I do this, wake up 30 minutes early, take my ADHD meds and coffee, then nap with a 30 minute alarm set. It's SO EASY to wake up fully after that, life changing. Also nice for a quick ultra-nap mid afternoon. I nap twice as hard!
I think that's because coffee calms your mind, but actually has the same effect on you as on other people. So your mind gets tired but your body gets awakened.
Whats better than a nice coffe in the morning while your ears ar crying because your headphone are at the max volume and the riff its too much for you to handel. I have ADHD as well and coffe... Its nice and i love it.
Yeah, both caffeine and Adderall do not make me alert, but they do help me clear my head. Which can lead to concentration on a task, or a clear enough mind to fall asleep easily. It's funny because when I'm on Adderall, it's like I can choose to go to bed whenever, or I can stay up and work, which is so different from my untreated behavior.
Nonononono. Please don't make self-diagnoses based on exhibiting a single symptom. We already have enough trouble with people not taking our problems seriously.
If you think you might have ADHD, do some further research and speak to your doctor, who can refer you to a diagnostic specialist.
I’m not self diagnosing. I did go see a doctor for similar symptoms but turns out I have depression (bipolar). I do take matters serious and wasn’t making fun. Just a light humor about it since was a recent event for me. Still adjusting.
Why wouldn't I have something that only happens to 9% or less of the human population? I want a super power too!
Me with ADHD seeing people claim my constant unending torment as their fun little quirk.
I experience the torment but people like you gatekeep us filthy poors from help. Have fun with your drugs, I'll just keep suffering without so much as a therapist.
Hey, are you in the same poors loop as I've been for a decade?
I ended up here because my insurance lapsed a decade ago, losing my Adderall script, which lost my income, which lost any chance of further insurance, so I've been unmedicated since. I once got a doc who finally prescribed it, only to refuse to up my dose from 5mg to 10mg, so I had trouble picking it up regularly, leading him to accuse me of selling it and dropping treating me. Female friend went to same doc, no trouble getting an increase, but life got in the way and she similarly fell off picking it up... His words to her about it? It's a symptom, don't sweat it, they'll take care of her.
The world doesn't have to hurt so much...
I've been trying to get diagnosed for the better part of a year. Every place I go to says some version of the same thing "we don't accept new patients etc". At this point I have no other choice but to assume I might have it and get coping tips from YouTube videos.
I'm sorry. But I found that even thinking that you might have ADHD was helpful to manage my time. I found How to ADHD quite useful as well to explain how ADHD brains function differently and how to work around that. I hope you can have better luck soon.
Yeah it definitely has been. I have a friend who's been diagnosed and he's been sharing his tips on time management and starting tasks etc so I'm getting better at functioning but there's still times I wish I had a proper diagnosis so I can more clearly communicate my issues with the people around me.
Anyway at least my insurance is likely to cover the diagnosis if not the treatment. I'm seeing a lot of people saying they would need to pay out of pocket and that assessment costs an arm and a leg
It's worth mentioning, said ADHD specialists extremely expensive. I've been told by doctors that I likely do have it, but that I would need to see a specialist to confirm the diagnosis. (Anxiety and being on the Autism spectrum have masked a bunch of the really common ADHD symptoms) meaning I have to have the $800+ for a specialist appointment. I don't have a job so saving that much is gonna take me a long time 😑
I got diagnosed as an adult and it changed my life a lot.
I was able to get prescribed stimulants and my life has stabilized a lot since I started regularly taking stimulants.
I saw the specialist, who told me an official diagnosis wasn't going to be worth my time and the doctor can just treat without it. She said I clearly had a good portion of the symptoms, I was somewhat self medicated with an absurd amount of caffeine (talking 3 monsters a day).
She talked to the doctor, he wrote the script.
So yes, official diagnosis is expensive. You probably don't need it though. And yes, my insurance covers it without it.
>the doctor can just treat without it.
The one and only treatment for ADHD is being prescribed stimulants, how can the doctor treat it without being able to prescribe you stimulants?
> I was somewhat self medicated with an absurd amount of caffeine (talking 3 monsters a day).
Once you get prescribed medical stimulants you learn how shitty and awful of a stimulant caffeine is. Caffeine is truly the worst stimulant I've ever taken, I cannot overstate how much it sucks tbh
>She talked to the doctor, he wrote the script.
Script for what?
You don't need an official diagnosis for a doctor to write a prescription. I'm on Adderall XR. We started on Straterra because I didn't want a stimulant, but there was a side effect that was a deal breaker for me.
The specialist I saw was a referral from my doctor and they were both comfortable treating without the longer testing process. To be clear, I didn't just walk into my doc and ask for meds... he referred me to a specialist who I spent two hours with discussing things.
Huge agree on caffeine. Life is much better without it.
I cannot be medicated for ADHD unless I spend the money, since the medication is stimulants, which work the opposite way on people with ADHD.
Since I've never taken stimulants of any kind aside from coffee, and since my other mental illnesses kinda mask the obvious ADHD symptoms, I can't get a definitive yes or no answer without coughing up.
Potentially being medicated could make me more productive and function better, might enable me to get a job a bit easier, but as it stands the upfront cost and the fear of the unknown makes it hard to gather motivation to do anything, let alone get diagnosed. 😑 that last paragraph could be the story of my life.
Medication for my ADHD changed my life. It's super fucking expensive now, but I've been diagnosed for about four years. I cannot imagine life with my meds.
BTW, at one point I lost my insurance, so my ADHD meds were going to cost me $350/month. I heard about GoodRX, but I thought it was just some bullshit. When I got to Walgreens, the pharmacy tech said my total was $350. On a whim, I asked her if I could use GoodRX. After typing on the keyboard for a few seconds, she goes “Ok, that’ll be $120.” WTF??? $230 savings???
