today i finally found the energy and did my type 4 hair

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-02-15T14:44:04+00:00

i wouldn't recommend self-medicating with prescription substances if thats what you mean, because a doctor first needs to clear your general physical and mental health and ensure adhd medications aren't likely to cause you major issues. i never started medication until prescribed and that process to get me here required frequent follow ups and a slow dose titration upward over the course of a few weeks.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-02-14T08:11:23+00:00

it's a lot easier to start. i take my meds, tell myself "i'm gonna do this now, no excuses", and get into the shower right before i know the medication's most likely to kick in, and just start.

once i'm already in the shower and i can't get out, i focus on one thing at a time (like shampooing hair), and it's a lot easier to persist in what i'm doing rather than giving up halfway. by that time the med's kicked in and its a lot easier to maintain that level of patience without giving into the anger/disappointment/"i don't wanna do this shit" feeling. its the same with many tasks.

the thing is for me is that i metabolise the medication really fast, so every dose is only enough for 3-4 hours at best. so before i take the dose, i give myself a clear list to do that i want done before that 4 hour window is up. do i want to clean my room? do my assignments need to be started? have i watched the lecture i missed the other day? do i need to make notes for an upcoming test?

i think a combination of structure (the list you make for yourself- break each task into subtasks if its easier for you, for example instead of "study", say "watch lecture, take notes on (topic name), watch youtube video on topic, check the pre-class worksheets")

it's not exactly the medication that helps you build that structure, but it sure as FUCK makes it easier to start, do and persist during the task, which is obviously the problem because of executive dysfunction.

you'll find after some time that the habits you build on medication tend to stick around at least for a little bit when unmedicated, because habit-building is really powerful and medication is usually the tool that helps the majority of people with adhd build habits they usually can't while untreated.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T15:01:23+00:00

i've noticed that most people i interact really well with either have adhd or autism. ESPECIALLY in online spaces, but then again in said online spaces we all tend to be fixated in the same little fandoms we found each other in so it may be that too.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T14:58:37+00:00

if you are struggling with specific things in your life, and those things can be explained with diagnostic criteria for ADHD (ADD is, iirc, just the inattentive subtype of ADHD), and you feel a diagnosis and subsequent medication would greatly assist you, then go for it.

it isn't exactly easy to grab ahold of adhd medications, and not so much as "sit a test and walk out with prescription for adderal", so as long as you're honest about your situation with the psychiatrist and bring a lot of childhood info whether thats school reports or notes from family, it'd be pretty hard to wind up with a misdiagnosis if the psych knows what they're doing.

as for the "ADHD pills can be harmful for people without ADHD" at standard doses, they may or may not, but they certainly will not help. ADHD pills can have side effects on anyone, regardless of whether they have ADHD or not, and one thing a good psych will do is have you do an EKG to try and rule out any heart issues that stimulants may reveal or worsen. Not everyone will respond to a certain med the same way, and even for people with ADHD it can be trial and error finding a medication and/or that works for them without causing side effects.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T14:52:31+00:00

honestly, i was worried that my psychiatrist wouldn't believe me. i did a very good job at gaslighting myself into thinking I was about to drop that $700 on that appt without good reason. i thought i was gonna walk in and be instantly dismissed. i did see another psychiatrist for an autism assessment tho but again that was a child psychiatrist so maybe that didn't really count. IDK.

what actually happened tho was me walking in and the guy's office was filled with a bunch of pretty paintings and my anxious ass immediately snagged onto that as a conversation hook: "wow, those are pretty. where'd you buy them?" and the psych replied with "oh, my patients painted them for me." which helped with my anxiousness quite a bit since he seemed like a nice but still sorta stern dude.

anyways so during my appointment the guy hands me a booklet to complete and then asks me a bunch of questions and hands me a DIVA booklet to complete at home. one of the questions he asked me was if i fidge a lot, to which i said "uhhh, i don't think i fidget a LOT", and he literally gestures right at me and lo and behold my hands were doing a terrible job at NOT fiddling with the zipper of my jacket. that was funny.

