TLDR: What is ADHD medication supposed to feel like? Is it supposed to feel like anything at all? Will someone with ADHD feel really gacked out/high? does it change based on food intake or other factors?
So I received an unofficial diagnosis from my AuDHD psychologist a while ago, and then my psychiatrist did a very short written assessment on me and determined a positive diagnosis. I really want to get a full assessment one day, but for now I was prescribed Focalin (dexmethylphenidate). I originally wanted it as a prn.
The first time I took it, I definitely felt “peppy”, needing to stand while gaming, needing to move around more frequently, generally more awake. I didn’t eat breakfast, and had coffee. My blood pressure was also very high. Within a couple of days I took it again, but being good and eating in the morning with no coffee. I couldn’t even tell if it was working. I may have taken it another time soon after and did not notice a difference, so I stopped taking it. I’ve been extremely fatigued and my executive dysfunction has been off the charts so I tried taking it again. Yesterday I didn’t eat right away, and I felt gacked. Tight jaw, jittery, like definitely felt like I was on stimulants. I felt like that today as well; I tried to eat a little something this morning but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. It kicked in during a client appointment, too. Jaw tight, jittery, making a ton of typing mistakes, my body feeling fuzzy.
So, is it something where you should be able to notice a difference when you take ADHD meds? I’m assuming that I felt it so intensely because I didn’t eat, but when I do it it literally doesn’t feel like anything has changed. I may also not even have ADHD at all and was misdiagnosed (I was informally dx’ed with ADHD, Autism and bipolar disorder).
I trialled taking dexies for a few months and they made me unbearably horny, anxious, and my concentration got worse. Obviously for anyone there will a period of adjustment, but my understanding is that for people with adhd and that respond well to the drug, they really respond well, and they feel ‘normal’ and more calm and levelled out than they would without taking them. Having said that, I’ve met people who take these drugs and claim they feel ‘normal’ despite the fact that they really do seem quite obviously high.
You became me when I’m unmedicated
Thanks for sharing the experience! Honestly while researching it it seems like focalin is extremely hit or miss and the misses seem very intense; and is much more typical than reading about it being a super helpful drug. I think I’m feeling the same about anxiety/concentration. I have been absolutely refusing to do any work and just talking to my coworkers all day long. I normally fuck around but will have at least a couple hour chunks where I TRY to get things done but with this, nope. Luckily I haven’t had any extreme side effects. I feel like when I took adderall recreationally years ago that actually did help me focus. I only did it twice, but the first time I was focused on drawing and coloring this one image and I didn’t stop until the page was completely colored in and didn’t get distracted lol. But I did admit that i’d done it twice recreationally, so that may have influenced his decision to not give it to me, idk. I know the shortage was in full swing, too, not sure if that’s still going on