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Comment by heimatau | Hacker News Reader

I'm in the same boat as you. As I've aged, I've realized it's necessary for me to have medication for me to be productive for an extended period of time.

I encourage you to embrace the chemical imbalance as the reason. The medications do work and withdrawing from them isn't bad either (if you decide to take a pill holiday or extended non-use).

Finally, it's not about 'normal' focus. It's about you. If you're content with your productivity and behavior, then nothing is needed to change in your life. If you want to maximize your potential, then please consider medication. It doesn't go away (CBT never worked for me). Embrace your choice. Whatever you decide, is normal, it's your normal. That's perfectly acceptable.

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> withdrawing from them isn't bad either

Perhaps for you, but for others its a nightmare.

> but for others its a nightmare.

I can only assume one of two reasons:

1. They were on XR.

2. Abuse.

If it's another reason, maybe the formulation isn't the best for them because it's highly unlikely to have a 'nightmare' problem with getting off.

+1 on the XR makes it worse, but -1 on the only other reason being abuse. These drugs are not one-size-fits-all. Different people have different reactions.

> These drugs are not one-size-fits-all.

True but...on a probability basis, the two situations I gave are more than the majority of people's reason.

What goes up must come down in the equilibrium. The more amphetamine salts you take the harsher the crash and withdrawal.

If someone actually has ADHD, the person doesn't feel 'up'. Instead, after taking meds, they should feel more self control, less frigidity, and more calm. Withdraw should become the opposite. (I'm speaking generally, based on more research than my fingers and toes, not for individual cases).

Yeah totally, I meant dopamine released by synapses going up on x-y axis then it reaches a peak and comes down. More amphetamines will keep your dopamine levels above baseline but there is a point of diminishing returns (therapeutic dosage), then once your last dose runs its course your dopamine levels fall precipitously and crashes down below your baseline dopamine levels also known as 'withdrawal' period until you get back to your normal baseline. The more amps you take, the harder you crash down below baseline and your adhd symptoms return and feel much worse as you have less freely available dopamine.

That's all I meant by what goes up must come down :)

I'm on a very low dose of lisdexamfetamine and i freaking haaaaate missing a dose. As I understand it, it is a precursor of dextroamphetamine and your body converts it into it slowly through a metabolic-like process-- so pretty similar to XR but less of a saw-tooth curve throughout the day and more of a single sine curve. I wouldn't call it a nightmare, but it sometimes feels like one. It is really a miracle drug for me in terms of letting me let myself comply to external demands on my attention and order my life.

> i freaking haaaaate missing a dose

I'm not trying to minimize your experience. I'm just trying to provide a more accurate framework on what's more statistically likely to occur within a population. That's all. Since others tend to be ignorant of the scientific facts on how this issue distributes among a population.

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