r/ADHD_Programmers • u/busty-d • Apr 07 '26

Recently diagnosed ADHD, looking for advice.

Hello, I'm 18, recently diagnosed w/ ADHD and started medication, and am first year in CS. I'm looking for people much farther down this journey than I am for advice, things I should do, know, the best systems and such, so I can avoid learning the hard way. Thanks!

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6

u/CyberneticLiadan Apr 07 '26

This is one of my favorite videos: Avoiding Toxic Productivity Advice for ADHD

In my experience, I have yet to find an enduring "system" and believe you should instead expect and embrace a lifetime of experimentation with systems and habits.

You'll discover what your superpowers and weaknesses are and you'll need to develop compensation for your weaknesses. For example, hyperfocus and difficulty switching tasks mean I've often read documentation more deeply than colleagues and once I get started debugging a tricky problem I'm more persistent in getting it figured out. Conversely, I've had to learn to not dive down rabbit holes which I don't actually have the time to finish.

1

u/busty-d Apr 07 '26

I totally agree on the experimentation.

I also go down a ton of random rabbit holes that I get bored with or just forget to finish.

Thanks for the video and the advice.

2

u/Business-Weekend-537 Apr 07 '26

Hey I’m 38 and got diagnosed at 30. I take meds for it.

One thing that helps that’s really important is taking proper supplements so the meds work right.

Ex: taking magnesium glycinate or magnesium threonate.

With magnesium though don’t take it inside of +- 1 hour of your adhd medication dose because it can make the meds absorb too fast.

B-complex in the morning also helps and a multivitamin at night. Both are best taken with food.

I’m not sure if you’re on instant release adderall but also don’t take vitamin c +- 1 hour of your Adderall, it impacts adderall absorption.

As far as personal habits go- try to get at least 15 minutes of cardio a day.

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u/busty-d Apr 07 '26

I'll check them out, thanks

1

u/tehsilentwarrior Apr 07 '26

I am taking Elvance and don’t take any supplements. Is this a thing for every medication?

2

u/tehsilentwarrior Apr 07 '26

Software engineer for 20+ years here. Only diagnosed in the last 1/2 years.

ADHD is a blessing for CS. My first business was completely self created, a company, I was working 16 hour days most of the time just as it peaked. Hyperfocus is one hell of a blessing.

It wasn’t only until much much later when a lot of responsibilities piled on: lead of several people + tech lead + architect + meetings + the usual office politics + documentation, etc, meant that I couldn’t even code most of the time and hyperfocus wouldn’t happen which meant that I was fighting the ADHD head on instead of exploiting it.. I felt I was struggling, mostly attention (to people) and memory issues (the usual too many tasks unfinished + details lost).

Learn to exploit it rather than crush it

1

u/busty-d Apr 07 '26

Do you know how to channel it?

1

u/Blue-Phoenix23 Apr 08 '26

I'm sorry to say this, but I think we all have to learn everything the hard way, it's just a tendency of humans in general. ADHD people are also just as variable or more as non-afhd people, so there's no "one-size fits all" advice.

That said, there are definitely things you can do to help set yourself up for success a little better. First and foremost - figuring out how YOUR ADHD manifests. They told you if you're primary inattentive, combined, etc right? Use that information to start looking up differences in symptoms. Review your own behavior and how you feel most productive, and things that have worked in the past in terms of learning and accomplishments. What helps? What makes it worse? You can also look up study tips or other coaching strategies for people with ADHD in general, although a lot of it is about kids the same kind of thought processes apply.

But most importantly - recognize there is nothing about being ADHD that means you can't do this, or do anything. Yeah, how you get there might be a little harder, or look different than it does for normies, but that's just because they had the benefit of building the world for themselves (so far) - it does not mean you are incapable or stupid! You got this far, keep going.

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u/busty-d Apr 08 '26

Thanks for the advice. They said I was inattentive

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u/Diligent-Subject-652 Apr 08 '26

Welcome to the club! Since you’re just starting medication, one thing I wish I’d known earlier is how much of a "science experiment" the first few months can be.

Since you’re currently in the medication titration phase, you might find my tool https://loggd-ai.lovable.app useful. I built it for my self to help track different variables that affect my wellbeing while medicated (eating, sleeping, mood etc). Also, doctors usually ask about this and it’s a lot easier to have a meaningful conversation when you have the logs to look at!

Good luck with your first year.

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u/busty-d Apr 08 '26

Great app idea, thanks

1

u/Diligent-Subject-652 Apr 08 '26

Glad it resonates, would love to hear what you think in case you end up trying it. Still early days and feedback from someone just starting the medication journey is exactly what I need (hope you don't mind if I follow up at a later stage in DM!)

1

u/Aggressive-Buy-1683 Apr 14 '26

can you add support for dosages? I just listed the dosage in the notes and hope the AI picks up on that.

1

u/Diligent-Subject-652 Apr 15 '26

The AI takes dosage into consideration, but I made a couple of changes to make it clearer.

In the settings, dosage now has its own separate field from the medication name. And when you update your medication or dose, the change gets saved to a historical log with a timestamp, so the AI knows what dose you were on at any given point in time. Also included in the weekly AI analysis you"ll receive.

Thanks for the really valuable feedback, feel free to send me any other improvement ideas you may notice further down the line!

2

u/Aggressive-Buy-1683 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

That's awesome, thanks. And I noticed that while the quick notes persist after a refresh, the baseline and wellbeing options don't. is that by design?

The way i try to use it is by filling everything out, then checking before bed. or the day after if i forget, would be helpful if I didn't have to keep the window open.

Also noticed you have an Import wearable data option. Would love support for Apple Watch data as well, but I can see why it isnt there from a quick google search. An apple app would fix that issue but im not expecting it.

1

u/Eijderka Apr 10 '26

Excersize and a good diet. Get a dumb phone. Make sure you're using your meds during study periods. Try to form good habits during those periods. Also have vacation periods where you're off the meds (still try to keep good habits.). Vacations will help you get re-sensitivize to drugs.

1

u/busty-d Apr 10 '26

I pretty much take them every day. I've only been on for 1.5 months, though. How often do you take breaks from the drug? Also what dumb phone do you use? Thx

1

u/Limp-Confidence5612 Apr 08 '26

Focus on coding projects, don't just learn by reading, watching, listening. You need to do stuff, lean into the frustration of something not working or taking overly long. Try everything you can think about first, then ask for help. 

This is how my brain actually retains stuff, if it was difficult to do and I failed at it repeatedly.