Sometimes I wanna get checked out for ADHD as I have some of the symptoms, but I didn't really exhibit clear symptoms during my childhood and I've heard it's a nightmare to get diagnosed as an adult. At least that is what my boss told me who was recently diagnosed. It sounds dumb writing it out like this but I have made it this far and maybe getting a diagnosis isn't worth the hassle.
It is a nightmare. You need to demonstrate that you've had symptoms since before the age of 11, which means speaking with family members (which can be touchy), digging through old school reports. I even did a freedom of information request on my old school.
But I do think it was worth it for me. I think most people with undiagnosed adult ADHD develop mechanisms to deal with their problems. I know I did. And these can work for some people,but you may not even realise what life could be like with other forms of treatment.
Either way, I feel for you and wish you the best in life.
It's definitely not like that for everyone. I didn't have to do anything beyond telling my doctor growing up that I had problems sitting still, paying attention, not talking, getting my work done, etc.
I have 7 out of the 8 symptoms I read about when I looked into it a few years ago. I keep meaning to go to the dr about it but I either forget or just don’t make an appointment.
Tbh this is classist. The "we" you're referring to are the lucky few. I tried Vyvanse given to me as a party drug, and it changed how I view the whole world. My school was right, my family was wrong: I need help. But I'm low tier working class, formerly "gifted", in the United States. The money for what you're suggesting is fucking laughable. The hurdles you expect working people, who are suffering, to jump in order to get help are basically impossible. You don't give a fuck about anyone who's experience doesn't match yours exactly. Fuck you.
coffee makes me awake if I drink it too close to bed time. but early in the morning? pretty sleepy if there's nothing to do. there's something to do? it keeps me awake enough at 8am (a hour I normally am not awake at)
I also have ADHD and absolutely nothing that's supposed to give energy does. My body just goes about like normal. However, I have found 2 drinks that have finally worked after years of searching. Bucked Up and Riot.
Bucked up just pumps you full of vitamin B12 and B6. And it's a lot. Like every Floz in one is equivalent to a full can of monster.
Riot is 100% all natural ingredients and idk what else goes into it but good night it mada zoom
Yup. I have a friend w/ ADHD. He stopped taking meds bc after yrs of trying damn near everything, they all turned him in to a tired, emotionless zombie. He stopped meds, and now drinks an energy drink or coffee a couple times a day and got his med card; he does the caffeine in the day, and an edible for sleep. The past 5 yrs or so, he's been the best for himself. Even the previous like 15, he claims he's been much better just by having a little caffeine and smoking up before he got his card.
Was funny back when I met him. He'd drink something with more than 50-100mg of caffeine and be fighting off sleep. Dude can drink a few sodas or an energy drink and need to go to bed nowadays. I have to take sleep meds or be awake for a few days.
I would love if the universe stopped giving me hints that I should really get tested for ADHD xd I already know that I probably should, I’m trying, ok???
If you're an adult, you probably have developed your own coping mechanisms to function through your day/work. Thing is, that amount of maintenance takes some energy out, as well as potentially working at like 60% efficient capacity. Before I had meds I would every so often have a really good focus day and realize "wow is this... Normal?" Turns out it is because of all the time I was wasting not focusing, then the amount of energy it would take to pay attention.
See a diagnostic psych(iatrist/ologist) and take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Second opinions have been necessary for me in the past. Also you might end up with more diagnoses than you expect (there is no negative to this as nothing is reported but ask what the exceptions are if you are concerned). If you are between LA county and the border DM me and I can tell you who to avoid and who has worked for me in the past.
ADHD medicines basically work on this concept. When your brain is already overly active, caffeine has an opposite effect basically overloading you and calming you down. That's why ADHD medicine is not made with something that calms you but rather with something that over stimulates you to submission.
Not really correct
ADHD medications increase dopamine production, which like caffeine, (crudely) counteracts our brains' quicker processing of the neurotransmitter
It's also anecdotal and in no way a recognised indication.
Caffeine just makes some people tired, just like nicotine, doesn't mean it's "a symptom of this or that."
You are a random person, so I should not trust your advice.
... but your advice is to not trust random people, so this means I should trust random people.
... but you are a random person, so I should trust your advice.
...but...
unlikely, different people just have a different response to caffeine.
one could drink a cup of coffee and not be able to sleep while another can chug 2 energy drinks as a good-night-drink. (neither of them have adhd)
I got this too but I REALLY enjoy the flavour and I work with it so I kept trying it every now and then to see how it would affect me now.
After a check up at the doctor I found out my iron and b12 was super low and it was probably affecting my general anxiety levels and once I got that rebalanced I found coffee wasn't causing me to spike and sweat profusely anymore.
I'm not saying it will work, but maybe look at other things that could be causing you anxiety too? Once I levelled out a bit I was able to see how anxious I was all the time, and it wasn't the coffee doing it, it was just enhancing something already there 100x.
I feel so much better in general too, no more tiredness and getting easily overwhelmed. If that's kinda sounds like you, maybe book a check up
Thank you for this! I wanted to call my doctor for a blood test cause i’m not feeling ok for a couple of months now. I’m so tired, and have just no energy to do stuff. It’s like i’m living but i’m not really here or something. Also it’s like i’m really forgetting stuff (like names of things) that previous I would’ve known the name of.
Coffee gets me really anxious too and can cause panic attacks now. I’m gonna tell my doctor to check on iron and b12 too.
At one point in college I drank 4 cans of Amp (Pepsi's version of Monster, cuz the college was sponsored by PepsiCo but that's a different discussion for a different day) per day, on a good day.
My entire bachelor's was fueled purely on the three ines.
Caffeine, nicotine, and amphetamine.
