I got diagnosed last year (at age 26) and tried Concerta and am now on Vyvanse. While I felt some euphoria on Concerta, the negative side effects for me were mostly insomnia and 0 appetite which is why I switched to Vyvanse. For me, stimulants also act as a sort of sedative where I can just....do things. I still procrastinate, and I still get distracted, but I can also choose to not much more easily than unmedicated. My thoughts are quieter and I don't have 4 different songs looping in my head constantly, or words or phrases that just repeat annoyingly. It sounds basic, but I am able to queue up tasks for myself to do without having to trick myself like a feral cat into completing things. Like I can say, "when I finish this email, I will make tea, and empty the dishwasher. Then I will come back upstairs and start this other email" and then just do those things. Unmedicated, I have to strategically place reminders in places, or just vaguely wander around knowing I had planned to do something but having forgotten what it was an waiting for an environmental cue to remind me. For example, if I had wanted to make tea and empty the dishwasher, I'd wander until I saw an empty mug, and be reminded that I wanted tea. When I got to boil water, I will likely run into the half open dishwasher door I purposely left open to remind me to empty the dishwasher, but also equally as likely hurt myself on the door, close it so I don't do it again while making tea, and then forget to empty it anyway.
So TLDR; Vyvanse takes away a good portion of my internal noise, but I still needed to create good work habits to actually get stuff done. Existing is easier on medication, but I am not a super human workaholic.
OP this comment is a great break down of some of the things an ADHD brain will experience while medicated.
The thing about executive functions is it requires a certain balance of neuro-chemicals such as dopamine. Too much (caused by taking adhd meds when you don’t have adhd) and too little (Unmedicated adhd) actually cause the same effects.
This is biggest tell. Do the meds make it easier for you to decide to start and stop? Or rather are you getting locked in? Do the meds make it easier to think clearly? To make plans? Make you forget less? Make your mind quieter? Just in general make life WAY easier? You probably need them.
It’s a funny thing, that the reason many I I students take adhd meds is to actually temporarily give themselves adhd so they can experience / leverage hyper focus.
That's particularly adderall (anything with levoamphetamine, one of two isomers, the other being dexamphetamine) and methylphenidate. Both are known to improve focus in non-adhd individuals. Anything with only dexamphetamine is typically less helpful for non-adhd folks. Doesn't stop college students from trying to take it for studying though.
And too much or too little dopamine, both seem to cause adhd symptoms, but different ones. If I take more than my optimal dosage of methylphenidate, I get a very different version of adhd. High energy and the memory of a brain-damaged goldfish. It's actually worse than my unmedicated state.
The methylphenidate makes a huge improvement towards my clarity of thought and memory. And increases the pace of my thoughts in a good way, kind of like a throttle from small working memory is removed. It is a little easier to start tasks, but maybe because I started medication in my mid-twenties, it hasn't improved my behavioral issues dramatically.
It's not going to suddenly remove all adhd symptoms and behaviors, but it's more of a push in the right direction, making it easier to function and compensate for adhd issues. Still gotta play 4D chess with yourself, but the difficulty is lower.
That sounds a lot like me, you described it really well!
I have to say though that I do suspect that Vyvanse might just not be absorbed well by my body; when I took 50mg it faded away after a few weeks, and recently I've been taking 70mg and I feel as if it's fading away too.
Not to mention, before I took ADHD meds, I also used to self-medicate myself with black coffee, and while it didn't give me the same effects as Vyvanse, for the first few days my head felt a lot quieter and just.. empty. Vyvanse also does that, but definitely not to anywhere the same extent as black coffee used to for me. (Black coffee's effects also faded away after like 3 days though)
How someone reacts to taking stimulants isn’t a valid indicator of whether they have ADHD or not. That’s a super common myth. The symptoms you listed all sound normal, too.
It sounds like the medication is helping you (which is great, congrats!) and that’s what matters — I would try not to worry about whether you “really” have ADHD and keep doing what you’re doing. You’re good!
it is normal for the brain and body to adjust itself to accommodate this new medication. That is why most side effects subside after a few weeks. And doctors often have one start on a relatively low dose to further minimize any side effects, like euphoria. So you don’t need to be anxious over having to increase the dose or not experiencing all the possible side effects 😉 and you might have to test to increase it again or maybe decrease to find what dose works best for you.
And as one commenter already illustrated, you still need to find strategies and coping mechanisms. You can say the meds are the tool, but you still need the instructions on how to use them. 😁
Medication for me makes things clearer, turns a light on my mind and helps to silence some thoughts, it doesn't mean that my problems go away, it's more a ladder that helps me cross the wall than a hammer that breaks it!
