So how do I know if it's working?

[Anonymous]

My doctor has had me on several medications. We tried low-doses of Concerta and Adderal, but when we upped the doses, I started getting irritable. The lower doses did a little for me, but not a lot. I’m taking Ritalin now and while I feel it helps a little, I still have trouble “buckling down” and just doing what needs to be done. I definitely feel rudderless. And the fact that I’m out of work and trying to rgain some income is not helping with my stress levels. Is this normal?

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[Anonymous]

Hi there GG……. I share this with everybody who makes the comments similar to yours. It is my view Meds are not the ‘be all…end all”. My experience is….meds give people a hand up, they are not the the final answer. Different people also respond differently to different meds. It may likely take time to get things to a max benefit.

Consider if you will….a multi-point plan to manage your life is likely required. Meds are not magic. and not always instant. A MD should be able to help you scope out a plan of attack. Food plays a very very important part…. what you take in, the type of food. There are so many additives out there in food these days that adversely affect us aswell as the type of foods we take in… I am a chronic label reader. Regular exercise and physical wellness were also critical for me as well as counseling, education, and self awareness were also very important. For me this is a condition that I must manage for life….there is no magical short term thing.

I am very very aware of my physical and mental health…I can talk to my doctor with knowledge and I understand where he is going with something…it is important…they are only doctors and rely on good feedback from their patients. The better the feedback, the better your doctor can react and diagnose.

This is my experience…… I’m sixty been there done that…I am sharing what has been successful for me…I’m not a doctor, so this is sharing only. It is my opinion….there a many many folks on the planet that will tell you what is “wrong” what the pitfalls are… but I think it’s also important to talk with people who have had hands-on success, good long term success.

Anyway….. that’s my two-bits…

toofat

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[Anonymous]

I’m new to this myself, but I cannot agree with toofat strongly enough. ADHD meds are not going to suddenly make all of your problems magically resolve themselves. A lot of us (myself included) have made bad choices in the past that we are still dealing with. Having a diagnosis and being on meds is helping to stop blaming myself for all of my past %#&$-ups and to start looking forward to making better choices in the future.

Depression can make you irritable and cranky too, and no one would fault you for being depressed in your situation. Hang in there!

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[Anonymous]

I guess I get confused when I read and hear from folks who say the difference is like night and day. I’m trying, but while I feel like I can cope on some days, others I feel completely overwhelmed – I get upset because I feel like I’m moving backwards. And (thanks to the good ol’ USA) I have little or no resources for therapy. So yeah, today isn’t one of my better days.

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[Anonymous]

Me again GG……. really other folks are just that….other folks…this a sharing site. You will find difference all over. Remember GG… there are degrees of everything including ADD and ADHD and…. degrees of response to everything including meds. Not all meds work for everybody, sometimes your Doc will have to try different types of meds to find one you respond well to. That’s why I say feedback to your Doc and a good repoire with your Doc is so critical.

Brentitude captured a good thought too…. this didn’t happen over night. You have lived in the world with it (I have no idea how old you are…and don’t care)…for a long time. See GG….we are more than just chemistry we are both nature and nurture. That means we are in part what we have experienced in our life…as well as our physical make-up. So when I say a multipoint attack is likely the most effective, multipoint will address all of your self…the total GG, if you will.

Picture this…… you have a large all of string and you want to unwind it….you can’t do it very well by just pulling at whatever pieces of string are hanging out. It really doesn’t work very well…it can actually get worse right. This isn’t all that different, patience and diligence, and with the right assistance you can get there.

We are in part made up of our perceptions, if ones perception has been skewed for one reason or another (I’m not saying yours has)..then there is a whole bunch of learnings that may have to be re-examined too. It’s a great journey I highly recommend it to everyone. It does take time….years…. but what the hell…….if your this dismayed with what has happened so far…..it maybe worth the effort…right???`

Sharing, learning, talking all good stuff…there is lots of support here….but I found professional assistance is a great thing. The right people in your corner can help you accomplish wonders.

