Greetings, fellow ADHDers!
These last three years have been a shit show, that led to the simple conclusion: Medication sucks (for me).
I’ve been through at least 8 Non-Stims and 3 Stims. The only Medications that worked for me was Adderall (but the anxiety it induced was unbearable) and Straterra (but I’m of the lucky few who have Urinary side effects). My Psychiatrist tried to balance it out with Zoloft and other similar medications but the side effects whacked me out so hard, it resulted in a Misdiagnosis of Bipolar Type 2. (Two weeks after i stopped taking all meds, all side effects subsided and my emotional state stabilized.)
Now, Im terrified of Medication. A lower dose of Adderall would conceivably help, but I dont like the health risk its impact on my cardiovascular system could have, and I have a genetic history of heart disease.
In conclusion: Medication isn’t for me, and I need some tips of managing symptoms and depression related to ADHD symptoms. Life is HARD.
Thank you
For me, exercise is critical, specifically running. The combination of physical exertion, repetitive motion, “me time” and getting outside is one of the most helpful things for both ADHD and depression. When I’m not able to run for a few days I feel the difference. There are times I don’t enjoy running, but I almost never regret having gone for a run. This can be hard because depression will tell you it’s so much easier to sit and watch TV or play a game.
I know that not everyone likes running or has the ability or space to do it safely, but long walks, swimming, biking, etc, might be alternatives.
I quite enjoy running, it’s hard to get myself to do it reliably though. Do you have any tips on getting out the door reliably?
I’m not the person you responded to, but I’ll throw my hat in with them and say that running helps my mental health too! I’ve had a terrible history with exercising consistently, but I’ve been running at least a couple times a week for over a year now and the thing that helped a lot was getting away from “my goal is to run X number of days” and focus on rather “my goal is to make the idea of running less painful.” I didn’t want to get super active, I just wanted to lower the bar for action so that it was something I would continue to want to do. I never shame myself for not going, it’s always an open choice for myself to help me feel better, and I let myself even just “go for 60 seconds” or “down the block and back.”
And one thing that helps a lot is if you can figure out a time of day that works the best for you. I have a harder time going on weekends because I normally run during my lunch at work. On the days I don’t run, I walk, because I sit a lot at work and it drives me mad to spend lunch sitting around too. Plus running is a lot more fun if it’s literally taking you farther away from responsibilities, lol. Also, if you tend to do better forming habits with the buddy-system, don’t be afraid to look into trying to use that as a motivator too! :D
I sometimes tell myself that I don’t have to go very far, or maybe I just have to walk, but put on my shoes (and headphones and whatever else) and walk out the door. Once I’m out, I usually do want to go. Sometimes I can convince myself that future me will appreciate it if I go, which can be motivation, but that depends on the day. I also find that signing up for a race helps. If I don’t train leading up to it, that day is going to suck much more, and I don’t want that to happen!
I also have dogs and once they get a hint that I might go for one they are very persistent about making sure I take them. 😆
There was a line at the beginning of Bojack Horseman (season 2 I think) that I always think about: “It gets easier every day, the hard part is doing it every day.”
Try to find ways to work exercise into your routine. And more importantly, think about how to still do it when days are tough because you get busy.
Edit 1: I stopped taking meds when I was young back in the Ritalin days. I don’t think I ever quite fit in, but I’ve found that daily exercise helps me channel my little bit of attention enough to sit through meetings long enough to do the parts of my job I enjoy.
Edit 2: Also, Google “Pomodoro Method”. It’s pretty much the only thing I do with my smart watch, and it’s fantastic.
I don’t run. The activities ifo are cycling, hiking, and power walking around my area.
For me setting alarms on my phone helps immensely.
And no social media (yes video content counts) at all until after I get back.
It’s not perfect if my boss wants to screw with my schedule again (too often) but it’s better than having to remember myself.
I do those activities on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I also make sure to go hard every time I do as the harder I go the easier it is to stay focused later. If I’m gasping for air regretting my life choices then the next day I’ll wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Sign up for a run with friends. Something easy like 10km.
Now you have to train because you’ll be left behind if you don’t!
It’s working for me
One great way I have found is bike commuting if possible!!
I’m having to go through a no medication phase due to high blood pressure, exercise was the only thing making it bearable.
Then my bike broke and everything’s gone to another level of shit since then.
New bike was supposed to arrive today but the delivery driver couldn’t find my house 😭
Running gang rise up!
Been trying to manage without medication for quite sometime.
When I was able to consistently run daily, it helped, but keeping a habit is really hard for me.
Also, having a healthy diet helped, while I was able to maintain it.
Overall, I am not doing a great job so far, I hope you have better luck.
About seven years ago, I quit dexmethylphenidate after eight years of various stimulants. I wish I could tell you there’s a general solution, but I was just reading a completely unrelated book and had to get up, log into Lemmy, and respond to this thread I skimmed past three hours ago. I do take caffeine (~400mg) and nicotine (~6-10mg) daily, as well as a drop of hemp oil weekly to manage the caffeine side effects, so I might be disqualified according to some, but I don’t think so. I’m sorry, but nothing will ever approach the unconditional dopamine of strong CNS stims.
Diet and exercise are essential. If I neglect them, I can fall into a loop of unproductive behavior. I mostly eat seeds, legumes, and veggies, with plenty of grain to facilitate cardio. I run 5-10K three times a week. I take protein (pea) and fiber (psyllium) supplements on top of a battery of vitamins. All of this helps me maintain a balance of stable productivity, but honestly the most life-changing thing I’ve ever done was get to a point in my career where I’m allowed to be productive on my own terms.
