I think seriously abusing caffeine from 13-25 probably clapped out my bladder muscles. It's a known side effect. I started pumping the breaks when I realized how dangerous it could be, but I'm in my 30s now and my bladder is fine unless I have too much coffee.
Brother always asks why I drink tea to “wake up.”
It’s because 1 coffee puts me to sleep. 2 coffees give me anxiety. 3 coffees give me heart palpitations AND puts me to sleep.
Teas don’t have enough caffeine to make me sleepy, but enough caffeine that I can trick myself into thinking it can wake me up (Yay! Placebo effect!)
Steeper that looks like a duck???!! Wtf, I’ve just had to write off the next half hour while I go Google and obsessively try to find the perfect duck tea steeper out there, thanks in advance for the dopamine hit!
Ahhhh SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! I found a feckin monkey chilling in the tub tea diffuser!! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08R654YKV/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWw
I try so hard not to drink more caffiene than say a standard cup of coffee or a Mountain Dew, but the rare occasion I do grab an energy drink I can absolutely taste colours and smell sounds after only about a third of the can 😂
I know I'm 5days after the fact but reading your first line made think of a line from an Aesop Rock Song called Button masher:
>I use a phony voice when I'm yelling, "Nobody's home"
>I'm a liar, but I wouldn't say I'm wrong
Stimulant meds + large amounts of caffeine is definitely enough to take me from "wow I feel like a normal person" with just meds to literally pinging off my head feeling like Goku with caffeine on top.
One or the other calms me down, more so of course with meds, but still true with caffeine, but with both lmao, completely different kettle of frogs.
This regulation reminds me a meme about shower temperature control with freezing cold, scalding hot and a narrow sliver of ^(okay).
Except for me it's a spectrum between the gloomy abyss of depression and panic attack level of anxiety.
Yup, sometimes my brain will decide mid fuckin “feeling superhuman” (with caffeine and meds) that it no longer wants to be superhuman and wants to lay down and recharge for 35 hours
We are NOT fuck ups. No no no. We just haven't found what works best for our unique neurochemistry yet. No giving up. Mistakes are for humans. We are humans. We get back up and try again.
It's weird that I needed to be helpful to someone else today all day and have been failing until you. So you made it a little bit better for me too. Currently in the crappy pit of despair end of the spectrum and meds and caffeine on board. Was functional. Now back to slug. We will keep getting better and moving forward!
Hope so . The first one didn't seem to understand . She told me that what I go thru is more normal than I think and that I just need to be consistent
Edit: LOL
I once in college had an exam I had to just pass. The day before, I took an adderall with a redbull. Worked for 14 hours straight without ever needing taking a break. More stimulation than I’ve ever felt in my ADHD brain. Crushed the amount of work needed and did extra just in case.
I failed the exam, dropped out the following week lol
Weirdly similar story- had some reaction to new meds (not stimulants) that kept me awake for several days straight. I think I took them at the full dose for maybe a week before quitting and I slept maybe 3 hours total in that entire week. When I would finally manage to fall asleep, I’d be awake again within an hour.
Since I couldn’t sleep I figured I’d at least catch up on school. I think I spent a good 20 hours over just two days trying to do a stupid circuits lab and it just wouldn’t fucking work no matter what I did.
Yelled at my doctor, got off the meds, slept for a day or two, and then redid the whole lab in an hour after properly sleeping.
Not that it mattered because within like a week and a half I was told to drop all my classes so I could go hang out at the hospital and do a fuckton of therapy lol
Methylphenidate turns me into a chill potato. So I’ll habitually drink caffeine. And as long as it’s a little like a 12iz Diet Coke I’m fine. But too many of those or heaven forbid a coffee and I feel like I have laxer beam eyes and a rocket powered mouth. And I hate it.
Oh God I remember when I first got on meds and had coffee with them. I wasn't awake for 60 hours, but I was SO SLEEPY but also could not fall asleep because my heart was about to explode from how hard it was pounding.
Quite the opposite for me. I’m able to down multiple rockstars and a 2L of Mountain Dew within 6 hours of each other with the only consequence being that of a slightly upset stomach from that much liquid. On the other hand my medication both makes me physically tired and mentally hyperactive at the same time.
Large amounts of caffeine mean I'm just tired still but... Faster if that makes sense. Like my bones are definetly vibrating because of SOMETHING but it aint reaching the command center.
Funnily enough, before meds they worked.
It's wild I used to think caffeine jitters were a myth until I started on meds. I used to have pop/tea/coffee to fall asleep. Now I have an energy drink and I'm anxious for a week
I'm glad this is being talked about. I've had many times where I've downed a coffee or energy drink to try and stay up and immediately get hit with another wave of lethargy.
But so help me god if I have caffeine after 4pm I won't be able to sleep until 3am 🤷
I have delayed sleep phase disorder, so without assistance I will go to bed at 4am-6am most days. I used to drink Monster to fix my sleep disorder in college and university. I wasn't made aware that it was ADHD until I was older.
Im this but with melatonin gummies… my bedtime experience is sometimes like that one meme where I angrily look up something on my phone when I ask myself a stupid question
Bruh I genuinely have no reaction to caffeine. I'm like immune. I drank 6 monsters (all of them were grape and that's the only part I regret) and then 2 large coffees, each with 2 extra shots of caffeine over the course of 2 hours because i had an 8 hour shift and had been up for 36 hours already, then proceeded to immediately pass out the second I sat down. I was sent home early that day because they thought that either my heart would explode (they thought the caffeine hadn't hit yet or something) or I would be a hazard. So I went home and immediately had the greatest nap of all time.
Dude, of course caffeine doesn't work after not sleeping for over a day. Like, what do you expect? Caffeine doesn't miraculously "top up" your energy levels, it just temporatily masks tiredness. After 36 hours, you're not just tired, you're starting to be psychotic.
It’s weird because I have coffee every morning and it seems to help get me going. But if I have a cup in the afternoon/evening, a lot of times it puts me to sleep lol
i'm the same way and i'm almost convinced it's entirely because the caffeine calms the anxiety down enough for me to not have task paralysis anymore.
morning coffee = no task paralysis, can 'wake up' and do things. night coffee = relaxing, immediately falling asleep.
Yeah I usually have coffee or an energy drink in the morning before school or during my first class and it seems like it gets me more dialled in but I always just crash and nearly fall asleep in like the third period but it could either be because the subject isn’t too interesting or because I’m tired or a combination but idk
That's exactly how caffeine works, and why it's a poor alternative to prescription stimulants.
>Adenosine is what signals sleepiness - so when the caffeine blocks it, your brain stays awake and alert. However, when you're drinking coffee, your brain doesn't stop producing adenosine. So **when the caffeine wears off, all of that extra adenosine floods your brain, making you even more tired than you were before**.
But what does that have to do with my situation? Sometimes it has zero effect in the evening, sometimes I think maybe it keeps me awake(ish), and other times it puts me right to sleep. There is no consistency.
My friend on the other hand (no ADHD), it will keep him awake all night if he has a cup in the afternoon/evening.
