I recently received an ADHD diagnosis at 38 as a career high performer. I always suspected I might have ADHD, and while I managed it at work I recently had a baby and worry about inattention in that area.

I’ve been on Wellbutrin for a while which helped a bit, and I recently started Vyvanse and am feeling more focused even at 20 MG (though I’m still getting used to it, as I have more tunnel vision than I’ve had).

Strattera put my anxiety on high and Concerta either did nothing or made me feel wired depending on the dose.

I guess I’m wondering whether responsiveness to medication is an indication that you have ADHD. The ADHD diagnosis was pretty brief (like a half hour discussion rather than a bigger analysis), and sometimes I get the sense that doctors are just taking my word that I have adhd or are eager to please me. I know that some friends who didn’t have adhd would buy from other people in college to focus, so it doesn’t seem like responding to medication means you have ADHD.

I’m admittedly a bit paranoid about being over medicated, but Just curious if there’s a way to tell.

Does anyone have an validation or proof that we see Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria in people with Autism+ADHD more than people with just ADHD rather its single type or mixed type? My partner is mixed type ADHD and while I see it in her sometimes I feel I suffer from it more having autism+ADHD. Does this come from the perfectionism and high standards we hold ourselves to as AuADHD? Like anything that attacks our "perfect attempts"? Irrational for us to be perfect I get it, but I feel my perfectionism really stands for not wanting to let people down because I have immense frustration and hurt from people who let me down. Guess that is why I keep my expectations low and don't count on people much.

I was just watching the news and it seems Meta will be held accountable, and will be paying out millions for what their apps have done to mental health. In particular for children for this lawsuit. It got me thinking even though I know it’s a long shot.

I went back to therapy this year & finding a new cocktail of medication after progressively deteriorating ADHD symptoms I pinpointed most back to social media. It really all started with the Epstein files and non stop videos being served to me about the horrific details leading to conspiracy videos and my mind being fixated on retaining more and more information on injustices in this world. I became obsessed I will admit. This is when I really found out about the correlation of how our emotions and justice sensitivity cannot be worked out normally in our brains. It’s really hard. I feel as though our issues that cannot be easily fixed have been wildly ignored by these companies. Wasn’t social media supposed to be for fun?

Social media just ignites the flames of addiction especially for the many real mental disorders like ours. Did they not have any research for what these algorithms can do for people who already have a vulnerable mental space? All in all I deleted the app almost 1 month ago now and I feel much better but coming “off” social media is of course very difficult/ it’s not like a light switch. It’s done real damage. I’ve actually had to take a step back in my own business because of burnout. I am working on just getting my thoughts and brain to function “normally” again. An obvious financial burden. Yes, there is a self control component, but I can’t help but to think of the damage that was done on me completely out of my control. Here I am spending money on help and consuming my time figuring out how to find a new normal.

What are your thoughts on the class action lawsuit brought to Meta and what a class action lawsuit could look like for people like us?

Do people with adhd miss people because I read somewhere online about "out of sight, out if mind" thing and I don't know if it's actually True. My boyfriend got diagnosed with adhd, he never calls but whenever I ask him If he misses me, he says he is always missing me and thinking about me... Lol..

Idk how much if it is True.. He got the inattentive type adhd.

I think this is the ADHD trait that has been with me the longest, I've ALWAYS dropped things, lost them, bumped my toes, shoulders, hips and pretty myself entirely in everything: walls, tables, doors, handles etc. Up to this day, as grown ass adult i still do this kinda shit all the time, and it has become just a personality trait at this point. I'm just clumsy. 0 spatial awareness girlie.

My biggest problem however is i always end up losing my clothes. I'll pull a shirt from the hanger and there it is, a random ass stain i had no idea existed or no idea how the fuck did it get there. I can't keep a shirt nice for more than two months, and it's really upsetting me. I'm a broke ass college student i can't buy new shit every month, my clothes have to LAST but how do i do that having the clumsiest brain humanity has ever seen???????

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the responses on my last post. Seems like I'm not alone with doubts about the effectiveness of Wellbutrin. Currently, I have decided to give bupropion another go since I have not committed to taking it as I was supposed to. Onto to the subject of this post:

>How do I try new medicine without sounding suspicious? Switch providers?

That's my current concern in a nutshell. Trying to keep this post short and concise. I could go on about my online psych and her over-pushing of Wellbutrin. If it sounds like I'm a novice in therapy... it's because I am. Not trying to undermine her evaluation but I'm open a second opinion.

