ADHD - Adults

[shirt]

Woodrow Wilson said:

Being diagnosed gave me the impetus to leave my then job. I realised that it was always going to seem dull & tedious to me, no matter what I did or how hard I tried. It was blatantly a gravy train that enough people pretended was important in a slightly artificial business/industry.

what did you do then and what do you do now? role and industry / market if you wouldn't mind.

i used to really enjoy being a field based project engineer, really matches ADHD brain pattern and reward requirements. however a need for a stable home location has put me into the office 90% of the time and to say i hate it is an understatement. my day starts with a resigned sigh and the only thing i look forward to is going home to work on my motoring projects. my manager is well aware that his main challenge is keeping me motivated, and working on corporate change / strategy isn't doing that.

i have a side business that i don't want to get involved in day to day. i feel i need to either get myself into a role that has more of a mix of site/office that pays enough to warrant putting high effort into the bits that bore me [i'm looking at the saudi gravy train] or else get out completely and use the severance to fund something smaller, less well paid and secure, but more fun. the question around this is of course, 'what?'. i'm the wrong side of 40 and too practically minded to entertain dreams of a lifestyle business that can't sustain the actual lifestyle.

[TameRacingDriver]

I have great sympathy for those hating the job they're in with this condition. I feel like I'm in the same boat.

I used to quite enjoy my work, although many would say it was menial; I used to do IT support but there was a large emphasis on commissioning, installations and decommissioning. Go out in the van all day, have a bit craic with people and just get things done.

Without boring everyone with my life story, I've inadvertently found myself in a "data" role, and it's everything I said I didn't want to happen years ago. I also WFH and worse still my place seems to have virtually forgotten about me, so my workload is basically zero at this point. I'm having to try and do training on things that don't interest me at all just to pass the time. I'm certainly stuck in a rut and yet I don't seem to have the will power or motivation to dig myself out of it.

[sparkyhx]

Here is a good read from someone I know personally. Very powerful, open and honest about the struggles with ADHD from childhood and thru to diagnosis in his 40's. The missed opportunities, terrible NHS experience etc. and now light at the end of the tunnel. There is a part 2 to be published later detailing the journey thru a ASD diagnosis that has more of a 'happy ending' ooh er missus.

In his own words 'my journey to hell and back'
https://aspireautismconsultancy.co.uk/adhd-and-me-...

Edited by sparkyhx on Thursday 2nd March 17:05

[TameRacingDriver]

sparkyhx said:

Here is a good read from someone I know personally. Very powerful, open and honest about the struggles with ADHD from childhood and thru to diagnosis in his 40's. The missed opportunities, terrible NHS experience etc. and now light at the end of the tunnel. There is a part 2 to be published later that has more of a 'happy ending' ooh er missus.

In his own words 'my journey to hell and back'
https://aspireautismconsultancy.co.uk/adhd-and-me-...

Thanks for sharing.. That was a very good read, powerful, really resonated with me, I truly believe that living in an ADHD brain is hell sometimes. I can particularly relate to the depression, anxiety and propensity to abuse alcohol and drugs.

I still haven't enquired about getting a diagnosis but I really must. I keep putting it off, dunno whether through fear or something else. Maybe it's the fear of finding out I've wasted half my adult life struggling when I didn't have to.

[GiantCardboardPlato]

TRD - I spent a lot of time wondering whether to go for a diagnosis. I was - consciously at times, subconsciously at most, very worried that if I turned out not to have it that it would mean, or perhaps just imply that I was just a total bellend. A lazy, inconsiderate, incompetent tt. But... every description of ADHD, clinical and colloquial, short or long, male or female, really fitted my experience. I studied the clinical definitions and diagnosis criteria very closely. And it just sounded like me, it fitted. So in the end I was pretty confident. you know yourself best, and you're probably not a total bellend.

As for your concern, what diagnosis would mean about the necessity or otherwise of your life's struggles... it doesn't matter, they're done, they've happened. You can't change that. knowing why it all happened may be useful, but its not going to change anything other than your perspective on the past and approach in the future. getting diagnosed can't make your past experiences worse, is what I suppose I am trying to get at.

Edited by GiantCardboardPlato on Wednesday 1st March 17:30

[sparkyhx]

TameRacingDriver said:

sparkyhx said:

Here is a good read from someone I know personally. Very powerful, open and honest about the struggles with ADHD from childhood and thru to diagnosis in his 40's. The missed opportunities, terrible NHS experience etc. and now light at the end of the tunnel. There is a part 2 to be published later that has more of a 'happy ending' ooh er missus.