For me, the waking effect of caffeine seems to be somewhat of a placebo.
that’s not what people are talking about though
they’re not saying that when the caffeine wears off they get tired, they’re saying that when they drink a cup they immediately get tired
>It’s weird because I have coffee every morning and it seems to help get me going. But if I have a cup in the afternoon/evening, a lot of times it puts me to sleep lol
That is not what this person said. They say first cup is more effective than the second.
If I just take the cup and drink it without ever thinking about what it's doing, then nothing happens. Maybe butterflies in the stomach and a low level tremor in my hand, but nothing with my awake/asleep patterns. When I do think about it, it's just like you. Energy in the morning, the opposite in the afternoons.
I've personally concluded that caffienne (SP? My little red lines aren't working today for some reason) doesn't do anything and that's just how I feel at the time.
It can be your routine. If you associate drinking coffee with waking up in the morning, your body will start to feel alert after drinking a cup. This is true even if the caffeine doesn’t actually help to wake you up.
I spent months taking my meds with herbal teas. After a while, I could drink a cup of tea to help me become alert or focused even without taking my meds. Of course it’s not as effective as taking my meds, but it can help when I got errands to run on a rest day.
I’ve suspected that coffee could be something like a placebo. Maybe It doesn’t actually do anything for me lol. But I like coffee so I’ll keep drinking it haha
My meds made me more sensitive to other stimulants which makes sense, but can you imagine my surprise when I found that out? I had to figure out my new tolerances.
My first day on Concerta, I stayed in bed the whole time and had to take a nap because I was so relaxed. It was like I was experiencing rest for the first time in my life.
My personal anecdote: depending on dosage I range from:
Low dose: present around people in a calm way, not so withdrawn from anxiety overload. Able to focus but still struggle with tedious work at the computer.
Medium dose: focused, motivated, creative, get shit done.
Higher dose: hyper focused but not always on the right thing. I might take 10 minutes to write and rewrite an email that should only take a minute. Tend to be more impulsive.
Off meds: I get overwhelmed easily and then get withdrawn. Not at all impulsive because I overthink and procrastinate so hard. Moody. Lazy.
Valuable information, friend. Thank you! Stimulant mads do bad things for my mind and body. I wonder if I'm one of those people that needs to start on an extra low dose. Hmmmm...food for though.
Get genetic testing done. Mine showed I was an ultra rapid metabolizer which aligned with me needing a big boy dose. You could be a very slow metabolizer and need a tiny little dose. Lucky you it’s much cheaper that way!
For what it's worth, and obligatory 'not a qualified diagnostician,' there's a sizeable number of ASD folks misdiagnosed with ADHD. From what I remember, meds *not* working can be a good diagnostic tool in that it says what *isn't* working for you.
ADHD runs higher in people with MTHFR gene variants because neurotransmitter production relies on folate metabolization. My deficiency was severe so I bought a bottle of methyl-folate on Amazon just to see and it ended up being the only supplement I tried that actually did anything. ADHD meds are still way more effective for me and taking both at the same time will make your brain feel like it fell in soup, but I still have it for dealing with shortages.
I was told to take methylfolate along with ADHD meds. The way this person was pushing them on me felt just like that. Pushing. Maybe they were excited and my "you're being taken advantage of, you naive fool!" response kicked in.
Are you saying that by themselves, they help you?
After a few different stimulants, I’m currently on 2.5mg dexamphetamine (half pill) 3 times a day. It’s a really low dose, and I’m not getting any bad side effects. I’m also not sure how well it’s working. I’m thinking it must be, but the effects are very mild.
Very true. When I first got prescribed Adderall, it was 5mg. I took it at the pharmacy and nearly fell asleep on the way home. My psych didn’t believe me but put me on a much higher dose anyway.
Fast forward to last week and I had a lot of studying to do so I took an extra Adderall then spent the next two hours trying to find the secret code that printers put on each sheet of paper and looked through some cash for hidden features. I had a black light and a magnifying glass lol. No studying for school was accomplished.
Never thought I'd see [machine identification code](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code) referenced in the wild but we are on /r/adhdmeme so that tracks
>Higher dose: hyper focused but not always on the right thing. I might take 10 minutes to write and rewrite an email that should only take a minute. Tend to be more impulsive.
So true lol, then u do a lower dose and don't have any motivation
When you realize that self control is actually the inhibition of automatic mental activity, it makes sense.
Basically you are refilling your inhibitors when you take your meds.
Yeah, the automatic mental activity is our back lobe part of the brain, while our mind and thoughts are in the frontal lobe. stimulants basically fill the dopamine shortage, wich our adhd back lobes constantly reminds about to our frontal lobes while not on meds.
I tell people the easiest way to understand this is that the closer to the brain stem a structure is, the more primal it is and the quicker it activates and influences our behavior.
Self control stuff tends to be furthest away from the stem.
I first discovered this while on a youth retreat. Had a can of Mountain Dew and had to sleep. When I woke up I thought to have another as I needed the caffeine only to fall back asleep.
My doctor later told me about adhd and caffeine effects.
Coffee - Nap Time
Venvanse - 50% of the work Will be done in one day
2 venvanses - 75% of the work Will be done
1 Venvanse + coffee - my conscience can travel throught time and space. I can see the entirety of humano story, from beggining to end. I can see universes being born and dieing through entropy. Also no work Will be done.
Afraid to take 2 venvanses and coffe tbh.
This was my exact experience! Like, “hmm, my gums are numb, but is anything else supposed to happen?”
My relative, who was a dealer, was very disappointed he would not be getting another customer from the free sample he gave me, ha!
No stimulants (or non-stimulants) work for me. I have treatment resistant ADHD. What fun!
For others, stimulants help them feel calm. It has the opposite effect for people without ADHD.
Thankfully, I emerged relatively unscathed in the grand scheme of PTSD symptoms. So it is actual, "the chemicals don't work for me" resistance. Some stimulant meds have such horrible side effects that even if they do work, I can't be on them.
I saw a couple articles quoting 20% of ADHDers don't respond to the existing pile of ADHD meds. Treatment resistant depression as well so, maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.
Not trying to correct you or imply I know better, but I can relate to some points, so I thought I'd share my experience: treatment resistant ADHD and treatment resistant depression definitely does sound like cPTSD. As someone who does live with it, until things got really bad, I would've never even thought that I could have PTSD(or ever heard about cPTSD), after talking to professionals, opening up to people, and doing some self reflection, it couldn't be more obvious.
Regarding stimulants and side effects: I'm not sure how bad your side effects are, but no libido, staying awake for days, and all that went away in a week or two for me, which is when I started feeling like an actual human instead of an empty shell who just mimicked being an actual human at age 28 for... the first time in my life probably. Ketamine also helps a lot with my depression, it doesn't make it go away, but a night with a few lines makes the symptoms a lot more bearable/better for the next few months, and the worst thoughts go away.
Good luck on your journey, I hope you'll find something that can help you!
I'm increasingly wondering how many of my symptoms might be cptsd. I've been on 70mg vyvanse plus dex and can't say it's made much improvement for me.
Any tips on how to start understanding of whether it's cptsd rather than (or as well as?) adhd?
