Kind of figured by now

[branchandroot]

Congratulations to me, I am now the proud possessor of an ADHD diagnosis.



Which I’d pretty much figured, after a dozen or so too many moments of “…wait a minute” while reading friends and acquaintances writing about their own experience of it. And after 50 years of living with it, I’ve got it just about as managed as it’s possible to be, but it’s nice to have my sense of myself confirmed, and also to have some help polishing a few coping mechanisms, and also to have something to take to my next doctor when I finally gird myself up to play pin-the-tail-on-the-medication with a scheduled substance, which frankly sounds like a special level of hell.

OTOH, everyone notes that that part gets way easier when you’ve got the meds, so.

…still gonna give the saffron extract a go first.

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Congratulations and good luck!

If you've tried caffeine, you can possibly wave that in front of the doctor as the first medication that's failed you, and if you've had wellbutrin/bupropion, that's the one they tried me on first and second. (Worked wonders for my depression! After the first year, did jack shit for the ADHD.)

[branchandroot]

[rueful] I should probably have twigged earlier, honestly. Caffeine ramps up my heart rate, but it's never done a thing for my alertness or focus. And I'm on Remeron already, so wellbutrin will be nixed. *starts a list*

[princessofgeeks]

Wishing you all the best.

[branchandroot]

Thank you!

[umadoshi]

Yay for diagnosis! Good luck with the meds!

[branchandroot]

Thank you! *crosses fingers*

[synecdochic]

I lucked out and the first meds I tried worked well enough that I was on them for 3 years (ritalin), and then we switched me to Vyvanse because it's easier on the heart rate and that one worked even better. The actual getting of the meds is a fucking pain in the ass, but starting them was like wiping the fog of the lenses of my brain immediately, and it's made such an incredible difference that I strongly, strongly recommend giving it a shot. They even fix my sleep disorder when I time them correctly!

[branchandroot]

Yeah, seeing your description is what will probably get me to a psychiatrist for a Rx. I'm so, so tired of playing spoons with my executive function.

[synecdochic]

It's not perfect, but the first time I was verbally interrupted while in heavy focus mode, given a task to do, did it immediately, and then picked up what I'd been doing with no half hour gap to have to get back to the focus was fucking AMAZING. Also, the meds lower the activation energy for starting things so far that these days I just think of something I need to do and then do it instead of sitting there frozen for 3 hours knowing I need to do the thing but not being able to make myself start. It's incredible, honestly.