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is paved with good intentions... |
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hi, I'm Elle. I'm based in Auckland, New Zealand. I'm the mother of two young adults, the wife of an entrepreneurial gamer and the Queen of Unfinished Projects. This blog will contain poems, short stories, possibly photos and book reviews if you're lucky, and my thoughts on a variety of topics. Hope you enjoy it. |
An update for those of you who were wondering how I'm doing with my ADHD meds. I know it's a weird milestone, a week and a half, but I forgot to do it at the end of the first week, so I'm doing it while I remember. ![]() Before going on the meds, my priorities I wanted help with were work, followed by binge eating and finances. My concern was losing my creative spark. Things that have improved: Work - I'm still late every morning, and I'm still distracted by non-work things (like giving you an update when I should be working!) but my productivity has increased significantly. My boss said "I'm noticing a very different person. It's huge. Huge." So he's really pleased. I notice that even though I'm distracted by non-work things, when I go back to my work I'm more focused and also focused for longer. My 'task avoidance' with certain tasks seems to have disappeared. Woohoo! I'm using a to-do list (note the word USING instead of MAKING. I've made to-do lists before but never actually used them productively to help me get stuff done or prevent me forgetting tasks). This is a huge win, and I'm really happy with it. Interestingly, I seem to be more productive in the afternoons and evenings (last night I worked until 7pm). Food - No binge eating since I started the meds, which makes me SO HAPPY. My eating is not 'good' (I bought a king size chocolate bar yesterday and ate three rows over the course of the afternoon, as an example) but I haven't had any binges. If you're not familiar with binge eating (and I hope you're not, because it sucks) that means no eating until (or beyond) I feel sick. Yes, it sounds crazy to eat until you feel like throwing up. It is. I've been binge eating at least once a week, often multiple times a week, since my hormones went nuts at the beginning of this year, so this is a huge improvement for me. Housework - This is a smaller improvement, but still worth noting. I am not putting off housework tasks such as putting away my clean clothes, doing a load of laundry, etc. There's still a lot of room for improvement in this area, but any improvement is gratefully accepted. Things that have got worse: Mornings - I am having more trouble than ever getting out of bed in the morning and getting to work on time. I was often late before, now I am ALWAYS late (literally every day since taking the meds) and I feel like I am leaving the house later every day. I am definitely getting out of bed later than pre-meds. Personal care - Things like my skin routine, showering, brushing my teeth, having breakfast, drinking water, etc. This was never a great area for me, but it has definitely got worse since starting the meds. Bedtime - It's not that I can't fall asleep when I try, it's that I can't put my phone down. I'm not reading at night, I'm scrolling through TradeMe, Facebook, Instagram or whatever. This has definitely got worse. Previously I was going to sleep about 10:30-11pm, now I'm often up past midnight, sometimes till 1am. Even when my eyes are burning and I can barely keep them open, I'm still scrolling. It's not because I'm not tired. I hate it. And obviously it contributes to my struggles to get out of bed in the morning (but I don't think it's the sole reason as the morning thing started before the evening thing). Things that don't seem to have changed: Finances (aka impulse control) - I haven't noticed an improvement in this area, sadly. I don't think it's got worse though. Creativity - Maybe worrying about this was silly, but I'm pleased that I'm still having ideas for my projects, my WDC groups, etc. I haven't implemented any of them yet, but that's normal for me! lol Forgetfulness - I debated putting this into 'things that have got worse' because I haven't remembered to wear my reading glasses at work since taking the meds. Shit, wait, let me put them on now while I remember. Previously I was remembering them about half the time. I've only forgotten to take the meds before leaving the house once though (and had to take them when I got to work because I remembered in the car). I forgot about a birthday party we were invited to on Friday, but that's normal for me if I don't immediately put it in my Google calendar. Yesterday I started working on my admin manual at work because I wanted to document a specific task. Later, I realised I'd spent two hours on the manual and forgotten to document the specific task. Again, normal for me. Hyperfocusing - My current hyperfocus is fashion/clothes. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. I don't get to choose the subject of the hyperfocus! I have definitely not noticed this lessening. If anything, actually, this might have got more intense, but it's so hard to quantify. Currently I'm taking the meds Monday-Friday. I didn't notice anything much on Saturday when I didn't take them, but Sunday I was very headachy (like a caffeine withdrawal headache) and SO unmotivated to do anything. I had big plans for the weekend and got very little done. This coming Sunday I have a 10km walk in the morning and I hope the exercise helps because otherwise I will be seriously plodding for 10km! So there you go. That's your update after a week and a half. Feel free to ask questions. I know I'm not the only person who is dealing with their own or a family member's ADHD and like with everything else, having open discussions helps all of us. |