A thing they don’t tell you when you start amphetamine for ADHD, but they SHOULD, is that what they do is NOT make you function like a neurotypical.
What they actually do is turn you into a person with ADHD with greater capacity.
Sometimes MUCH greater capacity.
And there can be a honeymoon phase when you’re all like, “OMG! I’m saved! I can do all the things now!”
And the risk is that you will use the extra capacity to mask harder and engage in more of the same stuff that was causing burnout.
And then 3-6 months later you find yourself in the same place you started but with an amphetamine habit. Also you can sit still.
I see a LOT of people online who hit the point a few months in where they conclude they have stopped working and start desperately doing meds breaks, long supplement recipes, etc to get back the “functionality”.
And these people, more often than not, also seem to have massive internalised ableism. They never accept their own disability, instead thinking it’s their “duty” to use any means possible to “not inflict my shame on anyone else”.
And using up that extra capacity from amphetamine to do that is a nasty trap because you can’t go back. Ever.
You HAVE to accept what you are.
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Ada
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •Kotes
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •Sarah Brown likes this.
Sister Lucy Fur
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •Using speed to treat ADHD always seemed a bit of a grift and prescribers are usually FAR too lazy (or overstressed/worked) to figure out HOW to use the drug. Here. Prescribed. Take. Daily. Bye!
Wrong. How to use it episodically while limiting the addiction risk (but NOT eliminating it) MIGHT find a better use for the drug but that is also difficult for the person using to navigate.
There's gotta be better than this shit. (And should be accompanied by ENDING the bullshit "war on drugs" so we can use the funds to FULLY fund health care).
Sorry, gotta bomb Iran.
neoluddite
in reply to Sister Lucy Fur • • •Light
in reply to neoluddite • • •What if street drugs aren't actually fundamentally addictive? They just seem addictive because they're illegal. So the only people who take it are those who really, really, really feel they "need" to.
@FIAR_Light @goatsarah
neoluddite
in reply to Light • • •Sister Lucy Fur
in reply to neoluddite • • •Hmm....speed CAN be addictive--but again, I'm saying we need better treatments or alternatives for those who find it problematic. That does NOT mean I think it should be eliminated as an option but AS an option, more exploration in how best to use it. Sounds to me like you use it more when you need it and then other days, forget to. Some will need it daily; others not but the standard is just to take it every day.
So I'm saying we need more study and effort around NEW treatments as well as studies on how it is used.
I am not against drugs of any kind. Indeed, I find low doses of psychedelics extremely effective. A 'mezzo' dose every few weeks is what works for me.
neoluddite
in reply to Sister Lucy Fur • • •Sarah Brown
in reply to Sister Lucy Fur • •@Sister Lucy Fur @neoluddite Non stimulants exist. Speed is the first line drug for a reason; it bloody works.
Leave us and our speed alone in peace, which we get by taking speed.
Sister Lucy Fur
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •@neoluddite Please don't feel that I'm threatening that or suggesting you or anyone NOT use it! My apologies to you if that came across.
It works for you and for many, indeed. I am not arguing that. But it does NOT work for everyone and so we need better alternatives and/or perhaps better WAYS of using it studied.
At the same time, I am sorry if my commentary began to sound like I'm stigmatizing anyone for using it! Carry on and be well!
Sarah Brown
in reply to Sister Lucy Fur • •@Sister Lucy Fur @neoluddite this seems like a weird hill to die on.
It is known to work for 80-90% of the people it treats, which is a proportion many medications can never hope to reach, and with more efficacy than any other psychiatric medicine.
And a lot of the remainder it works for with less efficacy, and a smaller number of them don’t actually have ADHD and are misdiagnosed by a clinician who thinks it’s “phone scrolling disease”.
I mean, it’s up there with ibuprofen and paracetamol for efficacy.
Why THIS medicine in particular, when we are already stigmatised for taking it by many?
Sister Lucy Fur
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •@neoluddite A hill to die on? No, but as a gay man, I've seen what speed can do to people. On the upside, with doctor's care, if comprehensive, can minimize risks/adverse events and recognize drug-drug interactions. Lots of those:
mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplemen…
As to efficacy--I'm not super aware of that literature but these two meta-analyses suggest it's not as effective as you suggest? Which is why I asked for studies to support your statements? See, e.g.,
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/330857…
and
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/300918…
As to stigma, as I said, I am NOT into that. Mine is
... Show more...@neoluddite A hill to die on? No, but as a gay man, I've seen what speed can do to people. On the upside, with doctor's care, if comprehensive, can minimize risks/adverse events and recognize drug-drug interactions. Lots of those:
mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplemen…
As to efficacy--I'm not super aware of that literature but these two meta-analyses suggest it's not as effective as you suggest? Which is why I asked for studies to support your statements? See, e.g.,
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/330857…
and
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/300918…
As to stigma, as I said, I am NOT into that. Mine is a harm reduction perspective. As you allude, misdiagnosis and over-prescribing bring the same "cultural" risks as with opiates--it opens the door to stigmatizing people as it increases risk of harm.
Opiates are a good comparison (also "Scheduled" drugs). Let alone what the Sacklers did with their greed and the subsequent stupid swing from JUST SUFFER to have a twinge? Eat opiates! This renders smart use of opiates problematic.
That all said, I agree with you the drug IS effective--I'm calling for pushing for more research for better/safer drugs. In the meantime, I support people's use of and access to speed, along with ongoing monitoring to assure efficacy isn't waning.
Pharmacologic treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults: A systematic review and network meta-analysis - PubMed
PubMedSister Lucy Fur
in reply to Sister Lucy Fur • • •@neoluddite There's also this non-stim drug that has fewer adverse events and similar efficacy, centanafadine. Though it's early days and non-industry studies will be needed.
i notice they did NOT have an amphetamine/dextroamphetamine comparator arm:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/391327…
General info:
additudemag.com/centanafadine-…
Centanafadine Study: New ADHD Drug Effective for Adults and Kids
Nicole Kear (ADDitude)Sarah Brown
in reply to Sister Lucy Fur • •@Sister Lucy Fur Episodically?
Hell no.
I take it every day. Life is too fucking short.
And as for "got to be something better", amphetamine for ADHD is literally the most effective mental health drug in existence and one of the top ten most effective drugs in ANY field.
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Sister Lucy Fur
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •Дими́трий
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •i've recently started taking stimulants for AuDHD and experienced an initial swell of productivity. that has since subsided dramtically. i now feel mentally 'stable,' and am grateful for that condition and hope it persists. but, i often crave the empowering sense of energy and enthusiasm i first experienced on the meds.
i have expressed this to my provider, but was clear that i don't want to modify anything at the moment, because, while i believe that i 'function better' in a higher state of arousal, i don't want to risk upsetting the sense of 'stability' i'm now enjoying.
your comments about masking and burnout were eye-opening. i have felt some external pressure to contiue to be as motivated and productive as when i first began treatment. i will monitor myself to ensure i am not over-masking or risking burnout. thank you.
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Sarah Brown
in reply to Дими́трий • •@Дими́трий yeah. My experience after a year is that the mental stability effects remain.
The initial drive? That’s a one and only deal I think. Kinda like a special into promo.
Then you get used to it and realise that even neurotypical people can find mundane things boring.
They just don’t mean what we do when we say “boring”.
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Jason Stuart
in reply to Sarah Brown • • •Sarah Brown likes this.