It took me until I was 26 to find a job where I was allowed to work mostly alone and be measured by my overall productivity instead of being graded by the horseshit pseudoscience that passes for academics and middle management. Obviously that’s not much help to you if you don’t have it yet, but please hold out. Don’t listen to the horde of people with a work ethic in place of a philosophy. I fucked up or walked away from so many opportunities. You can still find independence. Society needs divergent thinkers, they just don’t like to advertise it.
There are still days when I can’t get anything done. There are times like this when I abandon what I’m supposed to be doing and fixate on something that really isn’t part of the plan. My solution is to practice discipline generally so that I can forgive myself for wandering occasionally. I hope this isn’t too disappointing. Take baby steps and trust no bitch.
Let me know if you figure it out. I used a lot of coping mechanisms for years and got by ok, but I think I would have been a lot further along in life if I had atomoxetine that whole time.
These are the things that keep me from anxiety and depression.
Maintain high-quality relationships with people who enrich your life.
Get good sleep. 7.5 hours of solid sleep every night.
Watch your diet. Don’t eat too much processed food. Keep meat and dairy to 1/3 of what you eat.
Take care of something. Dogs and cats are great but so are reptiles, fish and even plants.
Find work that challenges you in ways that keep you engaged, but doesn’t punish you for being neurodivergent.
Coffee, one cup in the morning. Try to get your focus work done in the first half of the day, while the caffeine is still pumping. If you can handle it, have a 2nd cup before noon, buy only if it doesn’t keep you from going to sleep at a good time.
I have found that the caffeine crash from coffee just kicks my ass too much.
After my first coffee though, it’s really effective, like cocaine or something, I’m
focusedas all hell. Until about 1pm.I switched to heavily steeped green tea, like 3 or 4 spoons of loose leaf, and that works better for me. It’s not peaky like coffee, it’s a wider bell curve without such a crash.
I know the feeling of medication sucking, I’m 11 months in on finding the right medications and think I’ve finally hit the end of that journey. My body is weird in fun ways including, it turns out, being extremely sensitive to stimulants. The first bout of tachycardia was not fun, but by the fourth one it’s more an annoyance on the pathway to finding the right medication. These days I even need to be careful if/when I have my single cup of caffeinated tea per day. For me 3mg Intuniv and 5mg methylphenidate hydrochloride instant release in the morning seems to be optimal, the former for task initiation the latter for distraction. The methylphenidate often is still working through to the following morning.
I got to my late 30s before even realising I had ADHD (the gender dysphoria I also didn’t realise I had didn’t help), and by then had independently developed basically all of the standard coping strategies:
- I always update my calendar with events, for example booking my next dental appointment is in there as a recurring event
- I have a big todo list always open on my computer to add things on, both to page out things from my brain and to track things I want to do (with deadlines where there is one). This will often duplicate the calendar events.
- Internally, even with the above I still fret about not missing events. So it is extremely rare that I will miss an event.
- I have a running shopping list on my phone, great for ensuring I don’t miss something. Or buy something I’ve already gotten a replacement for.
- I have a reasonable food/groceries stockpile, so even if I forget to buy say flour I’ve pretty much always an extra bag which’ll give me a few weeks/months grace
- I keep some easily cooked frozen food in the freezer for the days I’m just not up to cooking properly
- I avoid buying food which I know I’d snack on excessively
- I will place things so I remember tasks. If I need to say wash my clothes, I’ll leave the basin out on the kitchen table to remind me.
- The only bills I don’t pay automatically are ones where the provider doesn’t offer that
- If my brain gets distracted and I move off a thought/task, my brain cycles though things fast enough that I’ll usually come across it again within a few hours and then handle it - plus remember that I forgot it so will be more driven not to get distracted again
One of the issues I face is that if there something that I feel must be done (e.g. take my meds, following some of the above coping strategies, or do some specific work with a deadline) I will do so via sheer force of will even if that ends up harming my mental health. I am a bit better at managing my workload these days.
The fact that despite all of the above strategies and being objectively and outwardly very successful, that ADHD was clearly a major detriment to my life and mental health is why I aggressively sought medication.
Realising that ADHD was the culprit for many of my behaviours also helped, so I now roll with my brain jumping all over the place rather than beating myself up over it and other ADHD behaviours. So for example if I have an idea for doing something that’s stuck in my mind, I’m just going to do it and not try to force myself to do the task I was “meant” to do.
I hope some of that is useful to you.
Have you tried a low dose of vyvanse? That has the absolute lowest side effects per unit dose, because it truly is slowly activated in your bloodstream to adderall. All other meds spike after taking them and then fade, so you’ll always have side effects on the peaks. Also, buspirone works better to take the edge off than a lot of things but you gotta go like 15mg or more a couple of times a day. There really isn’t evidence for effective behavioral approaches. It’s a disease that affects us in the microseconds before we blurt something out or take a stupid risk, there is no opportunity for your cognitive brain to rethink things without a med.
I tried vitamin supplements after Adderall wasn’t available, they’ve only helped me 5-10% of what Adderall did for me. Specifically Focus Fizz and TeenFocus (I’m in my 30s, but it’s just marketed towards teens.) Other than that, taking my dogs on a walk at first light has helped. Any bit of exercise seems to go a long way.
My DBT therapist has ADHD and she just uses skills taught by the school of thought. Maybe that?
Nothing much to add but I’m sorry you have not found a stable medication regiment. We went through the gauntlet to find what works for me with the lowest side effects.
For my brain it’s Zoloft and Vyvanse. They keep me from depression and total executive collapse but not much more.
