This comic is cute, but I don’t want people to set the wrong expectations for adhd medication. For everyone across the board, it doesn’t work like a stimulant, as in make you faster, but quiets you down and allows you to focus. But you may still be tired or depressed. In short, it’s not a magic pill and you should reflect on the affect it has on you. Some people can take their meds and go to sleep, that’s one way to tell how it affects you.
That’s not necessarily true. Myself, and several other people I know, have definitely experienced a boost from stimulants, just not in the same wired way neurotypical people get. Sometimes it feels like a weight off your shoulders that in a way almost feels stimulating. At the very least more talkative.
Yeah that’s why I didn’t generalize my comment to all people
I think the problem is that people are talking about two different types of "stimulation" here.
I think when you say that it feels "stimulating," it's more of a side effect of being able to think clearly and behave like a normal person. As in, the symptoms of your ADHD are inherently related to your anxiety and stress levels (in that it is often the direct cause) and getting rid the ADHD symptoms removes that anxiety.
And as anyone who has ever had intense anxiety can tell you, it can literally feel like a weight lifted off of your shoulders.
Whereas, others are referring to it being "stimulating," in a different sense. As in the medication, directly, gives them more energy or euphoria (which is why there is a potential for abuse for neuro-typical people). For them, the "lift" and euphoria are directly related to the actions of the chemical, not a side effect of actually addressing a root issue of the anxiety.
There's a good number of ADHD meds that have side effects for anxiety and depression.
They're not as good as actual anxiety or depression meds, but it's not nothing.
To my Elvanse has been the best thing. I was in a horrible position mentally before getting my meds. They truly helped my excessive rambling thoughts that always made me feel worse about me, my situation, my history and everything I do and am. Then when I started on the meds they just kinda went away and my ability to kinda think critically and put an effort into feeling better came back.
It was truly a life saver back when I started taking them and even today if I forget to take them two or three days it all blows back on me again.
Yeah yeah, but do I get to be a dog?
Doesn't work that way for me. I just look back at the day and realize I was less distracted than usual.
It does not let me like the work I mildly dislike, right?
It makes me go from "oh god i have to do this and aaaaah ok ok i will manage the next step and oh shit i did 3 clicks in a row go me. Ok now again... nah in 2 minutes i need a break <random thought> ok time to focus on random thing for a minute and ohhh godddddddd i don't wanna go back to being productive" to "meh gotta do this i guess, click click click, ok again, click click click <random thought>, do random thing for a minute, ok continue being productive, click click click..."
Tl;dr: ADHD meds made me a furry, a fast one, fast as heck.
The Fast and Furries
2Fast2Furry
(if you can believe it)
My friends and I dropped ADHD meds at an outdoor concert. They were having fun and having a good time and I sat down in the grass and replied to some school emails and did a handful of tasks that I have been putting off.
It was the first time in my life that I wasn't unintentionally listening to everyone's conversations at the exact same time and solutioning their problems all at the same time.
I ended up going to Mexico and going into a reputable doctor and purchased ADHD meds. I later in life went to a doctor and got diagnosed.
Wait wait wait. Is the hearing all the conversations around you an ADHD thing? Are you serious? I just thought it was like, an ability.
Yes and no. It's not exclusive to ADHD.
The ADHD part of this is being unable or very bad at "tuning it out" so you can focus on something. Like, you recognise there's sound, but since it's not relevant to what you're focused on, you ignore it without thinking about the fact that you're ignoring it... That's what ADHD people are bad at.
It can be very helpful if you need to listen for specific sounds to survive. Like, if you were in the brush and you hear very specific crunching noises, the kind that you would hear if you were being stalked by a predator.... Someone with ADHD would be able to pick up on that more readily, while doing something else (like, idk, gathering), than someone who doesn't have ADHD.
IMO, a lot of ADHD traits provide advantages in specific scenarios, mainly related to crisis, conflict and survival, but those traits work against you for basically everything else.
