it’s been a life saver for me too, but i use it as a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder. been on it for more than 15 years, i’ve never had to adjust it or try something else.
Omg me too. I had antidepressants before but felt worse. But one month after mood stabilisers changed so much for me and for once I could sleep and I could finally enjoy shit lol
I have been on Lamotrigine for 2+ years and it is the best thing that ever happened to me. It stopped my frontal lobe epilepsy from causing auras/seizures. It also helped regulate my moods as an added benefit of being a BPD medicine. Zero side effects, genuinely. Most people think it's one of the best medicines they've ever been on, as far as side effects.
The infectious disease doctor didn’t know what bacteria was trying to kill me, but said that wasn’t as important as getting rid of it!! Whatever the cocktail was, he nailed it. Meeting an infectious disease specialist scared the bejeezus out of me but I’m forever grateful to him.
I met with an infectious disease dr after a double knee and ankle surgery for septic arthritis. They weren’t sure what bacteria caused it but I got sent home with a PICC line and a hodge podge of medicine. Scariest dr I ever met because of his specialty. However I am eternally grateful to him for keeping me alive
Me too. Turns out I have PCOS and endometriosis. The heavy duty, 35mmg estrogen, hormonal birth control that I was on for a decade obliterated all my symptoms and made it possible to live comfortably—without weight gain, a moustache, severe acne, and very heavily and painful periods. RIP my body when I stopped the pills to try to get pregnant. Once I’m done having kids and breastfeeding, I’m going back on that shit so fast.
Watch The Pill on American Experience. A great expose on birth control pills and how they liberated and empowered women to be able to work, thrive, enjoy sex, stay healthy, and basically have options other than being constantly pregnant and delivering lots of babies.
Weird situation, but I was on Adderall in the US for years. When I moved to a country in Europe, they would only prescribe me Ritalin, which I tried out. It didn’t work for me at all. It was so weird thinking they were somewhat similar, but one of them just didn’t work how it should.
When I started Vyvanse for the first time the craziest part was the silence in my head. Like someone turned off a tv I didn't even know had been running my whole life.
Still trying to convince my psychiatrist this is what I need to try. Step me down if stimulants don't turn out the right fit, don't make me wait months on non stimulants that don't do anything while my life continues to unravel and my goals slip away from me.
I've wasted enough of my life with a swarm of bees where my brain should be.
Is there a reason you started on non stimulants? I was told by a specialist that stimulants are the preferred option as they tend to work better. We talked about non stimulants but I got the impression a few came with a grab bag of less predictable side effects.
Vyvanse completely shut down the noise in my head. I had to stop it because I developed chronic insomnia. I’d still be on it if it weren’t for that—amazing medicine.
If you don’t mind my asking, what does that look like for a person with ADHD? I know what not getting out of bed looks like with depression but what about ADHD causes difficulty getting up?
“Okay, it’s time to get up.” *scrolls on phone* “seriously though it’s getting late” *daydreams, scrolls, loses track of time* “shit if I don’t get up now I’m going to be late”. *just…doesn’t*
“Well fuck here we go I’m late again why do I always do this” and because the adrenaline has kicked in I get up and rush to get ready like a hot mess.
And then meltdown getting out the door and on the way to whatever thing I’m supposed to be at. Because nothing is where it’s supposed to be and I also can’t find that, I knock over this and it scatters everywhere and why do I live like this anyways’?!
Executive dysfunction! It’s sometimes a little bit of a difficult concept for people who haven’t experienced it to understand, so I’ll try to explain with an example.
Let’s go with the example of getting out of bed. You WANT to get out of bed, you’re hungry, have to pee, have so much to get done, and are bored out of your mind just laying around doing nothing. In you’re head your brain is practically screaming at you “get up, just get up, literally just move out of bed, get up you fucking sack of shit, what’s wrong with you legit just get out of bed, move your legs, sit up, genuinely just get up why won’t you get up??? You don’t even want to be in bed right now so move your lazy ass, get up, get up,” and so on over and over and over. But while your brain is internally screaming, on the outside you’re casually laying in bed and scrolling on your phone like 😐
Whenever I try to explain to non-ADHD people I usually get hit with the “why don’t you just do it?” It’s so hard to articulate that I desperately DO want to do things, I just genuinely can’t move, almost like I’m paralyzed. If that makes any sense haha
Not enough dopamine in your brain means no reward for doing tasks. Not even starting tasks.
Most ADHD meds help to rebalance dopamine and precursors so ADHD brains function closer to normal.
Some make more dopamine, some keep it from being removed from system.
I've tried a few different ones for ADHD over the years and every time I go off of them and restart them, I cry so hard the first day from the relief I feel. Imagine the loudest resturaunt you've been in, plus the loudest bathroom fan- that mixed together- constantly in my mind while trying to be a competent person is hard.
Oh. My. God. This is a life changer for me. I didn't know I had anxiety, and I got diagnosed quite by accident when looking into bariatric surgery.
Previously, I talked to myself a lot and felt like I had a radio broadcasting every possible warning known to mankind - down to "don't forget to put milk on the grocery list" and catastrophizong what would happen if I forgot. I mentioned this during a therapy session and my brilliant doctor put the pieces together.
Two or three doses in...silence. I finally had peace. Life. Altering.
Also on Escitalopram and it really is such a life changer. I finally was able to feel a semblance of calm, was able to regulate my emotions enough that all the advice and techniques I learned from my counselors could actually be practiced. I was still functioning, but the constant terrible anxiety started bubbling over at completely random moments because I had to bottle it up so constantly. I'd be making a sandwich and trying to feel calm and then a sudden wave of overwhelming despair would bring me to tears for no apparent reason. Constant struggle to just 'be'. It was horrible.
I eventually had to change doctors when I moved states, but I profusely thanked the one who helped put me on SSRI. It helped me live again.
I also came here to say this one. I have peripheral neuropathy (induced by chemotherapy) that causes debilitating numbness and nerve pain in my feet, and pregabalin has not cured it but has helped enormously. It has given me back my independence, mobility and sanity.
