How do y'all cope without meds?

ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml to ADHD@lemmy.world – 1 points –

I recently had to stop taking my vyvanse due to some bad side effects and holy shit I forgot how bad this was. I can't do anything. I have so much shit I need to do but I sit down to do it and it genuinely fills me with dread. I am just staring at my computer. Even getting to the webpage I needed took hours of convincing. This is horrible, even caffeine isn't helping. What do y'all do? How do you manage?

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Chaining dozens of coping methods together helps a little bit, including:

  • strictly working with lists. When I do it and it's not on the list & checked off, it doesn't count as done. What's not on the list doesn't get done
  • implementation intention: Since my brain refuses "must do now" situations, use a trigger like: "If it's not done by 8 p.m., work on it with a stopwatch for 15 minutes"
  • for the list, turn everything into a module. Instead of "do the kitchen", have subitems like "collect all garbage", "sort by food / non-food", "clean surface 1/2/3/floor". For studying & work, a module is always 25 or 50 minutes of full focus, no distractions. When I have to get up to get water or pee, it counts as failed and is not checked off

Yay, life on hard mode.

Those are some top tier gamifications

Thanks! For my kid, I gamify it up a notch: His life works on "quests" such as 10 minute room cleaning, letter to a grandparent, 10 minute reading, homework etc., for which he gains loot boxes. Those are little physical boxes containing a made-up currency and other small rewards such as candy, 5 cents - $ 1 real money (his only way to get allowance!), stickers etc. The made-up currency can buy prices such as puzzles, books, toys. About 2 - 3 times per year, there is a legendary coin in it which can be traded for a huge price worth $ 50 - $ 100.

Not sure if saving him or messing up his reward system, but the stuff gets done and he's doing great!

I don't. I vaguely function for months on end, eventually get overwhelmed and panicky, then consume excessive amounts of caffeine and giggle to myself till the caffeine crash hits and I'm too tired to think.

Poorly. I'm unmedicated and trying to get on meds.

Are you in the US? What difficulties are you running into?

My current psychiatrist doesn't want to prescribe me any stimulants because of the potential for abuse. For the record, I have no, uh, record of drug use. I don't even fucking drink. I get the caution, but it's deeply frustrating.

I used to use caffeine but i stopped a few years ago. During the pandemic i went on adderall because i was struggling to help my kids do online school. I stopped adderall because i moved and adhd'd away my therapist.

Mostly i cope with routine. I eat the same foods for breakfast and lunch most days. I work on unmasking and being radically honest about my struggles with adhd to people around me. I setup auto billpay as much as possible and i cycle through the same few hobbies so i dont waste too much money.

I've recently found that sleep is very important to my body's needs. If my sleep cycle is fucked then my symptoms get wild.

I recently had to stop taking my vyvanse due to some bad side effects and holy shit I forgot how bad this was

FYI you are probably also dealing with withdrawal in addition to being unmedicated. Getting off of meds after having been on them is a very different experience from never having been medicated.

Honestly? Forty years of practice, anxiety spikes, external motivations positive and negative, fugue states... and I'm still barely getting by. I just paid $600 of late fees because I forgot to file my state income tax ten years ago. I'm sure I did them when I did my federal, I just... never sent it in? I guess???

I run on auto pilot most of the time. I can't forget something I didn't remember to do to begin with. Double, triple, and quadruple check. The double check to be sure and the tripe and quadruple check because I forgot I've already double-checked.

Side note: too much caffeine can weaken bones.

What's too much?

Under fifty, maybe 800+ mg daily. Over 50, maybe 200, depending on other risk factors. Oddly, it seems to affect the femoral shaft, and not notably others. Everyone should do a refresher on Rush factors, but especially AFAB, and small framed people.

May I ask what side effects? Iā€™m on vyvanse 40/d and love it.

Its a bit embarassing lol but I guess its fine. I was one 70mg and noticed somwtimes it'd be hard to pee, like I really had to strain and all I got was a week stream that cut in and out sometimes. For a few months I said fuck it I guess its a shitty side effect I will have to deal with being at such a high dose so I just ignored it and went on with life. Then a few days ago I felt some pelvic pressure around the bladder and began to leak semen. Like just a dribble but definitely not something I want and the pelvic pressure was pretty uncomfortable. This all occured around the peak of the meds. My guess rn is that I have an underlying issue with my prostate that is exacerbated by these meds for one reason or another. I also lost a 6-10 lbs over the summer (pounds I needed tbh I don't weigh a ton) which might also have something to do with it.

That sounds more like an atomoxetine side effect than lysdexamfetamine. Weird. I would suggest to get your prostate looked at.

Buddy, I'm like this medicated. I don't cope, I don't manage. I can't get a proper job and I'm increasingly ready to plan my exit.

Get thee some therapy bro. Medication is a tool, not a magic fix. You still gotta do the work on yourself. The meds just make it easier to do

I have had a lot, but I didn't find it very helpful for ADHD, and genuinely prohibitively expensive for someone like me who has no idea how to make money. It felt like I was spending all my money talking about my broken leg, if that makes sense.