Stimulant medication is the FIRST line of treatment for psychiatrists treating ADHD.
this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2026
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ADHD
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I went through the test for ADHD. In reality, I check all of the boxes and can related to this forum through and through. The therapist that assessed the results said no and attributed everything to THC and alcohol consumption. It completely discounts the first 30 years of my life, but okay. It cost me about $700 for that info and my official WAIS IQ.
I would love to seek a second opinion, but that's so much money. I'm thinking of testing the black market but for now I just cope. I envy you and wish you the best.
Fuck I hate doctors like that. I had a doctor some years ago that attributed my anxiety problems to THC as well. Even though I was diagnosed at 11 and only ever tried cannabis at 19. It hurts to read that that whole experience cost you money. $700 is a big chunk. I am hoping you can find another doctor and not have to pay for this sort of testing so that you can see if these medications help you like they have for me.
Yep. There will be dosage adjustments later as you develop a tolerance, but it’s life changing.
One of the things you should be prepared for is grief; being able to function properly on medication made me look back and think what my life could have been like if I had been diagnosed and treated sooner. I had to grieve for the life I missed out on because I didn’t understand how to help my brain function until my 30s.
The grief is honestly one of my biggest fears with starting medication. I don't want to face that my life could have been so much better.
Of course that's not a good reason to not seek help logically, but damn if those built in guilt trips and shame aren't incredibly strong.
Don’t let it hold you back, it’s worth it. Grief is a part of growth.
It does no good to look at what could have been. I was diagnosed well into adulthood and I could very easily spiral on the what ifs. Every previous possible me would not be the same me that I currently am so I only concern myself with what I do, not what some other person would do
The best time to plant a tree is 30 year ago, the second best time is right now.
I did it, I was at peace with the grief after maybe a week. Or at least it wasn't my biggest problem any more.
Yeah I'm in the process of finding a psychiatrist now. It's just been difficult fighting my own built-in reluctance.
Thanks :)
Ya I heard that it's possible that one may go through a grief stage. I haven't felt it yet thankfully. I think about all the missed potential but in the end, I lived my life on hard difficulty, still made friends and memories and did cool experiences. I'm trying to frame it as "sure on paper you may have lost a decade and a half, but it took that time to come here and now the world is an oyster and you're hungry af".
I appreciate the advice from you 😊 it's all relative since bodies are all different but approximately how long did it take for ya to require a dosage increase? I'm on day 2 and I'm all clammy and gross feeling due to the side effects haha. I can't imagine taking a larger dose anytime soon
I slowly built up over a couple years, then when I quit drinking I was able to reduce down to just over half my top dose.
I just had a try for Adderall, certainly felt life changing and I'm considering getting a diagnosis. While for my BF, has been 10x as life changing and from my POV it looks like most of his mental struggles stem from untreated ADHD
I'm happy that you felt such a change and happy for your bf too. I honestly thought ADHD was just one piece to my puzzle but quite literally everything I've been suffering from appears to stem from untreated ADHD like your BF. I wasn't even expecting anything to happen for my anxiety. Didn't even consider it. But it's the biggest change I've noticed in the 1.5 days I've been on meds now. It's so wild how brains work.
yeppp, i was late-dx and when i first got put on rits about 90% of my anxiety dissolved and i was walking around like "holy shit...is this what normal people feel like?? they just get this shit for free?!"
it was just mind-blowing to me that i could finally follow a train of thought and not be constantly overwhelmed by brain noise and other people just.. didn't have that going on at all
The biggest thing for me was honestly just walking past a piece of trash or something that fell on the floor and just... Picking it up. Nothing groundbreaking or momentous. A simple action. An action that everyone else seems to do with no issues. There was no internal debate or fight with myself to pick it up. Just "oh, lemme grab that as I'm walking past."
I was convinced I had an anxiety disorder on top of it all. Turns out it's all just from ADHD. Your description matches mine to the tee. Did the dissolved anxiety stay that way? Did it creep back?
i haven't been able to have consistent access to meds in the last couple years unfortunately so i can't speak much to how things shake out with long term usage, i do remember some anxiety did come back a bit while i still had regular access (i do have ptsd as well so maybe not so unexpected) but for me it was still nowhere near the level of unmedicated. for some people i know that have been on it a lot longer than me they say it takes the edge off just enough, then other people i know say it actually made their anxiety worse so there seems a bit of variety in experience with it!