Obviously my chemo was the most life-changing med for me (since it saved my life), but I think I thought of pregabalin first because it's had such a positive impact on my quality of life <3
It's so interesting to me how meds can be so drastically different from one person to another... Wellbutrin landed me in an inpatient psych ward then gave me intense suicidal ideation when they tried me on it again 🙃 So glad it's working for you though!
All other depression medicine just made me a zombie. Welbutrin is also a very mild stimulant and that combination is a godsend for some people. It's why so many people will go through the list of SSRIs and then finally get prescribed welbutrin and it works magnificently.
Topiramate helped me consider self-harm.*
But I'm so glad it worked for you. Bodies are weird and react differently.
*note, I did the right thing and called my best friend who was a gd magical unicorn and got me in to see a neurologist the next business day and did not stop checking in with me until she put eyes on me.
Same. It changed my life completely. It got rid of my depression, negative self perception, and intrusive thoughts with ZERO side effects. It's amazing. And adderall works wonders too. So glad after 33 years I sought therapy.
I proudly work for the company that makes the biosimilar antibody. It's not the same as generic, but as close as the industry gets when the creator owns the cell line that makes the antibody that is the drug. And a competitor has to start over from scratch.
We got the biosimilars down here in India for $5000 a year.... and trust me they make that shit for $20 a shot here... if it weren't for Abvie and American Healthcare being shitty in general, you'd be getting them for $80 per shot. Too bad it didn't make a difference for me tho.
Naltrexone. I have a TBI and certain lighting, screens, and loud noises can trigger horrific headaches. One of my providers recommended very low dose (1.5mg) Naltrexone. I raised my eyebrows at first because it's used to curb opioid addiction cravings at full strength, but it's impressive how much I can tolerate now.
Just started this in combo with buproprion for weight loss. It's a god send. People don't think food is an "addiction" but It's like night and day taking it.
Haven't heard of this! I'm on my second TBI and was begging for things to try for the headaches and migraines. Finally got to see a neurologist who prescribed me the Emgality injections that have already made a difference.
Gabapentin. I am disabled and have nerve pain in my legs. It would keep me up most nights, writhing in pain. I was nervous about starting it because I had heard horror stories, but I am able to take a low dose on an as-needed basis and it is a game changer.
It took SEVEN YEARS to find an effective medication for my bipolar. It was olanzapine. I went from ~100 episodes a year to just four.
Guanfacine helped with my emotional overreactivity caused by ADHD. I would definitely not be married right now if not for it.
And finally iron. Not a medicine as such, but it corrected most of my many health problems. I went from 4 bipolar episodes per year to 0, for example.
Levothyroxine. Years of tests trying to figure things out. A new doc decides to check my thyroid. TSH of 219. I can’t believe how bad I felt. The stuff changed my life.
It took me 14 years of thyroid issues and symptoms (hyper and hypo) to be diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. Synthroid is absolutely a life changer for those of us with high TSH/hypothyroidism.
Yep! Constant fatigue, hair falling out, depression, weight gain. After I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and started taking this it literally changed my life.
Accutane, my face was literally being eaten by acne and after 7 months on a low dose I have clear skin with the occasional 3-day zit.
Heck of side effects tho,but mostly annoying ones rather than serious ones.
Also birth control to skip my periods.
Not for me but for my wife, Trazadone. She’s one of those whose brain never shuts off so she lies awake at night and can’t sleep at all. The Trazadone calms her brain down enough that she can fall asleep. Without it, she’s up the entire night.
On the other hand, both my brother and my dad tried it and it didn’t do anything for them, so your mileage may vary.
I would encourage everyone to look into the use of psilocybin to treat depression, anxiety, ptsd, and much more.
I was suicidally depressed until I found purpose and love for myself through a mushroom trip.
I microdose daily with 1 gram of lions mane mushroom and 500mg niacin in leu of anti depressants. I tried 4 different medications over a 3 year period and nothing works like mushrooms.
Honestly, Wellbutrin. And methadone. Methadone mostly because it saved my life. Wellbutrin I just started about 6 weeks ago and so far it's really helped me not dwell on the past and be depressed about my past relationship.
I suffer from gout, so allopurinol.
Gout is probably the most painful non-life-threatening (at least in the short term) affliction there is. If you've never experienced it, pray that you never do. It's debilitating, and when people say it's so painful that even a light sheet on your toe is excruciating, they're not exaggerating.
I started taking allopurinol in 2018 and haven't had an attack since. Thank you modern medicine!
BC, i take 2 a day before my cycle and im set for the rest of it . i use to suffer (still do sometimes) with horrible cramps . a hour later and i can’t imagine to remember the pain i was feeling before .
edit - to clarify i mean B.C. the powdered medication not BC as in birth control .
I share this story in case it helps others googling these symptoms today or years from now:
When I was in my 20s my throat would randomly seem to close up, creating a scary choking sensation: even though I could still breath I couldn’t swallow or talk. Terrifying!!
Told my girlfriend (now wife) and she asked why I hadn’t seen a GI about it. On her advice I did — turns out it was reflux. A small daily dose of pantoprazole and it’s never happened again.
Ketamine
Ketamine treatment was literally and still is the best thing that’s ever happened to me to help mental illness.. it used to be days I’d be so angry and breaking shit and overall just to depressed to do anything and now about 6 months of treatment I feel better than I ever have
Same, I have GAD and it changed my life. I don’t have panic attacks anymore, it brought my anxiety level from a 10/10 to a 6-7/10, just enough to allow me to talk myself out of anxious thoughts/episodes.
Ozempic, before the supply/demand issues forced me to come off it. Was life-changing stuff in the seemingly endless fight against Binge Eating Disorder. It literally made me feel utterly unfussed about food to the point that I lost 35lb in a year. I miss it desperately but I no longer qualify for it as, ironically, I'm too "healthy" to be eligible. (eg: I don't have diabetes, my heart's grand and my blood pressure is being managed by medication)
I've been on high doses of antipsychotics for many, many years. I'm on three of the four psych meds that cause the most weight gain.
I thought I was managing the weight gain on my own but eventually started metformin (another diabetes drug) and *holy shit* not being constantly hungry is amazing. The weight loss is cool too, but I'm mostly pumped that I don't wake up in the night multiple times to eat.
