Unfortunately coffee even in small doses makes me paranoid and anxious so much I become absolute clusterfuck (literally start believing aliens are coming). Same with marihuana. This is part of the reason why I can't get medication - Ritalin does this to me too.
How about working out? I recently found out that the most productive engineer on my team runs every morning before work which makes a lot of sense. He's always firing on all cylinders.
I admit it feels great and it does help - but it doesn't really help me turn the tide when I'm in the 3+week phase of inability to focus on anything at all. It's also super-hard to do it in this phase.
But I will try again, thank you for reminding me it feels good.
Have you tried caffeine pills instead of coffee? I find raw caffeine a lot less troublesome.
I don’t get as stressed as you describe from coffee, but it’s not always a nice experience (same with tea). Caffeine pills (and L-Theanine aka green tea calm extract) are an option
Look into guanfacine for combatting anxiety especially around task initiation. And if you still have some Ritalin on hand try microdosing it. 10mg tablet dissolved in 1 litre = 10ug per ml. I see beneficial effects on 5-10ugrams.
Sounds like a sensitive amygdala to me.
I would focus on enhancing my serotonine levels.
And also GABA (LiOr) at night for insomnia.
Prevent excess noradrenaline release (stress, cold showers).
Wellbutrin works well for people who have blood pressure issues for example (it can affect blood pressure, but it's much less common than with stimulants)
Unfortunately I can't just choose what medication I'd like to try. The doctor had me try Ritalin and that worked great (on the focus/attention side) but I also developed pretty extreme paranoia after cca month and since then he doesn't want me to try anything else. I tried switching psychiatrist but so far I'm on several wait lists (have been for 5 months now).
I can’t say conclusively, but anecdotally, I do extremely well on a much lower dose of a stimulant than I was originally prescribed. I would try with the _absolute_ smallest amount of the extended release variant of your medication that is prescribed.
I was originally prescribed something like 30mg daily when I was in university and it made me super anxious to the point of dumping all of my medication. Years later, I gave it another shot with the understanding that it would be a tool and not a solution, and I would take the absolute minimum amount necessary and no more. It worked significantly better.
It’s unfortunate that so few doctors are willing to prescribe medication for people with properly diagnosed ADHD. I also can’t help but think that regardless of the condition, if your doctor is only willing to try one type and dose of medication to treat a condition, that sounds like a shitty doctor. This isn’t diabetes—there’s not a measurable target that’s needed to be hit for optimum performance.
ADHD conditions and symptoms are a spectrum and different people respond to different medications and doses differently. Every trial of medication should be exactly that—a trial, until something works.
You don’t go to an optometrist and have them say “you’ve got astigmatism, here’s your glasses” in a one size fits all scenario, you go through the different lenses until you reach the best one _for your situation at the time_.
You mentioned marijuana elsewhere. I really advise against weed mix with amphetamines/stimulants. It’s a recipe for schizo behaviour and I’m saying this from experience.
Have you considered umm religion? I’m gonna trigger lots of you anti Catholics out there. Done right I think religion is like practical psychology. You get support from others, practice managing your thoughts and learn how to recognize good vs bad thoughts.
My own path was to read Be Here Now a crazy psychedelic spirituality book, and then read books from that bibliography and choose something. I’m not here to shill my religious tradition, just to say there’s something there in that direction that may help you.
The wrong choice may make your life worse, but you will hopefully be able to recognize that and switch course. That would be your decisions to make.
A natural way to reduce paranoia is to increase GABA and GABA building blocks in your diet. Almonds are a great example, and I take lots of supplements to also help w/ Gaba quantity (my Gaba receptors aren't peak functional). I've had times I've tapped out my Gaba reserves (internally) and paranoia would flourish.
It might allow you to try Ritalin again (albeit in smaller doses).
