arcane potato (she/they)

How were your first moments/days/weeks with medication? (I you don’t mind sharing).

I am twice your age so my life looks a lot different that yours does right now, but I was only diagnosed a year ago, so I will share anyways!

I was diagnosed by my GP, after discussions with my therapist so my titration on to drugs was not ideal. I am waiting on a referral for a psych, who I am hoping will help dial the meds in better. They are not doing as much as I think they could, but they are honestly a lifesaver.

Initially, I was given 5 mg dexamphetamine to try out. This drug behaves a lot differently than Lisdex, and I could feel it kicking in on my drive into work because I could feel the road rage melt away in real time, lol. It also wore off very quickly, and I started with lisdex shortly thereafter. The biggest change I noticed was that I wasn’t crying every day. I don’t think I was depressed, just distressed and it really helped with the emotional regulation. I still have my bad days, but they are far less frequent.

Other than that, I’m not sure I could really tell you what changed, because like many with ADHD I have awful metacognition. I sometimes forget to take them and I think I notice because I become unable to complete a task, I just jump between one thing to another and completely forget what I was doing. I think I also notice them wearing off in the evenings because I feel the same way there too.

ETA: I also lose my appetite, and it comes roaring back in the evenings so this is another way I can tell if I’ve forgotten to take them!

I am taking 40 mg right now. I feel extremely high strung but I feel that way if I take them or not so I no longer think it might be on the edge of too high a dose, which I did initially. In fact, I feel like it might not be working so well any more right now.

I would encourage you to try and take notes if at all possible. There are templates out there to make it a guided exercise. You could also ask those close to you if they notice a difference.

Good luck and it’s amazing you are getting diagnosed in university! I think my biggest struggle with adult ADHD is that I don’t know how to exist in the adult world in a healthy way, so learning and accepting my limitations (My whole body tenses when I write that) is extremely hard. I hope this helps your transition into the adult world as smooth as possible 💖

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