As someone with ADHD that definitely gets dopamine from novelty, is there actually anything that can be done? Adderral and vyvanse work for a couple days and then I build a tolerance. The only indefinite solution is to completely remove all distractions from my area (internet, games, food) but that’s never been sustainable for me. Moderation, rewards on completion, and other mental tricks don’t work for me. Crisis is a good motivator, such as overwhelming student loans, but I’m back to being unfocused now that those are under control.
At this point I’ve mostly accepted my success is severely limited by ADHD.
> Adderral and vyvanse work for a couple days and then I build a tolerance
Have you been able to go through titration and dose adjustment with a (competent) psychiatrist? When starting or restarting meds it's expected for the first few days (or more) to have a more obvious impact. After your body has adjusted to being on the meds, if the meds aren't helping (or are outright making things worse, like making you sleepy), you could just need a higher dose. The adjustment period is a bit different than the issue of proper long term tolerance.
There's a fair few options as far as stimulant meds go, and the combinations of drugs, release profiles, and dosages can take a bit of iteration to find what works.
There’s also nonstimulant medications used for ADHD but they're generally less effective than stimulant meds, but we're all different and maybe they'll help?
Please do! It took my mate like a year and a half with an amazing psychiatrist to settle on a regimen.
I'd recommend having a look through some ADHD groups; they're full of knowledge and tips and tricks that can help you self advocate.
A psychiatrist should have explained to you upon prescribing these meds that the first few days may feel like rocket fuel and that thereafter they may feel great (or can make it worse), and they should have advised you to keep a diary about your meds so at your next appointment you can review the impact the meds had and any related struggles like remembering to take your afternoon meds (if you had them, for example).
Whatever happened with your last psychiatrist that left you with no helpful meds, no guidance on determining whether the meds are working for you or not, and no follow up to boot is so unacceptable.
A little bit of self advocacy can go a VERY long way, though. Things like asking to book the next appointment at the end of your current appointment, and asking if there's any particular side effects you need to watch out for until your next appointment can mean the difference between what happened to you last time and you finding meds that actually work. You shouldn't have to remind them to do any of that but it can really help.
Sorry, I ranted a bit! I just really hope you find a psychiatrist who will actually just do their job and work with you to figure it out! Finding meds that actually help is quite achievable.
I appreciate a good rant, thank you! You’ve moved me and I’ll definitely be scheduling something soon. I was unprepared to self advocate the first time I worked with a psychiatrist, but now I have a bit more experience and some clear goals, thanks to you.
Thanks again for taking the time to help out a stranger!
Yup, for years. It feels exactly the same as a MacBook track pad and lets you use all the same gestures. I like it better than a mouse for my work machine.
What was the reason they gave for your firing in the end? Some trumped-up poor performance or for being "non-engaged" with work or something like that?
that one is technically easy: employee did not show up at the designated workplace. they abandoned their job. never mind that they actually did the work asked of them. if it's not done at the designated workplace, it doesn't count. they could even have demanded back the salaries paid for that time.
I’ve been using Workflowy for over a decade. It’s mostly just an infinitely nested bullet point list and has only basic features. Organization is up to you.
It’s cross platform and has a good search.
My only gripe is that pasting from a separate bullet point list doesn’t always work well.
My two gripes: it‘s not E2E encrypted, so don‘t put very private information there, and some keyboard shortcuts don‘t work on Windows (and never will, unless they let us configure custom shortcuts someday).
I have ADHD and perhaps undiagnosed autism. It’s severely affected my ability to build software, but lends itself well to supporting other teams in larger companies. I usually lose interest in my work within a few years. This leads to a lot of procrastination and a backlog of work that I just cannot force myself to do.
I am prescribed Vyvanse. It helps but regularly gives me heart palpitations and insomnia. I can’t drink coffee while using it. This causes me to only use it when I’m fairly behind in work.
I can’t really say I overcame ADHD, but I’ve managed to hold a few jobs long enough to reach financial stability.
Can't speak for this keyboard, but the build quality for 8BitDo's controllers are excellent. Better than the office XBox controllers imo, and a bit cheaper too.
They really are great. I have one snes-themed and one GameCube-themed modern dual stick controller from them. I think they got hit by Nintendo lawyers because they don’t sell them anymore and these became pricy on the second hand market.
Their arcade/fighting game stick has a similar retro style to the nes keyboard, and like the keyboard supports usb, wireless using a usb dongle that stows in the bottom, and Bluetooth. You can get it to work with anything. It even has Xbox and Nintendo modes that physically show the correct button names using backlit leds.
I was in massive student debt from a failed attempt at an art degree. I signed up for online CS courses which allowed me to apply for internships. After a lucky break I got one in California. From there I dropped out again and started working at amazon, and then apple. It’s been about 10 years and I’m doing pretty well. I can’t recommend this path though. Pretty sure it was just a combination of luck and being good at interviews.
I should mention that the student loans weren’t all bad. I didn’t end up doing art, but I was able to get out of my small Midwestern town and meet some great people.
