Women who have ADHD and are not on medication, how is that going for you?

11 comments

1. Rough.

   I can’t relax and I also can’t focus. I’ve been doing well for years but atm it’s rough.

2. I’m on anxiety medication, but not ADD meds. Feels like treating symptoms and not the root of the problem. Thanks for the reminder to talk to my doctor…

3. On meds now, but was unmedicated most of my life until recently.

   Honestly, it was pretty rough. I managed, but also things would have been so much easier had I been diagnosed/put on meds sooner.

   Basically, it was always a constant struggle trying to stay on top of things. I didn’t realize just how mentally draining it was until I was put on meds since that’s all I knew, but it was mentally very taxing trying to remember everything. Plus, my insomnia was way out of control. The pandemic had kicked my symptoms into overdrive, and I was struggling a lot for awhile, which ultimately led to the diagnosis.

   I still have symptoms on meds, but at the very least I can work on things for than 10 minutes at a time, and the brain fog that was always there before is mostly gone now.

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6. Self medicating with caffeine isn’t what it’s cracked up to be but also better than medications I won’t remember to take anyway. Have a hard enough time remembering to take the meds I need every day.

7. Rough, I can’t seem to do my chores, get up, my rejection sensitivity is very high, idk tbh.

8. I’m not diagnosed yet, looking for a specialist at the moment but in all honesty adhd diagnosis fits me too well, so my guess is I do have it. Obviously no meds.

   And it is not easy. When I hit rough patch I am just jumping from one thing to another, not finishing anything and being exhausted all the time. I recently found out that my strange approach to relationships – not interested at all or overly attached, can be symptom of adhd as well. Which was a huge wake up call.

   And I spent money very impulsively or again…not at all for months and then bam, i need this and that and this will not hurt either.

   Unfortunately I didn’t find any specialist that would treat adhd in adults in my area.

9. Fine. I could do without the sleepless nights and rapid forgetfulness. I learned how to use it to my ability and take the faults as it comes and adapt.

10. Not well. I was undiagnosed until my 30s and even when I started to suspect something it took another 3 years to the official diagnosis (got meds right after diagnosis, life is definitely better now). What I noticed after being able to compare pre- and post-med life is that I did several self-medication attempts without knowing. Being a deadline junkie on purpose to keep the edge until it eventually failed etc. but the most unhealthy self-medications were binge eating and alcohol. Especially alcohol, it made my thoughts slow down and helped with task initiation.

    If you decide against meds please keep an eye out for any alternatives that give you a dopamine rush and consider if you are overusing them so you don’t fall into the same traps.

11. It’s going pretty ok. I often use caffeine or cannabis microdosing to self medicate.

    I stopped my meds for a while when I was injured and out of work for a few months. When I tried them again they made me way too irritable and I just felt bad. The focus was not worth the tradeoff.

    So for the past year or so I’ve been using caffeine and cannabis to manage it, and doing a lot of behavioral stuff to help.

    Pomodoro technique helps a ton!