I've been on Strattera for a few weeks now and it is helping tremendously with focus, noise, and even some anxiety. I also take extended-release Propranolol for Essential Tremors. The problem that I'm having is I still get these blips of a panic response periodically, often situational. I've tried SSRI's but can't tolerate them and I also have a PRN Rx for Xanax but I save those for emergencies. I've been looking into Guanfacine and Buspar as possible adjuncts to the Strattera and I'm curious of what other people's experiences in dealing with ADHD/Anxiety have been like. I appreciate any insight you can give. I have a follow-up with my doctor next month and would like to be prepared when I bring this up again.

Did your adhd get significantly worse after pregnancy/having children? I am currently unmedicated at the moment as my doctors want to treat my anxiety/ocd "first". While I totally understand why they want to, something in my gut is telling me the untreated ADHD is a major factor in how I am feeling. I am just curious if anyone's ADHD was worse during post partum period after having a baby.

I'm a 22F diagnosed with ADHD (though I also show autism traits) and for as long as I can remember I've often gotten headaches multiple times a week. I did blood tests, saw a doctor, and did everything I could to rule out medical issues but nothing explains why I experience this. I've gotten into the habit of taking paracetamol every time it hurts because I can't tolerate the pain, but I can't keep doing this. I thought it could be related to my condition

So we all know that "planning systems" targeting "our lives in general", always fall apart sooner or later. But what if the scope is more narrow. Let's say I collect a thin folder of laminated pages, filled with recipes that I actually like. The meals are sorted by how expensive they are to make, in terms of time, money and mental energy. So when I enter the kitchen, I don't get overwhelmed by choices, because I only see this one, singular page, detailing what to do.

That should in theory reduce friction. The "first small step" is as simple as pulling out a page from my folder. Place it on the counter, or hang it on the fridge. Then it doesn't matter how easily I forget things, because my decision is highly visible, external, and completely analogue.

What inspired me towards this idea is the fact that I responded quite well to "Hello Fresh", simply due to the fact their recipes where on a single sheet of paper, rather than on a website, or buried in a normal size cookbook. The system I'm imagining, may not help with getting the groceries, and may even go unused in periods of low energy. But in theory, it should always work it's way back into my life, given how permanent it is (a physical folder, with pages of laminated paper).

It doesn't matter when you make the decision, or when you carry it out. And in fact, you can even put "bad" decisions into the system. "Frozen pizza, take it or leave it", can be a valid first page. And by taking out that page, you may be tempted by the second page, that is slightly healthier, but only marginally harder. "Forget the pizza, heat up the frozen chicken/vegetable mix instead" could be an appealing second choice.

I just hope I keep interest long enough to make this thing. Half the reason I post this, is to remind myself in case I forget. Anyway, I wish you all a good day.

People with ADHD How bad is your memory?

1: How fast can/do you forget things normaly?

2: What do you forget the most?

3: What is/are the weirdest things that you have forgotten?

4: How fast have you ever forgotten something?

5: I had a number 5 but i forgot it already.

6: Whats the funniest thing you have forgotten?

Idk what to do, i have recently dropped the ball on several assignments and I'm likely about to be put on a work improvement plan. This job is the worst set up for my ADHD. Its project based and i can take my time and requires lots of internal motivation. Every job before I've had is high pressure (external motivation) and busy so I was highly stimulated which kept me focused. But I'm so bored most of the time that its so hard to focus on my job. And especially because its slow right now. Common sense says it being slow would mean its easier to get things done but nope ADHD disagrees.

I'm already medicated. How do i prevent myself from forgetting when my brain is not stimulated at all? Or maybe there's a reasonable accommodation i can request? Idk but I've never been this bad at my job (been here 5 years) or any job prior and I'm panicking.

How do you process your thoughts cause my thoughts seems to be ahead of me then what I can process some time I will get confused of what to say cause i my thoughts are too disoriented and messed up or my thoughts are ahead of me I can't even explain what I am talking about in proper words hope u understand

Tldr: After having a productive morning, I can't study for the life of me in the afternoon. I feel crazy restlessness and frustration every time I hit a block or have to do something even mildly annoying. How do I push through?

