I went through college without it. I struggled so hard, tried so hard, I was so lucky to graduate with a shit gpa. Come home, see a doc, worked over time to get a medicine and dosage that worked, and it's like night and day. I feel like my brain works now.
Make the jump from adderall to vyvanse, it's a godsend!!! The way the medicine metabolizes is much smoother and less of the side effects than typical amphetamine salts
Well Vyvanse isn't for everyone, I took adderall as a kid and it gave me bad side effects, changed to concerta (What i take now) Still unwanted side effects, but not as bad as adderall. But i did try changing to vyvanse freshman year of college. It gave me the worse side effects which were mainly Heavy deperession to the point to wanting to end it all. So the side effects will probably be different for you compared to him. Good luck!
Vyvanse stopped me from having a normal, fluid conversation.
I thought about everything far too much. I was nervous, uneasy and depressed.
Stopped for a day and all the horrible side effects left.
I've only had success with Adderall. Different strokes for different folks.
I switched from Adderall to Vyvanse sometime in high school and never looked back. Been on Vyvanse for at least 6 years now, it's fantastic. I now take the minimum dosage (20 mg) and have virtually no side effects. I'd like to get off the meds completely but every time I try not taking it, it's obvious that I still need it.
Vyvanse is also an amphetamine medication. There isn't a medication that is better than another, just meds that work better for the person. Worth trying if you are having trouble with your meds, but it isn't much different over all.
I was one of the first people to be put on Vyvanse, my mother couldn't afford the medicine and my doctor said he'd sign me up for free under vyvanse to try it, with the perk of a lifetime supply if it worked. I stopped taking it five years ago and I'm a decent human, but I was much better on it, I just hate the thought of putting harsh chemicals in my body...It's a real dilemma.
Yea, plus it is not abusable; folks with actual ADHD prefer to feel normal and with how the lysine compound is attached to the amphetamine it has to go through the liver to activate. This is why Shire, manufacturer of Adderall XR, are phasing out the XR's and trying to promote this rather new medicine
edit: by abusable, I mean you cannot snort it like an adderall XR/IR. It must be ingested
Honestly, go to a different doctor. Find a psychiatrist. You need somebody who will listen to you, give you the chance to explain 35 years of struggles, and then let them guide you through the process of finding what you need. Sometimes, they make people go through the different "non-stimulants," but if it isn't working and you have been able to show to your psychiatrist that you are trying to get better and that you can handle this, then most will be willing to start you on a low dose and see how things go. Also, having weekly therapy sessions (psychiatrists and therapists will usually exchange notes and keep each other in the loop about shared patients, especially higher risk ones) is another great piece of evidence that you're there to get treatment, not get high.
I also have had alcohol issues, got hospitalized 3 times for alcohol induced pancreatitis. I recently got diagnosed with ADHD, the inattentive one. I don't see why they just don't keep it as being called ADD. Anyways I was too scared to tell my Doctor about my alcohol issues so I lied.... I have to go see my other doctor and I don't know what he's gonna do if he sees I got prescribed Adderall because he knows about my past. I have been taking it for a couple months now and it has changed my life. I hope they don't take it away, it is helping so much.
It's an amphetamine, they won't prescribe schedule II stimulants if they deem you to be a risk for abuse. Stratera/Concerta are non-stimulant medicines. I would find a different doctor and let them know.
I remember my doctor wanted to put me on stratera after being on adderall xr for a year. I was in 5th grade I believe at the time.... worst fucking week. I still remember the migraines everyday for that week and I flat out refused to take it (I wasn't one to refuse things outright)
Calmed me down, definitely less agitation, not as likely to cross the line socially but... I feel like its done fuck all for my focus/organisation/procrastination etc
Like I said, not for everybody and definitely different effects depending on the person. Calms me down, reduces anxiety, and it causes me to be much more productive/focused.
