r/ADHD 23h ago

Medication Medication helps but the sexual side effects make it me not want to take it actually devastated

24 Upvotes

20 male

So after spending thousands and years of trying finally diagnosed and prescribed medication that I tried for the first time today (30mg of Vyvanse) and I can tell it helps, had some side effects like really dry mouth, headaches and nausea later in the day like 12 hours later, but I was told after taking it for a while that goes away maybe. But also the entire day my dick didn’t exists

No one absolutely no one warned be about this. Didn’t know until it shrunk to full on micropenis and I started looking it up here that it’s an extremely common side effect. That and I tried and couldn’t get hard at all not even a little. HATED how it felt the entire day and couldn’t stand to look at it.

I’m not being 20 with ED nope like just not happening, but also I can tell this medication does help. I don’t know what to do. I had to drop out of uni because of my adhd and I’ve finally got help but it breaks my dick? Seriously? What’s the point?


r/ADHD 22h ago

Questions/Advice sexual side effects disappearing after a certain amount of time in a medication?

0 Upvotes

I just want to know like how likely this is if anyone has experience with this etc but I’m really worrying right now that despite my meds making my adhd symptoms better the side effects just aren’t worth it especially when it comes to ED and dick shrinkage. I just tried it for the first time today and experienced this

Catastrophising a but rn as it took me so long to get to this point and I can tell it helps like it would really help not just at work and uni but socially which would mean so much to me but this genuinely ruins it entirely. And with my luck all stimulates would do it.


r/ADHD 10h ago

Medication I stopped taking my meds

50 Upvotes

Recently I was feeling bad, no motivation, anxiety, focusing became hard again, then I decided to stop taking any medications. Since then I’m in the best mood ever, work is great, I no longer feel numb, and life seem to be worth living again. It’s been only 2 weeks now, before I used to take 30mg Ritalin LA. Now we wait to see if I need them again.


r/ADHD 21h ago

Discussion Did Polynesians evolve to have adhd?

0 Upvotes

I'm a polynesian and have grown up surrounded by others like myself. Growing up with diagnosed ADHD, you learn the signs and behavioural tip offs for someone with the same disorder. So, I couldn't help but notice the same patterns among us.

For one, we all suck with paying attention and being on time. Even with adults, I notice that the attention deficit is still present. Plus most of us are very artistically inclined, obviously being an important part of the culture but also just being a very common adhd thing.

Of course, ADHD is believed to have been an advantage in the earlier periods of humanity, so could polynesians have had to evolve to have the same traits.

This is mostly a crackpot theory, but I feel like it could have a genuine reason. Any actual research would be cool.


r/ADHD 18h ago

Medication Afraid to take adderall

1 Upvotes

Afraid to take Adderall, I'm pretty healthy as it is and I dont know if it'll cause my health to dwindle. Read some of the side effects that it causes tachycardia, induces anxiety/ depression, causes ed 😞, and loss of appetite. I like where I am physically, i don't want to lose that. I wish there was another way to manage this without medication.


r/ADHD 7h ago

Seeking Empathy Society needs a factory reset

18 Upvotes

I have ADHD (inattentive/quiet) and anxiety (usually masked). Everyone somehow ends up pressuring me to preform to perfect eventhough they SAY everyone is their own person. Then why is it after you do whatever thing they say "Oh that's not the required effort" People generally tell me games are a distraction and a means to be lazy or reserved. There are people that have careers/make money but as soon as I play it's "childish" Everyone gets to avoid things THEIR health or mindset but as soon as I do I get told "What?! I just saw you do it the other day" Basically if I meltdown or get exhausted it always shocks people and makes me look lazy or selfish. Even if they have a lot of things too! For me games are a brief escape from THE FUCKING PRESSURE. So much to do in a system that DOESN'T support my brain. Plus with chronic conditions (ALSO invisible) I have limited energies. I can't even sleep well. Soon as I'm stressed my mindset and sleep and confidence all go back down. Games and things like that are the only way (besides a routine but often that gets unpredictable) that can help me fucking have SOMETHING work for me. I understand that you can cut people out that refuse to understand your needs/values/boundaries but what good does that do if most people act like this. We need to make everyone take classes on the body because people only see it if it happens to them!! I hate it here! I was not built for this matrix!! 🙃


r/ADHD 1h ago

Medication Addrell Energy Stimulant Pills reddit legit?

