Worried that stimulants will exacerbate my anxiety, but desperate for relief

[Anonymous]

I’m considering getting over my fear of smart phones to make a digital grocery list. because I also forget to write stuff on the list. oh I’ll write it later, how could I forget that I need xxxx?…>_<. I need to be supervised in the grocery store if I am just to buy a few items. If I take a handcart, I end up putting it in a shopping cart when I can’t carry it anymore! I have even tried walking to the store. I once ended up lugging 8 pounds of grapes (on huge sale and looked yummy) and a jug of milk and some etc half a mile when I just needed one thing. Really heavy for scrawny me! I think I finished one or two boxes, but I had a total of 11 boxes of cereal at one point. (i live by myself). ugh I really need to grow some self- control.

I am only a high energy person when I am overloaded with stimuli (however, not so difficult to do). I can be pretty lethargic. I need to exercise more, but it is an inferno outside and they closed the state parks for fire risk . i hate exercise that is not outdoors. I did outfit my bike with night lights so…

i want some chocolate…..

The med seemed to be going really well, but I have a horrid experience yesterday. However, there were a lot of other variables. I was really stressed and overwhelmed. a 13hr busy every moment day at work, 4 hours of sleep (woke up at 3:55am) to drive 2 hours to attend a 7:30am 10 hr conference where I had to present a poster. I’m usually a sleepy driver who cannot drive for more than about 40 miles without getting head bob. but with the med, i was flawless (good because driving is scary for me after my severe accident). The last few hours of my conference, I was so tired that I was afraid to drive the 30min freeway heavy traffic to go to my parent’s house. I guzzled some caffeine (ie mix with meds) and regretted that immensely. Tired mind in an active twitchy body kind of terrible. then I couldn’t sleep and had to endure day 2 of the conference. I absolutely must sleep tonight so I avoided the meds and caffeine. I don’t remember much of the conference. I had to take a nap on a hotel couch before driving (still couldn’t sleep <i have an insomnia problem in general>) and two driving breaks. so glad to be home safe.

I’m not sure what to think, really. except that I want to eat chocolate, get some sleep, and think about something else! because i need the meds (or something to help me focus and time manage enough to get 8 hours of work done in 11hr…because 6 in 11 is not cool nor sufficient to keep job) to fulfill the requirements of my job. Now what if I am speeding myself up to do a job (albeit one that has been my career goal/dream for the last 6 years and gobs of educationI)? that would be unacceptable. Maybe it was the caffeine + stress + sleep deprivation?

ooo i just remembered that I bought ice cream at the store.. dinner first..right?

thanks for listening!

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[Anonymous]

I don’t think caffeine and certain ADHD meds are a good combo. I found that when I started night shift and drank lots of coffee to stay awake, the only thing the coffee did was make me restless and twitchy. And that’s without any medication. It did absolutely nothing to keep me from feeling tired. So I had a tired brain inside a body that couldn’t keep still. Ick!! Not pleasant. As soon as I stopped the coffee, I found I could sit still better. I was still tired, but I eventually got used to the night shifts and that eased off. Maybe you should avoid caffeine while on your ADHD drugs.

Hmmm…..chocolate sounds good…..

I have had sleep problems for ages. I remember reading in bed till the wee hours when I was younger, because I couldn’t sleep, and I also remember regular nights when my own thoughts kept me awake half the night, but I must have got into some sort of a routine, because for many years I was in bed at 8.30pm nearly every night and had fewer sleep problems. I stuck to that routine right into my adult life, but it went haywire when I started shift work, got even worse when I had kids, then really screwed right up when I started night shift. It’s the biggest price I have paid for a job I otherwise enjoy.

Enjoy your ice cream

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[nellie]

sugargremlin,

Just a quick reply to the shower part – perhaps you can take showers at night ( or when you come home from your shift) ? I started doing that years ago because I’m always late in the morning anyway and getting up an extra hour is way too much effort. At night I can take as long as I like and it helps to end the day in a relaxed way.

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[Anonymous]

Nellie, I shower in the evening too. I don’t have to battle the family for shower time, and it is nice to wind down with a shower (or freshen up before night shift if I am working). Mornings are too hard!!

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[Anonymous]

oh I did enjoy my ice cream, thank you . I’m eating the chocolate now.