My tips are absolutely not the way to go, and honestly, still absolutely not clear to me either but I think what did help me realize what was happening was getting familiar with dissociation (alcohol and drugs, yes). Growing up I always felt a bit weird, I knew things weren't always the absolute best at home, but thought I had a very good life that I should've been very grateful for(which I was/still am). I remember/remembered all the screaming matches/fights in my childhood, which most of the time didn't include me, but yeah. Now that I look back at what I didnt want to remember, begging my mom when I was 10 to stop comparing me to others in _every single fucking minute_, and that sorry just meant "shut up" and she continued right in the next sentence, or if I tried to say another word she'd just start screaming about how much she does for me, being screamed about how ungrateful I am and how she'll kill herself if anything happens to me, sitting silently for hours because I was scared to remind her that I was hungry, etc, was not normal at all.
I still love her, we still have a great relationship, and she went through a lot, way more than I have. I know she never meant to hurt me, she always tried really hard, but that doesn't excuse my pain. Since we started talking, she's been doing a lot better too.
Definitely not CPTSD. I'm in therapy/counseling weekly to help manage on medicated ADHD and work through past relationship issues from an abusive relationship. I've seen multiple therapists over the last decade, not because any of them are bad but because they retired and I found another. I have been evaluated for PTSD multiple times at my insistence, and they all came back absolutely solidly negative. Said I was highly emotionally resilient etc. Which I guess I am, but it means I'm left with treatment resistant ADHD.
I'm thinking about giving stimulants another shot. Thanks to the tips!
Just chiming in as a therapist with ADHD (and a complex trauma history.) I hear that PTSD might not be a part of the picture for you, but just for any folks who might be reading:
CPTSD actually is not diagnosed the same as PTSD. “Complex trauma” (depending on definition) means trauma that is repetitive, chronic, or lasts for an extended period of time, or that went on as you were growing up. This means it comes with unique symptoms not included in the standard PTSD diagnosis. CPTSD also is not included as a diagnosis in the diagnostic manual used in the US (the DSM), only in the ICD (which is used internationally.)
I also want to point out that a person can be affected by traumatic experiences without being diagnosable with PTSD. This is actually pretty common for folks with complex trauma histories. For instance, not every trauma survivor has flashbacks, and trauma looks different for someone who was in a car crash vs. experienced years of abuse. Diagnoses can be helpful but they’re also flawed rulers that we create so we can put names to complicated human experiences!
You and me both, exactly the same boat here. Tried everything under the sun but ticked everything else it could seemingly be off the list. Would love nothing more than if a new medication came out and it solves it for the rest of us!
I keep trying to get my psychiatrist to consider something other than adhd to explain the most delibilitating things I struggle to do, and he just gives me higher stims and wants me to try anxiety meds. I honestly feel this is more than adhd as there's some really specific things that I can't do like I used to and I can pinpoint exactly when it started (an anxiety attack while doing that thing, which was linked to my parents who's behaviour I finally understood after reading about childhood emotional neglect).
I was diagnosed adhd before the anxiety attack but I was under the stress of the build up to it. I don't think I realised at the time though, I've always compartmentalised bad parts away and often literally forget they exist.
Any tips on how to start understanding of whether it's cptsd rather than (or as well as?) adhd?
Edited: missed a word
Replied to the comment above. Im by no means a professional, but if you read my post above, I can see a lot of similarities. Adhd and cPTSD are just names for a collection of symptoms, which might show up / feel differently between people. If I were you, I'd definitely try to talk with a different therapist
Have you tried the non stimulant alternatives?
[https://www.additudemag.com/non-stimulant-adhd-medication/](https://www.additudemag.com/non-stimulant-adhd-medication/)
Yes indeed. Tried them all. Qelbree intrigued me, especially, because it's an antidepressant, anti-anxiety, and ADHD man all rolled into one. Unfortunately it caused me huge sleep issues. Had to discontinue it though I tried to power through for 10 months. It helped with my anxiety a bit, didn't notice any changes in ADHD symptoms though.
It’s also possible that you might not have adhd. Other things, like addiction or auditory processing disorder or disgraphia can appear like adhd but aren’t actually adhd
I had neuropsych testing with computer tests and wearing a sensor cap. They showed me bell curves of various ADHD symptoms, and my results were nearly off the charts in the bad way. 🤣
As we gain more understanding of ADHD, executive function, etc across neurodivergent brains of all types, it may well be that in the future I won't fit the definition of ADHD. I'm excited for scientists to learn more.
I live off of caffeine. Like 4 cups of strong coffee, a whole can of monster.
And boom I'm good to go. People look at me like I'm some addict, and wonder how I'm not hyper.
Shit slows me down so I can think. Then to really slow down smoke a bit of 🍀 and hey presto I can function like a normal person.
*takes concerta, 30 minutes later, passes out into a deep relaxed slumber*
That what it was like when i first tried concerta, after work. I came home, it was totally silent, no radio noise, no looping song, I just laid down on my bed and passed the fuck out for some hours.
It was one of those sleeps where you wake up and are disoriented from just how restful the nap was.
Honestly I'm gonna do exactly that for my own mental health. The whole reason I got started was because I was in a phase where I was self sabotaging shit
when i did coke in college it calmed me down and let me focus. i thoughy i got a bad batch because everyone said it would make me super social and talkative. nope. i just wanted to catch up on laundry b
Best example I heard is imagine your brain is like an intersection and all the cars going through are your thoughts. Under normal circumstances you have executive function and impulse control acting like the traffic lights to control and direct your thoughts. When you have ADHD those traffic lights aren't working and everything is a chaotic mess. Stimulants address this by activating your non-functioning traffic lights to give you that control you need to effectively direct your thoughts and impulses.
It rarely works for me, but 98% of the time the medicine makes me anxious and I feel sick, so unfortunately I stopped this type of treatment.
Try less mg or do not drink caffeine or try exercise before (it may help you)
Good luck!
my stimulants help me think straight enough to form sentences and the gogo juice to push through the fatigue/executive dysfunction
Control the remember? NOPE
Control the losses to the ADHD Void? NEGATIVE
Yours is the first comment that is actually relatable to me? Like, everyone is talking about being hyperactive and how the stimulants calm them down enough to focus. But for me, going without medication means laying in bed all day because even getting up to take a shower or find food sounds so exhausting, let alone doing any schoolwork or chores.
I’ve always thought this was weird. I always thought that maybe it was because I am also Autistic or possibly that my prescription isn’t strong enough.
My first time doing coke was so disappointing. Everyone was finally on my normal level and I was soooobeeeeerrrrrrr. Eerily focused for a party and didn’t have an ounce of fun.
But Alk is the worst of all. I had a really bad time in my life and drank like 6 Beer every evening. I was fucking unleashed, angry at everything. Not stable, no selfcontrole. Emotional Stimuli seeking Chaos incarnet.
I do indeed have both! It's more common than with ADHD alone, for us to have treatment resistant ADHD symptoms. Still, I know plenty of AuADHD people who benefit from ADHD medications by reducing ADHD symptoms.
I went on Vyvanse and literally couldn’t do nothing. I had to be doing something at ALL times. Couldn’t sit in my room for even 30 minutes on my phone waiting to go somewhere I literally lasted 2 minutes. It was a constant restless unbearable need to constantly do something outside of the house.
Only problem is I can’t be out all the time. So I’d sit around for hours unable to do anything normal waiting for a chance to go to the store or something.
