I was the same. Diagnosed at 13 but never took meds consistently bc my mom didn’t want me to become dependent on them. So fast forward many years and two degrees, a husband and 4 kids later I was struggling. I went back to my trusted Ritalin which worked for many years. Then perimenopause hit and I’m there are days it feels like nothing works. I can take a full dosage of Ritalin and still not be able to force myself to do anything productive. Trying out different med combos now. Hoping for that some focus again soon but your point about knowing your focus goal is huge. You can’t always control what the hyperfocus decides to zero in on so a goal is imperative.
OMG - I’m neck deep in perimenopause, too, and oh man…it’s no joke! Thank you for this comment! We are in this thing together! Except WHY did no one tell us about this whole thing? Were our mothers and grandmothers too “proper” to bother telling us about this crazy train wreck?! And with ADHD on top of it?! Yeah…
It’s a great question. I spoke to a practitioner recently that told me that perimenopause makes ADHD (and all mental health issues) so much worse. That was very comforting to hear in a weird way because that was totally my experience. Like k had grown to accept my ADHD brain and now I don’t even recognize that anymore.
I haven’t officially been diagnosed but after answering the official medical questionnaire on behalf of my sister and seeing that I was a yes to almost every question, I’m 99% sure I am. My sister got diagnosed after her 8 year old daughter was diagnosed. They said if a child has it, it’s likely one of their parents do too. And our dad is ADHD. She’s been taking medication and it’s made a world of difference for her. I’m curious for myself how it would be as I am so sensitive. I rarely consume caffeine—it does the opposite effect on me (makes me crash).
It’s helpful to hear about low doses. And it seems similar to cannabis - setting an intention for your focus before consuming it so you’re not left in a tough spot.
Thanks for sharing. It continues to spark my own curiosity around my journey and if getting officially diagnosed would make a difference.
Hi, I’m in a similar situation, during the pandemic I was hit by a ton of brick in realizing like so many moms that start looking into ADHD for a child that I’m cookie cutter female AdHD and so I explored vyanse 30 mg and like you have experimented with doses. My main concerns though are long term, will I regret this when I’m 70,80,90? Will my brain be burnt out? Will I experience dementia, or other brain diseases, will the gains in function as a middle aged mother come back to haunt grandma me. Can anyone speak to any deep research they’ve done? I also worry that research could be too optimistic, especially where they prescribe it to children. I’ve read a lot of great books on ADHD and I love the farmers and hunters (part of title, can’t remember full title but I figure I’m in good company) book that I feel really helped me understand more holistically why ADHD brains exist and what we bring to society. I also think that it’s led me to wondering if we are being stigmatized, medicated, and led into ideological possession as a group based on our general shared traits and commitment to our ideals. Just food for thought but I’d love to hear others thoughts, Chris I love your work and how you’ve been writing books for our exact subculture that I’m referencing, I am happy to be a new subscriber and support your work
I've been going back and forth on whether or not to try meds since being diagnosed with ADHD last year. I appreciate you sharing your experience; it's helpful to have a variety of opinions and experiences to draw from as I figure this out.
For sure. Maybe one thing I didn't say here (but I wrote about more on my blog back in the way) is how resistant I was to the idea of meds in the first place. But then, of course, once I decided to try something new, it was extremely helpful.
Not the best answer for everyone, of course. But for me I was *too* closed off to it before, and I'm glad I updated my views.
I have a question. How does coffee affect you? For me, if I need to run a marathon, all I need to do is drink a pot of coffee! I can’t imagine what a stimulant would do to for me, thus not wanting to try them. But does coffee seem to have a similar effect as Adderall for you? Or is it something completely different? Asking since they’re both stimulants. I already can’t sleep to save my life! I switched from coffee (since age 5) to Teeccino (age 48) so I no longer have palpitations and acid issues and I do seem to sleep a little better since there’s no caffeine. Needless to say, my focus is still everywhere but on what I should be doing - but at least I’m not hyperventilating while I do it. I dunno… I’m so curious about this whole topic!
I take Adderall with coffee and they tend to work well together. I do have a cutoff time for each one, because it can definitely affect your sleep. Right now my cutoff is 2pm but I'm trying to make it earlier, like 12:30pm or so.
Any thoughts/experiences with teens? I’m a parent to a 13yo 2e daughter who has substantial focus and impulsivity challenges - also occasional anxiety - but have been very reluctant to try meds for a number of reasons. I worry about her sense of self when not on meds, availability should we move back to Europe, misuse, growth, sleep issues… My ex with ADHD also very against the idea. She is a bright kid not currently reaching her full potential academically but should we wait until HS..?
Good for you Chris, being generous to the judgemental people around stimulants, but I cannot agree that judging others for needing stimulants to function is a "fair opinion". It's an opinion, but a bad one.
I'm going to be 65 this coming Monday (yup - 3 days 😵💫). I was diagnosed a couple of months ago. My PNP prescribed (generic) Vyvanse, an to say it has changed my life would be an understatement. I'm able to follow written directions that have more than one step without having to constantly refer back to them (alt+tab is my friend...), my house is (almost) tidy, I've started decluttering, and I've tackled tasks at work that previously had me hitting the proverbial snooze button. (Asana has a great drag and drop feature - just drag stuff you don't want to do to the next day, and then you can avoid it twice!)
I'm on a minimal dose, but, so far, it's working for me, and since it's a generic, it's not costing me an arm and a leg either. Knock on wood, I haven't had any supply issues - here's hoping everything continues to run smoothly!