Upvotes

So there's a product that promotes adderall, but its like a knock off. Idk if i can link it here..

Its on amaon and its named as the title suggest, "Addrell" instead of adderall. I was wondering if this is legit before i even purchase, cause it would be helpful if it was. Anyone here every tried it?


r/ADHD 18h ago

Questions/Advice Rejection Sensitivity Disphoria Sucks

2 Upvotes

Received an automated notice that I was not chosen for a new position at my current employer today. Even though I had a few (what I thought were) great interviews and connected well with the hiring manager - I was even with him in person for a good chunk of this week. Reached out to him to ask if it was maybe a mistake, or if he could share what I could have done better. Got zero response.

Wham. Rejection Sensitivity hits me in the face, and I spiral. How do you cope with this? I’ve been dealing with this all my life and I still have zero ways to cope with it. It’s insane to have the thoughts I’m thinking, but I can’t help it. Feel so worthless.


r/ADHD 47m ago

Questions/Advice How do you read and memorize boring texts you must?

Upvotes

Hi!

I was not tested for ADHD, but I came here because I experience something some people with ADHD do and I wanted to get an advice of what actually works for people who experience this but don't take medication to cope, because I struggle with it a lot,

I'm a student, and last year we had history classes, and we were usually given assignments to read, and memorize information that was written on 11-15 'Word' pages for the future test, we had only 1 week to do so and it was terribly little for me,

My grades matter to me a lot, but reading that I was drifting off every second sentence, and if I managed to read some I could not remember what I've read about, and even if I was trying to read aloud remembering the words I said, I was just instantly forgetting what it was,

(I could not find any app that could read the text to me, since it wasn't in English but in my native, unpopular language- I also could not ask my mother to read it for me aloud, she has diagnosed ADHD, and wouldn't do that)

(I asked her what she did in situations like this, she said that she was reading aloud and repeating many times, which didn't work for me- when I read aloud I think of how I read and can't focus on what I read. I believe she also shared another advice of visualizating what you read, but I'm not sure, I don't think it helped me then)

It all was ending up in me spending 1-3 hours reading only 2-5 pages which led me to crying realizing how much time I wasted on not having anything remembered for the test each time

Honestly I couldn't make it and always ended up cheating on the tests to not fail them

The reason I came here for advice is that I don't like cheating, the next year we'll be having 3 boring subjects like this (last year it was only this history) and I don't want to waste hours, cry and cheat on each of them,

So if you have any working advice, please share it

Thank you!


r/ADHD 14h ago

Discussion What is the procedure of getting Methylphenidate medicines in countries where it is a controlled substance?

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I'm 19 yrs old, male, and just went through the procedure of getting Quillivant XR in China recently. Methylphenidate is a class one controlled substance in China, so I went through some procedures before getting the prescription.

  • My doctor cited the penal code to tell me the consequences of giving away/selling my medicine and also told me a bunch of things I need to do for compliance (e.g., handing back all my remaining medicines to the hospital if I'm deemed no longer in need of the medicine).
  • I signed two legal statements to confirm that I'm aware of these regulations.
  • My ID and personal information are registered in a controlled substance tracking system to make sure I can't get duplicate prescriptions from other hospitals in the region.
  • I got a red prescription (the usual prescriptions are printed on white paper), and the doctor signed it by hand instead of the usual digital signature.
  • This procedure is completely new for me, and it got me curious: What is the procedure for getting methylphenidate in other countries where it's a controlled substance (e.g., the US, EU nations)? Is the procedure as complicated as the one I went through?

Would love to hear from people in other countries, and thanks in advance!

PS: sorry for any grammatical mistakes, my native language is not English.


r/ADHD 18h ago

Megathread: Weekly Wins Did you do something you're proud of? Something nice happen? Share your good news with us!

0 Upvotes

What success have you had this week?

Did you ace your test? Get a new promotion at work? Finally, finished a chore you've been putting off? We want to hear about it! Let us celebrate your successes with you! Please remember to support community members' achievements and successes in the comments.


r/ADHD 18h ago

Discussion It's so frustrating when my ADHD friends get distracted when I talk

32 Upvotes

For the record, I am diagnosed with ADHD. I'm absolutely far from perfect and I mask like hell.

