Bought your book last month at your guilt induced insistence and it came in so handy this past two weeks. A routine colonoscopy put my husband in the hospital for 7 days; each page of the book was enough to keep his interest as I read out loud in between his naps. I love it. He’s okay, too, thanks.
I was diagnosed around that age (50). Used Adderall and BOY, did it help me stay on task. Also interrupted the munchies as I was calmer (yeah, calmer that without Adderall). At some point I tried Straterra, seemed to lose effect after awhile so switched BACK to Adderall. At some point a doctor said "you're not teaching any more, you don't NEED Adderall." After that, they gave the reason as "we don't prescribe it to older people." I can never find anything, my house is a jumble (no horizontal surface left clear). I am always late, I write too much, I say too much, I hyperfocus (that research period sounds familiar; my current "job" is nearly full time, involves reading news, opinion, Substack and other blogs, following activist groups too. Share on facebook, but fewer people seem interested than when Bernie ran, twice, for president. Frustrating when I'm synthesizing/processing/curating/analyzing stuff full time). I'm so glad you found an outlet that pays the bills and satisfies you. I use buproprion for anxiety; my rural clinic nurse says it helps with ADHD too, and I think it does, but maybe I'll ask her about buspirone and how it compares on both counts; anxiety and ADHD. Hmm, I'm 75 so for 25 years I've actually known why my brain works the way it does! I just began reading your Substack a couple weeks ago, because I'M Sweary TOO.
I am also 75 and took Adderall until a couple of years ago. Couldn't get ANY sleep! I'm sweary too! (I'm going to look into buspirone as well.) Thanks for making me feel normal.
Hey James I really enjoy your writings and appreciate when you share your personal stories. We all get to learn things the hard way, sharing is a great way to lighten the load.
Sometimes, medications take some fine tuning, especially for a condition as diverse and annoyingly subjective as ADHD. A medication that works for you for a while will suddenly stop working, or will be less effective with more side effects. I was on Ritalin once when I was a kid, but all it did was flatten my personality and kill my appetite (without which I would cheerfully never eat food again). I was mostly okay not being medicated through the rest of school, but after I lost the structure and predictability of school I was a mess. I went on adderall in my late teens, and was stable on that for a few years....until I couldn't sleep anymore while on it. I switched again to Dexedrine, which is working for me now, but who knows what the future will bring?
Anyway, point being that we're all very different people, and what works will naturally also be different--and won't necessarily stay the same for us as we age. Good for you for knowing when to take a step back and re evaluate 😊
I was given that drug Buspirone...start off with a half pill 3 times a day for so long...then keep uping them till I can handle 3 per day....I tried it a few days and it gave me the shits...have you had any side affects?
I thankfully have not. It was the first anxiety med I tried and it worked! I know how lucky that is. I've been taking it for 8 years (!) now, increased my dose back in 2020, but other than that it has been smooth sailing.
I got diagnosed around 30 and started using Ritalin, which allowed me to be a version of productive; But earlier - I simply used caffeine & chocolate to navigate working as underpaid wage slave of H. Ross Perot & Roger Smith at Space Division HQ for NASA / USAF. Several jobs later - Adderall failed me (it works for my adult teen), and I used Straterra. I met my future wife at 42 - and lived in Japan with her - so went back to coffee & chocolate as my meds are verboten there. We are all very different.
Thanks.
I’m suspecting your fitness routine helps you out a lot. I’m happy you aren’t chained to medication.
I can sooo totally relate to this. I was diagnosed when my son was 5 - so 32 years ago. They put me on Ritalin first, then switched to Adderall, added Buspirone and Amitriptyline. My husband used to call the last one "I'm a trampoline" pill. I needed that in the evening to "land my plane." But I eventually stopped all of them at age 48, when my eye doctor told me that I was starting to develop glaucoma. THAT scared the shit out of me, and I wanted to know why. Like, could my drugs have something to do with it? He didn't know (or care), just that the pressure in my eyes was way too high. So, in a fit of frustration, I read all the side effects of all my drugs. And guess what: Every one of those three had the same side effect of increasing the pulse and the pressure in my eyes. Multiplied by 3 it started to give me Glaucoma. I zoomed to my general Doc and told her to take me off my meds. I don't care if I'm goofy, unorganized, scatter brained & hectic; but I want to see! So, over the next 6 months, I got weaned off all of them. The pressure in my eyes went down enough that I did not need surgery. My boss was awesome and told me to go for a walk if I get overwhelmed (I worked at the front desk in a college with students and teachers screaming at me all day long). I realized that I could multitask better when I'm not on drugs--as long as the tasks don't require too much concentration or math while other people are talking to me. Then I would blow up -- or go for that walk. I'm 67 now, retired, constantly lose my garden clippers, glasses, and leave most jobs half done -- BUT I CAN SEE! Eventually I will find my glasses and my clippers. The important thing here is: read all info about the drugs you take. Side effects on one drug may not be too bad; but if they multiply -- beware!