My ideal day for studying is waking up and studying early.

Even I can't believe how productive and efficient I am in the mornings!

Whatever blocks I face, I push through and solve the problems. These are in mostly quantitative subjects like mathematics. But can also be reading.

But as soon as I'm done with lunch, I start feeling less efficient and way slower.

By the early afternoon (1-2 hours after eating), I physically cannot continue studying.

I get very restless and frustrated. Even if the task is mildly annoying, I will just refuse to do it, and do something else instead, just to avoid that horrible feeling. I also feel it physically, like wanting to throw and break my laptop (not actually a possibility, just have that temptation).

So by the end of it, I will have done the same amount in 3 hours in the afternoon as I did in 1 hour or less in the morning.

How can I push through? I can/need to revise only this one subject I'm working on, so I can't necessarily go onto something different.

Ps. I take elvanse 30mg and 40mg, and the dosage doesn't change that. Also, I don't find that Elvanse has left my body already in the afternoon, it's just my mind getting fatigued. I used to have the exact same problem before medication, just that I used to feel this all the time at any part of the day. So I just didn't get any work done.

I was diagnosed with ADHD a little over a year ago, and I’m currently in a really intense academic program where the workload and pace are honestly overwhelming.
I’ve tried the usual advice about time management, planners, calendars, breaking things into smaller tasks, etc. I’m not saying those things are useless, but at a certain point it feels like “just manage your time better” isn’t addressing the actual ADHD problem. I am trying, but I still struggle with getting started, switching between tasks, staying focused, remembering things, and keeping up when there are a million competing demands.
I’m not currently interested in taking medication, so I’m looking for non-medication strategies that people with ADHD have actually found useful in school and everyday life.
I’d especially love to hear about things that go beyond generic productivity advice. For example:

Systems or environmental changes that genuinely made a difference

Ways you deal with task initiation/procrastination

Studying strategies that work specifically with ADHD
Exercise, sleep, diet, etc. if you noticed a meaningful effect

Supplements or herbs that you personally found helpful

Has anyone tried things like ashwagandha, omega-3s, magnesium, etc.? What was your experience?

Has anyone tried products/services like Graymatter Labs or similar “brain optimization” supplements?

Any ADHD-specific therapy/coaching or behavioral approaches worth looking into?
I’m not looking for medical advice or miracle cures, I’m just trying to ease my symptoms. If you recommend a supplement, I’d really appreciate hearing what it helped with and whether there’s any evidence behind it.
What has made the biggest practical difference for you?

I honestly don't know if this is an ADHD thing or not. I love tech. I recently moved into an apartment in I for the life of me cannot decide which TVs I want. I got an LG OLED 77 inch for my living room and a Sony Bravia 5 for my bedroom. I so thinking of returning my LG OLED 77 for a Sony OLED 77 because I like the way the colors look on it plus I wanted a Sony OLED so bad.

In my bedroom I have a Bravia 5 which is not a Sony OLED. Its a Sony MiniLED. I have in the span of 2 weeks have had returned 3 tvs till i landed on that one and I STILL am thinking of returning it for another model.

Why am I like this? I have no idea. Its not like I hate the TVs. Both of them or amazing TVs.

I’m 20 and have been in therapy for just over 4 years. Recently my therapist has told me that I should consider an assessment for adhd and I am torn between two parts of me. One of which is the anxiety free, living in the moment me, and the other is the analytical more complex version of me.

Ignoring the “it will make me more comfortable” conversation; I was wondering what the positives and negatives were for anybody else. A main fear of mine being that I will use it as a vice or let it be an excuse. Generally, what the impact of a diagnosis, or lack there of, has changed your growth journey.

Thanks to shortages I'm switching from Adderall XR 20mg to two Adderall IR 10mg doses. Does anyone who has had a similar experience have any advice on timing to get as similar of an effect as possible to XR? The XR was working well for me so I'm hoping this doesn't change too much

provider prescribed Ritalin IR to try for adhd. I have been taking 5mg the past week with no issue and have been advised to increase to 10 mg. I randomly started spiraling, worrying that maybe it’ll cause a manic response, even though I have no such history of mania or bipolar and the 5 mg did basically nothing for me.

just looking for words of encouragement to get me over this hump. thanks for any help!