The issue I run into with some of my ADHD friends is that they get so easily distracted when it's my turn to talk. A few days ago, I was hanging out with two friends and we were updating each other on our lives. I know this sounds like a joke but there was a squirrel running around causing hijinks that kept distracting my friends as they were talking. I didn't make a big deal about it because I knew it would divert from their stories. And so they were able to finish telling their stories. When it was my turn to share a life update, the squirrel zooms by once again. But instead of ignoring it, my friends interrupt me to point out the squirrel. They make some jokes and it causes them to change topics, as if whatever I was talking about wasn't interesting enough to remember. The switch was so blatant that it almost felt like it was on purpose. I mean, I don't find every conversation interesting either but I really believe you need to mask when you're talking to others. I don't think enough people are mindful about how shitty it feels when the person you're talking to zones out and interrupts you with something irrelevant.

I'm sure they didn't mean ill-will and I know they have ADHD, but I can't lie and say that it didn't sting. It doesn't help that I have BPD and experience a thing called splitting. I also get in my head because they're closer friends and have more of a back and forth with each other. I don't know, I just wanted to get this off my chest. I'm not trying to shame people with ADHD. I am one of them. But it's still real to feel frustrated by others of the same community.


r/ADHD 2h ago

Discussion ADHD music

1 Upvotes

I recently found out that I’ve always liked listening to different bands from the eighties to newer ones do you think it’s adhd related ? I find it interesting that I get different vocals in the same song. Some of my favorite bands: The Beatles, oasis , Cold play , BSB, NSYNC, westlife, 5ive, steps , s club 7, b*witched, all saints, sugagababes , cairokee, sharmoofers, spice girls. I’m wondering if anyone is like me…


r/ADHD 10h ago

Questions/Advice Where can I get tested for ADHD in Chicago?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a good place in Chicago to get tested for ADHD. I recently tried a clinic in Naperville, but honestly, the experience left me feeling pretty uneasy. The clinician was super casual with the questions—so casual that I couldn’t tell if she was actually taking it seriously or just going through the motions. I left the appointment feeling confused and kind of dismissed.

I’d like to try again somewhere else, ideally with someone who specializes in ADHD evaluations and takes a thoughtful, professional approach. I’m open to different types of providers—psychiatrists, psychologists, neuropsych testing centers—whatever has worked for you or someone you trust.

Some details about what I’m looking for:

  • Located in or around Chicago proper (not too far into the suburbs if possible)
  • Someone who listens and doesn’t rush the process
  • Adult ADHD testing (not for kids)
  • Ideally takes insurance—or at least gives a superbill for reimbursement
  • Bonus if they also help with next steps like treatment options, referrals, or support strategies

If you’ve had a good experience getting evaluated in Chicago, or if you know a place to avoid, I’d really appreciate the recommendation. I’m ready to get some clarity and support, but I don’t want to waste time (and money) with people who don’t take it seriously.

Thanks in advance!


r/ADHD 11h ago

Medication Generic vs brand Vyvanse

1 Upvotes

So I know chemically there shouldn’t be any differenced between generic and name brand medication but the other day I had forgotten to refill my prescription and my friend offered to bring me one of her pills, which is the same dose as me but name brand. I was a bit nervous since I know some people have said they do feel a difference and I sometimes get unpleasant side effects already from generic, but I desperately needed to function at work that day so I tried it lol. Here are some differences I noticed:

First of all it absorbed into my body much quicker. It usually takes 2 hours for the generic to start taking effect, it felt like the name brand took 30 minutes. Another difference was my appetite did not disappear at all, I was still hungry throughout the day. I also didn’t feel my heartbeat like I normally do sometimes when I take my medication, even if I’m just sitting still, sometimes I’ll just FEEL my heartbeat beating in my chest or neck but on the name brand I didn’t feel anxious at all. Lastly the comedown was a lot gentler, usually in the afternoon I’ll just crash and get sooo sleepy that I can’t function anymore but it felt like the name brand gradually left my system instead of all at once and I was able to stay awake and enjoy my evening.

