ADHD and Aspergers and Medication

Post Reply New Topic

I have been diagnosed with both mild ADHD and also Aspergers.
It has recently been suggested I take ADHD medication, but I am reluctant to do so.
If you have experience with ADHD meds could you please list the medication you take or have taken, and post your experiences of these?

Hi millie great topic.

I don't have any experience of the meds, but I have wondered about it and whether ADHD medication would help me also. I've got indications of ADHD or ADD, not yet a detailed diagnosis though.

I'm in the same boat, and probably would benefit from meds. I'm worried about being stuck with a "pre-existing condition" for insurance purposes, though.

Our insurance is so weird, and so complicated. We get re-imbursed for a portion of our son's bipolar meds, but not all. His medication costs us about $7000 a year, plus the hassle of dealing with the red tape and blunders the insurance company makes. Then something changes about the policy, and our deductible gets re-set. It's a nightmare, and is putting us in debt when we want to be saving for our futures. Having another family member on meds might not be worth all that hassle.

Then again, if being on ADHD meds helps me to become a productive human being, rather than someone who can't seem to get a load of laundry done without taking all day, it might me worth it.

My story: First they thought to try Pro zac, which I was already on with Well butrin. Horrible reaction. The psych was on vacation so I talked to a pharmacist who said they contra-indicated each other. When I told the psych he said "Impossible!". Next I was on short term Rit alin which did fine but you get draggy between doses. Then I was on Con certa which is extended release. After years on this I developed severe facial tics. I was taken off and they went away after about a month but my face still feels twitchy sometimes. Now I'm on Strat tera, which is working fine. All of these helped me in the short term. I am more able to prioritize, I don't feel as irritated in a situation that's a little chaotic and I have a bit more sustainable mental energy. It's not a panacea. I've had a number of doctors all at the same facility. The latest thinks with my depression and ADD there's only so much meds can do, perhaps because I went undiagnosed and untreated for so long. It definitely helps, but I still have big problems with focus.

I wrote a big long response to this that the board won't let me post...maybe cause I mention ADD too many times

Concerta - Nothing; stopped taking it.

Daytrana - WOW, really big difference. I was able to concentrate very well; however, a friend called me boring when I was on it and my wife suspected the days I didn't take it, that the previous days (when taking it) caught up. According to the doctor, Daytrana can be taken as needed, as opposed to every day.


That's all for ADHD medication, the other meds I've taken were for anxiety.

Ad d er all

I lost my original post...need to re-load brain and try again...

In-short...it helps...and hurts and helps again....it sucks to be dependent on sti mul ant meds, but I would be dependent on other non-med stim ulants anyway...like caff eine and e phe drine..etc....and possibly the fewer different things I have to take to achieve the result of being able to focus, the better...even if the main one that helps happens to be an am phetam ine...

O me gas alone do not seem help much for me, but in conjunction with all the other stuff I take to maintain some sort of focus and mental stability, they help immensely..

I need to try to get my mom to take Om egas because she is in the same boat as me brain chemistry-wise...in fact, I would like to impress upon all people of the spectrum the importance of taking Om ega sup plements...You may not notice an immediate difference, but you will notice a differ ence in the long run...and when stopping taking them...same thin g....

Thanks for the replies so far. I just wanted to add another voice of people really interested in this information.

I know anecdotal information is anecdotal, but it's better than no information.

I started this process completely against meds, now i'm 50/50. My coping and skills in life revolve around my brain and i'm scared to risk that, but my challenges and frustrations are around overworking and lack of focus/attention, so do i take the risk?

Millie, here is our experience with meds for our now 13 year old, who is adult height and weight --

Ri ta lin, taken twice daily -- worked for a year
Met a date, taken once a day in the morning -- worked for three years
tried Stra tte ra and Con cer ta, but saw no benefit
tried Add er all, and son showed signs of depression, so we stopped -- having said that, many adults seem to do well with Add er all

Currently my son is on Vy van se, and it seems to be working

Hope that this helps (and spaces were added to med names to get the post to work).