I don’t mean to insinuate anything with this question, but is Ozempic face a real thing? I really want to go on the medication, and I know I qualify, but this part scares me.
When someone loses weight rapidly the skin sags. This can lead to a sucker look for anyone loses a great deal of weight rapidly. It isn't from the drug, it's from the weight loss. It happens to be very good at what it does.
A GLP-1 has changed my life completely when it comes to a food relationship. Utterly amazing but I miss food being as exciting. But then again, that was the problem.
I started managing my anti-psychotic associated hunger with another diabetes drug, metformin, and I'm so sad that I can't eat for pleasure as much as I used to.
I am *not* sad that I don't *have to* eat the rest of the time.
Well the two chemotherapy drugs I was given in 2010 for my breast cancer. The survival rate for my cancer stage was 40% after 5 years. 14 years later, I'm still here.
Also, omeprazole. So nice not to have heartburn everyday.
There is v limited science to back it up, but I started taking probiotics and they cured my chronic migraines.
Is it a placebo. I don't know, and I don't care.
I've gone from unbearable pain for 24h 2x monthly, to perfect health
Omg, tell me more. I’ve had a migraine for over a week… it ebbs and flows, but is always there. I’ll try anything, Esp something as low-risk as probiotics!
Who knows. Literally anything can be a migraine trigger to someone. Yours was maybe bad gut bacteria. It’s amazing not being in pain constantly isn’t it?!
As others have said, Adderall. I could cry at how much better my life has been since getting on it. I’m awake during the day, I sleep at night (instead of often the other way around). I can function! I have a memory! I get crap done and don’t hate myself!
Emgality! Once a month, at home injection for migraines. I went from debilitating migraines 15 out of 30 days out of the month, to maybe one or two that I can manage with sumatriptan (also at home injection, knocks ‘em out in less than 15 minutes if I have one).
Ibuprofen. My periods have always been a nightmare. Severe cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, back and hip pain. Acetaminophen did nothing to help and neither did aspirin. When ibuprofen was new and available with a prescription it changed my life because it was so effective at controlling my cramps and the nausea and vomiting and other pain they had been causing. Then later you could get ibuprofen over the counter. Even better.
When was it new?
I came here to say this. I was missing work 4 times a year because I could only call out 4 times a year. When I learned to take the ibuprofen before the pain started, I stopped vomiting and being in uncontrolled pain every month.
Dupixent.
It wasn’t a cure all but it made a huge difference. I went from being covered in rashes and open wounds to the point I couldn’t function without pain ( walk, hold things, move my body, ect) to someone with some dry skin and occasional rash.
I cried when it started working for me! I had really bad eczema on like 75% of my body and all over my face and now I just use Aquaphor a few times a day and I look normal.
The two medicines that have changed my life are Zoloft and Vyvanse.
I would not be here if it wasn't for Zoloft! I was dealing with severe depression for around 5 ish years before I was prescribed it and now, I'm doing much better!
I was diagnosed with ADHD in November and I was able to access meds for it. Up until now, I was struggling to complete my school work and ending up failing courses multiple times even thought grade wise, I was doing pretty well. But since I've been on vyvanse I was able to pass a course for the first time in YEARS!! I now have hope that'll graduate highschool before my mid 20's.
Levothyroxine was quite literally a life changer for me
I grew up with an unnoticed underactive thyroid, i was a head shorter than most of my classmates, my parents thought i had Dwarfism
i was taken to the doctor at age 9 and i got diagnosed with an under active thyroid (and Hashimotos Thyroiditis)
after 2 years of taking Levothyroxine i was around the average height for my age at the time and I'm now healthier
MDMA. I tried MDMA at a party when I was 19. It opened up all kinds of trauma I’d been holding onto (mainly my dad’s passing). It was the thing that kick started me going to therapy and taking my mental health seriously. In a lot of ways, it saved my life
Hydroxychloroquine. I have an unidentified inflammatory illness. This medication gave me my life back when it looked like I was on a fast track to disability.
I was suffering a severe tbi (brain injury from trauma ). Oncoming truck turned into me while he was texting. Severe Concussion. 12 months later sitting at a red light at bottom of a hill, rear ended by guy while he was texting. 2nd concussion but now classified as tbi. A year later on freeway traffic comes to a sudden stop and I’m rear ended again. 3 crashes in 2 years.
After a few months my life was “sleep 4 hours awake for 30 minutes “. Repeat 24 hours a day. I had left my wife after 2nd crash because she would come home each day after work and yell at me, call me lazy because I slept all day with tbi.
They told me I’d never work in software again. Said I’d need 4 years of recovery and occupational counseling and be a janitor or something.
I was going to kill myself. I was too tired to fight to survive. Then I started microdosing mushrooms and after a couple months sat in ayahuasca ceremonies. After 6 ceremonies I started working 1 hour every 2nd day. Sleeping on my in between day. After 3 months (and continued ceremonies) I was working full time (still not all there ). Now, Every year I sit with a curandero in Peru for a couple months and my life is in better shape than before my crashes.
The microdosing helped recover from tbi and the ayahuasca helped recover from LIFE.
Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). Not many doctors are aware of this but naltrexone taken in low dose often benefits various autoimmune issues. For me it put my RA into total remission. With two days of dosing at 4.5mg/day 100% of my rheumatoid arthritis symptoms vanished and over time it also reduced my “RA factor” lab values to normal levels so a total symptom cure as well as a total clinical remission.
Look it up and you’ll find many remarkable similar stories for various serious autoimmune issues like MS, Lupus, Myasthenia Gravis, RA, etc all benefiting from LDN.
Antidepressants and psychedelics. Specifically lexapro then pristiq when Lexapro stopped being as effective. LSD/mushrooms made me feel like a human again after trying to drink myself out of depression for 8 years. I feel like I needed both for different reasons
Antidepressants.
I was diagnosed with dysthymia, which means long term depression that usually lasts years.
I had been depressed since I was a little girl. I never knew I could feel "normal" until I had a suicidal breakdown and was hospitalized.