Vyvanse is definitely abusable. I used to get high as fuck on vyvanse, me and my friends would take like double to triple the dose and it would make us feel gacked out.
abusable in the sense of snorting it to get the immediate effect. It doesn't work with snorting... of course you can abuse it by double/tripling the dosage
Vyvanse was more euphoric than Adderall was for me -- it's definitely abusable. The lysine in Vyvanse just makes it so it can only be absorbed by the g-tract so you can't insufflate it, hence "pro-drug" but it still gets you high by ingesting it orally.
Adderall did all this for me as well, but it also had a side effect of making me hyper focus on ONE thing. To the detriment of everything else. Once I focused on that one thing, I'd quite literally ignore everything else, Family, feeding myself, any other responsibilities, I just wouldn't care in the slightest about taking care of it until that one task was finished. To top all that off, I wasn't guaranteed to hyper focus on something that was actually important. Sometimes it'd be something just totally random.
I knew what to look for, so when I started getting that on the XR's, I immediately asked to change up my meds and lower my dose and taper up. My dr knew I worked pharmacy and we had had extensive talks at that point, so he listened when I told him about side effects and things that were happening.
Unfortunately not all people have that kind of relationship with their dr. I told a buddy to start jotting down his side effects to take in to his dr later to show what he was dealing with.
Yeah, all my life I've had episodes of pain. So I went to my doctor and got prescribe OxyContin. They are an absolute MIRACLE!. Praise be! Next week I'm going to try to get switched to Fentanyl patches because I hear it's a smoother ride.
Adult diagnosis here. I was on Ritalin and Concerta for a couple of years until the efficacy began to wear off and my condition became problematic in work and life again. I also hated how anxious I always was when I was taking those. I'm on medikinet now (I live in the UK) but the anxiety is still there, to an extent. Mindfulness techniques help somewhat but I was never this tremulous or panicky before going on meds at all.
If the anxiety is getting to you then I'd suggest seeing a psychiatrist. Just be willing to actually work with them and not just ask for meds and leave.
I'm currently on an anti-anxiety medication and I haven't had it effect me since. That being said, I also changed a few things about my lifestyle which supplements it.
i'm in limbo right now with my medications. i was on something called biphentin (canada only) and it's basically just concerta that's been reformulated. it helped a lot, until i thought it wasn't working so they upped the dosage, and i started a new job. then over time i started fucking up at work, and it felt like they were coming down on me, i had then convinced myself that everybody was watching what i was doing to get me fired. i was so stressed out i eventually pulled a truck out and ran over a piece of the truck i forgot underneath (it just bent a bracket and i bent it back) but i got fired. i stopped the meds and realized they made me paranoid and made my condition WORSE over time.
so now i don't know what to do. i'm happier and more organized, but i still slip up, forget things, get disorganized, etc. lately it feels like i'm losing control of myself again no matter how hard i try.
Without routine the medicine is not worth much. When I get work done, I get it really done with this medicine. But if I fail to start and binge on something, I'm have superfocus but don't amount to much.
Side-effect is that I feel very good for 1,5 hours. I suppose it is the supercharged dopamine rush.
Dude tell me more... I've been on Adderall for several years now, and I don't think it does much for me anymore besides make me want to drink to "come down"...
Most people with ADHD also have comorbid disorders. It's typical of anyone with a disorder, it's much more rare to only have one disorder. I was prescribed lexapro to aide with anxiety, it's an antidepressant (SSRI) taken at night before bedtime. It does more good than harm. But as far as adderall vs vyvanse. It works better for me, I don't like to feel anxious or on edge which I know some people like the "tweaky" feeing but I just want to feel "normal". Vyvanse restored my motivation, helped me curb marijuana and lounging and procrastinating and delaying important things that needed to be dealt with
I can only speak for myself, but I am in a similar boat as the person you are replying to.
For me, it's not that it's doing more harm, than good. It's not much different to be honest. However, it's kind of odd when the medication brings out disorders that aren't apparent else wise. Of course, this isn't unheard of in medicine, but I haven't heard of any side-effects of medication causing one to have an increased urge to drink.
