I never hear about older people who take stimulants
Depends how old you mean. I’ve heard of many older (50+) adults getting diagnosed and medicated (usually lower dosages) after realizing they’ve been dealing with it their whole life.
Thats actually valid aha, I guess I was thinking more in terms of chronic long -term
I’d rather not share my age, but I can attest to having used medication therapy successfully for about 15 years.
You still use it? Im legit curious if it becomes medically and physiologicaly inadvisable at some point. Also, when people have a pension and other supports, I’m curious if ADHD stuff is much easier to cope with. I feel like it cant be any worse
It varies highly person to person. I’ve been able to reduce my dosage considerably over time, but I still require it.
I occasionally take a weekend break from my medication, so I know how I function without it. When unmedicated, there are certain tasks that I can’t do because they are more difficult, and there are certain tasks that I don’t do because I become more of a risk - for example, driving and cooking.
Driving because I am prone to space out behind the wheel. Cooking because I’m liable to leave the stove or oven on and forget about it until I smell fire.
So, if I someday have enough money to hire a private driver and personal chef, I could ditch the meds.
I’ve found as a young-adult diagnosed person, it heavily affects my social functioning to the extent i dont use it on social occasions and successfully get by with the systems i setup to support myself generally and it covers times i dont use meds.
Id never not want to have access to my my meds but im genuinely curious if i will find the same need for them in my later years
Oh it absolutely affects my ability to socialize; I know exactly what you mean. Lowering the dosage helped with that, but there are still scenarios where a break is advisable - I just make sure I’m not driving or cooking that day lol.
Its crazy nobody recognizes that, its really such a tension for me 😩 I and other people enjoy my non-medicated personality so much so its easier but its definitely a conflict to actualy being productive and taking care of biz-shit
Based on my understanding from a psychologist in the family who works with diagnosing ADHD in adults:
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“GenX et.al.” were mostly never diagnosed as kids. Those that get their diagnosis as adults because they’ve been unable to successfully “handle” their ADHD do get on stimulants, yes.
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ADHD is a lot more difficult to cope with during school than as an adult where you can be successful in other settings that don’t require you to sit still and listen for days on days.
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ADHD can become a lot less severe after puberty which means medication might’ve been needed as a child but no longer as an adult.
caveat: Based on my understanding - I’m not the one with the actual knowledge.
I feel weirdly lucky i got diagnosed when i did. Sort of a sweet spot in between worlds altho I fee like i would have substantially benefitted had it happened sooner. Its always tradeoffs and Im sort of glad my brain had at least 18 years without any signif drug use to alter course.
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I stopped, due to the very scary aide effects of taking almost a gram evey 8 hours… I couldn’t sleep, had heart palpitations, breathing was becoming a “I have to remember to do it constantly” thing…
shit was not fun. now I just do things via coping strategies. I won’t share mine because they’d work explicitly for me, and I don’t want to get bashed for “doing it wrong”.
A gram??? As in 1000mg?? With respect, what the hell were you taking
adderall. and yes, a gram.
The highest dosage of adderal that I can find is 60mg, and that’s typically only for narcolepsy patients.
To be taking “a gram every 8 hours”, you’d need to be taking ~16 pills every 8 hours, or close to 50 pills a day. You’re approaching OD risk at that point.
Please listen to the huberman podcast on ADHD and medicating it. You will discover that you take an exceptionally high dose which is not likely to be necessary. Please consult another doctor.
They should be ramping it up from a very low dose slowly and keep it at the lowest working dose four exactly the reasons you have set out.
this was years and years ago, when docs ramped it up in the name of medical profits,… and I never really ended up needing then after a few years of “getting gud”
Ya but thats honestly insane. Isnt the highest dose of Adderall like 50 or 60 mg?
Why did you go along with that? They literally forced you to up-titrate to that level, nothing less was sufficient, like, ever?
Your doc was a quack and ill refrain from commenting on you
Yeah, I wasn’t diagnosed until I was an adult and it never goes away (as in you’re never cured) so…I find it helps, at least at work. I try to take weekends off if I’m just chilling though.
Chill days are seriously important and no medical dr will ever tell you that usuallly
My boyfriend in his 40s finally got diagnosed with ADHD by a psychologist after suffering his whole life. The psychologist recommended stimulant medication.
Now he’s talking to a nurse, and has been prescribed a few different drugs that have helped some with his anxiety (gabapentin, zyprexa, the occasional xanax), but she refuses to prescribe a stimulant to address the ADHD because “it might make his anxiety worse”.