In his own words 'my journey to hell and back'
https://aspireautismconsultancy.co.uk/adhd-and-me-...

Thanks for sharing.. That was a very good read, powerful, really resonated with me, I truly believe that living in an ADHD brain is hell sometimes. I can particularly relate to the depression, anxiety and propensity to abuse alcohol and drugs.

I still haven't enquired about getting a diagnosis but I really must. I keep putting it off, dunno whether through fear or something else. Maybe it's the fear of finding out I've wasted half my adult life struggling when I didn't have to.

Thanks, the Part 2 will be going on soonish (its nearly ready), but we'll leave a gap between the two. The second is probably far more positive in tone. Many of the mental health issues mentioned in the one already posted are classic ASD ones as well and having a further ASD diagnosis also opened up further self awareness and other pieces finished the picture as a result he's far happier and settled now

[Woodrow Wilson]

TameRacingDriver said:

Thanks for sharing.. That was a very good read, powerful, really resonated with me, I truly believe that living in an ADHD brain is hell sometimes. I can particularly relate to the depression, anxiety and propensity to abuse alcohol and drugs.

I still haven't enquired about getting a diagnosis but I really must. I keep putting it off, dunno whether through fear or something else. Maybe it's the fear of finding out I've wasted half my adult life struggling when I didn't have to.

You should.

I can only speak myself, but since being diagnosed properly, things have improved for me. Helped, admittedly, by having a few months' break from my previous frustrating, work/"career".

For the past 25 years I had been very disappointed in myself. I could not live up to the expectations of my "potential" and I couldn't match the careers of those that I regarded as my peers.

I have recently felt much more comfortable in being myself, rather than giving myself a hard time for not being the person I thought that I should be or that I thought that other people wanted me to be. I no longer care, as what I value is not wealth, power or impressing people with them.



I'm probably regarded with curiosity by many people. I'm quite a complicated, multi-facteted character who is difficult to pigeon-hole. People notice my unusual-activity (albeit not a manic sort of hyperactivity) and excessive talking for a man (and my argument/passion) , but probably few can put a finger on it because I can appear smart and competent.

Having had some more free time, I was able to think about what I like, what interests me, what doesn't and what sort of people I like to associate with and the sort of people I don't so much.

There is no point in pretending to be something you are not.

During my work break I have done many things, and not once have I sat down to watch daytime (and rarely evening) TV or played on a games console.


It remains to be seen how my new work goes. <fingerscrossed>

Edited by Woodrow Wilson on Sunday 5th March 11:24

[Phunk]

Quick update after being on Elvanse for a couple of months, feeling much better, less erratic, more present and a better father.

Yesterday as a test, I tried to do a day without. I hadn't told my wife but within an hour my wife noticed a difference!

They won't suit everyone, but id recommend at least trying them.

[GiantCardboardPlato]

Good luck WW - is it a big change in role/sector/environment?

[TameRacingDriver]

Thanks for your posts chaps, I think I will definitely see about getting this checked out, hopefully my BUPA thing will cover it but if not it might still be worth going private. It would just be nice to know if nothing else. I've just got to pluck up the courage to do it

[jm8403]

Phunk said:

Quick update after being on Elvanse for a couple of months, feeling much better, less erratic, more present and a better father.

Yesterday as a test, I tried to do a day without. I hadn't told my wife but within an hour my wife noticed a difference!

They won't suit everyone, but id recommend at least trying them.

sorry if I missed it - can I buy this in the pharmacy without prescription from a dr?

[GiantCardboardPlato]

jm8403 said:

sorry if I missed it - can I buy this in the pharmacy without prescription from a dr?

Er, no. It’s a controlled substance. It can only be prescribed by psychiatrically qualified doctors/medical people - a GP can’t do it (except under shared care with such a psychiatric specialist).

[Phunk]

GiantCardboardPlato said:

jm8403 said:

sorry if I missed it - can I buy this in the pharmacy without prescription from a dr?

Er, no. It’s a controlled substance. It can only be prescribed by psychiatrically qualified doctors/medical people - a GP can’t do it (except under shared care with such a psychiatric specialist).

Correct, I had a diagnosis privately through MyPace. Started off on Methylphenidate which is circa £30 for the prescription.

Unfortunately that didn’t work for me so moved onto Elvanse which is £120ish.