James, I haven't read your book yet, but I will. I love your Substack! If I had had you as my history teacher, I probably would have learned a hell of a lot more! Keep it up, but don't forget those bike rides!
What an interesting learning path. ADHD is so complex and everyone who had it seems to have their own custom version. My 14yo daughter has ADHD and anxiety so she's on 2 medications. We've tried them on their own but she needs the combination for her best results.
I have the version of ADHD where if I don't medicate, my brain decides to shut off. Yeah, let's just sleep the day away. Um, nope.
I went off my ADD meds about a month ago myself. Life is definitely different. I'm glad you're listening to yourself. I know how hard you've pushed yourself for the last number of years. I hope you can truly enjoy some of the spoils of your success.
I (not a physician of any kind) believe in the value system that says reduce meds when possible, especially once you realize that calling oneself “middle aged” posits the presence of some very superannuated people I’ve yet to meet. More meds tend to come in the final quarter, so reducing beforehand just makes sense to an amateur when your professionals support the idea. Go you.
I wish I could get off Ritalin. I don't like the way it flattens my personality and makes me rather dour. I've tried a few times on my own without success (too sleepy), but maybe I'll talk to my doc about a taper. I'd like my sense of humor back.
Much better than it was on Adderall. I take the dose that is technically supposed to be for a half day, but because my body processes things slowly, it lasts between six and eight hours which means by the time I go to bed it's out of my system
Bought your book last month at your guilt induced insistence and it came in so handy this past two weeks. A routine colonoscopy put my husband in the hospital for 7 days; each page of the book was enough to keep his interest as I read out loud in between his naps. I love it. He’s okay, too, thanks.
I was diagnosed around that age (50). Used Adderall and BOY, did it help me stay on task. Also interrupted the munchies as I was calmer (yeah, calmer that without Adderall). At some point I tried Straterra, seemed to lose effect after awhile so switched BACK to Adderall. At some point a doctor said "you're not teaching any more, you don't NEED Adderall." After that, they gave the reason as "we don't prescribe it to older people." I can never find anything, my house is a jumble (no horizontal surface left clear). I am always late, I write too much, I say too much, I hyperfocus (that research period sounds familiar; my current "job" is nearly full time, involves reading news, opinion, Substack and other blogs, following activist groups too. Share on facebook, but fewer people seem interested than when Bernie ran, twice, for president. Frustrating when I'm synthesizing/processing/curating/analyzing stuff full time). I'm so glad you found an outlet that pays the bills and satisfies you. I use buproprion for anxiety; my rural clinic nurse says it helps with ADHD too, and I think it does, but maybe I'll ask her about buspirone and how it compares on both counts; anxiety and ADHD. Hmm, I'm 75 so for 25 years I've actually known why my brain works the way it does! I just began reading your Substack a couple weeks ago, because I'M Sweary TOO.
I am also 75 and took Adderall until a couple of years ago. Couldn't get ANY sleep! I'm sweary too! (I'm going to look into buspirone as well.) Thanks for making me feel normal.
Hey James I really enjoy your writings and appreciate when you share your personal stories. We all get to learn things the hard way, sharing is a great way to lighten the load.
thx for all you do, from a longtime fan
When you wean yourself off of Buspirone, you may experience “brain zaps.” If you do, I have learned that Benadryl will stop the ‘zaps.
"Brain zaps" are just weird feeling. ⚡️
Sometimes, medications take some fine tuning, especially for a condition as diverse and annoyingly subjective as ADHD. A medication that works for you for a while will suddenly stop working, or will be less effective with more side effects. I was on Ritalin once when I was a kid, but all it did was flatten my personality and kill my appetite (without which I would cheerfully never eat food again). I was mostly okay not being medicated through the rest of school, but after I lost the structure and predictability of school I was a mess. I went on adderall in my late teens, and was stable on that for a few years....until I couldn't sleep anymore while on it. I switched again to Dexedrine, which is working for me now, but who knows what the future will bring?
Anyway, point being that we're all very different people, and what works will naturally also be different--and won't necessarily stay the same for us as we age. Good for you for knowing when to take a step back and re evaluate 😊
Buspirone has been a life-changer for me!
