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First few days on Elvanse and wow! This stuff is honestly astonishing.

If you’re seeing this on Bluesky it’s auto cross posted from fedi. Breaks might be in odd places.

It’s essentially created two versions of me. There is medicated me who is a competent adult and can Just Do Stuff and unmedicated me who is mot, and cannot (but who is fun and lovely and is the version writing this).

On the way up the transition between the two is smooth and continuous.

On the way down it is not. I can feel it starting to fade over above half and hour then it reaches some critical level and o spend 10-15 minutes just crashing.

And then I’m the person writing this again, but a bit dazed and bewildered.

I’m hoping this will get smoother. At the moment it leads to almost a discontinuity in personality, but only on the way down, where afterwards I simply cannot conceive of being the person I just was.

I think I need to get into the habit, before it wears off, of leaving myself something nice for just after the crash.

in reply to Llwynog

Years ago, people would have described my aversion to small talk as "autistic". But this implies lacking the skills to make small talk. I avert it due to it requiring me to concentrate (on something that wastes time); it has nothing to do with an inability to schmooze, otherwise I would not have reached where I have in my nursing career. Understanding this, instead of lazily describing it as "autistic", has helped me gain a greater understanding of my life.


I just took a very satisfying dump in the ladies’. I imagined every transphobe was down there.





Searching for hydrochloric acid on amazon.

It offers me sodium hypochlorite.

Fuck's actual sake

in reply to Sarah Brown

I think you will find that shipping of HCl is problematic. I suggest you look for a local builder's supplier or DIY store (if there are any in your area).
in reply to Sarah Brown

you can't even get the full strength stuff anymore. Unless you can find a shop still selling "professionals only" grade stuff. Bah!


Decaffeinated Yorkshire Tea is entirely satisfactory. This is a useful discovery.

Malwen reshared this.

in reply to Sarah Brown

I chain drink decaff Twinnings Everyday, have deliveries of coffee beans from Decadent Decaff and for at the Hackspace keep decaf Nescafe Azure. That mostly keeps me ticking.

Not all the decaffs are equal. That took a few goes. Some brands put a bit more care into it than others. And if you're shopping at supermarkets, I've noticed you have to go to the larger ones to get access to more than one brand on the shelf.




Nice spring day here on TERF Island. Time to break out the hiking dress. Its pockets can fit two bottles of wine!

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One of the more unhelpful trauma responses that’s resurfaced this year is the fear of copying. When I was a kid I was mocked for picking up interests from friends, so I used to try hard not to do that or to be cautious or contrary in how I developed interests.

I learned not to do this at some point, especially with transition initially (which I think I knew had to be about me and nobody else whatever my brain said) but it’s come back this year. I have to fight against an urge to reject for myself anything people I know find positive.



Filing under “fun realisations about ADHD”

We probably pretty much never make threads on r/AmITheAsshole

Because we already know.

Unknown parent

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
Sarah Brown
@CORRUPT Hey, that's a quality dopamine source that is.
Unknown parent

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
Sarah Brown
@CORRUPT Thanks for your input


Just got a letter from local Lib Dem’s.

It was insipid as fuck

So I voted green

in reply to Sarah Brown

I am voting Green more often. Hacked off with Labour, Hate everyone else.


About to start my Elvanse titration.

No alcohol or caffeine for 3 months.

Oof!

in reply to Sarah Brown

I am surprised they didn't start you on Methylphenidate first, as Elvanse is usually a second-line treatment. Do let us know how you're getting on with it. I'm using far fewer energy drinks than pre-treatment so I think it's working.
in reply to Llwynog

@Llwynog Everyone I’ve seen get diagnosed in the uk recently has been started on Elvanse


Went out for dinner with Zoe’s parents. Shut down at the end as I tend to do.

Then had to walk back home through the city centre which was a riot of overstimulation and horrific. Just needed to get away so I walked really fast.

Every time I did this before I was like, “what the fuck is wrong with me? Why am I like this?” And I’d get angry with myself and that would often devolve into an argument.

But I now know exactly why I’m like this.

And it isn’t my fault.

And there was no argument.

in reply to Sarah Brown

That sounds like the best thing of your recent diagnosis, learning to accept you are what you are. I’ve never thought WHY I am like who I am, just that I am. And yes I relate to the shutting down…


May I present the glory that is seat 2A on a Ryanair 737-8200.

They only charge like 30 euros for this.



Oh, news. Said on Bsky but not here.

