A casual community for people with ADHD
Values:
Acceptance, Openness, Understanding, Equality, Reciprocity.
Rules:
Encouraged:
Relevant Lemmy communities:
lemmy.world/c/adhd will happily promote other ND communities as long as said communities demonstrate that they share our values.
My anxiety, depression, and executive dysfunction prevent me from talking to a therapist and getting a diagnosis. I am so sick of this...
CBD gummies have worked miracles for my depression and anxiety. Depending on where you live, maybe give it a try for a week or two and see what happens?
What dosage are you taking, when, and what type?
These guys work really well.
https://wyldcbd.com/products/raspberry-gummies
They have different flavors, and for me the peach ones work really well
This is the state of U.S. healthcare, homie just prescribed peach flavoring.
I know this is accurate because I also live in this hellhole.
It’s great, isn’t it? I also got laid off at the end of January, lost my health insurance immediately so I had to cancel my gallbladder removal for the next week because I could no longer afford it.
ThE pRiVaTe MaRkEt WiLl SoLvE tHe PrObLeM
Just hold your breath, it will trickle down any second
I started with a 300mg per bag of 20 (so each gummy would be 20mg each). I would take one a night for a week, every other week (I’d stay sober when with my kids). After a couple of 300, I moved up to 2000 (100mg/gummy).
100%
It took me years to realize I had it, even more years to get a diagnosis (I was told I had "severe ADHD" btw") and even now, I'm out of medication more often than I have any due to logistical and financial barriers.
It's designed that way, because it has the same effect on everyone. People with ADHD are just starting with a lower capacity for it. The goal is to get as many people as possible to give up on getting what should be theirs in order to "save money". It's the same thing you'll see in certain software when you try to do something they don't like, for example, opening a link in an external browser, or contacting an actual support representative. Suddenly, this app is really poorly designed! It's not a bug, it's a feature
No, it's entirely a DEA thing. They have such a stick up their ass that must doctors and pharmacies are terrified of writing/filling too many controls because the DEA can fuck them in the ass for actually providing the meds people need.
My biggest fear living in the US was falling off meds and being unable to get back on them. If your life situation allows you should absolutely rely on friends or family for help. You don't need to do this alone, ADHD is a disability and you're allowed to need assistance.
you should absolutely rely on friends or family for help.
Aw, I wish. There are two types of people in my family. The first type is people who also have ADHD (unmedicated, at that) and/or autism. The second type is people who believe the first type are jUsT bEiNg LaZy.
There is no in-between.
As someone with unmedicated ADHD and a severe heart condition, I feel this rant deep, deep in my soul but more for my heart stuff.
You mean I have to call for follow ups every three months and also remember to fill my multiple medications every month or else I am sent on a death spiral? And you also mean to tell me that I can't take any of the typical ADHD drugs because it might hurt my heart?
Win win.
Germany here. It’s kind of similar here. The system is rigged against us.
My strategy is to use medication to enable me to build a support structure and learn techniques that help with dealing with symptoms. E. g. meditation, physical exercises that help mind-body connection, CBT, routines, etc. So that when I’m without meds, I can fall back on skills I acquired and trained.
What I also do is hoard medication. Ask for a higher dose or more pills, than I actually need. That way I can miss an appointment and still have enough for the next month or so. I even hide pills in different places around my apartment.
Shout out to all my spiritual siblings who skip days to stockpile meds because we live in a nightmare world.
maybe i got lucky, but my psychiatrist is private practice, and she lets me skip every other month and i just text to remind her to fill my meds. she's great.
oh, and offered to see me quarterly because she is encouraging me to find a therapist and i told her my budget is too tight to add another bill.
..yeah, i think i got lucky.
You guys don’t have repeat prescriptions?
I just order mine on an app when I get a reminder and then pick it up from the chemist a few days later when I get a ping.
Your use of "chemist" makes me think you're out of the US.
Most ADHD meds in the US are "controlled substances" and that means our doctors can only prescribe up to three months at a time. After three months we have to have a follow-up appointment, then they can prescribe three more months of meds.
Plus the federal government decided that too many people were taking medications like Adderall. So their "solution" was to instate a cap on how much Adderall manufacturers can make. Which means there's now a national shortage of Adderall. And that shortage means folks with ADHD are frequently going without their meds entirely or are forced to call multiple pharmacies in the area to ask who has their meds in stock. (My health insurance through work requires me to use a mail-order pharmacy because it means cost savings for them. But that means I don't have the luxury of shopping around different stores to see who has my meds in stock - at least, not to fill the prescription through insurance and get the lower price. So if the mail order place is out, then I'm screwed.)
Our healthcare system is so fucked.
I've never seen a psychiatrist - I was diagnosed by a psychologist and prescribed by my general practitioner doctor. My doctor doesn't make me come into the office regularly, I can generally just message him for a refill. I realize I am extremely lucky (not that lucky - I can't seem to tolerate stimulants), but I encourage people to try a different route.
I think state regulations might vary. Where I am, every three months I HAVE to have an appointment to get a refill prescription for my Adderall. But fortunately my psych is still doing virtual appointments, which is a lot less disruptive to my workday.
I've heard it makes reliably getting meds a lot easier if they arent stimulants, so maybe youve got that going for you? 😃
This was for stimulants, I haven't tried non-stimulants yet, but I am also of a demographic that doesn't arouse suspicion
The shit that pisses me off is the 4 week refill time because over the span of several months the refill date and appointment date get out of sync. Just make it so you can't fill more than three times in 90 days or whatever and it would accomplish the exact same shit but with way more flexibility.
Yes.
This is one of the benefits of being on non-stimulant meds, the hoops to jump through are way less (I still had to fight insurance for a prior auth, which took nearly a month). I use an online Psychiatrist (Talkiatry) and have been really happy with my doctor. I also only need to see him as often as we think is medically necessary since atamoxetine can be refilled. It's been shown in trials to be as effective as methylphenidate and works well for me so far.
The diagnostic piece though is indeed hard, but I can sort of understand that. It's a pathway to drugs with a high probability of abuse, and no sure fire way to diagnose. So from a liability and care viewpoint I get why psychologists do due diligence in evaluating people (especially adults) for ADHD. It still sucks if you need help, but in theory you only have to deal with that process once to get a diagnosis. Also, as many people have pointed out, many PCPs are willing to fill scripts for controlled substances if needed, especially once you are on a stable dose that you know works. Like many things, the start up is the hardest and it gets easier once you hit steady state.
Shoutout to ADHDcentral. They tried to make the process as clear and accessible as possible. With automated reminders.
I've never had a doctor or therapist take me serious. If I had access to the drugs I could self medicated diagnose better.
I'm extremely happy with the process I've had, but I understand it's very likely not representative of the rest of us here.
By and large, you're right though. My wife has gone through similar struggles and hasn't been medicated for over a year because of it.