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Post by tessaract on Aug 3, 2015 12:45:45 GMT
Does anyone get the irony of this? having the self disipline to take meds every day at the same time is beyond me. I jump between wanting to take them I wanting nothing to do with them. I have extremely bad staying ability, I just cannot take my meds every day.
Sometime I think I dont need them and decide that I'm not going to go down that route. It doesnt help that Strattera is a type of med that takes approx 6 weeks to fully work. The longest I have managed to take them each day in a row is probably not much more than a week.
Last appointment with the psych I told him that I kept forgetting to take them and then it would be too late in the day so I wouldnt take them that day for fear of being up all night, having too much REM and having horrible nightmares or extremely wierd vivid dreams. Very unsettling.
So the psych tells me: "surely it cant be that hard to take a tablet every day?" HAHA! THE IRONY!!!! Obviously it is doc, thats why I'm here, because I have no self regulation, control, disipline, routine, memory etc etc. LOL
But today I found myself unable to function because I wanted to do about 5 different things at once. Headless chicken doing everything and nothing and getting nowhere.
So today I've taken the strattera in the hope of being able to thin out the chaos in my mind so I can actually do something productive today. It does have a tiny clarity effect for about 3 hours. I really wish there were more options available to me besides strattera, at least with the stims you can take a break on a day you dont need them and there isnt that nescessary build up. Damn it!!!!!!!
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taetaeds
Member's not posted much yet
Posts: 37
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Post by taetaeds on Aug 3, 2015 13:55:51 GMT
Can't you make a reminder on your phone to alarm you to take it at each time you need to? I keep mine in my pocket so I never lose them. I'm not sure what Straterra is good for if it's not being taken everyday. I fear your doctor might take you off the medication because he thinks your aren't engaging in treatment.
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Post by manson88 on Aug 3, 2015 17:23:03 GMT
Can you not set up a routine?
Example :mine is shower, get dressed, breakfast, DRUGS , teeth, stuff for lunch, then work?
Or whatever you do.
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Post by clubby on Aug 3, 2015 17:45:10 GMT
I truly understand your plight tessaract.
I am incapable of being in charge of any form of medication if it has to be regularly used. It is not for lack of effort
or for the hundreds of schemes to overcome the forgetfulness. Coping mechanisms are fine as long as you remember their
existence.
If it is life threatening or important then I have to get family to remind me, otherwise I don't bother to medicate. Simply
I could not cope with medication that takes time to build up.
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Post by clubby on Aug 3, 2015 17:54:06 GMT
Can you not set up a routine? Example :mine is shower, get dressed, breakfast, DRUGS , teeth, stuff for lunch, then work? Or whatever you do. I have tried to set up a routine for 50 years. Routine to me is a total mystery. I see it's importance but my brain rejects it both consciously and subconsciously.
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Post by manson88 on Aug 3, 2015 18:08:03 GMT
clubbyI'm just back from 2 weeks holiday. I didn't go anywhere really. Being out of going to work/ routine was really difficult for me. It caused me anxiety!! At a difficult time when the medication is causing me to be depressed. I had to reduce from 60mg ⬇40mg of Strattera. I was more or less the same as tessaract meds being taken at the wrong time etc. No proper diet, example too much sugar, some alcohol. Not enough exercise. Too many late nights and people expecting me to do things and go places that I have no interest or pleasure doing. I'm the same at Christmas when I get out of my routine. Everything becomes harder. If you read about adhd one of the things that they recommend is hard exercise, clean diet, and routine. It's one of my hidden joys (routine) there's security in it for me if you understand.
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Post by tessaract on Aug 3, 2015 18:09:51 GMT
My ability to set up a routine would probably be better if I was employed or studying but I'm generally able to get up and go to bed when I want to.
Even when I was last working and studying I still had no routine really except the mad dash around the house when nescessary.
The thing with the meds is that I dont want to take them on an empty stomach so I end up taking them after I've eaten and the time I eat breakfast changes daily. I often dont eat breakfast at all so that means I dont take the meds. This is the problem.
So doing the same thing at the same time every day is almost impossible. Even when I do have a routine, reminders get ignored, or I say I'll do it in a minute and I forget.