I feel kind of relieved that you feel that twitch on caffeine as well. I’ve been worried that people with ADHD usually feel calm with it. It really sends my mind into turmoil because feel disabled by time management and focus with my job. If ADHD isn’t the answer, then I don’t know what to do or how to keep my career!

I always always take evening showers!! I barely get out the door in the morning anyway, so I am in 100% agreement with you that it is totally not worth the effort to shower in the AM. I’m just tired of always needing to set aside the ridiculous amount of time for a shower no matter what else I need to accomplish. should be a choice whether to relax and time my time or to hurry it.

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[Anonymous]

Well, supposedly caffeine is supposed to help calm people with ADHD, but too much causes tremors and stuff, as does too much stimulant medication, so the combo of meds and caffeine may have been your issue, rather than the coffee by itself. And sleep deprivation probably didn’t help matters. I have only felt that twitch when I have had a couple of strong coffees on night shift. I tend not to drink coffee because I worry it will disrupt my already poor sleep. I went and did a bit of research after your post, and it prompted a few thoughts….

I think it’s worth trialling regular daytime coffee on my days off to see what effect it has on my suspected ADHD symptoms (as opposed to when I am on night shift). It is supposed to help ADHD symptoms according to what I read, but I have always had the suspicion that I have restless legs syndrome, in which case coffee at night would definitely cause irritability/twitchiness, counteracting the calming effect it should have for those with ADHD. I once tried someone else’s meds for RLS (naughty, I know, but I was despairing at the time) and they certainly helped me keep still overnight. If coffee in the day helps keep my mind from racing every-which-way and keeps me focussed, then I think I have to face the fact that I probably have both ADHD and RLS It’s hard though, as there is always the placebo effect to consider. The slug of coffee I had an hour ago (1 1/2 tsp coffee mixed with a bit of warm water as a “shot”) seems to have helped my focus and made me relax, without making me jumpy/twitchy. Hmmmm. Something to think about. Will see how much housework I can focus on this week and that should be a giveaway lol 😉 It’s always the first thing to slide when I get overwhelmed/stressed.

Interestingly, I also made my son (ADHD confirmed) have a drink of strong iced coffee, as he has a book report to finish and he had been yelling at me over it. He is now at the computer typing it up, and hasn’t yelled at me since. I think a coffee before school might be the way to go until his doctor’s appointment to discuss medication. But the caffeine wearing off part later in the day might be unpleasant for all concerned!!!

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[Anonymous]

OMG!!! We also made it out of the house on time and without the usual nagging and yelling!! I just told the kids that we were going in 5 minutes, and my son got his things, put his shoes on, and was at the door within seconds of me saying it was time to go. No racing around looking for a lost item (or items, as is usually the case), no sitting on the computer till the last possible second then yelling at me when I remind him a second, third, fourth (etc) time that we have to go, and no waiting for him to get his act together and get out of the house (which usually makes us at least 5 minutes late). All that from a strong cup of coffee. I am now more hopeful about medication. He might be one of the lucky ones who is firstly helped by stimulant medication and, secondly, helped by only a low dose of it. As for me, my brain is quieter, but I haven’t needed to focus on much, though I wasn’t my usual frantic self when getting ready to go out. I felt calmer about it, and didn’t feel I was rushing to do things I needed to do (which seems to result in me wasting more time than I would if I didn’t rush so much….make sense?!). I am not usually late, as I always allow myself loads of time to get ready (ingrained habit from many years of practice) but I often feel like I waste time rushing from one end of the house to the other in meaningless action because I can’t quite work out what I should be doing next.

Hmmm…..coffee hasn’t stopped my verbal rambling lol…..but I feel perfectly able to end this here so I can get ready for work on time. Bye

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[Anonymous]

Thanks for the insight on coffee and meds. I am on my husband’s ritalin again, had trouble sleeping a few nights ago and am desperate. My doc won’t give me meds until I’ve been diagnosed (hoping to hear this Thursday) AND had a sleep study. Today I had a bit of a headache so I took the generic version of tylenol with extra caffeine and also had a cup of coffee. So that would explain why the jitters and anxiety are up. I better just stick to caffeine or ritalin.

KrazyKat: glad to hear your son is responding to meds, even if it is only caffeine.

