Hazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫

#ADHD ers: please help with an open-ended question regarding medication. Looking for advice based on people's own personal experience, not 'studies have shown'. I would love for a few people to share their personal experience of being on a stimulant for the first time, especially as an adult. For some reason I'm really nervous about taking it for the first time, I think because I have so many other chronic health issues, particularly chronic pain, and I'm really really really hoping this helps me. All of my other health problems have resisted treatment for 15 years so I have a lot of trepidation around having tried dozens and dozens of ineffective treatments.

I don't know exactly what my question is, besides 'what should I expect?' A big part of my problem is that I always attributed my functional difficulties to how poorly I felt, but I'm feeling a little hopeful that maybe the reverse might be true, that my difficulty functioning has caused me extreme stress that has led to my feeling so poorly. Has anyone had a similar experience? I would love to hear about (hopefully success, but be honest) stories of how treating ADHD with medication has intersected with other health conditions. Do you have any advice about navigating these early stages, particularly dealing with side-effects, navigating with practictioners, sleep interactions, and finding the right medication/ dose?

I'm looking for advice based on personal experience, not on 'studies have shown'. Thank you!

#disability #chronicPain #AskFedi #AuDHD #ActuallyAutistic #Boost4Reach #fibromyalgia

Aug 27, 2025 at 11:15pmWeb
Show threadeighthourlunchAug 27, 2025
@coppercrush For me, it was like someone turned the lights on in a room that had been dark my entire life. I could remember names. I could study math and enjoy it. My first semester back in college in the honors physic program, in my 40s, I earned a 4.0. It wasn't perfect, but it has been damn good.
Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 28, 2025
@eighthourlunch this is wonderful <3 and I hope I have a similar story to tell in a few years since I want to go back to school
Show threadeighthourlunchAug 28, 2025

@coppercrush In the interest of full disclosure, I had to try a few different meds before landing on the combo that worked best for me.

Also, a caution by way of example. With my new abilities, I began to take on too much. School, a full-time job and my family. It seemed okay, because I was managing it well.

Then suddenly, burnout. I still struggle with it. So, as things hopefully pick up for you, remember: slow and steady. It's not actually even a race. Good luck!

Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 28, 2025
@eighthourlunch learning to use it as a means of helping me rest and relax more effectively is one of my number one goals, and I'm not sure how that's going to work. framing it as about health and not just productivity is going to be really important <3
Show threadJeffAug 27, 2025

@coppercrush

When I take a stimulant, my thoughts become less jumbled and I realize that I can concentrate more easily. It's like things come into focus.

I did have to monitor my caffeine intake. One day, I had too much coffee and I thought I was having a heart attack. The two substances had a nasty multiplier effect and I was a bit useless that day.

I've also used small dosage stimulant medicines as a sleep aid. Since it lets my brain catch up with my thoughts, it helped me to relax enough to sleep.

The biggest downside for me is the diminishing returns. I tend to get used to the medicine quickly, and the effectiveness wears off after a few weeks.

Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 28, 2025
@cynical13 really glad you mentioned both the sleep aid, since I have a similar issue, and the tolerance development, which has been a persistent frustration for me with other meds <3
Show threadCanageekAug 27, 2025
@coppercrush I started in grade 3, but was on ritalin and concerta from them until my mid-30s if you'd like to hear my experience (I still have a prescription but don't bother most days)
Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 27, 2025
@Canageek absolutely!
Show threadCanageekAug 28, 2025

@coppercrush I'm a BIG fan. I hear that the modern drugs work even better for a lot of people, but they're also a lot more restricted in a lot of countries and orders of magnitude more expensive.

I would never have been able to graduate high school let alone university or get a PhD without them, the only reason I'm not taking them now is that my job is so easy I don't really need to

