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banana allergy
Jan 19, 2006

Grimey Drawer
So I've been off ADHD meds for years and at my therapist's insistence I finally sought out a psychiatrist again. I saw her last month and she set up for me to take a computerized test and then come back to talk meds. So today I took the test and apparently "did well" and she thinks that my ADHD symptoms are actually caused by anxiety. She prescribed me gabapentin and had me schedule an appointment with a different doctor in the office (because she is LEAVING and no one called me about this) six (!) weeks out.

I am sometimes anxious, but I really don't feel like this is accurate. My anxiety is pretty well-managed through therapy and from years of living with it and developing coping mechanisms that have gotten progressively healthier (I used to just drink all the time, now I put my energy into my relatively difficult retail job and burn off my anxious energy there). I've been on a lot of anxiety meds before, with mostly disastrous results :emo:, and the only thing that has consistently worked in regards to giving me the ability to be a functioning, organized adult has been Adderall. I don't necessarily think I need amphetamines specifically, but I'm frustrated that she's basically disregarded the ADHD thing entirely when I've been through tons of testing in the past and a lot of people have agreed, in their professional opinion, that I'm basically the most inattentive space cadet around.

I'm going to give this a shot, but I'm wondering if anyone else has been through this too. Should I try to get my appointment with the new doctor moved up? Six weeks is a long time between appointments after a new medication. In the past I always have had an ultra-quick med check followup after new meds are prescribed.

I'm worried she thinks I'm seeking :catdrugs: or something because I'm 28 and female and live in a college town. I'm really not, I'll take something else if it works and maybe she's right about anxiety, but I'm tired of feeling like a disorganized child. I want to learn to drive and go back to school but until I feel like I can remember my keys and hold a conversation without "wait, what?"-ing all the time I'm not going to waste more mental energy on the same poo poo I've always failed at.

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Horrible Smutbeast
Sep 2, 2011
Point out the differences the medication made on your anxiety versus other antidepressants. I've found when I talk about how I've been put on basically everything and nothing worked except the adderall they listen to me a lot more. If you have a diagnoses from someone that's a specialist or higher on the doctor totem pole than her point out you had it done.

banana allergy
Jan 19, 2006

Grimey Drawer

Horrible Smutbeast posted:

Point out the differences the medication made on your anxiety versus other antidepressants. I've found when I talk about how I've been put on basically everything and nothing worked except the adderall they listen to me a lot more. If you have a diagnoses from someone that's a specialist or higher on the doctor totem pole than her point out you had it done.

Thanks. I feel like I communicated a lot of this to the doctor today, but maybe I didn't do a great job or maybe she just is hesitant because controlled substances are involved, which I totally understand. I'm going to try what she prescribed, and if it helps, cool, but if not I'll reiterate with the new doc. Do you think I should call and try to get my appointment with the newer doctor moved up? I'm also going to try to contact my old psychiatrist and the university where I did my initial testing to see if I can get some document stuff sent over, but I owe both of them money and it's been like 7-8 years so we'll see. I also see a therapist every other week (I've been seeing her for two years now), so maybe she can provide some insight for me.

Horrible Smutbeast
Sep 2, 2011

banana allergy posted:

Thanks. I feel like I communicated a lot of this to the doctor today, but maybe I didn't do a great job or maybe she just is hesitant because controlled substances are involved, which I totally understand. I'm going to try what she prescribed, and if it helps, cool, but if not I'll reiterate with the new doc. Do you think I should call and try to get my appointment with the newer doctor moved up? I'm also going to try to contact my old psychiatrist and the university where I did my initial testing to see if I can get some document stuff sent over, but I owe both of them money and it's been like 7-8 years so we'll see. I also see a therapist every other week (I've been seeing her for two years now), so maybe she can provide some insight for me.

If you're going to move up your appointment say that you want a check up in 2-3 weeks to make sure the medication you were put on isn't causing any issues. Going 6 weeks without a check up when put on antidepressants is a little messed up, mine wanted to come in every 4 weeks at the very least for the refill. As long as you put the "I'm concerned about my health" twist on it instead of the "just give me adderall" it should be fine.

