Image not quite for ADHPeeps but I feel this sort of thing happens regularly for us as well.
I’m also from a family with low blood pressure. And sugar is a great trick when it falls down even further. It also help me to study longer but it is hard to strick the right balance with extra-energy and reduced concentration.
I’ve noticed when I eat mcdonalds my heart races afterward
McDs is packed with sugar. I quit eating mcds out of spite for 2 months and when i finally gave in and had em again i thought i was gonna have a heart attack. Then the stomach ache hit. Shit hardly counts as food. Anyway I think i either was used to their poison before or i never noticed the cramps, cuz it’s happened every (scant) time I’ve eaten em since.
Banger fuckin fries tho
I hate MacDonald fries. They are soft and not crispy at all. I buy fries at store because achieving the crisp from scratch required cooking twice and I don’t want to deal with that but I find out that most of stores sell now MacDo style of fries and I hate it.
What’s your favorite type?
Crispy fries. I’m not a complicated man, I just don’t want to eat soft fried potato sticks when I order fries : I want fried-crispy potato sticks.
I don’t think McDonald’s is as bad as Burger King. I had a whopper and the bun made it actually taste sweet. Like a burger wrapped in a glazed donut or something. They’re putting a ridiculous amount of sugar in those buns.
I used to drink 4 red bulls or 2-3 rockstar energy drinks per day. This was on top of any coffee.
Now, diagnosed and medicated, I’m down to zero and I rarely drink coffee.
I was clearing three, sometimes even four Rockstars per day not too long ago. Just got to where they didn’t even affect me much, and cracking open fresh ones throughout the day just made me feel alert and good. I got it back down to just one every morning around 5 or 6am, with maybe a second in the afternoon once per week – usually on a Saturday or Sunday when running errands and trying to survive parenthood. I’m in my late-thirties now, and need to find an effective alternative, but coffee makes me feel poisoned… almost like there’s toxic metals coursing through my veins.
Tried pairing coffee with taurine to counteract the negative side-effects of the caffeine, but it doesn’t work quite as well without whatever witch’s brew they throw in with it in energy drinks.
I love redbull and I have Gamersupps powder that is basically energy drink in a powder. It’s a good replacement for when I don’t have a redbull handy. Very very similar effect on my body
Try caffeine pills instead of coffee.
Caffeine pills gave me heart arrhythmia for like 2 months. I had to wear a monitor and everything.
Pill form is so much more potent, and I was splitting them, effectively bypassing the coating that helps it dissolve slowly. Your body is just not meant to absorb 150mg of caffeine instantaneously. Crazy I know.
Weed to let me take things slowly. Otherwise thoughts spiral out of control, I want to do 1000 things at the same time and can’t focus on a single thing. Weed gives me focus, and those eye blinders that people used to put on horses so they would have a narrower field of view, whatever they’re called. I’m not english I’m so concentrated I almost forget to eat on days I have an edible,… and I’m a foodie
They’re called blinkers - the horse vision limiters
My exam trick was no coffee for two days before the exam, then a couple cups the morning of. Worked great. In other news, holy crap, do I have ADHD??
Started with caffeine as a child and never really stopped. School was a problem and I sought solace in cannabis as a teen. Eventually cannabis became toxic to my mental health and I quit it in my twenties, and alcohol somewhat filled the void. A ten year hiatus from all substances ensued but I hated my job and went back to education to retrain and this is where I really got into it with drugs.
Motivating long and boring tasks is ADHD kryptonite, as I’m sure many here are familiar. This particular motivational mountain was a PhD thesis and my weapons of choice were opioids, cocaine, amphetamine and benzodiazepines. Opioids are great for motivation, stimulants sharpen the concentration and benzos let me sleep. I was unaware of ADHD at this time but I knew something was wrong and that this cocktail was completely unsustainable.
Fast forward three years and I finally learn why I seek these things, it’s ADHD, duh. Now I have the correct medication and therapy I never think about drugs. I’m happy and productive, I can work on undoing forty years of pretending to be someone without an attention deficit.