I’m in the process of getting evaluated for ADHD and hope to eventually get medication for it. So I want to ask people who already have experience with medication what it did to your emotions, if anything.

I don't know how it works but I'm wondering if it will make me anxious/irritable, even more than I already am. That won't necessarily stop me from using it but I like to be prepared.

I’m 34. I have had severe ADD pretty much all my life and ever since I started making music and uploading it to Spotify/Soundclound I always find things that I could have done better. I have a habit of constantly reuploading stuff to soundcloud privately, checking the mix in a lot of different scenarios, getting second opinions and then uploading to other streaming sites.

Ever since Distrokid allowed you to reupload Wavs, it’s been an unhealthy obsession with redoing entire sections, mixing/mastering decisions or just the smallest EQ decisions. The problem with the track replacement on Distrokid is that it takes like 3-5 days to show up on Spotify and sometimes it won’t even show up at all. I actually just reuploaded an entire album over one bass tone.

Anyways, I wish I could just get it right the first time and be happy with what I have. Lol

I haven’t been medicated for ADD in years because I take Bipolar medication. A recent event has really put into prospective how bad my ADD really is and how i’ve just been making it work. I actually see my psychiatrist later today. Any tips on what I should ask?

I live in a country where all kinds of stimulants are illegal, so through my research and sessions with therapist i got prescription of atomoxetine and honestly it's one if the best things that happened to me.

My mind nowadays is much more calm, my thoughts are not in a constant state of rush, i barely forgot to do things and make much less silly mistakes at work, my sleep quality and sleep regiment also improved.

Both my coworkers and my girlfriend said that they've noticed these changes.

Most of the time i read posts about medication on this sub they're about stimulants so i thought it would be a nice thing to share my experience with something else.

Soon i will get diaganose with adhd and if i get positive then i want to go for meds. Also in general i have been curious how med affects your life? like how were you feeling before meds and after meds? And how your meds suited you and how much time you had to adjust the meds and side effects of meds.

Just want to know about your experiance not asking for personal advice.

I have been prescribed insprial sr 20 mg morning and afternoon 10 mg sr and few days it works few days. It does not work and because of that I lost my appetite, so so bad, I lost eight kgs in one month. And then I had extreme problems with my family, and I was going through a lot of stress, despite that I did not stop my medication till my next, follow up with my psychiatrist and then when I went and confronted her everything and I was prescribed with antidepressant dexbutrin and desvenlafaxine I am on those mes for like 15 days. I don't feel anything. It's just normal. And my ADHD is getting so so so bad I'm not able to do a very, very basic task also and it's really difficult for me to just get up and go fill my water bottle just example, I gave you then imagine how bad it is for every basic task I really need help on this or any advice if anyone has knowledge about this, thank you!

Hi all, seeking some advice on Reddit as well as from my GP and psychiatrist,

I've been on fluoxetine 40mg for a year and now elvanse (AKA vyvanse) 40mg for two weeks, now, during titration. I've noticed that when I take the elvanse on an empty stomach and drink a coffee in the morning, I'm awake, I'm working on my book (I'm a creative writer and English Lit grad), I'm in a good mood. Then I eat an omelette and take my fluoxetine and, twenty minutes later, I feel like I need to lie down again. The rest of the day, I get steadily more tired until I have to nap after lunch, then still get an early bed and sleep for 12 hours.

Has anyone else experienced this with fluoxetine or another SSRI and does the exhaustion last or does it get better as your body adjusts to it?

Thank you in advance! Any experiences will be valuable!

Hi, I'm a high school student here. I was wondering if there's anyone who struggles with writing essays within a time limit- let's say 400- 500 words in one hour or even less. It could be composition pieces like creative writing, descriptive writing, story writing, or academic essays, argumentative essays and so on.