The Door Frame
Dec 5, 2011

I don't know man everytime I go to the gym here there are like two huge dudes with raging high and tights snorting Nitro-tech off of each other's rock hard abs.
Does the ruined alcohol tolerance from welbutrin ever go away? It's been 6 months and 3 drinks still gets me legit drunk. I'm a 180lb man who's used to drinking almost 10 before real impairment happens and it's annoying. And is it a synergistic effect that mentally impairs me with a low BAC or is it that the alcohol isn't processed right and I'm getting as high of a BAC as I feel? The Internet is extra vague on this point and my pharmacist said "well you're not supposed to be drinking on it anyways", while true, is the opposite of helpful

Gnossiennes
Jan 7, 2013


Loving chairs more every day!

I've only been on welbutrin about three months, but I've kinda resigned myself to not drinking. The tolerance thing is a part of it, but also, welbutrin, like, doesn't work as well for 2-3 days after I drink anything, either. I like welbutrin and it's really helped, so I'd rather just not drink rather than a) be unable to judge well how much a drink will affect me b) feel like crap for the next couple days. It's like a hangover, but doesn't require me to drink much and lasts for a shitload longer.

I think the warning about no alcohol when taking welbutrin has more to do with the lowered seizure threshhold, though.

Culinary Bears
Feb 1, 2007

As far as I know nope: as long as Wellbutrin is in your system, alcohol will be more powerful. I don't know why that is, but it boosts the effects/duration of many stimulants too. I'm on modafinil now and a single pill easily lasts the whole day.

Also I go from 0 to drunk as hell in the span of one cocktail :v: (~2oz 40% alcohol?). Dunno if the modafinil's contributing to that, or if the Vyvanse I switched away from was just somewhat countering the lowered tolerance from the Wellbutrin.

Culinary Bears fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jan 18, 2015

signalnoise
Mar 7, 2008

i was told my old av was distracting
I actually have the opposite effect with wellbutrin. Weird.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

I was always a really light drinker, but on Wellbutrin? One drink and I was nearly under the table. And that never really went away for me.

Turned out to also be a moot point, because Wellbutrin also took away all desire to drink. I had no urges for alcohol at all whatsoever. Before I started the Wellbutrin, I had drunk maybe 1-2 times a month.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

I'm calling the doc about Strattera again.

He had me stop both the Dexedrine and the Lamictal due to side effects; definitely with the Lamictal and possibly with the Dexedrine, to also just give my system a break and heal up. I've done that now, and now I want to be functional. I got laid off last month,and school - if I go back - doesn't start until April. I have time to figure this all out.

I remember that the Strattera alone helped a little bit, while also muting my emotions somewhat. Well, that's betterthan not being medicated (where I'm doing things like forgetting to put food in the fridge and then it spoils), and certainly better than taking a stimulant that's causing massive panic attacks.

With out the meds, I've been panic attack free, which is *amazing*. But now I want to try to treat this. Again.

Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Jan 24, 2015

SkaAndScreenplays
Dec 11, 2013

by Pragmatica
I have an appointment with a Psychiatrist the 28th and I'm really excited about it.

26 years old.

I've had severe ADD/ADHD (Aren't they the same thing nowadays medically speaking. I would consider the severity almost crippling. I was diagnosed fairly young (13) but never medicated (I was on ritalin/daytrana and anti-depressants as treatment for a brief period but started acting weird/depressed, I don't remember my mom did and said it was scary apparently I was inflicting small cuts with a straight razor.).

I'm really excited about finally potentially getting some treatment. I've done a poo poo ton of reading and have ideas as to what will work for me and what won't. How do I ask about certain medications or decline others without seeming like a junkie just looking for a score? That's been the main fear I've had since being an adult and now finally having health insurance it scares me even more. I don't want to go in and say "This is what I'm feeling...If you do prescribe anything for me I would like it to be slow release, not a patch, not ritalin, and not an anti-depressant/SSRI." Only to be kicked out of the office and thrown on a drug-seeker list in the office systems. Stigmas suck and other people's abuse has made me afraid to talk about solutions to my disorders.

