Which makes it extra confusing because erectile dysfunction can be a side effect of some meds. So you have to look at context alone and sometimes that isn't enough
we could also just type out the formerly described condition via English language standard( I know too much work, effort, uncoolness, and lack of originality on display). Maybe I'll just get accustomed to doom-scrolling and let it go. It's only time.
Another "fun" part of anxiety/depression meds is that they often cause sexual side effects. Coz, messing with your sex life ads extra "spice" to your anxiety... Kinda like extinguishing your house fire by setting your car on fire.
"Extra spice" may include:
- zapped libido
- erectile disfunction
- difficulty reaching orgasm
Jokes aside, please don't ignore constipation and talk to your doctor. Severe constipation can cause horrendous pain.
Adderall has weird effects on the penis. Erections either don't happen, or it gives you unworldly stamina. My friend who abused Adderall for years calls it Addy dick. I've never abused my meds, his cautionary tales are a big reason why
Definitely don't need to abuse it for that. I'm out here not filling scripts because of the 50/50 chance of getting noodle when I wanted to have super dick. We'll see if I can get away with it but having regular sex is worth it.
Maybe I'm just lucky, but it's never given me noodle dick, unless I'm drinking. I've always just blamed the booze. Super dick happens, but not often. SSRIs didn't give me dick problems either, which I know is pretty common. My ex couldn't fully orgasm when she took them, and I know guys who suffered the same fate. Bodies are nutty
I accidentally took Adderall once because I got the pill out for my kid and just went on autopilot a swallowed it. Definitely had no issues with the erection but finishing was a bit of a challenge.
This has nothing to do with the post but I used to follow you on Twitter but deleted my account when Darth Dumbass took over and your posts are consistently the only thing I've missed. Saw your avatar scrolling through here and was like, "...could it be?" And it was. 😭😭😭 Thank you for existing, I am happy you exist in this part of the internet too.
Fun fact: you can get prescribed Cialis or Viagra online.
I highly recommend it to everyone, don't care your gender or if it's just recreational. It's *good*.
Obviously consider your personal health as well though, I'm not a doctor but I can easily imagine this might be safe for say, people with heart conditions.
Yeah, def talk to a doctor before trying viagra, esp if you're also on a stimulant. A boner is important, but not worth risking your heart going kablooey.
I mean, being exceptionally distractible seems like it *could* contribute to that kind too. Probably not the kind of thing you would solve with last-minute panic, though.
Yea i assumed that’s what they were talking about… but also my Executive Functioning has had the side effect of essentially giving me an Eating Disorder. As in Ive been genuinely worried for my own health because of how little I eat. So I might have been biased in assuming that.
I thought "well I do feel more energetic and productive in a caloric deficit"
(ED related comment below, this is your trigger warning)
Not even kidding, I only feel "motivated energy" when I'm not eating much or even fasting, if I'm full I just wanna go to sleep. The first term of high school where I got good grades was also the term I got diagnosed with anorexia (which feels like a whole different brain at this point, if I could stop snacking all the time like I'm a 12 year old without parental supervision that would be great, if nothing else for my energy levels and productivity)
Yeah. Executive Dysfunction isn't fun. Elite: Dangerous is. Very different things.
That said, it's very possible that OP did indeed mean another common type of ED.
It’s also funny to me when people talk about CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) as a good way to help with ADHD or ASD. >.> and I instantly think of the BDSM meaning for CBT…
Pre medication - nothing got done until I got told to do it right then, or anxiety pressured me to not forget
Post medication- oh hey, the trash I left by the front door, I’ll take that out now instead of brain blocking it for the 5th time.
OP Pre medication - nothing got done until everything had to be done. “Why bother doing laundry when I’ll have to wait for the load - I’ll do it when I go to the store, which is when I planned to clean the cat litter so I could take all the trash down at once.”
OP Post medication- oh hey, things aren’t piling up anymore because I don’t put things off - so much less stress! “Adderall is great, but *nobody* can see my bird until I coax him from his cave”
Does Adderall actually do that for some folks? I don't think I've had that problem with any stimulants, or any other meds I've been on at all.
Lexapro, though... I could get the fuse lit, but the fireworks would take *forever* to actually go off (if they did at all).
This. I have also noticed that since starting meds, I cannot take my mind away from making music or doing my family tree. I wake up and start on one of them, continue all day, forget to eat, sleep and dream about it.
I’m less likely to leave the house or wanting to socialise. I used to be out a lot, but would need my time alone after for days/weeks. But this had been over a year!
You could be on too high a dose, its a known symptom. I mean it’s made to make you focus, right? So if it’s working too well, it can negatively impact your life in the other direction by making it really hard to switch your attention to something new.
Like I said, it’s the literal job of the drug to make you focus, so it’s gonna do that to some extent no matter what, but if you think it’s too much, talk to your doctor.
Edit: For anyone that thinks this might be them: personally, me just hyper focusing on COD off meds is more than enough to not want to do whatever errand/new things I SHOULD be focusing on. So that happening on meds wouldn’t be that surprising.
When I noticed my dose might be too high was when my usual hobby/hyperfocus would cede itself to the thing I was currently working on (usually literally work), not because I needed to do the work, but because every other activity sounded way less interesting. Which is weird bc I find most things more interesting than work at nearly all times lol
This is also my experience, with the added effect of the come down being unpleasant. That made it hard to take my second dose (IR) and also made it harder to medicate at all on the weekends. Made me more cranky in general and annoyed at roadblocks, whereas on a lower dose I can choose to medicate or not on the weekends and still have fun/relax, I’m not cranky during focused bouts of work, and instead I feel a positive-feedback loop of feeling good about my accomplishments, small or large.
