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Comment by kstrauser | Hacker News Reader

I have some powerful coping mechanisms. I can manage my ADHD on my own. But earlier this year, I finally got around to working with a doc who prescribed me meds. It's amazing how much extra mental energy I have now that I'm not expending so much of it on those coping mechanisms.

It's great to learn how to get by without meds. That's important, and the meds aren't a magic wand that will miraculously make you happy and productive without any lifestyle changes. But oh, wow, what a difference those meds can make!

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This.

I got meds with 37.

Did a degree in CS and was successfully self-employed for years until that.

Everything worked out okay-ish, but meds are a game changer. It really felt like I was playing "life" on hard mode until then.

Resonate.

You were. I'll give you how much of a handicap it may have been.

I was 50th percentile on the CAT in 2nd grade, unmedicated.

I was 90th percentile on the CAT in 3rd grade, medicated.

Figure out how much catch up and passing I did in 1 year... 1 year.

I've gone on to have a nice successful career and life. But without meds and help... No way.

My IQ went from 104 to 125 with meds.

Not because I became smarter, but because I could concentrate for the time IQ tests take.

I'm happy you found a good balance for yourself - I've been medicated since I was about 14 and I've definitely noticed a difference whenever I've been forced onto a break. I think one thing that puzzles people observing us from the outside is that we're talking about stimulants and from the outside it looks like the meds are filling us full of energy to complete a task - but most[1] people with ADHD actually "come down" when on stimulants and rather than the medication boosting my energy level upwards, for me personally at least, it makes the constant distractions less important and vital allowing me to concentrate my energy on a single task.

Brains are complicated stuff so everyone is going to find a different ideal treatment path - some people can manage with exercise alone and have a strict morning regiment, some people find medication to be the perfect pills - others use a mix of both. Trying to train yourself to not be ADHD and maintain completely through self-discipline is indeed hard mode.

1. There are some people that respond terribly to normal ADHD meds and they were part of the reason that ADHD used to be divided into the ADHD and ADD labels with the older version of ADHD labeled persons usually responding poorly to standard medications like methylphenidate.

Can I ask which meds did you get?

Vyvanse

Focalin

What kind of things does the meds help for, and what kind of meds?

A good friend almost certainly has ADHD (I say that as someone on the spectrum) which impacts their daily life in a negative way, and I'm just curious if meds could help.

Of course would need to get a diagnosis first but they haven't pursued that yet, and I'm wondering if this could serve as motivation.

I had the worst time with procrastination. I knew I needed to do a thing. I wanted to do the thing. I seemed pathologically incapable of actually doing the thing before it was in crisis mode.

Now I can see that a thing needs to be done next week, and hey, I don’t have anything else more pressing at the moment, so I’ll go ahead and start on it.

Unless you’ve experienced both sides of that, it’s hard to understand how people on the other side of it go through life. Me: “Am I the only person in the world who can’t just go what I’m supposed to do before it’s an emergency?” Everyone else: “He had 3 weeks to do this thing. How lazy must he be?”

You don’t worry of long term side effects?

Not especially. I know what the long term effects of not having it are.

100%

> It's amazing how much extra mental energy I have now that I'm on amphetamines

You don't say.

Brilliant, kid. Do you have any other advice for the world, like “have you tried not being sad?”, or maybe “just have a normal thyroid, LOL”?

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