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).
ADHD meds can take some getting used to, and funnily enough, routine helps you to level out how they cause you to feel.
There are a lot of different meds, and some might work better for you than others.
If it’s alright to ask, what were your prescribed?
That makes sense. I was prescribed focalin, I’d never heard of it before and I haven’t tried others except for once or twice I tried Adderall recreationally
I’d say give it a bit longer, see how you feel on it. If possible, keep some notes.
If your doctor is worth their salt, you should have a follow-up with them soon. Bring your notes with you and discuss how you’ve felt and whether a different medication might work better if this one isn’t doing what you and they are expecting.
I think I’m going to try for another week or so to see how it goes. Taking notes is probably a really good idea. I think my last appointment with my psychiatrist I cancelled and never followed up with lol. I think he is really good with diagnosing mood disorders and such, but not as skilled with neurodivergence, so we were just going to experiment, I think. I really wish I could find something to take as a prn though. I remember taking Adderall recreationally once or twice and I think I remember that helping me to hyperfocus lol. But it’s been so long and no one wants to prescribe that to someone with a drug history (even though I don’t like stimulants!).