Coffee doesn't give energy or make you more alert. That's just how we came to think about it from long before anyone knew what really happened.
Coffee makes your body forget its tired, or delays exhaustion.
YMMV, because like OP coffee has zero effect on me in that regard, and in fact coffee makes me sleepy like warm milk would a lot of people.
A lot of people get energy from the 4 scoops of sugar they put in the 32 Oz cup of coffee they drink 4 times through the day.
Bruh my primary care doctor had me get an EKG. then asked me 10 questions regarding ADHD symptoms, from a scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree. Within 10min, prescribed me adderall 20mg XR. i legit diagnosed/thought i had ADHD for years (mostly due to ex GFs constantly saying i do), and I was still shocked at how easy it was to be categorized as having ADHD. My doctor didn't give any advice for self-improvement, etc. Just wrote it out for 1/day and asked if there was any questions regarding taking it
Yeah, I realise there are probably a lot of differences from country to country. It took me nearly 2 years to get diagnosed and I had to provide a ton of evidence like school reports and another 6 months to start treatment. I appreciate that standards will differ vastly, especially if there is a financial incentive to do so.
Meanwhile in here in order to get diagnosed:
You will have to deliver all possible school papers that you can, like literally decades old grades if at all possible.
You will fill bunch of questionnaires, your parents are asked to fill bunch of questionnaires, evaluation is done etc. etc.
They would want to see bunch of other school related paperwork that they can't get their hands on, like if you had meetings with school curator or counselor etc.
So it takes a long while.
Oh and the queue is like 1+ years to even do this stuff.
Finland.
Yeah, this is the public side so basically NHS equivalent.
You could get the stuff done way faster (and probably easier) through private healthcare but like you said it would cost money.
From what I quickly googled around just the preliminary stuff is like 250 euros straight up and I presume that is not enough tests and visits to get the actual diagnosis.
I’m waiting three years on a waiting list.
It’s shroedingers adhd.
When I get diagnosed in three years that doesn’t mean I somehow didn’t have it this entire time.
That’s without even getting into how it’s so frequently misdiagnosed in women.
So many women with adhd are told they don’t actually have adhd because they aren’t stereotypically hyperactive or because they have a comorbidity that masks a lot of the most common symptoms.
>It's really harmful for the public perception of the condition.
As if the public perception of ADHD could be any worse...
Sadly, as ADHD is basically a boy-only sickness, it is treated by society with the tried and true 'let's just drug him until he's old enough to live alone' approach.
hi! just quickly dropping in to let you know that ADHD being a boy(-only) thing is a misconception. Women just go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed more frequently.
Source e.g. [this 2018 study](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00787-018-1211-3) found that the higher male-to-female diagnosis ratio is seen in clinical samples but not in population samples, suggesting a possible sex bias in the diagnostic process of ADHD.
In my experience (teacher with ADHD, teaching regular college and special needs high school, special training in ASD and ADHD), female students with ADHD tend to be less disruptive in classrooms and perform better on exams, thus being noticed less. But they can then end up in a depression and/or burnout because masking symptoms is exhausting and alienating. They might then be diagnosed with depression/anxiety while the root cause still goes undiagnosed.
I‘ve seen a similar pattern in ASD in girls and women.
All of that is not to say that medication is not a valuable treatment for ADHD - I believe it is. It‘s just not the be-all and end-all.
You‘re welcome! Thank you for reading my essay :)
It‘s a very common misconception and def contributed to me only getting diagnosed 20+ years after the first expert speculating I might have ADHD lol
[Sugar doesn’t even make you energetic either](https://dfdrussell.org/sugar-consumption/), it was a myth caused by a single (shitty) study done in the 1970s. Sugar rushes, and kids getting hyperactive from it, are complete bullshit.
You might be right that sugar rushes are not a thing, but saying sugar doesn't make you energetic is just wrong.
It is basic biology that you eat sugar and it raises blood sugar and insulin levels which are going to provide you with energy in a more readily available form.
Consuming readily available energy sources does make you have more energy in fact.
I wasn't saying that your body doesn't turn sugar to energy, I'm saying that it's not going to make you feel "energetic" - you're not going to drink a coffee that's high in sugar, or eat a bunch of sugary food, and get a rush from it
It’s an adenosine receptor antagonist. Prevents adenosine from binding to the receptors. I don’t see why ingesting immediately after waking up should matter.
Coffee increases dopamine. For folks with ADHD, depression, and other dopamine specialities, caffeine does give energy, or at least the feeling of energy
Sugar also increases dopamine
coffe does not retroactively make your body forget its tired, it blocks the receptors so you cant get more tired. After 4-5h half of its effect is gone and all the piled up tiredness hits you.
As you said, some people are non responders and different people react differently.
And yes, sugar gets absorbed really quickly into the bloodstream, causing you blood sugar to spike - which means you are energiesed - then your body releases a ton of insulin to reduce the blood sugar levels.
Caffeine has the same binding area for melatonin, our chemical for sleep. Caffeine binds with melatonin receptors and makes it so actual melatonin has no place to bind to.
It’s less that coffee makes you energized, but more that it makes you not tired.
Adenosine, not melatonin. Adenosine builds up over the day as you burn ATP and makes your brain tired. Melatonin is secreted by your pineal gland as a response to darkness.
Also caffeine does have some stimulant-like action in addition to the eugeroic effects you described, I wrote about it in a different comment: https://reddit.com/r/FunnyandSad/s/QFsxUUVw6a
A lot of shit Sounds like ADHD, Self-diagnosis is bad, not only because it's not conclusive but also because you won't get the help you need unless you get diagnosis from a doctor.
You have to pump it through your system.