Next up is trying to get shared care with my GP, it’s a complete lottery if they’ll agree, but if I do then my prescription will be free (Scotland)

[Kermit power]

Phunk said:

Correct, I had a diagnosis privately through MyPace. Started off on Methylphenidate which is circa £30 for the prescription.

Unfortunately that didn’t work for me so moved onto Elvanse which is £120ish.

Next up is trying to get shared care with my GP, it’s a complete lottery if they’ll agree, but if I do then my prescription will be free (Scotland)

Blimey. The charlatans I saw privately were charging £110 per month for Methylphenidate!

Once I had the diagnosis, my GP referred me to the NHS Mental Health team. It took about 15 months for that to come through, but now it has, the actual service is great! Currently on Lisdexamphetamine, and expecting them to move to shared care soon as the titration is pretty much complete.

[hallion]

Phunk said:

Quick update after being on Elvanse for a couple of months, feeling much better, less erratic, more present and a better father.

Yesterday as a test, I tried to do a day without. I hadn't told my wife but within an hour my wife noticed a difference!

They won't suit everyone, but id recommend at least trying them.

That's great progress. I've been on Elvanse titration for 1 week on 20mg. I haven't noticed much difference so far - hoping that will change as my dose increases over the next month. What dose did you end up settling on?

[michaelT99]

Wrong button pressed with my fat finger!

Edited by michaelT99 on Tuesday 7th March 11:52

[Kermit power]

hallion said:

That's great progress. I've been on Elvanse titration for 1 week on 20mg. I haven't noticed much difference so far - hoping that will change as my dose increases over the next month. What dose did you end up settling on?

I was started on 50mg, then they upped it to 70mg.

I've now dropped back to 50mg, as I was seeing great benefits with that, but the increase to 70mg just made my tongue hurt a lot more (motor tick - rubbing it against my teeth), made me thirstier and disrupted my sleep without delivering any obvious additional benefits.

I'm hoping that 50mg is the perfect sweet spot.

[michaelT99]

Hello I'm a great fan of reading pistonheads I very rarely post on here, confidence issues really.
But here goes...
As a person I've always felt odd maybe different to other people, i struggled with basic things, tidying organising things, reading and writing (although I can quiet well i guess) committemnt to tasks and life in general also sleep not much quality sleep, headphones were a must then as I got older alcohol as well.
This extended in to my adult life and got worse to the point of severe depression 15 or so years ago, then spent 15 years on antidepressants visiting diferent GPs with mood swings, happy/sad, up and down etc. I was told its this its that bipolar disorder to add to the list.. then it all came to a head 8 weeks ago life was just a waste of time so i decided to seek private help.
Well diagnosis.. severe adhd!
Started off on 30mg elvanse and life was totally different in a good way, then 50mg. a transformation took place , confidence, happiness, mental calm I seem to do stuff other people 'just' do..
I really really can't put it into words what life is like for me now it will take a while to soak in, to sum it up I'm honestly happy with my life for the first time at 53 years old its like the lights have been switched on in a dark room. .
Sorry rambling post but wanted to say what a great thread, and wish all adhd'ers on here the best of luck
And if your unsure, just speak with a professional it could change your life

[GiantCardboardPlato]

Michael T99 that is wonderful.

The drugs for ADHD really are amazing in terms of the likelihood and magnitude of the positive effect (though there is always a bit of a happy boost for the first few months). I wanted to find some numbers for efficacy, but I can’t, and I am supposed to be working.

But I believe it’s measurably true that the two main medications for ADHD are some of the most effective pharmaceutical treatments not just in psychiatry but in all of medicine,. I think that’s totally amazing, when you consider it’s a psychiatric/neurodevelopmental disorder we are talking about. (consider how widely used SSRIs for depression are, and how unpredictable whether they will have any positive effect).

[hallion]

Kermit power said:

I was started on 50mg, then they upped it to 70mg.

I've now dropped back to 50mg, as I was seeing great benefits with that, but the increase to 70mg just made my tongue hurt a lot more (motor tick - rubbing it against my teeth), made me thirstier and disrupted my sleep without delivering any obvious additional benefits.

I'm hoping that 50mg is the perfect sweet spot.

That's excellent you have found your sweet spot. I've just had my first dose of 30mg this morning and the difference from 20mg is surprisingly noticeable. Did you go private and end up on shared care with your GP (sorry if you have covered this before in the thread)?