Let's clear up some ADHD medication myths once and for all. I am not a doctor and all information is from my research, courses I took, my experiences, and those of my clients over eleven years. I don't believe everyone with ADHD needs to be on medication.
ADHD is a problem with the executive functions (EF) malfunctioning. That means some of the EF do not wake up to do their job, or they only partially wake up to do their job. To have ADHD, you have to have been impaired in 2 or more executive functions for most of your life, or since you had a blow to the head. People with ADHD are not using their entire brain and that is why it is difficult to expect them to do the same things, or to use the same management skills for their life as someone who does not have ADHD.
It is neurological, not behavioural. People with ADHD want to do well, they know what to do, and are often highly intelligent. The problem is that knowing what to do and being able to do it come from two different areas of the brain. For us with ADHD, those parts are not speaking to each other.
Some people can learn management skills with a great ADHD Coach and without medication. No one can just take medication without having a great coach to teach them a different way of living with their specific ADHD brain. Be sure to ask many questions before you decide to work with someone. Many therapists, psycho-therapists, psychiatrists, coaches, counsellors, and other service providers that claim to work with ADHD people, have no clue what ADHD is. Always ask if they can explain it in two or three sentences that you can understand. Ask if they can tell you what the executive functions are. Ask them what kind of tools they have to know what your specific brain needs, and what specific tools they have to help you manage executive function malfunction. If they can't answer that, they will probably give you main stream methods that may frustrate you because they don't work very well or at all for us with different brains.
When people with ADHD do not learn coping strategies for life issues, and if they need medication but refuse to take them, they risk becoming anxious, depressed, overwhelmed, feel like failures, struggle with suicidal ideation, feel life is too hard, and more. Since they can't figure out how to manage their life, they often turn to outside sources. The number one compulsion/addiction for people with ADHD is food, followed by coffee, cigarettes, cannabis, other drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, risky behaviours, and so on. These are ways to get temporary boosts of dopamine to open up the executive functions. They do not last long term and cause way more problems in life than any ADHD medication. They also end up costing way more emotionally, physically, financially, and energetically than a year of coaching. Over time, all of these increase anxiety, depression, chaos in life.
The purpose of ADHD medication is to open up the executive functions so they can do their job. If you find the right medication and the right dose, you can be using your entire brain for the first time in your life.
My story - That is what happened to me. Not everyone with ADHD needs to be on medication. I have many clients who were able to learn management skills for their brain to create a beautiful, peaceful, enjoyable life for themselves. I myself, needed medication for a few years to learn social skills, to be able to stop talking excessively, and to learn how to listen. I couldn't do it without the meds. To all who didn't stay on medication because you felt different, you missed the whole point. You are suppose to feel different. Your brain is fully functional. Embrace it. I noticed that all of my senses were heightened, everything seemed slower, I could listen to boring lectures and conversations without having to leave. I could be still long enough to understand people, to do small talk. Most of us with different brains feel like we are going to die when people are being superficial. On medication, I could handle it without a problem. I learned a lot taking medication for a couple of years and I did not take weekends off, or summers off. Think about it, once your brain is fully functional and you are making progress, why would you take a break and get back to chaos? You wouldn't go off your heart medication, or your anti-depressant like that; why would you go off of something that helps your brain work better?! I was able to stop bad habits and implement good habits. I slept better than I had ever slept and my life improved overall. I loved being able to learn all of these new skills. Unfortunately my psychiatrist overmedicated me at some point and I had a terrible episode. Then he wanted to put me on anti-depressants. I refused. I went off the ADHD medication and I was fine. No more depressive episodes. Sometimes, anti- depressants are prescribed for the wrong reasons. Luckily, off the medication, I was able to continue with the improvements I had made, with a little more work. The medication showed me things I had never seen before in myself, in others, and in the world. It was a total game changer. I know others with great stories, and I know some with horrible stories because they couldn't find the right dose of the correct meds for their brain. This is unfortunate. If a medication is not working after a few weeks, it probably won't work. For the record, many ADHD medication go through your system within 12 hours or less. Only a few stay for a few days. When I suffered a concussion, I had to take ADHD medication again since it impaired different executive functions.
Who needs medication? Those who can't manage their lives even with the best
          management skills possible for their specific brain. Sometimes you just need the help.
          If you had diabetes, you wouldn't think of not taking insulin, if you had heart disease,
          you would do whatever you could to regulate the disease so you could have
   a life. Why do so many people fight taking ADHD medications? Side effects you say?
   Have you seen the side effects of Acetaphetamine, Ibuprophen, anti-depressants, and
   other medications? They all have horrible side effects. I suggest not looking at them
and focusing on all the benefits of the medication. If you have problems, call your
   pharmacist. He knows more about medications than any doctor. That is his specialty.
Having the all your medications at one pharmacy is helpful. I have been prescribed a
medication before that my pharmacist told me could not be taken with ADHD
medication. The doctor did not know that.
   Make sure you are charting your medication to know if, when, and what it is
   working on. Chart link below.
If someone can't take medication, you can still wake up your executive functions by
making some serious life changes.
How to find the right medication and the right dose. There are kits now that can be helpful and that are sent directly to your address. You follow instructions and return the kit by mail to a lab. They will give you a report of which medication would work with your DNA. Some doctors don't value the kits. You don't have to tell them about it. Just let them know that you did a bit of research and you would like to try this medication. Most doctors have little training about ADHD. Often they follow the recommendations of a pharmaceutical rep who is promoting a specific product. They will often accommodate you. Â Â Â Another way is by trial and error. Different countries have various ADHD medications. All medication are categorized in clusters. At the end of this blog post, you will find resources on ADHD medications in Canada and the US to help you understand better. (My personal opinion is not to start with Adderall. If you need to take something in that category, Vyvanse is the improved version.) Know that the generic brands of ADHD medications, do not always work the same as the name brands. Ask your pharmacist about this. Ask your doctor to specify to use the name brand.
Please leave a thumbs up in the comments if this was helpful.
Resources:
Comments