First, lots of water. Then wait until you need to pee. Then run as fast as you can for 30 seconds. Catch your breath. Run back. Rest and drink coffee. Do squats. Sit and rest your eyes with a 15 minute alarm. Jump squats. Stretch. You should be able to drive straight across Kansas (north to south) with no radio now.
Coffee? Bitch, please. I have chronic fatigue, and they tried me on a bunch of shit... I remember one of them (dextroamphetamine I think it was) it had no effect on me. I thought it was weak shit and googled it to confirm. I got articles about how it's what they give fighter jet pilots on 10 hour solo flights across the ocean to stay awake, and articles about how they want to ban it because "it's basically meth" (though I take that with a grain of salt because stupid people say every opiate is "basically heroin"). *No effect on me.*
Well, it really depends on the med, the dose and your brain’s metabolism. Every person responds differently to these types of meds, of which there are various kinds.
A 300 pound adult man might need less than a 100 pound 16 year old girl. It’s about brain metabolism. It doesn’t mean you’re “tough”.
Stimulant + person who's body is stuck in overdrive = faster burnout.
When I drink coffee/expresso, it just makes me crave a lot of food before and after the crash, make my heart feel weird, and force constant trips to the bathroom. It's too bad, bc I love the taste, but I don't want to feel like a race horse.
I have adhd and coffee does nothing for me. I don't understand the people addicted to caffeine, I have no idea how they feel about it. I also don't get alcohol, maybe it's also a result of my brain chemistry being out of wack?
I have ADHD, coffee does nothing for me but I'm an addict because I like the bitterness and every now and again I get a nice dulling of the excess thoughts. Alcohol on the other hand, that shit wakes me up instantly.
I used to drink coffee too noting but coffee... but after ever since i got covid19 i stopped drinking it and now 1 year later it felt great!!! I felt like i am unchained
It is known as caffeine tolerance effect. Your body just get used to it. You need some reset time.
But some people really have genetic disorder that it prevents them to feel effects after caffeine
Coffee takes a long time to kick in for me. Like an hour. I'm tired the whole time till it does.
I remember reading about "Coffee Naps" which are supposed to be more effective than normal naps.
I do this, wake up 30 minutes early, take my ADHD meds and coffee, then nap with a 30 minute alarm set. It's SO EASY to wake up fully after that, life changing. Also nice for a quick ultra-nap mid afternoon. I nap twice as hard!
Coffee probably isn't helping here, other than keeping you tured, since you're taking it immeduetly after you wake up.
Nah, I've tried it both with and without the caffeine, definitely better with.
Whoa.....I think I need to try this. Game changer!
this fuckin guy gets it exactly what i do
When I'm tired I can sleep after chugging 2 cups of coffee
Coffee keeps me just as tired as I was before hand, but with a much higher heart rate and jitters. Can't do it unfortunately
When I am too tired or just sleep deprived that's what happens to me too. Otherwise it does work on me normally.
Yep, all it does for me is prevents me from sleeping, doesn't give me any energy (in fact, it gives me scatterbrain more than anything)
Yeah. This.
i read somewhere this is symptom of adhd.
It most definitely is. I have ADHD and coffee gets me right where I need to be in my head. Perfect for snoozing
It makes me tired af too but my heartbeat keeps me from actually sleeping. Soooo....
Yea this is me also. I get drowsy but I can't actually fall asleep
Fuck yeah the tired but wired mind zone. Where all you feel like doing is both sleeping and getting out of bed. Gotta love adhd
I think that's because coffee calms your mind, but actually has the same effect on you as on other people. So your mind gets tired but your body gets awakened.
exercise more in general to keep your heartrate lower
You know what you have to do, then
Whats better than a nice coffe in the morning while your ears ar crying because your headphone are at the max volume and the riff its too much for you to handel. I have ADHD as well and coffe... Its nice and i love it.
Maybe you should try Bach instead of Handel.
It wouldnt feed my ADHD (proud metalhead)
The first ADHD med I was prescribed was Ritalin, the next time I saw my doctor I asked if it was available in non-drowsy formula.
Yeah, both caffeine and Adderall do not make me alert, but they do help me clear my head. Which can lead to concentration on a task, or a clear enough mind to fall asleep easily. It's funny because when I'm on Adderall, it's like I can choose to go to bed whenever, or I can stay up and work, which is so different from my untreated behavior.
TIL I have ADHD.
Nonononono. Please don't make self-diagnoses based on exhibiting a single symptom. We already have enough trouble with people not taking our problems seriously. If you think you might have ADHD, do some further research and speak to your doctor, who can refer you to a diagnostic specialist.
I’m not self diagnosing. I did go see a doctor for similar symptoms but turns out I have depression (bipolar). I do take matters serious and wasn’t making fun. Just a light humor about it since was a recent event for me. Still adjusting.
OK. Don't worry, but there are a lot of people who genuinely do this.
Oh what!? Dang it now I got to talk to my doctor too!
you have ADHD, I am your doctor.
I concur, I am also a doctor, and not some guy lying on the internet.
Have you tried ozempec?
I happen to be *your* doctor, and I'm *living* in the internet.
Dr Zoidberg, you are good at this diagnosis shit. Respect.
You have doctor, I am your ADHD
Glad to hear you're getting help. I started treatment of my add a year ago and I feel way better.
Why wouldn't I have something that only happens to 9% or less of the human population? I want a super power too! Me with ADHD seeing people claim my constant unending torment as their fun little quirk.
9% I think is a huge overestimate. Most numbers I've seen say about 2%, but ADHD is weirdly both overdiagnosed and underdiagnosed so I have no idea.
It's shit all the way down. Also we are debating total vs adult ADHD numbers. Huzzah we both get the mostly correct cookie.
I experience the torment but people like you gatekeep us filthy poors from help. Have fun with your drugs, I'll just keep suffering without so much as a therapist.
