Hello-

As an adult having been recently diagnosed with ADD, I have some questions about the various medications used to treat the disorder.

My main concern with meds is that I'm afraid I'll lose the creativity, spontenaeity (sp?), out-going nature, and energy that have come to define who I am to myself, my friends, and my family. I've been trying to cope with ADD without meds, and while I do okay in everyday life, when it comes to school, I just can't cut it. I'm a college student in one of the country's top liberal arts schools, and "just getting by" as I di all through high shcool is no longer an option, because I'm not happy with it anymore. I'm going to see my doctor on Monday (wish it could have been sooner, but snow kept me home) to discuss meds before winter term starts. I need to be able to sit down and read a chapter of a text book, not have my mind wnader off after 20 min of an 80 min lecture, and not get so frustrated trying to write papers because I can't focus.

I guess what I really want is to hear other people's experiences with ADD meds and whether they feel like the meds significantly altered their personality.

Thanks, from an ADD "newbie." It's nice to finally have a name for this thing I've been battling for 20 years.

Welcome from another Newbie - I was just diagnosed with ADD about a month ago, and I'm 33. I truly do understand - and share - your concerns about ADD meds. I cannot speak for everyone here, and I'm certainly not an expert on this (yet!), but I feel that taking meds alone will not do much in the long run to help anyone with ADD. I am on AdderallXR (20mg's a day), and at first, I thought to myself - where's the magic? Where's the sudden burst of concentration and focus?? On my 2 week follow-up with my psychiatrist, he introduced me to the idea of a therapist to help me uncover my behavior patterns and develop strategies to overcome them. That way, I am not just sitting back and relying on pills to do their job; instead, I am working on ways to cope that I haven't tried before - and with the help of the meds, I think they will be effective.
With only one session under my belt with the therapist, I feel SO much better about my situation, my mediocre past-performance, and my future. While I know I'll never be "cured" of ADD, I do know that I will not have to be on meds for the rest of my life, nor will I have to change the creative, energetic person that I am, just so I can concentrate.

Good luck to you, and I do hope that you can add a therapist to your treatment, too. I am lucky - as a teacher (I teach high school English), my insurance is a tremendous help in this case.

LauraLea

Once you learn more about AD/HD you'll realize how important "meds" actually are. If you are interested in learning about the biology of AD/HD first start off with an 'ADD book', i.e. Healing ADD By: Daniel Amen MD, and Driven to Distraction By: Edward Hallowell MD are two good ones. Then move on to the actual biology of ADD, for example leran about metabolism in the frontal lobes, frontal lobe 'shutdown', the recticular activating system, etc.

If you aren't 'seeing' any 'noticable' difference, then you're either on the wrong med for your biochemistry, and/or wrong diagnosis.

Meds shouldn't take away any creativity if they are the correct med and/or at the proper dosage. Actually, they allow you to 'use' your creativity. If you want 'permanent' changes you need to work on making new neuronal 'connections', which is done through biofeedback. ADD also needs to be treated with diet, supplements, and exercise.

Just because someone isn't taking a prescription medication for ADD doesn't mean they aren't taking medication. Self medication is what someone with ADD has done their whole life, and self medication doesn't necessarily mean 'consuming' anything either. Chronic irritability/arguing (almost 100% of ADDers do this, especially adults) is an attempt to 'normalize' activity/metabolism in the prefrontal cortex. Taking meds aren't negative, not treating ADD is negative and potentially destructive.

Personally I noticed immediate differences, like a "wash" that came over me.... It DOES make a difference and it does not stifle creativity. I agree with Help that it can help you fine tune and discover your creativity, and master it. You shouldn't feel "no difference," any more than you should feel "drugged." Both of those responses are not indicative of correct medication, so not to worry. But you WILL notice an incredible difference in your abilities pertaining to how you channel your focus. It has nothing to do with stifling creativity, and I think the people who write of that fear are people who did not study ADD/ADHD to know what it is or how it affects you.

ADD/ADHD means you have a hard time ruling your executive functions and decision making skills. They're there but sort of wandering around. Meds can help you locate and rein them in and utilize them.