Show threadCanageekAug 28, 2025
@coppercrush If you have specific questions, I'd be so happy to answer them
Show threadCanageekAug 28, 2025
@coppercrush I will also say the side effects can be truly horrendous, I had the darkest moods, whenever they'd wear off I'd be fine if everything was going well. but if I cared even the slightest inconvenience for the hour a day when it was wearing off, I would just go to pieces, so I'd have to schedule not doing homework or anything during that specific hour
Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 28, 2025
@Canageek this is what i'm worried about. i asked the doctor about it and he very much downplayed it which annoyed me, because I've seen it happen to other people. it was very typical 'believe in the best case scenario' doctor stuff.
Show threadCanageekAug 28, 2025
@coppercrush to be fair, none of the other people I've talked to who have used ADHD medication, which is not a small number, 15 or 20 I think, have had that symptom. as I understand it, I'm unusual in that I have gotten every negative symptom, which is a tiny fraction of the total people
Show threadCanageekAug 28, 2025
@coppercrush Oh, and the appetite suppression is real, when I stopped using it. I have gained a lot of weight very quickly since I'm just not used to processing hunger that strongly
Show threadAlex HaistAug 28, 2025
@coppercrush a few more notes: finding a practitioner depends a lot on where you are. A psychiatrist will usually be much happier diagnosing and prescribing than a primary care doc. There are two routes I've done for getting meds: finding a really good psych or finding a doc who follows differential diagnosis by the book without thinking. The latter, look up symptoms that line up with ADHD and report them as your own. I've done this for students of mine. Healthcare is a minefield.
Show threadAlex HaistAug 28, 2025
@coppercrush it doesn't really matter which stimulant you start on because they're in and out of your system so fast. Unlike antidepressants, they work pretty much immediately, though it can take a few weeks to find your balance in how you respond to them. The first time I took Adderall, I fell asleep; I could finally focus enough to realize I was tired.
Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 28, 2025

@alexhaist really interested about this idea of stimulants as a sleep aid, or the relationship between ADHD and sleep, because talk about a tricky issue for me <3

in the eval, i knew enough to emphasize the factors that really limit me - thats good advice, cause its a real shame that i wasn't able to be diagnosed 20 years ago *shrug*

Show threadKlipletAug 28, 2025

@coppercrush I initially found I would incredibly sad feelings as the meds wore off. It only lasted about half an hour. I found it helped to soften the crash with coffee.

It has been about 3 years, and the evening crash is very rarely noticeable. I also found that despite the meds technically being in your system for 10 to 14 hours, every couple of months I would notice I was doing better. I feel my brain is rewiring.

The biggest positive for me has been how stimulants have squashed my RSD.

I recently had to deal with restricted supply and had only a few days worth to spread over 5 weeks. The positive changes to my brain meant that I could go several days without meds and while I was slightly less mentally functional, my mood held up.

Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 28, 2025
@kliplet wow this is really hopeful because the crash worries me, as does developing a tolerance so the idea that it could have lasting effects is great <3
Show threadAydanAug 28, 2025

@coppercrush I don't know anything about chronic pain, but maybe this will address something anyway.

Personally I've found that long and short acting dex' lowers/removes feelings of anxiety for me about things in general. At first I thought it was just for task-related stress, but I've also found myself less scared of spiders and the dark.

Before I started, I was worried that it would "change" me in some way, but what I found was I felt able to go and do things I was thinking about, removing barriers to action, but also I could still choose to "waste time" and "procrastinate" if i want, it's just an actual choice now.

Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 28, 2025
@cxxvii thats facinating about how it interacted with other fears. my big wonder, that a couple people alluded to, is whether it could help me sleep because I just can't get my thoughts to stop going at night and last night, after first day on them, my mind was quieter. i like how you framed it as a choice <3
Show threadAydanAug 29, 2025

@coppercrush Thanx  My main problems with sleep tend to be that I just do something other than sleeping, so meds are neutral for that, but I've defintely heard that if racing thoughts are the problem, they can help.

Also, on the topic of racing thoughts, I think the biggest negative I had early in starting meds was sometimes being overwhelmed by the lack of racing thoughts. When the anti-anxiety effects were wearing off, I could feel slightly disconnected bc I wasn't used to not having them. But that absolutely could just be a me thing.

Brain is wierd. :P

Good luck with your meds!

Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 29, 2025
@cxxvii brain is weird :)
Show threadLeeAug 28, 2025
@coppercrush I’m 63 and been in treatment for 20+ years for depression with little benefit beyond being able to work and function like a normal person. Finally referred to a neuropsych doctor and she noted I have a severe case of adhd. I took my first pill 30 minutes ago. My doctor prescribed a methylphenidate 5mg pill every morning. #ADHD
Show threadLeeAug 28, 2025
@coppercrush It’s been over an hour and I feel fine with no increase in anxiety or energy level. My mood is noticeably light but my hands are a bit shakier this morning. Not sure if it’s connected or my brain is pranking me.
Show threadHazel-Quercus 🟡⚪🟣⚫Aug 28, 2025

@tzudad thank you for sharing: fingers crossed for both of us <3 it seems like finding the right medication/dose can take some time so this thread is really helping me be patient.

yesterday on my first day showed really good early signs, the most noticeable being that my thoughts weren't racing as much as I went to sleep. I hadn't thought about the connection to sleep!