Wow people that drank redbull have kids in college already, I guess it does make you move quicker
Red bull was invented in ’87…
Big if true! Would’ve never thought red bull was older than me!
I definitely haven’t drunk it this millennium
True, but it depends on their country. Wasn’t brought to the UK until '94 and the US in '96. And on top of that when did they become widespread in their respective country?
Very well could be true, could be an anachronism, or could be someone who refers to all energy drinks as red bull.
But the real irony is doing this research for an ADHD meme.
Or I’m old enough that I was drinking red bull when it came out, in college in the early 90’s and stopped by about 2000 when I was in uni because it was what gave me the worst hangovers… sometimes “research” is just remembering things
Sorry, I meant my research not yours.
Recently got diagnosed with asthma and just have an albuterol inhaler till I can see a specialist in 4 plus months, haven’t been able to get an ADHD test despite my doctors referral, just so you have a preface for my story here.
On days I work toward my goals I generally start with a 16 oz doubled tea, gives me stimulants which I can’t get at the moment and I generally am able to focus on my tasks for 2 hour stents or so. I have some days though that despite getting rest and having a dose of caffeine I get real low energy around my first hour. Recently, during one of these moments I was trying to take a break and realized my breathing was quite shallow and I was somewhat short of breath, so I used my inhaler and I had a rush of energy and was able to knock out all my tasks with energy to spare. Turns out most of my low energy days have been actually about my low blood oxygen and the effects of having undiagnosed asthma. This has happened to me several times now and it blows me away each time. I think to myself “So this is how normal people breath and get so much done.”
For my own research purpose, would you be able to test your oxygen levels with those check oxygen meters that we get or may be one of those inbuilt Oxygen meters in smart watches?
I’m too poor to own a smart watch, maybe an idea for when I can.
You could get one of the fingertip sensors, they’re not terribly expensive.
Thanks for the suggestion.
My sympathies as a fellow asthma sufferer, but congrats on the medication at least. It’s really crazy how much easier everything in general is when you can breathe!
What were your oxygen levels?
Dang a pug with ADHD. I’m glad you have it somewhat sorted, though.
Too accurate lol.
pseudoephedrine
my Adderall script is in USA insurance purgatory and pseudoephedrine is probably the only thing keeping me employed tbh
Pseudoephedrine has been my thing lately when I need that extra focus for work. Out of curiosity, what dosage do you take?
started with 30 mg but now need 60 (sometimes 90 on bad days…) but I try my damndest to not take them unless I feel like I’m genuinely going to fuck shit up at work. Taking cold medication off label makes me feel guilty 😞
I also tried the 12 hour extended release (120 mg) but that fucked up my sleep which is already precarious
I fucking hate that half the days at work I’m constantly sniffing from the runny nose it induces. Makes me paranoid that my coworkers will think I’m hiding being sick (or worse, a coke habit…)
Same, was taking a few Advil Cold and Sinus pills a week which are sold on the shelf in Canada till I recently got a Strattera prescription (which is causing constipation unfortunately)
here in Freedom Land we gotta show ID to get the pseudoephedrine and promise not to be naughty and make meth with it lmao
oof. sorry to hear you got such an unpleasant side effect :[ i can’t recommend psyllium husk enough. i don’t know how ancient humans who didn’t live near psyllium plants managed to survive 💀
I was about to say same!
Accidentally, though.
The story is roughly like this: I had bad allergies and fucked up sinuses - I thought. Got sinus headaches every day during bad periods. Lots of sinus infections. Went on for like 10-15 years through periods of being intense and focused and stressed with sinus issues and periods of checking out, being aloof and dippy without sinus issues.
In 2019, sinus rinses, pseudoephedrine, nose sprays, and pain killers weren’t doing it. Resigned myself to having to get the sinus roto-rooter, where they scrape out your sinuses to make it easier for all that junk to drain off. So I went to my doctor to get that in motion. Doctor sent me to an immunologist, who sent me to an ENT, who sent me to a neurologist, who looked at my records for 30 seconds, declared that I had migraines, and sent me on my way with a preventative script.