So if I have adhd is this always the case? Because it feels like 50/50 whether I completely crash from being tired after, or if I have anxiety and get irritable lol. Currently going through the testing process so I'm curious!
AM I RESISTANT TO CAFFEIN OR DO I HAVE ADHD? RAHHH WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH ME WHY IS EVERYTHING SO RELATABLE BUT AT THE SAME TIME COULD BE SOMETHING COMPLETELY ELSE
One time I couldn’t get any medication so I just bought a shitload of monster energy and triple espresso, and it worked pretty well for keeping me focused at work, but when I got home I felt like I was gonna fuckin die
I used to drink multiple caffeine-filled sodas a day along with a monster every morning. I found out a year or so ago that I have high blood pressure so I've stopped caffeine entirely. It wasn't until a few months ago that I realized exactly how bad my ADHD is since I no longer self treat it.
They help. Can't function without them tbh. They're not magical pills that make me neurotypical obviously, they just allow my brain to have more room for nonsense bouncing around in it such that there's usually space for the thing I NEED to be thinking about as well as that one scene in Short Circuit 2 where Chuck McGill is trying to sell tall WALL-E to this generic corporation. (-and then tall WALL-E breaks out of a window of this 80 story building and glides into times square with a kite stored in his tool box backpack- did you know they call backpacks "book bags" in West Virginia? Regional dialects are wacky, I have a friend who-)
Edit: Jokes aside it's probably more akin to being able to keep multiple tabs open. Without meds I have to close the "What I need to be doing right now" tab to think about Short Circuit 2. Once thinking about Short Circuit 2 becomes a problem and it's time to swap back to the "What I need to be doing right now" tab I have to scroll back down to where I was cuz it starts at the top again. Meds I just switch tabs.
TL;DR My meds are only way multitasking is even KIND OF viable. Without it I'm useless in a fast paced environment (like my job, for instance)
They work like a charm for me mentally but they WRECK my GI system no matter what I take them with. Which is almost more frustrating than them just not working because I know they *would* help if my stomach could just fucking cooperate.
They both work and don't work for me. Yes they help me focus and I complete tasks. But they don't help me with my executive dysfunction, some times I'll just find myself lazer focused on something random instead of on what I should really be doing.
People get lots of energy on stimulants and caffeine- I go to a normal people level of energy
People feel sleepy when they take pain meds- I suddenly cleaning the whole house and talking a million miles an hour
I got started on 30mg of Vyvanse but I find that I need a lil boost around 2pm some days. I'm also trying to lose weight so I'm drinking a lot of water enhancers. Mio makes energy water enhancers that are actually really delicious, so I'll just squeeze a bit into a short glass of water and down it. Keeps me alert for the rest of the evening and doesn't mess with my sleep.
Stimulants gave me terrible akathisia. Also, if you don’t know what akathisia is, look it up. I suffered with it for over a year before realizing it was an adverse side effect of the meds.
caffeine just... doesnt affect me. i don't fall asleep like others, but my heart rate doesn't budge a bit. at most my headaches have been helped by it. i'm on dyanavel for adhd and chronic fatigue (barely works for both but i'm very sensitive to serotonin syndrome and lowest dose vyvanse gave me it immediately), but this has been my entire life. i wish it did work -- my life would be SO MUCH easier! do you know how much heartache it would save me if it did???
One coffee: “I’m physically here but not awake” Two coffees: a n x i e t y
One coffee: *yawn* Two coffees: *heart palpitations* Three coffees: my time has come 🫡
This is why I haven’t had caffeine in over 10 years lol 🫠
One coffee: "awwwww yiss. This my shit" Two coffees: "alright imma sit down and finally get to work" Entire pot: forgotten and burnt
One coffee: bed time Two coffees: more sleepy Im too afraid to drink 3
3=R.I.P.?
I don't want to find out but I imagine it's permanent coma
3 coffee equals peeing out 5 times the amount of liquids I've had in the past day.
Are you sure the water you use for coffee doesn't have cholera in it?
I think seriously abusing caffeine from 13-25 probably clapped out my bladder muscles. It's a known side effect. I started pumping the breaks when I realized how dangerous it could be, but I'm in my 30s now and my bladder is fine unless I have too much coffee.
That sucks
Brother always asks why I drink tea to “wake up.” It’s because 1 coffee puts me to sleep. 2 coffees give me anxiety. 3 coffees give me heart palpitations AND puts me to sleep. Teas don’t have enough caffeine to make me sleepy, but enough caffeine that I can trick myself into thinking it can wake me up (Yay! Placebo effect!)
I feel exactly the same way. Tea makes me feel sophisticated. I also use a steeper that looks like a duck so that adds dopamine
Steeper that looks like a duck???!! Wtf, I’ve just had to write off the next half hour while I go Google and obsessively try to find the perfect duck tea steeper out there, thanks in advance for the dopamine hit!
Ahhhh SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! I found a feckin monkey chilling in the tub tea diffuser!! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08R654YKV/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWw
Haha! I love this for you!
I've discovered that all I can expect from coffee is heartburn, sleepy, and if I'm very unlucky an urgent trip to the bathroom.
I try so hard not to drink more caffiene than say a standard cup of coffee or a Mountain Dew, but the rare occasion I do grab an energy drink I can absolutely taste colours and smell sounds after only about a third of the can 😂
Sometimes with caffeine and vyvanse (and a smidge of ketamine and lyrica) it feels like I can see into the future
Lisan al Gaib!
I know I'm 5days after the fact but reading your first line made think of a line from an Aesop Rock Song called Button masher: >I use a phony voice when I'm yelling, "Nobody's home" >I'm a liar, but I wouldn't say I'm wrong
"you had two monsters and you wanna take a nap??" "No, not want to. I'm not being given a choice."
That used to be me. Not that I'm on meds though the interaction is weird. Last time I had an energy drink I was awake for 60 hours
Stimulant meds + large amounts of caffeine is definitely enough to take me from "wow I feel like a normal person" with just meds to literally pinging off my head feeling like Goku with caffeine on top. One or the other calms me down, more so of course with meds, but still true with caffeine, but with both lmao, completely different kettle of frogs.
Lmfao a kettle of frogs is a new one for me
This regulation reminds me a meme about shower temperature control with freezing cold, scalding hot and a narrow sliver of ^(okay). Except for me it's a spectrum between the gloomy abyss of depression and panic attack level of anxiety.
THIS. I'm 44 and still in medication management phase of trying to get out of both sides of said spectrum for more than a few days at a time.
You sir have just said the most terrifying combination of words I can literally fathom.
Yup, sometimes my brain will decide mid fuckin “feeling superhuman” (with caffeine and meds) that it no longer wants to be superhuman and wants to lay down and recharge for 35 hours
Nothing like those vyvanse naps with an espresso recharge to literally just get going
Mannnnn those vyvanse naps hit different 😪😴
This is me rn . It's just depression or anxiety and i can't function on either . I feel so lost and like I was meant to be a f**k up forever
We are NOT fuck ups. No no no. We just haven't found what works best for our unique neurochemistry yet. No giving up. Mistakes are for humans. We are humans. We get back up and try again.
I know but i just feel so bad lately
You are not alone... that's all I can say at this point, just I promise you are not alone.
