I am an adult female. Previously diagnosed with depression as a late teen. As an adult ADHD.

I take a tiny dose of lexapro and slightly more when my before my menstrual cycle. A higher or normal dose makes me feel flat.

I also had no success on Zoloft!


I take a low dose of Vyvanse and have found it amazing. I never increased my dose beyond 30.

I must metabolize drugs abnormally because I tend to take very low doses of everything and often have paradoxical side effects. Example: recently had a full body allergic reaction to antibiotic. Then prescribed allergy medicine for the resulting rash. That was supposed to make me drowsy but gave me insomnia. I was up until 4am.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - she had a neuropsych eval that confirmed her ADHD after her therapist pushed for it after her old psychiatrist said just anxiety. She used to be on SSRI (Zoloft and then Lexapro) prior to eval and they were terrible. Just flattened her and tons of side effects.

Her new doctor said ADHD can present like anxiety when she is overstimulated. Her doctor says yes it can be co-morbid but many undiagnosed teen girls get diagnosed with anxiety, BPD, and even bipolar sometimes instead because most old school docs don’t know the true symptoms of ADHD in teen girls. They don’t think anxiety is an issue.

So I’m just asking if anyone had success going through a lot of stimulants to find one vs going to non stimulants.

But how were the symptoms of anxiety and emotional reactivity when she was on an SSRI? sounds like you need another doctor. And is this actually a doctor or an NP?

OP here - she had a neuropsych eval that confirmed her ADHD after her therapist pushed for it after her old psychiatrist said just anxiety. She used to be on SSRI (Zoloft and then Lexapro) prior to eval and they were terrible. Just flattened her and tons of side effects.

Her new doctor said ADHD can present like anxiety when she is overstimulated. Her doctor says yes it can be co-morbid but many undiagnosed teen girls get diagnosed with anxiety, BPD, and even bipolar sometimes instead because most old school docs don’t know the true symptoms of ADHD in teen girls. They don’t think anxiety is an issue.

So I’m just asking if anyone had success going through a lot of stimulants to find one vs going to non stimulants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It could very well be anxiety. Not sure why you assume it isn’t. ADHD and stimulants are way oversold as the answer to everything.

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe the diagnosis is wrong and they are trying to treat something that doesn’t exist. One thing I’ve seen is that where the treatment doesn’t work, you reconsider the diagnosis.

+1. Although there definitely are plenty of people with ADHD who dislike stimulants or don’t find they help.

Anonymous wrote:It could very well be anxiety. Not sure why you assume it isn’t. ADHD and stimulants are way oversold as the answer to everything.

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe the diagnosis is wrong and they are trying to treat something that doesn’t exist. One thing I’ve seen is that where the treatment doesn’t work, you reconsider the diagnosis.

Anxiety is frequently co-morbid with ADHD. Has your dd been screened for anxiety? Does her therapist suspect anxiety? The stimulants that help kids focus in school also help them focus on things that make them anxious. A non stimulant medication for ADHD might benefit your dd, but she might also need treatment for anxiety.

Drugs don’t teach new skills. You need to work on the things that are causing problems every single day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 13yo DD takes 30mg of Ritalin on school days. If you ask her she will say she feels no different BUT if you ask her teachers they say she’s more focused.
She took a 4 hour CPR/first aid course this summer and I had her take one beforehand. The instructor asked which kid was mine and then complimented me on how focused and attentive she was. I could have hugged him.
Ask the people around her if they see a difference.

She can mask well with good classes/teachers but struggles in poor classes regardless.

Do stimulants actually relax the mind and impulses or just heightened focus for inattentive?

