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Comment by HelloFellowDevs | Hacker News Reader

> As someone who was finally diagnosed by two different neuropsychs (involved days of testing) at 22 it's something I'll regret the rest of my life.

I don't think I understand what you meant. The diagnoses made your life worse? Or made you more aware?

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Without a single doubt, a net positive. Important context to add is that I also had my tonsils removed at 23 when my PCP let me know that if I didn't have them removed I might suffocate in my sleep. Years of what was likely tonsilitis and the latent sleep apnea is likely what lead to my ADHD (strong scientific evidence to support this).

What still scares me to this day is how much more calm and witty I am when taking stimulants. Otherwise, I have a fog that seems to distract me or nag me away from doing anything that I'm otherwise interested in or makes me happy. Fortunately, I no longer have to drink 3-4 cups of coffee to get "in the mood" for work.

I guess the regret comes from not knowing sooner. I was around 30 when I was finally diagnosed. When I think how this diagnose could have helped me 25 years earlier to get the right knowledge and support to manage life it really makes me resentful.

I got diagnosed junior year of college, knowing sooner would’ve been very helpful.

Probably would’ve been more social in high school if I took meds because it probably would’ve been easier for me to complete homework, and I would have had more free time.

Very similar story here but I'm not resentful of the late diagnosis.

Getting through most of my 20s without meds gave me more confidence in my own abilities.

If I had them earlier? Maybe my life would have been easier but maybe not.

Even today there are times when a bit of ADHD helps me make better decisions by just letting my mind wonder.

I think that using stimulants to control the ADHD like an on/off switch is the best of both worlds.

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