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[nellie]

Well I realized that I might have ADD when it became apparent to me how addicted I was to diet coke and coffee. I drank at least 2 litres of coke plus 8 or so cups of coffee to get through the day. One afternoon, ( I work from home ) I was in my office working on some project deadline and made one of those mental reward packs with myself – work for 30 minutes then you can go upstairs and have a coke. I purposely made sure not to have it at my desk so that I would be forced to work. Anyway although this wasn’t new behaviour by any means, for some reason the behaviour just sort of became very apparent for a spit second where I recognized it and then I kind of shrugged and went on my way.

Anyway, couple days or so later by sheer coincidence listened to an interview on the radio about the ADD and loving it movie. Initially I stayed tuned because I though maybe it pertains to my husband and there was nothing else on The more I listened things made sense for of all people – ME ! Then when I believe it was RIck, if memory serves, talked about caffeine, a light bulb suddenly went off – what a shocker to say the least!

Anyway rushed home to check out the website and things went on from there. Later was told by the assessing psych about caffeine being a a way of self-medication.

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[Anonymous]

Come to think of it, I used to drink quite a lot of coffee when I was younger. I stopped when it dawned on me that it could be making my (probable) restless legs worse. And it certainly made a difference there. However, I am determined to try the coffee for a week to see what effect it has. I am currently at work and have had a second strong coffee earlier in the shift. My legs didn’t like it, but I came prepared with a heat pack and deep heat cream to help counteract that effect. The night has certainly flown past, and I felt almost surreal for a while during the early part of the shift when things are a bit busier. My thoughts don’t seem to be bothering me as much as usual and I think I feel a bit more “together” than usual (as opposed to scattered and all-over-the-place). Not a huge effect, but interesting and hopeful. I should be having another one soon, but my stomach is telling me it doesn’t want a coffee! I think I will eat first and have coffee once I have food in my belly. I will be interested to see if there is any difference to my sleep when I get home. My legs don’t give me grief in the day unless I am extremely over-tired. Usually it is only during the evening and night, so the coffee shouldn’t continue to give my legs grief when I am trying to sleep later today.

No_dop, I hope you get a diagnosis soon….and that you don’t have to wait too long for the sleep study! I think I will have to go down that track too, seeing as I should mention my problems with restless legs….unless I try to get that part sorted before I see the psych….it may be worth a try!! I did a google search on RLS and ADHD, as I was worried that stimulants might be contraindicated for those with RLS (based on the caffeine experience), but I found that ADHD and RLS seem to be linked or related somehow and are often found together!!! And that treatment for one can often cause the symptoms of the other to reduce (though they can both be treated at the same time by their own particular drugs without issues). That was a pretty mind blowing discovery for me!!

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[Anonymous]

Thanks KrazyKat. My mom had RLS (and narcolepsy and sleep apnea, and probably ADD but not sure if anyone diagnosed her or she just figured it out). She took the equivalent of a horse tranquilizer for the RLS, apparently.

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[Anonymous]

I am a little sketchy about the RLS diagnosis. I think it was created by a drug company to describe a symptom of something else. I used to get restless leg, but I’m pretty sure it was a symptom of a bigger problem such as anxiety (maybe ADHD too??? i had a much bigger problem with it when I was younger). I know it really sucks because I have had sleepless nights of leg twitching…even worse torso twitching! I guess I wouldn’t really know anymore because I have some pretty nasty insomnia issues and cannot sleep without the great powers of the might rx >_<.

I have done a fair amount of research to figure out the difference between the rx meds stimulant properties and the caffeine properties. I think caffeine, decongestants etc have more peripheral norepinephrine action.. ie. mind is more clear, but the body shakes! I think my body is prone to shaking and heart racing! I couldn’t even use albuterol inhalers without body shaking and a racing heart. caffeine is less efficient. more side effects per ADHD benefit?

I had to work today and decided to brave the meds again. no problem. I think the caffeine + meds + sleep dep + stress really messed me up. If I take them with half a propranolol, then I get zero bodily symptoms. (ie. must consult a doc before combining such meds). Let see if I can sleep tonight!!!!

