ADHD

I just took my first pill and now I’m Superman

I wrote this a while ago for people who are feeling like you. I’ll copy it below so you don’t have to follow the link but it might be worth checking out the discussions in the comments.

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Just a word of warning to everyone just starting their meds. This euphoria you're feeling in your first week or even month isn't going to last. You're high right now because of all the new chemicals that haven't become the norm yet.

This will eventually calm down and that's completely normal, it doesn't mean you need to rush to up your dose or switch meds (I'm not saying don't do these things as recommended by your doc).

Make the most out of this time but don't kick yourself if you're not as productive a month from now when the high is gone and your energy levels get closer to normal.

The more profound effect of the meds will still be there to help you focus and function but feeling the pill kick in like a rocket up your arse won't. The crazy unending motivation to be productive won't either and that's on you to keep up when the high dies down. Use this time to change some of your habits and build a routine that will last.

Another thing to remember as this all normalises in your brain is that you will feel more ADHD than you ever have when you don't take your meds. When you find yourself having forgotten to take your pill or taking a break from it, that isn't how you were before you started your meds, it's all super exaggerated. Brain fog will be 110% cumulonimbus, you'll likely not have the focus to pay attention to a 10 minute youtube video and you may want to eat a planet. Don't start thinking this was how you were before meds and treat the meds like a crutch because that's not what they're there for.

They help with focus and that's all they should do.

If you catch yourself wanting to take more than you should to get that high back then stop and have a long hard think about it before you do because that's a slippery slope to substance abuse.

It honestly winds me up that this sub upvotes all the "I just took my first pill and now I'm superman" posts. That's not how this works and it doesn't last.

Neurotypical people don't leap out of bed every morning thinking they're going to conquer the world in 10 minutes flat. That's just the initial high and we should warn people about it.

That's what ADHD meds are supposed to do to ADHDers, they bring them closer to neurotypical levels. You're not supposed to have effects similar to cocaine.

So far, I’ve been taking Elvanse continuously since June 20th, but I don’t really feel any effect, or I’m not really aware of it.

You are handling the triggering comments, and if I'm reading it right you aren't nearly as constantly fatigued anymore. This seemed like a huge change shortly after, but now that you have adjust it doesn't seem any different because you are getting used to the reduced symptoms. An ADHD medication working just means not having all the negative side effects, it won't make you feel super awesome all the time.

Much of it sounds the same as me. I'm just 9 months ahead.

The effect of HOW it helps is a bit different for me, though.

I believe that especially initially, it gives a certain euphoria, similar to recreational stims like speed. And many patients feel like that is how it helps only, and that it stops working after a while. But what it is supposed to do, to regulate noradrenaline and dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, keeps working even after years - or so I've been told.

I think more focus should be put on how falling asleep was a primary symptom before. I can think of a couple of reasons: Comorbidity with something like narcolepsy, not enough sleep, or actual ADD symptom from sensory overload leading to tiredness or something. It will be hard to figure out whether Elvanse helps by keeping you awake, or if there is more to it. If it's the former, I believe it'll slowly fade over the next 6 months like high dose caffeine.

I did have the same problem before, but I realised I need naps. I have to work from home, because without my noon nap, things are bad. Often, I don't even realise I need a nap; I just get cranky like a baby. My thoughts end up in a bad place, everything sucks and is wrong. It's really a must for me. And I actually used to fall asleep at meetings or at my desk, no matter how bad it looked.

And I noticed that especially on Elvanse, I can't trust myself. I lie down and close my eyes when I SHOULD feel tired based on what I did, not when I actually feel tired. Stims make it much harder to feel tiredness, exhaustion or hunger, but it's super important to act as if I would feel it. This advice (from my doc) that was the biggest extra boost I got after getting the meds.

Oddly enough, I did use Modafinil, which is used against narcolepsy but also happens to work against ADHD, before I could get my hands on the good stuff.

So long story short, not sure if your situation is exactly the same, or very different. Chances are, I didn't quite figure out mine yet either.

I was diagnosed with ADHD back in high school over 25 years ago. My parents didn't do much about it, so they would take the advice of school staff on what to do and try. They didn't really believe thats what I had and had me try medication once, and based on what I said it did they eventually stopped because it didn't appear to work. Over my 30s, some of my friends are on this to help them out. They have given me some because it works great at keeping you up at night and when we would go out and knew it would be a long night we would take a little. I felt incredible on it, and everything just felt clearer to me. They told me thats what its like, but I still feel like it hit me more, and I started thinking maybe I really am ADHD and just never dealt with it. I can concentrate, im more organized, im legit a better person, and want to get things done. Not being tired is also a great effect.

What scares me is the fatigue you talk about, which seems to hit me a lot over the last few years. I will be asking my primary doctor about how they feel about me trying this out because I really hate how tired I am by around 4-5pm most days. I know it can be a lot of things, but it's something to look at.