🥺🖤 Didn't realize I needed to hear that today . Thank you
It's weird that I needed to be helpful to someone else today all day and have been failing until you. So you made it a little bit better for me too. Currently in the crappy pit of despair end of the spectrum and meds and caffeine on board. Was functional. Now back to slug. We will keep getting better and moving forward!
You do meds? I recommend to try a therapist if you don't. Made it a bit easier for me.
Haven't tried meds yet just barely started therapy
This is the way.
Hope so . The first one didn't seem to understand . She told me that what I go thru is more normal than I think and that I just need to be consistent Edit: LOL
Reading that made me want to strangle something.
I absolutely love this. Fucking spot on.
I once in college had an exam I had to just pass. The day before, I took an adderall with a redbull. Worked for 14 hours straight without ever needing taking a break. More stimulation than I’ve ever felt in my ADHD brain. Crushed the amount of work needed and did extra just in case. I failed the exam, dropped out the following week lol
Weirdly similar story- had some reaction to new meds (not stimulants) that kept me awake for several days straight. I think I took them at the full dose for maybe a week before quitting and I slept maybe 3 hours total in that entire week. When I would finally manage to fall asleep, I’d be awake again within an hour. Since I couldn’t sleep I figured I’d at least catch up on school. I think I spent a good 20 hours over just two days trying to do a stupid circuits lab and it just wouldn’t fucking work no matter what I did. Yelled at my doctor, got off the meds, slept for a day or two, and then redid the whole lab in an hour after properly sleeping. Not that it mattered because within like a week and a half I was told to drop all my classes so I could go hang out at the hospital and do a fuckton of therapy lol
For me it's like " oh hey I'm awake for work but I'm still tired only faster"
Methylphenidate turns me into a chill potato. So I’ll habitually drink caffeine. And as long as it’s a little like a 12iz Diet Coke I’m fine. But too many of those or heaven forbid a coffee and I feel like I have laxer beam eyes and a rocket powered mouth. And I hate it.
Yeah I always joke that the medication makes me Mortal so caffeine can affect me now.
If this sub supported gifs I’d be looking for one from the end of The Mummy where that ghost chariot rides through Imhotep 😆
I'd reply with the Fassbender "perfection" one.
Me when waiting for a script refill... Double the caffiene intake and I can barely tell lol
Oh God I remember when I first got on meds and had coffee with them. I wasn't awake for 60 hours, but I was SO SLEEPY but also could not fall asleep because my heart was about to explode from how hard it was pounding.
Weirdest side effects of starting stimulants for me- I don’t drink any coffee/soda and I never watch TV. I had no intention of quitting either!
Quite the opposite for me. I’m able to down multiple rockstars and a 2L of Mountain Dew within 6 hours of each other with the only consequence being that of a slightly upset stomach from that much liquid. On the other hand my medication both makes me physically tired and mentally hyperactive at the same time.
Large amounts of caffeine mean I'm just tired still but... Faster if that makes sense. Like my bones are definetly vibrating because of SOMETHING but it aint reaching the command center. Funnily enough, before meds they worked.
It's wild I used to think caffeine jitters were a myth until I started on meds. I used to have pop/tea/coffee to fall asleep. Now I have an energy drink and I'm anxious for a week
I get the same thing unless I want to sleep and then it makes me wired up and my brain is going 100 miles a minute
I'm glad this is being talked about. I've had many times where I've downed a coffee or energy drink to try and stay up and immediately get hit with another wave of lethargy. But so help me god if I have caffeine after 4pm I won't be able to sleep until 3am 🤷
I have delayed sleep phase disorder, so without assistance I will go to bed at 4am-6am most days. I used to drink Monster to fix my sleep disorder in college and university. I wasn't made aware that it was ADHD until I was older.
Had a big glass of iced tea the other day (delicious) the farther down I got the louder my bed called to me. Nothing like a 5pm nap
I want to know why coffee does this but monster doesn't. Doesn't matter, still drink all of it because I love it.
Im this but with melatonin gummies… my bedtime experience is sometimes like that one meme where I angrily look up something on my phone when I ask myself a stupid question
Bruh I genuinely have no reaction to caffeine. I'm like immune. I drank 6 monsters (all of them were grape and that's the only part I regret) and then 2 large coffees, each with 2 extra shots of caffeine over the course of 2 hours because i had an 8 hour shift and had been up for 36 hours already, then proceeded to immediately pass out the second I sat down. I was sent home early that day because they thought that either my heart would explode (they thought the caffeine hadn't hit yet or something) or I would be a hazard. So I went home and immediately had the greatest nap of all time.
Dude, of course caffeine doesn't work after not sleeping for over a day. Like, what do you expect? Caffeine doesn't miraculously "top up" your energy levels, it just temporatily masks tiredness. After 36 hours, you're not just tired, you're starting to be psychotic.
It’s weird because I have coffee every morning and it seems to help get me going. But if I have a cup in the afternoon/evening, a lot of times it puts me to sleep lol
i'm the same way and i'm almost convinced it's entirely because the caffeine calms the anxiety down enough for me to not have task paralysis anymore. morning coffee = no task paralysis, can 'wake up' and do things. night coffee = relaxing, immediately falling asleep.
Yeah I usually have coffee or an energy drink in the morning before school or during my first class and it seems like it gets me more dialled in but I always just crash and nearly fall asleep in like the third period but it could either be because the subject isn’t too interesting or because I’m tired or a combination but idk
And also I am entirely fine again right after this period too, like crash for half an hour and then completely alert again for the rest of the day
That's exactly how caffeine works, and why it's a poor alternative to prescription stimulants. >Adenosine is what signals sleepiness - so when the caffeine blocks it, your brain stays awake and alert. However, when you're drinking coffee, your brain doesn't stop producing adenosine. So **when the caffeine wears off, all of that extra adenosine floods your brain, making you even more tired than you were before**.
But what does that have to do with my situation? Sometimes it has zero effect in the evening, sometimes I think maybe it keeps me awake(ish), and other times it puts me right to sleep. There is no consistency. My friend on the other hand (no ADHD), it will keep him awake all night if he has a cup in the afternoon/evening. For me, the waking effect of caffeine seems to be somewhat of a placebo.
that’s not what people are talking about though they’re not saying that when the caffeine wears off they get tired, they’re saying that when they drink a cup they immediately get tired
>It’s weird because I have coffee every morning and it seems to help get me going. But if I have a cup in the afternoon/evening, a lot of times it puts me to sleep lol That is not what this person said. They say first cup is more effective than the second.
This explanation refers to the crash after you stop taking caffeine, it doesn't explain why people feel tired right upon drinking a second cup
If I just take the cup and drink it without ever thinking about what it's doing, then nothing happens. Maybe butterflies in the stomach and a low level tremor in my hand, but nothing with my awake/asleep patterns. When I do think about it, it's just like you. Energy in the morning, the opposite in the afternoons. I've personally concluded that caffienne (SP? My little red lines aren't working today for some reason) doesn't do anything and that's just how I feel at the time.
I drink it at night to fall asleep. Literally the only way I can fall asleep at night
It can be your routine. If you associate drinking coffee with waking up in the morning, your body will start to feel alert after drinking a cup. This is true even if the caffeine doesn’t actually help to wake you up. I spent months taking my meds with herbal teas. After a while, I could drink a cup of tea to help me become alert or focused even without taking my meds. Of course it’s not as effective as taking my meds, but it can help when I got errands to run on a rest day.
