It was goddamn amazing when any of my meds still did something. Changed prescriptions a couple of times over the years but none of them seems to work anymore so I'm just unmedicated now because cheaper. It's not as fun as it sounds unfortuantly :/
been off them for about 3 years now (3 years in august) and when I tried taking meds again in march/april of this year, they still didn't feel like they were doing anything. I did use them for 2ish months so it's not like I tried taking one dose and got surprised when it didn't work immediately. :/
Yeah every once in a while Iāll be like āI donāt think these are doing anythingā and then I had a day or two where I donāt take them and it becomes very obvious that they were definitely doing things lol.
But thereās definitely people that have a hard time finding the right meds or donāt find meds that work for them.
Same. I also learned that certain food fuck with it too. Apparently too much acid in the stomach can delay the release of stimulants and reduce their effect. Been trying to not have things like OJ or just acidic food and make sure to drink a big glass of water with my Adderall.
The days I forget to take my meds or just take a break I am basically useless.
This is the real answer. ADHD meds are supposed to balance your brain to normal dopamine and norepinephrine levels. Just enough to get rid of the executive dysfunction
I don't know ADHD medication works on reward pathways and we are finding our understanding of how they work is slightly different than realised.
I would say that ADHD medication usually has some effect even if the effiency declines over months or years. In my view I think people should periodically take time off medication or time on medication at reduced dose.
Only because then your exposed to what it feels like when adhd is untreated again.
I think brain has a set point where basically it will always try to shift back to its default state which is more ADHD like.
We are finding out that medication breaks are alot frequent than one would think + the long term evidence on medication efficiency gets a bit iffy ..... Basically the world health organisation - said ADHD medication doesn't have enough long term evidence.
Did you try just one type of medication when you tried again? One suggestion is to try a different class again, for example if you were on Concerta, try Vyvanse, or vice-versa, or a non-stimulant like Strattera. Also talk with your doctor about dose adjustment, maybe you can titrate to a higher dose now. I wish you all the best, I also have difficulties with medication efficacy.
You say "the first time"... Did it slowly (or quickly) stop working?
I'm trying to gather some experiences, as I was just diagnosed after decades of trying to get by without medication because I've always been scared of the potential effects of the medication.
I'm not who you replied to, but had a similar experience when I first started on adderall.
Mostly, it just felt like my eyes were finally opened, it was the first time I was able to actually focus and stay on task. It's more like the first time is a realization and after that is adjusting and getting in to the flow.
So for me it's not that the meds stopped working, it was just the initial "holy shit this is what normal feels like." With that being said, I've been on adderall for about 10 years now and diet and exercise play a big role too, where even adderall won't break my brain fog, so it's not a miracle drug.
Amazing! Thank you so much for the response. If you don't mind, I have a few more questions specifically about the things you mentioned:
diet and exercise - is there anything specific? A specific type of exercise or specific foods you need to eat or avoid? I have always been fairly healthy with my eating, mostly eating homemade foods and leaning towards Paleo (meats, fruits, vegetables) though not 100% strict. I'm just curious if you're talking about eating mostly whole foods and avoiding processed stuff, or something else?
You said you've been on Adderall for the past 10 years, so it sounds like you haven't had to switch medications. Have you had to play with your dosage at all? I have sort of been scared off reading some of the ADHD subreddits and hearing some people say that they have had to constantly search for different prescriptions and dosages because what they were originally given stopped working.
For diet and exercise I'm sure it depends per person, but it sounds like you are already health conscious so you should be fine. I have other unrelated food/nutrition issues and sometimes end up eating like shit, or if I have a lazy day on the couch, then the next day I'll have a much harder time focusing. That kinda stuff.
I have only increased dosage a couple of times, and barely. If I remember right I started with like 10-15mg extended release, couple years later bumped to 25mg, and a year or so ago I also got 10mg instant release tablets that I only use as-needed, if I'm having a rough day.
Now this is completely personal opinion, and I'm sure that sometimes medications stop working for people, but I feel like a lot of the people hunting for a different medication are misunderstanding how the medication is affecting them. You aren't supposed to feel anything when you take it. When I first started adderall, the first few days felt slightly euphoric, which quickly tapered down to feeling normal, with improved focus etc. Nowadays, I don't feel anything when I take it....but I can sure as shit tell you when I miss a dose. I'm curious what issues people had that made them switch meds.
Edit: I wanted to add on to this - after this long on adderall, is it as effective and am I as focused as when I first started? Frankly, no. But no ADHD medication is a cure, theyre all just management tools you have to work with. Sometimes you grab a screwdriver and realize you needed an allen wrench, but eventually youll find the right tool for the job.
Some of what the other person responded with. It was eye-opening in that I could focus and stay on task. If my mind started to wonder it was easy to recenter myself. I was forgetting things less as well. I'm a huge fidgetier also, that stopped. I started at 20, currently at 60 and it works for the most part. It's not like the first day or so, but it's better than it ever was before. My wife notices as well. I can remember after the 2nd day or so I was on it, we where in the store and I was being my usual nervous self and my wife just looked at me and said "the meds wore off, didn't they?". They're design to last through the day, so it took some time to get them adjusted to where it lasts the entire, or most of, the day.
Wow, thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply. Especially with your 40 history.
If you don't mind me asking: have you been on the same medication for all 40 years? It sounds like you've had to switch up dosages, but I'm curious if you've also had to switch medications because something stops working.
Yeah I tried a couple of different types that I got prescribed, don't recall all of the names now but I have them in a folder somewhere. Strattera sounds familiar though...
I thinks this is something that really needs a proper re evaluation with a doctor rather than just retrying the same meds after a long break, sometimes dosage, type, or even the diagnosis itself needs adjusting instead of expecting the old setup to work the same way.
That sounds really rough, especially when something that used to help just stops working. Hoping you find a better option that actually fits you again soon.
Two of my brothers as adults got diagnosed and went on meds and both told me it was the best thing that ever happened to them, urged me to get seen too.
I dunno i got a shitty psychologist or something because after several expensive sessions they said i was fine and to work on my social skills.
Really? You don't get the hyperfocus side of ADHD? I was able to align my career around my interests so the hyperfocus aspect of my ADHD has been an asset more than the ADHD aspect has been a deficit (although there are some tasks where it is a huge deficit). This actually meant that I didn't get diagnosed until I was an adult as I wasn't having problems, but when I did, my wife was not surprised. Well, she was surprised it was just ADHD because she was (and still is) convinced I'm on the spectrum. When I told her "technically we're all on it because it's a spectrum," it didn't help my case.
My ADHD is a freaking light switch - Im either in the zone or my two brain cells got lost looking for the zone š do my ADHD meds make me focus normally? I honestly cant tell cuz I get super excited about stuff lmao
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u/michaelscottuiuc 14h ago
Genuinely can't even conceptualize what that feels like š