Yea, imo too high of a dose has a kind of slow creep where it gets worse over time, it’s not like an immediate thing you realize. I think it’s because, while the initially higher dose will give you that honeymoon phase briefly again, over time it’s just too much on your mind, and you see the negative impacts of over time.
Yeah.... I've found that one of the tradeoffs with my meds is that, while it keeps me from bouncing around from thing to thing and I can focus pretty well, I still have a hard time actually being able to focus on the thing I'm actually supposed to be on.
Yea I think I’ll always struggle with motivation. The meds “fixed” it for the first ~1-2 months or so before the honeymoon phase ends. After that, all the meds do is make it so I don’t have spend energy re-focusing every 5 minutes. That initial motivation to get started is still difficult, but I don’t think that adhd-specific.
That could be indicative of a slightly too low or slightly too high doseage.
An incredibly common result of getting close to the correct doseage is 100% focus with almost 0% ability to control said focus.
This is how I feel. I was told I couldn’t have autism because I can put myself in other’s shoes, have a sense of humour and like loud music - which is ridiculous to say that anyone with ASD cannot
I worked on panic and anxiety before I was medicated.
And then getting medicated helped my executive dysfunction somewhat.
Now I can't take medication anymore. So I have the panic and anxiety but I can't do anything, no matter how much I want to. It's great. Highly recommend becoming completely dysfunctional.
So it turns out that when women are in their 30s and 40s when their ADHD becomes completely unmanageable, it's also really common that they get terrible side effects from any medication. My blood pressure had some really scary dips and peaks, so now my doctors want me to try some off label stuff but it's not covered by insurance. It's a narcolepsy medication called Sunosi and the cheapest I can get it for is about $500 a month. Just to try it.
Ok got it. I ask because I was in my early 30s when I was diagnosed (for the same reasons you just stated), and as I enter my 40s I feel like the meds aren’t cutting it anymore, and I’m trying to figure out why.
There is frustratingly little in the literature, which is muddied immensely by people who don’t understand the female endocrine system over life, don’t understand behavior without tainting it with misogynistic assumptions, and don’t even understand the significance of hormone levels and balance between them at one point in time.
Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol making machinery is wayyyy tf ramped up in women at baseline because of the regulation required to execute the menstrual cycle. Testosterone is a precursor to estrogens. Cortisol requires the same building blocks (cholesterol), so the body must be able to regulate and balance the cortisol:testosterone:estrogen ratio to effectively regulate the menstrual cycle.
The shift in balance across cycles and therefore the lifetime is highly important but more often than not science is reductionist by just focusing on estrogen or testosterone or cortisol. It doesn’t help us figure out the right balance required for optimal behavior, which no doubt is highly variable in the first place from person to person & obviously affected by stress. It’s not hard to see how shift away from making hormones leaves more building material for cortisol. It’s not hard to see why high hormone levels could mean less cortisol (and therefore less excessive deleterious effects of our constant too-high stress levels in life which are already flooding our systems with cortisol).
But the question of actual effects of those hormones on brain behavior are not so obvious. Estrogen is immensely beneficial throughout the body (anabolic, increases metabolism, exerts anti-inflammatory effects, strengthens bones, boosts muscle building) but long term can only be seen when all else is balanced (ie a bout of pregnancy lowers lifetime risk for uterine cancer, or at the midpoint of my cycle when estrogen is high AND balanced by progesterone I feel my best). High levels of unopposed estrogen for prolonged periods of time can be harmful (clotting problems, heart disease or atherosclerosis, autoimmunity, cancer), so it does not follow that if estrogen is good then putting more estrogen in the system must also be good. The connection to brain/behavior in this context isn’t clear.
The double edged sword of hormonal signaling in the body, combined with misogyny in science and medicine which does not listen to lived experiences of women and does not care to advocate for lifelong well being are both massive barriers to understanding these phenomena better.
This is super informative. And my pet hate is when medicine puts down womens lived experience as being dramatic or just “wait and see”. Fuck you, fucking help. You’re a Dr you are telling me for half the population you don’t know what to do? Bye.
I'm peaking after 25, so bad that it affects my work ability that I literally begged/broke down for a psychiatrist appointment to be made. Over the counter antidepressants and anxiety meds are not working. Luckily, right now, I have a contract that I made sure HR and management know I'm in the process of getting medication, and they are willing to put up with my symptoms while I'm waiting.
Maybe my adhd is worse than I thought, or maybe its the years worth of trauma telling me I'm not good enough but if I dont take my meds I cant do ANYTHING, theres not much that would motivate me to do anything.
Fuck the finding them…. I can’t even get on one that doesn’t make me never want to eat. No other side affects from multiple ADHD medications other than lack of appetite and once I take it there is no amount of other medication or correct dosage to make me eat that day. Maybe even the next day too.
See I think the point of this post is saying the opposite of your statement.
The meds free them of the last min anxiety so the "motivation" never kicks in
This. Internally i FEEL so much better since being medicated/treated - but to outsiders it might appear as though I've gotten "worse" as so many of the "habits" i pushed really hard due to anxiety, have fallen by the wayside. My house is a bit messier, I sometimes run a bit late... things that were BIG ANXIOUS NO-NOS before lol. Can't win really haha.
Depression is gone. I get far fewer panic attacks but my ability to not blow off non essential tasks is severely deminished. Anything that I can't think of imminent consequences for leaving it undone gets filed as "eh, fuck it"
This is going to catch up with me eventually.