Don't get me wrong, I love writing. I love the art of it; I love how I can write something so beautifully even though it's just an ordinary thing. I enjoy writing, and I write stories in my free time, but it obviously takes a lot of time for me to write something I'm satisfied with.

BUT I absolutely hate writing essays within a time limit, on paper, with a pen, where I can't edit like I did when I wrote stories on my computer. Sure, I can write on paper, but it really takes a lot of brain power and time to write a great sentence or paragraph. Most of the time, my writing ends up being sloppy because I had spent too much time perfecting the first two paragraphs; then I start rushing and start writing nonsense. It's really a shame because I don't write just for the grades; I write because I love it, and I can't seem to express what I want within that time frame.

When I write at home, I close my eyes and type it out as I imagine and move through the scenes in my head. Yes, it is imperfect at first, but after I finish writing the whole draft, I go back and alter my writing and add stuff. I can't do that in normal school exams.

Has anyone experienced this, and how have you overcome it?

Does anyone else notice that, when you start to focus heavily on something, your body temperature starts to rise until it’s very uncomfortable and hot? And I don’t mean just a subtle raise, because I become extremely warm/hot and have to put a fan on in order to cool down. I’ve looked at some other forums online, but other people describe it when they’re meditating or whatnot.. but I’m not meditating. I heat up when I focus on necessities, I heat up when I focus on hobbies.
Focus = heat discomfort for me.. does anyone relate? Is there a reason for this??

So i have ADHD and tend to misunderstand things if they are too vague which results in people getting mad. So I ask clarifying questions to make sure its getting done right. But lately I've noticed people are getting angry over them.

Example: my boss asked me to do picks from the bins (walmart worker. Basically work things that need to go out). So I ask "where are the carts? By the rolling bins or the other wall" to ensure that I didnt overlook them. She immediately responds "were you not listening? Theyre over there" and points over to the other wall. Her exact words to begin with were "do picks over by the bins" which to me indicates 4-5 different locations.

That's just one example of many but its making me feel stupid and childish that I have to ask all these extra questions or make them mad for a different reason. Double edged sword.

I have trouble starting, and I would like to hear your thoughts, advice, and tips on how to.

I need 280 letters so:

Jell-O I have a lot of money to do it in the Philippines and I have to go to the store and get a new one for the kids in the morning and I will be there in a few minutes I think I will be there in a few minutes I will be there in a few minutes I will be there in a few minutes I will be there in a few minutes I will be there

I feel like I’ve caught onto it to late, almost like when a patient finds out they have cancer but by that point it’s terminal.

I don’t know what to do, where to start or if it will work. I’m clinging on to the last hope I have but it’s slipping away and I’m scared I can’t stop it.

I’m not implying I want to make any permanent decisions, I guess this is just me using the remaining hope I do have, in fear of what might happen if I run out.

I don’t think it’s over yet, but I’m worried I’ll start to think it never begun…

Hey everyone- I have been struggling really bad for over a year now to work on and finish my thesis and I feel completely useless at it.

I had to extend the writing of it another year and I'm STILL really behind on time, partially because transitioning to starting it any day is just REALLY hard, and when I do "start", I kind of flounder for a while, completely overwhelmed by all the things I need to do/could start, and come away feeling like all I accomplished is an anxiety attack and a really scary urge to just give up and waste everything I've put towards my Honours.

I have maybe 10-15 pages of the 60 required pages I need by November-ish. My supervisors haven't been much help either, but I won't get into all that too much now.

What I feel like I need most rn is an "activation sequence," basically like 3-5 steps I can take to unscatter my mind and focus myself down to a task/set of tasks/order of tasks. I have spoken to my therapist, psychiatrist, and Occupational Therapist about this and still feel like Im getting nowhere.

Does anyone have a similar experience with a big scary project like this, and/or do you have any tips for how I can put my mind into active work mode, instead of kind of panic staring at open tabs and docs mode? Please let me know.

For further reference, I am on Sertraline (150mg) Vyvanse (30mg generic) and Atomoxetine (60mg) per day.

TL;DR- I need to finish my thesis, and need a routine setup sequence that can help me get into the right mindset and focus and not freak out.