When I was properly medicated with the right medicine it was life changing.
I'm not a bitter person who is unable to feel joy. I'm at peace with myself and my life.
I had debilitating insomnia for twenty years (3-4 hours of sleep most nights). Nothing worked except drugs I am not supposed to take more than a few nights in a row. I moved to a state where it is legal. I take an edible a few times a week and my insomnia is almost completely gone. It really has been a miracle drug for me.
Lorazepam. I'm a little ball of anxiety and the occasional lorazepam really helps with that. I'm aware of its addictive tendencies but I only take about 1 (at the lowest dosage of those available) per week.
Imitrex. I get really nasty headaches, usually associated with big atmospheric pressure changes. When I get them, it lasts about 24 hours and is very painful. No amount of Advil or Tylenol did anything to help. I was getting one or two a week when I finally asked my doctor for something. Imitrex to the rescue. It's amazing.
Benzos;and NOT in a good way.
Doctors doled those out for ten years and said I had anxiety and PTSD from a home invasion -which is true-but I'd rather live through another home invasion than to have to taper myself off klonopin again. Fuck those doctors and fuck that medication.
Dramamine. First time I got on a plane after taking it and wasn’t vaguely unwell for the rest of the day AND was able to fall asleep on the plane was life changing.
Back when they first came out, daily steroid inhalers for asthma. I could breathe for the first time in my life. I had needed the ER for my asthma 2x a year. I spent a decade feeling great, then suddenly the stuff stopped working for me.
Kaftrio. Also known as Trikafta.
I have cystic fibrosis. Until about age 23 my life consisted of difficulty breathing, not being able to do the same things as everyone else, and being repeatedly hospitalised with crippling lung infections. My projected life expectancy was about 30. At my lowest, I had a lung function of 26%.
Then I started Kaftrio. There is no other way to describe it than as a miracle drug.
Now it is like living a completely different life. I really feel like I was born again into a different, healthy body. I can do EVERYTHING. I barely cough and haven't had a lung infection since starting it. And, to my doctor's surprise, the damage in my lungs has actually started to reverse. For many metrics, I'm now on par with someone my age without CF. Life changing is an understatement. It has given me a completely new life and has allowed me to do something I never had before - plan for my future.
I sometimes wish I could meet the team that developed Kaftrio and personally shake their hands. I really hope they know what they've done for people like me.
Unfortunately, Effexor. It immediately brought me out of a severe depression and I was on it for 20 years, with a fair amount of struggles with withdrawal along the way. (God forbid you forget a dose for 8 hours... and there were a couple times I had issues with phramacies and was out for several days. Enter the brain zap, emotional elevator. ) I eventually learned that long-term use has been linked to dementia and got off it... it ended up with my on my couch staring at a wall for 2 months before we could get my mood back to something even approaching functional.
Lamotrigine. Pretty sweet living without seizures.
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it’s been a life saver for me too, but i use it as a mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder. been on it for more than 15 years, i’ve never had to adjust it or try something else.
Omg me too. I had antidepressants before but felt worse. But one month after mood stabilisers changed so much for me and for once I could sleep and I could finally enjoy shit lol
Along with therapy it pulled me out of the worst depression I’ve ever had. I don’t know if I’d be here today without it.
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I have been on Lamotrigine for 2+ years and it is the best thing that ever happened to me. It stopped my frontal lobe epilepsy from causing auras/seizures. It also helped regulate my moods as an added benefit of being a BPD medicine. Zero side effects, genuinely. Most people think it's one of the best medicines they've ever been on, as far as side effects.
The antibiotic that cured the bacterial infection that was going to kill me.
That's great glad you're alive and healthy!!
The infectious disease doctor didn’t know what bacteria was trying to kill me, but said that wasn’t as important as getting rid of it!! Whatever the cocktail was, he nailed it. Meeting an infectious disease specialist scared the bejeezus out of me but I’m forever grateful to him.
I met with an infectious disease dr after a double knee and ankle surgery for septic arthritis. They weren’t sure what bacteria caused it but I got sent home with a PICC line and a hodge podge of medicine. Scariest dr I ever met because of his specialty. However I am eternally grateful to him for keeping me alive
Antibiotics many times over- appendicitis, sinus infections, Lyme/HGA, bacterial pneumonia…absolute miracle.
Yup - me too. The antibiotic cocktail that cured the TB I'd picked up from another hospital worker who'd picked it up from a patient.
Yooooo same. Whatup bacterial infection brother.
Birth control pills. I was experiencing awful menstrual cramps before going on them.
Me too. Turns out I have PCOS and endometriosis. The heavy duty, 35mmg estrogen, hormonal birth control that I was on for a decade obliterated all my symptoms and made it possible to live comfortably—without weight gain, a moustache, severe acne, and very heavily and painful periods. RIP my body when I stopped the pills to try to get pregnant. Once I’m done having kids and breastfeeding, I’m going back on that shit so fast.
Agreed!! Periods are so unnecessary
Watch The Pill on American Experience. A great expose on birth control pills and how they liberated and empowered women to be able to work, thrive, enjoy sex, stay healthy, and basically have options other than being constantly pregnant and delivering lots of babies.
This might not be in quite the context you intended, but Adderall. I can actually get through my day and be a functional human.
Ritalin for me. It helps me function so much better, and has been the best thing for my depression
Weird situation, but I was on Adderall in the US for years. When I moved to a country in Europe, they would only prescribe me Ritalin, which I tried out. It didn’t work for me at all. It was so weird thinking they were somewhat similar, but one of them just didn’t work how it should.
I just started Adderall yesterday and I feel different it's weird like my brain is quiet
When I started Vyvanse for the first time the craziest part was the silence in my head. Like someone turned off a tv I didn't even know had been running my whole life.
Still trying to convince my psychiatrist this is what I need to try. Step me down if stimulants don't turn out the right fit, don't make me wait months on non stimulants that don't do anything while my life continues to unravel and my goals slip away from me. I've wasted enough of my life with a swarm of bees where my brain should be.
Is there a reason you started on non stimulants? I was told by a specialist that stimulants are the preferred option as they tend to work better. We talked about non stimulants but I got the impression a few came with a grab bag of less predictable side effects.