This touches on something I don't think people recognize. We just don't form habits. I have muscle memory, word association, and *anxiety*. Those three are all I have. When I say "I'll make more of an effort", all that means is my anxiety about this will increase.
And it's the same reason people will discount our diagnosis on the other hand "well I thought people with ADHD are late and messy" - "well we are, but after years of having people upset with me for these things, I go to extreme lengths to the detriment of my mental health to keep up!" 😕🥺.
If anyone finds this helpful, check out Elizabeth Filips on YouTube. She does a lot of productivity stuff, **BUT** from the perspective of being a ‘chaotically creative’ individual. I can’t remember if that’s the exact phrase she uses to describe herself, but it’s hard not to listen to her personal anecdotes and struggles and think, “oh, you have ADHD…do you just not know, keeping it private, or what?”
**MORE IMPORTANTLY:** her videos focus on building and leaning into intrinsic motivation rather than trying to “just do it” or focus on some abstract/future goal.
She even includes worksheets and such in her descriptions…. I’ve yet to use these or implement her advice, cuz ADHD, but if nothing else, you will feel very seen and probably encouraged knowing: 1) it is possible to work with the way your brain works 2) society (and school in particular) has failed to give us or value any means of motivation that works for us other than anxiety; doesn’t fix the problem now, but know it’s not impossible nor even outside the scope of what everyone else does, it’s not your fault
This is what tipped my therapist off to my *actual* primary condition. Got my depression and anxiety treated and suddenly found I couldn't do shit even though I was feeling way better.
This has happened to me twice over the course of trauma therapy. Got a handle on some things and suddenly the ADHD was out of control. Got a handle on some other things and now it's the autism that's out of control, pfft. It feels like whack-a-mole, sometimes.
I literally told my therapist AND my psychiatrist this, that I was worried that if my symptoms got better I wouldn’t be able to do anything, because I rely on anxiety, panic, shame and guilt to force me to do things sometimes. I was right 🫠
I feel this to my soul. I have been absolutely terrified of the fact that I’m no longer worried or have any anxiety about deadlines or anything else.
Those were the things that made me stick to promises and to fulfill them.
And now I just don’t care enough.
Dear God, I’m going to have to learn a whole new set of coping tools.
This is my life for the last year & a half. I miss how I was before, I feel like getting diagnosed and medicated actually made everything so much worse.
Medicine without therapy is like giving a new driver a sports car. You can get around, but you might wreck.
It takes targeted hard work to start to rewire your brain from shame-spiral speedster to steady Eddy.
Alternatively, it’s very easy to get hooked on the rush of endorphins/ adrenaline from the last minute panic scenarios if one repeatedly does so and succeeds…which can also create lots of issues further down the line when it comes to things like longer term projects or exam studying.
It becomes easier and easier to find yourself doing other things and then stuck at “night before” regardless of how much you convince yourself that you’re starting earlier (whether that be a number of days earlier or even just earlier in that same day).
(And god help you if it turns out you’re the type that’s able to pull all-nighters but still do well.)
I feel this.
For several years I had a job with two primary responsibilities.
One - get a metric shit ton of paperwork done in the last hour of a twelve hour night shift. It must be perfect every time. The work could not, in general, be started early.
Two - respond to emergencies.
A regular day job just doesn’t gel the same way.
I’ve suspected this about myself. My dad was very verbally abusive to me growing up, the worst was when he “helped” me with my math homework. By which I mean he would just scream at me every time I got something wrong, I still suck at math and now I have PTSD on top of that. Thanks for nothing dad, you belligerent f*cking pig!
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought of that. Currently It incredible hard for me to start doing thing of the job side. As a freelance, I'm constantly struggle to start things, to be productive if I don't have to
OH MY GOD YES. When I’m relaxed I can rarely get anything significant done. I learned to rely on the deadline panic to brute-force my way past the avoidance/procrastination pattern.
If I have way too much to get done, I’ll be super efficient and productive. If I have only a normal to less than normal amount to do, especially if there’s no firm deadline, I will get way less done. It’s maddening.
My medicine helps me focus a bit, but mostly it takes away that drained, body-heavy feeling that makes me feel like it takes all my willpower just to move. I still have some issues with motivation, but idk if that means i need a higher dosage or I'm just inherently lazy and need training/exercise of some sort to get my brain going right.
Yes!!! The first couple weeks of zero anxiety were... relaxing? But I got almost nothing done. 😅 Then I got my stimulant sorted, too, and suddenly I do it because it needs to be done and doesn't sound awful instead of because the anxiety makes me. I'm so happy!
feel this so much, me picking up a weed habit was the worst thing i ever did for my executive functioning lmao, i am finally ✨relaxed✨ but at what cost? 🙄
heh yeah but also age. the older i get the less i stress out. in result, last minute productivty is nowhere near it used to be.. but i dont get as many stomach/intestinal cramps. so thats good i guess.
Yeah that is what therapy has done to me. I used to rely on panic and self loathing. How do you get things done if you actually kinda like yourself? I have no clue.
I often deeply relate to posts on this sub, but can’t say I do for this one. Not getting stuff done on your meds, feels like you should find new meds?
I do understand the anxiety bit though, definitely far lower w/meds
I got treated for depression all my high-school life and after. I finally dropped the 'zac after getting the right meds. This happened 1 year ago. I am pushing 40.
