Hey mate, talked to you on one of your other videos. You mentioned on your 1 month vid that you worried about creativity. This was a big worry for me too and I work in the creative industry (animator). I found it does stop me thinking of all my projects I've got on the go, which does prevent spontaneous idea generation. However, when I focus on those projects it's easier to come up with solutions to problems. Basically I think it's an OK trade off. I'm a week and a half in now, it's going ok. I'm pretty tired in evenings now but loads of things have become easier for me. Cheers for the vids, hope your channel keeps growing!
Appreciate the support Chris! I’d love to hear more about your role and how you see ADHD and medication helping/hindering. (I’m a sales guy; so aside from getting ‘commercially creative’ every now and again, my job’s pretty straight down the line’). If it’s any useful insight - as the weeks have gone on, I’ve gotten better at widening/narrowing the lens of focus based on need. One big part of my routine is meditation, yoga nidra (aka NSDR) and other ways of deliberately giving the space for subconscious thoughts and insights to surface. This has been even more deliberate since medication. Perhaps something you might be considering too, to surface those spontaneous ideas? Let us know you get on as the weeks progress mate - in the meantime, happy holidays! GC
@Gpmcummings cheers mate, will look up the stuff you suggested! I won't know for sure how it effects work until I go back in new year. I've noticed it not feeling like a huge difference in my second week. Hard to tell how much was placebo or how much I've just got used to it. Merry Christmas 🎄
Hi, sorry to jump in but it’s really funny how Elvanse affects people differently (I’ve done 1 week on 30mg and 3 wk on 50). On the first day I was expecting this massive change but didn’t feel much apart from calmness. But then I went to brush my teeth and ended up cleaning the whole bathroom including the tile grout and everything! It took about 2 hours 🤣 I felt a crash on both doses which got earlier each day so I’m now being moved up to 70mg. Think I must metabolise it really quickly. The only problem I’ve had is increased heart rate and blood pressure which lasts about 4-5 days after increasing the dose. I sleep better now than I ever have. Again, sorry to jump in
Don’t be sorry Stephen - jumping in is all good! The toothbrush -> bathroom deep clean is f*cking classic. I’ve lost count of the times that ‘making coffee’ has turned into ‘reorganise every kitchen cabinet, draw and utensil’. Great to hear you’ve gotten on well with the different dosages and managed the sides - check back in and let us know you go with the 70mg dose, yeah? Happy holidays in the meantime! GC
@Gpmcummings Hahaha! So it’s normal then!! 🤣Thanks man, I appreciate that. To be honest though, I’m a little concerned about starting the 70mg. The postal delay has meant I’ve been off meds now for a few days and I’m worried it might be too much of a jump when they finally do arrive. I’ll report back to you (if my brain is working correctly and I remember 🤣) Take care and happy holidays to you too 👍
Congrats on your first Q&A! I’ve missed the boat to ask this question for your video but feel free to add it to your next one 😉 Do you drink alcohol since being on Elvanse, what’s your diet like, and have you noticed any differences if you have varied those things? I had a successful first day on 30mg yesterday in terms of no side effects but I also didn’t feel the increase in focus and attention as quickly as I expected. I took the meds with food at 6am and got to 11am without feeling any different. Cut to 5pm and I realised I had sat for 5 hours or reading and summarising a single (very long report)! I realised it must be doing something because i could never pay so much attention to one dry subject and provide an output the same day! I typically experience very low energy (poor sleeper) but I stayed feeling decent and even went out to meet up with a friend at 6pm… then other friends after that. Like you I also felt more engaged compared to how I normally am out socialising. I also experienced no crash and I still felt reasonable clarity into the evening. One wide awake night later(yep- there was one side effect!) I still feel less knackered this morning than I normally do. I’m Going up to 50mg in a week. So back to my question.. it stems from me refusing alcohol while I was out last night. I want all the conditions to be right so I know what I’m dealing with. I’m also eating healthy Huel breakfast , Buddha bowls etc. I’ve read different things about how it can affect people. Cheers… and I’ve just realised it’s Christmas Day! Merry Christmas 😂 🎄
Yo Scott! No worries, you’ve actually raised a brilliant point which ties into the social and lifestyle impact of ADHD, medication; and on diet/nutrition, which is something I’d definitely like to talk about. Number one - wicked to hear that day one and two are going well so far, and long may it continue for you. Quickfire answers to your questions; my diet is nothing too controlled or specific; but I do prioritise a minimum level of daily calorie and protein intake (which I’ve been doing since, Lord, 18?). Wherever possible, I run with (less) processed foods and try to keep my day-to-day diet as similar as possible; enough variety, but based on a foundation of routine. I’ve found that’s given the best levels of energy, performance and sustainability. Outside of that, I’ve found personally that a higher fat/lower carb intake (relative to the ‘norm’) suits my brain and body better. I don’t cut out sugar, but try to minimise it - I just feel better that way. Since diagnosis and medication, I’ve had to be more conscious about nutrition due to appetite changes: same foods, similar volumes, but deliberately making sure I get enough early in the day, and have easy/accessible versions available for when my food drive is lower, I’m busy or abroad. I’ve lost a couple of (much needed) kilos since October mainly due to increased training volume, but I do have the good fortune of a few years dieting/nutrition expertise under my belt to help manage that sensibly. As for alcohol - disclaimer first; I’m a lightweight, and I’ve not been a major drinker since rugby days. That said, I deliberately abstained from any booze for the first 5-6 weeks on meds on medical advice. I’ve had a couple (literally) of drinks over December; generally late in the evening. Based purely on my experience, I think it’s something to go cautiously with. I’ve suffered no harm from a couple of whiskeys, but noticed for example that I didn’t ‘feel’ the buzz I would expect (which, objectively, could be dangerous), while it did disrupt my sleep and next day’s mood. My plan is to stay measured with it going forward; I’m very happy socialising sober, but also to enjoy a macallan when the vibe is right. I think your approach mirrors mine: take this time to give yourself the best chance of feeling and being your best. For me that meant staying away from alcohol, getting a bit more serious with my sleep/recovery and using it as a time to focus on building healthy and sustainable routines. Let us know how you get on over the next few weeks. And for now, happy holidays! GC
@ Cheers Gareth. I think i will continue in a similar pattern to you.. I found yesterday to feel fairly non-eventful although I didn’t feel too knackered after a night of poor sleep for the entire day, I and i did find myself ‘locking in’ on listening to people at one part, which was novel. It was similar to the spotlight analogy but i described it as like watching a studio camera pan across the room and zooming in towards the face speaking. Sleep was much better last night. I’m also testing taking med without food this morning… see if that makes any difference! I will continue watch for updates from you in case you test out or experience anything new before i do :-) Good luck in growing your very helpful channel!