Regardless, it's not just Adderall, Ritalin, and Vyvanse all did it too. So basically, I just power through the urges most times, and that's life. I won't try any of the non-stimulant options for a few reasons.
I don't/won't take a medication every day.
I don't have the 8 or so weeks to test to see if it's working or not (in regards to Strattera).
The potential side-effects seem worse than the disorder.
It basically doesn't work for most people. I have even had doctors that refused to prescribe it. It makes sense, I mean, if it has no potential for abuse and worked so well wouldn't it be the first line of medicine to try? Except for many, the latter is the issue.
So, I feel kind of like I am stuck in a medical rut, so to speak.
Dude, you just summed up my struggles perfectly. On days I don't take it, I am fine and a bit more distracted.
On days I do take it, I am still easily distracted, but have a better focus on things I want to focus on, but still shit for things I don't want to focus on. Plus, I get strong alcohol cravings, but only when I am coming down from the medication. Other then that, I never have the feeling.
Man... I might just be weird, but I feel the exact opposite. I am on Vyvanse now and I feel like it affects me far more than Adderall ever did. To the point where I feel like I may need to be on a anti-anxiety med as well. Not to mention I feel nauseous to the point of not even wanting to be at work some days.
Everyone reacts to medication differently, so you should tell this to your specialist/doctor and they can discuss/try alternatives with you. Theirs plenty of different medications/treatments available for people with ADHD so don't worry about not finding something that won't work for you.
Agreed. And I have the appointment to do just that. I just hate that the doc wants to change what I am taking every time I see him. And I don't know about you all, but I have to see my doc every three months. I was OK with taking low dose Adderall/Ritalin whenever I "needed" it, but I understand the tendency for some people to abuse that, so I agreed to be switched to higher dose XR. Then he talked me into trying something else and now I'm taking Vyvanse and I hate it. Instead of going back to Adderall, I guarantee he'll ask me to try Concerta or something. I just wish we could stick with something that has worked for me for years since my career is kind of on the line.
All things to discuss with your psychiatrist. Sometimes there are misdiagnosis, especially since these disorders often overlap in symptoms (bipolar for example). It may be that the medicine is exacerbating cluster B personality disorders which you should bring light to the doctor. I am not a doctor and do not want to give anyone false information nor will I tout my degree in neurobiology and offer ill-advice. I just want to express my experience with what I feel as a miracle pill that has worked wonders for me. These medicines are designed as tools for us to utilize under proper guidance and care from our doctors and if one doesn't work, opt for another. I hope you have/find a medication regime that best suits you needs!
I just got diagnosed 6-7 days ago. Got prescribed 20mg vyvanse. Doc said its conservative dose. He'll increase slowly. First 2-3 days on vyvanse were pretty good. I could focus on music that I was playing on my phone while my dad, sitting next to Me on the couch had his music playing on Bluetooth speaker. I could tune out his music completely. I loved that!! I dont know what to make of this but I kept having a sensation of just being completely honest, tell precisely, in detail what was going on in any situation, felt kinda OCD. I vacuumed my dads car, if I noticed some little trash laying down, I picked it up. Same feeling when I smoked sativa and came home high, just started cleaning stuff. Didnt make the whole house sparkle or anything, just little things. I was energetic. Anyways, its been day like 7, and thats all gone. Focus is gone. The energy is gone. Lethargy is back, stuck in my head kinda feeling. I started have really bad depressed feeling last 2days, bad thoughts. Probably just got tolerant and need to increase dose
MY MAIN WORRY IS, the doc will constantly increase dose cuz ill keep getting tolerant. He'll add more meds. Or, another thing I've read on /r/adhd peoples meds just stop working after few months, few years unexpectedly. I dont want everything to be great then all of a sudden, what kept me going all this time, now im back to square one.