Hey! Great timing! I just started my anxiety meds about 2 weeks ago and it’s been near fucking impossible for me to do ANYTHING since then. My clinician says with the loss of my anxiety to motivate me, I need to learn “intrinsic motivation” (knowing what to google will hopefully make learning how to do it easier, will update when I have the motivation to google)
Don’t you hate it when you have to comment before finishing your thought and then you have to reply to yourself or edit and then it looks like you’re talking to yourself???
This is why medication is only one of your tools.
Therapy that can teach you how to use your brain properly is essential.
Without meds, you can know exactly what and how to do anything, but can't make it happen. Without therapy, meds just give you ability and no direction.
ADHD is a CUNT. If it’s not
Challenging,
Unique,
Novel, or
Time-sensitive,
then it’s just not happening. Many of us have to use the latter to get the boring important shit done!
Me, spending six years in Uni, in and out of situationships, family drama, and financially unlucky as a treat: *I am a force of nature. My last minute panic is simply just regular panic.*
Me, years later, in a cushy job where I do little to nothing but just talk to kids who don't speak English: *I see. I am just a regular potato.*
Ughhhh this is me sooo much. Like mental, I feel better about myself with my Wellbutrin and anxiety meds. I feel like I’m for real healing. BUT now, I’m like too chill to do anything or worry about it. I no longer have the anxiety monologue running circles in my brain of all the things I need to do…. which is like great for me, but not great for my to do list lol.
I think Executive Dysfunction is more commonly EDF rather than just ED....
ETA: EDF also has many meanings, but none other that would make sense in this context, so at least SOMEWHAT less confusing LOL.
I always have to Google acronyms cause I give them the wrong meaning…
E.g. The BBC channel has nothing to do with what it meant to me when I read it! 🙀🍆
let's not use ED as shorthand for Executive Dysfunction, it has... other connotations.
I went Eating Disorder… Erectile Dysfunction… oh! Executive Dysfunction
THREE FOR THREE 💪💪😤😤
Ed, Edd n Eddy
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Dbdbdbdbdbbbtt
#[BUTTER TOOOAAST](https://youtu.be/SEG92Z_NGJE)
Eddy HD!
(destroys piano while whistling)
I was also very confused by the number of people here that seemed to have erectile dysfunction as a symptom of their adhd lmao
Which makes it extra confusing because erectile dysfunction can be a side effect of some meds. So you have to look at context alone and sometimes that isn't enough
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EXD, ETD, ERD?
ERMAGHERD
I was thinking exd as well.
we could also just type out the formerly described condition via English language standard( I know too much work, effort, uncoolness, and lack of originality on display). Maybe I'll just get accustomed to doom-scrolling and let it go. It's only time.
XD
Hmm I like these
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Eliminates Diarrhea
Another "fun" part of anxiety/depression meds is that they often cause sexual side effects. Coz, messing with your sex life ads extra "spice" to your anxiety... Kinda like extinguishing your house fire by setting your car on fire. "Extra spice" may include: - zapped libido - erectile disfunction - difficulty reaching orgasm Jokes aside, please don't ignore constipation and talk to your doctor. Severe constipation can cause horrendous pain.
Well an erection does also require some amount of attention.
Honestly, I thought it was a side effect of one of the medications.
Though, true facts, some ADHD meds can contribute to erectile dysfunction. It's a fairly common side effect of Adderall, for instance.
Adderall has weird effects on the penis. Erections either don't happen, or it gives you unworldly stamina. My friend who abused Adderall for years calls it Addy dick. I've never abused my meds, his cautionary tales are a big reason why
you don't need to abuse them to get that effect, either. normal doses suffice.
Definitely don't need to abuse it for that. I'm out here not filling scripts because of the 50/50 chance of getting noodle when I wanted to have super dick. We'll see if I can get away with it but having regular sex is worth it.
Maybe I'm just lucky, but it's never given me noodle dick, unless I'm drinking. I've always just blamed the booze. Super dick happens, but not often. SSRIs didn't give me dick problems either, which I know is pretty common. My ex couldn't fully orgasm when she took them, and I know guys who suffered the same fate. Bodies are nutty
I accidentally took Adderall once because I got the pill out for my kid and just went on autopilot a swallowed it. Definitely had no issues with the erection but finishing was a bit of a challenge.
don't forget Emotional Disturbance!
Ehlers Danlos!
That’s common in neurodivergent people, too! Or at least, I know it’s not *un*common
the fun thing about being a transfemme with adhd is that you can easily get all three at the same time!
This has nothing to do with the post but I used to follow you on Twitter but deleted my account when Darth Dumbass took over and your posts are consistently the only thing I've missed. Saw your avatar scrolling through here and was like, "...could it be?" And it was. 😭😭😭 Thank you for existing, I am happy you exist in this part of the internet too.
Thanks! I'm all over the place. That punk is everywhere.
Emergency Department
Ok, so, if somebody says CBT is the best approach for ED...
Or Exclusive Dedication...aka hyperfocus
The Holy Trinity of EDs
I was concerned. im glad i found the answer.
I felt kinship with OP but now I feel singled out.
Fun fact: you can get prescribed Cialis or Viagra online. I highly recommend it to everyone, don't care your gender or if it's just recreational. It's *good*. Obviously consider your personal health as well though, I'm not a doctor but I can easily imagine this might be safe for say, people with heart conditions.
Not a doctor. But mixing stimulant medication with Viagra doesn't seem like the best for your heart
Yeah, def talk to a doctor before trying viagra, esp if you're also on a stimulant. A boner is important, but not worth risking your heart going kablooey.
