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Elderbean posted:Also, I've noticed that I grind my teeth now. Is there anything I can do to prevent that? Most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it. Stimulant medications can definitely cause teeth grinding. If it's a problem at night you can get a mouth guard, but if it's a problem during the day you might have to adjust your medication.
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Feb 20, 2014 08:20
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Do the "imaginary conversations" clear up on ritalin? I've had these all my life and I just assumed they were normal, though boy is it annoying.
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Mar 1, 2014 22:53
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TheBigBad posted:Read this book:
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Apr 8, 2014 23:47
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I have a question regarding stimulants; does anyone know the up-to-date research on the link between cardiac events (ex. heart attack, sudden death) and stimulant use? My quick googling points to "almost no risk" but I thought I'd ask for some information here. I have a few heart issues that make me extra-cautious (pre-hypertension, rapid heart rate when not at rest + sometimes palpitations, very minor heart condition - VSD for the curious), although my EKG is apparently normal.
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Apr 18, 2014 04:55
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Heavy neutrino posted:That's a pretty serious case of "ask your doctor." No question, I was wondering more along the lines of "is there anything to those scary sites that say ritalin will kill my child?"
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Apr 18, 2014 17:19
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TheBigBad posted:My GP freaked out because I had a panic attack after she suggested I might be having cardiac distress when I described anxiety. She sent me to a cardiologist who did the stress test thing and laughed his rear end off and said you're fine. My preoccupation with my heart and stimulant side effects is all to do with that anxiety I got, honestly. I started having panic attacks for the first time late last year and since my physical symptoms (rapid pulse, palpitations) are more obvious than the anxiety, I've been feeling terrified whenever my heart rate gets a little fast. It's funny to me because I used to run and take caffeine like crazy, and neither of those things bothered me until now. I don't even have a cardiologist anymore (I've been totally asymptomatic my entire life) so I guess that's just another fun chore I can't forget about, but seeing as I am (possibly) in a certain risk group I can't ignore that. I was prescribed sertraline and (surprise!) had a panic attack because of that, and wasn't able to take it, but by cutting most caffeine from my diet I'm no longer very anxious at all, so I'm gonna ask my psych to hold off on the SSRIs and prescribe me something for ADHD instead. I'm hoping a different stimulant will be easier on me than caffeine was, because as of now I'm pretty non-functional without it. By the way, TheBigBad, since you were the one recommending Driven From Distraction, I'll mention that I'm appreciating the book now and it's given me a lot of new and useful information. For the longest time I didn't really believe ADHD existed, and it's only lately that I've been struggling and have become interested in how ADHD might be affecting me. I know it's bad to self-diagnose but the description really does sound like me, and it seems like my psych is on-board to investigate it. Hallowell sure hates video games though. I have heard that you'll know if you have ADHD by how you react to stimulant medications, and I'm wondering how true that is.
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Apr 19, 2014 08:10
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Horrible Smutbeast posted:My writing is actually kind of nice? I worked really hard as a kid to write cursive nicely, it's been a point of pride for me. I've even tried to get into calligraphy to get better at it and steady my hands since they shake slightly. I'm actually going in for thyroid testing this week since some of my symptoms have gotten so bad I don't feel like leaving my apartment anymore...like sweating so bad I can't walk outside without dripping with sweat. I'm surprised to hear someone else say this in this thread! I also have problems with symptoms like overheating and hands shaking, since I was a teenager in fact. It's been hard to adapt since the heat often makes me feel sick at work/school, so I dress really lightly and often keep a thermos of ice water. However my thyroid hormones (TSH, Free T3 and T4) are totally normal. I've read on the internet that antibody tests are required to rule out Graves' disease but I doubt my problem is because of my thyroid at this point (especially since Graves' is often associated with eye problems). Anyway you shouldn't let this discourage you from getting those tests done, especially because hyperthyroidism can cause symptoms of ADHD and should be ruled out early.
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Apr 22, 2014 00:18
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Hmm, your doc seems more concerned than mine is. Even though I'm also Canadian I pretty much have to beg him to do the tests I want. I hadn't read about the ultrasound or throat swab before. At some point I should probably find a new doctor but the search for a shrink combined with the ordinary everyday pressures I have has left me exhausted for now. The sweating is pretty bad for me too but more than anything my constant levels of fatigue are making it impossible to do stuff. I'm hoping at least that will improve if I get my anxiety/ADHD under better control. I get where you're coming from though, it's a really frustrating and hopeless set of symptoms sometimes.
