justasidenote2

Yep, he's an inspiring guy and I've read his book. The fact that he's lived well into his 80s with T1D gives me hope that folks people can have a pretty good prognosis.

I also follow a low carb diet, which is how I've been able to have good glucose control myself.

I've been Type 1 diabetic for 10 years. Even though my glucose control is excellent over that period (A1C never >6.5%) I've never been able to shake the latent fear that it's a matter of time before I develop complications like retinopathy. What sucks hard is that it's not _just_ determined by insulin and glucose. Exercise, stress, activity level, protein/fat intake, illness, and more can all cause massive variability in glucose levels and insulin sensitivity. Therefore my most successful blanket strategy for glucose control is keeping as consistent a routine as possible: eating the same foods, doing the same activities - at the same time, always exercising regularly, and avoiding spontaneity.

While I've always had anxiety, it's only become worse over the years given the fear of having issues in both day-to-day blood sugar management and in being diagnosed with long term complications. Living with T1D often feels like a case study in applied stoicism.

I 100% agree with not just relying on the meds and moving on, even though the new ability to maintain focus and context switch without overwhelm is so novel in its own right. But yeah, I'm currently on a waitlist for the diagnostic testing and am seeing a therapist who specializes in the condition.

The most fascinating part of this journey is finally understanding myself better. I've been spending hours every week reading others experiences with ADHD, watching videos (Dr. Russell Barkley is awesome), and in general just figuring out who I am and why I'm that way. I'm beginning to understand that habits I've had, such as being "hyper organized" (actually, being utterly dependent on my calendar) were just coping mechanisms needed to get things done. It almost warrants an entire self-evaluation.

Your description of the stress response seems plausible. All my life I've oscillated pretty strictly between hyper-anxious and utterly indifferent, the latter probably serving as a coping mechanism. Suddenly now I'm able to comfortably live in the middle ground. I'll do what needs done today, and know that what needs done next week/month/year will get addressed when it's time.

Anyway, I really appreciate the feedback and wisdom. Wishing you the best of luck.

I'm working on ADHD diagnosis now and my doctor was kind enough to let me begin taking Ritalin and then switch to Vyvanse. Medication is literally, demonstrably changing my life for the better.

I used to drink multiple cups of coffee a day and felt like it was almost baseline requirement just to attempt to focus. Actual ADHD medication makes coffee almost obsolete. The first time I took Ritalin it was almost scary to realize how chaotic my mind was minute-to-minute, every day without fail. Suddenly the noise all went away.

It feels like I can actually create coherent sentences. I stop getting overwhelmed by asynchronous communications (Slack, email). The "volume" of every single distraction that used to monopolize my attention gets turned way down. Yeah, I still get distracted -- but now it's a conscious choice to either let that distraction take precedent or to re-focus to the task at hand.

The day to day benefits are great, but the big picture / life-style benefits are the most appreciated. In general my anxiety and stress management is honestly 10x better. I've gone from being stressed over my career choice every week to finally feeling like I can thrive. I stop getting irritated by the most innocuous things someone might say or do. I stop waking up anxious every weekend trying to process the million things I need to get done just to exist and make forward progress in my life. I could go on and on and on about how "real" ADHD is, without even having a formal diagnosis yet.

I'm sure the discussions in this thread regarding the utility and risks of these medications sounds intriguing if you don't have ADHD and already know how to sit still and focus at will. But anyone who doesn't have our experience should understand this shit is honestly helping people live their lives for the better. My only regret is I didn't know sooner.