I'm probably overly concerned. I really don't want to go back on ritalin if it made me such a lovely and self harming person. Stigmas suck.

Also: If one more goddamn person tells me I've :airquote:Just Need To Get Organized:airquote: I'm going to drive off a cliff.

Oh wait. I don't have a car...It'll have to wait til summer when I get the bike out of storage.

roads posted:

How would you advise someone go about getting diagnosed for ADD?

Backstory:
In 8th grade I got "assessed" by a teacher who concluded I had ADD since I never turned in any homework or did classwork that I didn't find "important", but when she talked to my parents they decided that "kids will be kids" and it was a non-issue. This happened again in 9th and 11th grade. Again, nobody ever suggested I get professionally diagnosed, and my teachers just passed me in my classes because they knew I was smart, just not applied. I think it would be very helpful if I were prescribed adderall or something to help me pay attention and work. One day I won't be able to get by on bullshitting around and doing the bare minimum. through school I've bought ADD medicine from other students/drug dealers to help me stay focused and it really does help. Unfortunately, I also have a history of selling prescription medicines so I think it might be difficult for me to get prescribed something. I feel like if I directly ask for help with this, people will just think I'm a drug dealer who's crying wolf to get drugs to sell... which is very common, but I've been clean for over a year now and I just want to get on track since I'll be starting college soon and I know I can't get away with the same bullshit that's acceptable in highschool.

If I really, really, really need to focus I used to go with caffeine and cigarettes. The success was limited but at the very least measurable.

Now I go with caffeine and vaping. I prefer energy drink caffeine because it is generally taurine which is a better form of it.

Check out the vaping megathread. It may not be perfect but it is a hell of a lot better means of delivery than smoking in terms of health risks. Nicotine patches might work too but i've got spergy skin that doesn't like to hang out with anything other than clothes. Might want to consider getting some hypafix tape if you go that route.

Honestly though, people pass their classes on vyvanse and concentra.

We went to the moon on coffee and cigarettes.

The obvious drawback to that is getting hooked on cigarettes. which sucks.

SkaAndScreenplays fucked around with this message at 12:43 on Jan 25, 2015

Horrible Smutbeast
Sep 2, 2011

SkaAndScreenplays posted:

I was on ritalin/daytrana and anti-depressants as treatment for a brief period but started acting weird/depressed

Yeaaah there's a reason they don't really like to prescribe both types at the same time. Anti-depressants are pretty notorious for making things worse if you're on the wrong kind. My competent past doctor started with the adderall/ritalin until we found one that worked, then if the anxiety and depression were still around we had the option of trying anti depressants alongside it once I was used to the stimulants.

You shouldn't have a problem if you have a legit diagnoses in childhood and a history of taking the medication before to back you up when you go in to get it now. Mentioning your abuse of legal stimulants (the caffeine and whatnot) as a coping mechanism might help.

SkaAndScreenplays
Dec 11, 2013

by Pragmatica

Horrible Smutbeast posted:

Yeaaah there's a reason they don't really like to prescribe both types at the same time. Anti-depressants are pretty notorious for making things worse if you're on the wrong kind. My competent past doctor started with the adderall/ritalin until we found one that worked, then if the anxiety and depression were still around we had the option of trying anti depressants alongside it once I was used to the stimulants.

You shouldn't have a problem if you have a legit diagnoses in childhood and a history of taking the medication before to back you up when you go in to get it now. Mentioning your abuse of legal stimulants (the caffeine and whatnot) as a coping mechanism might help.


Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's my anxiety that's causing me to think that. That isn't terrible save the weekly Wednesday panic attack. But I think the root of my anxiety is my sheer inability to get anything done on a daily basis. I'm afraid bringing both of them up at the same time will sound like 'give me amphetamines and benzos'

I've had insurance for almost a year now, kept planning on scheduling...and only just got around to doing so about 3 weeks ago. I remember the date but not the time. I want to say 12:00. I should use this to build my case. I SHOULD call on Monday to double check...but I will probably forget, show up at 9...be like "Oh poo poo I'm dumb. I'll come back later." Only to show up 15 minutes late and be screwed out of my appointment.

Current Anecdotal Evidence: At work staring at a list of hotels with non working wifi that I could get back online in like 30 minutes.

Nope I'll just look at the list and check which ones are going to be the easiest to troubleshoot and imagine myself calling them while posting in the ADHD thread of SA. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

I took third shift because of this.

BONUS ADD HORROR STORY:
I used to have to move around and install the WIFI networks I now support. It meant.
A) Travelling For Work - Rad
B) Flying Every Week - Rad
C) Messing with network stuff - never needing an ethernet cable for anything outside of work ever - Rad
D) Working in teams to accomplish a poo poo ton of work in a tiny 2 week timeline - Would be fine if I were capable of that.

So I'm out at a 20+ Floor hotel in Downtown Pittsburgh on my first out of town job. Tell no one I have focus issues because stigmas.

Pulling cable is going okay, we're doing what we can despite this building being extremely old and hard to work around.

Get to the point that we are ready to start running it between floors via an unused and very old laundry chute.
Coworker goes down to catch the line, I am feeding from 4 floors up. Feed for about 10 minutes while mindlessly looking at how cool Pittsburgh looks from 21 stories up and the center of downtown. Get a call telling me to come down.

He starts trying to find the end of the cable - there's 500 feet balled up inside the chute. Tells me to give him my scissors. I left them in my room.

Go down to my room on the 10th floor. Hang out for a bit - forget while I was there...

Catch myself spacing out. Go get back to work.

"Where are those scissors?"

"Oh poo poo I forgot them."

Repeat trip three more times, only remembering because I set an alarm on my phone that would go off when I got to my room.

SkaAndScreenplays fucked around with this message at 13:29 on Jan 25, 2015

SkaAndScreenplays
Dec 11, 2013

by Pragmatica

Qu Appelle posted:

I just listen to NPR.

Yes, the world's going to crap in some pretty horrific ways. NPR constantly reminds us of this. But that droning, calm NPR voice that's reading off the latest genocide facts and figures is so soothing that I nod off pretty quickly.

I force myself to listen to Conservative Talk Radio and NPR because I'm apparently a masochist.

I don't have the patience to listen to a complete song while driving/being a passenger.

I've always gotten the distinct feeling that no one at NPR likes their job.

and here we are with Neil Degrasse Tyson, Jesus Christ, as well as the bastard hedonis goat-child of Ghandi and Satan and we're talking about the new trans-dimensional space portal that was recently developed by MIT which is promising to cure everything and make Star Trek a real place...

Those people talk about miraculous fringe science that the whole world needs to understand in the most deadpan...souless voices they can muster. NPR is the National Priory of Robots.

Talk radio is the exact opposite. They love hearing their voices and get incredulous at the most mundane poo poo.

I agree with stuff on both sides. I just find the dichotomy entertaining.

EDIT: Subscript can be used to convey monotony or lack of passion correct? Cause that's how I use it.

Gnossiennes
Jan 7, 2013


Loving chairs more every day!

I'm apparently in the vast minority who finds NPR interesting and engaging!

SkaAndScrenplays -- bring up your fears of seeming like you're drug seeking to the pdoc. You're not the first one to feel that way, and if they're not lovely, they'll listen. Unless you a history of substance abuse, you'll be fine. And even if you do, they can work around that.

Myself personally, I have a history of substance abuse that I'm (rightly so) open about with my pdoc, which means I'm not put on stimulant meds. But I have intense enough anxiety that it's not an option anyhow.

It sounds like you'll definitely function a lot better once you're on medication, so you have a lot to look forward to!