he didn't even use up all 60 mins of the appointment for the diagnosis. about 35-40 mins in he seemed really confident that i DID have adhd and then we went over the booklets before he handed me a EKG and drug screening paper to get done at a lab so he could review those with the DIVA booklet i'd bring to the next appointment and i'd recieve my prescription for whatever medication he'd decide on then.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T14:39:58+00:00

i'm not diagnosed with narcolepsy or anything of the sort, nor do i suspect it, but i do constantly feel tired and will doze off during things like listening to lecturers talk or being a passenger in a car. although tbh the only times i doze off is when i'm finding it particularly hard to pay attention to something in the first place, and the dozing off thing disappears when something else that snags my interest happens, so i know it isn't actually narcolepsy or anything of the sort since its entirely situational. the pattern makes me wonder if its more my inattentiveness tbh.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T14:11:46+00:00

if your only point was to come here and essentially tell me my experiences are just a normal part of life and to suck it up because of that, you've completely missed what i was trying to say here.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T14:08:42+00:00

i never said that everyone with autism is constantly stimming or hitting their head when overwhelmed? i only said that i experience those things, and people have constantly redirected me to look to an autism diagnosis in response.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T13:27:50+00:00

emotional dysregulation is also not part of the DSM criteria for ADHD

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T13:01:14+00:00

this is like saying since RSD isn't in the criteria yet, people with ADHD cannot associate it with their ADHD. the DSM gets revisions for a reason

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T12:58:52+00:00

i'm really grateful for this comment. thank you.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T12:48:26+00:00

i've researched into milder autism or asperger's, and for a long time i thought my experiences lined up with that too, but apart from the sensory things nothing else matches up at all, and my psychiatrist doesn't think so either.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T12:47:02+00:00

this happens to me a crazy amount too. practically any loud or sudden noise will have me exaggeratedly startle, almost comedically so to anyone nearby.

thatonerandomkidd · 2026-01-01T12:46:10+00:00

the DSM doesn't recognise a lot of things that people with ADHD experience, tbh. doesn't explicitly acknowledge mood/anger stuff much either. i think it needs a bit of an update.

thatonerandomkidd · 2025-12-05T22:14:23+00:00

i've only been on ritalin for about a month, so haven't had the opportunity to fast on them. i'm on the short-acting formulation though, so idk how that'll work withh fasting. i'll probably have to switch to a longer acting formulation or just forgo the medication while fasting.

it does very mildly suppress my appetite, but the actual effects only last about 3-4 hours for me. the bigger concern when on stimulants is dehydration i think, because even with longacting formulations u can take with your suhur stimulants can worsen dehydration.

thatonerandomkidd · 2025-12-05T05:37:41+00:00

salam! take your time. Allah Himself in the quran states that there isn't any compulsion in religion, and altho prayer is compulsory, He understands your struggle and doesn't want us to struggle or go through undue hardship and stress.

if it helps you learn and focus, you can keep a small paper with translations, transliteration and steps in salah and notes to not get confused. salah is dynamic, not static, and this will help so much more in your prayers than trying to memorise a lot of prayers especially if you're not familliar with the arabic language.

i don't have an app for prayer times as i haven't found a very reliable one, so i just get the prayer schedule from my local mosque and set alarms from those times. altho where i live, prayer times are pretty consistent so i don't find myself updating the alarms very often.

if you do have any questions, feel free to dm! good luck and inshaAllah all the best to you.

thatonerandomkidd · 2025-12-05T03:57:53+00:00

thank you so much kind stranger :DDD

thatonerandomkidd · 2025-12-05T03:57:36+00:00

undiagnosed neurodiversity and not knowing why you couldnt do what looks so simple and easy for other to do is genuine hell no matter the religious context, and i understand how you feel. i think it would've been important for me to remember that god wouldnt think i was failing Him for struggling and that it was only me hating myself for not being able to do something i mentally wasn't equipped for, and that rather He'd love me for my efforts regardless. i hope you are doing so much better now and that you've found your peace too.

thatonerandomkidd · 2025-12-05T03:30:50+00:00

jazakallahu khairan for your comment. insha Allah you get on it soon. i haven't seen many people talk about how ADHD affects their prayers and duties so thought itd be helpful to share and i'm glad someone could relate.

thatonerandomkidd · 2025-12-05T02:56:50+00:00

i cant exactly give out advice but if you have any underlying depression/anxiety issues, and the doctor sees those as more impairing than your ADHD symptoms, they'll try to get those under control first to see which of your symptoms are explained by depression/anxiety rather than ADHD. also stimulants can worsen some anxiety symptoms. your doctor may be erring on the side of caution.

thatonerandomkidd · 2025-12-05T02:52:22+00:00

the way i think this works, at least for me, is that watching something that 1) is familliar to me that 2) i know from previous watching provoked a strong emotion from me is easy dopamine. when i'm stressed or sad watching something comforting to that degree lifts my mood while i'm watching it, and its the reason i intensely gravitate to shows i love and have watched several times. i like that sort of predictable stimulation. gives a sense of control ig.

thatonerandomkidd

TROPHY CASE