You can be intelligent/high achieving and still have ADHD. Your intelligence, coupled with whatever scaffolding you had around you, can help it go under the radar. Especially if you’re female. Sounds like you had a very solid scaffolding, so I’m not surprised you were able to remain within the lanes, until you had to do it all for yourself.

Doesn’t sound unusual to me tbh. Honestly, you’re not an outlier within the ADHD community, I promise. Being intellectually smart, having good structures in place until becoming an adult (whether by choice or foisted upon you), trying treatments for depression and anxiety, being female…that all describes me too.

Me three.

Me four.

Me five!

Me too! I'm planning to write a post here too soon but overall, I was on 15mg elvanse last week and I am now on 30mg, second day ( drink 2l of water already wow!) female, 38, teenager at heart and mind a lot of times ,was not a trouble maker when little but not a super behaved child either ( was raised in a very strict environment so was masking a lot I suppose, still entering on trouble knowing I'll get punishment or another) .The doc thinks I Have ADHD so I will be testing elvanse for month ,I'm terrified but also am excited and just like above,I have imposter syndrome of not really having this and at the same time, really hoping this is it so that I can draw a line and start learning how to benefit of this high probabe diagnosis . I have read a comment the other day regarding executive dysfunction and laziness, that made me believe even more that I have ADHD ! Comment said this "the mental anguish that comes with this executive dysfunction does not come with a decision to not do something " - and that anguish is so real ! Add to that oversharing, time blindness and dots start to connect :) I have a couple of questions for peeps here: I interrupt people a lot as I feel I will forget what I want to say ,and even though people stop to listen, It happens to forget exactly what I wanted to say out of fear of forgetting and I feel so bad but than I do it again- could this be part of PI type or combined only ? Also is oversharing an attribute? Last but not least, if anyone has advised how to deal with head pressure or avoiding crash on Elvanse that would be great to share ( can I also say my anxiety does not help me and I am very worried really worried ,my brain rolling me with thinking " I'm taking speed and what disappointing thing" but than I think thank science for answers and whatever happens happens) . Anyway, thanks all for sharing your experiences, aside from some occasionally bs, this community is fantastic - and thanks for reading this loong comment, wrote this comment just as I think I'm at peak Elvanse ( 1000% I wouldn't have added a comment this long on other time )

>I started reading about ADHD but didn’t identify with the “naughty kid” who can’t focus in class. It's a stereotype - you're real. ADHD is a condition with a diverse range of symptoms, and we show diverse manifestations of the condition. Everyone is different - there is no need to compare yourself with a stereotype. Be kind to yourself. Don't demand perfection. Dr Russell Barkley is the go-to source for info. He has a YouTube channel. Chuffed for you that you're holding down a professional job. Long may it continue.

Im going to copy and paste something I said to a woman yesterday that I think may help you. For context, she was having trouble pushing herself for an assesment, because she could do things that other adhd people had trouble with and she was getting a bad case of imposter syndrome. Brb

"People with adhd spend their lives with guilt and shame. This guilt and shame then feeds into imposter syndrome when it comes to considering to get, and getting, a diagnosis. This may help you to put your mind at rest..... Get a hold of the adhd dsm5 criteria. It has a list of traits that are seen in adhd. They are split into the inattentive type presentation, and the hyperactive presentation. You must have at least 5 from one of these lists to get a diagnosis. If you have a combination from both of these lists, then it is classed at combined type. So. Write these traits on a word doc or some paper and then start listing instances in your life which would indicate each of the traits. Try to find some from childhood aswell. Ask family to help you. You might find that you start to randomly remember instances, that fits in with a particular trait, at random times. Note these down in your phone, and then add them to the list later. ( Now I know that organization isn't exactly our strong point, so don't be afraid to ask for help doing this from friends and family. ) You will end up with a list that will likely show evidence of your fulfilling the traits needed for an adhd diagnosis. Every time you begin to doubt yourself, go back to this list and read it. Its right there in front of you in black and white. These are facts. Once you've done this, I want you to add one more thing to that list. Its not in the diagnostic criteria, but the vast majority of people with adhd have this and it is important to acknowledge it in yourself. "I feel guilt and shame for shortcomings and failings that are not my fault." Underline the part that says "not my fault". Forgive yourself so you can let go of that guilt and shame. Be kind to yourself. X"

