Last nigh, I only woke up once and was able to go back to sleep right afterwards. Quite a feat. All in all, it’s been a fine day. Despite quite a bit of stress at work, I was pretty calm and collected. I haven’t felt any side effects today whatsoever, so it seems I’m adapting to the medicine.
I can’t say what the medicine is doing for me just yet. But I may be a bit more focused. The doc said I wouldn’t feel much on 20mg. On saturday the dose will double.
Piss poor sleep again, but I feel great. Insomnia is a fairly common side effect of Elvanse, so it’s fine. The chest tightness hasn’t appeared today. Good good.
Have I noticed any positive effects? Yes, My energy seems better and conversations seem to flow better. My mind usually wanders when talking to people, but that hasn’t really been the case today. At least, I don’t think it has. Feeling cautiously optimistic here.
I got around 4.5 hours of sleep last night. Our 5 year old woke me up in the middle of the night and I wasn’t able to go back to sleep. Despite that, I have no sign of irritability today (as opposed to yesterday), so hopefully it was just a passing side effect. Also, I’ve felt very little discomfort in my chest today, just a tad bit of tightness, but not like yesterday. Chest tightness is a side effect of the drug and possibly a serious one, which is why I’m focusing on it. But like I said, today is much better than yesterday. Perhaps it was just a bit of anxiety. One can but hope, as I want to be able to take these meds and get the help I need. But of course not at any price.
Despite my lack of sleep I got through work just fine and enjoyed it. I fix computers now, did I mention that?
Day 2 – I might be feeling a few side effects. I was quite irritable this morning and most of the day, but our kids woke at 6 and decided to create a one day reenactment of World War II, so that might have something to do with it. No, not literally, they’re 3 and 5.
Anyways, quite a bit of irritability (which is a common side effect, only in the beginning I hope) and I also felt bit of chest tightness on both sides. Not something I usually feel. I will need to tell an adult if it persists. Tomorrow is a work day. We’ll see how that goes.
Well, something quite wonderful happened. The wait for medication, which was to last 3-6 months, was cut down to 14 days. They called and said they had an opening due to something or other. I accepted gracefully. So I went and have now received at prescription for Elvanse, which in the States is known as Vyvanse (who comes up with this names?). The active compound is Lisdexamfetamine. The package insert in the Elvanse box is hilarious. It states several times that if I experience these or those symptoms, I must tell an adult straight away. Yep, will do.
Anyway, I will start off with 20mg, which will eventually land on 60mg in three weeks. I thought I’d keep a small diary of my journey. Perhaps it will be helpful to someone and I also need to journal how things are going, since I will be going in for a check in about four weeks.
Day 1. Took my first capsule at 9 this Saturday morning. I chose the weekend in case there were unforeseen events. Elvanse is a stimulant. The doctor said I were to take it at night, I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. I haven’t felt much different throughout the day and it is now 5 pm and I do notice that I have quite a bit of energy, but that I have also been easily overwhelmed throughout the day. Of course, my piss poor sleep and being half sick might have something to do with that.
I played some Rogue Legacy and it seemed I did quite a bit better than the day before, but who knows? 20mg is a very low dosage, so it’s not really supposed to be doing much yet.
It’s been around 10 days since my diagnosis. There’s a 3-6 months waiting period for medication, but I’ve been told they’re very thorough and keep a watchful eye on how people react to the various types of treatment. In a way, it’s a bothersome time to get the diagnosis, as local papers have been running ADHD articles with a negative undercurrent: ‘ADHD Is Exploding’ (implying that perhaps it’s over-diagnosed) and of course, everyone’s favourite, ‘Kids Selling Their Ritalin on the Streets.’
My mood has been fluctuating lately, but there is definitely a very real hope for change now. Haven’t felt that in some time. The reason I applied for testing was quite simple: I was tired of not accomplishing my goals. I’ve gone through Plan A, B, C and the rest of the alphabet and things have never really worked out and have always seemed quite a bit harder for me than for others. Which is puzzling, because I’m reasonably well-read and my academic skills and IQ have always been decent (actually, quite a bit more than than decent as the ten IQ tests, that I had to take before my diagnosis, showed). I’ve just had a very hard time focusing when larger projects have to be accomplished. There have definitely been other signs. I was often the Space Cadet in class and I will almost always lose track in a conversation.
Regarding my inability to achieve goals, I mostly assumed it was fear. Creative fear, fear of failure, fear of success… which in the end resulted in depression (due to not achieving), etc. Indeed, I’ve read truckloads of books trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me and tried coaching, shrinks and wide spectrum of productivity methods, enough to become productivity guru myself, which I’ve no desire to do whatsoever (you said todo). Of course, I “started over” hundreds of times with firm intentions that this time would be better, but after a few weeks or months things seemed to dissolve and I’d forget what I was doing.
Hmm, I went to see a shrink of some local renown about my various problems about ten years ago and after a few sessions I myself mentioned to possibility that I might have ADHD. He replied that he had considered it and he didn’t think I had it and then continued with some treatment which didn’t work. That little statement has kept me from exploring a possible ADHD diagnosis for years, but when you look at all the symptoms, that was the most likely explanation all along. So that guy did not do me any favors, that’s for sure.
Originally, they tested me for Asperger’s, but that avenue was dismissed fairly early on. I was glad when I heard the diagnosis of ADHD. Now I have something to work with.
Yep. After a truckload of tests, the results were quite clear. Makes total sense, too. More later, I think.
I saw the first episode of Foundation yesterday. Wonderful start and quite true to the book. Some of the main characters have had their sex changed and I haven’t checked, but I’m sure some of the internet glitterati are all pissy about that. I don’t mind. Unless the gender of a character has some direct relevance and impact to the main storyline, who cares? Anyway, Lou Llobell, Jared Harris, Lee Pace and others did a fine job with their characters. Looking forward to more.
NOTE: The second epidode didn’t quite hold up. Endless and pointless shots of a bikini clad main character swimming and a very dull love story indeed. Hopefully it’s just teething problems.
NOTE #2: It’s picking up again. Episode 5 was great. More of Gaal and Hari, which is still the most interesting story in the series (even though it’s not quite by the book).
Thanks! We had fun!
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