ADHD Meds Vs Non Meds
can you manage your adhd without meds ... how does it feel being on the meds vs not being on the meds
What other strategies do you use to cope with adhd
@redNest4346
Everyone's experiences are different. Usually the best strategy is meds + strategies, but that doesn't work for everyone.
I am on meds + doing strategies and they both have helped in different ways. The meds help me to stay focused in general and not get distracted as often. The strategies have helped me stay more organized and get things done.
Strategies that I have used:
-Setting a 5 minute timer to get a task done (This helps me with small tasks that still feel impossible, and help turn it into a game to see how much I can get done in 5 minutes)
-Having a to do list where I have all of my items for the day to get done
-Entering appointments into my phone calendar as soon as I schedule them, so that I don't forget
-Doing mindfulness exercises have helped me when I can't get my brain to slow down for sleeping
-Breathing exercises. People with ADHD have big emotions and instead of running away from them I've been working on sitting and dealing with the emotion / breathing through it. This has helped increase my tolerance for emotions.
-Accepting my brain for what it is: I realize that my brain shifts focus/passion for projects and instead of fighting it constantly and getting frustrated with it, I could instead accept it and do other things and hope I'll come back to what I was doing.
I spent most of my life undiagnosed until this last year. When I wasn't on medication I just assumed everyone would get as distracted as I did and not be able to focus at work. The meds have made a massive difference in my life.
Hope this has helped.
Hello Nest,
to answer your question, personally I'm able to manage without meds, I've managed most of my life (and I think I should be able to phase them off eventually, or lower the dose).
Medication helps me to plan my day and start it off, and also provides form of a relief, i.e. I don't feel "all over the place" nearly as much as without it. At the same time I find the routine / strategies that I've implemented more useful.
For me, the most influential one is making a concrete, realistic plan for the day, and to have it on sight at all times to be able to regain focus quickly. Also, reminding myself about my poor time estimations, and being strict about some forms of distractions, are both very useful.
This is obviously very subjective, and every case is different.
Good luck!
Mel
@redNest4346
Hi,
Someone else said “everyone is different” [regarding ADD]. That is a good way to put it. Some people thrive without meds, so long as they have the mental tools — schedules, “hacks”, and so forth. Some people, such as myself, use meds as part of an overall approach. I was diagnosed at the age of 6, and didn’t start taking meds until years later.
I will say this: in my humble opinion, if you take meds, ensure you learn daily strategies to maximize the medicine’s impact. I know this from personal experience. Medicine is an excellent tool; make it work even better (if you go that route) by consulting with someone certified for ADHD counseling or coaching. Good luck!
@redNest4346 As others have said, everyone is different. Honestly, I wish I could say that it's possible for me to live without my ADHD meds since I managed for most of my life before my diagnosis (late diagnosed at 22), but it's no exaggeration for me to say it's saved my life to be medicated. Before I was medicated I couldn't even do any of the tips like 'set a timer' or 'use a schedule' because my executive functioning was so badly affected. I could never go back to being unmedicated without risking having to quit my studies, not be able to work, and damaging all my relationships. I really, really need to be on ADHD medication. When I'm unmedicated, life becomes completely impossible. Many of my other 'mental health issues' magically disappeared when I was medicated for ADHD, and if I stop taking my meds, I imagine it will all come back. Best of luck to you, I hope this answers your question <3
Hi everyone ... Thanks for your responses so far.
There are some great tips .
Ive never been diagnosed .. but feel like Ive suffered ADD my whole life (inattentive - never been hyperactive). Ive always been smart at school at subjects where i work things out .. Maths/Science .. but crap at subjects where i have to memorise. Also have a history of misplacing things , inattentive mistakes ... Cups leaking in my bag., not closed properly . A common thread is that i am really good at figuring things out but dont learn things from experience. Old school reports say i would do better if i payed more attention (didnt dream so much) I feel mentally fatigued a lot. And have very poor time management skills .
On the Maths/programming side .. i can come up with creative solutions to complex ideas .. but can be crap when it comes to debugging .. looking into the detail
I also have hypothyroidism .. is there anyone on here who has both thyroid issues and add?
RedNest
I would definitely talk to your doctor about getting tested if you're interested in doing so. Even just having the diagnosis will better equip you to dealing with it. I had a very similar time in school. It got much harder in college when I couldn't just guess what seemed right. Good luck!