I was the same. Diagnosed at 13 but never took meds consistently bc my mom didn’t want me to become dependent on them. So fast forward many years and two degrees, a husband and 4 kids later I was struggling. I went back to my trusted Ritalin which worked for many years. Then perimenopause hit and I’m there are days it feels like nothing works. I can take a full dosage of Ritalin and still not be able to force myself to do anything productive. Trying out different med combos now. Hoping for that some focus again soon but your point about knowing your focus goal is huge. You can’t always control what the hyperfocus decides to zero in on so a goal is imperative.
OMG - I’m neck deep in perimenopause, too, and oh man…it’s no joke! Thank you for this comment! We are in this thing together! Except WHY did no one tell us about this whole thing? Were our mothers and grandmothers too “proper” to bother telling us about this crazy train wreck?! And with ADHD on top of it?! Yeah…
It’s a great question. I spoke to a practitioner recently that told me that perimenopause makes ADHD (and all mental health issues) so much worse. That was very comforting to hear in a weird way because that was totally my experience. Like k had grown to accept my ADHD brain and now I don’t even recognize that anymore.
Thank you for sharing your experience! It really helps when people do that.
I haven’t officially been diagnosed but after answering the official medical questionnaire on behalf of my sister and seeing that I was a yes to almost every question, I’m 99% sure I am. My sister got diagnosed after her 8 year old daughter was diagnosed. They said if a child has it, it’s likely one of their parents do too. And our dad is ADHD. She’s been taking medication and it’s made a world of difference for her. I’m curious for myself how it would be as I am so sensitive. I rarely consume caffeine—it does the opposite effect on me (makes me crash).
It’s helpful to hear about low doses. And it seems similar to cannabis - setting an intention for your focus before consuming it so you’re not left in a tough spot.
Thanks for sharing. It continues to spark my own curiosity around my journey and if getting officially diagnosed would make a difference.
Hi, I’m in a similar situation, during the pandemic I was hit by a ton of brick in realizing like so many moms that start looking into ADHD for a child that I’m cookie cutter female AdHD and so I explored vyanse 30 mg and like you have experimented with doses. My main concerns though are long term, will I regret this when I’m 70,80,90? Will my brain be burnt out? Will I experience dementia, or other brain diseases, will the gains in function as a middle aged mother come back to haunt grandma me. Can anyone speak to any deep research they’ve done? I also worry that research could be too optimistic, especially where they prescribe it to children. I’ve read a lot of great books on ADHD and I love the farmers and hunters (part of title, can’t remember full title but I figure I’m in good company) book that I feel really helped me understand more holistically why ADHD brains exist and what we bring to society. I also think that it’s led me to wondering if we are being stigmatized, medicated, and led into ideological possession as a group based on our general shared traits and commitment to our ideals. Just food for thought but I’d love to hear others thoughts, Chris I love your work and how you’ve been writing books for our exact subculture that I’m referencing, I am happy to be a new subscriber and support your work
I've been going back and forth on whether or not to try meds since being diagnosed with ADHD last year. I appreciate you sharing your experience; it's helpful to have a variety of opinions and experiences to draw from as I figure this out.
For sure. Maybe one thing I didn't say here (but I wrote about more on my blog back in the way) is how resistant I was to the idea of meds in the first place. But then, of course, once I decided to try something new, it was extremely helpful.
Not the best answer for everyone, of course. But for me I was *too* closed off to it before, and I'm glad I updated my views.
I have a question. How does coffee affect you? For me, if I need to run a marathon, all I need to do is drink a pot of coffee! I can’t imagine what a stimulant would do to for me, thus not wanting to try them. But does coffee seem to have a similar effect as Adderall for you? Or is it something completely different? Asking since they’re both stimulants. I already can’t sleep to save my life! I switched from coffee (since age 5) to Teeccino (age 48) so I no longer have palpitations and acid issues and I do seem to sleep a little better since there’s no caffeine. Needless to say, my focus is still everywhere but on what I should be doing - but at least I’m not hyperventilating while I do it. I dunno… I’m so curious about this whole topic!
Coffee affects me quite positively! There's a lot of research about caffeine and ADHD. Here's just one example:
"Caffeine improves spatial learning deficits in an animal model of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" https://academic.oup.com/ijnp/article/8/4/583/652770
I take Adderall with coffee and they tend to work well together. I do have a cutoff time for each one, because it can definitely affect your sleep. Right now my cutoff is 2pm but I'm trying to make it earlier, like 12:30pm or so.
Any thoughts/experiences with teens? I’m a parent to a 13yo 2e daughter who has substantial focus and impulsivity challenges - also occasional anxiety - but have been very reluctant to try meds for a number of reasons. I worry about her sense of self when not on meds, availability should we move back to Europe, misuse, growth, sleep issues… My ex with ADHD also very against the idea. She is a bright kid not currently reaching her full potential academically but should we wait until HS..?
Good for you Chris, being generous to the judgemental people around stimulants, but I cannot agree that judging others for needing stimulants to function is a "fair opinion". It's an opinion, but a bad one.
I'm going to be 65 this coming Monday (yup - 3 days 😵💫). I was diagnosed a couple of months ago. My PNP prescribed (generic) Vyvanse, an to say it has changed my life would be an understatement. I'm able to follow written directions that have more than one step without having to constantly refer back to them (alt+tab is my friend...), my house is (almost) tidy, I've started decluttering, and I've tackled tasks at work that previously had me hitting the proverbial snooze button. (Asana has a great drag and drop feature - just drag stuff you don't want to do to the next day, and then you can avoid it twice!)
I'm on a minimal dose, but, so far, it's working for me, and since it's a generic, it's not costing me an arm and a leg either. Knock on wood, I haven't had any supply issues - here's hoping everything continues to run smoothly!
This sounds miraculous!!! I’m SO happy for you and this amazing revelation!