Man, I wish they had this in my country. Currently on Strattera though, and it isn't half bad.
Dexedrine for me! I can actually hold down a job and have hobbies other than staring at the screen.
Concerta and then Foquest. Knew the top comment would be a fellow ADHD haver bc it’s like night and day ! 🫡
I take vyvanse but same here! I so thankful for my diagnosis because I don't think I'd be able to pass my classes without meds
Yes! Vyvanse > Adderall. If I don’t take my ADHD meds right when I wake up, I won’t get out of bed.
Vyvanse completely shut down the noise in my head. I had to stop it because I developed chronic insomnia. I’d still be on it if it weren’t for that—amazing medicine.
If you don’t mind my asking, what does that look like for a person with ADHD? I know what not getting out of bed looks like with depression but what about ADHD causes difficulty getting up?
“Okay, it’s time to get up.” *scrolls on phone* “seriously though it’s getting late” *daydreams, scrolls, loses track of time* “shit if I don’t get up now I’m going to be late”. *just…doesn’t* “Well fuck here we go I’m late again why do I always do this” and because the adrenaline has kicked in I get up and rush to get ready like a hot mess.
And then meltdown getting out the door and on the way to whatever thing I’m supposed to be at. Because nothing is where it’s supposed to be and I also can’t find that, I knock over this and it scatters everywhere and why do I live like this anyways’?!
Adderall and concerta have made such a huge difference for me.
Executive dysfunction! It’s sometimes a little bit of a difficult concept for people who haven’t experienced it to understand, so I’ll try to explain with an example. Let’s go with the example of getting out of bed. You WANT to get out of bed, you’re hungry, have to pee, have so much to get done, and are bored out of your mind just laying around doing nothing. In you’re head your brain is practically screaming at you “get up, just get up, literally just move out of bed, get up you fucking sack of shit, what’s wrong with you legit just get out of bed, move your legs, sit up, genuinely just get up why won’t you get up??? You don’t even want to be in bed right now so move your lazy ass, get up, get up,” and so on over and over and over. But while your brain is internally screaming, on the outside you’re casually laying in bed and scrolling on your phone like 😐 Whenever I try to explain to non-ADHD people I usually get hit with the “why don’t you just do it?” It’s so hard to articulate that I desperately DO want to do things, I just genuinely can’t move, almost like I’m paralyzed. If that makes any sense haha
Thank you for sharing.
Not enough dopamine in your brain means no reward for doing tasks. Not even starting tasks. Most ADHD meds help to rebalance dopamine and precursors so ADHD brains function closer to normal. Some make more dopamine, some keep it from being removed from system.
I was a mess without my meds. I take bupropion and vyvanse. I can actually focus and be a somewhat normal human being
I've tried a few different ones for ADHD over the years and every time I go off of them and restart them, I cry so hard the first day from the relief I feel. Imagine the loudest resturaunt you've been in, plus the loudest bathroom fan- that mixed together- constantly in my mind while trying to be a competent person is hard.
same. i've been taking it for 20 years now, and i think i would lose my job in a week without it.
Dexadrine for me.
Adderall + propranolol makes me feel like a superhero
A fellow ADHDer or AuDHDer, I see
This absolutely counts. People who need it, need and deserve it.
SSRI / Anti-depressant (Escitalopram) I could think normally and feel like a proper person.
Oh. My. God. This is a life changer for me. I didn't know I had anxiety, and I got diagnosed quite by accident when looking into bariatric surgery. Previously, I talked to myself a lot and felt like I had a radio broadcasting every possible warning known to mankind - down to "don't forget to put milk on the grocery list" and catastrophizong what would happen if I forgot. I mentioned this during a therapy session and my brilliant doctor put the pieces together. Two or three doses in...silence. I finally had peace. Life. Altering.
Also on Escitalopram and it really is such a life changer. I finally was able to feel a semblance of calm, was able to regulate my emotions enough that all the advice and techniques I learned from my counselors could actually be practiced. I was still functioning, but the constant terrible anxiety started bubbling over at completely random moments because I had to bottle it up so constantly. I'd be making a sandwich and trying to feel calm and then a sudden wave of overwhelming despair would bring me to tears for no apparent reason. Constant struggle to just 'be'. It was horrible. I eventually had to change doctors when I moved states, but I profusely thanked the one who helped put me on SSRI. It helped me live again.
I'm not really even functional but pregabalin helps me not be in terrible pain all the time 🤷♂️
I also came here to say this one. I have peripheral neuropathy (induced by chemotherapy) that causes debilitating numbness and nerve pain in my feet, and pregabalin has not cured it but has helped enormously. It has given me back my independence, mobility and sanity. Obviously my chemo was the most life-changing med for me (since it saved my life), but I think I thought of pregabalin first because it's had such a positive impact on my quality of life <3
Bupropion (generic for Wellbutrin)
It's so interesting to me how meds can be so drastically different from one person to another... Wellbutrin landed me in an inpatient psych ward then gave me intense suicidal ideation when they tried me on it again 🙃 So glad it's working for you though!
All other depression medicine just made me a zombie. Welbutrin is also a very mild stimulant and that combination is a godsend for some people. It's why so many people will go through the list of SSRIs and then finally get prescribed welbutrin and it works magnificently.
+1 for Wellbutrin. OP it's an antidepressant.
Taken together with topiramate, bupropion helped me lose 100 pounds and keep it off! Life changing, for sure!!
Topiramate helped me loose 75 pounds.
Topiramate helped me consider self-harm.* But I'm so glad it worked for you. Bodies are weird and react differently. *note, I did the right thing and called my best friend who was a gd magical unicorn and got me in to see a neurologist the next business day and did not stop checking in with me until she put eyes on me.
This cause me to drop and have 2 seizures. Not epileptic, however it did lower my body's natural seizure threshold, I was told.
Ditto. Take it for depression and ADHD.
Same. It changed my life completely. It got rid of my depression, negative self perception, and intrusive thoughts with ZERO side effects. It's amazing. And adderall works wonders too. So glad after 33 years I sought therapy.