Kids with adhd do well when it’s a subject they’re interested in. They can focus. They struggle with things that are boring tk them. That may be his your kid does well in some classes and not others. It’s not true masking.
My kid is amazing on the basketball court. So focused the entire time. It’s amazing to watch. But as soon as she had to do anything academic she’s all over the place.
I’m the PP with the 13yo

OP describes a lot of symptoms that do not sound like ADHD. We really do a disservice when everything is claimed to be ADHD and therefore solved by a stimulant. OP needs to work further and see if he issue is anxiety (in which case an SSRI might help) or if a therapy like DBT might be appropriate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 13yo DD takes 30mg of Ritalin on school days. If you ask her she will say she feels no different BUT if you ask her teachers they say she’s more focused.
She took a 4 hour CPR/first aid course this summer and I had her take one beforehand. The instructor asked which kid was mine and then complimented me on how focused and attentive she was. I could have hugged him.
Ask the people around her if they see a difference.

She can mask well with good classes/teachers but struggles in poor classes regardless.

Do stimulants actually relax the mind and impulses or just heightened focus for inattentive?

Kids with adhd do well when it’s a subject they’re interested in. They can focus. They struggle with things that are boring tk them. That may be his your kid does well in some classes and not others. It’s not true masking.
My kid is amazing on the basketball court. So focused the entire time. It’s amazing to watch. But as soon as she had to do anything academic she’s all over the place.
I’m the PP with the 13yo

I'm starting to come around to the idea that for people who can't tolerate stimulants, or can only tolerate a sub-clinical dose (like my DC), adding supplements could be better than a higher dose/finding a different med. Curious what just adding magnesium/zinc/folate, etc, would do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 13yo DD takes 30mg of Ritalin on school days. If you ask her she will say she feels no different BUT if you ask her teachers they say she’s more focused.
She took a 4 hour CPR/first aid course this summer and I had her take one beforehand. The instructor asked which kid was mine and then complimented me on how focused and attentive she was. I could have hugged him.
Ask the people around her if they see a difference.

She can mask well with good classes/teachers but struggles in poor classes regardless.

Do stimulants actually relax the mind and impulses or just heightened focus for inattentive?

Please take her for a second opinion.

It could very well be anxiety. Not sure why you assume it isn’t. ADHD and stimulants are way oversold as the answer to everything.

Anonymous wrote:My 13yo DD takes 30mg of Ritalin on school days. If you ask her she will say she feels no different BUT if you ask her teachers they say she’s more focused.
She took a 4 hour CPR/first aid course this summer and I had her take one beforehand. The instructor asked which kid was mine and then complimented me on how focused and attentive she was. I could have hugged him.
Ask the people around her if they see a difference.

She can mask well with good classes/teachers but struggles in poor classes regardless.

Do stimulants actually relax the mind and impulses or just heightened focus for inattentive?

My 13yo DD takes 30mg of Ritalin on school days. If you ask her she will say she feels no different BUT if you ask her teachers they say she’s more focused.
She took a 4 hour CPR/first aid course this summer and I had her take one beforehand. The instructor asked which kid was mine and then complimented me on how focused and attentive she was. I could have hugged him.
Ask the people around her if they see a difference.

My DD16 has tried multiple stimulants and nothing is working. Most just don't seem to do anything, even as we go up in strength and a few have a couple come down periods that are harsh in the afternoon making her flush or just agitated. But during the school day she has yet to say any of them are helping her calm her overthinking mind, impulses and increase focus. She says she can't feel a difference.

She's been on Methadate, Concerta, and Focalin. Tried short and long acting.

Do we ask to try something else? It seems like a lot of her friends that are diagnosed are on Vyvanse. Do we look for a non-stimulant route instead? She's taken Clonidine at night before and that does help her sleep, but she was only on .1mg and I don't think it changed her during the school day.

She can focus when needed, and is very smart. But she is unorganized, struggles with studying, is VERY impulsive, and has problems handling her emotions. It comes off as anxious, but it 100% ADHD untreated that leads to these things.

I know meds are different for everyone but I am looking if anyone had to keep trying and then found one that FELT different and right. She feels like she is fine without meds but her mind races, she talks a ton, is abrupt, impulsive and then feels all of it at night and almost breakdown. So she is not alright without meds.