[the Thing]

(11-18-2016 12:33 PM)Nater Wrote:  

@The Thing, can you please expand on this.

Quote:

Ritalin (Concerta, Adderall, ...) works until you decide to stop using them, at which point your dopamine system is fucked forever

How does it fuck your dopamine system?

From what I’ve read so far on the internet, people who have ADHD contrary to popular belief have less dopamine in the brain. We are somehow less stimulated. What the drug does is it raises those levels of dopamine. Like a person who have diabetes and has a low level of insulin. Needs insulin injection to keep functioning.

Yes. You are correct. Adderall (amphetamine) stimulates the release of dopamine while Ritalin (equivalent to cocaine kind of) blocks the reuptake which means the dopamine stays for longer where it needs to be. Thing is, amphetamine is the cheat code of life and if you stop once you get used to it, you end up in a worse situation than you started.

(11-18-2016 12:33 PM)Nater Wrote:  

@The Thing Are you still under medication or no?

I have an amphetamine (Adderall equivalent) scrip that I abuse the fuck out of. I self medicate with LSD microdosing which also sort of works but not as good as proper speed.
Bottom line is you have to keep yourself stimulated at literally all times, otherwise it gets pretty depressing. Simply because we don't respond to motivation and reward as strongly as non ADHD people do so you gotta make every day count.
I guess ADHD usually co exists with anxiety disorder because of the dopamine deficiency thing. No antidepressant could fix my anxiety as good as Adderall did.

(11-18-2016 12:33 PM)Nater Wrote:  

Quote:

It's also true that the meds have diminishing returns over time and I'm considering going off them know that I've put my life on a new track (like another member said above, a big part of it is just seeing what you're really capable of).

This was my fear. I wonder why you need to raise the dosage every time. Why do you feel like stopping them? Can you be as productive without them?

Ummm. No. You don't really need to raise the dosage but if you don't wanna build a tolerance, skip a couple days just crash and have a chill day.

(11-18-2016 03:23 PM)stefpdt Wrote:  

^^Bro he isn't talking about increasing the dosage. He's talking about how using a medication like Vyvanse can help you realize what you're actually capable of accomplishing. You will eventually reach a point (usually around the one year mark) where you might not even need to take meds any longer because you've already established neurotypical brain patterns.

This has nothing to do with needing to increase doses. It's about finding a dose that works for you, sticking to it, and living your life as a normal human being. Your life will probably change for the best once you start with meds and come to understand what we're talking about.

Not really, I guess natural dopamine release is downregulated once you go on speed because I ended up worse when I stopped my meds. Ofc this is all anecdotal evidence.

(02-03-2017 01:01 PM)Eddie Winslow Wrote:  

(11-17-2016 06:13 PM)the Thing Wrote:  

Thank you for sharing your experience. I've been in therapy for almost two years and my brand new doc diagnosed me with ADHD after my second session. I had 90%+ of the symptoms he described. I always did extremely well in school so it went completely under the radar.

I wanted to comment on some of your observations on your own behavior:

1. Can I assume that you tried taking medication regularly? I have taken small amounts of adderall from my friend when she has it, that was only in the past 4 years or so. Usually 10mg or less, and I've taken it <20 in my life. I never even thought to try it during college or my early 20s. If prescribed medicine I would plan to take a half- or quarter-dose sporadically when I REALLY needed to focus on work. I'd hate to fuck up my brain/dopamine receptors.

I took it pretty regularly, even though I hated it growing up because you're in your teens and you're already going through a lot of heavy shit and you have no idea what's happening to your body, only thing you know is your mom hands these pills to you every morning and an hour after you take it you start cold sweating, wired as fuck and appear weird from the outside so no one wants you in their social circle. If you end up having an ADHD kid I recommend you help him in every way possible with the meds because it's very hard to process what's happening to you if you have ignorant parents that don't know shit.

(02-03-2017 01:01 PM)Eddie Winslow Wrote:  

2. Completely co-signed on having autistic level focus on things that are interesting to me. This is the reason why my family and I never thought I could possibly be an ADD kid.

3. Like you I also did extremely well in school with minimal effort, mostly because I liked the praise associated with getting a good report card. When I got into the real world and no longer had a GPA, I found it pretty difficult to give a shit about my jobs and even my own business, outside of doing the bare minimum that would keep me out of trouble.

4. "I'm very good at what I do (if you're very good at something you'll hear it repeatedly from other people, that's how you know)." Interesting comment. Can I assume that you feel/felt a lot of indecisiveness or uncertainty about everything in your life, including your opinions on certain matters or even deciding if you are good at something? My doc told me a symptom of ADHD is indecisiveness or second-guessing yourself - I have a hard time valuing myself or recognizing my talents without the commentary of a third party. This also makes me very susceptible to manipulation depending on what kind of feedback or advice people give me.

Second guessing is pretty spot on. Refer to the GLL article I linked to earlier.

(02-03-2017 01:01 PM)Eddie Winslow Wrote:  

5. Co-signed getting bored with women very easily. Initially thought it might be a low-T thing. As I get older and my game/confidence continues to improve, I often turn down pussy or bail on super solid prospects because I can't focus/care about finishing the job, even though I'm just as horny as my friends. If I could combine focus with my game/social skills, I would be an absolute beast. Note: Also saw that you mentioned self-doubt in this bullet. Shit is real!

Go for the "prescription speedball" which is adderall + xanax, pretty awesome combo to game on. Replace xanax with OxyContin if you're hardcore. I don't want to end up with an opiate addiction so I just stick to benzos for toning down the jitters of the amphetamine. If I could pick any amphetamine I'd definitely go with meth, more euphoric high and lasts longer so try getting a Desoxyn scrip which is totally a thing in the U.S. but absolutely impossible to get where I live. Stick to 5 mg at a time, never exceed your prescribed dosage (max 25 mg a day I guess) and always orally NEVER SMOKE IT. The ones who end up tweakers end up so because they smoke 150+ mg to go jerk off under a bridge for 10 hours, meth is the best amphetamine hands down but youre literally playing with a loaded gun.

(02-03-2017 01:01 PM)Eddie Winslow Wrote:  

6. I've had the same experience with cocaine. One line makes me feel calm, quiet, and at peace, while it makes everyone else run their mouth and do backflips. I'll get hyper like that if I do a decent amount, but I honestly don't really like getting to that level.

Other notes

-I tend to be a extreme minimalist with personal belongings, but also carry way too much stuff with me when I go places. The inside of my car looks like a bomb hit it. Both of these tendencies are because I'm trying to avoid losing or forgetting important stuff (Have very few things so there is not a lot to misplace, carry everything at all times, so you'll never forget anything).

-I lost my debit card 4 times in 2016. That's pretty standard for a drunk college freshman, but not a 29 year old man. Right??

-I am indecisive on what I like, so I have a hard time choosing my style, food, the types of girls I go out with, and how I spend my free time.

Would love to hear from more people about their experiences.

I am also pretty indecisive, had many hardcore shopper girl friends flip out on me in shopping malls because I couldn't pick a fucking shirt in half a day.
I also lose each of my credit cards about once a year.