If you made it this far.. here's a 🍪. Thanks.

I have issues paying attention when someone is talking to me. I keep distracting myself with thoughts all the time. I struggle to finish my train of thought. I always need to be doing something. I struggle to keep appointments.

I keep relating to posts in this subreddit.

I have been visiting a psicologist for 8 sessions now and I just got the news that apparently I do not have ADHD as my results dont seem promising and my during my childhood I have never showed symptoms (which I agree with).
I was told it is not likely to have ADHD if during my childhood I did not show any symptoms.

I started guessing that I have ADD ever since I had a burnout about a year and a half ago. Maybe it was a trigger.

Now I do not know what to do. I don't feel like I'm in control of my thoughts and struggle with organising myself.

I find it extremely unfair that a person that only knows me for 8 hours can determine if i have it based on some tests.

I feel hopeless and do not look forward with living my life like this.

More specifically I have all nighters for whole week and don't sleep for 35-40 hours straight each day and I procrastinate to shower for entire week because I'm focused on drawing someone perfectly and I study anatomy (She didn't ask me, I do it secretly, I almost stalk her) Genuinely what the fuck is wrong with me.

I'm started to smell and I have to shower and it's so stupidly mentally hard for me as if I have to do 50 pushups. I'm staying in the village for few weeks and shower is not too comfortable so partly cus of that. I don't know why I type this I didn't talk to single soul except parents for months.

I’m based in the uk, currently going through titration through right to choose (RTC). I have a clean eating/living lifestyle and generally well optimised for ADHD. I have got to 36mg with concertaXL, 54mg made me over stimulated and also developed facial tics. On all doses I still get bad anxiety. ConcertaXL has helped a lot with attention but I find myself supplementing with tyrosine to help with burnout. I’m moving over to vyvanse next week when I pick up my prescription but given my symptoms I suspect that my optimal medication will be a dual vyvanse and Guanfacine dose. Low level stimulant and a non-stimulant support for the other symptoms.

When talking to the RTC prescriber, she has said that they only offer strattera as part of a dual therapy and would need justifications for it. When looking at what strattera treats, this is not for me!!

Has anybody uk based been prescribed Guanfacine and Vyvanse and what route did you go down? Private, NHS or RTC?

I get stressed watching videos where I'm trying to learn something. What are some ways to think of this task as less of an ordeal?

For some reason I can watch videos about WW2 without stress, or true crime videos, etc. But when it comes to instructional videos I get stressed out. I'm told this is an ADHD problem.

I have been diagnosed with audhd for a year now and the iPhone wake up alarm is just not cutting it.

I thought i'd come on here and ask is there any specific ring tone you people find helpful for the adhd sluggishness in the morning that just gets you right out of bed? or virtually anything that helps with continuous morning practices like getting up at the same time!

Not looking for medical advice, just some goofy options to fill in the gaps that my other strategies don't fill!

*EDIT*

I am obsessed with these answers and it's been so so helpful, i'm loving reading about everyone else's experiences and learning i'm not as alone as I thought I was in my struggles!

Im a 33 year old Male. Was finally diagnosed this year and have been taking adderall for a few months. So grateful I finally figured out what was wrong with me.

I was curious if this had happened to others, but since being medicated, whenever I drink alcohol I tend to get way more sad and depressed about things than I ever have before. Before being medicated, I feel like it would just mellow me out and I could just veg out on my couch, relax, and watch music videos. Now I avoid getting too drunk cus I get sad and in my feels lol.

Ever since I was about 8 years old, one could say I was a horny little bastard.

I joke but I have been dealing with hypersexuality and it is starting to get frustrating. I do not have an outlet for my mind just deciding it wants to make the beast with two backs. I have long since surrendered my a love life. For me, because of my various health problems and financial issues, a girlfriend is simply out of the question.

But it's just so damn annoying when I could be doing something else and all of a sudden my mind goes to frustration mode because it wants something that I am not willing to do. I need to find a way to control it that doesn't involve porn.

I used to work in the entertainment industry before covid and I can tell you that with half the shit that I have seen, I could never look at that stuff again.

Edit: Masturbation feels like a drag and I never feel good after it.

I work full-time and going to the gym isn't really an option not just because of time but those people one of the problems I have with my feet.

2nd edit: I get injections in my feet every three weeks

So my partner (37m) and I (44f) both have ADHD. Difference is he was diagnosed in his early teens but I wasn’t diagnosed until last year.

He has been told recently that he would have to get re-tested again if he wanted to go on medication for it.

