Re: Life after starting treatment…

[Anonymous]

I just want to encourage manny to try out medications.

It is absolutely not “one size fits all”.

For me, when I know I have my medication right is when I don’t feel like I’m taking any. The catch is, when I actually am *not* taking any, I’m kind of a mess. So I see meds as chemicals that gently refine and support my brain function. I’m smart, and I know I’m smart, but I’ve been an underacheiver all of my adult life, and that really pisses me off. One of the results of being bright is that you compensate so well for your disability in many situations (especially school) that nobody ever notices just how totally scattered you really are. But getting help late in life is still better than never getting help at all.

I’m fortunate in that I don’t have to take anything super strong, but I’m on a medium dose of Ritalin (SR) and a LOW dose of an antidepressant (Effexor). I took Concerta for a year, and then wasn’t on medical benefits any longer, so I went on Ritalin. I was really worried that I wouldn’t do as well on the Ritalin, but I haven’t had any problem with the transition. Its exactly the same chemical, just released differently (for those of you on Concerta, try dropping a pill in a glass of water and watching what happens – but you’ll have to wait all day – it dissolves in gradual stages, until the plastic core is left – but I digress!!)

Awhile after I was diagnosed and started medication, I got upset that the medication didn’t “fix” me. Its taking a long time to scrape together the tools I need to make things better, but I think of the meds as a framework to build on, right, but the actually construction work is up to me.

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