My ADHD superpower is basically being situationally aware to the point at which it harms my ability to live. I almost always remember the most trivial details of places and situations that largely do not matter. I'll get called into a meeting for some hyper important project from my manager for client x, and that I should be working with person y at the client site to push forward. I will remember every detail of the plant on the managers desk, whether it was real or fake, was it in dirt or mulch or that foam stuff that they sometimes use for plants, was it recently watered (was the substance it was in, wet?), any oddly colored stripes in the stem/branches/leaves. How big was it, were there any issues with it, did it have any neighbors (other plants, maybe a fish?), even pictures nearby, etc...
Then I have to email my manager later to ask who y is, because I've forgotten the name.
This is my life.
It's a curse
It puts my brain to 150% processing and I just wanna listen to one conversation and aaaaaa
Even when I can't listen to the dozens of voices due to them being nearly inaudible it still enables the part of my brain to try to decode them, so about 75% is used to try to listen to words that I don't even wanna listen to
This is why ANC is heaven
It's an ability if you're a prehistoric hunter or in a dense jungle with predators. We have the ability to listen to everything and be able to process sounds, smell and visual changes.
Having dinner with a date and it's less of an "ability" and more of "you're being an unattentive asshole" because your date is just another conversation in a sea of conversations.
I just thought it was like, an ability.
For me, it's more a dis-ability as it makes it hard to concentrate on the conversation that I'm in or task that I'm doing.
In a way, it is...
It's both, ADHD people just have a much, much harder time learning to filter it. But neurotypical people can learn to do it too sometimes. I envy the ability to turn it off
Yeah the 'H' in the acronym is what always threw me off. I guess "ADD" without the 'H' isn't a thing anymore? I'm pretty sure I have it, undiagnosed.
Was never a fan of uppers, and recently took some Adderall for the first time in like 20 years, and it was mind-blowing. I felt normal. I wasn't tweaking out, I was just able to manage my life like a normal person for a day.
Unfortunately, as someone who is on Suboxone for treatment of opioid addiction, the chances of getting a doctor to write me a legitimate RX are pretty much zero.
Vyvanse ended up making the dog way bigger on some days, I'm on atomoxetine and that's been way more manageable.
In case anyone has found themselves to be sensitive to stimulant medication, don't be afraid to ask about trying non-stimulants 🙂
Non-stimulants? I am on extended release ritalin and it suuuuucks. Everything is the same as it used to be but now i feel like i am on speed for 5 minutes, an hour after i take it.
Everythings sucks 🥺
Try strattera. It's not for everyone and it takes a bit of ramp-up but when it works it's really awesome.
Atoxetmine gave me wicked mood swings on the come down. And also, sexually, when I came, it would feel muted. Like felt like a 1/2 cum.
This made my relationship with my wife waaaaay worse.
Ritalin is the only ADHD med that Taiwan has access to. The come down is less intense.
I hope my kid gets to feel this way someday
If my kid ever feels like this, I am going to be angry, and have a LOT of questions. Mostly in a very pissed off tone.
.......I don't have kids, and the last time someone COULD HAVE potentially gotten pregnant from me and kept it secret would have been 2006. But I'm 99.9% sure I don't have kids.
So if I found out I have a kid, I would be confuuuuuuused.
Steady on there, Genghis.
username checks out
would you… lose your mind?
Yeah this is really hitting home. Looking forward to getting them evaluated
I'm at my third type of medication and still no difference. At least I'm not absolutely drained as on first one but yet to see a positive impact. Yes, I'm diagnosed.
Just started taking magnesium glycinate, and it's only been a few days but I must've had a bad magnesium deficiency.
The last few months my meds have barely helped, I've been tired and unmotivated, and already I'm waking up earlier and focusing better - it was a night and day difference
It might be worth getting bloodwork done - certain deficiencies mirror many symptoms of ADHD. And if you have ADHD and a deficiency, meds alone aren't going to help nearly as much
Or you could just try magnesium glycinate if you struggle to set up appointments (I know I do), apparently most Americans don't get enough magnesium. The other forms of magnesium also work as laxatives, so I'd specifically go for that. Vitamin B is another one that can cause similar symptoms, I think zinc as well, but magnesium seems to have been my issue and wasn't on my radar until my neighbor mentioned it
WHAT?!
I need the ADHD meds now. GIMME!!!!! I WANNA BE DOG!!!
