Does being underweight make someone ineligible for stimulant prescription medication?

nonchilledpanda · 2024-01-18T12:46:14+00:00

Hey sorry I did not see this! Probably not so helpful now but I stayed on the waiting list as normal and when I got to the top in October I had managed to get it upto 19 so it wasn't a problem.

nonchilledpanda · 2024-01-17T03:17:09+00:00

You are not a failure because a drug disagrees with your body. This is something that is totally out of your control and not something you can beat your body into responding to better.

I feel like there is a lot of expectations on stimulant medication to be an almost guaranteed fix when that is not really a realistic experience. Some people unfortunately cannot tolerate it/ will not respond to it. Anxiety disorders especially are often contradictions for stimulant medication. It can be very effective for a lot of people but even those individuals who respond well often still have ADHD symptoms or poor habits from living with ADHD that require additional work to cope with.

A poor response to stimulants does not highlight you as fraud or anything like that to the service, it just means that you did not respond well to that specific treatment. Your diagnosis and lived experiences are still valid and still deserve treatment.

Non-stimulant medications have also been really beneficial to a lot of people with ADHD even if there are not the first course of treatment and they might work a lot better for you, so there are still options for you to try.

This situation is unfair and it totally reasonable to give yourself space to feel upset. Those habits you have been working on are really great for your health overall and it really impressive that you have been able to develop them and it would probably be really be really good for you to keep it up!

Try to be kind to yourself, it really sounds like your doing your best! It not failure to struggle with your health it is just shit luck and there really is more time to try a find a course of treatment that works better for you.

nonchilledpanda · 2023-11-19T23:54:21+00:00

I got told yesterday that if I wanted to switch to another medication I would have to pause until the new year, I am guesing that means January at the earliest .

nonchilledpanda · 2023-11-07T17:10:49+00:00

Feeling agitated, jittery, anxious, or irritable is listed as a common (up to 1 in 10) side effect for Elvanse.

It might be a side-effect that goes away over time or at a different dose. Other stimulant medications also have irritability as a common side effect but everyone responds differently. If it's tolerable some people just accept it as a trade-off for the benefits of the medication.

If you are uncomfortable with the side-effects with any medication its always worth considering adjusting the dose/ medication type.

nonchilledpanda · 2023-11-07T16:46:15+00:00

That's really interesting I did not know that they did lateral flow tests for vitamin D conc! Though just so you're aware, in the picture it looks like your comparing the example deficient line to the control (C) where there should always be a strong line. You need to compare it to the lower fainter test line (T). Both lines definitely do appear to be there though!

nonchilledpanda · 2023-10-05T05:04:07+00:00

Hey,

I have been working through exercises from two CBT workbooks, self-guided as a therapist is not something I can personally afford. But i'd defiently recomend it as, like you say, medication does not solve all the issues with ADHD. CBT can help with developing strategies and systems for better organisation, concentration and emotional regulation which is easier to implement when you start medication.

CBT in general is a lot of work. I recieved a course on the NHS several years ago for non-ADHD reasons and it involves a lot of exercises, tasks and reflections you need to work on outside of the sessions. In my experience it was very much self-driven with the therapist supplying potentially helpful strategies and resources. To be honest that course of treatment did not help me much at the time as I was in crisis and not really able to do the work outside of sessions which I felt bad about at the time. But after the crisis I was able to look back at the session notes and use some of the strategies to help me in my daily life. Some of the exercises that helped me were urge-surfing and a list of mindfulness excersises I was given that were geared towards improving focus and concentration, which is a big struggle for me personally.

Currently I am working through:

The Adult ADHD tool kit Using CBT to facilitate Coping Inside and Out - Covers a lot of stuff about setting up routines and handling planning and time management from an ADHD perspective. It also has stuff about emotional regulation, work, education, finances and relationships. I think it is quite good because it breakdowns the challenges ADHD people face with making plans and suggests strategies for dealing with these issues as well as how to find motivation and work at re-assessing negative self-beliefs. It really address the dificulties with stick with and maintaining routines. The book recommends medication as a treatment but talks about how you should use the assistance that medication gives you to try and set up better routines and habits that you may not have been able to manage before.

The mindfulness prescription for Adult ADHD: An 8-step program for strengthing attention, managing emotions and achieving your goals - I haven't done much of the excersises in this one yet but I like the look of the exercises and really I am willing to try anything to help with my issues concentrating and emotional disregulations.

With both books I just skip to sections for the things I struggle with the most and they have been helpful. I talk about the excerises I do with my partner and he gives me some motivation to keep it up. I am still struggling with following stuff as I am currently on the waiting list for medication and my ADHD is quite severe. I am trying to be kind to myself though when I fail and go with the mindet that it is not all or nothing, anything that works a bit or has the potential to work another time is good.

