r/TwoXADHD

I need to talk about the compensation thing because I genuinely don't think people who haven't done it understand what it looks like from the inside

I'm 41 and I've been managing ADHD symptoms without knowing that's what I was doing since I was roughly seven years old, and I have notebooks plural, and I have a color coding system for the notebooks, and I set phone alarms at fifteen minute intervals for the two hours before I need to leave anywhere, and I have a rule that I respond to every message the second I see it because if I don't I will forget and the relationship damage accumulates over years in ways that are hard to trace back to a single missed text

from the outside this looks like someone who is organized and responsive, but from the inside it is a constant and enormous amount of cognitive labor running in the background of everything and costing something I couldn't name until recently, a kind of low grade exhaustion I'd assumed was just what adult life felt like

most doctors thought I was doing okay because I was getting things done. The Sachs Center was the first to realize that 'getting things done' was costing me everything. For once, the medical notes actually matched my real life.

Edit: No idea why was it removed, here;s me trying again, thanksss!!

I’ve had many failed attempts at meds for ADHD and looking to try a methylphenidate. Vyvanse gave me severe depression when it wore off in the afternoon and I only figured that out after 3 years on it. Ugh. I also felt manic at times, had ocd tendencies, increased anxiety, pelvic pain and felt massively overstimulated by everything. Adderall caused massive fatigue to the point of falling asleep when it wore off a few hours later. I’ve tried non-traditional meds like Wellbutrin and clonidine and also had bad side effects. I’ve been on and off meds for almost 20 years and still haven’t found the best fit for me. I’m very sensitive to all sorts of meds and supplements. I’ve now been off meds for adhd for almost a year and I’m realizing I really need help. I’m mostly inattentive ADHD and have low energy and blah mood when I’m unmedicated.

Does anyone relate to this and has had success on a methylphenidate?

Hi everyone. I’m mostly posting because I feel really confused and honestly kind of discouraged after multiple appointments with my doctor, and I wanted to know if anyone relates to this experience.

I’m currently on Vyvanse (50mg right now, thinking of trying 60mg before deciding anything else). The thing is… I do think it works to some extent. I’m functional overall. I go to school, work, go to the gym consistently, track my symptoms, try to maintain routines, sleep, nutrition, etc. I’m not expecting medication to magically make me perfectly productive.

But I still feel like I’m manually steering my brain all day long.

The best way I can describe it is that I constantly have to “pull” my focus back manually. For example:
- I’ll sit in my car outside the gym for 20 minutes unable to transition inside even though I WANT to work out.
- After the gym, I’ll sit in the parking lot doing random things instead of just driving home.
- Making breakfast feels like internally narrating every step to myself so I don’t get pulled into another thought/task halfway through.
- I can redirect myself, but it feels effortful every single time.

It’s like there’s this invisible friction between tasks/transitions that I can’t explain properly.

The frustrating part is that I’ve actually been on Concerta before, and while I couldn’t tolerate the side effects at all, I remember feeling closer to a “baseline” where attention/transitioning felt more automatic and less manually controlled. Not perfect. Just… easier. Less friction.

I’ve talked to my doctor about this multiple times, but I always leave appointments feeling like maybe I’m expecting too much from medication, or maybe I’m just not trying hard enough, or maybe I don’t actually have ADHD at all. I KNOW he’s probably just trying to set realistic expectations, but somehow the conversation keeps turning into me feeling like I have to justify why daily life feels hard.

And honestly, that part has been emotionally exhausting.

I understand ADHD meds won’t make me perfectly focused or productive. I still expect to self-regulate. But I thought medication was supposed to reduce some of the “friction,” and I’m not sure I’m really getting that with Vyvanse.

Has anyone else experienced something similar?
Especially:
- feeling “functional” overall while still feeling cognitively exhausted from constantly redirecting yourself
- doing okay on Vyvanse but still struggling heavily with transitions/initiation
- tolerating methylphenidate meds better cognitively but worse physically
- switching from Vyvanse to Foquest after a similar experience

I’m trying to figure out if:

1. I should try increasing Vyvanse one more time first
2. This is just a realistic amount of residual ADHD symptoms
3. Or if maybe my brain simply responds better to methylphenidate-based meds despite the side effects

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who relates. :’)

hi! so for some context i just started adderal about a month ago, prescribed just 5 milligrams to start but my doctor told me to try taking 2 pills a day to see if it helps more. usually i take them right in the morning but i noticed a drop off about mid day.

anyway, today i forgot to take them right as i woke up so i took 2 pills (10mg) at about 11pm today. I felt good at first and helped me concentrate like normal, but about 2 hours after i started to feel a massive anxious gaping hole in my stomach. i was feeling so horrible and i decided to take a nap hoping it would fix things and that i was just tired. i woke up and i still felt the knot my my stomach. i have been anxious lately but usually it goes away after a while, and usually my medication doesnt worsen it. ive tried everything since. its about 9pm and i still feel it.

i was wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar or any unconventional tips to help with it. ive tried everything from breathing exercises to herbal tea. ive been anxious before but never this bad, and it usually goes away after some sleep.
thank you!!

hi all i just started a low dose vyvanse (20mg) and i am a bit confused by the effects of it. I took my dose at 8:30 and by 9:50 I felt wired, twitchy, fast heart, sweaty hands, the works. by 10:15 the effects had leveled out and I felt great, focused on my work and attentive, but by the time my lecture ended (11:20) I didn’t feel the Vyvanse in my system anymore. I also noted a runny nose as the effects started wearing off which might just be a me thing. Is this what the med is supposed to do, in the sense of making me feel twitchy then quickly fading off, or am I doing something wrong. my practitioner wants me to wait a few days before upping my dose but is there anything I can do in the meantime time to prolong the effects so I get the full 8 hours?