This post is a little different from my usual fitness or running posts. It’s about wellness and is a huge part of what is going on in my life. You may also be struggling with this, so I’m sharing it in case you have questions or are going through something similar. I am finally taking charge of my adult ADHD. Finding the solution for this struggle has been going on for several years. Last week I was finally given something that I am hoping is going to be helpful to me, ADHD medication.
In this blog post, I am sharing products that I tried from Amazon. There are Amazon affiliate links that I earn commission on contained in this blog post.
Do You Have Adult ADHD?
I’ve always been a high-energy person, interested in several different hobbies, projects, activities, and jobs. It wasn’t really a PROBLEM for me until more recently. I’d say in the last 10 years, I noticed an increase in the disabling aspect of it.
ADHD is different for everyone. For me, I didn’t have the classic symptoms that people identify with ADHD. I did great in school, had excellent grades, and wasn’t a distraction or disruptive. I wasn’t a hyper kid. For me, it fueled my creative side. I enjoyed doing different craft projects. I often tried to make a business out of everything I created. It was jewelry for many years, then it was purses, clothing, photography, blogging, and many different forms of entrepreneurship.
I always thought I was just interested in different things. I never saw it as a form of ADHD or adult ADHD. But I guess it is. So now what? Why did I have to take charge of it?
ADHD Is A Superpower
I believe that my ADHD is my superpower. It fosters my creativity. I can think outside the box and problem-solve on the fly. Being busy and on the go energizes me. I love exploring and going on adventures. That’s why travel blogging and creating content is something I enjoy so much.
Hyperfocus. This is a wonderful benefit of having ADHD, but it’s not a constant and it doesn’t always work when you want it to. I love data analysis. Finding a break in a pattern. Pointing out errors or incorrect information in technical documents is one of my favorite things to do with one of my clients. Once I hone in on something I am interested in, I can get lost in researching that topic for hours, without eating, without leaving my desk, ignoring family, or sometimes other responsibilities I should be working on.
Medicating My Adult ADHD
When I became so overwhelmed by my ADHD that it was causing me a lot of paralysis and spinning, that’s when I knew I needed to find a way to help me. I wish I had a better way to describe what I was going through, I couldn’t get out of my own way.
Finding The Right Doctor
I found a doctor to help me find medications to get through this. But it wasn’t easy. It’s been several years, and I had to take many different medications and stop taking other medications until we could find an answer that would work for me. So you may need to be patient, and willing to try other things first.
When I had my kids, I suffered from postpartum depression, so I was eventually given medication to help with my anxiety and depression. I was on that medication for a long time and you can’t just stop taking it. It was an SSRI that you have to wean yourself off of. I will be honest and tell you I was upset that when I first met with my doctor, I wasn’t given medication for ADHD right away. But I was open and honest and willing to try anything to help.
Keep Track Of Your Symptoms
First, we tried Wellbutrin. I thought it was working, I thought the noises in my head got a little quieter, less conversations going on at once. But then I felt like I was getting more emotional, crying more easily. I talked to my doctor and we changed to Clonidine.
The same thing happened, I thought it was working, but then over time, it really didn’t feel like it. It made me VERY tired for the first week when I first started taking it. Then every day after I took it, I got sleepy within an hour of taking it and that was a struggle for me. Eventually, I stopped both of those meds and did a lot of research on supplements.
I did notice distinctly that clonidine helped me with impulse control. I wasn’t jumping out of my chair and getting off task or fidgeting and picking when I was taking this medication. But I didn’t learn this until after I stopped taking it. Sometimes, you don’t really notice if the medicine is working until you aren’t taking it anymore. That’s why it is important to take note of things and have open communication with your doctor.
Supplements For Adult ADHD
I took the supplement approach for about 6 months. I was recommended some of these supplements by my functional medicine doctor. As always, be sure to discuss with your doctor any supplements you take because they can interfere with medications or conditions you may have. Here’s what I was taking.
- Lion’s Mane – This supplement is said to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders, improve memory, and enhance focus, it is believed that Lion’s Mane is a popular supplement to help with many symptoms of ADHD.
- L-Tyrosine – This supplement helps the body produce certain proteins, enzymes, and muscle tissues. It also helps the body produce dopamine and norepinephrine which helps improve cognitive function and memory. Many people take L-tyrosine to reduce stress, and depression, and combat chronic fatigue, and narcolepsy.
- Alpha GPC – Alpha GPC is used to enhance memory and improve learning ability. The supplement helps with the production of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter heavily involved in memory formation, recall, and learning). When boosting acetylcholine production, Alpha GPC can help support the ability to learn new information and enhance neuroplasticity.
- Ashwagandha – My functional doctor recommended that ashwagandha would be helpful while going through perimenopause because it helps with stress and mood.
Cannabis and ADHD
My psychiatrist also recommended I try cannabis for my ADHD. And it’s still inconclusive as to whether or not it is helpful. I can say that there were times when I felt relaxed enough that the ideas and creativity started flowing for me with no barriers. I took it at night before bed to help me sleep and that’s when I had to have a notebook and pen handy because I was having all these great ideas flooding my mind.
But by the morning, when it was time to start working or implementing any of these ideas, I felt like a stick in the mud. Those ideas remained on my paper or I would start one and never complete it.
There are so many different strains of CBD and THC that you can experiment with, but I haven’t found the “secret sauce” yet. I did find that there was one strain that was very effective in helping me clean the kitchen after dinner. I was able to finish the job from start to finish and it actually looked clean and not my definition of clean (neat reminder piles everywhere).
What’s Next?
I’ll share with you how it feels while taking my Adderall, good and bad. Today I took my medication today after having a cup of coffee and breakfast. I do have some jitters. But I have been able to stay on task and produce content, without being too distracted by social media or the notifications on my phone. The jitters feel like I had a little too much caffeine and I am experiencing a feeling of urgency.
I hope my experience with adult ADHD will help someone else going through the same thing. I’d love to hear from you and how you manage your ADHD. Feel free to share in the comments or on my social media channels! You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.