Other stuff: increased wellbutrin dosage and it's good save for feeling like I want to jump out my skin sometimes. Wellbutrin has been a loving wonderdrug though.

MJBuddy
Sep 22, 2008

Now I do not know whether I was then a head coach dreaming I was a Saints fan, or whether I am now a Saints fan, dreaming I am a head coach.

SkaAndScreenplays posted:


We went to the moon on coffee and cigarettes.


Nah I'm sure they had amphetamines. If literally every baseball play has been using it for 50 years, I'm sure anyone who got input from RAND did too.

Qu Appelle
Nov 3, 2005

"If a COVID-19 pandemic occurs, public health officials may have additional instructions, such as avoiding close contact with others as much as possible, and staying home if someone in your household is sick." - Official insights from Public Health: Seattle & King County staff

Gnossiennes posted:

I'm apparently in the vast minority who finds NPR interesting and engaging!

SkaAndScrenplays -- bring up your fears of seeming like you're drug seeking to the pdoc. You're not the first one to feel that way, and if they're not lovely, they'll listen. Unless you a history of substance abuse, you'll be fine. And even if you do, they can work around that.

Myself personally, I have a history of substance abuse that I'm (rightly so) open about with my pdoc, which means I'm not put on stimulant meds. But I have intense enough anxiety that it's not an option anyhow.

It sounds like you'll definitely function a lot better once you're on medication, so you have a lot to look forward to!

Other stuff: increased wellbutrin dosage and it's good save for feeling like I want to jump out my skin sometimes. Wellbutrin has been a loving wonderdrug though.

Oh, I find the *content* of NPR interesting and engaging - it's just the *tone* that lulls me to sleep. I'd say that I listen to NPR 20+ hours a week. I no longer have a TV, so it's my default entertainment at home.

Also - when I need to exercise? Ingress. I've loaded Ingress on my phone, and now I walk around for hours at a time playing it.

SkaAndScreenplays
Dec 11, 2013

by Pragmatica

Qu Appelle posted:

Oh, I find the *content* of NPR interesting and engaging - it's just the *tone* that lulls me to sleep. I'd say that I listen to NPR 20+ hours a week. I no longer have a TV, so it's my default entertainment at home.

Also - when I need to exercise? Ingress. I've loaded Ingress on my phone, and now I walk around for hours at a time playing it.

I was the goddamn king of ingress when I was traveling for work.

I got a message about hackING because I showed up in a different city every week...sometimes 2 or 3.

It was good lolz.

SkaAndScreenplays
Dec 11, 2013

by Pragmatica
Also my anxiety is kicking in again after watching an ep of scrubs where the moral of the story is 'I'm not a drug seeker' is actually drug seeker behavior.

This is what it is like to be a goddamned adult.

Astrofig
Oct 26, 2009
So Strattera doesn't seem to be working, thus far---granted I'm less than 2/3 deep into the starter pack. Should I keep at it until day 45 and judge then, or say something to my brain doc at my next appointment?

Freudian
Mar 23, 2011

Concerta XL is having literally no effect for me. I'm on 27mg right now and have no standards for comparison, so what should I expect to be happening and when?

Gucci Loafers
May 20, 2006

Ask yourself, do you really want to talk to pair of really nice gaudy shoes?


Does anyone have any tips for getting stuff done, aside from pills. I feel like my life essentially consists of a bunch of half finished projects :smith:

MJBuddy
Sep 22, 2008

Now I do not know whether I was then a head coach dreaming I was a Saints fan, or whether I am now a Saints fan, dreaming I am a head coach.

Tab8715 posted:

Does anyone have any tips for getting stuff done, aside from pills. I feel like my life essentially consists of a bunch of half finished projects :smith:

In college I started obsessing over task lists; to most people it felt like a big waste of time to be as focused on scheduling every hour of the day/tasks with them, but it fed a lot of my hyperfocus into solving the problem I ran into that was "if I have 5 things to do I just sit there not knowing what to do"; by forcing it into an ordered list, it meant if I felt a pause, I can open that list back up and just do the first thing. Build in a lot of reminders to check the list (alarms, productivity apps, etc) and go back to that list.