I urge you not to procrastinate do it…. do it now….. make the calls..investigate… start the ball rolling…..today…right now.

toofat

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[Anonymous]

I’ve also heard and read that the effects are fairly blatant – if something works, you know it and if it doesn’t, you know that too…eventually I guess. If not for the irritability and tears, I could almost be convinced that I’m taking sugar pills

It’s not a good day for me either, so you’re not alone there I started Ritalin a few days ago. My Dr told me that the difference would be night and day, IF this was the right medicine for me. So far I don’t think this is the one. I’ve been nothing but a hot mess since I started it. There are other circumstances that are contributing factors to my ‘down’ days lately, the Ritalin just isn’t a factor that’s helping. I’ve been told that a side effect of Ritalin is crying. I’m easy to tear up these days anyway and so I’ve been a waterfall the past few days. I didn’t realize that irritability is also a side effect. That would explain the unusually angry driving over the weekend, eh? Ha. Yep, I think Ritalin isn’t for me. My Dr is trying 3 drugs on me. The first week is Ritalin, then Adderall the second week and then another one the third week. Whichever one works best is the one he’ll then prescribe and in the extended release form. We shall see!

Hang in there

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[Anonymous]

Thanks, folks. Yes, I’m carrying around a lot of baggage with this. After so many years of never getting it quite right and getting so frustrated with myself that I wanted to just give it all up, depression has become a rather regular companion. In fact, before I was diagnosed with ADHD, I was being treated for the big D. But I never really felt all that better with that treatment – perhaps because no one was considering that I was an adult with ADHD. Even now I sometimes have trouble believing it – that maybe I’m just a lazy screw-up who can’t get anything right.

I do know that I have a heck of a time controlling my emotions. When I get angry, I get really angry and when I get sad, I’m, well, really sad. So I guess it would be nice to try and get those things back into perspective first.

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[Anonymous]

I think a lot of us here are like that. I think it’s probably why a lot of ADDers get misdiagnosed as bipolar.

I don’t know if it will help you or not, but I know what you’re going through. Been there, done that, as they say. You’re not a lazy screw up.

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[Anonymous]

Ditto to brentitude – a lot of us here are going through the same motions and emotions. You’re not lazy and you’re not a screw up and you’re surely not alone. Being an adult with ADHD and not properly diagnosed until adulthood is not easy to wrap your head around. It’s going to take time. Going through life thus far and not knowing why you think, feel, act, or process the way that you do is more than enough to make anyone depressed. You’ve made it to here – to this point in time and this diagnosis – that’s huge. You’re going to sort it out and you’re going to be fully functional, as will I and every other adult with a late diagnosis. We just have to hang in and know that life WILL be better now that we know. It can only go up from here It has to.

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[Anonymous]

I agree with the above comment. Things will improve. You need to look at many different sources to improve your life. I look back at times in life when I though I was on top of everything and now I realize that I wasn’t at the top, I wasn’t even at the bottom. I was below the bottom. Perspective is huge with this. I can’t stress it enough. I’m not finding the drugs effective either but I’m looking at things differently now. There is no quick pill fix, don’t expect there to be. It really comes down to you. You and only you have the power to make changes in your life. Get into a support group if you can gain access to one. Read books like Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth for example. I have to cheat with this stuff because I have a hard time with comprehension, always have, but I made it through College as a mature student. I use reading programs and follow along with them. There is all kinds of support literature and online videos to help educate you. Education is the secret. It’s up to you. You can do it. Try a few of these things and you will see how the door to reality opens. Doing this will also help with your confidence. I have had to deal with serious depression and anxiety problems my whole life. If you do find a drug that helps then think of it as the icing on the cake. Without any cake there’s no place to put the icing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeaWC6y0jFc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bRy8GonFrE

Good luck,

John

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[Anonymous]

Hi GG still with you. Great support group….great. I feel similar to the others like John’s post inparticular….on perspective and time.

We tend to view reality through the eyes of our mind. We all see things differently..all of us. Your vision and mine are not the same. both visions are limited and likely inadequate but not to the same extent….we all have a different reality Our misinterpretations and distortions are different GG. We all see things to which another is maybe blind… point being …..it is the dimension and clarity with which we see our small worlds…..which determine dimension and quality of our life. Those things to which we are blind or have distorted diminish or limit a full life and happiness. So GG if we are to change and grow we have change our basic vision….our perception of reality. That is the internal challenge that leads us to our path…we all have one.