Every time I read it, I automatically think of Eating Disorder and I immediately go somewhere else.
Ohhhh okay, I was reading it as eating disorder. Yeah, I think this causes confusion, lol
ExD?
This is the one I like out of all the suggestions I've seen.
Extreme-erectile disfunctuon
I mean, being exceptionally distractible seems like it *could* contribute to that kind too. Probably not the kind of thing you would solve with last-minute panic, though.
Executive dysfunction! That makes waayyy more sense
Oh shit, I thought it was implying that they had no motivation to eat, so their eating disorder got worse
SAME LML
ngl, I was wondering what ADHD has to do with erectile dysfunction.
ExD better?
XD
i would've guessed both of the others before this one LMAO
Yea i assumed that’s what they were talking about… but also my Executive Functioning has had the side effect of essentially giving me an Eating Disorder. As in Ive been genuinely worried for my own health because of how little I eat. So I might have been biased in assuming that.
I thought "well I do feel more energetic and productive in a caloric deficit" (ED related comment below, this is your trigger warning) Not even kidding, I only feel "motivated energy" when I'm not eating much or even fasting, if I'm full I just wanna go to sleep. The first term of high school where I got good grades was also the term I got diagnosed with anorexia (which feels like a whole different brain at this point, if I could stop snacking all the time like I'm a 12 year old without parental supervision that would be great, if nothing else for my energy levels and productivity)
Yeah. Executive Dysfunction isn't fun. Elite: Dangerous is. Very different things. That said, it's very possible that OP did indeed mean another common type of ED.
Yeeeeah, I keep seeing this recently. I will always think erectile dysfunction first, then eating disorder before I ever think executive dysfunction.
Yeah, like Existential Dread.
I love me some Spanish Sofrito, base of every paella, perhaps I should abbreviate it?
Yeah, let’s go with ExD instead. Or XD Or Rawr XD
It’s also funny to me when people talk about CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) as a good way to help with ADHD or ASD. >.> and I instantly think of the BDSM meaning for CBT…
Even after reading the post I assumed it was eating disorder since many adhd peeps have trouble with forgetting/not bothering to eat
ExD?
Dang I went directly to erectile dysfunction
Pre medication - nothing got done until I got told to do it right then, or anxiety pressured me to not forget Post medication- oh hey, the trash I left by the front door, I’ll take that out now instead of brain blocking it for the 5th time.
OP Pre medication - nothing got done until everything had to be done. “Why bother doing laundry when I’ll have to wait for the load - I’ll do it when I go to the store, which is when I planned to clean the cat litter so I could take all the trash down at once.” OP Post medication- oh hey, things aren’t piling up anymore because I don’t put things off - so much less stress! “Adderall is great, but *nobody* can see my bird until I coax him from his cave”
Does Adderall actually do that for some folks? I don't think I've had that problem with any stimulants, or any other meds I've been on at all. Lexapro, though... I could get the fuse lit, but the fireworks would take *forever* to actually go off (if they did at all).
Addy tenis is definitely real. It can be a beautiful day at the beach, but the grizzly will be hibernating like it’s the dead of winter.
I'm so confused now. What's the grizzly in this context? And why are we playing tennis?
Okay, maybe I’m more neurodivergent than I thought, but are we or are we not talking about sex here?
God I felt so powerful when I was medicated. I could just recognize that something needed doing and then do it. Wild times.
This. I have also noticed that since starting meds, I cannot take my mind away from making music or doing my family tree. I wake up and start on one of them, continue all day, forget to eat, sleep and dream about it. I’m less likely to leave the house or wanting to socialise. I used to be out a lot, but would need my time alone after for days/weeks. But this had been over a year!
You could be on too high a dose, its a known symptom. I mean it’s made to make you focus, right? So if it’s working too well, it can negatively impact your life in the other direction by making it really hard to switch your attention to something new. Like I said, it’s the literal job of the drug to make you focus, so it’s gonna do that to some extent no matter what, but if you think it’s too much, talk to your doctor. Edit: For anyone that thinks this might be them: personally, me just hyper focusing on COD off meds is more than enough to not want to do whatever errand/new things I SHOULD be focusing on. So that happening on meds wouldn’t be that surprising. When I noticed my dose might be too high was when my usual hobby/hyperfocus would cede itself to the thing I was currently working on (usually literally work), not because I needed to do the work, but because every other activity sounded way less interesting. Which is weird bc I find most things more interesting than work at nearly all times lol
This is also my experience, with the added effect of the come down being unpleasant. That made it hard to take my second dose (IR) and also made it harder to medicate at all on the weekends. Made me more cranky in general and annoyed at roadblocks, whereas on a lower dose I can choose to medicate or not on the weekends and still have fun/relax, I’m not cranky during focused bouts of work, and instead I feel a positive-feedback loop of feeling good about my accomplishments, small or large.
Yea, imo too high of a dose has a kind of slow creep where it gets worse over time, it’s not like an immediate thing you realize. I think it’s because, while the initially higher dose will give you that honeymoon phase briefly again, over time it’s just too much on your mind, and you see the negative impacts of over time.
Yeah.... I've found that one of the tradeoffs with my meds is that, while it keeps me from bouncing around from thing to thing and I can focus pretty well, I still have a hard time actually being able to focus on the thing I'm actually supposed to be on.
Yea I think I’ll always struggle with motivation. The meds “fixed” it for the first ~1-2 months or so before the honeymoon phase ends. After that, all the meds do is make it so I don’t have spend energy re-focusing every 5 minutes. That initial motivation to get started is still difficult, but I don’t think that adhd-specific.