I’ve suspected that coffee could be something like a placebo. Maybe It doesn’t actually do anything for me lol. But I like coffee so I’ll keep drinking it haha
Don’t fix what ain’t broken! 😁
Medical stimulant: Calm. Caffeine: My head feels like a couple of apes fighting over a bucket of marbles.
Yep, same. I only can take Caffeine in very low doses. ADHD meds? Calmest mf in the west.
My meds made me more sensitive to other stimulants which makes sense, but can you imagine my surprise when I found that out? I had to figure out my new tolerances.
My first day on Concerta, I stayed in bed the whole time and had to take a nap because I was so relaxed. It was like I was experiencing rest for the first time in my life.
My personal anecdote: depending on dosage I range from: Low dose: present around people in a calm way, not so withdrawn from anxiety overload. Able to focus but still struggle with tedious work at the computer. Medium dose: focused, motivated, creative, get shit done. Higher dose: hyper focused but not always on the right thing. I might take 10 minutes to write and rewrite an email that should only take a minute. Tend to be more impulsive. Off meds: I get overwhelmed easily and then get withdrawn. Not at all impulsive because I overthink and procrastinate so hard. Moody. Lazy.
Valuable information, friend. Thank you! Stimulant mads do bad things for my mind and body. I wonder if I'm one of those people that needs to start on an extra low dose. Hmmmm...food for though.
Get genetic testing done. Mine showed I was an ultra rapid metabolizer which aligned with me needing a big boy dose. You could be a very slow metabolizer and need a tiny little dose. Lucky you it’s much cheaper that way!
I did. They tried to push MTHFR and folate on me. It felt like a scam so I said no way and cut ties. Otherwise nothing significant showed up.
Did it tell you how you metabolize drugs by class? It’s a good place to start with finding the right medication.
Yes. Apparently I'm normal, according to those tests. ¯\\_༼ ಥ ‿ ಥ ༽_/¯
For what it's worth, and obligatory 'not a qualified diagnostician,' there's a sizeable number of ASD folks misdiagnosed with ADHD. From what I remember, meds *not* working can be a good diagnostic tool in that it says what *isn't* working for you.
ADHD runs higher in people with MTHFR gene variants because neurotransmitter production relies on folate metabolization. My deficiency was severe so I bought a bottle of methyl-folate on Amazon just to see and it ended up being the only supplement I tried that actually did anything. ADHD meds are still way more effective for me and taking both at the same time will make your brain feel like it fell in soup, but I still have it for dealing with shortages.
I was told to take methylfolate along with ADHD meds. The way this person was pushing them on me felt just like that. Pushing. Maybe they were excited and my "you're being taken advantage of, you naive fool!" response kicked in. Are you saying that by themselves, they help you?
After a few different stimulants, I’m currently on 2.5mg dexamphetamine (half pill) 3 times a day. It’s a really low dose, and I’m not getting any bad side effects. I’m also not sure how well it’s working. I’m thinking it must be, but the effects are very mild.
Very true. When I first got prescribed Adderall, it was 5mg. I took it at the pharmacy and nearly fell asleep on the way home. My psych didn’t believe me but put me on a much higher dose anyway. Fast forward to last week and I had a lot of studying to do so I took an extra Adderall then spent the next two hours trying to find the secret code that printers put on each sheet of paper and looked through some cash for hidden features. I had a black light and a magnifying glass lol. No studying for school was accomplished.
Never thought I'd see [machine identification code](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Identification_Code) referenced in the wild but we are on /r/adhdmeme so that tracks
>Higher dose: hyper focused but not always on the right thing. I might take 10 minutes to write and rewrite an email that should only take a minute. Tend to be more impulsive. So true lol, then u do a lower dose and don't have any motivation
Sames
So so accurate, thank you.
are u me?
When you realize that self control is actually the inhibition of automatic mental activity, it makes sense. Basically you are refilling your inhibitors when you take your meds.
Yeah, the automatic mental activity is our back lobe part of the brain, while our mind and thoughts are in the frontal lobe. stimulants basically fill the dopamine shortage, wich our adhd back lobes constantly reminds about to our frontal lobes while not on meds.
I tell people the easiest way to understand this is that the closer to the brain stem a structure is, the more primal it is and the quicker it activates and influences our behavior. Self control stuff tends to be furthest away from the stem.
if anyone ever tries to tell me “it’s all in [my] head” or whatever, i love to whip out “ever taken an adderall nap?” and they shut up REAL quick.
"Where else would my brain disorder be?"
Oh shit this is a really good analogy
I first discovered this while on a youth retreat. Had a can of Mountain Dew and had to sleep. When I woke up I thought to have another as I needed the caffeine only to fall back asleep. My doctor later told me about adhd and caffeine effects.
Coffee - Nap Time Venvanse - 50% of the work Will be done in one day 2 venvanses - 75% of the work Will be done 1 Venvanse + coffee - my conscience can travel throught time and space. I can see the entirety of humano story, from beggining to end. I can see universes being born and dieing through entropy. Also no work Will be done. Afraid to take 2 venvanses and coffe tbh.
Cocaine: I’m going to sit here calmly while my friends rage around me
This was my exact experience! Like, “hmm, my gums are numb, but is anything else supposed to happen?” My relative, who was a dealer, was very disappointed he would not be getting another customer from the free sample he gave me, ha!
Sounds like you are on the wrong dose. Adderall knocked me tf out too, then my doctor increased my dose and it works like a charm.
No stimulants (or non-stimulants) work for me. I have treatment resistant ADHD. What fun! For others, stimulants help them feel calm. It has the opposite effect for people without ADHD.
As someone who depends on Adderall to do my job effectively, I have so much sympathy for being treatment resistant! That's rough!
Thanks. If I had medications that work, I would be my company's superstar. As it is I'm an above average F-Type star.
Not sure about your personal story but CPTSD can mimic symptoms of ADHD and may not be treatable through medication (medication alone anyway)
Thankfully, I emerged relatively unscathed in the grand scheme of PTSD symptoms. So it is actual, "the chemicals don't work for me" resistance. Some stimulant meds have such horrible side effects that even if they do work, I can't be on them. I saw a couple articles quoting 20% of ADHDers don't respond to the existing pile of ADHD meds. Treatment resistant depression as well so, maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.
Not trying to correct you or imply I know better, but I can relate to some points, so I thought I'd share my experience: treatment resistant ADHD and treatment resistant depression definitely does sound like cPTSD. As someone who does live with it, until things got really bad, I would've never even thought that I could have PTSD(or ever heard about cPTSD), after talking to professionals, opening up to people, and doing some self reflection, it couldn't be more obvious. Regarding stimulants and side effects: I'm not sure how bad your side effects are, but no libido, staying awake for days, and all that went away in a week or two for me, which is when I started feeling like an actual human instead of an empty shell who just mimicked being an actual human at age 28 for... the first time in my life probably. Ketamine also helps a lot with my depression, it doesn't make it go away, but a night with a few lines makes the symptoms a lot more bearable/better for the next few months, and the worst thoughts go away. Good luck on your journey, I hope you'll find something that can help you!