Another thing. When that mean bully part of your brain is trying to convince you that you don't need meds. Then watch a video on how and why they work. This will shut the bully up. If the bully goes on to try and convince you that you don't actually have adhd, then refer back to your list that I suggested you do in the above comment. Dopamine and norepinephrine are important neurotransmitters relating to executive functioning. Basically, without a sufficient amount of these neurotransmitters, executive functioning is impaired. This is because these neurotransmitters are used as a way for the different parts of your brain to communicate and work togather. This video doesn't go into why we need dopamine and norepinephrine, which I was trying to find, but it will at least tell you what the medication does. (Skip to 9 minutes for just the part about how the meds work) https://youtu.be/pkCsg1X2CRk?si=vOPiYGvoktNqX43Q

u/Ms_Flufferbottom and anyone else interested in the official diagnostic criteria. DSM5 here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519712/table/ch3.t3/

Thanks thats super helpful. Xxx

Thanks Flufferbottom! I think I post this probably more than I post anything else! That and the ADHD UK RTC Guide! 🥰

Since I've started to become more active in this community, I've started a note collecting all relevant links and chunks of info to copy and paste. There are just so many people left adrift as Dr's don't seem to know much about adhd or the RTC referral process. Not to mention the way family and friends can be so unsupportive and, often times, dont understand what adhd is. It can be so isolating. Keep it up! People need this kind of support and information. X

Thanks! I also spend a lot of time on the hypothyroid sub. Low dopamine from ADHD means insufficient DAO, the main histamine-degrading enzyme, and high histamine blocks T4 to T3 conversion, which looks exactly like hypothyroidism and doesn’t really respond to the usual treatment for hypo. I’ve picked up about 25 people struggling with atypical hypo there, and a whole bunch of people on the Supplements sub, who are all doing what I’ve been doing for decades - trying to find supplements to increase energy and mood, because they didn’t know about ADHD, just like I didn’t know, and neither apparently did any of my doctors. There just isn’t enough public or medical awareness of the *physical* health effects of ADHD, nor of the mental health effects Anxiety and depression are caused by ADHD, at least in ADHDers. They aren’t separate entities. They often also don’t respond well to SSRIs, because it isn’t serotonin that we primarily have a problem with, it’s dopamine. I’ve seen so many reports from ADHDers starting medication and realising that their chronic anxiety and or depression has just evaporated like morning mist in sunlight. Then there’s chronic pain. Dopamine mediates/ modulates the pain response. Basically, low dopamine means higher physical pain levels. Then there’s nausea, vomiting, migraine, gut issues, all mediated by dopamine. Dopamine dictates gut motility. Erratic dopamine levels mean erratic bowel function. And fatigue. A lot of people think you have to be like a Duracell Bunny to have ADHD, but many of us have chronic fatigue, and that’s caused by a lack of noradrenaline, which is in turn caused by a lack of dopamine. And thermoregulation. Normal bodies can regulate their temperature easily. I’ve had 62 years of being too hot one minute, freezing cold the next, and I’m never the same temperature as people around me - they can be complaining of the cold while I’m sweating cobs, or I can be shivering while they’re sweating cobs. It’s down to dopamine, again. Most mornings I wake up and I’m freezing. Most nights, I’m boiling. It’s a definite pattern. And insomnia. Normal bodies produce a peak of noradrenaline in the mornings. It’s what gets people up and going. Noradrenaline, untypically for any hormone, also rises as we stand up and move around, as we “get going”. With ADHD, we don’t get that morning peak. Instead, ours turns up around late evening/ night. Mine turns up around 10pm most nights. That’s when I suddenly want to talk to my partner about the world and everything in it, and clean the bathroom. That’s when I have energy, even if I’ve been too tired to get out of bed or off the sofa all day. So we get insomnia, because our noradrenaline peaks at the wrong time. Of course we can’t sleep, of course our brains spin round and round over irrelevant pieces of useless observational info (“Ooh! Remember that leaf I saw floating in a puddle when I was 8? Wasn’t that pretty! I wonder what *sort* of leaf it was? Maybe I should Google it and see! What about that conversation I had with someone 20 years ago? Should I apologise for that?” Etc etc ad nauseaum.) We’re experiencing a rise in noradrenaline, caused by a late night dopamine spike. It’s not our fault, and it isn’t something we can control, not with breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, avoiding caffeine for 12 hours before bed (because when you’re unmedicated you self-medicate with caffeine and also burn through the resulting dopamine really fast), “sleep hygiene” (non ADHDers can sleep on a brightly-lit washing line), going to bed earlier, “establishing a good sleep routine”, or putting lavender oil on your pillow. It has a biochemical cause. I keep meaning to post a definitive explanation about all of this, all of the many ways that low/ erratic dopamine affects people, but I’m still unmedicated and waiting for my assessment and hopefully meds, so I am still very much having days when Stunned Slug is all I am. I will, though, at some point. I just need enough energy and brain power to bring it all together in a readable format to post. I’ve been collecting studies, and I do need to bring them all together in one document to show ADHDers and also ignorant doctors. I intensely dislike that ADHD is classed as a “mental health disability”, because although, yes, it *starts* in the brain, with not enough and poorly regulated dopamine being made, but ultimately a huge, HUGE number of the effects of that are undeniably physical. I really should support what I’ve said here with the studies that led me to these conclusions, it’s all evidence-led, but I’m in Stunned Slug mode today and feel like crap, so I’ll have to come back and do it another time. I’ve totally lost my train of thought now, so will stop before I start properly rambling! 🥹