Round and round I go.
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Post by manson88 on Aug 3, 2015 18:16:27 GMT
I would probably be like what tessaract is referring to if I didn't have my wife and children around me. To motivate and encourage me to get up and get on with things.
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Post by clubby on Aug 3, 2015 19:25:35 GMT
I agree that kind family are a great help.
I understand the concept of routine being comforting and I am so envious of those who can grasp it. My form of routine is
to cook chicken, broccoli and potatoes for 3 days running without realising it. My husband complained and we didn't have it
again for 3 years.
Setting up routine is one of my biggest challenges because, when I waken up in the morning I do not remember that the
concept of routine exists or that I have adhd and do not know that there is a coping button to press.
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Post by vagueandrandom on Aug 3, 2015 23:00:03 GMT
Agreed! being out of work is probably the worst thing. I work contracts and have 10 - 12 weeks without work and am finding everything difficult.
I'm turning into a gym bunny, just to get me out of the house, even though I find it incredibly boring. . .
I have a plan to go to Staples tomorrow, to look at personal organisers - I know! exciting!
I'm much better when I have the external discipline of work.
I take my meds as soon as I wake up, whatever the time.
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Post by manson88 on Aug 4, 2015 6:49:19 GMT
Agreed! being out of work is probably the worst thing. I work contracts and have 10 - 12 weeks without work and am finding everything difficult. I'm turning into a gym bunny, just to get me out of the house, even though I find it incredibly boring. . . I have a plan to go to Staples tomorrow, to look at personal organisers - I know! exciting! I'm much better when I have the external discipline of work. I take my meds as soon as I wake up, whatever the time. But you have a routine there and you don't realise it. I can't cope with the gym cause I need a routine lol plus I wouldn't pay for one either or a PT. I'm actually trying to create a new one. It's a form of mindfulness looking at my dairy everyday and writing in it. Helps with planning, ordering medication plus working towards goals. Generally haveing my mindful of things that matter and are personal is better than dwelling on useless things that dnt matter.
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Post by clubby on Aug 4, 2015 8:35:30 GMT
I have racked my brains and can think of nothing which can initiate and hold a routine in mind, when a family member, job or other controlling
entity is missing. Its as if other people carry a little boss in their heads and mine has gone on holiday. I suppose that is what the central
executive is all about.
On a more positive note, I am married to a man who does not have ADHD but is very random and impulsive. He has a job which suits this type of
mind, and as his wife I am able to support this with my own randomness. The trouble starts when I am trying hard to be normal and set up a
routine for other family members or organisations who are avid planners. They get annoyed that I am a hopeless planner and he gets annoyed that
I am planning at all.
What I am trying to say is that there is no simple answer because all our circumstances are different.
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Post by shinkansen on Aug 4, 2015 12:46:58 GMT
Does anyone get the irony of this? having the self disipline to take meds every day at the same time is beyond me. I jump between wanting to take them I wanting nothing to do with them. I have extremely bad staying ability, I just cannot take my meds every day. I totally understand your concerns about this. Been through this, too. You have to take your pills exactly as prescribed. I learned the hard way. My GP intervened. In the end, he prescribed 7 days worth of pills and arranged weekly appointments for me see him. 7 days of pills, weekly visits to the GP for another 7 days of pills. I keep diary to make sure I stick to this routine. It's working. So my non-professional advice might be: See your GP and explain what's happening. Tell him everything. Consider a weekly pill routine. Keep a diary. And you will need more self discipline. Of course your GP may have offer another solution to help you. They are health professionals. I am not.
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Post by blaze on Aug 4, 2015 13:25:54 GMT
I have never been great at set time of day (which is fine with strattera from what I have been told) and I have been known to double dose on occasion, but generally I find taking regularly relatively possible- but I take a lot of meds, mostlypain related so i cdnt walk without them so its impossible to forget. I also keep spare packs of meds in my bag for if I forget and am out of the house I can still take- would that help? Or putting meds beside something like the kettle so you see them every time you get a cuppa? I also have my oh remind me lots too which helps.
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