How some of us found out...

Wait, I can sleep right after drinking coffee. Is it similar?

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Welcome! You're possibly a self medicating ADHD person.

Otter common signs you should get checked out

do you sit there paralyzed and unable to do a task, even when you want to do it and know it needs to get done?

are you weirdly calm and effective in stressful and panicked situations?

do you get really into a hobby for a while, then drop it forever because you lose all interest?

If so, a diagnosis could be life altering.
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- Otter common signs
  
  Do you enjoy fresh fish as a meal?
  
  Are you good at swimming?
  
  Do you have a favorite rock?
  
  It is important to identify if you are an otter so you can build an appropriate environment and daily routine that is conducive to a happy lifestyle.
  
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- the hobby thing really gets on your nerves after 3-4 times of spending a shitton of money into every single one
  
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- Devil's advocate if you're an adult and your QOL is fine DO NOT entertain meds without a clear understanding of what they do, what they solve and what you're looking for.
  
  I got diagnosed at 40. I tried meds. First biphentin then concerta. Then I dropped it. What I need meds for is to assist with was negligible in my life with the exception of emotional regulation which they were making my life substantially worse. I'm successful in a career and as a father. I fail at relationships. I made the executive decision that meds are not for me. Psychology and CBT are far more valuable.
  
  18
- Ummm
  
  Interesting
  
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- Not trying to be a naysayer or anything, but aren't these all normal? Otherwise I'm a mega ADHD.
  
  10
- Wow, I've been thinking I might have ADHD for a bit now, but this is a perfect description of me.
  
  9
- What if I check all boxes and start to behave slightly more rational after nightly dose of 50mg of Doxepin?
  
  2
I was always so confused that friends couldn't drink coffee after 3pm or they'd have trouble sleeping. I'd drink one before bed and get a great night's sleep. Now I have to have a nap after I take my meds.

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- This was me when I was younger. Now I can’t drink after 12. I think aging plays a role.
  
  11
Some folks with ADHD get a backwards effect from caffeine, putting them to sleep. Wouldn't hurt to get tested

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That seems fairly common in people with ADHD. My SO is one of those. It's definitely not the case for me, but I also have another condition that's exacerbated by caffeine.

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- That explains why I can't stand coffee.. gives me the ability to wake up and laugh at the coffee zombies though.
  
  3
Yup. Makes me feel calm and focussed. Even though it physically causes my heartrate and bloodpressure to increase. Sometimes till discomfort. Worth the work focus though.

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Yes. Can be anyway.

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My dad and I used to stay up until 4 am making coffee in the garage so that my mom wouldn’t smell it and wake up before work (Dad was disabled and not working at this point).

I think this started when I was ~ 10 and out of school and I was able to sleep fine. I also now know which parent I got this from, haha

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Ditto

3

This is so relatable!

While being diagnosed in my 30s, I mentioned that cocaine made me relaxed which helped with finding the right medication on the second try.

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Please don't give me reasons to try cocaine because I can definitely get that easier than Concerta

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- I wouldn't suggest cocaine since it isn't as safe and consistently formulated as a prescription med.
  
  If Concerta availability is horrible and you haven't tried many of the other options that have generic versions, you might talk to your doctor about what options you have. I did not respond well to the newer, expensive ones but generic for Ritalin worked out well and that has some availability issues, but not as many as some of the others.
  
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I've heard several of these "I accidentally found out I have ADHD when I tried meds recreationally" stories. How accurate of a diagnostic strategy is this, actually? For many reasons this would never be implemented in a medical setting of course, but theoretically if you gave a room of random people ADHD meds and recorded who got high and who calmed down, would there be a lot of false positives/negatives in determining who has ADHD?

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I’m a therapist. In grad school, one of my professors said that the most reliable way to diagnose someone with ADHD is to give them a stimulant and see how they react. Understandably, that’s not how people are diagnosed for safety and ethical reasons… but it is effective.

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- A more ethical approach then: put the person in a room together with an adhd'er and see how quickly they bond. Seriously, it's like there's a hidden kinship, shit just works.
  
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- That doesn't sound all that dangerous to me. I don't really understand what the ethical issues here are.
  
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- And how would you say "most reliable" is figured? Is it like a 15% success rate and the next best test is 13%?
  
  Is this more of a gut feeling thing or is there some sort of data to back up the claim?
  
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Yeah I can relate to that..I'm on vyvanse for a year now and the other day I gave one to my wife that had to do a test she was studying a lot to pass and. After like 4 hours she looked like a neth head literally running around the house while I was drinking coffee and reading a book. For the first time in forever all that noise inside my head is gone.

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Funny thing is, Coke and Adderall do nothing for me, Vyvanse makes me feel like a normal person, and a single cup of coffee makes me a maniac with no hope of falling asleep for 12-15+ hours.

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- Adderall is what's called a mix of amphetamine salts, containing both dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine in a ratio of 3:1.
  
  Vyvanse is Lisdexamfetamine which is converted in your body to dextroamphetamine and lysine.
  
  The main difference between the two is that vyvanse has to be converted to be used, and that conversion produces lysine which slows down the action of the amphetamine.
  
  This results in softer slopes of onset and can feel less intense than adderall.
  
  Keep in mine though that both adderall and vyvanse have about the same abuse potential once you reach about 100% over a given prescribed amount. It might be that adderall is more likely to be over prescribed or given to stimulant naive people, whereas vyvanse is more likely to be given as an alternate medication and where the slowing of its action makes higher doses feel like less.
  
  3
That same situation is how we figured out my wife has adhd.

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This was a friend of mine, except it was cocaine.

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Oh. What mental illness do doctors prescribe cocaine for?

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- Typically it's prescribed for ghosts in the blood, but can pull double duty off-lable for ADHD if amphetamine is out of stock at your local apothecary.
  
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- It's not that they prescribe it, but it's also a tell for the ADHD when coke don't work as usual either.
  
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- Normally not for brain stuff, but it's considered to have valid medical uses as a local anesthetic and vasoconstrictor in some cases.
  
  6
- Depends, do you mean doctors today or doctors in the late 19th and early 20th century?
  
  3

This will sound wild as shit. But I went to visit a friend in Oklahoma. Where because of the lack of any good weed or beer (was all 3%) he convinced me to try meth....

I hit it a few times following his instructions to a T. He and his other friends had a great time. I remember pretty much feeling nothing remarkable.

I knew I had ADHD, I was diagnosed at a young age.

I didn't know that this drug wouldn't do shit and I was bummed but somewhat relieved.

I left his place about a week later since this was the tip of the iceberg with his drug use.

And I knew if I stayed I'd end up an addict like him.

Also tried coke the same trip, close to the same results. That dude ended up in jail and all kinds of other issues. Riding the bus to Austin was the best choice I could have ever made.

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Doctor gave me Focalin and one of my coworkers asked me for one. He was climbing walls while I quietly and calmly troubleshot an incident and wrote my after action report while listening to Styrofoam.

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In my head you're listening to a recording of someone pulling apart styrofoam and squeaking it everywhere

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- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89FG7ZVzvks
  
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For me it was the other way around lol. Got diagnosed with ADD as a child and medicated. Had to stop due to weight loss. Many years ago I tried speed once. And that's how I realised my medication was basically just amphetamines all that time. Also quite a shock.

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That was my experience with cocaine. I just sat there and trioled my high score on snake while my friends were partying.

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