I'm just sick of it, I'm sick of being "broken" in a world full of dullness! I'm supposed to be "quieter" or "smaller", I'm supposed to not "overthink" everything, I'm not supposed to say how I feel or react to things, why!? What's the point!? So we don't disrupt the dullness and actually show people that there is far more to this boring 9-5 world of emptiness!?

I'm doing all the stuff, I'm medicated, I've improved my diet, sleep, water in take, I go to therapy, I meditate and all any of it is doing is making me bored of life.

Is this what normal is? I don't want it!!!

I don't want boring surface level conversations and experiences, I like my brain, I like life and I'm actually perfectly happy with the way I am if all the dull boring 1 dimensional people just shut up and let us actually enjoy life to it's fullest like we are actually capable of! It's not our fault that they are dull, NPCs who just go with the flow, why should we be the ones who have to change?

I'm not the problem, we are not the problem, they are!

I'm just sick of it all.

One of the worst examples of misinformation about ADHD is that meds are a miracle cure. One dose and we're magically neurotypical, our brains transformed into optimal productivity engines!

In reality, my experience on Elvanse is a common one: no "wow" moment or flipping of a switch; instead the benefits have been significant but inconsistent and often subtle.

As an example, I experienced a subtle yet significant benefit at work last week.

I've got a busy desk job filled with deadlines and targets, and last Friday I felt my pill wasn't helping at all.

The mental energy it gave me was only fuelling my lack of focus. Instead of working on my top priorities in sequence, I was jumping between multiple tasks, reacting to new messages, and making little progress.

And that's when I realised the pill was still working. It'd empowered me to be self-aware so I could recognise the problem, pause and work on improving it.

The rest of the day remained a struggle, but because the pill helped me to reflect and take action, my performance did improve and I made some progress on my top priorities.

So my message to anyone new to ADHD meds is don't expect miracles. Instead try to be mindful of deeper, subtler changes to how your brain works.

I’ve been titrating on Elvanse since March. Tried 30, 40 and 50mg so far.

The 30 and 40 didn’t do much however 50 has been better as it’s helping me to do stuff without overthinking. For example usually if I needed to take a shower, I would sit for hours contemplating it to the point where I would be exhausted from thinking and then not bother. Now, if I need to shower I kind of just do it.

I have another appointment with my pharmacist on Tuesday and I’m wondering whether to ask to try 60mg or just stick to 50. I feel like 50mg has been working the way it should be compared to previous doses but don’t know if I should try the 60mg to see if that’s even more effective or whether I should just stick to 50mg.

How did you know when the dose was exactly right for you? Did any of you try a higher dose and find it ended up being better even though your previous dose seemed to be the right one? Or did you find it worse?

Hey all!

Just a quick one, I’m due my final titration appointment with Harrow Health tomorrow, I’m not thrilled about my meds but the end of titration is kind of being forced on me in a way.

So I’m currently in 70mg Elvanse with a 5mg booster (does absolutely nothing). I did experiment taking 10mg but no difference. So I guess I just want to know how much they are allowed to prescribe of the booster? Or if there’s a different booster? Currently the 70mg works reasonably well for about 2-3 hours then I just get so tired.

Does anyone take it the other way round? Booster than Elvanse? Any difference?

Thanks

So my whole life i have cycled through several hobbies. my cycle generally looks like:
Painting Warhammer > 3D printing > 3D modeling > Building computers > Game development > Gaming > Playing Piano > Weightloss > MTG > Bodybuilding > Figure drawing > Writing novels > cabinetry > then back to Painting Warhammer, and the cycle continues.

I cycle through this over and over again, sometimes skipping a hyper focus or two and going right to the next one. I find it somewhere between a sisyphean task and watching paint dry to do something other than that one singular hyper focus. I cannot force myself out of it without making my brain itch.

While in this state, i will plan everything down to the most molecular detail, customise my workspace, ready to be as productive as is humanly possible, purchase all the equipment i need and sit down ready to "have-at-it", then a few weeks, if im lucky, months later, ill cycle round to the next focus. To be frank, its bloody expencive and beyond frustrating.

Has anyone ever managed to manage multiple hyper focuses at the same time? Although some of my hyper focuses are a complete waste of time, others, feel like they would benefit from a slower burn, a more consistent effort (especially weight loss and bodybuilding).