I have combination inattentive/hyperactive ADHD, officially.

I'm going to be starting treatment.

in reply to Sarah Brown

Hope it helps.

If you're able to, can I be a bother and ask some questions? Did you do right to choose and if so who did you go with?

I'm looking for recommendations since I had such a horrible time on the NHS, requested ICB funding for assessment outside local MH services.

in reply to Heather 👻

@Heather 👻 I went private. ADHD360. I'm in two minds about them because I had a good experience but I know someone who had a very bad one.
in reply to Sarah Brown

Yeah it's a shit deal sometimes.

I went with NHS but am now on complaint#2. First assessment was with a yr 1 specialist GP in training, no supervisor, claimed I had the inattentive bits but no hyperactive so said it wasn't ADHD. Complained, got "second opinion" with consultant who said he thought I had ASD and refused to even discuss ADHD without school reports.

in reply to Sarah Brown

... Yup. I'm pretty sure a care plan shouldn't be "Akkikins will come back with school reports.
I refuse to see her until she produces school reports.
I've referred her for ASD assessment"
ASD questionnaires came back very unlikely to point not put on waiting list (AQ50 6/50, cambs behavioural empathy score of 69/80) so... Guess I was right? But refusal to assess me properly. Yay.

Anyway, also considering private.



Watched S03E01 of Amazon’s Wheel of Time thing.

Well, it was on while I played with my phone.

Problem with streaming series is they don’t have enough material to fill the seasons they’re given so instead of filler episodes we’re moving to entire filler seasons.

It’s just boring. It’s all boring.

And with years between seasons, nobody can remember what is actually supposed to be happening.

Let’s get back to TV where they get the fuck on with it.

in reply to Sarah Brown

god I'm so confused with it. No idea what's happening. It's very pretty; the costumes are nice and the twinks are cute. This sums up the reasons I'm still watching.
in reply to anandamide

@anandamide It’s very simple. There are some acolytes and I’ve forgotten most of their names but they did some stuff and now they must go to this other city except, no, wait, they’re going to a slightly different city. Just meeting up with the baddie from the last season because we do coffee now. It’s a thing. Ooh, look at the one in red walking in an evil way! PSYCH! We’re actually going to a different city! Oh no, they stole the McGuffins of power!
in reply to Sarah Brown

How do you have filler when you're adapting a 14-brick series?

(I watched S1 then was disinclined to renew my Prime subscription)



One of the hard bits of social media is feeling that the approval of people on the internet is important, and that their disapproval is to be avoided at all costs, even if it means avoiding discussion for fear of having a Wrong Take.

I'm working on myself to change this.



Imagine standing in that queue to have your photo taken against a wall while 8 trans women are watching, judging you.

We'd just been in the pub, by the way. Some of us use our time better.

It isn't even the location from the film. That's between platforms 4 and 5 because Rowling is a hack.

Elaine reshared this.

in reply to Sarah Brown

@David Hough Railing’s stupid invention would have sort of worked had they re-numbered after opening platform 0 because then 9 and 10 (present 8 and 9) would have had what is now the floor under the Parcel Yard pub between them.
in reply to Sarah Brown

@David Hough The lesson in all this is that if you’re gonna be a massive transphobe, you need to make damn sure the shit about trains in your books is watertight because WE WILL KNOW.


Yes. I’m drinking 22 year old Bordeaux in the bath. Yes, I’m comfortable with that.
in reply to Sarah Brown

In my wine classes, I was taught that for drinking in the bath (usually a shared bath) a red sparkling wine is a good choice (my preference is a quality Lambrusco).


Previous posts on ADHD and food/hunger generated a bit of confusion I think.

Let me see if I can explain. I'm currently making a cheese sandwich because the dishwasher needs emptying.

Does that make sense?

in reply to Sarah Brown

@Jo Dusepo جوهانا دوسپو Like doomscrolling. You know. When you’re bored? You need something to do?

We are always bored.

And housework is so boring it hurts.



Given the onerous requirements of the UK online safety act this is a very good way forward. mstdn.party/@pandorablake/1142…


I've spoken at length about my journey to a good solution over on Patreon: patreon.com/posts/open-source-…

Matthew Vernon reshared this.



The more I come to terms with the pervasiveness of the ADHD I’ve been in denial about for so long, the more it utterly blows my mind how *alien* the way neurotypicals see the world is.