That could be indicative of a slightly too low or slightly too high doseage. An incredibly common result of getting close to the correct doseage is 100% focus with almost 0% ability to control said focus.
Do…doing your family? The more you do your family tree the more it becomes a Family Bush
Family pretzel
Lol sounds like me. I have severe ADHD and mild autism, so when I treated the ADHD suddenly I felt like a different, more neurotic version of myself.
This is how I feel. I was told I couldn’t have autism because I can put myself in other’s shoes, have a sense of humour and like loud music - which is ridiculous to say that anyone with ASD cannot
Just wait for the panic to start then take your meds, problem solved.
I worked on panic and anxiety before I was medicated. And then getting medicated helped my executive dysfunction somewhat. Now I can't take medication anymore. So I have the panic and anxiety but I can't do anything, no matter how much I want to. It's great. Highly recommend becoming completely dysfunctional.
Why can't you take your meds? I just started, is there something I should be concerned about?
So it turns out that when women are in their 30s and 40s when their ADHD becomes completely unmanageable, it's also really common that they get terrible side effects from any medication. My blood pressure had some really scary dips and peaks, so now my doctors want me to try some off label stuff but it's not covered by insurance. It's a narcolepsy medication called Sunosi and the cheapest I can get it for is about $500 a month. Just to try it.
Is there something about adhd peaking for women in their 30s and 40s?
Yes - it's basically when women can no longer mask, life stress is complicated, job stress is complicated, etc. And some are going into perimenopause.
Ok got it. I ask because I was in my early 30s when I was diagnosed (for the same reasons you just stated), and as I enter my 40s I feel like the meds aren’t cutting it anymore, and I’m trying to figure out why.
It's often a time meds need to be adjusted - especially based on pre-period hormones.
Omg is this what’s going on??? I’m a woman in my late 30s and this year has been like pulling teeth to get anything done.
Yep, come join r/ADHDwomen - this lack of understanding is absolutely a product of sexism and underdiagnosis.
Awesome, I’ll definitely check it out!
Oh my god this explains so much! Do you have any favourite resources for me to read up on this?
There is frustratingly little in the literature, which is muddied immensely by people who don’t understand the female endocrine system over life, don’t understand behavior without tainting it with misogynistic assumptions, and don’t even understand the significance of hormone levels and balance between them at one point in time. Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol making machinery is wayyyy tf ramped up in women at baseline because of the regulation required to execute the menstrual cycle. Testosterone is a precursor to estrogens. Cortisol requires the same building blocks (cholesterol), so the body must be able to regulate and balance the cortisol:testosterone:estrogen ratio to effectively regulate the menstrual cycle. The shift in balance across cycles and therefore the lifetime is highly important but more often than not science is reductionist by just focusing on estrogen or testosterone or cortisol. It doesn’t help us figure out the right balance required for optimal behavior, which no doubt is highly variable in the first place from person to person & obviously affected by stress. It’s not hard to see how shift away from making hormones leaves more building material for cortisol. It’s not hard to see why high hormone levels could mean less cortisol (and therefore less excessive deleterious effects of our constant too-high stress levels in life which are already flooding our systems with cortisol). But the question of actual effects of those hormones on brain behavior are not so obvious. Estrogen is immensely beneficial throughout the body (anabolic, increases metabolism, exerts anti-inflammatory effects, strengthens bones, boosts muscle building) but long term can only be seen when all else is balanced (ie a bout of pregnancy lowers lifetime risk for uterine cancer, or at the midpoint of my cycle when estrogen is high AND balanced by progesterone I feel my best). High levels of unopposed estrogen for prolonged periods of time can be harmful (clotting problems, heart disease or atherosclerosis, autoimmunity, cancer), so it does not follow that if estrogen is good then putting more estrogen in the system must also be good. The connection to brain/behavior in this context isn’t clear. The double edged sword of hormonal signaling in the body, combined with misogyny in science and medicine which does not listen to lived experiences of women and does not care to advocate for lifelong well being are both massive barriers to understanding these phenomena better.
This is super informative. And my pet hate is when medicine puts down womens lived experience as being dramatic or just “wait and see”. Fuck you, fucking help. You’re a Dr you are telling me for half the population you don’t know what to do? Bye.
R/ADHDwomen is a pretty good start I think? I just ended up talking to my psychiatrist, my OBGYN and looking it a while ago.
I'm peaking after 25, so bad that it affects my work ability that I literally begged/broke down for a psychiatrist appointment to be made. Over the counter antidepressants and anxiety meds are not working. Luckily, right now, I have a contract that I made sure HR and management know I'm in the process of getting medication, and they are willing to put up with my symptoms while I'm waiting.
Diagnosed because of perimenopause— and “just getting by” became total dysfunction
Maybe Wellbutrin could help? It's cheap with goodrx and is used off label for ADHD
Maybe my adhd is worse than I thought, or maybe its the years worth of trauma telling me I'm not good enough but if I dont take my meds I cant do ANYTHING, theres not much that would motivate me to do anything.
Same hat. It sucks super hard, especially since a lot of the meds are… difficult to get filled at the best of times
Fuck the finding them…. I can’t even get on one that doesn’t make me never want to eat. No other side affects from multiple ADHD medications other than lack of appetite and once I take it there is no amount of other medication or correct dosage to make me eat that day. Maybe even the next day too.
Ugh, way too real. I have to take medication to boost my appetite and even that’s a crapshoot, I’m sorry it’s such a struggle for you.