I did 7 hours of work today (versus 6) . still stayed until 7pm (11hr day >_<), but the med is definitely helpful. It combined with practicing better habits may do the trick. So I am at 7 hours, and just need to get to 8. I still end my day with papers everywhere! seriously.. an entire desk sprawled with very random papers. I share an office so I have to clean up at the end of the day.. I cover an entire desk in one day! Most people do this in piles of mess.. for me nothing is stacked..just spread. I suppose it wasn’t fair to hope the med would make me not do that! It is just so easy to just toss stuff aside.. where the heck do you put it all anyway? (ie. i really need some file folders…. such a boring uninspiring task to complete.. i should probably spend my time internet shopping for a smartphone instead lol.

…i forget the point of this post…erm…

nellie, don’t get a kidney stone!!!!

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[Anonymous]

SG – I believe that restless legs is a valid disorder. Mine started in my late teens and has generally worsened with age. The only times I haven’t had problems with it have been when my knee problems took over, which I think was a combo of the knee pain being dominant over all else, and the amount of painkillers I was on. Once my knees settled and I dropped back with the painkillers, the restless legs became obvious again. It is SOOOO uncomfortable. It’s so hard to describe, but it’s an overwhelming compulsion to move my legs, so much that they are almost painful if I don’t. It seems to concentrate mostly in the joints of the legs, and it goes through phases of which joints are the worst culprits. The extreme discomfort is only relieved by movement, and only while the movement lasts. Hips are the worst, as ankles and knees can be slathered in deep heat cream, wrapped in a heat pack, or (for ankles) soaked in a bucket of hot water. It begins mildly in the evening and worsens as the evening wears on. Spring and autumn are the worst seasons – something about the temperature change between the warm days and cool evenings I think. A busy day will also make it worse. Heat relieves it to a degree, as does any painkiller containing codeine, or muscle relaxants. But the interesting thing is that parkinson’s drugs work very well to relieve RLS. And trying that with success is what made me decide that it was the most likely reason for the cause of my leg issues. Hyperactivity has never been one of my big issues (unless you count the mouth lol) but even when I feel the urge to fidget in my seat or twiddle my thumbs at a lecture, it is never the same as the feeling I get in my legs at night. The “hyperactive” urge to move can always be overcome by distraction (reading a book I enjoy, getting on the computer, going for a brief walk and sitting back down) but the need to move my legs cannot be ignored and can prevent me from being able to enjoy anything else. It’s had me in tears before because it is so uncomfortable and frustrating. I was all set to see the doctor about it when my knees got bad real quick and took over my life (I ended up finding out I had severe arthritis under my kneecaps and have had two lots of surgery to help ease the pain). So now I feel like I am back at the beginning, only with ADHD chucked into the mix of possibilities. I have pretty well decided to go to my GP about my RLS. Then my psych has one less thing to consider in the potential mix of ADHD look-alikes.

By the way, I felt good this morning. Got home and took the kids to school, but didn’t feel that drugged, overtired feeling I often feel after a night shift. But still fell asleep right away when I got to bed. BUT…I woke at midday with a hungover feeling – headache and dizzy and generally ick I think it was the effect of the caffeine wearing off. Ugh! Not pleasant. Took ages to get back to sleep. Feel good now though. Well rested. Will see how tonight goes. I certainly agree that caffeine is the poor man’s stimulant substitute. Not ideal for sure. But it has been interesting to see the effects.

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[Anonymous]

sugargremlin, what meds are you taking again? I am back on my husband’s Ritalin, took 10 mg 3x a day for two days and last night I had a full night’s sleep (no waking up) for the first time in a loooooong time. Note to self: write down and put with notes for ADD psych meeting on Thursday….

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[Anonymous]

wow- i totally appreciate all of these comments- and in particular, sugargremin, your initial question. it was suggested by new psychiatrist last week that i may have adhd. i saw him for my extreme sleep difficulties and anxiety. he changed my meds around so i could afford them (!!!)- taking celexa for anxiety and restoril for sleep. he suggested i look into adhd and discuss with him in a few weeks what i’ve discovered. i can identify with MUCH of what has been posted in this thread (!!) – and am extremely fortunate that my husband actually attends to most of the daily household tasks. i am most interested in the treatment of adhd with my anxiety and sleep issues . . . is there a medication that may be better than what i’m taking . . . that would also NOT exacerbate my anxiety and sleep issues (and help my function better!!) . . . and my medications are mostly out of pocket so also interested in an AFFORDABLE medication . . . THANKS for any suggestions/recommendations!!

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