I’m on desvenlafaxine, an antidepressant. It helps with the ADHD “walk through a doorway and wtf was I wanting to do again” problems I have. I’m also a generally functional person with ADHD. Graduated with a degree and all but just rather spacey and forgetful.

Also turns out I’ve been massively depressed for years so that also cleared up. I haven’t taken Vyvanse, but back when I was taking just Ritalin I’d still get intense negative moods and was generally snappier. If taken as needed now it’s not so bad.

Overall: 10/10, husband recommends.

(He pledged that he’ll fund my medications if I ever had trouble buying them since I’ve done a lot better since going on them. Happy wife, happy life and all)

Yeah, a lot of that. If you gave me 5 tasks in a row I’d remember maybe the last 2 and wouldnt even remember there were more tasks. Now my memory is noticeably a lot better. I usually remember what I came back to my room to grab now. It’s very different from what I dealt with before…

Of course I do recommend writing down work tasks and stuff when you can - it helps supplement and cover for the bits you still end up forgetting.

Like mentioned by others, the emotional regulation is a good result from your current medication. Is your psych recommending you switch to another medication?

I’m on antidepressants for my ADHD so the experience is likely slightly different, but being on ritalin solely at the beginning occasionally sent me into a focused spiral into very unhappy feelings that seemed even more consuming than usual. Then I switched to generic wellbutrin, which wasn’t for long but gave me insomnia.

Currently on Pristiq now and I and my partner have noted significant improvements in my short term memory and emotional regulation. Maybe your psych thinks there’s something that can address more than one symptom? Hope it works out for you.

I appreciate it. I have inattentive type ADHD (also, I think ADD is now nested under the ADHD umbrella), based on what I’ve experienced so far.

I’m not sure where I fall on the severity scale, to be honest. On one hand, I made it out of education with a 2nd upper class degree in humanities.

On the other, I can’t drive long distances (1h+) unsupervised and unmedicated because there’s a significant risk that I’ll just shut down in the driver’s seat and crash my car, even if I’m smacking my face and trying everything to maintain wakefulness. I can’t help it, and thankfully so far it’s only happened when I’ve been able to pull over and swap drivers or rest.

I’m sort of on my last legs at this current job due to an accumulation of mistakes that could be attributed to ADHD behaviour. I hate using it as an excuse, but it colors so much of my behaviour. I don’t ever mean to make mistakes, and so much of them at that…

I have disclosed up my diagnosis to my boss to really try and improve my performance and work within my actual ability, and wrote my boss an email asking for accommodations. The follow up call was basically “You need to focus to do your job here” and “I understand you have been diagnosed, but this should not hinder your ability to do your job”.

I’ve been asked to submit my request for accommodations in writing, so it’s not like they’re completely against it. But I don’t trust that they actually understand the impact ADHD has always had on my ability to perform consistently at work and will be understanding of any missteps, even though I am trying to actively prove that I’m trying with medication and coping mechanisms.

I do have upsides. I work very well in crisis and urgent situations, though the sustained elevated stress leaves much to be desired.

Unfortunately, I’m not in the US and there are exactly 0 protections against ADHD, so me getting canned for underperformance, even if it’s associated to ADHD is fully legal. But I still appreciate your input here.

This exact thing has bitten me so many times!!

I’ll open an email, maybe not pick up on the need to action (especially if multiple people are required to action on things), and then my boss gets to hear about my lack of follow up.

I’ve tried to keep a list, like I’m working on individual work tickets which has helped, but even then I still miss a couple of items.

Thanks for the encouragement. I’ve been put on performance for a while at work and despite my best efforts the situation isn’t improving. I’ve only got a few more weeks before basically guaranteed termination.

I definitely did have a moment recently where I found a mistake in something I made a point to go through with a fine tooth comb when I did it, and I was so horribly disappointed in myself I wanted to cry and resign because I tried so damned hard, but I still screwed it up.

And you are right about gaining experience and starting afresh. I hope that as I go along I’ll just gain more experience and be better at my job until I can work and meet expectations, like the average neurotypical person.

Gosh, sorry to hear that. I’m also “functional”, but I’m that duck paddling madly underwater to get anywhere.

I thought my psychiatrist was also going to say I’m normal because my parents insisted I was when I gave them the childhood ADHD assessment form.

I read a few questions to my mother because she didn’t want to read it herself, and stopped at about 5 before giving it to my dad to fill out. The final question being: “Does your child have trouble completing schoolwork or household tasks?”

Her answer: (on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being normal and 5 being very bad ADHD) 1, you didn’t have trouble, you’re just lazy.

All my life, hearing “you have potential, but you’re just lazy”, or “I didn’t see you dozing off playing games”. No, I’m not lazy, and yes, I have fallen asleep gaming, multiple times.

I hope you’ll be able to find that diagnosis or at least proper support for your struggles. Just because we function, doesn’t mean we can’t function even better with help and medication.

How prevalent alcohol culture is in the West. I’m Southeast Asian and it’s more common for us to drink sugary drinks and have food at the local corner restaurant at night instead of having alcohol when we spend time with friends.

When I studied in the West, it really struck me how the only place you really could hang out at night was the bar, and alcohol was often the preferred drink. And they normally closed at 12am, so you can’t even stay out that late.

Personally I’m not very fond of inebriation just due to the issues it creates (not that my friends were alcoholics and got blackout drunk every time we hung out), so I found it kind of bad that it’s so socially accepted to see a need to get drunk in order to tolerate socialising with friends.