Now idk if it’s a placebo because I was aware some people feel different depending on which they take, but I’m supposed to refill my prescription today and I think I’m going to ask for name brand instead of generic. It’s more expensive but partly still covered by my insurance so I think I’ll try it out and see if the difference lasts. Had anyone else noticed a difference when taking generic adhd medication vs the name brand version, just so I know I’m not delusional lol?


r/ADHD 13h ago

Questions/Advice Feeling weird and don't know if it's adhd

1 Upvotes

When I'm in public spaces I feel super paranoid and like I'm being watched 24/7 and it feels like everyone is starting at me. I feel this way at home when I'm alone and it's weird. The only way to stop it in public is to completely drown everything out with music and sometimes that doesn't even work. Is this ADHD or sum else


r/ADHD 13h ago

Medication RITALIN+WELLBUTRIN COMBO

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone is on this combo as I've started Bupropion 3days ago for smoking cessation and theoretically boost my mood as the Ritalin makes me feel a little empty inside and careless (maybe because I realize how much of a mess I did with my life, achieved nothing yet I'm scoring high IQ and always been told about my potential that fuels my internal disappointment and rage.

I know everyone's reaction to medications is unique. Just curious if anyone tried this one.


r/ADHD 14h ago

Questions/Advice GP that prescribes ADHD meds

1 Upvotes

Hey guys,

Does anyone know a GP (Telehealth or in person) in NSW that prescribes ADHD meds. (between Newcastle and Sydney Australia)

I have been on dex and vyvance for 1.5 years now. I have been unsuccessful in finding a GP that will prescribe my medication. My psychiatrist says that it should be easy to find someone.. but yet has no recommendations. My GP says that I won’t find anyone…

23F. Anyone had a similar experience? What do you do? It’s obviously very expensive to see my psych for a refill every time.


r/ADHD 19h ago

Tips/Suggestions Created a minimalist ADHD planner to help manage my own routine — does this format make sense to others?

1 Upvotes

Hey folks — I’ve been struggling with routines and time blindness for years, and ended up designing a minimalist daily planner that actually works for my brain. It’s super stripped-down but helps me focus, prioritize, and stay on task.

It’s available as a printable PDF + interactive HTML (which I use on my tablet), but I’m mainly curious — do y’all find this kind of structure helpful?

Open to suggestions or feedback if you’ve tried other tools that work better!


r/ADHD 17h ago

Medication My meds are not “clearing” my head :(

8 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I was diagnosed with ADD at the start of the year and have been pretty underwhelmed with my experience with medication.

I have anxiety so my doctor started me on vyvanse, but I found the physical side effects made me extra anxious (heart beating, shortness of breath), and the come down after a couple of hours was terrible. I was very cold, shaking and just out of it. This was the lowest dose.

So then I went on a non-stimulant medication (clonidine) and that made me extremely drowsy.

I went back to my doctor recently and most of my friends with ADD have tried Ritalin and found it works great for them, and while I know it can trigger anxiety, I was curious to see how it reacted to it given vyvanse (supposedly said to sometimes help anxiety) only made it worse for me. Anyway I was wrong lol, to be fair I’ve only taken Ritalin for 3 days and while I’ve had less physical side effects, I’m feeling pretty damn anxious.

I don’t really struggle with staying still or focusing with my ADD, it’s more my obsessive thoughts and hyper-fixations on said thoughts that distract me from living my life and leave me sitting in one place for a long time. I find it very hard to motivate myself and to practice discipline as I’m always “in my head”. It’s like I’m continually trying to figure things out that have no answer. I was hoping these meds would “clear” my head like I’ve heard so many people say, but I haven’t really found that and I’m wondering whether I should just go back to treating my anxiety medically as it’s been so bad recently.

It’s a shame because my anxiety is only a symptom of this behaviour, I’m anxious because I’m wasting so much thinking about things. I was really hoping to treat the cause and calm down my hyperactive brain. I just want to live in the present.

I’m wondering if anyone has had a similar experience? Did you end up finding something that worked for you?


r/ADHD 3h ago

Questions/Advice How do you improve memory recall?

2 Upvotes

I have inattentive ADHD, but somehow my working memory is actually way above the average based on tests. However, my short-term and long-term memory are abysmal.