I started at 20mg just for my peace of mind, and now I'm capped at 50 with no intent to increase. If you feel it being effective enough, there shouldn't be a need to increase. Some people only need 30mg and some need 70. Tolerance builds, but if taken as advised under your doctor's recommendation, you should be fine.
But how long have u been on that 50? Whend you switch to 50? See thats my worry is it'll keep increasing, maybe it'll take a few months, maybe a year, maybe more meds will be added. I read stories of ppl on that sub saying "ohh its been 2-3 years I've been on xyz, its all been great, now its stopped working"
IR adderall is best for me. I can actually eat and sleep on it. Had zero appetite and couldn't even sleep 15 hours later with vyvanse. I can take the adderall only when I need it and it works right away. I love it.
Same here. When I was in the 4th grade, I was given an IQ test. I wasn't told (or I probably just wasn't paying attention) my score, but all I know is that I got placed in a lot of advanced classes with one other kid in my grade. It was just the two of us sitting alone in a classroom learning algebra and such. I couldn't pay attention, and my teachers were really surprised.
I realized that my high IQ was my only saving grace to get me to graduate high school/college. I was a great test taker (using deductive reasoning more than what I learned) , and that was what got me through with a 3.0 in college. Too bad a higher IQ really just means you're good at taking tests.
What are you basing this on? It makes some sense, especially openness.
I do know creativity isn't correlated with schizophrenia but is with bipolar disorder(hypomania) and schizotypal personality disorder.
This could also partially explain the over-representation of people with bipolar disorder(the hypomanic kind) in certain positions like writers(books, movies etc.) and art!
I couldn't find the paper I was specifically looking for, but it's easy to find papers demonstrating that attention and intelligence work apart from one other at bare minimum.
If I recall there are over a dozen genes that control for DA receptor polymorphisms behind ADHD, so intuitively one would think that it's possible to leave certain aspects of working memory untouched by the disorder. When you can't filter out information in the surrounding environment, if you have ADHD you're trying to integrate that into your working memory all of the time, this probably leads to more widespread connectivity, entropy, and strong semantic connections. There's also a fair amount of comorbidity with disorders like bipolar, so it would be hard to tease out correlation from causation.
Mmm I have both, but I'm not terribly creative (well unless it is some weird plan, mentally creative, not physically) and I'm a happy conservative, who is happy to talk to everyone from every political spectrum.
I am definitely not disparaging the IQ test, I'm just saying that coupled with my ADHD, it didn't really help me out in school as far as learning goes.
I think of it as the parenting paradigm I recently read about where if you tell your child "you did really well on your test because you are smarter than most" can cause a child not to study because they think they are already ahead of the curve. If you tell your child "you did really well on your test because you really studied and tried hard", then they will see the correlation behind hard work and achievement. I was definitely the first of the two and never tried hard at anything until after college.
Holy crap are you me? I was put into Jr Achiever's, never felt like I should have been there. I was as smart as everyone there if not smarter, but could never finish assignments or write essays or focus at all. Skated through high school barely passing just based on being able to not study for a test and reason my way through all the multiple choice questions super easily.
Yeah basically. I had a 3.4 or so in high school and a 3.0 in college, but I never took one honors class, and only studied a handful of times in college. I definitely skated through and learned next to nothing.
I tested so high I was placed in cal2 without having to take cal1. funny thing about calculus, you have to do your homework. needless to say, I fucked up
So much this. It was basically my downfall and the only thing that I ever struggled with. Before then, I was able to breeze my way through all the previous mth courses with little to no studying. Calculus hit me like a freight train as a result.
the same thing happened to me, breezed though school never studied, then calculus fucked me up. I was so confused, thought I was stupid.. unfortunately struggled through uni, was diagnosed with hypothyriod and was told for years that my trouble concentrating was related to that. Was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD two years ago at 39 :( I feel like I've lost so much time.