I was so fucking mad. Didn’t think he could possibly be right. But he was. And then Covid hit and by the time things got normal again, I realized I wasn’t able to work like I was before. So I got got tested for ADHD, and… here I am, rambling.o/
We got you.
I’m in the middle of diagnosis. I do have Bipolar and have been medicated for 4 years or so. My shrink and I suspect that ADHD is there. It seems to be a common comorbidity. I was self-medicating with alcohol, until I got to a very bad place.
Both bipolar and ADHD have a frightening percentage of substance abuse, often as a form of self medication.
I went to the shrink around the time when I got sober. Quitting drinking and meds literally saved my life.
BTW, I got sober thanks to SMART Recovery. SMART is science based and behavior oriented, so even if you don’t have an addiction problem (substances and/or behaviors), You can learn a lot of stuff applicable to behavioral problems. Much of the program is based on Cognitive Behavioral therapies, no higher power required. Confidential. Free.
I’ve stopped taking lots of strong tea with sugar, because despite kinda helping with work, it makes me really depressed.
I think I got this from lemmy?
Look, as long as I can convince myself to go to sleep and not hyperfocus on whatever is in front of me I’ll be fine. Problem is, it’s a 50/50 toss up whether or not I can ignore my brain on any given night.
I had this too, everyone around me went “just close your eyes and sleep” and that had the exact opposite effect on me, now I take meds (seroquel at a low dose) and I finally understand NT people, I get sleepy at about 11 pm and can sleep in 5 minutes from laying down, if you have the chance to talk to some doctor about it, please do, it changed my life
What if caffeine doesnt work on me?
I got 10 hours of sleep last night, drank a coffee at noon. Still crashed at 130 and had to take an afternoon nap like normal.
Ditto. I’ve tried “coffee naps” but with tea. I just end up sleeping through it.
I believe it’s common for ADHD folks that caffeine doesn’t energize you, but it might help you concentrate better. Or it might not. I don’t know, really. I drink copious amounts of coffee and energy drinks and still have trouble concentrating.
Caffeine’s problem and virtue as a common stimulant is that bodies adapt to it readily and become dependent. Blood pressure doesn’t spike when you’re used to it, sleep is less effected, etc.
Caffeine’s problem as self medication for ADHD is that as a result it’s more of an addiction than a self-medication. The short and long term benefits are minimal and it’s more of a comforting habit than treatment. Maybe ADHD peeps are chasing that initial benefit, or maybe we just use it because it’s legal and we’re tired from staying up late.
I used to drink over two liters of coffee every day. I stopped that a few years ago, now i typically only have it one or twice a week. I dont think I feel any different compared when i was drinking it regularl or when i drink a lone cuppa now, as if my body has become immune to caffeine from using it so heavily for many years.
I dont see how I can concentrate if im passed out in the middle of the day lol.
That’s fair
I’m a heavy tea drinker. When I got diagnosed with ADD at 40 I realized I was probably (lol) self-medicating with the copious amounts of tea.
Still better (and tastier) than meds IMHO. Of course don’t take my advice always, ALWAYS, talk to your doctor.
You should know that there is data that backs you up: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8875377/#sec5-nutrients-14-00739
And also on the self-medicated front: nicotine is effective too. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8741955/
What this makes me wonder is how much of the population is self-medicated in this way but doesn’t know it?
Yup didn’t mention cigarettes because I kicked the habit but nicotine also does wonders for ADD. LOL
Chewing gum almost every waking moment of the day. People used to assume I was trying to quit smoking, I would joke that I was actually trying to build my way up to starting.
I used to love chewing gum until a dentist scared me away from it. As a result, my undiagnosed grinding destroyed most of my teeth…
I am thankful that my dentist talked me into switching to a sugar-free brand years ago. Probably saved me a couple teeth so far.
I’m sorry. If you can still chew, ice breakers has Xylitol which is good for teeth.
What’s “ice breakers”?
A brand of gum and mints.
Extreme anxiety.