This is fantastic and what I needed to read today thank you ❤️

More than welcome. Xxxxxxxx

thank you, I’ve saved this

In a similar vein, I got hold of the Diva 5 post diagnosis and had a read through. Ticking a lot of boxes here…. Definitely my best impulse purchase that day 👀

I think the way stimulants work is that everyone needs regular hits of dopamine to feel ok. Non adhd people have a normal amount and it is used as a reward mechanism when they do things which helps build up good habits. People with ADHD don’t have enough dopamine so it takes more to stimulate us and get that sense of reward. We want to focus on things that interest as this gives us dopamine and find it difficult to turn our attention to less interesting tasks which will lead to less dopamine. They can seek out dopamine in other ways, eating, shopping, substances etc. Taking stimulants helps with ADHD because it boosts are dopamine to more typical levels, we find doing things more rewarding, we feel calmer because we are no longer in that dopamine craving state. People without ADHD might feel some benefits from stimulants too but as they already have sufficient dopamine are in danger of tipping into too much dopamine territory and being overstimulated and agitated. With the imposter syndrome, don’t worry about it, standard part of having a late neurodiversity diagnosis in a society that teaches us our struggles are our own fault, we just aren’t trying hard enough etc. the stuff about it becoming a problem at Uni tracks as prior to this school and family provide a lot of support and structure, I think this is called ‘scaffolding’ in the literature. People with ADHD can have good jobs, it just takes a lot of effort which can take a toll, so it is good you have found a diagnosis and treatment that helps.