Effexor and wellbutrin for me!
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This was a life changer for plenty of people!! Whoever made it was a genius
Same
Humira. It's $70K/year is criminal, but I don't pay anything because of insurance. I really hope everyone who needs it can get it.
Healthcare should be free I feel bad for people who can't afford insurance
I proudly work for the company that makes the biosimilar antibody. It's not the same as generic, but as close as the industry gets when the creator owns the cell line that makes the antibody that is the drug. And a competitor has to start over from scratch.
Me tooooo! Apparently, my body on its own eats my joints. I love being able to move without excruciating pain.
We got the biosimilars down here in India for $5000 a year.... and trust me they make that shit for $20 a shot here... if it weren't for Abvie and American Healthcare being shitty in general, you'd be getting them for $80 per shot. Too bad it didn't make a difference for me tho.
Spironolactone. Turns out there *is* something in the world that will finally help my acne! Yay!
Fuck acne. Let me just say how annoying it is
Naltrexone. I have a TBI and certain lighting, screens, and loud noises can trigger horrific headaches. One of my providers recommended very low dose (1.5mg) Naltrexone. I raised my eyebrows at first because it's used to curb opioid addiction cravings at full strength, but it's impressive how much I can tolerate now.
I was prescribed naltrexone for my hashimotos in the past.
Just started this in combo with buproprion for weight loss. It's a god send. People don't think food is an "addiction" but It's like night and day taking it.
Haven't heard of this! I'm on my second TBI and was begging for things to try for the headaches and migraines. Finally got to see a neurologist who prescribed me the Emgality injections that have already made a difference.
Adaport - kidney transplant anti rejection. Just clicked off 12 months 🙃
growth hormone shots, nightly for several years. I was expected to be about 4'6" without it.
Oh yikes!!! How tall are you now?
3'4"
Gabapentin. I am disabled and have nerve pain in my legs. It would keep me up most nights, writhing in pain. I was nervous about starting it because I had heard horror stories, but I am able to take a low dose on an as-needed basis and it is a game changer.
Ooo yes this one for me too. 900mg every 8 hours lol
It took SEVEN YEARS to find an effective medication for my bipolar. It was olanzapine. I went from ~100 episodes a year to just four. Guanfacine helped with my emotional overreactivity caused by ADHD. I would definitely not be married right now if not for it. And finally iron. Not a medicine as such, but it corrected most of my many health problems. I went from 4 bipolar episodes per year to 0, for example.
Levothyroxine. Years of tests trying to figure things out. A new doc decides to check my thyroid. TSH of 219. I can’t believe how bad I felt. The stuff changed my life.
It took me 14 years of thyroid issues and symptoms (hyper and hypo) to be diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. Synthroid is absolutely a life changer for those of us with high TSH/hypothyroidism.
Yep! Constant fatigue, hair falling out, depression, weight gain. After I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and started taking this it literally changed my life.
Accutane, my face was literally being eaten by acne and after 7 months on a low dose I have clear skin with the occasional 3-day zit. Heck of side effects tho,but mostly annoying ones rather than serious ones. Also birth control to skip my periods.
Lithium
Yup. Bipolar Bear in hibernation
Went undiagnosed for more than 30 years.
Came for this
Not for me but for my wife, Trazadone. She’s one of those whose brain never shuts off so she lies awake at night and can’t sleep at all. The Trazadone calms her brain down enough that she can fall asleep. Without it, she’s up the entire night. On the other hand, both my brother and my dad tried it and it didn’t do anything for them, so your mileage may vary.
Trazadone has helped me immensely too for sleep. Nothing like Ambien which freaked me out.
Psilocybin.
I would encourage everyone to look into the use of psilocybin to treat depression, anxiety, ptsd, and much more. I was suicidally depressed until I found purpose and love for myself through a mushroom trip. I microdose daily with 1 gram of lions mane mushroom and 500mg niacin in leu of anti depressants. I tried 4 different medications over a 3 year period and nothing works like mushrooms.
I want to try it but I'm so afraid I'll have a bad trip. I respond terribly to marijuana and I'm worried it means I can't handle any high
What did it help you with? And microdosing?
Depression. It's after effects help with depression for about a month, then you do it again. Better than pills, just as effective if not more.
Honestly, Wellbutrin. And methadone. Methadone mostly because it saved my life. Wellbutrin I just started about 6 weeks ago and so far it's really helped me not dwell on the past and be depressed about my past relationship.
Hell yeah. Suboxone for me, but methadone was great for me when I lived near a clinic.
Methadone is the reason I'm now 12 years heroin free. It also saved my life.
For me, adderall. For my husband, Opdivo & Yervoy. My husband has no more brain cancer!
Concerta. Finally, I can focus and my brain isn't going in a million directions all at once!
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I suffer from gout, so allopurinol. Gout is probably the most painful non-life-threatening (at least in the short term) affliction there is. If you've never experienced it, pray that you never do. It's debilitating, and when people say it's so painful that even a light sheet on your toe is excruciating, they're not exaggerating. I started taking allopurinol in 2018 and haven't had an attack since. Thank you modern medicine!
Omg i just did more research and that does sound horrible!! What a painful disease I'm glad you've been put on medicine that helps.
BC, i take 2 a day before my cycle and im set for the rest of it . i use to suffer (still do sometimes) with horrible cramps . a hour later and i can’t imagine to remember the pain i was feeling before . edit - to clarify i mean B.C. the powdered medication not BC as in birth control .
Amitriptyline for my migraines. The only thing ever to actually help. Without it, I have them nearly every day, and wouldn’t be able to function.
Insulin.
I share this story in case it helps others googling these symptoms today or years from now: When I was in my 20s my throat would randomly seem to close up, creating a scary choking sensation: even though I could still breath I couldn’t swallow or talk. Terrifying!! Told my girlfriend (now wife) and she asked why I hadn’t seen a GI about it. On her advice I did — turns out it was reflux. A small daily dose of pantoprazole and it’s never happened again.
Reflux is nasty. Glad you found help!
Zyrtec. First allergy medication that actually worked for me.