When I’m on my path following my heart not my head…. the correct one….. my heart is calm, life is full… it guides me in life. When I stray and it happens…I become agitated and have a general dis-ease. If I pay attention to my heart it will tell me to poke my head up and look around….something is off. When I’m back pointed right and on my path…. the calm will return.

It does not happen over night…it was years of internal searching and counseling with a great guide….but it was worth it every minute. I always encourage any and everybody to take the journey….best thing I ever did, for me for my family and my life partner.

be well GG……….

toofat

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[agnoscet]

What a great thread. GG, you have company here!

toofat mentioned ‘dismay’ a couple posts above. When my doc and I increased my Concerta (same drug as Ritalin, but time released) I got irritable and felt generally dismayed. I’ve heard it said on this board that the feelings are akin to grieving… for the time lost, opportunities missed, and when it gets right down to it, feeling sorry for oneself. It doesn’t have to be that way. I learned to forgive myself first, then to grab the bootlaces and start into rearranging my life. toofat’s recommendation of following your heart is pure gold.

As for “buckling down,” I suggest you click on the ‘blog’ tab on the left and take Rick’s Challenge #2.

A few days ago, I read a post by a motorcycle mechanic who just picked up one tool, then another, and by the time a few minutes were up, his shop was clean. Don’t over think, just get zen and do. Do.

Perhaps the three drawer concept will work for you. Drawer A contains all the things that ‘if I don’t do this today, life as we know it will end.’ Drawer B contains all the things that will become Drawer A items some time in the future. Drawer C contains everything else.

Ignore Drawer B and C.

Now, take ONE item out of Drawer A, take care of it, pat yourself on the back for accomplishment. Enjoy the endorphin rush. Just reach in that drawer and grab one. Grab the first motorcycle shop tool that needs to be put away. Just do.

How do I know my meds are working? When the stand-up comedian in my head either (1) shuts up, or (2) makes sense. Yes, it’s a circus in here, but I’ve learned to actually enjoy it. As Dudley Moore said in Arthur, “sometimes I just have funny thoughts.”

Just as planting good seeds grow good tomatoes, planting good thoughts grow good days. I spend a few minutes at the start of each day gazing out my window. I impassionately face the ideas which disturb me, which at one time I would have become focused upon, fretted about, and probably let them drive my day. No longer. If they can be dealt with, I put them in their proper drawer, and go on to brighter thoughts. I watch the sunrise, listen to the birds, say good morning to my dog and generally guide myself into a calm and hopeful state. Every morning. It’s just another ADD habit maybe, but it works for me.

Just throwing this out there, hope you can find what works for you. It took me a couple years to learn to “have a good day.”

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[Anonymous]

I love this forum. I love how respectful and supportive we are of each other. I’ve never participated in anything quite like it before.

Just wanted to say that.

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[Anonymous]

For years, I thought certain medications were working well. I was diagnosed in 2003 (age 40) and first put on Wellbutrin; my PCP was leary of the “on/off switch” effect of Ritalin and how it might affect my diabetic care. Within a month, I found my driving had become much safer, though I was troubled by the tremor side-effect. In 2006, a new family doctor put my on Effexor at my request, because of its possible benefits for my Asperger Syndrome; it did help with my anxieties and depressions. This past year, I was losing the effect of Effexor on my depression, but I was leary of giving up what I thought was “good” ADD control (as long as there were no accidents or close calls while driving, I thought I had good control; yeah, right, duh…); I finally broke down and called a psychiatrist who had been recommended by the therapist who diagnosed my Asperger in 2005. A few days on just 10 mg of Adderall XR, I was already feeling the difference: anxieties seemed to level off , I had much more energy to do things at the end of a long day, driving became MUCH more pleasant, I felt much less combative with my wife, I could pull myself out of bed (with energy) after only one or hits of the snooze alarm, and I had much better control over my tendency to interrupt others. I’m now on 20 mg on rising and 20 mg at lunch, and the result is dramatic. It’s even become easy to get to work and clock in on time!

Keep trying until you find what works! It took me 7 years, but I finally found it!

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