Same. I was diagnosed with it in my mid 30s and did the Adderall thing for a couple years. Stopped taking it for a few years to see if I could continue to function as well without it but about to start back up. I just enjoyed life more and got a lot more done. Sure, the side effects sucked but now I've been off long enough that I'm positive that my life was actually better when I was on than being off it.
I struggled all the way up to Calc 1, which I bombed. Then I got put in Precalc, which I also bombed. I was able to pass Calc 1 and then Calc 2 (but not before bombing that). I don't want to do math ever again. And yet I have a habit of doing mental arithmetic whenever it comes up just to prove to myself that I can.
And now I do it professionally! A lifetime of 'smartwork' over hardwork has given me the skillset to adapt hardwork to smartwork at an enterprise level! Haven't "worked" for awhile now, just enjoying making everyones lives easier, one business process at a time :^)
I feel like an IQ test shouldn't allow you to miss a whole subject. A high IQ doesn't allow you to channel information from the cosmos. You still need to know cal 1 to do cal 2, unless the cal 2 course offers like a crash course version of cal 1.
In my experience many IQ testers wont reveal your score to prevent inflated egos/low self esteem. Also using IQ to place classes seems really wrong and prone to fail
Same. I almost flunked out because I put off a required math class until my final semester. At the beginning my grade started ok then took a sharp decline. I knew I had ADHD but wasn't diagnosed, went home to visit my family and my mom gave me a leftover bottle of my brother's Concerta, and in the final month I got an A on all coursework, barely making it.
I'm diagnosed now and on Adderall, but I really don't like it. Taking notes from this thread on what to try for medication.
Yeah I never got diagnosed/ prescribed until after college, but now I narrate audiobooks, and I can't believe how easy it is to simply sit back and work for hours.
Are you me? My test was in 4th grade and then I was placed in a "gifted program". It is like what you describe, I guess it is just being really clever that got me through this. There is a test today? I guess I will give it a shot. That was me.
I had a math teacher in HS that got frustrated with me. To his credit, he was the only teacher that figured out what I was doing. Maybe he could tell because he was a math teacher and that subject just made it easier to see. The more likely answer is that he was good at his job and most of the other teachers were not. Anyway, he told me how frustrated he was and that I could be doing much more challenging work than the other students. He said something like, " I do enjoy grading your tests. It is like you are seeing the material for the first time and have to create your own way to find the answer". So yeah, it is just deduction and being clever that got me through.
After college my Dr figured it out and put me on adderall. When I began my masters work I could suddenly prioritize homework and tasks without being overehelemed and turning off. I went from a 3.0 in undergrad to the top of my graduate class with what seems like no effort at all. Best part is that I retained it all.
yeah exactly. My freshman year of college I took Physical Science, and evidently the intended professor quit last minute, so a high level physics professor taught the class. He was a terrible teacher, and had some great quotes like "what do you mean how do you solve this? You solve it by solving it."
I made a 42/100 on one of our exams, and after the curve I made a 116.
IQ is not just being good at tests, its for all practical purposes intelligence of the kind you can't learn.
Its a great predictor of how well someone does in life(income, health, crime etc.) and this obviously also includes ones educational achievement.
(Fluid)Intelligence/IQ is the hardware while education/knowledge is the software.
A good software makes no difference if the hardware is an old single core 1.2Ghz CPU with an integrated GPU and 512mb of RAM.
Obviously, you're not gonna set any records of intellectual achievement with that.
But having great hardware but a shitty, flawed OS/software means you can't use all that awesome computing power. Its wasted and it will never reach its true potential.
Simply having a high intelligence means you and can learn things others can't, more easily and faster. Obviously this relies on you actually putting yourself in a situation where you can learn stuff, like in school etc.
Having a high IQ means you have much greater potential/capability for problem solving, learning, spotting patterns etc. Its absolutely invaluable.
And no, in case you are wondering, it is not 'culturally' or 'racially' biased despite there being large differences between the races and ethnicities!