Thank you :) I'm sorry you haven't had proper access. Hoping things change for you. I've also got PTSD so I'm curious to see how things go. Happy to see that even when anxiety comes, it's nowhere near unmedicated. I used to be in bed for 2-6 hours completely losing all my time to panic attacks, weird half dreams, personality changes, and other nastiness.
thank you, i sadly relate very much to what you describe and i hope you have a lot more peace in your brain & life going forward! it's hard being in the rough seas but i know those calmer waters are there, and now so do you :)
Absolutely normal. One thing to be wary of is that over time you will adjust to the new normal, and it may not feel euphoric any more. Don't immediately assume that just because things don't feel amazing anymore it means it isn't working. Also, don't assume that it is working if you don't feel it anymore. Yes, that's conflicting advice.
Welcome to the catch-22. If I have a lapse in my meds, the first few days back on I usually feel euphoric and have issues sleeping. Then it usually evens back out to my medicated "normal" on the third or fourth day. Over time you'll get a sense for "my meds are working" and "no they aren't". I've had to adjust my dosage up and down over the last 15 years to get things just right.
Also, if you do lapse your meds after being on them for a while, you may legitimately have a withdrawal. Yeah, there's all the negative stigma around that word and illicit substances, but it also applies to some doctor prescribed stuff too. About 3 or 4 days without I get extra cranky, extra unfocused, and usually get a nasty headache. Then it balances out to my "unmedicated normal".
Appreciate this! I don't mind if the euphoria goes away. The ability to stay emotionally regulated is the main thing. If things just become normal and I'm staying emotionally regulated, then that's a perfect scenario for me. I'm just blown away at being able to handle tasks without the emotional whirlwind and panic attacks :) it's so magic.
That is my experience with methylphenidate.
Did it last?
It has been over a decade and still works that way as long as it hasn't worn off. So about 15 minutes after I take the pill u til it wears off.
It isn't 24 hours a day or anything, generally 6-8 hours for the Extended Release. I was taking two a day for most of thst which meant it only wore ofd the last four or so hours at the end of the day. This last refill there was a mixup and I only have one a day and I'm back to ADHD land after 3 p.m. or so.
Wow that's excellent to hear. Mine lasts 14 hours- to the point I had a bit of a hard time sleeping last night haha
Thanks for sharing! That actually sounds really great.
I'm in my 40s and didn't even realize that I had ADHD until a few years ago. Between my inhibitions and difficulty starting the conversation, I've been unable to get myself medicated.
It's worth it. And it's the disease that is convincing you that not treating the disease is the only acceptable path.
This may be one of the few places where people will understand what it's like to know that all of those things are true, yet STILL be unable to take the actions required to do anything about it.
I put all of this off because it felt impossible. I had all these ideas of how hard it would be. All I did was tell the doctor my daily anxieties and struggles with tasks and then they wrote a prescription. I couldn't believe it was that effortless.
I made a list of the struggles with everyday things I have and then at my drs appointment I told them and then he wrote a prescription. I'm hoping you can experience what I'm feeling. I don't think I've ever felt so calm and balanced and able. You deserve that.
I know how stupid it sounds, but it's actually kind of scary to think about my brain not working like it has for the past 40 some years. I know that it's broken, but I've spent so long altering my life to the brokenness, that fixing it makes me nervous.
That's not stupid at all I felt the exact same way. I was afraid I'd be another person or that I'd lose some key personality traits (like being funny). I take a lot of my humour from pain I experience and make it absurd but my wife says I'm still funny 🤷
Feeling nervous about starting it was the main thing holding me back with my ADHD. And it's totally valid. But the brain doesn't know what it can't imagine. It genuinely feels like I got plopped into a functioning body (albeit a bit clammy and nauseous because I just started meds).
In all honesty starting meds is probably one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. I've never experienced relief/euphoria/freedom from everything holding me back. I want you and anyone else on the fence about medicating it to know that it's fucking magical when paired with the right meds. I'm at a loss for words really. Even if I was permanently clammy and sweaty and gross it beats the way I've been living own thousand-fold. It's so effective I had to make a post and see if it's normal.
I'm hoping you will be able to get what you need. You deserve it
Thanks for the support. I'm already sweaty, so I guess I've got nothing to lose!
Haha ya anxiety made me go through shirts FAST. God speed, sweaty one 😎
You’re not crazy. This was my experience as well. I was able to access mental abilities I always suspected I had, but couldn’t leverage or identify before. Sadly, this level of epiphany doesn’t happen for everyone. Feel free to hit me up if you ever want to talk through anything!
Wow this is awesome. I'm so happy that this is possible for people. I feel excited to find out things I didn't even think I could do.
Was it your primary care doctor? Just curious.
Ya my primary care doctor.
Nice. I’m considering asking mine, I use to have a prescription. Six years ago. But it wasn’t from a primary care doctor.
I highly recommend! I had a prescription in 2004 and in another country. That plus detailed explanations of what I go through was enough for my primary care physician to write me a prescription for a low dose. I fully expected to have to go through testing and therapy first so it was a very welcome surprise. I don't see why it wouldn't be similar for you. At least that's what I hope for ya.