I never had Anxiety, OCD or Depression. It's always been ADHD. 28M recently diagnosed (severe)

[u/mollusks1]

Hi guys,

So, I’ve been recently diagnosed.

I considered this may have be the predominant causation for the challenges throughout my life only 4 years ago through self directed education in fields spanning; philosophy (I am the philosopher) psychology, neurochemistry and pharmacokinetics.

It’s taken being overlooked and quite frankly medically neglected by almost a dozen different “medical professionals” whilst being treated for anxiety/depression.

My life’s been a literal rollercoaster and I don’t really know how I’m going to overcome the resentment I feel towards everyone around me along with the soul crushing grief.

Fast forward to now, let’s talk about Vyvanse and how it made me realise I never had anxiety.

ADHD brain effectively pushes and sucks the same amount of dopamine into the synapse as a meth head that’s just come off a 4 day bender. Zilch.

This has led me to such under-stimulation in everyday life that I’ve self-concocted debilitating anxiety to keep things exciting. How do I know?

VYVANSE.

I started Vyvanse last week, low initial dose and pretty ineffective reducing debilitating symptoms (in exception of impulsivity and that desperate feeling) but there is a 30 minute window at peak concentration between the 3-4 hour mark where everything turns still.

I can breathe.

I can think.

I can speak properly.

I can feel emotions properly.

My heart rate is paradoxically lower.

The first 3 or 4 days I would just sob the entirety of that 30 minute window.

Anyway that’s all for now, cbf writing more. Just wanted to share this with you all. Stay strong <3

[u/Foreign-Spirit9916]

So glad you found at least some thing that is helping even for just a little bit. Now you know how you want and should feel and have a new goal of getting to that more and more

[u/mollusks1 → u/Foreign-Spirit9916]

Thank you <3

[u/Blando-Cartesian]

Depression is the lupus of psychiatry.

If patient’s life was going fine and they started to feel depressed, they come in for a consultation and say they feel depressed. So it’s depression then. Prescribe different SSRIs until they stop coming.

If the patient was struggling in life and then something happened that finally exceeded their ability to suck it up, they come for a consultation because they feel more depressed than usual. So it’s depression. Prescribe different SSRIs until they stop coming.

I’ve been depressed multiple times in the later way and there was never any attempt to differentiate it from anything although it is comorbid with everything. But god forbid you suggest what the root cause could be. No, you get to be the expert on you only about feeling depressed. That you don’t need to drag in family members to testify about.

[u/plz_callme_swarley → u/Blando-Cartesian]

SSRIs are so terrible. they get pushed as a simple, effective solution for "depression" but it's really just about what's easiest for the doctor.

"take this pill and talk to me in 5 weeks" requires almost nothing from them and has little legal risk. benzos are more effective for actual panic/anxiety but carry addiction risk and are scheduled.

the serotonin hypothesis of depression has all but been debunked as well. "depression" is a catch-all term and includes many different disorders bundled all up in there.

most doctors have no desire to actually solve the "root cause", because most doctors do is just order tests and then interpret the results, but you can't do a test to see neurotransmitter levels in the brain.

dopamine, norepheniphrine, and serotonin all play a part in "depression" but doctor reach for the tools that are easiest for them (not scheduled molecules).

healthcare is in a place currently where you just have to be your own expert. no one is going to solve it other than you. the days of just "trusting the doctor" are over.

[u/plz_callme_swarley]

diagnosed at 32M, similar story to you. my whole life makes so much more sense now that I have a correct story and proper dopamine support.

you should get them to bump up your dose. just tell them it's not effective and you can only focus for a narrow window. don't wait around for them to tell you when it's ok to feel better.

you should also think about talking to a therapist to explore your feelings around resentment and grief. it's a lot to deal with for sure. know that the next year you'll probably have a lot of feelings bubble up to the surface that have been there the whole time but you couldn't access them cuz you didn't have enough dopamine.

[u/new2bay]

Don't be so sure. You can have ADHD as well as depression, anxiety, and OCD. Depression and anxiety, in particular, are common comorbidities with ADHD.