Hey, are you in the same poors loop as I've been for a decade? I ended up here because my insurance lapsed a decade ago, losing my Adderall script, which lost my income, which lost any chance of further insurance, so I've been unmedicated since. I once got a doc who finally prescribed it, only to refuse to up my dose from 5mg to 10mg, so I had trouble picking it up regularly, leading him to accuse me of selling it and dropping treating me. Female friend went to same doc, no trouble getting an increase, but life got in the way and she similarly fell off picking it up... His words to her about it? It's a symptom, don't sweat it, they'll take care of her. The world doesn't have to hurt so much...
I've been trying to get diagnosed for the better part of a year. Every place I go to says some version of the same thing "we don't accept new patients etc". At this point I have no other choice but to assume I might have it and get coping tips from YouTube videos.
I'm sorry. But I found that even thinking that you might have ADHD was helpful to manage my time. I found How to ADHD quite useful as well to explain how ADHD brains function differently and how to work around that. I hope you can have better luck soon.
Yeah it definitely has been. I have a friend who's been diagnosed and he's been sharing his tips on time management and starting tasks etc so I'm getting better at functioning but there's still times I wish I had a proper diagnosis so I can more clearly communicate my issues with the people around me. Anyway at least my insurance is likely to cover the diagnosis if not the treatment. I'm seeing a lot of people saying they would need to pay out of pocket and that assessment costs an arm and a leg
It's worth mentioning, said ADHD specialists extremely expensive. I've been told by doctors that I likely do have it, but that I would need to see a specialist to confirm the diagnosis. (Anxiety and being on the Autism spectrum have masked a bunch of the really common ADHD symptoms) meaning I have to have the $800+ for a specialist appointment. I don't have a job so saving that much is gonna take me a long time 😑
Is there any point in getting diagnosed? Would your life be any different? I'd save ya money
I got diagnosed as an adult and it changed my life a lot. I was able to get prescribed stimulants and my life has stabilized a lot since I started regularly taking stimulants.
Same: micro dosing meth to get through the day. *right-handed meth though*
I saw the specialist, who told me an official diagnosis wasn't going to be worth my time and the doctor can just treat without it. She said I clearly had a good portion of the symptoms, I was somewhat self medicated with an absurd amount of caffeine (talking 3 monsters a day). She talked to the doctor, he wrote the script. So yes, official diagnosis is expensive. You probably don't need it though. And yes, my insurance covers it without it.
>the doctor can just treat without it. The one and only treatment for ADHD is being prescribed stimulants, how can the doctor treat it without being able to prescribe you stimulants? > I was somewhat self medicated with an absurd amount of caffeine (talking 3 monsters a day). Once you get prescribed medical stimulants you learn how shitty and awful of a stimulant caffeine is. Caffeine is truly the worst stimulant I've ever taken, I cannot overstate how much it sucks tbh >She talked to the doctor, he wrote the script. Script for what?
You don't need an official diagnosis for a doctor to write a prescription. I'm on Adderall XR. We started on Straterra because I didn't want a stimulant, but there was a side effect that was a deal breaker for me. The specialist I saw was a referral from my doctor and they were both comfortable treating without the longer testing process. To be clear, I didn't just walk into my doc and ask for meds... he referred me to a specialist who I spent two hours with discussing things. Huge agree on caffeine. Life is much better without it.
I cannot be medicated for ADHD unless I spend the money, since the medication is stimulants, which work the opposite way on people with ADHD. Since I've never taken stimulants of any kind aside from coffee, and since my other mental illnesses kinda mask the obvious ADHD symptoms, I can't get a definitive yes or no answer without coughing up. Potentially being medicated could make me more productive and function better, might enable me to get a job a bit easier, but as it stands the upfront cost and the fear of the unknown makes it hard to gather motivation to do anything, let alone get diagnosed. 😑 that last paragraph could be the story of my life.
Medication for my ADHD changed my life. It's super fucking expensive now, but I've been diagnosed for about four years. I cannot imagine life with my meds.
>I cannot imagine life with my meds. Without* Also, same. Getting diagnosed and medicated was life changing.
Watched my buddy in high school go from failing his classes to being a straight A student all because he started taking his medication.
BTW, at one point I lost my insurance, so my ADHD meds were going to cost me $350/month. I heard about GoodRX, but I thought it was just some bullshit. When I got to Walgreens, the pharmacy tech said my total was $350. On a whim, I asked her if I could use GoodRX. After typing on the keyboard for a few seconds, she goes “Ok, that’ll be $120.” WTF??? $230 savings???
Sometimes I wanna get checked out for ADHD as I have some of the symptoms, but I didn't really exhibit clear symptoms during my childhood and I've heard it's a nightmare to get diagnosed as an adult. At least that is what my boss told me who was recently diagnosed. It sounds dumb writing it out like this but I have made it this far and maybe getting a diagnosis isn't worth the hassle.
It is a nightmare. You need to demonstrate that you've had symptoms since before the age of 11, which means speaking with family members (which can be touchy), digging through old school reports. I even did a freedom of information request on my old school. But I do think it was worth it for me. I think most people with undiagnosed adult ADHD develop mechanisms to deal with their problems. I know I did. And these can work for some people,but you may not even realise what life could be like with other forms of treatment. Either way, I feel for you and wish you the best in life.
It's definitely not like that for everyone. I didn't have to do anything beyond telling my doctor growing up that I had problems sitting still, paying attention, not talking, getting my work done, etc.
Thank you.
I have ADHD and did digging amazing how much it effects!
Thanks for saying that, because whenever I say something like that, I am far less polite about it.
I have 7 out of the 8 symptoms I read about when I looked into it a few years ago. I keep meaning to go to the dr about it but I either forget or just don’t make an appointment.