It might not work if you can't get the task list, but I tend to let my obsessive focuses stick to things like budget and task management (even if I can't always act properly to them).

It helped a lot. Not perfect but I overnight practically went from being unreliable to one of the most reliable people in my groups and was able to take on a ton of responsibilities and positions that helped me a lot.

SkaAndScreenplays
Dec 11, 2013

by Pragmatica
My psych appointment is tomorrow and I am so excited/terrified.

Dubstep Jesus
Jun 27, 2012

by exmarx
If anyone has a choice in the matter I want to go ahead and recommend against getting Kaiser for insurance. This is like the third time they've hosed up sending my medication to my preferred pharmacy in less than a year and it's super frustrating when they do. They're bad about mental health coverage in general to the point where they got fined for it recently but I'm stuck with them for the foreseeable future unfortunately.

Don't do a Kaiser, not even once.

signalnoise
Mar 7, 2008

i was told my old av was distracting

slogsdon posted:

If anyone has a choice in the matter I want to go ahead and recommend against getting Kaiser for insurance. This is like the third time they've hosed up sending my medication to my preferred pharmacy in less than a year and it's super frustrating when they do. They're bad about mental health coverage in general to the point where they got fined for it recently but I'm stuck with them for the foreseeable future unfortunately.

Don't do a Kaiser, not even once.

Yeah I got kaiser at my new job and the difference in cost nearly offsets the raise I got switching

Boris Galerkin
Dec 17, 2011

I don't understand why I can't harass people online. Seriously, somebody please explain why I shouldn't be allowed to stalk others on social media!
I started Ritalin earlier this month. My GP prescribed me 5mg x2 a day for a month to try out. I followed that the first week but by the next week I really didn't think 5mg at a time actually did anything. I emailed my doctor and said the same thing and she told me to try 10mg doses which actually works wonders but now I have the problem that I won't have enough pills to last until my next appointment.

Anyway, what I don't like about Ritalin is that it doesn't last very long. I take 10mg at about 7 when I get in to work, and by around lunch time I just feel awful until I take another 10mg. Does this awful feeling in between doses ever go away? I don't really remember feeling so awful at the end of the working day when my second dose wears off so I don't know what the deal is. I'm also feeling like yeah this is great that I can actually focus and finish stuff at work now, but my life isn't all work and I'd like to have the same effect at home as well. How well do the extended release versions work?

My doctor also mentioned I could try straterra if Ritalin isn't working for me. I looked it up and it seems like it's an antidepressant? I also don't think my insurance covers that when I check my insurances drug cost calculator.

Begby
Apr 7, 2005

Light saber? Check. Black boots? Check. Codpiece? Check. He's more machine than kid now.

Boris Galerkin posted:

I started Ritalin earlier this month. My GP prescribed me 5mg x2 a day for a month to try out. I followed that the first week but by the next week I really didn't think 5mg at a time actually did anything. I emailed my doctor and said the same thing and she told me to try 10mg doses which actually works wonders but now I have the problem that I won't have enough pills to last until my next appointment.

Anyway, what I don't like about Ritalin is that it doesn't last very long. I take 10mg at about 7 when I get in to work, and by around lunch time I just feel awful until I take another 10mg. Does this awful feeling in between doses ever go away? I don't really remember feeling so awful at the end of the working day when my second dose wears off so I don't know what the deal is. I'm also feeling like yeah this is great that I can actually focus and finish stuff at work now, but my life isn't all work and I'd like to have the same effect at home as well. How well do the extended release versions work?

My doctor also mentioned I could try straterra if Ritalin isn't working for me. I looked it up and it seems like it's an antidepressant? I also don't think my insurance covers that when I check my insurances drug cost calculator.

If ritalin seems to work for you, I would stick with what works and try the extended release versions before you switch to something else.

