i'm the same anon who had a question about my meds being taken. because of the situation i'm down about a week of meds and i wont be able to get anymore until my prescription date. do you have any advice for handling adhd without meds- im working all through new years and i have no idea how im going to get through the day without the help of my meds. im so sorry to keep bugging you im just in a bad place and dont know what to do. thank u so much for your help i appreciate it so so much
I’m so sorry this is happening to you. You don’t deserve this. Here are some ideas:
If you still have pills left, split your remaining pills rather than taking your pills full strength and then going off them cold-turkey for the last week. If you have capsules, like Adderall XR or Vyvanse, you can open the capsule and sprinkle half of the stuff in the middle onto something soft like applesauce or into a small amount of juice. Make sure you swallow the powder or beads without chewing anything.
Stop taking your meds or reduce your dose on a day off, if you have one before New Years.
Get lots of sleep when you are not at work. This will suck because your friends might want to hang out with you over the holiday weekend. However, you’re really, really going to need sleep.
Eat lots of healthy food. Most people crave sugary foods when they withdraw from stimulant medications. Since this is kind of an emergency and you just need to get by, I’d recommend buying a lot of protein bars, granola bars, or meal bars—whatever you like and sounds good—and keeping them in your pockets at work.
If blood sugar regulation isn’t a problem for you, you might want to buy a lot of Lala yogurt drinks (or something similar), fruit-and-vegetable smoothies from the natural section, or just plain bottles of juice or Gatorade. Keep them in the fridge in the break room and drink regularly to keep your brain flooded with sweet, sweet sugar.
If caffeine actually wakes you up rather than making you sleepy, try drinking something with caffeine every few hours. Don’t overdo it, though. I’ve noticed that ADHDers tend to crash quickly after taking caffeine.
Ask your coworkers for help. You don’t have to tell them what’s going on. Just say that you’re not feeling very well and might be a little spacey—say you’d appreciate extra patience and reminders.
You’re going to make it through this week. People make it through weeks without medication all the time. This week might suck, but you will make it through and you will get your new prescription and everything will be okay. You can do this.