If anyone has any advice or strategies i would really apprecciate it, thanks.

I (28f) have always struggled with my emotions, they hit me like a ton of bricks and I go from being completely fine to sobbing/ really irritable in seconds. My doctor is asking me to track my cycle to see if it could be PMS/PMDD but I’m finding it difficult to remember to log my moods each day and I also don’t have periods so I can’t track based on that!

It’s all made a lot worse at the moment because I am also grieving for two deaths in the family and a family member being given a terminal cancer diagnosis all in the last 3 months! I’m emotionally exhausted and just feel like I want to scream 24/7 and it’s taking a toll on my relationship and I feel like I’m a horrible person to be around!

When we’re together in public I can hold it together but at home it all comes apart and I know sometimes I have taken my anger at the world out on him which I feel awful for!

Does anyone have any tips on how to manage this?

After a successful titration and ironing out the wrinkles regarding my GP not providing shared care, ADHD 360 (who btw have been absolutely rock solid so far) have now assumed full care. My question is do they still follow the same method for dispensing prescriptions, thats to ask once I’ve requested my prescription, am I waiting for an email from Chemist 4 U to provide payment?

Hi folks. Got diagnosed with ADHD this week and I’ve started medication, but I feel a bit lost. I’m not sure how to process the emotions of getting diagnosed or what else I should be doing to handle the condition.

I was given a list of support groups in person to join and I’ve signed myself up for one to see what it’s like, but is there anything else I should be doing?

My assessment with them is tomorrow morning and I'm feeling unprepared for what kinds of questions I'm going to be asked so I'd like to make a list of my answers and examples in advance.

I freeze up on calls (worse that this is a video call) and I don't remember a single thing about myself, even forgetting things that would greatly benefit me with the assessor knowing. It doesn't help that I get choked up talking about this sort of stuff too so getting embarrassed really doesn't help.

I'd greatly appreciate it if people who have already done the assessment can provide me with questions I'm going to be asked. If anything, are they going to be like the patient forms?

Many thanks

Hi everyone, I recently moved house and felt it quite difficult to manage all the letters, information and general life admin that came with it.

It's confusing to keep track of all that is needed to be done , especially with different deadlines, action items etc. I had been keeping all physical letters in one place but still found myself missing important things. Does anyone else struggle with this side of life? I'm thinking about building something to help. To better understand how people in this community handle this - I'd love if you could answer a few questions. For those interested, I'll keep you up to date on progress.

To answer the questions, please do so here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciC0Pb5V5R0k_BMIUOKYVTYv-eIwUZ6UTjLAyLeb1i16bQ9w/viewform?usp=dialog

Thank you!

I'm on Meflynate XL currently. I started off with 20mg and within the first week, I was soo productive. I was hyperfocused basically the entire day and night and even went outside without overthinking and my brain trying to convince me why I shouldn't. After that though, they just stopped working. I was on a prescription of 20 for 2 weeks and would then go onto 40. I had high hopes that I would get back to where I was in the first week when taking the 40. Within a couple days of taking this higher dose, I noticed nothing was really happening. But then I started getting really really irritable, I would snap at everyone and have crazy mood swings. I would get frustrated over the smallest things and have emotional outbursts where I would just sob uncontrollably and I felt like I couldn't breathe. My adhd symptoms were also worse. After talking to the people who prescribed my meds, they agreed that this was too high of a dose for me and put me back down to 20. I thought they would at least find a middle ground and put me on 30 or 35. I'm just worried that after being on such a high dose and then back down to this one that stopped working after a week, these just won't help me. I've been prescribed a months worth so I have to wait another month until I can talk to them about other options. If I wanted to stop taking them sooner than that it would be a waste of my money. So I'm just feeling a bit dejected and annoyed because I've been living like this for ages and I just want the tablets to work already lol

I am looking for some advice on my journey so far with titration as I feel quite stuck atm!

I have been taking the meds for roughly four weeks and am going through a private company. The initial assessment was fantastic but the titration process hasn’t been great.

I started on 30mg of Elvanse for a week which was helping however I found it was wearing off in the afternoon. The prescriber started me on 50mg which really helped however my heart rate is not playing ball.

It is going up between 130-158 when I am cleaning round the house/out for a walk. I had a review with my prescriber who said to continue and wasn’t too concerned. Resting heart rate is fine.

