Also, once you find something that works, KEEP TAKING IT!!
I know thatās such a āduhā statement but so so many people assume the high they feel for the first few days on a stimulant that works is how itās always going to be and itās not. Once your brain gets used to the new ānormalā on meds, you lose that high feeling and get to a āhey, I can actually get shit done, lookit thatā kind of place.
It amazes me how many people never had anyone explain that to them. Iāve been on some sort of SSRI for the last 20 years so when I started Adderall I knew what to expect. I had so many people (in a group for ADHD) tell me that the āholy shit look at me go!!!ā feeling would wear off and it would stop working after a week or two and I had to walk them through just how wrong they were and quite a few had no idea that that feeling isnāt supposed to last long term. š¤¦š¼āāļø
I explained it like this:
Your unmedicated brain is used to operating at a 4 on a good day. It sucks, youāre all over the place, a hot mess. Then you get on a medication that works (antidepressant, stimulant, non-stimulant, whatever) and the first few days are incredible! You canāt believe that this is how itās supposed to be! Your brain is now holding steady at an 8 or 9 and you are one productive bitch! But then your brain gets used to operating at an 8 or 9 and it becomes your new normal. Itās harder to recognize that the medication is still working because thereās no noticeable high anymore. You get bummed because you assume itās not working and you either request a med change or a bump in dosage. Then 8 months later youāre frustrated and depressed because youāve maxed out on the dosage of whatever med it is and you think nothing is going to work but really youāve unknowingly self sabotaged.
Because the truth is, the first dose worked perfectly, but your squirrelly ADHD brain is so used to searching for the next dopamine hit that you failed to recognize that you were able to get through the tasks you needed to just fine. You werenāt hyperfocused on researching the nuances of plant breeding, you didnāt spend 5 hours in executive dysfunction while staring at your vacuum, you actually remembered to thaw out chicken for dinner. You missed all of that because you were looking for that high feeling that you had at first.
So, how does one figure out if the med is working or not when you canāt tell because your brain is a dopamine fiend? Personally, I make daily āta-daā lists. Not lists of things I need to do, but lists of things I did. Before meds, Iād have maybe 5 things on a ta-da list. After meds, Iād have 15-20 things on my list! So it does work, even if I donāt feel like Iām on cloud 9 when I take it.
Tl:dr Your brain is a fucking liar and your medication is likely working even if you donāt feel like it is anymore.