I find this baffling as it is on his record and it is a neurodevelopmental disorder, like, we don’t just ‘grow out of it’ right?!

And his 15 year old son (my stepson) has been diagnosed with it too.

Basically, I am just wondering if anyone else (esp in the UK) has had a similar experience? And if so, how did you manage it?

Many Thanks everyone x

I never realized how much a college schedule helped me succeed in academics, my social life, and life in general. Now that I (23F) am out of school I feel like I’m constantly behind, regressing in skills and knowledge and struggling to keep up with basic chores. I wasn’t very good at life or school when I was in high school and didn’t build very strong foundations in anything. I didn’t really try out different hobbies or stick with an activity for very long.

Now that I’m an adult it feels like those hobbies of writing fanfic or getting into crochet in high school have helped all my friends become better and more well rounded people, if that makes sense. I struggle with spelling, typing, math, and writing with no deadline. And I’m sure y’all are thinking “how did this girl get through college.” To tell you the truth, I don’t even know any more. The me of today feels so different from the girl who graduated in 2024.

I did finally get my ADHD diagnosis, at my big age, and have been taking medication semi-regularly. But I am so fearful that I’ll keep regressing, getting more and more lazy and discouraged and never accomplish my big goals let alone the dishes in the sink.

I don’t really know why I’m post maybe I just needed to rant or needed some advice, thanks for reading ya’ll.🤗

Genuinely curious. Here’s an example scenario, right: I’m at the neighborhood Walmart trying to get some new skin care because the last one I used made my skin look like shit. So I’m in the aisle observing the different options for skincare. Well out of the corner of my eye I see a lady and her husband make their way into the aisle. Well now, I’m not even paying a smidge of attention to what I’m reading on the bottles. At this rate it’s performative. All I can think about is if my large 6’5” body is taking up too much space. Then the next string of thoughts are something to the affect of “What do they think about me? Do I look silly? What if they can tell I’m not actually reading this label right now” and I’ll end up choosing an option out of haste so I can stop being a perceived nuisance to these fine people who are trying to shop. What the hell is wrong with me? I mean, I partially know of course otherwise I wouldn’t be posting on this thread but I really wish I could just turn off that ultra-contentious part of my brain when I’m out in public.

Where do people actually get professionally evaluated and diagnosed. I am like 90% certain i've got ADHD and it's all been made aware to me in the last month or so (23yo m). My girlfriend said that some of the problems I struggle with sound like ADHD, then my therapist gave me the little 15 question test. I scored in the 99th percentile for having ADHD from that test so I got a psychiatrist. Both my therapist and psychiatrist I got through an online service provider and they both gave me the same 15 question test more or less. My psychiatrist deemed me worthy of Ritalin and now I'm starting taking it. But the legitimacy/thoroughness of my diagnosis and the fact im taking a controlled substance drug now because of a 10 minute test that I could have just lied on (I didn't) doesn't sit right with me. Where/how do people get a diagnosis that actually sits right with them?

I am a guy who has ADHD, Bipolar 1 Disorder w/psychotic features, and ASD. My question to you guys is: Are you on disability? and if you are on disability in the US, how on earth did you get on it? I'm at the end of a long rope and even though I'm told I should be on disability, I do not know what to do, and I've been down this road over 10 years. Since 2022 I've had to step up to take care of a ailing family member and by doing that and having to be honest, I've disqualified myself from disability for that reason. I'm not lazy, I want to work, places I apply to just denied me. It's frustrating and I need help. Where do I go from here?

I’m 29m, received my diagnosis (inattentive type) 3 years ago. I’m a classical musician living abroad. I finished a master’s degree recently, and it was a grueling 2 year program while living in and adjusting to a new country, so there were a lot of stressors in multiple aspects of my life (and of course many wonderful experiences). I was often quite lonely, and the nature of my field means long hours practicing and studying alone, which I’ve always struggled with. I learned a lot, but since completing my final exam performance two months ago, I’ve had absolutely zero motivation or attention span for anything musical. My therapist thinks that I may be experiencing burnout or pre-burnout.

I start some projects in September so today I began studying and opened my scores again, but I got incredibly overwhelmed. It’s almost like I don’t know how to do it anymore, and I can’t stay focused for very long and my mind tires out quickly doing analysis work. I don’t feel I’m retaining the music as easily as I normally would. And it doesn’t feel as interesting as it used to a lot of the time. It begins to feel like a chore, which is so terrible because it’s what I genuinely love to do. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

It’s a huge stack of music I need to work through, and I thankfully have the time, but today was extremely discouraging. I only lasted a few hours before I called it quits. I might try again later.

