The Forums › Forums › Medication › Concerta › Not loving it, looking for suggestions. › Re: Not loving it, looking for suggestions.
freakchik.ar,
Hi, first off welcome this is the right place and a great place to be. I agree with KC. We mean well so don’t get offended with our eventual foot-in-the-mouth posts. I’m lucky that I spell check let alone use correct grammar and use run on sentences.
So I read your posts on the meds. I’m on Adderall but a low dose. I tried the higher doses but found a lot of the aggravated side effects. Mood swings, emotional, irritated and found it even harder to sit still. I wasn’t so sure at first and thought the same. So is this the only other option as a way to live? Great now I’m crazy and just as emotional when I was drinking! Uh no thanks. But I kept at the meds and dosage. I also take a low dose of antidepressant as well.
Keeping a journal and getting feedback is an excellent way to go. I did some of that so when I got fed up and stopped taking the meds for a while since I too hate pills I could finally tell ok there are somethings that are working. I think we live in chaos for so long it’s hard to tell when any part of life gets better. You also have to take the small victories. Such as I kept a note of how many times I could find my car keys. If you want to know how big a deal that is for me read the comments on the video Sh@3$t no Adult Adder ever says in the video section.
In addition to medication I also had to start looking at all areas of my life. Sleep, meditation (still working on that one), mood management, eating and cutting back of coffee with the simulates. I too have anxiety and the the meds revealed how much I was actually feeling. I stopped drinking because while for many years I too would have different effects Like I could focus and get stuff done while drinking and my mood would be much calmer in the end when the ADD became more unmanageable I turned into drunk crying girl which no one likes. Not even me. And would just escalate all the symptoms. Turns out to be a very common problem among us ADD folk.
So I would say go easy and be kind to yourself. Something we are not used to doing. Take things slow. I don’t know how long you have been on meds.
Some people just don’t respond to meds. I have a friend who is a teacher who has put enough structures and routines in place that it keeps her symptoms manageable.
I would also watch the webinars. Those were a great place fro me to start. Dr. Jain has two good ones on medication and a holistic approach. You really do have to spend some time on each area of your life. I thought at first the medications would be like the Parting of the red sea of my mind and then everything would just be great! No such luck. Just doesn’t work that way.
But what I can say since the year and half that I got the actual diagnosis (I always suspected) things are so much different. Some days are crazy but not to the degree that they were. The more I learn and talk to others and use tips they have used – well then progress really speeds up.
I just got a new job. So far so good after a week. I started getting freelance jobs as well. I’m a graphic designer and I lost my job of 11 years due to ADD symptoms out of control. Oh and I started designing jewelry and did my first street festival and was pretty successful and got lots of compliments on my designs. Got my relationship back on track. My boyfriend (that sounds so high school) of 4 years was just about to end it. Well both of us were. I educated him on stuff cued him in on the symptoms and my moods. And we are getting along and actually liking each other again. It’s not all perfect and we still have issues we are working on but the constant fighting doesn’t happen.
Ok so that’s just a we bit about me (LOL) glad to have you hear and hope this place turns out to be as good for you as it is for me. I look forward to the posts from the people I know online here. Let us know how things progress for you. We really do want to know. It helps us too.
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