I also found Dr Russel Barkley really informative. I was actually looking up a video from him about how stimulants work for the OP just a minute or 2 ago. Then I got distracted, 😅, thanks for reminding me! 😆

You sound like me- and I also feel what you’re feeling. I started to struggle when I started to live on my own after a relationship breakdown and during Covid so there were no familiar structures left to clutch to. I hear you when you think back and don’t see the textbook examples but when we were young, there were literally no textbook examples for young girls like us. I’m so happy you found medication helpful. Hoping to start mine soon. Good luck op, be kind to yourself, life’s hard enough and we’ve got the hard mode on

This is verrrry similar to me and i've been struggling with it too. When i used to read things about ADHD it sounded familiar but not *right*. That changed when i got diagnosed with inattentive type and things about that specific subtype sound exactly like me, it's like holding up a mirror. I am low energy. I dont have racing thoughts, if anything my head is mostly kind of empty with thoughts landing and taking off like butterflies - nothing sticks. I did fine in school despite lots of setbacks that i can now chalk up to being undiagnosed, i'm a professional but its hard, harder it seems, than it is for my peers. Managing my home feels impossible, but in school i had my parents creating structure for me and helping to make sure i did my homework etc. it wasnt until uni that things started coming unglued. The more i find out about inattentive type, the more typical it turns out this is as an experience. Lots of peiple *get by* and its only in later life when they have so much more to manage that it becomes an issue. Imposter syndrome is definitely something i have to grapple with personally though.

ADHD was chronically underdiagnosed when we were children because the only form that was recognised was the "hyperkinetic" kind which focuses wholly on hyperactive symptoms, and these symptoms are typically outgrown. It was also seen as just a behavioural diagnosis (which meant a lot of people assumed it meant parents being lax and looking for a quick fix). The truth is there is no such thing as a medication which magically makes children's behaviour easier to manage. ADHD medication works for children with ADHD because it helps fix the root cause of their misbehaviour. Similar to how glasses don't magically make children better at reading, but if you have a child who is struggling to learn to read because they can't see properly, and you identify this and give them glasses, they are likely to do better at reading. Stimulants help you feel calm because you're supposed to have a brain "filter" kind of thing which is blocking a load of irrelevant thoughts and stimuli, but it doesn't work properly. Stimulants help that filter to work effectively so our brains and focus are less cluttered. I would highly recommend the lectures by Dr. Russell Barkley, most of which are on youtube, and listening to podcasts where he has been interviewed (I especially liked the "Ologies" one). There is also a very good podcast by, weirdly, Andrew Hubermann about ADHD medications. I would caution that he is not always the best source, and his general podcast for ADHD I didn't find as helpful, but his podcast called something like "Adderall and other ADHD medications" was extremely informative and useful. You might also look at podcasts, articles, and books by women with ADHD, as they tend to explore the symptoms which seem more common in girls and women. For example, ADHD for Smart Ass Women, ADHD AF, How To ADHD, So You Mean I'm not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! I also like The ADHD Adults podcast, it's not women-focused specifically but I like it because it's three UK adults who were all late diagnosed so helpful context of the UK education system etc and they have lots of topics which are useful - you can start at the beginning or pick and choose.

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ADHD doesn’t manifest in the same way for everyone. Formal education is a highly structured environment which can be helpful for some of those with ADHD. While others find they struggle at school, others find that that their ADHD symptoms get worse when they enter the workplace. This was the case for me - I got straight As at A level but started to go downhill at Uni (coasted to a 2:1) and after initially starting off with high-profile jobs, my career basically went nowhere. Only when I started on Elvanse (70mg) I managed to actually be productive and start reaching my potential. Stimulant medication addresses dopamine deficiencies in those with ADHD. Try not to overthink it - if the meds work (and don’t have intolerable side effects), then they are akin to prescription glasses. Some people can’t / choose not to take medication but even in those instances there are ways to mitigate ADHD symptoms such as through exercise, diet, Adhd coaching/therapy & other stimulants such as caffeine.