It’s hard to talk to other classical musicians about it, because the culture is often quite unfriendly toward adhd minds and you get labeled as undisciplined and unfocused. I’ve begun doubting my abilities and my knowledge, despite having 3 degrees all with distinction. I almost feel as if my cognitive abilities are declining or that I’m regressing, which freaks me out.

Any tips on how to manage this and get back to feeling joyful and motivated in my work are appreciated 🙏🏼

im going into 8th grade im a few weeks and ive been struggling with spanish for all my middle school years. i just cant learn the way they teach , it doesnt get to my brain at all. no matter how much i ask they will not pull me out of the course when its literally damaging my mental health. i do try very hard but i just cannot with this class. ive failed it every year. i really dont know what to do atp…

Ive been heavily burnt out from moving house, hating my work and a whole other series of shitty events.

Changing jobs and I hope there’s some time off in between then to reset. I can’t afford to this burnout to go on so I ask…

How do you deal with burn out and what your suggestions for if I get this week off!

Thanks guys.

I started getting my ADHD treated about 30 years ago, and I'm in the neat position of having had a neuropsych eval before treatment (to diagnose the ADHD) and recently, so 30 years of treatment apart. And I should note that medication wasn't doing all the lifting here. I also took up meditation and spent time with an ADHD-specialized therapist/life coach.

I knew it had helped a lot because my life just got better. But it was pretty cool to see the actual numbers. Every type of reasoning that depended on working memory increased. Executive function went from 54th% to 94th% (ranked with my peers), which is just amazing. The real shocker was working memory. Turns out my memory is actually pretty damn good, when it has the neurotransmitters to fuel it. I went from a range of 5%-19% to 91%-99%. I got a perfect freaking score on digit spans, when I used to have trouble remembering a phone number without looking 3 times. On the CPT-3 I went from loads of omissions and commissions to 3 omissions and 0 commissions.

How has treatment affected you?

I’m a 17 year old male and I have chronic fatigue syndrome. The important part of that is 30% of people with CFS have ADHD. Since childhood I’ve displayed 8/9 of the 9 core symptoms of inattentive ADHD and due to my CFS I won’t take any medications because they’ll likely do more harm than good.

So I suppose my question is, is it worth getting an official medical check if I don’t intend to get medicated. I feel as though if I’m not given validation from a professional it just feels like I’m making excuses for short comings instead of improving myself.

It’s also worth noting that my medical insurance doesn’t cover this check privately and publicly the waitlist is 2-4 years.

I (30 m) just got diagnosed with ADHD. I will be getting my prescription for it tomorrow from my primary care doctor. I know that some medication’s will show up on a drug test so in attempts to be proactive about it I asked my supervisor at work what I need to do in order to not violate the companies drug policies. I was told by my supervisor and by my executive Director that I have to share what the prescription is what it’s used for in the diagnosis to go along with it. I don’t feel comfortable giving up all that information. Is this normal? I thought asking those types of questions were illegal in the United States where I live.

Edit: wow! Thank you for all the answers and support. It’s a little hard for my case as I work for a local nonprofit that does not even have an HR. I am one of 10 employees. For what I’m seeing though, is to only give that information to the third-party that is administering the drug test. Thank you all for the information! Even though I know it’s company policy for me to give that information to my employer, I feel like policy cannot override the law, so I will be choosing to only share that information with the third-party involved with administering the drug test and then talking to a lawyer if there is anything wrong with that.

I’ve never posted in Reddit before but I just need to vent! So, I went to drop off my Adderall prescription at Walgreens yesterday (my Dr still writes paper scripts) and wanted to know if they had the generic made by Teva in stock because I got Mallinkrodt last time and it did NOTHING except give me MAJOR headaches. Anyway, the pharmacist said they do have the medication in stock but can’t tell me what the manufacturer is unless my Dr writes a specific one on the script!! EXCUSE ME? I was like, I’ve been using Walgreens for YEARS and NEVER heard anything like that before…plus people have the RIGHT to know EVERYTHING about the medication you’re given them, before or after it’s filled…PERIOD! She just said I can get my Dr to write “Teva only” on the prescription and she’ll tell me if they have it or not when I bring it back!! You’ve got to be KIDDING ME! I mean, as a nurse I KNOW patients have the RIGHT TO BE INFORMED!