mdza
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Post by mdza on Aug 17, 2013 0:41:06 GMT
So I got bored of climbing up the walls waiting for the NHS to grace me with my results or simply acknowledge I'm alive (story here) , and decided to go down to Harley St. and spend a stupid amount of £££ to get it sorted (For anyone who is sure about their condition and are waiting for the NHS, do yourself a favour and go private whilst you wait). It turns out I have (as I had expected) ADHD combined type and rather sever according to the grade scale. Long story short, we agreed on Elvanse 30mg and I'm now on my 5th day. It's been a mixed bag but got my first taste of normality. So for those interested in such things, find a nice confy seat as I present you with my diary so far: Day 1. Total time: 5h 17:00 went to meet some friends (since I had gone all the way to London) and could not wait to take my first dose, done so on an empty stomach agains my own better judgement. I am extremely hyper and exited, I'm talking loudly and generallynot being composed at all having a laugh at everything. 18:00 effects start kicking in. Like some one hit a light switch I am no longer compelled to be jumping around or making jokes, I also find it hard to smile. I feel very light headed and begin to have trouble gathering my thoughts. Speach also starts to be affected, I begin to stutter and gag. 18:30 full effects are in but not what I was expecting. Hot flashes, jitters, anxiety, general discomfort, sweatiness, racing thoughts, weak/tired. All I can think to myself is that so far it is exactly like doing a line of coke but without the morrish feeling, I want to get out of there but I have to entertain my friends. 19:40 I'm about to leave this group of friends to meet another whom I will spend the night with, I start noticing my neck palpitating away. Mouth is dry and other than being calm I am not liking this at all. Get on the tube and find myself very disoriented, miss a stop and a couple of exits. 20:30 Finally peak. All effects start to fade, it will take another hour and a half to finish metabolising the pill. As effects go away I start returning to my hyper mood, albeit a bit calmer.
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mdza
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Posts: 24
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Post by mdza on Aug 17, 2013 0:51:56 GMT
Day 2
Total time 4:30h
Wake up at 6 a.m. In a very hyperactive mood, can't wait until my friends wake up so I start annoying them whilst they are still in bed.
09:00 - take 30mg on a full stomach, still very hyper talking constantly and making jokes whilst dancing/jumping around the place.
09:30 - Pill starts working and I immediately stop being excited. I tell my friend I don't like feeling like this (losing my spark), she reassures me that it's about learning to manage it.
10:00 - Moderately high disorientation begins, forget to look whilst crossing the street. I feel weak/tired again and begin having hot flashes/sweats but no palpitations. This time I can maintain eye contact with others but think I would have struggled to smile if some one was to address me. Moderate communication problems (slight stutter and trouble gathering thoughts)
10:30 - Something unexpected just happened, I thought I caught myself daydreaming but realised I was actually absorbing my surroundings (This is a first in my life)! I go sit down whilst listening to music and just observe, I don't have any nervous fidgeting/twitching nor impatient and no longer have problems communicating. I calmly sit and observe my surroundings.
I start feeling awkward/anxious again, it seems to come in 5-10 min waves.
Suddenly, magic happens; as I'm observing my surroundings and the song I was listening on my earphones changes, I am distracted from observing my surroundings and I am compelled to take my headphones out but I choose not to and to concentrate on listening to the song instead and give it my full attention. SUCCESS! You mean I can actually choose what I give focus to?! First time in 36 years, I am completely in awe.
It is short lived as the wave of awkward anxiety hits me again, still in shock of what had just happened. I am overwhelm by all this new audio visual stimulus, I am finding detail in everything I had never seen or heard before completely aware of my surroundings
11:30 - hot flashes have gone so I guess I've passed the peak. Focus/awkward waves continue until 12:30, I notice sounds really distract me when I'm on focused peaks. If I where to engage in an activity that would require concentration I would choose to do so in complete silence (also a first). I find myself reflecting
12:30 - Struggling to focus now, focus shifting is back again. My normal anxiety starts acting up, in the next few hours I crash and burn and have to go hide in my bed. Well worth it though, can't wait for day 3!
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mdza
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Posts: 24
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Post by mdza on Aug 17, 2013 1:27:14 GMT
Day 3
Total time: N/A
10:00 - I take my dose with bowl of porridge with an apple. I notice my mouth has ulcers, I must have been chewing my face last night.
11:30 - Not much happening, my mood is stable but I'm only feeling light headed with a bit of jitters.
12:30 - Somethings gone wrong, I don't seem to have absorbed the pill. Could I have built tolerance this quickly?
14:00 - Decide to have another dose and see what happens, but besides having excessive urination and feeling very weak and tired I get no other effects. I am terribly disappointed but at least my mood and anxiety have not been up and down like it usually is. I start to notice I am slightly constipated and that I did not have a fluid bowl movement yesterday. I emailed my psychiatrist as he asked me to regarding my progress, I don't hear back from him.
Day 4
Total time: N/A
10:00 - After yesterdays failure I decide to skip breakfast and dose on an empty stomach. I am not very hopeful but decide to give it a go.
11:30 - It looks like it's a repeat from yesterday. I sit down with a music project, I am able to do some bits a pieces for about 4h but that is down to my mood being stable (not enough concentration to actually get the project off the ground).
I tried going to the loo but I'm definitely constipated. I rang the shrink's office as I had not heard back from him and they told me he has received my email but has yet to respond. It's Friday so that means I will not be hearing from him until next week, this leaves me with a bit of a dilemma; what to do next? I can stop taking the meds for a couple of days until I'm regular but I am keeping my mood swings stable so... I guess I can go buy some laxatives as it is only a few days.
This is a huge problem for me, and don't think it will be particular to Elvanse as I've been constipated when on stimulant binges before. If the constipation persists I am certainly not going to be able to continue on Elvanse as it is absorbed in the colon, plus I don't see how I could be taking laxatives for a long time.
Overall what I have found with the meds is that what I have called normal all my life is what most people feel when they get off their face. It will not be easy living with the meds as you have to time every thing around them and they are taxing, but that experiece I got of being free from my chains and being for the first time in the present (for however short it was) is worth any sacrifice. Roll on day 5.
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Post by Yorkiebluebird on Aug 19, 2013 12:10:57 GMT
Hi MDZA. I totally get staying still and absorbing surroundings. I'm in my 6th week of taking Concerta XL and up to 72mg. Been a rocky road with some highs n lows. Now on holiday and been amazed with my ability to sun bathe and simply watch the world go by with interest while being calm. I never get sun tans as I was always getting restless and wanting to move on.
From my own experience and from reading other posts on here finding the right meds and the right dose can take time. This from someone who immediately takes too long :0)
Good luck finding yr place. Looks like you've had some wonderful, albeit, small windows into it.
Ybx
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mdza
Member's not posted much yet
Posts: 24
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Post by mdza on Sept 10, 2013 11:11:33 GMT
Thanks Yorkie, been really depressed (and absent) but the second week went something like this:
Following my shrinks advice on Monday I doubled my dose to 60mg and taking Fybogel nightly. I have since become regular again yet did not experienced any positive effects, rather the opposite. I have been experiencing a sharp rise in nausea/ tiredness and procrastination has been through the roof. On the worse days; cold sweats and feverish symptoms, though day to day (all day) it oscillated between stomach pains and an general uncomfortableness.
Today I've started on Dexanfetamine 5mg twice daily, will keep updating...
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