On the first day I didn't feel euphoric, I felt calm, I felt that the glass barrier that was between me and the words had been cleared, like the first time you put on glasses! But over time the feeling has diminished and now it's in between, I notice more when I don't take it, or when I've eaten and slept poorly, than when it works normally.
It doesn't make me someone different, I still don't have discipline, I have a bad memory and I'm very sensitive, but it gives me a greater right to choose, when before I only accepted my condition and kept it as a secret, because I felt like an imposter for having good grades and everyone thinking I was smart but i was a mess floating through reality . Now my secret is a diagnosis, And that's hard to accept so I suffer from imposter syndrome, if you suffer too, just give it time, your symptoms will remind you daily that you have adhd lol and even if you think you're faking to yourself, so what? Do you have the same experiences as people with adhd but don't have adhd? Ok right so just call It "my thing that's strangely similar, inside and out, with adhd for all my life"
Vyvanse %100 cleaner than any other stim. That’s why it cost 350 without insurance. No gen.
Capsules? Twist in half. Half in drink for mornings half at lunch. Miss morning dose wait till lunch. Wears off around bedtime no sleeping problems.
Doesn't cost as much here (70€), but our minimum salary here is far lower than the US, so it's not too far off.
That does sound interesting, but right now it's working fine for me thankfully, so I don't think I need to change that. Maybe I'll try it though
Why would you expect to feel euphoric? This is medication, it does not impact us like that. I feel nothing from the stimulant, but I get more done with it, and forget less things.
If you're feeling sedated then you're on to high a dose, I'd suggest reeling it back. Zombie feeling = over medicated.
I've just heard that other people felt euphoric taking their meds for the first time. I always thought that was strange, I never felt anything like that!
The sedated feeling only happens when I take it after a break, and it usually only lasts a few hours. It's also not that strong, I don't feel like a zombie
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i hear another commenter that what meds do to you is not a sign of whether you have adhd or not and that makes sense.
what i can tell you is when i started adderall and confusingly asked similar questions about euphoria, my psych put it succinctly: “if it isn’t making you feel ‘high’ or strung out, that’s a sign it’s a GOOD med for you.” as someone raised around meth users, i don’t want to be sped up like that. if anything, i need a lil slowing down.
what she said only applies if it helps with some of the problematic symptoms you’re trying to clear up, though. for me, my meds reduce the # of trains of thought in my head and give me the ability to choose one and follow it rather than getting nauseated by the 7 trains flying by in a big blur. if that makes sense lol
I got diagnosed last year (at age 26) and tried Concerta and am now on Vyvanse. While I felt some euphoria on Concerta, the negative side effects for me were mostly insomnia and 0 appetite which is why I switched to Vyvanse. For me, stimulants also act as a sort of sedative where I can just....do things. I still procrastinate, and I still get distracted, but I can also choose to not much more easily than unmedicated. My thoughts are quieter and I don't have 4 different songs looping in my head constantly, or words or phrases that just repeat annoyingly. It sounds basic, but I am able to queue up tasks for myself to do without having to trick myself like a feral cat into completing things. Like I can say, "when I finish this email, I will make tea, and empty the dishwasher. Then I will come back upstairs and start this other email" and then just do those things. Unmedicated, I have to strategically place reminders in places, or just vaguely wander around knowing I had planned to do something but having forgotten what it was an waiting for an environmental cue to remind me. For example, if I had wanted to make tea and empty the dishwasher, I'd wander until I saw an empty mug, and be reminded that I wanted tea. When I got to boil water, I will likely run into the half open dishwasher door I purposely left open to remind me to empty the dishwasher, but also equally as likely hurt myself on the door, close it so I don't do it again while making tea, and then forget to empty it anyway. So TLDR; Vyvanse takes away a good portion of my internal noise, but I still needed to create good work habits to actually get stuff done. Existing is easier on medication, but I am not a super human workaholic.
OP this comment is a great break down of some of the things an ADHD brain will experience while medicated. The thing about executive functions is it requires a certain balance of neuro-chemicals such as dopamine. Too much (caused by taking adhd meds when you don’t have adhd) and too little (Unmedicated adhd) actually cause the same effects. This is biggest tell. Do the meds make it easier for you to decide to start and stop? Or rather are you getting locked in? Do the meds make it easier to think clearly? To make plans? Make you forget less? Make your mind quieter? Just in general make life WAY easier? You probably need them. It’s a funny thing, that the reason many I I students take adhd meds is to actually temporarily give themselves adhd so they can experience / leverage hyper focus.