I was given that drug Buspirone...start off with a half pill 3 times a day for so long...then keep uping them till I can handle 3 per day....I tried it a few days and it gave me the shits...have you had any side affects?
I thankfully have not. It was the first anxiety med I tried and it worked! I know how lucky that is. I've been taking it for 8 years (!) now, increased my dose back in 2020, but other than that it has been smooth sailing.
I got diagnosed around 30 and started using Ritalin, which allowed me to be a version of productive; But earlier - I simply used caffeine & chocolate to navigate working as underpaid wage slave of H. Ross Perot & Roger Smith at Space Division HQ for NASA / USAF. Several jobs later - Adderall failed me (it works for my adult teen), and I used Straterra. I met my future wife at 42 - and lived in Japan with her - so went back to coffee & chocolate as my meds are verboten there. We are all very different.
Thanks.
I’m suspecting your fitness routine helps you out a lot. I’m happy you aren’t chained to medication.
What's with "chained to medication"? Really?
I tried coffee and chocolate but I couldn't sleep and started to gain weight. Japan has awesome chocolate btw.
No lie - each town has a tasty spin on it. The weight gain is a bad side effect.
One of your best efforts here, in my opinion. I imagine this speaks to lots of different people with different situations.
I can sooo totally relate to this. I was diagnosed when my son was 5 - so 32 years ago. They put me on Ritalin first, then switched to Adderall, added Buspirone and Amitriptyline. My husband used to call the last one "I'm a trampoline" pill. I needed that in the evening to "land my plane." But I eventually stopped all of them at age 48, when my eye doctor told me that I was starting to develop glaucoma. THAT scared the shit out of me, and I wanted to know why. Like, could my drugs have something to do with it? He didn't know (or care), just that the pressure in my eyes was way too high. So, in a fit of frustration, I read all the side effects of all my drugs. And guess what: Every one of those three had the same side effect of increasing the pulse and the pressure in my eyes. Multiplied by 3 it started to give me Glaucoma. I zoomed to my general Doc and told her to take me off my meds. I don't care if I'm goofy, unorganized, scatter brained & hectic; but I want to see! So, over the next 6 months, I got weaned off all of them. The pressure in my eyes went down enough that I did not need surgery. My boss was awesome and told me to go for a walk if I get overwhelmed (I worked at the front desk in a college with students and teachers screaming at me all day long). I realized that I could multitask better when I'm not on drugs--as long as the tasks don't require too much concentration or math while other people are talking to me. Then I would blow up -- or go for that walk. I'm 67 now, retired, constantly lose my garden clippers, glasses, and leave most jobs half done -- BUT I CAN SEE! Eventually I will find my glasses and my clippers. The important thing here is: read all info about the drugs you take. Side effects on one drug may not be too bad; but if they multiply -- beware!
James, I haven't read your book yet, but I will. I love your Substack! If I had had you as my history teacher, I probably would have learned a hell of a lot more! Keep it up, but don't forget those bike rides!
My brother sent me your book for my birthday!
What an interesting learning path. ADHD is so complex and everyone who had it seems to have their own custom version. My 14yo daughter has ADHD and anxiety so she's on 2 medications. We've tried them on their own but she needs the combination for her best results.
I have the version of ADHD where if I don't medicate, my brain decides to shut off. Yeah, let's just sleep the day away. Um, nope.
I went off my ADD meds about a month ago myself. Life is definitely different. I'm glad you're listening to yourself. I know how hard you've pushed yourself for the last number of years. I hope you can truly enjoy some of the spoils of your success.
I’m 57 and stopped adderrall a few years ago because it helped me to focus and finish a lot of things but was killing my body and relationships.
This is my life presently (pre-meds). Same type of symptoms (success and anxiety wrapped in imposter syndrome). Rock on James.
I (not a physician of any kind) believe in the value system that says reduce meds when possible, especially once you realize that calling oneself “middle aged” posits the presence of some very superannuated people I’ve yet to meet. More meds tend to come in the final quarter, so reducing beforehand just makes sense to an amateur when your professionals support the idea. Go you.
I wish I could get off Ritalin. I don't like the way it flattens my personality and makes me rather dour. I've tried a few times on my own without success (too sleepy), but maybe I'll talk to my doc about a taper. I'd like my sense of humor back.
From my own experience, Ritalin did the same thing to my personality. I'm now stable on Dexedrine and it's a LOT better
How is your sleep with dexedrine?
Much better than it was on Adderall. I take the dose that is technically supposed to be for a half day, but because my body processes things slowly, it lasts between six and eight hours which means by the time I go to bed it's out of my system