[ridiculoushit]

I have tried a number of different medications and they all caused me to bite my lower lip, Adderall being the biggest instigator. Like you, I would gnaw away at it until it was raw. I didn’t realize I even had the gnawing habit until my bottom lip suddenly turned up raw and painful. Without even knowing it was a listed side-effect, I immediately blamed the pills.

After 5-years I was taken off all medication for six months due to a heart attack. Thankfully, the doctors gave me the “all clear” to start them again and I have been slowly increasing my dose of Adderall over the past 7-weeks.

On my second day, within a few hours of popping my morning pill, I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip. This time, however, things were different. First, because I was expecting certain side-effects, I was immediately aware of the action the second I made that first chomp. Second, I was able to recognize the physical comfort that action gave me, something I had missed the first time around.

Conscious of not only the effect, but the reason for doing it, I was able, over the course of a few days, to suppress it considerably. I continued to stop the action the millisecond I became aware of it over the following few weeks.

As a result of being vigilant, I haven’t bit my lip for weeks and wasn’t even aware that I had overcome it until reading your post suddenly caused me to slip my teeth around it once more. LOL

It is a comforting habit. Just because I was able to overcome it, it doesn’t mean you can as we all react to these things differently. My experience, however, shows you that getting your lip down to its normal size again is possible.

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[ridiculoushit]

In all honesty, I didn’t expect anyone to pay any attention to my ramblings, let alone leave such positive replies to it. I guess what they say is true, misery does indeed like company.

Takingbacktyler’s comment is bang-on. I have come to believe that the older you are when you get on the medication, the great the possibilities for “cleansing your life”. It boils down to what you want out of life. You can either use the benefits of the little magic pills to improve your lot in life, or improve your life a lot.

I got a real chuckle out of seabassd’s comment about “all the stuff”. I’m retired now, but have a home office, or at least I think of it as a home office. In reality, it is filled to the rafters with antique tools (I collect them), bits of wood (I use them), piles of empty computer paraphernalia boxes (I taught digital arts), car parts and mechanics tools (I’m a car nut) and enough paper to represent a forest. I often think about getting it in order, but to be honest, I have to admit to finding some comfort in my chaotic surroundings. It is a very good reminder of who I am despite the changes the medication have brought on.

Allan and I share a side-effect of our ADHD. Neither of us have the filter that most “normal” people have; the one located between our brains and our mouths. One of the benefits after getting on the medication is a new-found ability to remember things from the past. Sadly, for Allan and I, that ability results in reliving many of the stupid and caustic statements we have made over the years. I don’t know about him, but in my case, I spent my first year on the magic pills in perpetual embarrassment. What I have discovered, though, is that if I slow down my responses and consciously force myself to think about my replies, I can actually produce statements that show some semblance of intelligence.

One of the little discussed treatments for those with ADHD is “coaching”. If you are so inclined, your doctor can recommend a “Personality Coach” for you. These are trained individuals who work with you on the different aspects of your personality that need help, such as straightening out seabassd’s and my chaotic administration of our lives, or Allan and my tendency to make inappropriate comments. From what I have read, many of those who have taken advantage of their skills have benefitted a great deal from them, overcoming the defence mechanisms they hae developed over time to cope with their ADHD. I have researched the service but I haven’t partaken simply because my ability to admit my shortcomings has limitations and I don’t think having that type of attitude is conducive to a successful makeover.

I plan to post some more of my thoughts and experiences here as, needless to say, I find them very therapeutic.

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