Repeat: Medication does not mean you get doped up. I've read some stuff on the web that is infuriating to say the least, written by people more afraid of the unknown and uninformed.

Hi:

My experience with Meds is quite different. I take Adderall 20mg 2x a day and combine the drugs with journaling, exercise and therapy. I dont always take my meds, I have found for me that I lose part of my creativity and brightness when on the meds. I find however, that the meds help me to focus and get things handled, administrative tasks, mundane things that are not of interest to me, and my office/home environment stays clutter free and organized.
I have tried just about all combinations and dosages of Ritalin, Dex, and Adderall etc. I had tics and side effects from all but Adderall, and I pay attention to my diet and make sure I eat before taking my meds. I am healthy, but Adderall can take away my appetite and I can tell when blood sugar levels are low, and avoid this by forcing myself to eat and drink orange juice when taking my meds.
I notice a difference in my writing, imagination and creativity when taking meds. I tend to lose the ability to daydream and imagine, and also lose my creativity. Adderall doesnt stay in my system very long, so I make sure I am not always medicated, and my creativity and imagination comes right back almost as soon as the drug is out of my system. My friends notice this, and I am aware of it as well.
One interesting effect is that my intuition is heightened and although I am a grounded business guy, I can look at someone and actually see clear images to the right of me that seem to come from the other persons energy field. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it is quite accurate and sometimes useful in business. I can also look at a person and kind of look through them and know all these things about them. At first it kind of freaked me out, but now its part of the effects of the meds. I want to also point out that I have always had this ability, but the meds seem to heighten this to a much higher degree. That said, I am a business guy, not a practicing psychic, so please dont ask me questions about your life, just thought I would share my experiences with the meds. Happy Holidays Wil

Well I notice a big differnce in my the day I started my meds, and the day I started back on my meds after taking a big break due to pregnancy. If someone is not noticing a differnce when taking the meds, then they are on the wrong meds, or misdiagnosed unfortunely, or maybe their dose needs to be higher. I also watch what I eat, and other things as well, but the meds made a huge differnce, I immiedetly noticed that I can focus much better, and was way more organized from day 1. As for your creativity not being the same, I am sure you wont loose that ability:-)
Beckie

i just started taking ritalin and felt a difference immediately. not drastic but definitely noticable. i still had several thoughts going on at once in my mind but it wasn't so haphazard and not as many. it was amazing how little things you don't even realize would affect attention are altered by the meds - for example, i noticed my eye movements weren't so jumpy (and i didn't realize before the meds that they were jumpy!) and this helped me to focus better on tasks and even on people walking down the street. also the sense of frustration when trying to do something went away. i feel that now i am better able to focus on whatever i want to focus on and there isn't a sense of anxiety or extra effort to do so - you know trying to focus on being focused!

as someone who got was a straight A student in grammar school and at a very good high school but almost flunked out of a top rated college, i would have really benefited from a diagnosis and medication back then. and i'm a person who believes in medication as the last resort. there is definitely a greater need to be focused and for longer lengths of time at college never mind a top rated one.

based on my current though limited experience with meds, i would say don't rule it out and i think it might be worth a try. like others have posted, you might need to try different types of meds and dosages until you find one that doesn't make you feel like you're less creative/spontaneous or outgoing. i don't feel that i've changed in that way. if anything, i feel more confident and better able to make my creative thoughts a reality. also, if ritalin works for you, i think you can probably just take the meds when you need to study or focus in class as it is short acting (5 hours).

hope that helps.

[This message has been edited by nan8 (edited 01-07-2003).]

I have been on Concerta for a few months now for cognitive problems after chemotherapy. I noticed right away an upgrade in my creativity and the ability to focus. So it has been good for me..like day vs night..for the better.

Onthebit,

Aside from the various physical side effects, Amphetamines can also cause something called desensitization. As drugs overstimulate the dopamine system, the dopamine receptors will decrease over time. Although it is generally believed this only happens with the larger, street doses, many times it does happen with theraputic prescription doses as well(aka "my adderall stopped working"). So I think it would be better to go lauralea's route; much healthier.