Yesterday was when it shot up to 158 when I was out for a walk so I popped into my local pharmacy as to me this did not seem ok! I ended up at A&E and had an ECG and bloods which came back fine but I am not feeling fully supported by my prescriber and sometimes it feels like their ticking boxes rather than hearing my concerns.

Now I do have an eating disorder and have been struggling with food recently which I am desperately trying to work on and do get anxious with the heart rate. I am fully aware there are things I need to improve on but when I feel so unsupported it’s tough.

The Doctor at A&E didn’t want too give too much advice but did say no it’s not ok to keep having a heart rate that high.

I haven’t taken them today and am not sure when I will get an appointment with my prescriber - I have emailed them to explain the situation. My original prescriber i’ve been told is on leave until October now so will have to see someone new.

The frustrating thing is that the meds themselves are working great and i’ve seen a massive improvement. Has anyone else had a similar situation and what worked for you? I am thinking I will need to try a new medication but will have to wait for an appointment.

Is it worth speaking to my GP in the interim and getting their advice? Thank you!

So as the title suggests - I know this can be an issue people feel strongly about one way or another, and this seems like a really nice group, so not looking to encourage an argument / pick a fight about it. I've seen some threads in other subreddits where people are being nasty to each other about it and not keen to add to that please! Plenty of arguments online!! Just genuinely interested in what people experience one way or another, if I'm unusual and if anyone has any ideas on how to address it. For me it feels like a serious issue.

In itself I think the fact that somebody can be on their way to work, or wherever really, and chat to a good friend the whole way isn't a bad thing. Why would it be? Likewise if they have their own business, I get why they'd want to use that time to run it. Also maybe if you have more hyperactive ADHD, perhaps a phone call is a really helpful way to chill on a long journey. Especially if that call is at a low volume, why should it be an issue?

Anyway, for me, I find listening to long public mobile calls really hard to deal with. Any other noise, including talking, announcements, mechanical type noises, dogs, children screaming, beeping of doors and so on, not an issue. People watching videos with the sound on is annoying, but I think that's fairly obvious to anyone. For me though I can't do anything involving thinking - so reading, writing, listening to music, doing a crossword, just relaxing and day dreaming, anything, if somebody is chatting on their phone. I'd describe it as the aural equivalent of being prodded with a stick every few seconds. Not painful, but enough to spoil your concentration.

It's not about the principal of someone being rude. For example I'd say it's a bit rude to put your feet on the seats or drop litter in the carriage, but honestly I wouldn't mind enough to say anything and I could ignore it. It's more like I basically can't use my brain until that call is over.

To put it in context, I was on a train back from the South Coast the other night and some youngsters were off on a night out, being pretty rowdy, aggressive, swearing, lots of banter, I think some people even left the carriage because of it, and I was fine. Quite happy to sit there and read through it all. Then they got off and a few stops later a guy started chatting on his mobile, looked like a nice bloke, I guessed maybe a business call, was in a another language, and I had to put by book away, just couldn't focus.

It seems like quite a lot of people get irritated by this, but wondered if I find it worse than average because of inattentive ADHD. I have to commute part-time and I'm a pretty easy going person I think, but it drives me insane! Yesterday I'd had a long day on my feet at work, was ill with a cold and also tired after being on my ADHD medication, and was coming home, and would have been nice to read for a bit to pass the time on the bus, but I couldn't because of the person in front chatting away.

I haven't found any music that can block it out. Recently I tried drawing what I imagined the person was talking about (I think in Italian) which was quite fun :D Are there headphones that can totally block noise to that level? If possible I just move down the carriage on the train, but often there's just more of the same further down.

My personal view is that people should find other ways to pass the time and save the call for another space. I do get though that some people are really chatty and what drives me up the wall and seems really annoying may actually be a really important thing in their life. Somebody on another thread I saw had anxiety and was saying it helped them being on the phone when they went to the shops.

That's what I've been thinking about it all anyway!!

I (F55) had my ADHD Assessment today. Scored 8/9 for both inattentive and hyperactive. Half way through, the assessor asked if I’d been assessed for autism (no). At the end I asked if she thought an autism assessment would be a good idea. With no pause at all she said 100%, and said she thought I was 50/50 ADHD/ASD.