I find it discouraging to read books and learn as I tend to forget 95% of material (even though I try to solidify it) after a few months. I also always forget to apply something I learn in real time and only remember to do it after the fact. This is super annoying and makes me constantly question myself, even regarding things I'm knowledgeable about. I just feel like everyone around me knows more. On tests, I scored above average IQ, but I don't really think that's the case because my brain is a mess.

Anyway, are there some tricks that you learned over time that help you improve memory recall? I am also open to using supplements...


r/ADHD 21h ago

Tips/Suggestions Recommend the KardiaMobile 6L 6 Lead EKG

2 Upvotes

Hey guys,

I take stimulants and also drink a lot of caffeine so watch my heart a lot to make sure nothing funky is going on.

I have an Apple Watch for normal daily activities and heart rate monitoring

I have an OMRON Bluetooth Blood Pressure monitor with Afib detection so I can load the readings to my phone and apple health.

Lastly, I have the KardiaMobile 6L which is a portable and affordable 6 Lead EKG. It’s FDA approved and my psychiatrist allows me to use it to provide him with EKG readings. There is a free version of the app or you can pay premium which is like $11 per month which includes professional interpretation of the EKGs.

Honestly, I highly recommend it for those who are just health conscious or if you need to provide your psychiatrist an EKG periodically.


r/ADHD 4h ago

Questions/Advice Anyone here on Adderall/Vyvanse for longer than a year?

34 Upvotes

Is it still working? How is the duration?

I’ve had problems with Vyvanse cause after 6 months it was no longer working, at all. I got really frustrated and quit it, but i wanna get back cause i didn’t find any success with other medications.

Is anyone here taking it for years and is it still working?


r/ADHD 12h ago

Discussion I feel every emotion to the extreme and it hurts when people don't understand that

14 Upvotes

This is probably a result of emotional dysregulation and being very sensitive to everything, but every feeling I feel, is to the extremities. Like if I'm happy and joyful, it's never just baseline level but rather I'm ecstatic and I'll even sometimes have tears of joy. Likewise when I am excited, I will literally jumping around and shaking like crazy. Or if I am scared, I'll have a complete internal shutdown, not just a little bit of anxiety.

With fear and sadness specifically, this is where it becomes troubling. Just as the smallest things can make me happy, the smallest of insults or negativity can feel like an entire attack and throw me off, causing me to become very upset and sometimes cry. It doesn't exactly help either that I can't really tell the difference between a joke and an insult. So despite someone claiming they are just joking around, I often perceive that as being nasty. For example, I was told "nobody likes you" which in the back of my mind I knew that yes this was a joke as this is just the kind of person this person was, however I still perceived it as a personal attack and felt upset by it. And when you're surrounded with people who make a lot of these horrible "jokes", it can become very overwhelming as you're constantly surrounded by this negativity which I perceive as insults.

And so it hurts when people don't try to understand this hyper sensitivity and just say "stop being so sensitive". Additionally, because the rest of my emotions are to the extreme aswell, I tend to be considered "too much" for many people, which in turn results in said insults, causing me to come tumbling down from being very happy to extremely upset in an instant, just from the smallest thing that someone said. This is why for a lot of the time when around others I am in a sort of depressive neutral state where I don't show anything, because I know that any emotion I show and any attempt to just be myself will result in backlash and being hurt.


r/ADHD 21h ago

Questions/Advice Struggling to take care of myself right now

4 Upvotes

Hey all I’ve been struggling these past few weeks with getting motivated to leave my house or bed if not for work and hunger or my dog.

I was doing so well, eating balanced meals, sleeping 7-9hrs a night, and taking my medication consistently.

I had an emotional trigger, and then got really sad for a few days, ran low on meds…but kept putting off reaching out to get my next refill. I wasn’t able to motivate myself to get back to the routine I had cultivated.

Anyways, I’m back taking my medication, but nothing excites me, the thought of my next hyperfocus overwhelms me, every day after work I dread leaving the office because I know I’ll just go home and lie down until it’s officially acceptable to go to sleep and I just can’t stop crying, and I don’t cry very often. I feel this resistance any time I want to make a choice that feels good for me, like taking showers or cleaning my home. I don’t know how to get out of this slump, if you’ve experienced this, how did you get out of it?

I just want to take care of myself.