Beware of anyone who tries to convince you that stimulants will automatically solve all of your problems. Plenty of people seek stimulant prescriptions and then more intensely focus on their distractions because their underlying problem was something else. You do not want to acquire a stimulant tolerance and dependence if you don’t have to.
And be extremely wary of anyone who claims 75% of a group has ADHD (referring to parent commenter following up below) when the actual incidence in adults is in the single digit percentage points.
This is like someone asking why they’re not getting stronger in the gym and commenters rushing to insist they need testosterone replacement therapy. There’s no free lunch.
I would seriously warn you that if you have to quit it later, you will not find it fun at all. Actually it was a nightmare for me because I did it cold turkey, but from what I read people who tapered off also found it quite difficult. You can expect to totally lose productivity at least for a whole week.
Also when you're off it even a day, hypersomnia is guaranteed. You're going to be sleeping 16+ hours a day.
To provide another data point, my experiences with ceasing the use of lisdexamfetamine are pretty much in line with heavy long-term caffeine use: if you quit it cold turkey (or miss a day or two due to the quirks of the doctor/Rx system for this stuff (if you take it plan ahead and make sure your new prescriptions don’t have to be issued on a holiday)) expect a week or more of fog and brain-splitting headaches and lethargy. It’s better to stop slowly. Cutting your dosage by 25% each day and then holding at a minimal dosage for a couple days seems to work the best for some.
Also if you have issues with addiction, it’s probably best to stay away entirely. The mental quieting it’s prescribed for is inferior to that of a good cup of coffee (entirely subjective, YMMV) and there are a whole host of negative physiological and psychological side effects.
2¢ of unsolicited advice: if you need this stuff to keep your brain on track so you can handle your job (especially post-2020), and your doctor suggests it, might be worth considering after exhausting other options — at least that was the case for me, it can be worth it. But if you’re surviving otherwise and just want a focus boost the risk:reward ratio is way off.
Edit: apologies, the way this is worded it looks like I’m recommending adhd meds - I’m recommending the doctor if this applies, not the drugs! See replies for more info :)
Ritalin for me but yeah turned out it was ADHD in my case
@op not diagnosing at all but if you find yourself not focused despite reward etc, worth looking into as a possibility.
For example I’ve got basically unlimited freelance work available at easily 5x my day job salary right now and I could definitely do with the cash.. can’t for the life of me find the motivation to do it. Check with a Dr if it’s that sort of thing! Anything occurring “despite consequences” should be double checked with a pro in my opinion
Something to note I’ve been told and have found myself that sometimes motivation comes after initial action. If there’s anything in there that can hold your attention or would be super easy to do, start on that. Try to keep a roll going from there until your engines fire up
> can’t for the life of me find the motivation to do it. Check with a Dr if it’s that sort of thing!
To be clear: Stimulants are not motivation in pill form. The motivation boost is a short-term side effect and tolerance definitely develops quickly.
I think a lot of people get the wrong idea after seeing people use stimulants to cram for finals in college. Long-term treatment won’t do anything like that. It can improve focus and reduce distractability, but you’re not going to become a code-writing machine for the next decade on stimulants.
Checking with a doctor, even if just to rule things out, is my recommendation in that scenario - not the drugs!
Yeah they have helped me so far but may not help everyone. Also it is true that while I’ve managed to set up some systems and processes so I’m no longer floundering, the direct effectiveness does peter off quite quickly over time.
I’ve got the option for a higher dose but I’d rather try burning in some new neural pathways before trying a possibly constant increasing (until it doesn’t anymore) dose
Ask your shrink for a Vyvanse/Elvanse prescription.