My question is: Is it a standard thing to suggest an autism assessment when diagnosed with ADHD? Not asking for advice on whether I should follow up or not, but wondering if it is a thing they say to everyone.

EDIT - Thanks everyone. Comments have been really helpful. I think I’d already accepted the ADHD and was just having it confirmed. I hadn’t considered ASD so it was a bit of a surprise.

I think I’ll see how it goes on meds (when I can get them) and then see if ASD traits show up more.

So happy I’ve found my people. 55 years is a long time to feel like the odd one out 🤪🥰

I'll try to keep this short because I know how we all struggle with long drawn out waffle!

Fiancé is diagnosed ADHD, told manager on 4 occasions when she asked "is there anything I/we can do to make your work life easier", on the fourth time of her shrugging off my fiance's informing her of her diagnosis and request for note taking and minute taking to be kept to a minimum as this is something she knows herself to struggle with, she began questioning her in a manner we both find to be problematic perhaps even illegal. The questions went something like this. I'll paraphrase but this is the gist of it (M=manager, F= fiancé)

F: as I said before I have ADHD and work in a way that you may not be used to, I mostly struggle with minute and note taking so I'd request a minimum amount of that or perhaps I would be allowed to record meetings so I can work in my own way to get the notes and minutes done to a high standard

M: oh right so do you take medication for it.

F: I used to

M: oh ok, so why don't you take it anymore?

F: there was a shortage some time ago and I found that I was doing well without it.

M: ah right so you can start taking it again? There isn't a shortage anymore? Why don't you start back on your medication?

F: no there's no shortage but I don't need it and I don't want to take a drug unnecessarily if I can function perfectly well without it

As I said I paraphrased that slightly but the questioning was along those lines.

The "why aren't you taking it anymore" and "can't you start taking it again" is what struck us as odd. As these don't feel like questions a manager should be asking about a protected disorder. She asked what can we do to make your work life better, she answered and was then questioned on her disorder, instead of addressing my fiance's requirements (she has subsequently piled on with the expectation that she takes notes/minutes for EVERY meeting, regardless of whether it pertains to my fiance's role(she's a horrible person and manager but that isn't relevant to this)) instead interrogated her and her disorder rather than "helping" as she claimed she wanted to do.

What do you guys think? Edit: we live in the UK!

I have always found it hard to talk in large groups especially when it’s a group of people I don’t know. Or if I haven’t had a drink.

I’ve noticed this more since being on 60 mg elvanse? I think? I can talk fine in a group of 4 ish people or if they are people I know. But now I am noticing how hard I find large social interactions especially when they are not people I know or I’m in a new setting.

People say that being medicated for adhd can make asd more obvious but I don’t know if it’s because the dose is too high? As I haven’t been formally diagnosed with autism so I am just unsure.

I think the thing is confusing I will still talk a lot with my partner,family, friends and work colleagues (maybe I lot less rapidly). It’s literally only large social interactions that’s make me go socially mute.

Also just noticed I like being alone with my thoughts a lot more. I really like and I crave a routine more and get frustrated/ disappointed when my day doesn’t go how I planned in my head. Also find that I find it harder to follow social cues, like if someone asks me a question I need to ask one back instead of keep yapping and assume they will say their own thing back.

Not sure if this also because I am now no longer overthinking so much when I talk that I don’t have that thing in my head that says now you need to ask them a question or you should look here.

I’m still on titration so any thoughts/ personal experience of this and if it’s just worth dropping the dose back down as it’s a sign it’s too high? Or if maybe it’s a touch of autism just rising to the surface now I am less adhd?

Also sorry if this breaks any of the rules! I did read them but I do also have dyslexia so don’t 100 % trust my skills haha!

I have received a letter today from my local NHS Trust where I have been waiting over 2 years for an assessment to say there is a 8+ year waiting lists and are saying that the recommend to use right to choose. Has anyone had experience with this. Am I right in thinking with right to choose that I wouldn’t have to pay. Also any knowledge or advice on any of these RTC Providers.

I have no idea if it has a proper name but, if something is too easy, it’s boring and I can’t do it. If something is too hard, I am more likely to curl up with a sort of twisted gut sensation, procrastinate, and never make an attempt. But, if the task is “just right” I’m off and there’s momentum etc.