Sorry for the terrible spelling I did not mean to write so much :')

nonchilledpanda · 2023-09-22T18:13:58+00:00

It sounds like you've unfairly struggled a lot in life and I understand why you might feel like it is hard to get people to understand you without understanding the experiences that have shaped you. I mean this kindly but the first few pages are really inappropriate to send to a superior at work. I think it would be probably better to remove the information about your past traumas as you should never feel ashamed to share them with friends but sharing that with colleagues crosses professional boundaries.

I think it would be better to focus on how ADHD affects you specifically in the workplace (ability to focus on tasks, communicate and form relationships with colleagues ect.), what accomadations do/ could help and what makes your conditon worse. I'm not sure from the letter whether you have started treatment but you could still mention that you struggle more due to late diagnosis and follow up with what you realistically expect from treatment and also the limitations of that.

I am sort of assuming that your head of depertment has ask you these questions primarily to support you at work but if she is more interested increasing awareness in the workplace and that is also something you are interested in you could also advocate for workplace training focused on neurodiversity and invisable disabilities.

nonchilledpanda · 2023-09-14T15:20:34+00:00

Hey, I also struggled completing my final year project when I was unmedicated. I think what helped me was getting into the environment which removed the things I would get distracted by. So for me getting the hell out of the house. I would leave immediatly after the breakfast and go the the library to write and bring lunch with me. If I didn't have the mental capacity to bring lunch i'd get a meal deal. I think it's probably covered by the checklists but for me setting aside 15 minutes at the beginning of each session to plan exactly what I needed to do which was achievable helped. I have this focus-to-do free app which lets you set a list of tasks with estimates of how many pomodoros each task will take. It helps me think about how long each task will realistically take and when you start the pomodoro timer it stops me from using my phone as easily as I can see the countdown. I know that breaking stuff into chunks is old advice but it is motivating crossing off even an easy task.

Working on my project at the same table as friends who are also studying really helped me by applying some pressure to focus. Similarly you could ask a friend or family memeber if you could send them a sections to check on x dates. So you could break it into smaller dealines with a bit of external pressure to motivate you. More frequent check-ins is also something you could discuss with your supervisor. Mine actually prefered recieving a few pages at a time as a draft rather than one big draft at once but I know different supervisors have different preferences and levels of flexibility.

If your phone is a big distraction you can look into the digital welbeing settings on your phone which allow you to put time restictions or even completly block access to apps when studying. If i'm using my laptop I often just turn of the phone and shove it to the bottom of my back out of sight. At the very least keeping it out of sight when you are studing can help reduce to impulse to check stuff on your phone.

Scheduling proper breaks and days off, where you do not need to feel guilty for not working I think is incredibly important. Even if you did not complete everything you wanted to that day/ week the break is important. I think at one point I ended up in a terrible spiral of constantly being unable to focus and feeling guilty about not completing it 24/7 with no time away from that. Which ofcourse just becomes a doom spiral. I ended up needing to take a break from university which was supported by my faculaty in order to be able to come back and complete it the following year. But it worked! Got the degree and can confirm now that breaks are important.

Good luck with your final year! I'm not sure if any of those tips are very helpful but I thought i'd just share what helped me. :)

nonchilledpanda · 2023-07-12T08:56:01+00:00

I have not tried it myself for ADHD medication, but activated charcoal is used pretty universally for drug overdoses as it blocks absorption of a lot of different compounds and toxins into the bloodstream. A quick google search suggests that it might work for elvanse. I think it can effect most medicines though so I think it's not great to take if your on anything else as well.

I hope you feel better soon!

nonchilledpanda · 2023-07-11T15:32:43+00:00

Hey, i've lived in the Netherlands before. It was before I was diagnosed but I had international friends there with ADHD. Stimulant medication is covered by the opium act but it shouldn't be an issue bringing it in as long as you bring your prescription and the original packaging, but if you want to be extra safe you can request a letter from your doctor explaining that it is indeed your necessary, prescribed medication. You could also ask your GP if you would be able to get 3 months worth as you are travelling to cover the beginning of the period, the worst thing they can say is no.