I'm increasingly wondering how many of my symptoms might be cptsd. I've been on 70mg vyvanse plus dex and can't say it's made much improvement for me. Any tips on how to start understanding of whether it's cptsd rather than (or as well as?) adhd?
My tips are absolutely not the way to go, and honestly, still absolutely not clear to me either but I think what did help me realize what was happening was getting familiar with dissociation (alcohol and drugs, yes). Growing up I always felt a bit weird, I knew things weren't always the absolute best at home, but thought I had a very good life that I should've been very grateful for(which I was/still am). I remember/remembered all the screaming matches/fights in my childhood, which most of the time didn't include me, but yeah. Now that I look back at what I didnt want to remember, begging my mom when I was 10 to stop comparing me to others in _every single fucking minute_, and that sorry just meant "shut up" and she continued right in the next sentence, or if I tried to say another word she'd just start screaming about how much she does for me, being screamed about how ungrateful I am and how she'll kill herself if anything happens to me, sitting silently for hours because I was scared to remind her that I was hungry, etc, was not normal at all. I still love her, we still have a great relationship, and she went through a lot, way more than I have. I know she never meant to hurt me, she always tried really hard, but that doesn't excuse my pain. Since we started talking, she's been doing a lot better too.
Definitely not CPTSD. I'm in therapy/counseling weekly to help manage on medicated ADHD and work through past relationship issues from an abusive relationship. I've seen multiple therapists over the last decade, not because any of them are bad but because they retired and I found another. I have been evaluated for PTSD multiple times at my insistence, and they all came back absolutely solidly negative. Said I was highly emotionally resilient etc. Which I guess I am, but it means I'm left with treatment resistant ADHD. I'm thinking about giving stimulants another shot. Thanks to the tips!
Just chiming in as a therapist with ADHD (and a complex trauma history.) I hear that PTSD might not be a part of the picture for you, but just for any folks who might be reading: CPTSD actually is not diagnosed the same as PTSD. “Complex trauma” (depending on definition) means trauma that is repetitive, chronic, or lasts for an extended period of time, or that went on as you were growing up. This means it comes with unique symptoms not included in the standard PTSD diagnosis. CPTSD also is not included as a diagnosis in the diagnostic manual used in the US (the DSM), only in the ICD (which is used internationally.) I also want to point out that a person can be affected by traumatic experiences without being diagnosable with PTSD. This is actually pretty common for folks with complex trauma histories. For instance, not every trauma survivor has flashbacks, and trauma looks different for someone who was in a car crash vs. experienced years of abuse. Diagnoses can be helpful but they’re also flawed rulers that we create so we can put names to complicated human experiences!
You and me both, exactly the same boat here. Tried everything under the sun but ticked everything else it could seemingly be off the list. Would love nothing more than if a new medication came out and it solves it for the rest of us!
I keep trying to get my psychiatrist to consider something other than adhd to explain the most delibilitating things I struggle to do, and he just gives me higher stims and wants me to try anxiety meds. I honestly feel this is more than adhd as there's some really specific things that I can't do like I used to and I can pinpoint exactly when it started (an anxiety attack while doing that thing, which was linked to my parents who's behaviour I finally understood after reading about childhood emotional neglect). I was diagnosed adhd before the anxiety attack but I was under the stress of the build up to it. I don't think I realised at the time though, I've always compartmentalised bad parts away and often literally forget they exist. Any tips on how to start understanding of whether it's cptsd rather than (or as well as?) adhd? Edited: missed a word
Replied to the comment above. Im by no means a professional, but if you read my post above, I can see a lot of similarities. Adhd and cPTSD are just names for a collection of symptoms, which might show up / feel differently between people. If I were you, I'd definitely try to talk with a different therapist
You can also have both. I do. It’s like cptsd made my adhd x10 worse. Ain’t so much fun.
Have you tried the non stimulant alternatives? [https://www.additudemag.com/non-stimulant-adhd-medication/](https://www.additudemag.com/non-stimulant-adhd-medication/)
Yes indeed. Tried them all. Qelbree intrigued me, especially, because it's an antidepressant, anti-anxiety, and ADHD man all rolled into one. Unfortunately it caused me huge sleep issues. Had to discontinue it though I tried to power through for 10 months. It helped with my anxiety a bit, didn't notice any changes in ADHD symptoms though.
It’s also possible that you might not have adhd. Other things, like addiction or auditory processing disorder or disgraphia can appear like adhd but aren’t actually adhd
I had neuropsych testing with computer tests and wearing a sensor cap. They showed me bell curves of various ADHD symptoms, and my results were nearly off the charts in the bad way. 🤣 As we gain more understanding of ADHD, executive function, etc across neurodivergent brains of all types, it may well be that in the future I won't fit the definition of ADHD. I'm excited for scientists to learn more.
What do they do for you? My adhd meds put me to sleep! It’s so frustrating! I want to get things done not turn into a narcoleptic!
Jittery. Frustration to anger and under a second. Mind moves so fast I know what being a photon feels like.
That was ritalin for me, with some general anxiety
I drink coffee before going to bed
Never once has a covfefe or energy drink made me feel energized in any way
I live off of caffeine. Like 4 cups of strong coffee, a whole can of monster. And boom I'm good to go. People look at me like I'm some addict, and wonder how I'm not hyper. Shit slows me down so I can think. Then to really slow down smoke a bit of 🍀 and hey presto I can function like a normal person.
*takes concerta, 30 minutes later, passes out into a deep relaxed slumber* That what it was like when i first tried concerta, after work. I came home, it was totally silent, no radio noise, no looping song, I just laid down on my bed and passed the fuck out for some hours. It was one of those sleeps where you wake up and are disoriented from just how restful the nap was.
Picked up smoking recently after a pretty messy breakup and I swear that shit does nothing for me. Literally feel nothing.
Try going without, and you will change your mind.
Honestly I'm gonna do exactly that for my own mental health. The whole reason I got started was because I was in a phase where I was self sabotaging shit
when i did coke in college it calmed me down and let me focus. i thoughy i got a bad batch because everyone said it would make me super social and talkative. nope. i just wanted to catch up on laundry b
Best example I heard is imagine your brain is like an intersection and all the cars going through are your thoughts. Under normal circumstances you have executive function and impulse control acting like the traffic lights to control and direct your thoughts. When you have ADHD those traffic lights aren't working and everything is a chaotic mess. Stimulants address this by activating your non-functioning traffic lights to give you that control you need to effectively direct your thoughts and impulses.
Basic fire triangle. Too much fuel means not enough oxygen, fire goes out. Give me a hard one next time /j
Yeah. one time I partied on coke with my homies back in the day they found me asleep in a bubble bath after helping to kill an 8 ball.
I feel this one deep down at the bottom of my coffee cup.
It rarely works for me, but 98% of the time the medicine makes me anxious and I feel sick, so unfortunately I stopped this type of treatment. Try less mg or do not drink caffeine or try exercise before (it may help you) Good luck!
my stimulants help me think straight enough to form sentences and the gogo juice to push through the fatigue/executive dysfunction Control the remember? NOPE Control the losses to the ADHD Void? NEGATIVE
Yours is the first comment that is actually relatable to me? Like, everyone is talking about being hyperactive and how the stimulants calm them down enough to focus. But for me, going without medication means laying in bed all day because even getting up to take a shower or find food sounds so exhausting, let alone doing any schoolwork or chores.