Joe Rogan is a perfect example of someone who is not so intelligent but extremely 'well' read. He has read about almost everything yet barely understand any of what he has read even on a surface level.
You frequently see him ask these questions that you would think someone who has read about 'subject X' wouldn't ask yet here he is doing just that. He knows about things but has huge problems understanding them!
Don't get me wrong, he does the right thing and does what every stupid person should!
He asks questions instead of relying on his own brain and he is the first person to tell you he doesn't know. He also constantly tries despite not easily understanding it, which is very important and commendable!
Most smart people could learn a thing or two about from Joe Rogan, respect!
Make no mistake, education/knowledge is no substitute for intelligence/IQ and neither is intelligence a substitute for education/knowledge.
I'm a little confused about what you are trying to say, but then it may be my fault if I was not clear. So I'll reword my first comment on this thread; I have ADHD, and I have a high IQ. I never cared/ payed attention in school, so I assume that my high IQ is the reason I still graduated with an okay GPA despite not studying.
I'm not trying to cut down on the IQ test, or people who have a low IQ. I think that intelligence is just one piece of the puzzle and that Emotional Quotient (EQ), life experience, and probably many more factors are just as important.
Same thing happened to me. I'm still trying to find the perfect fit medication, but jesus, I still have nightmares about failing out of college, I was so close to not making it. I still get a lot of brain fog though. :/
about 3 semesters away, but it's been 8 years and all the local colleges don't count transfer credits for bio over 7 years, and the original school counts all my classes as transfer because of how long it's been since I left
This is how I felt when I tried dexedrine for the first time (someone else's, years ago when I was a troubled 19 year old taking all kinds of stuff). It was like a veil was lifted and I could do all the things everyone else was doing.
Since then, I've had brief encounters with the same feeling from energy drinks, but nothing as long lasting.
No more than I ever did. I'm crankier in the morning before they kick in but that's about it. Every now and then I'll get a killer headache from them but once I figured out the right dosage that mostly stopped.
It's basically an advertisement for Adderall in my opinion. The world seems brighter and less dull. Things come into focus and I'm able to solve problems that I never had the attention span for before. Organization becomes a thing I no longer begrudgingly do but do instinctively. Whoever wrote the script for Limitless surely had to have been on Adderall or some derivative of it at some point when they wrote about NZT because it really ticks a lot of the same boxes.
I really think that it would help me out, but I'm terrified that if I take it that I'll eventually not be able to use it (whether for medical reasons or because I'll build up a tolerance to it) and then I'll have to live the rest of my life with my brain not working as well as it did previously. I guess that happens anyway when you get old, but it's still a scary thought.
Same thing happened to me. I've been on it for a month. I'm 25, graduated with an awful GPA, and thought I was just dumb for not being able to apply any sort of abstract concept.
Everything is going towards the right direction now.
So because you earned your degree with your brain being broken, does that mean you kind of wasted your time absorbing nothing and the degree is just something for you to put on your resume?
This is pretty much college summed up since a lot of things you need to do at are taught on site for a lot of different careers. There is no way someone will remember how to solve a DE with FFT years after college. Instead, college prepares you how to think critically and retain information quickly.
Yup, i also went to a school I don't suggest for a field that doesn't need a degree because I was told that I needed a degree or I'd be poor forever. I will likely never fully pay off my student loans. I remember enough of the stuff that I was doing that I could still probably do the job (just like all throughout elementary and high school where I was able to soak up the knowledge) but I have no practice or experience using that knowledge correctly and going back to stuff I used to have a flimsy grasp on requires mostly relearning. It's like the knowledge I have is swiss cheese except the holes are what I know so I can skip steps here and there.
131
u/Noobity May 30 '17
I went through college without it. I struggled so hard, tried so hard, I was so lucky to graduate with a shit gpa. Come home, see a doc, worked over time to get a medicine and dosage that worked, and it's like night and day. I feel like my brain works now.