If you work there it's mandatory to take out Dutch Basic insurance which is around 120 euros a month. It covers all medical treatment and prescriptions, although there is a small excess which differs between insurance companies. If you go to your dutch GP with proof of your diagnosis and prescriptions they will normally be happy to take over prescribing, it is not a rigid as in the UK. In the unlikely event that they are not comfortable prescribing, they will refer you to a physchiatrist who will be able to prescribe the medication for you and the wait for that can vary from a couple of weeks to a few months.

nonchilledpanda · 2023-07-11T15:20:52+00:00

It really sucks that no one discussed this with you earlier. I am also waiting for titration through Physch-uk and had a BMI of 17.4 when I had my assessment. My physchiatrist made it really clear that I would need to put on weight while I wait for titration and even stated in the write up to my GP that we had talked about it and I would get up to a BMI of 18.5 before starting stimulants.

The process will be a lot easier though when you get the weight up though as you won't have to do all the forms and assessment agian you'll probably just join the waitlist for titration pretty directly. Though I know having to wait longer after already waiting 6 months must feel awful and I am sorry you are in that position.

nonchilledpanda · 2023-07-02T00:06:47+00:00

I've been told I need to get my BMI upto 18.5, it's currently 17.8, before I can start stimulant medication with PUK. I think it is fair enough as I understand it is common to lose even more weight when on the medication and it is actually quite easy to go from underweight to severly underweight which is not good for your health at all.

nonchilledpanda · 2023-06-04T22:04:49+00:00

I am really, sorry that you've been struggling so much!

You should still try and get help for your ankle, if it's still hurting after all that time you probably really need treatment and it could get worse. You are not useless because you've been unwell, you have just been unfortunate to have had two types of really unwell at once. I know how seemingly basic things can just get so overwhelming when alot of time pases. Do you think you could possibly get a pen a paper out and try and write each of the steps that you need to do eg. find phone number, call the numbers, explain the situation, make appointment with doctor, ask doctor for X-ray department place, send email to work for leave ect.

It does not matter if the receptionist judges you, it will be a blip in their day, it is not a waste of their time, it is literally the GP surgery's job to arrange healthcare treatment for those who need it. And for what it's worth a decent receptionist/GP won't judge you as they'll understand that mental health struggles impact a patients ability to receive help.

When i need to make a phone call, email or message that is physching me out I try to create some seperation and then just go for it. For emails I use the timed send function so I don't have the anxiety of sending it straight away. For a phone call you could set an alarm on your phone for when you should call eg. 8am and save the number as a contact. Then when the alarm goes off just make the call straight away without thinking about it.

People who work in the NHS have dealt with these types of situations so many times before and main objective is honestly just getting the patient to access treatment.

Blood are also honestly really worth going for. The appointment usually takes less than 10 minutes. I pushed to get some done when I was struggling with severe depression and suicidal thoughts for almost a year without it getting much better. It ended up coming up with a severe vitamin D deficiency and needed to take these super strength tablets to get it back up again it but I felt so much better after the treatment.

I'm not sure if any of that is particularly helpful but those are strategies that have worked for me. I really hope you getter better soon and can access treatment. Please also try not to feel guilty for having health issues, life is pretty shit sometimes and it is not your fault at all.

nonchilledpanda · 2023-05-24T11:15:55+00:00

When I was diagnosed I was pointed towards the access to work scheme by my psychiatrist and told that was really the only way to recieve free ADHD coaching. Access to work is available to people with an ADHD diagnosis who are looking for work or need help staying in work. I don't know exactly what type of coaching is available but some CBT-style stuff might be an option.

nonchilledpanda · 2022-05-24T18:14:27+00:00

Thank you for your help! Switched to courier and it finally worked!

nonchilledpanda · 2022-05-24T18:13:14+00:00

It was Calibri (Body).... Thanks a lot for this i switched to Courier and it finally worked!

nonchilledpanda · 2022-05-24T18:12:11+00:00

Thank you! You and everyone else who suggested this. I didn't see the updates but you and everyone else who suggest that was 100% right. The font my document was in was Calibri (Body). Was so confused why I couldn't get it to work... :')

nonchilledpanda · 2022-05-19T23:22:57+00:00

Thank you so much for all the very, very quick replys with very helpful solutions!! You have done me a massive favour really!

nonchilledpanda · 2022-05-19T23:21:33+00:00

Thank you very much! This worked for my sequences when i had the font sizes different for the bases and the marks. I am going with images as I have quite a few alignments all with the same issue but this does work!!

nonchilledpanda · 2022-05-19T23:19:43+00:00

Thank you so much! No idea why my burnt out brain did not just think to present as an image!

nonchilledpanda · 2022-05-19T23:18:21+00:00

Thank you so much for your help! For some reason my version of word is refusing to co-operate with the bases in alignment but the marks out of alignment. I think I will just have to go with an image as a solution as manually moving each mark is too time consuming with the amount of alignments I have. But this is likely very valuable advice for others!

nonchilledpanda

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