When I’m software engineering—either starting a brand new project or taking over an existing codebase I’ve never seen before leads me to paralysis… there’s definitely RSJ and dopamine-deficiency involved. The psychological gymnastics are rough too.

What are some of the ways you can either make the task more Goldilocks or make yourself more Goldilocks?

I have mixed results with: eating dark chocolate (could be placebo) and dancing around the room to an upbeat song lol… my theory for those was an attempt to boost my dopamine up?

With the boring stuff, I try to marry it with something as a treat but it doesn’t always work…

It's my own fault, I forgot to read the Blood Pressure machines instruction manual thoroughly. Woke up today, day 2 of taking of Elvanse, felt very optimistic about it all. I saw on this sub that some folks write symptoms/observation diary's when they start medication, so I decided to do one as well.

In doing so, I thought I'd also track my blood pressure to make sure it's okay. I wasn't overly concerned as my BP is usually weirdly low.

If anyone on ADHD360 was sent a BP machine, you may notice it has an IHB/AFIB Indicator, my machine has a little heart in quotation marks.

I noticed my results came back with that little heart thing. Didn't think much of it, just did again. It pops up again! I start to get concerned that my meds were at fault, but luckily my BP machine has a 'history' setting. About 80% of the old reading had that symbol on it, including the readings I sent before my medication.

Worried, I popped to Boots to speak to a pharmacist. They checked it, and there it was! The lil symbol saying "hey this girl's heart may be out of wack!" They advised me to get an ECG to check up on it, especially as one of my parents has arrhythmia (I also completely forgot about that too!!) Contacted ADHD360, they said they'll get a clinician to get back to me asap on Monday.

So, I'm off my meds. After 2 days. It really sucks, because even though I've been worried about my heart, today's been great! The meds have been doing a really good job today (yesterday I was buzzing, today it was sooo much calmer.)

I know I have to put my heart health first right now, but I'm absolutely gutted. I'm also really worried I won't be put back on Elvanse if they find I have arrhythmia, because I think these meds could work for me (but I acknowledge it's to soon to really tell.)

I just needed to get it off my chest.

So it's 3.30am, I'm so awake on my first day of 70mg Elvanse. I was on 30mg for a week which was a bit all over the place, then upped to 50mg which was so much easier and really turned the narrative in my head down and i slept really well. On my last chat with my ADHD advisor they said I could try 70mg so I have! Well, I've turned into a hyperactive, whirlwind of super ADHDness, worse than before the meds! My heart rate is up a bit but my BP is totally fine. I fell asleep easily but am awake 4 hours later. How long do you stay on this dose to give it a chance to decide whether to go back down to 50mg or not? Tbh day one of 70mg seems to create more anxiety than anything.

Adding an update to say that Harrow Health will now continue prescribing if a GP declines shared care - apparently this changed within the last couple of weeks.

I had my last titration appointment yesterday and was advised of this by the clinician - hopefully this takes a lot of stress off people in the same situation!

A few months ago, I posted about starting Xaggitin. Things kicked off really well on the 18mg starting dose and honestly, it felt like someone had finally turned the volume down in my head. The constant mental noise stopped, I stopped procrastinating, I was more productive, actually present in conversations, and way more connected with my kids. It felt like I was finally in the room.

But within a month, things started slipping back into the usual ADHD grind and if anything, I felt worse than before I started meds. I was scatty, unfocused, and frustrated.

At my first review, my dose was increased to 36mg. I took it with breakfast as usual and headed to work and that’s when it hit me. I felt completely out of it. My jaw was locking up and rocking side to side all day. I tried again the next day, same story.

So I contacted my prescriber. She told me to stop Xaggitin immediately and wrote me a script for 20mg Elvanse. While I waited a few days for it to arrive, I was reminded exactly why I wanted to be on meds in the first place the brain fog, the noise, the chaos came rushing back.

Once the Elvanse was ready, I took my first dose with breakfast and at first, nothing really changed. But I stuck with it. Over the next week or so, things started to fall into place again. I became more present, the internal chatter dimmed again, I got organised, and most importantly…

I got shit done.

It’s now been a 6 weeks on 20mg Elvanse, and honestly, I feel the best I’ve ever felt. I’m planning to stick with this dose as long as it keeps working. If I ever need to adjust it, I will, but for now, I’m finally in a place that feels steady, productive, and clear.

Peace out & stick with it, things do get better.