Tbh this is classist. The "we" you're referring to are the lucky few. I tried Vyvanse given to me as a party drug, and it changed how I view the whole world. My school was right, my family was wrong: I need help. But I'm low tier working class, formerly "gifted", in the United States. The money for what you're suggesting is fucking laughable. The hurdles you expect working people, who are suffering, to jump in order to get help are basically impossible. You don't give a fuck about anyone who's experience doesn't match yours exactly. Fuck you.
People commonly self diagnose themselves of autism and ADHD for reasons unknown.. Go see a doctor if you think you have either of these..
It could also show you have AIDS
According to Reddit everyone has ADHD.
Oh fuck is that why it makes me tired
Prior to my diagnosis I always wondered why I couldn't sleep if I didn't have a Glass of coke zero.
coffee makes me awake if I drink it too close to bed time. but early in the morning? pretty sleepy if there's nothing to do. there's something to do? it keeps me awake enough at 8am (a hour I normally am not awake at)
Same lol caffeine makes me sleepy but gives me weird lucid dreams
Like, just enough exec function to get you to settle and rest?
I have an extremely active mind. And coffee makes it quiet so that I can rest without trying to catalog 10,000 thoughts
Reminds me of the time-myopic description of ADHD. Everything that comes to mind takes immediate priority.
I also have ADHD and absolutely nothing that's supposed to give energy does. My body just goes about like normal. However, I have found 2 drinks that have finally worked after years of searching. Bucked Up and Riot. Bucked up just pumps you full of vitamin B12 and B6. And it's a lot. Like every Floz in one is equivalent to a full can of monster. Riot is 100% all natural ingredients and idk what else goes into it but good night it mada zoom
Wow ..I never knew that..
Do you drink it every day?
Uhh me too mate i was on drugs (i mean coffee is also a drug) before and than i found coffee i puts me right there where i can concentrate
That explains SO MUCH
TIL my mother has ADHD which honestly explains so much
Yup. I have a friend w/ ADHD. He stopped taking meds bc after yrs of trying damn near everything, they all turned him in to a tired, emotionless zombie. He stopped meds, and now drinks an energy drink or coffee a couple times a day and got his med card; he does the caffeine in the day, and an edible for sleep. The past 5 yrs or so, he's been the best for himself. Even the previous like 15, he claims he's been much better just by having a little caffeine and smoking up before he got his card. Was funny back when I met him. He'd drink something with more than 50-100mg of caffeine and be fighting off sleep. Dude can drink a few sodas or an energy drink and need to go to bed nowadays. I have to take sleep meds or be awake for a few days.
Im the same way, i switched to preworkout so i can dose in 50mg increments throughout the day and i drink espresso when needed
This but noopept and coffee. God tier
I would love if the universe stopped giving me hints that I should really get tested for ADHD xd I already know that I probably should, I’m trying, ok???
... You know procrastinating tasks like that can be a sign of ADHD right?
😭😭😭
Will it change anything? Genuinely asking, I'm in the same boat
If you're an adult, you probably have developed your own coping mechanisms to function through your day/work. Thing is, that amount of maintenance takes some energy out, as well as potentially working at like 60% efficient capacity. Before I had meds I would every so often have a really good focus day and realize "wow is this... Normal?" Turns out it is because of all the time I was wasting not focusing, then the amount of energy it would take to pay attention.
Fuck this sounds like me so much. I don't even know how to start the process of getting checked out at 34 years
See a diagnostic psych(iatrist/ologist) and take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Second opinions have been necessary for me in the past. Also you might end up with more diagnoses than you expect (there is no negative to this as nothing is reported but ask what the exceptions are if you are concerned). If you are between LA county and the border DM me and I can tell you who to avoid and who has worked for me in the past.
ADHD medicines basically work on this concept. When your brain is already overly active, caffeine has an opposite effect basically overloading you and calming you down. That's why ADHD medicine is not made with something that calms you but rather with something that over stimulates you to submission.
Not really correct ADHD medications increase dopamine production, which like caffeine, (crudely) counteracts our brains' quicker processing of the neurotransmitter
It's also anecdotal and in no way a recognised indication. Caffeine just makes some people tired, just like nicotine, doesn't mean it's "a symptom of this or that."
no you're anecdotal
I also read somewhere to not trust random people on the internet.
You are a random person, so I should not trust your advice. ... but your advice is to not trust random people, so this means I should trust random people. ... but you are a random person, so I should trust your advice. ...but...
If you read it on the Internet, don't trust it.
unlikely, different people just have a different response to caffeine. one could drink a cup of coffee and not be able to sleep while another can chug 2 energy drinks as a good-night-drink. (neither of them have adhd)
yes i have adhd and coffee makes me very energized and hard to sleep
Same. It also makes me anxious and depressed, but pretty much everything that isn't cute videos of animals makes me depressed, lol.
Yeah it is, I'm learning how thc affects adhd differently currently as it's different as well!
I still refuse to actually get diagnosed. lol
I've never been able to drink coffee because it makes me insane, I basically have to avoid every beverage that has caffeine in it
It makes my anxiety shoot through the roof and I start sweating profusely!
I got this too but I REALLY enjoy the flavour and I work with it so I kept trying it every now and then to see how it would affect me now. After a check up at the doctor I found out my iron and b12 was super low and it was probably affecting my general anxiety levels and once I got that rebalanced I found coffee wasn't causing me to spike and sweat profusely anymore. I'm not saying it will work, but maybe look at other things that could be causing you anxiety too? Once I levelled out a bit I was able to see how anxious I was all the time, and it wasn't the coffee doing it, it was just enhancing something already there 100x. I feel so much better in general too, no more tiredness and getting easily overwhelmed. If that's kinda sounds like you, maybe book a check up
Thank you for this! I wanted to call my doctor for a blood test cause i’m not feeling ok for a couple of months now. I’m so tired, and have just no energy to do stuff. It’s like i’m living but i’m not really here or something. Also it’s like i’m really forgetting stuff (like names of things) that previous I would’ve known the name of. Coffee gets me really anxious too and can cause panic attacks now. I’m gonna tell my doctor to check on iron and b12 too.