For the longest time, I couldn’t recruit enough concentration to get homework or big projects done until it was this huge looming threat. Frequently, that would involve an all-nighter since it was something due the next day. Other times, it meant cranking out last night’s math assignment in home room mere minutes before it was due. It turns out that adrenaline and other stress hormones are great at shoving all the ADHD noise out of the way, however temporarily.
Interesting experience. My partner who we suspect has ADHD always used to be up all night writing essays on the deadline in uni too.
This was it for me, entirely. Deadlines were my drug.
Tea. Extremely strong tea, the kind russian convicts drink.
Reminds me of when people find out I do cocaine and Adderall.
“Oh Michael likes to get high”
No, Michael doesn’t have health insurance and has very severe adhd. I can’t live a normal life without stimulants and drug dealers are cheaper than doctors. welcome to America.
Eh, cocaine seems kinda too much. I understand lots of adderall.
BTW, where I am normal ADHD medication is illegal, unless you get it and the recipe in another country. As you might imagine, that is kinda expensive to do every few months.
Why the combination? I have no idea about either.
It’s not a combination. I’d try to buy Adderall which is what a doctor would prescribe but there is an Adderall shortage because… Well because people sell their meds to drug dealers so the FDA clamped down.
So if Adderall isn’t available or too expensive I buy cocaine and use small amounts to combat my condition.
The “bad guys” are bridging the gap!
You nailed it. I fall into the insurance gap in my state. I make too much for free healthcare but not enough to qualify for discounts on healthcare. The Fed thinks I should be helped by my state, my state disagrees.
what state?
I’ll give you a hint with a fake headline…
“Man attempts to marry racoons but refuses to sign the racoons pre-nup”
What state is it?
Tennessee? lol. thats rough I’m sorry.
Florida lol
eheh, oi! you have my sympathies.
Free market capitalism… fuck this place
Kind of off topic but when people say “capitalism is evil” it reminds me of the people who say “socialism never works”
The rebuttal is always “well REAL socialism hasn’t been tried. Soviet Russia was a bastardization of the system!”
I feel that way about capitalism. America isn’t a capitalist system. It’s a corrupt oligarchy and that’s the issue. If we had REAL capitalism I wouldn’t be having this problem. Not saying life would be perfect I’m just saying corruption is the reason I can’t afford a doctor, not capitalism.
Option C: capitalism is neither good nor evil, just an economic reactor core that must be properly harnessed to deliver on its promise (market efficiency) and avoid its peril (oligopoly).
The primary means of keeping the reactor core healthy (full-market efficient) is to keep it cool (evenly distributed) by pruning and recirculating capital via taxes. This amounts to redistribution, of course, which many have taken to calling “socialism.” But the reality is both are needed to maintain balance in the people’s economy.
The sooner we realize that, the sooner we can fix the damn reactor core.
Of course it is. Visiting a doctor is cheaper elsewhere. It’s the particular mix of regulation, subsidies and market that makes it so bad.
Damn mate, that’s really rough. I did see recently how US companies are taking advantage of the made-up scarcity to scalp people with ADHD to the point where the black market is more affordable. I only you know what you’re doing vis-a-vis risks from tainted batches.
I do worry about getting a hot batch and dying but that’s just the state of America today. Women will be getting dangerous back ally abortions as well soon.
please test your pills! fentanyl test strips are cheap and widely available. you can also use reagent tests to confirm what is (and isnt) in them. DanceSafe is a great resource for this: https://dancesafe.org/
It’s a problem with the categorization. They’re treated like oxy legally so they aren’t allowed to manufacture over a certain amount.
Cocaine bad for mental health. Even with ADHD cocaine is so cut and stepped on its not reliable enough to get anything done.
It falls into the “better than nothing” category for me. I’m aware it’s absolutely not a good idea.
I’m sorry your government failed you so badly. That’s a tough place to be in.
Thank you Mr poopybutthole
Caffeine is a very good stimulant for treating adhd symptoms as well. It has a very similar wake up affect to cocaine when taken sublingually or snorted. Take this with a grain of salt, as it needs to be carefully dosed still to avoid heart damage, so much more so when taken in those ways. Not recommending it as a substitute for real prescription meds of course, but it is a world better for you long term than cocaine.