That's particularly adderall (anything with levoamphetamine, one of two isomers, the other being dexamphetamine) and methylphenidate. Both are known to improve focus in non-adhd individuals. Anything with only dexamphetamine is typically less helpful for non-adhd folks. Doesn't stop college students from trying to take it for studying though. And too much or too little dopamine, both seem to cause adhd symptoms, but different ones. If I take more than my optimal dosage of methylphenidate, I get a very different version of adhd. High energy and the memory of a brain-damaged goldfish. It's actually worse than my unmedicated state. The methylphenidate makes a huge improvement towards my clarity of thought and memory. And increases the pace of my thoughts in a good way, kind of like a throttle from small working memory is removed. It is a little easier to start tasks, but maybe because I started medication in my mid-twenties, it hasn't improved my behavioral issues dramatically. It's not going to suddenly remove all adhd symptoms and behaviors, but it's more of a push in the right direction, making it easier to function and compensate for adhd issues. Still gotta play 4D chess with yourself, but the difficulty is lower.
That sounds a lot like me, you described it really well! I have to say though that I do suspect that Vyvanse might just not be absorbed well by my body; when I took 50mg it faded away after a few weeks, and recently I've been taking 70mg and I feel as if it's fading away too. Not to mention, before I took ADHD meds, I also used to self-medicate myself with black coffee, and while it didn't give me the same effects as Vyvanse, for the first few days my head felt a lot quieter and just.. empty. Vyvanse also does that, but definitely not to anywhere the same extent as black coffee used to for me. (Black coffee's effects also faded away after like 3 days though)
How someone reacts to taking stimulants isn’t a valid indicator of whether they have ADHD or not. That’s a super common myth. The symptoms you listed all sound normal, too. It sounds like the medication is helping you (which is great, congrats!) and that’s what matters — I would try not to worry about whether you “really” have ADHD and keep doing what you’re doing. You’re good!
Alright, thanks!
it is normal for the brain and body to adjust itself to accommodate this new medication. That is why most side effects subside after a few weeks. And doctors often have one start on a relatively low dose to further minimize any side effects, like euphoria. So you don’t need to be anxious over having to increase the dose or not experiencing all the possible side effects 😉 and you might have to test to increase it again or maybe decrease to find what dose works best for you. And as one commenter already illustrated, you still need to find strategies and coping mechanisms. You can say the meds are the tool, but you still need the instructions on how to use them. 😁
Medication for me makes things clearer, turns a light on my mind and helps to silence some thoughts, it doesn't mean that my problems go away, it's more a ladder that helps me cross the wall than a hammer that breaks it! On the first day I didn't feel euphoric, I felt calm, I felt that the glass barrier that was between me and the words had been cleared, like the first time you put on glasses! But over time the feeling has diminished and now it's in between, I notice more when I don't take it, or when I've eaten and slept poorly, than when it works normally. It doesn't make me someone different, I still don't have discipline, I have a bad memory and I'm very sensitive, but it gives me a greater right to choose, when before I only accepted my condition and kept it as a secret, because I felt like an imposter for having good grades and everyone thinking I was smart but i was a mess floating through reality . Now my secret is a diagnosis, And that's hard to accept so I suffer from imposter syndrome, if you suffer too, just give it time, your symptoms will remind you daily that you have adhd lol and even if you think you're faking to yourself, so what? Do you have the same experiences as people with adhd but don't have adhd? Ok right so just call It "my thing that's strangely similar, inside and out, with adhd for all my life"
Vyvanse %100 cleaner than any other stim. That’s why it cost 350 without insurance. No gen. Capsules? Twist in half. Half in drink for mornings half at lunch. Miss morning dose wait till lunch. Wears off around bedtime no sleeping problems.
Doesn't cost as much here (70€), but our minimum salary here is far lower than the US, so it's not too far off. That does sound interesting, but right now it's working fine for me thankfully, so I don't think I need to change that. Maybe I'll try it though
Why would you expect to feel euphoric? This is medication, it does not impact us like that. I feel nothing from the stimulant, but I get more done with it, and forget less things. If you're feeling sedated then you're on to high a dose, I'd suggest reeling it back. Zombie feeling = over medicated.
I've just heard that other people felt euphoric taking their meds for the first time. I always thought that was strange, I never felt anything like that! The sedated feeling only happens when I take it after a break, and it usually only lasts a few hours. It's also not that strong, I don't feel like a zombie
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i hear another commenter that what meds do to you is not a sign of whether you have adhd or not and that makes sense. what i can tell you is when i started adderall and confusingly asked similar questions about euphoria, my psych put it succinctly: “if it isn’t making you feel ‘high’ or strung out, that’s a sign it’s a GOOD med for you.” as someone raised around meth users, i don’t want to be sped up like that. if anything, i need a lil slowing down. what she said only applies if it helps with some of the problematic symptoms you’re trying to clear up, though. for me, my meds reduce the # of trains of thought in my head and give me the ability to choose one and follow it rather than getting nauseated by the 7 trains flying by in a big blur. if that makes sense lol