Experience with ADHD-Medication

[OBEler]

I take recently described Medikinet (methylphenidate) 20 mg a day and I feel good until it wears off. I still need to test in social settings if I behave differently, especially in a relationship.

Can you describe your experiences with ADHD-medicaments? What side effects do you have? Is it worth for you taking it, does it improve your relationship?

[Natasha Tori Maru]

@something_else @Ulax 

I think you guys both have relevant experience that might apply here  (if I recall posts correctly!) 

[something_else]

1 hour ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

@something_else @Ulax 

I think you guys both have relevant experience that might apply here  (if I recall posts correctly!) 

Impressive memory! 

Quote

I take recently described Medikinet (methylphenidate) 20 mg a day and I feel good until it wears off. I still need to test in social settings if I behave differently, especially in a relationship.

Can you describe your experiences with ADHD-medicaments? What side effects do you have? Is it worth for you taking it, does it improve your relationship?

I've tried Methylphenidate from a friend a few times in the past, and I've since been diagnosed with primarily inattentive ADHD, for which I'm prescribed Elvanse 50mg. I've been taking that daily for the last 3 months or so.

I'll summarise my experience on both medications, although the methylphenidate experience is less valuable as I only ever took it as a one off. The goal with ADHD meds is to find the dosage you can take daily without experiencing any intense mental effects, positive or negative, yet still get the productivity boost of the meds.

This is going to be quite long, so I'll stick a TLDR at the end as well 

Methylphenidate

I've tried 2 kinds of Methylphenidate; extended release, and combined release. The extended release in particular gave me a taste of what it's like to be functional human being. That was my first "oh shit, maybe I have ADHD" moment.

The combined was pretty great as well. But I found the short acting component of it to be very stimulating to the point where I felt more like partying than doing anything productive. Very intense euphoria.

Again, because I was taking these as one offs, the euphoria is unsurprising. Many ADHD medications give you this euphoria for the first week or so, then it fades, which is good. You're aiming for a stable dose in which you don't really 'feel' the medication, you're just way more productive.

Elvanse (Vyvanse in the US)

This medication has been life changing for me. It's essentially extended release Adderall. It's a prodrug which doesn't convert into an active chemical until it reaches your bloodstream, at which point it slowly releases stimulants over around 12-14 hours. I take it once first thing in the morning and it lasts all day.

The first week or so was a mix of euphoria and "holy shit, this is what it's like to be a functional human being who can actually get simple stuff done without a 2 hour mental battle in my mind".

It's made keeping a routine much easier, keeping on top of small chores much easier, and it has made a massive difference to my performance at work.

Social effects + relationships

This is quite interesting. I found that if I took ADHD medication as a one off, I got a euphoria feeling that made me very sociable. Once I was taking it daily, it actually numbed my social skills for a while. I think I was previously relying on my overly active and chaotic mind to socialise, and when that's taken away I was a bit like "oh shit, my mind isn't generating words, what do I say".

After around 2-3 weeks, I learned how to socialise without this chaotic mind, and now I feel like my social skills are better than ever. I feel much more present in conversations, like I'm actually listening, thinking about, and then responding coherently to the specific things somebody says. Instead of vaguely replying to them at a high level and then going off on a random tangent because I couldn't remember most of what they said.

Side effects

I've been pretty lucky, I haven't had many. I was very sweaty and thirsty for the first month taking elvanse, but that's gone away now. Basically the only side effect I'm left with now is that it messes with my sleep a bit more than I'd like, but it's nothing severe. 

I also had quite bad appetite suppression, but I've built my meals around that by having a big breakfast before taking meds, a high calorie smoothie for lunch (easier to drink a smoothie than eat a meal), and then a big dinner once the effects wear off. So a very manageable side effect. Most people I've spoken to say that eating food before taking meds (of any type) makes them work better, and reduces the side effects substantially.

My friend who takes Methylphenidate experienced quite a lot of physical anxiety in his stomach, dry mouth, headaches, appetite suppression etc. the whole set of common side stimulant side effects. Then he switched to Elvanse and they all went away. It worked much better for him. Some people are the other way around though and experience more side effects on Elvanse. It seems to vary A LOT per person.

TLDR

For me they were genuinely life changing. They cost me a fuck ton of money, £1200 for a diagnosis, £140 per month for meds, but they work so well that I'd happily pay that till the day I die.

Not everybody gets lucky with their first prescription, sometimes you'll need to try a few different kinds of medication to find the one that works best for you.

Don't chance the euphoria feeling, that's a side effect, not the goal.

Socially you may find it a bit weird or unsettling at first, but stick with it and you may find that they actually enhance your social skills and relationships.

Let me know if you have any questions! I have a lot of friends diagnosed with ADHD taking varying kinds of medication, so I have a decent amount of insight if you need it. Hope the meds work out for you! 

Edited 1 hour ago by something_else