I use concerta, it lasts about 10 hours for me, then if i am working late I have a separate prescription for ritalin for in the evenings. Concerta, at least for me, doesn't have that awful feeling, it seems to wear off a lot slower.

I had the same problem with just ritalin which I took when concerta was a lot more expensive (its available as a generic now). The roller coaster ride throughout the day sucks.

Begby
Apr 7, 2005

Light saber? Check. Black boots? Check. Codpiece? Check. He's more machine than kid now.

Freudian posted:

Concerta XL is having literally no effect for me. I'm on 27mg right now and have no standards for comparison, so what should I expect to be happening and when?

I think its different from person to person. 36mg works good for me, I tried the 27mg dose and it didn't do all that much either, but still something.

My nephew takes 56mg. I would go ask your doctor.

Begby
Apr 7, 2005

Light saber? Check. Black boots? Check. Codpiece? Check. He's more machine than kid now.

Tab8715 posted:

Does anyone have any tips for getting stuff done, aside from pills. I feel like my life essentially consists of a bunch of half finished projects :smith:

You may want to talk to a therapist or psychologist who has experience with ADHD. They sometimes can make a huge difference with strategies.

If I hit a wall I can sometimes make progress on something if I try to do it in a different unique way that I haven't done before. Like trying a new computer language, or chopping wood with a different more efficient technique, or using a new kind of paint brush (I build scale models and its often hard for me to actually finish them). You just gotta be careful you aren't always starting the whole thing over from scratch.

Another thing is eliminating all distractions. I find I can get more done if I am in a dark room with only 1 bright light illuminating what I am supposed to be working on, on a clean empty desk, no TV on, nothing else for me to really draw my attention. Then I can get back into whatever.

When I am really into something, like hyper focusing and really kicking rear end, then I know its time to set back and do something else. This is actually pretty hard for me to do and takes some will power, because at that point whatever I am doing is fun as hell, even cleaning a sewer could be fun if you are focused and just getting poo poo done. However if I force myself to stop, the next day I find that model tank to still be compelling, or that coding project for work is easy to dive back into. When that wall comes, its really hard to get back into it.

Gucci Loafers
May 20, 2006

Ask yourself, do you really want to talk to pair of really nice gaudy shoes?


Begby posted:

:words:

When I am really into something, like hyper focusing and really kicking rear end, then I know its time to set back and do something else. This is actually pretty hard for me to do and takes some will power, because at that point whatever I am doing is fun as hell, even cleaning a sewer could be fun if you are focused and just getting poo poo done. However if I force myself to stop, the next day I find that model tank to still be compelling, or that coding project for work is easy to dive back into. When that wall comes, its really hard to get back into it.

Just so I'm following you, when you're super into something and getting work done you prematurely stop yourself to maintain interest?

Gucci Loafers
May 20, 2006

Ask yourself, do you really want to talk to pair of really nice gaudy shoes?


Also, I took either 96118 or 96119 two weeks ago and according to my doctor I show clear symptoms of ADD/ADHD. I get my pills back.

I'm also $1,000 poorer. :smith:

MJBuddy
Sep 22, 2008

Now I do not know whether I was then a head coach dreaming I was a Saints fan, or whether I am now a Saints fan, dreaming I am a head coach.

Tab8715 posted:

Just so I'm following you, when you're super into something and getting work done you prematurely stop yourself to maintain interest?

This is standard advice for grad school writing in my experience: Set a certain time/word count and do it every day and write down your thoughts and stop. Getting into the flow of writing is harder than maintaining it, so being able to sit down with something to start with promotes being productive in the rigid time frame since you get right into it.

Similar to pomodoro technique.

Begby
Apr 7, 2005

Light saber? Check. Black boots? Check. Codpiece? Check. He's more machine than kid now.

Tab8715 posted:

Just so I'm following you, when you're super into something and getting work done you prematurely stop yourself to maintain interest?

