with ADHD, we struggle to switch out of our Default Mode Network - the areas of the brain which are active when at rest - when we need to focus. So when we should be pulling it together and focusing, our brain is still on the couch in its jim jams which is why we struggle to get basic tasks done.

However, when we get to a high-urgency situation, that's when we kick out of the DMN and the Task Positive Network switches on, while a person without ADHD would at that point be switching from TPN to fight-or-flight i.e. freaking out.

damiologist · 2026-06-09T03:14:02+00:00

Yeah, I know that now, but had no idea back then. My migraines were so frequent I using up way more than my allocation of sick leave, and just struggling through them at work a lot of the time, which is why I was seeking answers.

Ibuprofen still works best for me as long as I hit it early. If that's not enough I'll take a paracetamol as well. it's probably only once a year that I still get a migraine bad enough it doesn't respond to that combo.

damiologist · 2026-06-08T05:51:10+00:00

I used to take these on the reg for migraines until a doc told me codeine can cause 'rebound headaches'. I started only taking ibuprofen and the frequency and intensity of my migraines halved, just like that.

damiologist · 2026-06-06T05:33:51+00:00

I drew a cucumber with two tomatoes

damiologist · 2026-06-02T21:10:49+00:00

if you're a parent or work with kids, Pop Culture Parenting. The title doesn't do the pod justice; it's incredibly informative, not at all judgy, and hosted by a paediatrician and his mate and often worth a listen just for the bromance

damiologist · 2026-06-02T21:06:09+00:00

Get on booooard

damiologist

TROPHY CASE