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in reply to Llwynog

@Llwynog From the copy of this on Bsky:

Honestly, it’s just pervasive. Attitudes to snacking. The idea that unloading the dishwasher doesn’t have to be soul destroying. That listening to someone talking slowly doesn’t have to be enraging. That holding on to transient thoughts is possible. That you can stop the music. That you can just DO something even if it’s not urgent or interesting. That emotions aren’t zero or a million decibels. That hyperfocus isn’t a thing for them. That it’s not a constant fight against self loathing for not doing the thing. That they can just switch off. That telling someone that something that’s bothering them isn’t that important is actually supposed to help rather than annoy. That you don’t have to constantly seek approval that you’ll never get. That burnout doesn’t have to be a sword of Damocles.

And so on and so on.

in reply to Sarah Brown

@llwynog what, you mean people don't battle almost every day at work forcing themselves to do stuff and beating themselves up for all the stuff they didn't manage? That they're not expecting to be fired for all the work that didn't happen, and dreading the call that never comes?

Also in retrospective it shows that a lot of work isn't actually important bc no-one notices when you don't do it. Although I am very good at doing other things that get some attention so that helps.



When you have a moment of clarity and realise that "Rockstar Programmer" means "This is someone with ADHD who we haven't burned out yet".
in reply to Sarah Brown

I use Adderall–and it's definitely helpful for a lot of things–but it's not a silver bullet.
Unknown parent

mastodon - Link to source
David

Why does all the personal funding require current enrollment in school? Why are all the internships only for students? Why do those certain jobs only hire recent graduates?

Age discrimination for exploitative employment of children under thirty

This entry was edited (3 months ago)


Courtesy of @kæt I’m reading about Indra’s Net, which is interesting to use as a metaphorical way of looking at the complexity (and futility?) of causes and effects in relational networks. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indra'…
@kæt



Just heard mention of the Celtic Sea on the Shipping Forecast. I never knew it was a thing.


This happened within 10 minutes of a single espresso. Just before my mind was racing.

Anyway, less than 2 weeks until my ADHD diagnosis appointment.



in reply to Sarah Brown

100% bet that original poster had childhood emotional neglect and/or serious self esteem issues so has no idea whats coming or going (at least from my personal experience of all that)


Are Gen X literally the only people who answer our fucking phones (including FaceTime) and our messages?

Susanna the Artist 🌻 reshared this.

Unknown parent

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source
Sarah Brown
@Ghost of Hope 🏳️‍⚧️ I do if I’m trying to organise being picked up at the bloody airport and the person picking me up is calling.


I applied for a job a few weeks ago and got an invitation back from them to do an "matrix reasoning test": a sort of IQ type thing where you had to figure out which shape went in the gap. I think I failed pretty comprehensively and then ran out of time.


You know what sort of chat you’re having when you describe someone’s sense of self as “kinda ergative-absolutive aligned” and get a reply considering “if Descartes were from Cumberland”…

friendica (DFRN) - Link to source

Severance: I want to love it, but I can't help thinking they're doing the Lost and BSG(2004) thing of "jerk the viewer around because we didn't actually think beyond the elevator pitch" thing.

Also, GET THE FUCK ON WITH IT



What’s with the weird-ass way they say 61016 on the Tube?
in reply to Sarah Brown

similar on my trip today if I didn't know the number already, I'm not sure I would be able to pick it out - also on trains today, and the accent of the announcer on Northern means "see" and "say" sound exactly the same and it's oddly jarring.


People wanting to insult you before transition: “What are you? Some kind of GIRL?”

People waning to insult you after transition: “What are you? Some kind of MAN?”

Twist: they’re the same people

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in reply to Sarah Brown

To a bigot, there's nothing as manly as transfem transition.

Curiously, even though they may profess themselves to be the manliest man who ever manned, they're hardly ever manly enough to give transition a try.



Orion over the river Stort in Hertfordshire. iPhone 16 pro, pro raw, handheld, Adobe Lightroom. 10 second exposure.

Stephen Cox Author reshared this.

in reply to Sarah Brown

and here i am chucking my phone on timer and flopping it on top of the wheely bin to try to get aurora shots.
in reply to Sarah Brown

@goatsarah I moved back to Portugal after Brexit too. I'm Portuguese, but I was living in Herts for 6 years. 🙏


Sorting my hormones out has given me the trans eternal youth thing back.

I’m 51 years old. No makeup.

in reply to Sarah Brown

What a beautiful rebuke to those who put so much effort into hate!