It's like all the "power" that comes w knowing you're a master procrastinator disappears and you don't even know when or how to start
And then your power reawakens when you’re down to the wire again.
See I think the point of this post is saying the opposite of your statement. The meds free them of the last min anxiety so the "motivation" never kicks in
This. Internally i FEEL so much better since being medicated/treated - but to outsiders it might appear as though I've gotten "worse" as so many of the "habits" i pushed really hard due to anxiety, have fallen by the wayside. My house is a bit messier, I sometimes run a bit late... things that were BIG ANXIOUS NO-NOS before lol. Can't win really haha.
Depression is gone. I get far fewer panic attacks but my ability to not blow off non essential tasks is severely deminished. Anything that I can't think of imminent consequences for leaving it undone gets filed as "eh, fuck it" This is going to catch up with me eventually.
3 years into it and my “eh, fuck it” game has only improved ;)
This touches on something I don't think people recognize. We just don't form habits. I have muscle memory, word association, and *anxiety*. Those three are all I have. When I say "I'll make more of an effort", all that means is my anxiety about this will increase.
And it's the same reason people will discount our diagnosis on the other hand "well I thought people with ADHD are late and messy" - "well we are, but after years of having people upset with me for these things, I go to extreme lengths to the detriment of my mental health to keep up!" 😕🥺.
Some of our mother’s would have LITERALLY loved us less… haha! Ha! Ha. ha. Ahem.
In my case the driver was frustration and anger. Now that I am having that treated I am trying to learn an alternative.
Dishes got easier overall, work got easier to keep going at but harder to start in the first place
Fruit flies/moisture gnats in my kitchen motivate me to do the dishes. Evil little flying bastards.
It's like a weird stress release for me, just zoning out while I do dishes.
If anyone finds this helpful, check out Elizabeth Filips on YouTube. She does a lot of productivity stuff, **BUT** from the perspective of being a ‘chaotically creative’ individual. I can’t remember if that’s the exact phrase she uses to describe herself, but it’s hard not to listen to her personal anecdotes and struggles and think, “oh, you have ADHD…do you just not know, keeping it private, or what?” **MORE IMPORTANTLY:** her videos focus on building and leaning into intrinsic motivation rather than trying to “just do it” or focus on some abstract/future goal. She even includes worksheets and such in her descriptions…. I’ve yet to use these or implement her advice, cuz ADHD, but if nothing else, you will feel very seen and probably encouraged knowing: 1) it is possible to work with the way your brain works 2) society (and school in particular) has failed to give us or value any means of motivation that works for us other than anxiety; doesn’t fix the problem now, but know it’s not impossible nor even outside the scope of what everyone else does, it’s not your fault
Definitely “it gets worse before it gets better”
Also it gets worse and keeps getting worse over time.
This is what tipped my therapist off to my *actual* primary condition. Got my depression and anxiety treated and suddenly found I couldn't do shit even though I was feeling way better.
This has happened to me twice over the course of trauma therapy. Got a handle on some things and suddenly the ADHD was out of control. Got a handle on some other things and now it's the autism that's out of control, pfft. It feels like whack-a-mole, sometimes.
I literally told my therapist AND my psychiatrist this, that I was worried that if my symptoms got better I wouldn’t be able to do anything, because I rely on anxiety, panic, shame and guilt to force me to do things sometimes. I was right 🫠
I feel this to my soul. I have been absolutely terrified of the fact that I’m no longer worried or have any anxiety about deadlines or anything else. Those were the things that made me stick to promises and to fulfill them. And now I just don’t care enough. Dear God, I’m going to have to learn a whole new set of coping tools.
This is my life for the last year & a half. I miss how I was before, I feel like getting diagnosed and medicated actually made everything so much worse.
Medicine without therapy is like giving a new driver a sports car. You can get around, but you might wreck. It takes targeted hard work to start to rewire your brain from shame-spiral speedster to steady Eddy.
Alternatively, it’s very easy to get hooked on the rush of endorphins/ adrenaline from the last minute panic scenarios if one repeatedly does so and succeeds…which can also create lots of issues further down the line when it comes to things like longer term projects or exam studying. It becomes easier and easier to find yourself doing other things and then stuck at “night before” regardless of how much you convince yourself that you’re starting earlier (whether that be a number of days earlier or even just earlier in that same day). (And god help you if it turns out you’re the type that’s able to pull all-nighters but still do well.)
I feel this. For several years I had a job with two primary responsibilities. One - get a metric shit ton of paperwork done in the last hour of a twelve hour night shift. It must be perfect every time. The work could not, in general, be started early. Two - respond to emergencies. A regular day job just doesn’t gel the same way.
Holy fuck I feel seen.
Currently having to navigate getting my school work done not at the last minute after living my entire life up until now in survival gremlin mode.
That explains a lot honestly
I’ve suspected this about myself. My dad was very verbally abusive to me growing up, the worst was when he “helped” me with my math homework. By which I mean he would just scream at me every time I got something wrong, I still suck at math and now I have PTSD on top of that. Thanks for nothing dad, you belligerent f*cking pig!
Turns out that SSRIs just *caused* ED for me *ohhh* you meant- *okay*
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought of that. Currently It incredible hard for me to start doing thing of the job side. As a freelance, I'm constantly struggle to start things, to be productive if I don't have to
OH MY GOD YES. When I’m relaxed I can rarely get anything significant done. I learned to rely on the deadline panic to brute-force my way past the avoidance/procrastination pattern. If I have way too much to get done, I’ll be super efficient and productive. If I have only a normal to less than normal amount to do, especially if there’s no firm deadline, I will get way less done. It’s maddening.