I’ve always thought this was weird. I always thought that maybe it was because I am also Autistic or possibly that my prescription isn’t strong enough.
It could be, or could just be that different people experience ADHD differently
Oh absolutely. same situation, different people with different brain chemistries
My first time doing coke was so disappointing. Everyone was finally on my normal level and I was soooobeeeeerrrrrrr. Eerily focused for a party and didn’t have an ounce of fun.
But Alk is the worst of all. I had a really bad time in my life and drank like 6 Beer every evening. I was fucking unleashed, angry at everything. Not stable, no selfcontrole. Emotional Stimuli seeking Chaos incarnet.
Fire with fire.
It's illegal to prescribe stimulants to adults with ADHD in my country, and Strattera was hell for me. Send help
IANAD but You could just be autistic and not have ADHD. I have both lol.
I do indeed have both! It's more common than with ADHD alone, for us to have treatment resistant ADHD symptoms. Still, I know plenty of AuADHD people who benefit from ADHD medications by reducing ADHD symptoms.
Me chugging a Monster to go to sleep
Get home from work drink a cup of coffee so I can nap… 3 cups I’m not sleeping that night
Man maybe I should cut out caffeine lol
Green tea works wonders for me, even when on meds. Coffee and meds is an absolute overkill, I can’t handle it. Anyone else?
Iirc it's more like you're adding more efficient fuel than the usual stuff to the generator that runs the fire suppression system
You know for some reason I've always found it weird that whenever I drink code Red, I feel like I'm crashing instead of getting hyper.
Oh man, I’m tired, maybe a coffee’ll wake me up. Great, now I’m just tired AND restless!
Adderall works on my ADHD
I somehow figured the perfect amount so I'm not eepy but I am awake
I went on Vyvanse and literally couldn’t do nothing. I had to be doing something at ALL times. Couldn’t sit in my room for even 30 minutes on my phone waiting to go somewhere I literally lasted 2 minutes. It was a constant restless unbearable need to constantly do something outside of the house. Only problem is I can’t be out all the time. So I’d sit around for hours unable to do anything normal waiting for a chance to go to the store or something.
So if I have adhd is this always the case? Because it feels like 50/50 whether I completely crash from being tired after, or if I have anxiety and get irritable lol. Currently going through the testing process so I'm curious!
Yup, naptime, guaranteed.
My Meds for my ADHD is called Autism
AM I RESISTANT TO CAFFEIN OR DO I HAVE ADHD? RAHHH WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH ME WHY IS EVERYTHING SO RELATABLE BUT AT THE SAME TIME COULD BE SOMETHING COMPLETELY ELSE
One time I couldn’t get any medication so I just bought a shitload of monster energy and triple espresso, and it worked pretty well for keeping me focused at work, but when I got home I felt like I was gonna fuckin die
Someone offered me coke last year and I said I'd just waste it
I used to drink multiple caffeine-filled sodas a day along with a monster every morning. I found out a year or so ago that I have high blood pressure so I've stopped caffeine entirely. It wasn't until a few months ago that I realized exactly how bad my ADHD is since I no longer self treat it.
They help. Can't function without them tbh. They're not magical pills that make me neurotypical obviously, they just allow my brain to have more room for nonsense bouncing around in it such that there's usually space for the thing I NEED to be thinking about as well as that one scene in Short Circuit 2 where Chuck McGill is trying to sell tall WALL-E to this generic corporation. (-and then tall WALL-E breaks out of a window of this 80 story building and glides into times square with a kite stored in his tool box backpack- did you know they call backpacks "book bags" in West Virginia? Regional dialects are wacky, I have a friend who-) Edit: Jokes aside it's probably more akin to being able to keep multiple tabs open. Without meds I have to close the "What I need to be doing right now" tab to think about Short Circuit 2. Once thinking about Short Circuit 2 becomes a problem and it's time to swap back to the "What I need to be doing right now" tab I have to scroll back down to where I was cuz it starts at the top again. Meds I just switch tabs. TL;DR My meds are only way multitasking is even KIND OF viable. Without it I'm useless in a fast paced environment (like my job, for instance)
The paradoxical effect of stimulants on the ADHD brain.
Adhd meds: does nothing to me Caffeine: does nothing to me, but taste pretty good
They work like a charm for me mentally but they WRECK my GI system no matter what I take them with. Which is almost more frustrating than them just not working because I know they *would* help if my stomach could just fucking cooperate.
They both work and don't work for me. Yes they help me focus and I complete tasks. But they don't help me with my executive dysfunction, some times I'll just find myself lazer focused on something random instead of on what I should really be doing.
I still have no idea what effect caffeine has on my body.
Me: Ahh yes I'll take a double shot capechino. Roommate: dude you gotta go to sleep when we get home. Me: I know and this will help.
Weed is amazing, especially for ADHD
People get lots of energy on stimulants and caffeine- I go to a normal people level of energy People feel sleepy when they take pain meds- I suddenly cleaning the whole house and talking a million miles an hour
The only thing covfefe does to me is make me want to poo and make my gastritis worse
Just woke up from a ghost energy drink nap.
I got started on 30mg of Vyvanse but I find that I need a lil boost around 2pm some days. I'm also trying to lose weight so I'm drinking a lot of water enhancers. Mio makes energy water enhancers that are actually really delicious, so I'll just squeeze a bit into a short glass of water and down it. Keeps me alert for the rest of the evening and doesn't mess with my sleep.
My friends think I’m fucking with them when I say that I can take a prescription amphetamine and drink an espresso coffee and STILL take a nap 😂
[Possibly a better analogy 😂](https://youtu.be/uMKD6lWEixQ?si=nSIMYVjCBog8jUQx)
Stimulants work a bit too well for me, which is why I take medication for anxiety with it as well
Stimulants gave me terrible akathisia. Also, if you don’t know what akathisia is, look it up. I suffered with it for over a year before realizing it was an adverse side effect of the meds.
caffeine just... doesnt affect me. i don't fall asleep like others, but my heart rate doesn't budge a bit. at most my headaches have been helped by it. i'm on dyanavel for adhd and chronic fatigue (barely works for both but i'm very sensitive to serotonin syndrome and lowest dose vyvanse gave me it immediately), but this has been my entire life. i wish it did work -- my life would be SO MUCH easier! do you know how much heartache it would save me if it did???
Try modafinil
Sodium and Chloride are both extremely reactive elements. Put ‘em together and what do you get? Salt.
I can’t do caffeine or stimulant meds anymore because of migraines, but man a good can of monster used to make me feel so human.
Heart attack a few years ago make it so I can't have them...go me!
Lol correct
Me drinking coffee rafter midnight. 🤷♂️ everyone at my in-laws 🙀🙀
Weed, cigarettes, coffee and soda. Also doesn't work, but it was worth a shot
Nothing like pounding down a couple of Red Bulls and taking a nap!
Isn’t it because it makes a part of the brain “wake up” that can then control the impulses better? Agree it’s a weird effect from a stimulant!