Yes. I wouldn't say prematurely stop, but if I am hyper focused I am apt to just keep working on that thing and only stop when I hit that wall where I lose focus and can't go further, like stay up late, or work through a meal. Sometimes if I had a great day at work and really got a lot of coding done, I really want to just pull out my laptop and keep on trucking when I get home, but I find in the long run I can get a lot more done if I don't do that and just play some games with my kids or exercise, or chill out with a video game.....

Oh yeah, pomodromo ^^^^ I started using that at work, it has been good so far.

One more thing I forgot to mention, exercise, like a lot of exercise helps me too. I started swimming at lunch break and also do a lot of cycling. My focus definitely improves if I get that exercise in. That is one of the things my first psychologist really got me into, and it does help.

The Door Frame
Dec 5, 2011

I don't know man everytime I go to the gym here there are like two huge dudes with raging high and tights snorting Nitro-tech off of each other's rock hard abs.
Is there a generic form of Vyvanse? I'm finally getting a concrete schedule and as nice as Adderall is, I hate the peaks and valleys that come with taking 3 doses a day and I've heard that tge generic form of Adderall XR is absolute garbage

Horrible Smutbeast
Sep 2, 2011
http://imgur.com/gallery/nVJqnSl

Does anybody else find this kinda worrying? The jist of the story is the 7 year old kid can't fit in due to his Adhd and other disabilities so the parents got him into starcraft and streaming. He's now 9 years old and still playing them, from the sounds of it, several hours a day. The parents basically use it as a reward for when he does chores.

I understand it's a kid thing where it's fun and hopefully harmless, but on the other hand I basically was left to my own devices with games and grew up to be so addicted to mmo's that I've lost probably over a year of my life to them alone. It also feels like they're setting him up to fail instead of getting him interested in something more useful later in life, even just physical exercise or some sort of hands on hobby away from the computer. The OP even admits that the kid is still struggling to fit in at school. To me it sounds like the kid is just going to get even more stunted socially as time goes on and will waste a lot of his more important years developing into a 4chan online nerd.

I'm probably projecting my own failures on the kid's future so what does everyone else think about it?

Gucci Loafers
May 20, 2006

Ask yourself, do you really want to talk to pair of really nice gaudy shoes?


Horrible Smutbeast posted:

http://imgur.com/gallery/nVJqnSl

Does anybody else find this kinda worrying? The jist of the story is the 7 year old kid can't fit in due to his Adhd and other disabilities so the parents got him into starcraft and streaming. He's now 9 years old and still playing them, from the sounds of it, several hours a day. The parents basically use it as a reward for when he does chores.

I understand it's a kid thing where it's fun and hopefully harmless, but on the other hand I basically was left to my own devices with games and grew up to be so addicted to mmo's that I've lost probably over a year of my life to them alone. It also feels like they're setting him up to fail instead of getting him interested in something more useful later in life, even just physical exercise or some sort of hands on hobby away from the computer. The OP even admits that the kid is still struggling to fit in at school. To me it sounds like the kid is just going to get even more stunted socially as time goes on and will waste a lot of his more important years developing into a 4chan online nerd.

I'm probably projecting my own failures on the kid's future so what does everyone else think about it?

:shrug: We all have our quirks and video games are a legitimate hobby it depends on how much time they let him play.

Slaapaav
Mar 3, 2006

by Azathoth
starcraft does some amazing things for your brain i think someone did research on it. It has literally nothing in common with MMOs

Dubstep Jesus
Jun 27, 2012

by exmarx

The Door Frame posted:

Is there a generic form of Vyvanse? I'm finally getting a concrete schedule and as nice as Adderall is, I hate the peaks and valleys that come with taking 3 doses a day and I've heard that tge generic form of Adderall XR is absolute garbage

A brief google search seems to indicate the patents on Vyvanse don't expire until 2023, so there's no generic.

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Horrible Smutbeast
Sep 2, 2011

Tab8715 posted:

:shrug: We all have our quirks and video games are a legitimate hobby it depends on how much time they let him play.

Well they're supporting him growing up and becoming a professional player, so I dunno. That was what I was worried about so eh.

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