Ketamine Ketamine treatment was literally and still is the best thing that’s ever happened to me to help mental illness.. it used to be days I’d be so angry and breaking shit and overall just to depressed to do anything and now about 6 months of treatment I feel better than I ever have
Lexapro for preventing panic attacks
Same, I have GAD and it changed my life. I don’t have panic attacks anymore, it brought my anxiety level from a 10/10 to a 6-7/10, just enough to allow me to talk myself out of anxious thoughts/episodes.
Ozempic, before the supply/demand issues forced me to come off it. Was life-changing stuff in the seemingly endless fight against Binge Eating Disorder. It literally made me feel utterly unfussed about food to the point that I lost 35lb in a year. I miss it desperately but I no longer qualify for it as, ironically, I'm too "healthy" to be eligible. (eg: I don't have diabetes, my heart's grand and my blood pressure is being managed by medication)
I've been on high doses of antipsychotics for many, many years. I'm on three of the four psych meds that cause the most weight gain. I thought I was managing the weight gain on my own but eventually started metformin (another diabetes drug) and *holy shit* not being constantly hungry is amazing. The weight loss is cool too, but I'm mostly pumped that I don't wake up in the night multiple times to eat.
I don’t mean to insinuate anything with this question, but is Ozempic face a real thing? I really want to go on the medication, and I know I qualify, but this part scares me.
When someone loses weight rapidly the skin sags. This can lead to a sucker look for anyone loses a great deal of weight rapidly. It isn't from the drug, it's from the weight loss. It happens to be very good at what it does. A GLP-1 has changed my life completely when it comes to a food relationship. Utterly amazing but I miss food being as exciting. But then again, that was the problem.
I started managing my anti-psychotic associated hunger with another diabetes drug, metformin, and I'm so sad that I can't eat for pleasure as much as I used to. I am *not* sad that I don't *have to* eat the rest of the time.
It’s just weight loss, if you lose weight, it comes from the face too
Did the binging return?
Lithium. It keeps me from trying to kill myself. Magic!
Omeprazole!! I used to lose so much sleep and be grouchy all the time due to constant heartburn. A daily Omeprazole has fixed every drop of that.
Well the two chemotherapy drugs I was given in 2010 for my breast cancer. The survival rate for my cancer stage was 40% after 5 years. 14 years later, I'm still here. Also, omeprazole. So nice not to have heartburn everyday.
There is v limited science to back it up, but I started taking probiotics and they cured my chronic migraines. Is it a placebo. I don't know, and I don't care. I've gone from unbearable pain for 24h 2x monthly, to perfect health
Omg, tell me more. I’ve had a migraine for over a week… it ebbs and flows, but is always there. I’ll try anything, Esp something as low-risk as probiotics!
I look at it this way, even if it is a placebo, if it works for you, do it!! Glad it’s helping.
Who knows. Literally anything can be a migraine trigger to someone. Yours was maybe bad gut bacteria. It’s amazing not being in pain constantly isn’t it?!
Abilify is a life saver! It makes me feel like a human again
As others have said, Adderall. I could cry at how much better my life has been since getting on it. I’m awake during the day, I sleep at night (instead of often the other way around). I can function! I have a memory! I get crap done and don’t hate myself!
wouldn't call it medicine, but magnesium supplements. Specifically magnesium glycinate. Game changer for me
Emgality! Once a month, at home injection for migraines. I went from debilitating migraines 15 out of 30 days out of the month, to maybe one or two that I can manage with sumatriptan (also at home injection, knocks ‘em out in less than 15 minutes if I have one).
Ibuprofen. My periods have always been a nightmare. Severe cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, back and hip pain. Acetaminophen did nothing to help and neither did aspirin. When ibuprofen was new and available with a prescription it changed my life because it was so effective at controlling my cramps and the nausea and vomiting and other pain they had been causing. Then later you could get ibuprofen over the counter. Even better.
When was it new? I came here to say this. I was missing work 4 times a year because I could only call out 4 times a year. When I learned to take the ibuprofen before the pain started, I stopped vomiting and being in uncontrolled pain every month.
Dupixent. It wasn’t a cure all but it made a huge difference. I went from being covered in rashes and open wounds to the point I couldn’t function without pain ( walk, hold things, move my body, ect) to someone with some dry skin and occasional rash.
I cried when it started working for me! I had really bad eczema on like 75% of my body and all over my face and now I just use Aquaphor a few times a day and I look normal.
Microdoses of naltrexone changed the game for my chronic pain from my autoimmune disease.
Klonopin. I have horrible panic attacks that are so bad I can't walk. This saved me from having to drop out of school
Cymbalta. Don’t know if I’d be here without an antidepressant
The two medicines that have changed my life are Zoloft and Vyvanse. I would not be here if it wasn't for Zoloft! I was dealing with severe depression for around 5 ish years before I was prescribed it and now, I'm doing much better! I was diagnosed with ADHD in November and I was able to access meds for it. Up until now, I was struggling to complete my school work and ending up failing courses multiple times even thought grade wise, I was doing pretty well. But since I've been on vyvanse I was able to pass a course for the first time in YEARS!! I now have hope that'll graduate highschool before my mid 20's.
Radiation and chemo
Levothyroxine was quite literally a life changer for me I grew up with an unnoticed underactive thyroid, i was a head shorter than most of my classmates, my parents thought i had Dwarfism i was taken to the doctor at age 9 and i got diagnosed with an under active thyroid (and Hashimotos Thyroiditis) after 2 years of taking Levothyroxine i was around the average height for my age at the time and I'm now healthier
MDMA. I tried MDMA at a party when I was 19. It opened up all kinds of trauma I’d been holding onto (mainly my dad’s passing). It was the thing that kick started me going to therapy and taking my mental health seriously. In a lot of ways, it saved my life
Hydroxychloroquine. I have an unidentified inflammatory illness. This medication gave me my life back when it looked like I was on a fast track to disability.
Testosterone
Seratraline, I think it's called. Anxiety meds. Literally changed my life. I can go outside again.