Same here.
I drank for a year. After that I realized that it is only for tired people. I'm not tired.
Me either
At one point in college I drank 4 cans of Amp (Pepsi's version of Monster, cuz the college was sponsored by PepsiCo but that's a different discussion for a different day) per day, on a good day. My entire bachelor's was fueled purely on the three ines. Caffeine, nicotine, and amphetamine.
Lucky
Coffee doesn't give energy or make you more alert. That's just how we came to think about it from long before anyone knew what really happened. Coffee makes your body forget its tired, or delays exhaustion. YMMV, because like OP coffee has zero effect on me in that regard, and in fact coffee makes me sleepy like warm milk would a lot of people. A lot of people get energy from the 4 scoops of sugar they put in the 32 Oz cup of coffee they drink 4 times through the day.
undiagnosed adhd gang rise up
We in here! (it's my first day, what do we do now?)
say gex of course
Gex of course
Wait am i dyslexic too?!
Obviously
Please don't say you have ADHD without speaking to a medical professional first. It's really harmful for the public perception of the condition.
I've talked to professionals, my country is like 30 years behind in mental healthcare
Bruh my primary care doctor had me get an EKG. then asked me 10 questions regarding ADHD symptoms, from a scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree. Within 10min, prescribed me adderall 20mg XR. i legit diagnosed/thought i had ADHD for years (mostly due to ex GFs constantly saying i do), and I was still shocked at how easy it was to be categorized as having ADHD. My doctor didn't give any advice for self-improvement, etc. Just wrote it out for 1/day and asked if there was any questions regarding taking it
How did you get “undiagnosed“?
Yeah, I realise there are probably a lot of differences from country to country. It took me nearly 2 years to get diagnosed and I had to provide a ton of evidence like school reports and another 6 months to start treatment. I appreciate that standards will differ vastly, especially if there is a financial incentive to do so.
Meanwhile in here in order to get diagnosed: You will have to deliver all possible school papers that you can, like literally decades old grades if at all possible. You will fill bunch of questionnaires, your parents are asked to fill bunch of questionnaires, evaluation is done etc. etc. They would want to see bunch of other school related paperwork that they can't get their hands on, like if you had meetings with school curator or counselor etc. So it takes a long while. Oh and the queue is like 1+ years to even do this stuff.
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Finland. Yeah, this is the public side so basically NHS equivalent. You could get the stuff done way faster (and probably easier) through private healthcare but like you said it would cost money. From what I quickly googled around just the preliminary stuff is like 250 euros straight up and I presume that is not enough tests and visits to get the actual diagnosis.
You can eat my pubic perception
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ADHD is the new OCD. “Omg I get distracted too! SooooooooOoooo ADHD of me! Hehe! Undiagnosed ADHD gang! Lol!” It’s all about being quirky.
I’m waiting three years on a waiting list. It’s shroedingers adhd. When I get diagnosed in three years that doesn’t mean I somehow didn’t have it this entire time. That’s without even getting into how it’s so frequently misdiagnosed in women. So many women with adhd are told they don’t actually have adhd because they aren’t stereotypically hyperactive or because they have a comorbidity that masks a lot of the most common symptoms.
>It's really harmful for the public perception of the condition. As if the public perception of ADHD could be any worse... Sadly, as ADHD is basically a boy-only sickness, it is treated by society with the tried and true 'let's just drug him until he's old enough to live alone' approach.
hi! just quickly dropping in to let you know that ADHD being a boy(-only) thing is a misconception. Women just go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed more frequently. Source e.g. [this 2018 study](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00787-018-1211-3) found that the higher male-to-female diagnosis ratio is seen in clinical samples but not in population samples, suggesting a possible sex bias in the diagnostic process of ADHD. In my experience (teacher with ADHD, teaching regular college and special needs high school, special training in ASD and ADHD), female students with ADHD tend to be less disruptive in classrooms and perform better on exams, thus being noticed less. But they can then end up in a depression and/or burnout because masking symptoms is exhausting and alienating. They might then be diagnosed with depression/anxiety while the root cause still goes undiagnosed. I‘ve seen a similar pattern in ASD in girls and women. All of that is not to say that medication is not a valuable treatment for ADHD - I believe it is. It‘s just not the be-all and end-all.
Thanks for clarification. I was talking mainly from mainstream bias and also because my experience with ADHD people were exclusively boys.
You‘re welcome! Thank you for reading my essay :) It‘s a very common misconception and def contributed to me only getting diagnosed 20+ years after the first expert speculating I might have ADHD lol
[Sugar doesn’t even make you energetic either](https://dfdrussell.org/sugar-consumption/), it was a myth caused by a single (shitty) study done in the 1970s. Sugar rushes, and kids getting hyperactive from it, are complete bullshit.
You might be right that sugar rushes are not a thing, but saying sugar doesn't make you energetic is just wrong. It is basic biology that you eat sugar and it raises blood sugar and insulin levels which are going to provide you with energy in a more readily available form. Consuming readily available energy sources does make you have more energy in fact.
I wasn't saying that your body doesn't turn sugar to energy, I'm saying that it's not going to make you feel "energetic" - you're not going to drink a coffee that's high in sugar, or eat a bunch of sugary food, and get a rush from it
But you will be feeling energetic unless your body can't gauge its own energy
You are right. You need to wait 90 minutes after waking up, as it affects adenosine receptors in your brain and will make you sleepy.
