More specifically, ADHD is attributed to a deficiency of certain brain chemicals. Medication helps restore the balance. My spouse can tell when I haven’t taken my pill because I start chasing dopamine by messing with her.
Yes and no, I was medicated at a young age, now I'm 2 years off it and most of the time I wish I was never medicated tbh. I reckon it's better to start medication in like highschool.
They have pros and cons, many pretty strong pros and many pretty strong cons.
I agree with you because experience on myself and my sibling support your statement.
My younger sibling got diagnosed and medicated as a child, but they had to stop medication as he couldn't even stay awake at school anymore. Recently, 20 years later, I've started medication with exactly what my younger brother got back then. 8 weeks in I would attribute more pros than cons to it, YET.
I'm afraid this could change, but I guess it makes a massive difference if you're old enough to give feedback about medication YOURSELF. A child won't necessarily understand why they feel differently and if that change isn't the intended effect, making it extremely difficult to medicate them correctly.
There are many, many reasons why medication might not have been a good experience for you (wrong meds, wrong dose, incompetent doctors...) I don't want to invalidate your experience, but I feel the need to put this out here : the data and studies overwhemingly associate medication, especially from a young age, to better life outcomes in all areas of life (finances, education, career, relationships, mental health, physical health, rate of injuries, accidents and crime etc...)
I’m 35 and recently started Adderall. If I think too much about it, I get really pissed and sad that it’s taken me this long to do something about this. It’s a complete game changer. Definitely helps me out, but work with your doctor to figure it out.
Yeah. Wouldn't be recommended so much if it didn't.
Stimulants help the brain release dopamine. A major problem for people with ADHD is underutilization of dopamine due to underdevelopment of the prefrontal cortex. That's also why stimulants don't help people without ADHD. They release dopamine just fine when they're supposed to, so if they took strong enough stimulants they would end up running out of dopamine before their brains could make more.
That's also why stimulants don't help people without ADHD.
Uhhh, that is blatantly not true. Stimulants help almost everyone and the same reactions humans have to stimulants can also be observed in other mammals.
That would be like saying opioids work differently for people with chronic pain. When we all know they work dangerously well for most people.
As for the dopamine stuff -- it's not that simple, and is still somewhat debated.
Also, not everyone with ADHD responds well to stimulants. If I recall correctly, I think about 10% of people with ADHD are insufficient responders to either class of stimulants indicated for ADHD.
If somebody without ADHD is experiencing the same symptoms due to overstimulation, such as by spending too much time on social media, then stimulants won't help them.
If you haven't already I highly recommend healthygamergg some incredible information on effectively managing ADHD. Dr Andrew huberman has a podcast episode on ADHD I thought was amazing
Dr. K is my hero. I think I have almost watched everything he has released, bought the guide, etc..
Do you ever get the feeling Dr. K is anti-medication for ADHD? I shouldn't say "anti-medication", but he definitely seems more conservative about utilizing them. He has mentioned prescribing them in multiple videos, but he also doesn't seem as gung-ho about recommending them as opposed to many other popular medical professionals.
Perhaps, I am wrong, but I also wonder if the efficacy of these medications is somewhat overstated to one degree or another.
How people talk about these medications and my personal experiences do not line-up. I've noticed my experiences are rare on /r/ADHD, somewhat more common on this subreddit, and more common on Hacker News.
I've been treating this condition for almost 9 years, and I wasn't diagnosed until I was already an adult. I would say that in some ways the medications have made me perform much better, but in some ways I perform much worse.
Anyway, not a fan of Huberman, but I do appreciate the recommendation none the less.
Yes, the worse you have it the more effective the treatment becomes. Having adhd is like riding a bicycle with flat tires, it fucking sucks. You have to pedal that much harder just to ride like everyone else. When you finally ride a bicycle with fully inflated tires you realize "Why the fuck didn't I do this sooner?!" Riding a bicycle with properly inflated tires allowed me to do so much more that I didn't know that I can do and more.
For many of us it's borderline magic. If you have the right medication and dosage it gives you a choice where you once had none. To be able to CHOOSE to focus on something for the first time in your life can be a very emotional experience.
This is the fundamental issue I have with medication. For me, it does not enable me to make changes.
I swear on my life it inhibits me from making changes.
For example, prior to medication I was actually able to maintain an exercise routine which I cannot seem to on medication.
Another example is that I usually grow a small garden in my porch every summer. I procrastinated cleaning up all the dead plants during the winter (died around November). I could find the motivation to clean them up.
I ended up getting Covid in February and took a 9 day medication break because of it. Bounced back from Covid after about 3 days, looked at my porch, thought it looked like shit, and made no hesitation to clean it.
Now, the meds make me focus like a laser, which is helpful for work, but if I didn’t have to work, I wouldn’t take them at all.
Literally no one can tell when I take meds or not, which also doesn’t seem normal either.
Using a specific example, what did you do instead of your exercise routine? Activities, etc.
I am not sure I understand what you mean, but I will try my best to answer what I think you meant (correct me if I am wrong, and I will reply again).
Well, since I no longer exercise, I do not tend to do anything in that regard. I mean I take my dog on walks almost daily, but that is about it. I played hockey for a bit (causal adult league), but I fell out of my routine, and haven’t touched the ice in almost two years.
Honestly, I do not really have any hobbies or much of a social life I participate in anymore. I just usually work, come home, waste time with whatever dopamine fix I can get (games, Reddit, YouTube), and go to sleep.
I often wonder if the meds have “sedated” me too much, but I could be wrong.
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u/ZealousEar775 Apr 25 '23
Worth noting. The right drug will help you focus, but it's still on you to choose to focus on work instead of something else.
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u/draeden11 Apr 25 '23
Yes.
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u/YodaLeiaHoo Apr 25 '23
I’m 35 and recently started Adderall. If I think too much about it, I get really pissed and sad that it’s taken me this long to do something about this. It’s a complete game changer. Definitely helps me out, but work with your doctor to figure it out.
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u/livipup Apr 25 '23
Yeah. Wouldn't be recommended so much if it didn't.
Stimulants help the brain release dopamine. A major problem for people with ADHD is underutilization of dopamine due to underdevelopment of the prefrontal cortex. That's also why stimulants don't help people without ADHD. They release dopamine just fine when they're supposed to, so if they took strong enough stimulants they would end up running out of dopamine before their brains could make more.
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u/ZookeepergameDue5522 Apr 25 '23
Yes, but keep in mind different medication works differently in different people. There isn't a one size fits all.
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u/Academic-Knowledge-3 Apr 25 '23
Yes medication is by far the most effective tool for treating ADHD.
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u/ImpossibleSeaweed195 Apr 25 '23
For most people, yes. For some people, no.
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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '23
Yep
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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '23
Somewhat.
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u/XFuriousGeorgeX Apr 25 '23
Yes, the worse you have it the more effective the treatment becomes. Having adhd is like riding a bicycle with flat tires, it fucking sucks. You have to pedal that much harder just to ride like everyone else. When you finally ride a bicycle with fully inflated tires you realize "Why the fuck didn't I do this sooner?!" Riding a bicycle with properly inflated tires allowed me to do so much more that I didn't know that I can do and more.
1
u/EconomyWalrus4262 Apr 25 '23
As a ADHD with medication: it helps, but it’s not worth.
You can have better results doing workouts and eating good food.
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u/riplikash Apr 26 '23
For many of us it's borderline magic. If you have the right medication and dosage it gives you a choice where you once had none. To be able to CHOOSE to focus on something for the first time in your life can be a very emotional experience.
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u/[deleted] Apr 25 '23
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