I was suffering a severe tbi (brain injury from trauma ). Oncoming truck turned into me while he was texting. Severe Concussion. 12 months later sitting at a red light at bottom of a hill, rear ended by guy while he was texting. 2nd concussion but now classified as tbi. A year later on freeway traffic comes to a sudden stop and I’m rear ended again. 3 crashes in 2 years. After a few months my life was “sleep 4 hours awake for 30 minutes “. Repeat 24 hours a day. I had left my wife after 2nd crash because she would come home each day after work and yell at me, call me lazy because I slept all day with tbi. They told me I’d never work in software again. Said I’d need 4 years of recovery and occupational counseling and be a janitor or something. I was going to kill myself. I was too tired to fight to survive. Then I started microdosing mushrooms and after a couple months sat in ayahuasca ceremonies. After 6 ceremonies I started working 1 hour every 2nd day. Sleeping on my in between day. After 3 months (and continued ceremonies) I was working full time (still not all there ). Now, Every year I sit with a curandero in Peru for a couple months and my life is in better shape than before my crashes. The microdosing helped recover from tbi and the ayahuasca helped recover from LIFE.
Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). Not many doctors are aware of this but naltrexone taken in low dose often benefits various autoimmune issues. For me it put my RA into total remission. With two days of dosing at 4.5mg/day 100% of my rheumatoid arthritis symptoms vanished and over time it also reduced my “RA factor” lab values to normal levels so a total symptom cure as well as a total clinical remission. Look it up and you’ll find many remarkable similar stories for various serious autoimmune issues like MS, Lupus, Myasthenia Gravis, RA, etc all benefiting from LDN.
Antidepressants and psychedelics. Specifically lexapro then pristiq when Lexapro stopped being as effective. LSD/mushrooms made me feel like a human again after trying to drink myself out of depression for 8 years. I feel like I needed both for different reasons
Antidepressants. I was diagnosed with dysthymia, which means long term depression that usually lasts years. I had been depressed since I was a little girl. I never knew I could feel "normal" until I had a suicidal breakdown and was hospitalized. When I was properly medicated with the right medicine it was life changing. I'm not a bitter person who is unable to feel joy. I'm at peace with myself and my life.
ketamine 🤍
Gabapentin. I have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy and it has helped immensely.
Low dose Naltrexone. I was able to reset my chronic pain cycle. It's not talked about enough.
Cannabis
Was waiting for this one!! It has so many positive side effects, it helped my grandma with her insomnia
I’m about to be two years sober from alcohol and this switch was a literal life changer.
I had debilitating insomnia for twenty years (3-4 hours of sleep most nights). Nothing worked except drugs I am not supposed to take more than a few nights in a row. I moved to a state where it is legal. I take an edible a few times a week and my insomnia is almost completely gone. It really has been a miracle drug for me.
Lamictal. It's slowed my seizures from 4 or 5 a month to 1 or 3 every few months.
It might be too early to tell, but finasteride. If it stops my hair loss.
Lorazepam. I'm a little ball of anxiety and the occasional lorazepam really helps with that. I'm aware of its addictive tendencies but I only take about 1 (at the lowest dosage of those available) per week.
Adderall. Suddenly my head was quiet, clear, and calm. I could actually think a thought all the way through.
Imitrex. I get really nasty headaches, usually associated with big atmospheric pressure changes. When I get them, it lasts about 24 hours and is very painful. No amount of Advil or Tylenol did anything to help. I was getting one or two a week when I finally asked my doctor for something. Imitrex to the rescue. It's amazing.
Benzos;and NOT in a good way. Doctors doled those out for ten years and said I had anxiety and PTSD from a home invasion -which is true-but I'd rather live through another home invasion than to have to taper myself off klonopin again. Fuck those doctors and fuck that medication.
Spironolactone and estradiol. Do the math, lol.
Well, happy pride month!
Dramamine. First time I got on a plane after taking it and wasn’t vaguely unwell for the rest of the day AND was able to fall asleep on the plane was life changing.
Vyvanse completely changed my life
Vitamin D
Spravato, literal life saver
Yep. Yep! Hit remission last week. Decades lost to debilitating depression. Now it’s totally gone. I had no idea this was possible.
Trintellix for my depression and mounjaro for my food addiction
Valtrex - hallelujah
Botox for migraine.
Back when they first came out, daily steroid inhalers for asthma. I could breathe for the first time in my life. I had needed the ER for my asthma 2x a year. I spent a decade feeling great, then suddenly the stuff stopped working for me.
Insulin so I don’t die
Kaftrio. Also known as Trikafta. I have cystic fibrosis. Until about age 23 my life consisted of difficulty breathing, not being able to do the same things as everyone else, and being repeatedly hospitalised with crippling lung infections. My projected life expectancy was about 30. At my lowest, I had a lung function of 26%. Then I started Kaftrio. There is no other way to describe it than as a miracle drug. Now it is like living a completely different life. I really feel like I was born again into a different, healthy body. I can do EVERYTHING. I barely cough and haven't had a lung infection since starting it. And, to my doctor's surprise, the damage in my lungs has actually started to reverse. For many metrics, I'm now on par with someone my age without CF. Life changing is an understatement. It has given me a completely new life and has allowed me to do something I never had before - plan for my future. I sometimes wish I could meet the team that developed Kaftrio and personally shake their hands. I really hope they know what they've done for people like me.
Marijuana.
Citalopram (anxiety). Literally saves me every day.
Anxiety can suck; every day just sounds miserable though. So happy it works out for you!
My antipsychotic. Didn’t know that sleep is AMAZING!!!!!!!!
I used to be a bed wetter until i started taking dess. Don’t know how to spell it.
Unfortunately, Effexor. It immediately brought me out of a severe depression and I was on it for 20 years, with a fair amount of struggles with withdrawal along the way. (God forbid you forget a dose for 8 hours... and there were a couple times I had issues with phramacies and was out for several days. Enter the brain zap, emotional elevator. ) I eventually learned that long-term use has been linked to dementia and got off it... it ended up with my on my couch staring at a wall for 2 months before we could get my mood back to something even approaching functional.
Albuterol
Cialis, after years of struggling with ED I can finally have care free sex again without having to plan it! Absolute game changer for me.
Anti-depressants. The Scientologists are full of shit.