But seriously: I saw someone posting videos of their handwriting and organization and shit before and after Adderall and it was like seeing someone in real life taking the drug from Limitless. I need to try that shit because it might actually help.
I had the exact same reaction and i don't trust that sentiment, i think i'm just hoping for a singular miracle pill that i can take and it will solve all my issues.
Still thought it was worth a try but even getting an appointment with a psychologist of any kind was tough, so here i am still unmedicated even though i relate to a lot of ADD symptoms
I can add an unfortunate example in the opposite direction: I've been having trouble getting my prescription filled so I haven't had my meds for more than a month
My handwriting has deteriorated observably (my phone is actually having trouble recognizing my swipe-typing gestures, too) and my living space is in shambles. Fuck the DEA.
Meds that I tried didn't help me. Fuck me I guess 🙃
To be fair I have not tried any new meds in many years, so I'm sure there's new ones I haven't tried, but I couldn't afford the appointments or medications anyway...
A lot of it is better delivery mechanisms for dextro-amphetamines.
Medication gives me a smaller dog, but makes me feel very tired.
if you don’t mind my asking, which meds? i had a friend on a stimulant who described a similar experience to yours, so she switched to a non-stimulant (stratterra) and vastly preferred the effects.
deffo not trying to tell you how to live your life btw! i’ve just run into a lot of folks who for some reason or another have only ever tried like, one or two meds and just figured that’s as good as it gets. our brains can be so whacky different, sometimes it feels like a wonder that any one drug has similar effects on anybody, especially when adhd is in the mix lol
I wish tbh, been diagnosed for 3 years and still haven't found meds that work. I suppose that's inevitably part of it, but it sucks to just not be able to do things because my brain doesn't want to give me good chemicals.
Meds don't do shit for me, only clenching my jaw so hard that my teeth shift from their normal position and making me extremely paranoid.
Yupp, Amphetamines at work! FDA approved for 6 year olds!
I do have an ADHD diagnosis but the last time they tried to put me on meds I was a nervous wreck and always crying, but really i'm not sure if that was the meds or other problems i was having at that time
My partner got on meds and then it was like the floodgates of mental health opened, lots of other stuff surfaced but they got through it with therapy.
Ps. They also got some mood regulators ontop of the adhd meds and that helped too
A lot of us have spent our lives masking and suppressing other issues because we were told that all of these issues were due to some kind of inherent badness. "you're so full of capability, if only you weren't so fucking lazy" - on repeat, for years, from everyone you love and trust.
It fucks you up. And when you realize that if literally anyone in your life had taken a step back and helped you get the actual tools you needed (often medication, and occupational therapy) you get so sad and angry at all the waste and internalized self-hatred.
I wasn't diagnosed until after I'd flamed out my first couple semesters at college. First time I took medication after being diagnosed I cried. It's taken more than a decade of therapy to undo most of the damage.
Wow brilliant, this is one of the best explanation for ADHD ever
Unless I see a ball then I gotta chase that down first before I do what I really gotta do
Ya, I had a bad reaction to Atoxetmine. Concerta was the same. So each meds acts differently.
Too bad depression isn't the same way. Depression is like a _PRESENCE,_always looming over your shoulder. Meds and therapy make it small and quiet enough to mostly kinda sorta ignore, but it's always there. Waiting. Lurking. Ready to latch on like a pissed off velociraptor and drag you into the mud any time it sees the slightest opportunity.
I do this thing where I look at every meme and ask myself: "does this meme effectively sell a product?"
And if the answer is yes then it's kind of a shit meme, mate.
Luckily this one is ambiguous because it doesn't sell a specific product, it just says that OP got some vague treatment.
No need for cynicism here. This meme accurately describes how it feels to be on ADHD medication. It is revolutionary and life-changing. Some people need it. Some people don't.
Some people will experience negative outcomes, and almost all users will experience some side effects.
It is a product that people pay money for and a meme should never be the deciding factor in whether you take it or not. It should always be a discussion between you and a qualified physician and you should always weigh the pros and cons before and during the treatment.
Imagine if the same memes were here promoting Hydrocodone and Oxycontin for pain relief, as I am sure they do on forums and social media for construction and factory workers.
Cynicism can often be useful to protect ones self and others.
I don't have any treatment, actually