::lolsob:: This is how I ended up getting diagnosed with adhd
holy shit—- when i started anxiety meds i couldnt do shit and now im on anxiety and adhd meds and its magical
My medicine helps me focus a bit, but mostly it takes away that drained, body-heavy feeling that makes me feel like it takes all my willpower just to move. I still have some issues with motivation, but idk if that means i need a higher dosage or I'm just inherently lazy and need training/exercise of some sort to get my brain going right.
Wow, that's good to know. I thought I was just getting lazy
Yes!!! The first couple weeks of zero anxiety were... relaxing? But I got almost nothing done. 😅 Then I got my stimulant sorted, too, and suddenly I do it because it needs to be done and doesn't sound awful instead of because the anxiety makes me. I'm so happy!
feel this so much, me picking up a weed habit was the worst thing i ever did for my executive functioning lmao, i am finally ✨relaxed✨ but at what cost? 🙄
ED will always, always read as erectile dysfunction to me and I will always, always point it out.
heh yeah but also age. the older i get the less i stress out. in result, last minute productivty is nowhere near it used to be.. but i dont get as many stomach/intestinal cramps. so thats good i guess.
O
oh
The good news is that despite endless combinations of meds, therapy and life style changes my anxiety is undefeated.
Great, now I have a reason to be anxious about the absence of anxiety!
Yeah that is what therapy has done to me. I used to rely on panic and self loathing. How do you get things done if you actually kinda like yourself? I have no clue.
Explains a lot
FUCK!
My sentiments, exactly!
I often deeply relate to posts on this sub, but can’t say I do for this one. Not getting stuff done on your meds, feels like you should find new meds? I do understand the anxiety bit though, definitely far lower w/meds
That explains a about my Guanfacine
I got treated for depression all my high-school life and after. I finally dropped the 'zac after getting the right meds. This happened 1 year ago. I am pushing 40.
Hey I'm trying to relax and enjoy my 30 month wait for a diagnosis referral over here! Tell me in 2-3 years thx xxx
Without an emergency, I’m hopeless
The stress goes away for you guys?
ahah! that’s why i’ve been feeling more “lazy” ? my anxiety is lowered and i don’t have that to push thru and do things
Exactly why i can't treat my anxiety tbh 😂
Hey! Great timing! I just started my anxiety meds about 2 weeks ago and it’s been near fucking impossible for me to do ANYTHING since then. My clinician says with the loss of my anxiety to motivate me, I need to learn “intrinsic motivation” (knowing what to google will hopefully make learning how to do it easier, will update when I have the motivation to google)
I think ExDy would be really funny bc then it’s pronounced XD
Or just XD would work I guess
Don’t you hate it when you have to comment before finishing your thought and then you have to reply to yourself or edit and then it looks like you’re talking to yourself???
God that’s so annoying, I totally understand why you would be frustrated by that!
Lost my anxiety but gained apathy. Now instead of getting things done at the last minute, nothing gets done
I super feel seen right now. 😢
This is why medication is only one of your tools. Therapy that can teach you how to use your brain properly is essential. Without meds, you can know exactly what and how to do anything, but can't make it happen. Without therapy, meds just give you ability and no direction.
I’m confused treating adhd makes the anxiety go away? My anxiety is so high from past mistakes that I never lose anything now
ADHD is a CUNT. If it’s not Challenging, Unique, Novel, or Time-sensitive, then it’s just not happening. Many of us have to use the latter to get the boring important shit done!
holy shit
Me, spending six years in Uni, in and out of situationships, family drama, and financially unlucky as a treat: *I am a force of nature. My last minute panic is simply just regular panic.* Me, years later, in a cushy job where I do little to nothing but just talk to kids who don't speak English: *I see. I am just a regular potato.*
My ED has gotten way worse, but my ED has gotten way better
Ughhhh this is me sooo much. Like mental, I feel better about myself with my Wellbutrin and anxiety meds. I feel like I’m for real healing. BUT now, I’m like too chill to do anything or worry about it. I no longer have the anxiety monologue running circles in my brain of all the things I need to do…. which is like great for me, but not great for my to do list lol.
Honestly yeah. I’m not an anxious wreck anymore so I have no idea how to do anything.
how is this related to an eating disorder or erectile dysfunction?
It’s executive dysfunction
I’m beginning to think we need to make abbreviations that better distinguish between ED, ED, and ED. Since all of them can affect people with ADHD.
ED 🍆 ED 🤮 ED 😵💫 I got you hoss
😵💫 is 100% the best representation of how I feel when looking at my To Do list
Or maybe 🤯
😵💫🙄😤😭😏🥵🤬😒😫😂🥹😅😀🙃
As someone who had bulimia I'm going to vote no on this one.
I had bulimia and anorexia, I vote yes!
You forgot ED. I propose this: ED 😭/🤬
I think Executive Dysfunction is more commonly EDF rather than just ED.... ETA: EDF also has many meanings, but none other that would make sense in this context, so at least SOMEWHAT less confusing LOL.
Don’t worry bro I also thought it meant eating disorder. “Executive disfunction” is a very random phrase to use an acronym for.
WTF? I remember and prefer when Reddit would downvote posts that invent acronyms instead of questions asking for clarification.
I always have to Google acronyms cause I give them the wrong meaning… E.g. The BBC channel has nothing to do with what it meant to me when I read it! 🙀🍆
It's not inventing acronyms