Does medication for ADD/ADHD affect your gifts.

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Hi everyone

Wondering if I could get some input from you on a very troubling question if I may.

Is there anyone here who is dx AS with ADD/ADHD and taking medication i.e.Ritalin and noticed an effect on their gifts?

I'm really concerned about taking medication as my brain is the only thing that really works well - even though it's cracked! Anyone noticed if there is a loss when taking anything, especially in their pattern recognition skills? Also has anyone come off the meds and found their gifts haven't come back?

This is such a big decision for me - as with all of us, and I can't find anything on google/google scholar that's helpful. I'm reasonably comfortable with the thought of meds for the rest of my life but the loss of my gifts is a huge descion.

Anything you can add is most welcome and thank you for your attention.

Kit
(Psychforums)

i actually find that ADD medication (adderall xr) helps my "gifts" a great deal. i am a programmer and i actually could hardly code before i started taking it (i really really wanted to, and i could sort of if i tried hard) but now it's a lot easier because i can concentrate. i don't know what it would do for other "gifts" though.

The nice thing about stimulants in a situation like this is that their duration of action is relatively short. If you try one and decide you don't like the way it makes you feel, you can just wait a few hours and be back to your regular self when the medication wears off.

I take Adderall XR and find that it really enhances my abilities, mostly because I can actually concentrate on a particular task until it's completed.

I am on Vyvanse for ADHD and it has only made my functioning better.

~Kate

Yeah, there's nothing people already prone to anxiety attacks and meltdowns need more than a good stout amphetamine.

MmMmMmMMmm...nervous breakdown in a pill...


If I wanted nausea and hyperstress, I'd ride a rollercoaster...

I take Ritalin and my ability to draw and paint stays the same and my pictures usually come out better because I concentrate more. I also manage to finish them which I find hard to do when I'm off the ritalin.

I don't think if anyone does lose their creativity or gifts when they are on something like ritalin that it would stay like that forever because it doesn't stay in your body for very long and wears off pretty quick.

oh...I really don't have any more meltdowns than I did before the Adderall....I am less prone to the ones cause by the stress of not being able to complete tedious tasks....Most of my meltdowns occur when I am particularly hormonal or subject to more repeatitive stress than usual....I was just as, if not more prone to anxiety attacks before adderall too....it doesn't really even feel like a stimulant...it just makes things slightly easier....

As far as my abilities....I have not been able to sew sock creatures in over a year, I am seldom able to come up with new music or work on my live stage act...but...um....welll...

That has more to do with the fact that I am overtaxed...and don't have the time to do what I want...than it does with the fact that I am on adderall.

No real effect, except that I find pushing myself too hard is much easier now.

re. amphetamines and ADHD meds: They are related but they are not the same. The differences make them much safer, for one thing.

In the past, I have taken Ritalin and Adderall.

On the positive side, I found that the drugs made it easier to turn my thoughts into actions. I would really hone in on a task and focus on getting through it. I got a lot done.

On the negative side, it made some problems worse. First, I normally have trouble switching my focus from task to task. When I am thinking about something, I cannot just turn it off and switch to something new. With the ADHD meds, I was so locked in that it was nearly impossible for me switch my focus. I would obsess over irrelevant things and could not move on. Second, I tend to stay up late at night pursuing my obsessions, which often results in me not getting enough sleep. With the ADHD meds, I was so focused on my obsessions that it would lead to me staying up all night. I became horribly sleep deprived within a couple of weeks and couldn't get back to normal. I had to go cold turkey to recover.

Thanks for your replys...lot to go on there and glad to hear no real stories of woe!!

For me it's the ability to spot things that others don't which I'm really worried about losing and I think I can do that because I'm so easily distracted. If I start taking drugs that make me focus I don't know if I would still spot things anymore.

Still not decided but suppose focusing on one thing till completion can't be all bad.