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Apr 22, 2014 01:49
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Same here, I regularly sleep for over 12 hours. It was really awful in high school when I used to set two or three alarms and somehow sleep through all of them. These days my sleep has evened out a bit and I'm now able to wake up for work pretty consistently, but I still have really awful problems like sleeping through my entire day off, or taking a 7 hour nap after work. EDIT: I did go to a sleep clinic at one point. They weren't able to tell me anything except I didn't have narcolepsy, so that was a waste of time.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:22
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It's great, until you have actual responsibilities and you feel sick and exhausted if you only get 7 or 8 hours.
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Apr 29, 2014 04:26
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I have my paper day planner on my desk right now, it's currently open to March.
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Jul 4, 2014 00:58
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I'm going to see my psychiatrist this week. He's been open to the idea of me trying stimulant medication but I'm not sure he knows a lot about ADHD or the medications used, and I'm only really going by the book I have (which I mysteriously cannot find). What are the safer ones to try first? Would those be ritalin/concerta?
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Jul 16, 2014 18:31
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Two days in, I've been prescribed methylphenidate 10mg 3x/day (though I've been doing only 2x so far because of sleep problems/other health concerns). So far I don't feel any different, good or bad, although I've been cleaning up my space a bit and finding it a little easier to read, so maybe that's a good sign. I was mostly concerned about my heart exploding or something although if my monitor is to be believed my blood pressure actually drops after I take it. I've heard contradicting things about when I'm supposed to take my meds; the pharmacist said to take them right after meals so I don't forget to eat (hahaha fat chance), but I've also read that it's important to take them half an hour or more before or after eating, so the food doesn't interfere with absorption. I've also heard that some foods such as those with vitamin C will affect absorption (which I think I already did once by accident), and that taking the meds on an empty stomach can make you sick. What do other people do?
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Jul 30, 2014 01:30
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10mg ritalin has been strange so far. My heart races at the least strenuous physical activity, but I'm not really anxious about it. In fact I'm not really anxious at all, I'm quite calm. It's not really helping my focus or my motivation, though. When I was working today I was actually working much faster and smarter when my meds wore off. Maybe that'll get better with time, or the dosage will have to go up, although I don't care for my heart racing like this all the time.
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Aug 1, 2014 01:47
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quote:Is your child a night owl who seems to get a "second wind" later in the evening? Does anyone else have to deal with this/tips for coping? I'll be lethargic and unfocused for most of the day, then suddenly late in the evening/early night I'll become very energetic, driven to work, creative, and too pumped to get to sleep; basically the most "hyperactive" I get, since I don't get those symptoms during the rest of the day. Naturally this is a huge pain since there's stuff I want to do in the mornings/days but I'm asleep/too groggy to think. I'm familiar with sleep hygiene as well as melatonin/OTC sleep aids and haven't had great luck forcing myself to sleep at proper hours that way, but even when I do sleep I'm still quite tired during the day.
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Aug 27, 2014 01:43
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God Over Djinn posted:Does anyone have anything hopeful to say about ADD and heart problems? I was just diagnosed with ADD and a heart murmur almost simultaneously, and I'm scared that I won't be able to take medication for the ADD because of my heart. The ADD is pretty much ruining my life and I got to feel hopeful about overcoming it for all of a day before finding out that I couldn't take meds 'until further notice'. Obviously I'm asking my cardiologist about this too, but I'd like to hear any stories about people who had similar issues and had it work out OK in the end. This is really gonna depend on the nature of your heart murmur. For instance I was born with a heart murmur caused by VSD, but I never had any symptoms and it spontaneously healed up at some point. Some heart murmurs might increase the inherent risk of taking stimulants but your cardiologist is the one to ask about it.
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Aug 29, 2014 20:41
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When I don't have anything to do in the day I'll usually sleep from 4am-4pm, but usually I'll have commitments during that time which generally wreaks havoc with my sleep schedule. I went to a sleep clinic once but they were no help at all.
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Dec 5, 2014 02:17
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Yeah I went to a sleep specialist once and did a study, they gave me some info about sleep hygiene that I already knew and refused to do anything else. I've just accepted sleeping at whatever weird hours I feel tired at this point.
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Apr 6, 2018 01:40
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Mechafunkzilla posted:I went to a sleep specialist and they confirmed my DSPD diagnosis and got me started on blue light phototherapy and taught me the correct way to dose and use melatonin and it changed my entire life and allowed me to go to grad school and function as a professional so ymmv Melatonin hasn't worked for me but I'm interested in phototherapy, do you use one of those store bought lamps they use for SAD?
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Apr 6, 2018 02:02
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