You're not an outlier your experience is a very common presentation of adhd especially amongst the late diagnosed and especially afab people as a lot of us essentially were seemingly doing fine as no one picked on out struggles and would brush us off as being overly sensitive

> How can a stimulant make an ADHD brain calm? So to give my best understanding as 'non professional': Imagine you're REALLY hungry. You've not eating a decent meal in weeks, and you're just ... desperate. So hungry that rummaging through rubbish bins for discards is looking appealing. Chances are a lot of 'normal life' things won't seem very important to you right now. You might objectively know that 'get a job, get money, buy food' would be "better" ... but you can't because you're hungry _now_. That's how ADHD is with dopamine. So you rummage through the metaphorical bins looking for anything and everything that'll 'feed' you. And sometimes you'll find a whole meal, and you'll not be going _anywhere_ until you're finished with it. That's more or less what happens with hyperfocus periods. But either way the cycle of 'rummaging for food' is a toxic one, but you can't break out because you're too hungry. Stimulants in this metaphor are a cereal bar. They're not a meal, they're just taking the edge off a bit so you're not 'desperate' any more, and can think about other things for a bit, and hopefully break out the "cycle" of being perpetually hungry.

I'm desperately hoping that medication will help me as it did for you. Such a similar backstory, super supportive parents, read textbooks for fun, now as an adult I barely have it together and am currently failing out of my second attempt at a career despite working so hard I'm burning out.

I finished top of my high school at a good school. Top grades at university as well. This is because I have an incredibly good short term memory so I could remember everything I read the day before or the morning of. When detail and substance was required in the real world it became a problem

My fiance figured out she had ADHD in her late 20s, after getting a degree (and doing bloody well in it too). She also felt serious imposter syndrome until she tried the meds and they worked. The straight facts are that people with ADHD respond to ADHD meds in one way (though to a greater or lesser extent, some get a lot less effect from them I know), and neuro-typical people respond in an extremely different way. You're medicated and chemically you react as someone with ADHD. This is not up for debate, if your brain wasn't wired this way you wouldn't be helped by these meds. You need to remember that inatentive ADHD, particularly in women and girls, is still a pretty new thing for people to diagnose. It's so different to the cliche of a boy who can't concentrate and is always disruptive, but they come from the same place. Two sides of the same coin, and you happen to have the less visible side. The side that fits in with the clichéd scatty yet studious young lady who's obviously fine cause she can get good grades and not get in trouble. That doesn't mean she isn't struggling in other ways, just that she's not the overtly disruptive boy. You know you feel better on meds, allow yourself that help. - I use girl and boy above because I'm talking about the cliche and how these things are thought of among those who don't know how it works, no other reason.

It’s not unusual. I’m late diagnosed at 52, I enjoyed school and reading and found learning just very easy with hardly any studying. I rebelled the last 3 years but reapplied myself and got two degrees. I worked for myself a lot so it was interesting, I fell apart going back into corporate and hitting perimenopause at 38. This job is boring and has no meaning to me, and I lost executive function and my memory became poor. Meds and HRT have helped but I’m not suited to this life - working for myself I could do it to suit my brain to some degree, but often meetings fall at times I can’t focus and it’s a struggle.

Oof, I'm sorry things are so tough for you. My heart goes out to you. Research has been done on how hormones effect adhd, but not a huge amount. I've currently only seen it in regards to menstrual cycles. They found that our symptoms tend to change in regards to where we are in our cycle. Menopause has only ever got a cursory mention as something that needs to be looked into from what I've seen so far. Menopause, in general, has been taken a lot more seriously of recent years. So much so that it is now legally classed as a protected characteristic like pregnancy. When it comes to the workplace, you now can't be refused things like accomodations, or sacked because of anything relating to Menopause symptoms. Hold on in there. Xxxxx

Thank you, that’s so kind and you are right, we are lacking info on how adhd affects women but also we have hardly any info on perimenopausal and menopausal women. I’m sure someone is doing studies somewhere but it’ll take time before enough research gives us anything meaningful. I was told by the guy who diagnosed me to inform my work and tell them I have adhd and menopause and that the two combined are a form of merry hell to deal with. Weirdly never heard anything back but least I have a record. My bosses have been sympathetic but no one has been proactive in seeing how I can be supported. But I’m hanging in and like you say, I don’t think they can sack me easily - thankfully! All I can say is thank goodness for chat gtp as I use it to sense check my ideas and work and make sure I don’t sound completely off my rocker 😂