ADHD/ADD Autistic Adult treatment

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I have been on Methylphenidate and tried Adderall. I am currently on Concerta, tried Ritalin and Fouclin. Stimulant drugs do not work; all they do is repress my ADHD which then returns and makes it impossible to get a good night sleep unless I can sleep in till 11am. When the medication wears off I have intense hunger pains, incessantly pacing around the house because of my ADHD and restless legs. I also have to eat and drink twice as much as I normally would if I were not on the medication. My thoughts bounce all over the place and can't focus when I try to read. Is there anyone who is a high functioning Aspie with ADHD who has switched from stimulants like concerta and found a non stimulant drug that works for them? I have discovered non stimulant drugs such as Straterra, Tofranil or Norpramin but don't know which ones I should even start to consider. I have considered Effexor or Wellbutrin but I am not confident these will help since they are not specifically meant for ADHD. Is there anyone who is autistic and has ADHD taking any of these non stimulant medications?

I'm taking bupropion, it's a stimulant but a lot milder than Ritalin and it works in my case, but even there I don't take the max. dose.

I also agree that autistics react sensitive to drugs, especially to psychiatric drugs.

I use Equasym 30mg. I find it to be a bit harsh when it's wearing on but after that I am quite well functioning.

Far better functioning than I am without it anyway.

I have ADD but I really hate the idea of taking stimulants. I've tried stims before and I can't see them being good for me. It's hard enough to sleep at night.

Abstaining from caffeine (which is difficult as I am a cappuccinoholic) seems to help me.

I have ADD & I think stimulants are a bad idea for me. Strattera which is thought by some to be an extremely weak stimulant, makes it harder for me to focus & made me a tad shaky. Caffeine helps me wake up but if I have the equivalent of two cups of coffee I get jittery, hyper & shaky. I worry that stimulant meds would turn my ADD into ADHD. I wish I had some other ideas including supplements on how to treat it.

I have ADD, undiagnosed bipolar depression, and undiagnosed AS and stimulants do not work for me. I tried Ritalin and caffeine and both make me hyper. I have been taking Wellbutrin on and off for a while and it helps with the mood. The racing thoughts that come with ADD come and go. I don't have many ADD symptoms though.

I had a really bad, reverse tolerance reaction to ADDerall XR. Strattera just made me sleepy. I don't think I can take medication for my ADHD. I just have to cope with it.

As a child I tried Ritalin at age 10 or 11 then switched to Concerta then to Strattera now taking Adderall

The only natural supplement that I've noticed a real differance on was brain quicken. It's only draw back is it's cost.

I take focalin XR

I also take intuniv

I'm on Concerta, too. 72 mg per day. Been taking it for a year. What dose are you taking ? From experience, higher doses can be counter-productive. Apart from variable appetite, not experiencing those unpleasant side effects, which you describe.

I also took Ritalin and didn't much like it either.

Are you taking other prescribed drugs ?



Yes.

I'm autistic and have ADHD (combined type).

I take 3 sets of meds: Concerta (as mentioned), anti-psychotic Olanzapine (Zyprexa) and the anti-depressant Mirtazapine (Remeron). The Olanzapine has been particularly effective. The Mirtazapine does help me sleep: I take it 1-2 hours before bedtime.

I've also made some other changes. Reducing my drinking to almost nothing has been really helpful. And I quit smoking. So I guess you could consider non-medical changes.

I've found stimulants work shortterm but destroy your daily life/peace.

My queston is: Has anyone tried French Maritime Pine Bark (Pycnogenol), which is France's official treatment alternative to stimulant medications used in most western countries?

I just wear the one-eyed sunglasses I've mentioned on WP before, which virtually fix me fully, but I am mistaken for a pirate (joke). viewtopic.php?t=395370

Also I agree ADHD is not a condition, anymore than autism is, I think it is a genetic variation specifically creating the hunter mind. We should accomodate this survival trait, not suppress small children to comply to unnatural, forced (idiot christianized) classroom life.

Hey bud. We're in the same boat.. I think I actually may be worse than you however, because my RLS is accompanied by restless arms, neck, toes, fingers, etc. The restlessness feeling is called Akathisia. I take methadone for it every day, because it's the only way my mind can find peace.. Otherwise, I am pacing and jerking constantly, and get almost zero sleep.. (I developed akathisia badly around the age of 16, before that I was a throat-clearer and blinker, eye rubber and toe stretcher.)

At 17 I had all of my wisdom teeth pulled, and was prescribed hydrocodone for the pain.. I was astonished to find that it stopped all of my feelings of akathisia, my tics, and stopped my mind from going in circles.. My weird habit of repeating the last sentence I said out loud to someone in my head over and over.. songs getting stuck in my head, my irritability, all of it vanished instantly with opiates.. Of course when I told my doctor, it was at the beginning of the opioid epidemic, the DEA was investigating doctors, raiding pharmacies, and I was pretty much told I'd have to suffer...

Until I wound up on the street addicted to heroin, with hepatitis.. Then I was let in to the methadone clinic. Before that, I was rejected when I first went, telling them about my akathisia and tourette's, they said they didn't prescribe methadone for that, they only took chronic substance abusers and people who managed to get sent there by doctors for pain management. Probably my fault, being autistic.. I probably could have gotten in over "psychological pain" or something.. I don't know.. I'm discussing it with my counselor at the clinic this month.. It's a shame how often we get all caught up in the semantics, especially with rejection sensitive dysphoria being such a common thing with ADHD and ASD...

On that topic, I also have severe, I mean SEVERE ADHD, one of the worst cases all of my doctors have ever seen.. I am on adderall for it... I hate to say it man, but no, there's nothing that they've found to help us yet other than opiates and stimulants. The problems mostly seem to stem from us having issues with regulating dopamine in various ways..

You may need to be on an amphetamine/opiate combo like me, especially if you're having RLS.. It was the only way I could balance myself out. Legally, I still can't, because I am required to take my methadone in the morning 3 times a week in front of people, because of how the law is set up, but the rest of my doses are take-home, and I usually take my methadone at night when I can (due to the CNS depressant effects helping with sleep, mixing methadone and amphetamine at the same time can be counterintuitive in ways, but still gets the job done generally.. It's just a matter of fine tuning,) then smoke a little weed to get to sleep.. It keeps all of my restless symptoms and tics at bay all the time.. I take short acting adderall in the morning, cause it's the only kind that wears off by bed time...

I don't care what anyone says about ADHD and stimulants having paradoxical effects.. While they do, and they are calming for people with ADHD instead of making them "act" more excited like someone who isn't.. they will keep everyone up at night all the same, except for some rare individuals like myself who can get "overamped" and short out on overdoses of stimulants (dangerous to your health, not recommended. Only ever had it happen on accident once.)

Taking the right dosage with these types of drugs is super important, especially opioids.. I have had some pretty annoying side effects from taking the wrong formulations.. Also, there are many different types of stims and opioids, as we can see from the discussion.. Don't give up hope. You might also benefit from getting your noggin' scanned, if your insurance will cover it.. Telling your doc you took a knock to the head can help get them to suggest it to your insurance company.. Hehe.. white lies..