u/FaithlessnessPlus164

Following on from the post about pensions that has now given me a stomach ache just in time for bed, how many of us have always worked ‘normal’ low wage jobs, the sort most of our parents would’ve had back in the day?

Myself and my partner are both 40s and best suited to working low stress ‘blue collar’ jobs and always have done. We’re just not career types and just prefer to work honest albeit unimpressive jobs that don’t come with any mental load at the end of the day.

Judging by some of the posts around here it seems we’re very poorly off compared to a lot of modern Irish people but I wonder if it’s more common than you’d think even here on Reddit. Surely not everyone is in the civil service or tech industry? How many of us are working in factories, farms, shops etc into middle age? And if so, how are you doing?

For us we’re mid 40s, child free, bought an old farmhouse ten years ago we’ve been slowly doing up and share an old car (honestly no need for two) and we have a rake of pets. Only about 35k in the pension. Earn under €15 an hour. 5 min commute. Not into holidays or travelling anymore, prefer to spend time with friends, in the garden and with the animals instead.

Are we an outlier in modern Irish life or are there lots more of us?

I (42 and in perimenopause since 39) am fairly new to vyvanse but so far have found it very good. Today however I took my usual 40mg dose and within an hour or two started feeling very off.

For any fellow ravers I’ve feel like I’m having a mild comedown from ecstasy. Emotionally very low (that you’ve burned through two weeks supply of seretonin in one night feeling), detached, weepy, anxious and compulsive yawning. I know vyvanse often doesn’t work as well in this cycle stage but are these sorts of side effects also a common experience?

I’m in my early 40s and already having a tough time. I’m on HRT and was recently diagnosed as severely ADHD (which explains why peri has hit me like a tonne of bricks) and am on thankfully now on stimulants which are helping quite a bit.

I’m just wondering will I ever find my way back to my old self? Should I just hunker down for the next few years and wait it out or do I need to work on accepting that this might be the new version of me and my life from now on?

I’d love to hear from women who’ve made it through to the other side because it all feels a bit scary and overwhelming right now.

Woke up this morning with a tick on my back, reckon I probably got it from one of my pets in bed during the night or digging out in the garden yesterday.

I have the little fucker bagged to put in the freezer. HSE advice seems to be to wait things out and see if symptoms develop before asking for antibiotics but much as I don’t like to take antibiotics it makes me a bit nervous to just wait and see.

I’m in the south west. What would you do? How are gps handling this these days?

EDIT: thanks everyone, rang south doc there and they advised a single dose antibiotic prophylactic to be taken today so going to get that this afternoon.

And if so do you consider it due to your adhd? I’m in my 40s only diagnosed a few months ago and now getting treatment for the first time in my life.

I’m really happy to be getting help at last but part of me is sad that I never understood why I always believed I just wasn’t cut out for a ‘proper’ job and now as I get older the reality of my financial situation is starting to bear down on me a little.

My partner is also auadhd (untreated due to complications of another illness) and like myself has never worked anything other than low responsibility/manual/ low wage jobs so between us we haven’t really done a great job at adulting this far.

No pensions, can’t afford to save etc. I feel like we’re the only people i know who don’t have careers at this stage in life, we just have jobs that we scrape by on but are otherwise happy with our lot. I just can’t help but worry for the future especially as my partner is almost a decade older than me and we’re childfree.

I absolutely think our difficulties with careers and finances is largely due to our (undiagnosed/untreated) neurodivergence during our 20/30s personally. Curious to hear if anyone else is in the same boat and what role you feel your adhd played in it?