@redNest4346
Hello.
I have both ADHD and hypothyroidism, but I've never heard of there being any significant link between the two conditions. I could be wrong, though.
In terms of your question, I have been off meds for a very long time. I was diagnosed at 14 due to inattentiveness and not being able to concentrate on schoolwork. Once I aged out of the psychiatry office at 18 I was no longer able to get medication.
I'm 31 now and I manage as well as I can. Memory is a huge struggle snd I need to write everything down. Executive function is another thing I can't stand about this condition.
Perhaps one day I'll consider trying to get back on my medicine, and even see if I can get a different one this time. It generally only helped with concentrating/focus from what I remember.
Hello RedNest
I personally like the combination of meds and strategies.
I was undiagnosed until i was 36. But I was still good in school. A lot of my strategies were very unhealthy but I also had/have some good ones. I feel like on meds i could stop a lot of the bad ones and the good ones worked easier.
Example of a bad one:
- Stress makes the connections in your brain work better so if you make yourself really stressed you can get over the paralyzis hurdle. Like i would yell at myself inmy head and go to the worst case scenario so I would get realy stressed and scared and then I would be able to do the thing.
*to be continued
An ok one would be theese:
- allways wear the same jacket or purse and allways keep the important things you need in there. Never change it up. never take anything out.
- Always bring everything. If you go to school allways bring all books and equipment. just get a really big bag with thick straps. Dont have place for books at home and planner and try to keep up with what to bring when. just allways bring everything. I do this still as an adult. I am know as the woman with the basket at work.
Good strategies:
- clean one room at a time. dont leave the room to put anything away. just have basket at the door for things that are going out of the room and take that at the end.
- make things a game. sometimes i pretend to be a cleaning bot. it is more fun
- make things a challenge. Boring things are harder to do then actual challenges so a timer and see if i can do it in time can work. i also tried folding clothes with boxing gloves. it actually helped.
- Audiobooks or music/dancing for borring tasks.
- discreet fidgets. The easies is just to doodle. It makes you look like you are taking notes and you dont make a lot of noise. Knitting and Crochet is also more acceptable.
- alarms. Just dont have to many. then they stop working. also clocks everywhere. timeblindnes sucks.
- lists. i think i have over 100 depending on the subject. i have 5 main lists. also i sync lists between work computer, mobile phone and home computer so i can never loose it.
- photos around my pc of people i care about, so i dont forget they exist when in hyperfocus.
- dice for when i can decide.
Been going 17 years strong without meds. No idea how I still exist, but I do, so I must be doing something right.
I honestly think it depends on the person. As someone who has done both I prefer to ho i medicated because I feel more natural and like I’m more free flowing. I was definitely more focus when I was medicated but I was also a lot more depressed.
@redNest4346 I absolutely cannot. I have been off my meds for about a year now and it's absolute ***. Can't finish anything on time, there's no schedule or anything, and overall it's been very tough managing my life. Most of my time is spent finishing work stuff, leaving no time for recreation. I am feeling very burned out as a result. I have read a few ADHD management books but those haven't helped at all. Nothing except Meds can save me and those aren't accessible to me. I have the worst kind of ADHD - no creativity, full distractibility, and zero motivation for anything in life. My whole life has been a series of failures. How I have managed to get this far is a miracle. I wish I were not born rather than being born into this kinda life. I have some not-so-major physical health issues on top of this, too.
@redNest4346
Hey. I hope you are doing well whatever path you choose. But here is my own take on it.
I only recently admitted to myself that I needed to have my eyesight checked. So away I went off to the optician. By the end of it I was taken aback how how much I needed help. I tried to resist needing glasses, telling myself I would be grand and that different strategies and exercises would help. Or that sure I can see plenty. But how in denial I was. To use a tv as an example, I had been looking at a blurred old channel for so long now, but now with the help of glasses I was seeing the world in HD. It was amazing. I could see the beauty of everything.
So now to ADHD meds. It had been life changing. ADHD meds are stimulants. Most will be high and wired after taking them. But not us with ADHD. We finally have a little peace, and time. We can relax, read books, not jump from thought to thought, listen to others without being distracted, and so on and on and on. They are glasses and soooooooooooo much more. So much more. You deserve it.