Why the fuck do you think he has anxiety? Could it be because he has had unmedicated ADHD for DECADES, and every time he tries to concentrate to complete a task, he can’t? And every time he tries to not dwell on bad thoughts and bad memories, he can’t make himself think about anything else, so he spirals downward? Because his ADHD is unmedicated? Jesus Christ.
Sorry for the long rant. We’ve been seeing her for a few months, but I’m losing hope that the actual problem is ever going to be addressed.
TL;DR: I wish I could get my bf into the category of “older person with ADHD taking stimulants”.
You
probablydefinitely should get a referral to an actual psychiatrist if thats going to remain the case; if not from her, than from a Dr
Middle aged ADHDer here
I rawdogged ADHD my entire life until I was diagnosed within the past year. I’ve been on atomoxetine, but its effectiveness for me isn’t worth a bucket of warm piss. I’m going to see my pysch in a little while and ask what my other treatment options are. So I may well become one of those using stimulant treatments.
It really sucks that so many people were missed like that. Same as autism
Same story but a little further along. Maxed out atomoxitine, and now on 30mg of Vyvanse. Starting my morning with an amphetamine and a cup of tea and I could take a nap. But focusing has been so much easier. I still hyperfocus, but at least now I realize I’m doing it. Also, I can listen to audiobooks now, which has been great. YMMV obviously.
Similar situation, started on Concerta which worked great, but then I built a tolerance to it. Tried lots of meds since but nothing has worked. The adderal family didn’t help much and some really messed with my pulse. The Ritalin family seems to be affected by my tolerance to Concerta. I’ve tried Wellbutrin now as my first non-stimulant but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything. I actually see the doctor this week to figure out our next steps.
i started taking mine again this year; i really need it for this new desk job. Previously worked in construction most of my life.
but it hurts my stomach to take it on the reg. ugh
Magnesium glycinate and also not taking it on an empty stomach but rather with a proteiny meal can help a lot. Also avoid coffee with it. And move more, i always feel just awful if i dont stretch and move about
but the adderall days are the only days i can go some time not eating all day! lol (probs why my stomach is dissolving painfully)
i do have a timer every hour reminding me to stretch. i should also use the standing desk thing i got out of the dumpster at my last job.
i am barely competent with these meds!
i got a bottle of straterra but i am nervous about it for reasons i can’t remember right now
Dont take both. Are you committing stims or strattera, seriously dont juggle both
no no, i asked the dr for that like a year ago, to try and mitigate tummy ouchies. i only tried it one day but it gave too much anxiety? or something
It sounds from the context you had stims and you’re downgraded to Stratterra and you’re unsure of it currently. Is that correct?
stims yes.
the other stuff is collecting dust on the shelf
Try to eat something fatty and proteiny with it so theres something to cushion the impact. You need richness to balance out the lack of desire and taste stims can often cause and slow down their absorbtion a touch while still getting on with your day knowing you’ve taken your meds so its time to begin getting shit done
I’m 40 and start my day off with a white monster. It calms my mind and lets me think.
Probably not the best for my heart, but who among us is the picture of discipline?
Wats a white monster? Vyvanse or generic adderall?
They mean a Monster Energy drink, the white flavor, but the idea of calling your medication “the white monster” is hilarious to me
You cant fault me for interpolating that 😎😎
That’s the one. I don’t have a script so I make do with what I’ve got.
them rehab teas though chefs kiss
Mine isn’t problematic enough to consider them (I think I’ve only met one dude that NEEDED to be medicated, IMO) and, besides the clumsiness, I actually enjoy it. The restlessness, the racing thoughts, the constant motion (I’m singing, under my breath or not, and ‘microdancing’ most of the day)… they not only make life fun, but they’re also integral parts of myself. But that works for me, others might have to bite the bullet and get medicated the same way I’ve had to undergo surgery when needed. 🤷
I wouldnt want to not have access to the meds but i disagree one needs ro take them chronically or everyday if they’ve setup the necessary compensatory systems but I also dont have chidren or a super professional career so thats a huge grain of salt i should be taken with
Medication for ADHD was not that common a while back, so older people have learned ways to cope with it, be it self-medication or others. Caffeine can have a similar effect to other stimulants, Taurine too which is why lots of people with ADHD drink tons of coffee or energy drinks. All of that being said, my wife is in her 30’s and can’t have coffee, recently she started taking ADHD medication and it’s made a huge difference, I don’t foresee her stopping taking those any time soon.
Cofeine, nicotine, alcohol and so-on.
Haven’t been on ADHD meds for almost 2 decades though