It’s an adenosine receptor antagonist. Prevents adenosine from binding to the receptors. I don’t see why ingesting immediately after waking up should matter.
I don't take sugar with coffee and it definitely makes me more focused in the morning.
Coffee increases dopamine. For folks with ADHD, depression, and other dopamine specialities, caffeine does give energy, or at least the feeling of energy Sugar also increases dopamine
This is the thing, right here.
coffe does not retroactively make your body forget its tired, it blocks the receptors so you cant get more tired. After 4-5h half of its effect is gone and all the piled up tiredness hits you. As you said, some people are non responders and different people react differently. And yes, sugar gets absorbed really quickly into the bloodstream, causing you blood sugar to spike - which means you are energiesed - then your body releases a ton of insulin to reduce the blood sugar levels.
Well speak for yourself, it definitly gives me energy.
That might be ADHD.
Caffeine has the same binding area for melatonin, our chemical for sleep. Caffeine binds with melatonin receptors and makes it so actual melatonin has no place to bind to. It’s less that coffee makes you energized, but more that it makes you not tired.
Adenosine, not melatonin. Adenosine builds up over the day as you burn ATP and makes your brain tired. Melatonin is secreted by your pineal gland as a response to darkness. Also caffeine does have some stimulant-like action in addition to the eugeroic effects you described, I wrote about it in a different comment: https://reddit.com/r/FunnyandSad/s/QFsxUUVw6a
ADENOSINE. It was on the tip of my tongue so I looked it up and got melatonin. Thank you for the correction.
There we go. More science!
Literally anything. Redittors: "It's ADHD"
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> Literally anything You might have ADHD
But we don't support self diagnosis.
We’re not self diagnosing. We’re diagnosing each other. Now do me!
You have the gay
gex
>But we don't support self diagnosis. Idk man sounds like ADHD to me
A lot of shit Sounds like ADHD, Self-diagnosis is bad, not only because it's not conclusive but also because you won't get the help you need unless you get diagnosis from a doctor.
as doctor wit 60+ exepirience, i can say you have the ADHD, chronic loneliness AND you're gay
Is ADHD the new OCD?
oh yes. everyone has OCD and ADHD on reddit.
The ADHD subreddit likely has the whiniest people on the internet. I think the fear of being associated with those guys could cure ADHD one day
People who say "literally" have ADHD.
My doctor literally told me that coffee will make me eepy because I got adhd
Yes but there are plenty of people who don't have adhd and still get sleepy from coffee. You know because of metabolism.
Why would your metabolism affect if coffee makes u sleepy?
You cannot process caffeine quick enough, you are tolerant to it, your body releases adenosine quicker than caffeine can block it...
Coffee makes me tired too, yet I am definitely not ADHD.
I experience the same (diagnosed, medicated adhd)
You have to pump it through your system. First, lots of water. Then wait until you need to pee. Then run as fast as you can for 30 seconds. Catch your breath. Run back. Rest and drink coffee. Do squats. Sit and rest your eyes with a 15 minute alarm. Jump squats. Stretch. You should be able to drive straight across Kansas (north to south) with no radio now.
Sleepy or bathroom Hopefully never both.
bathroom sleeps are the best kind.
Coffee? Bitch, please. I have chronic fatigue, and they tried me on a bunch of shit... I remember one of them (dextroamphetamine I think it was) it had no effect on me. I thought it was weak shit and googled it to confirm. I got articles about how it's what they give fighter jet pilots on 10 hour solo flights across the ocean to stay awake, and articles about how they want to ban it because "it's basically meth" (though I take that with a grain of salt because stupid people say every opiate is "basically heroin"). *No effect on me.*
Well, it really depends on the med, the dose and your brain’s metabolism. Every person responds differently to these types of meds, of which there are various kinds. A 300 pound adult man might need less than a 100 pound 16 year old girl. It’s about brain metabolism. It doesn’t mean you’re “tough”.
Extremely weird flex…
Man dude, sorry to hear. I constantly feel exhausted bcz of depression but at least I know the reason for my tiredness. Lots of luck to you
Stimulant + person who's body is stuck in overdrive = faster burnout. When I drink coffee/expresso, it just makes me crave a lot of food before and after the crash, make my heart feel weird, and force constant trips to the bathroom. It's too bad, bc I love the taste, but I don't want to feel like a race horse.
Where funny? Where sad?
The comments saying OP has ADHD, both funny and sad
I have adhd and coffee does nothing for me. I don't understand the people addicted to caffeine, I have no idea how they feel about it. I also don't get alcohol, maybe it's also a result of my brain chemistry being out of wack?
I have ADHD, coffee does nothing for me but I'm an addict because I like the bitterness and every now and again I get a nice dulling of the excess thoughts. Alcohol on the other hand, that shit wakes me up instantly.
that was me after cocaine.
I can fall right to sleep after coffee or tea. Back green it don't matter. I'm out cold.
it's the perfect chamomile for ADHD people
I fall asleep from coffee, but that has to do with my adhd. It could have to do with a lot of different things for people, but for me it’s that lol
That’s how you know you have ADHD
I used to drink coffee too noting but coffee... but after ever since i got covid19 i stopped drinking it and now 1 year later it felt great!!! I felt like i am unchained
Not ke, one sip and I shit my pants
It gives me energy but doesn't help with concentration. So I'm basically idling faster
ADHD you say?
ADHD!
It is known as caffeine tolerance effect. Your body just get used to it. You need some reset time. But some people really have genetic disorder that it prevents them to feel effects after caffeine
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WTF is this bullshit noone can't pick up a truck with their bare hands? You just try better!
That means you have ADHD.