Hey mate, talked to you on one of your other videos. You mentioned on your 1 month vid that you worried about creativity. This was a big worry for me too and I work in the creative industry (animator). I found it does stop me thinking of all my projects I've got on the go, which does prevent spontaneous idea generation. However, when I focus on those projects it's easier to come up with solutions to problems. Basically I think it's an OK trade off.
I'm a week and a half in now, it's going ok. I'm pretty tired in evenings now but loads of things have become easier for me. Cheers for the vids, hope your channel keeps growing!
Appreciate the support Chris! I’d love to hear more about your role and how you see ADHD and medication helping/hindering. (I’m a sales guy; so aside from getting ‘commercially creative’ every now and again, my job’s pretty straight down the line’). If it’s any useful insight - as the weeks have gone on, I’ve gotten better at widening/narrowing the lens of focus based on need. One big part of my routine is meditation, yoga nidra (aka NSDR) and other ways of deliberately giving the space for subconscious thoughts and insights to surface. This has been even more deliberate since medication. Perhaps something you might be considering too, to surface those spontaneous ideas?
Let us know you get on as the weeks progress mate - in the meantime, happy holidays!
GC
@Gpmcummings cheers mate, will look up the stuff you suggested! I won't know for sure how it effects work until I go back in new year. I've noticed it not feeling like a huge difference in my second week. Hard to tell how much was placebo or how much I've just got used to it. Merry Christmas 🎄
Hi, sorry to jump in but it’s really funny how Elvanse affects people differently (I’ve done 1 week on 30mg and 3 wk on 50). On the first day I was expecting this massive change but didn’t feel much apart from calmness. But then I went to brush my teeth and ended up cleaning the whole bathroom including the tile grout and everything! It took about 2 hours 🤣 I felt a crash on both doses which got earlier each day so I’m now being moved up to 70mg. Think I must metabolise it really quickly. The only problem I’ve had is increased heart rate and blood pressure which lasts about 4-5 days after increasing the dose. I sleep better now than I ever have. Again, sorry to jump in
Don’t be sorry Stephen - jumping in is all good! The toothbrush -> bathroom deep clean is f*cking classic. I’ve lost count of the times that ‘making coffee’ has turned into ‘reorganise every kitchen cabinet, draw and utensil’. Great to hear you’ve gotten on well with the different dosages and managed the sides - check back in and let us know you go with the 70mg dose, yeah? Happy holidays in the meantime! GC
@Gpmcummings Hahaha! So it’s normal then!! 🤣Thanks man, I appreciate that. To be honest though, I’m a little concerned about starting the 70mg. The postal delay has meant I’ve been off meds now for a few days and I’m worried it might be too much of a jump when they finally do arrive. I’ll report back to you (if my brain is working correctly and I remember 🤣) Take care and happy holidays to you too 👍
Congrats on your first Q&A! I’ve missed the boat to ask this question for your video but feel free to add it to your next one 😉
Do you drink alcohol since being on Elvanse, what’s your diet like, and have you noticed any differences if you have varied those things?
I had a successful first day on 30mg yesterday in terms of no side effects but I also didn’t feel the increase in focus and attention as quickly as I expected. I took the meds with food at 6am and got to 11am without feeling any different.
Cut to 5pm and I realised I had sat for 5 hours or reading and summarising a single (very long report)! I realised it must be doing something because i could never pay so much attention to one dry subject and provide an output the same day!
I typically experience very low energy (poor sleeper) but I stayed feeling decent and even went out to meet up with a friend at 6pm… then other friends after that. Like you I also felt more engaged compared to how I normally am out socialising. I also experienced no crash and I still felt reasonable clarity into the evening. One wide awake night later(yep- there was one side effect!) I still feel less knackered this morning than I normally do. I’m Going up to 50mg in a week.
So back to my question.. it stems from me refusing alcohol while I was out last night. I want all the conditions to be right so I know what I’m dealing with. I’m also eating healthy Huel breakfast , Buddha bowls etc. I’ve read different things about how it can affect people.
Cheers… and I’ve just realised it’s Christmas Day! Merry Christmas 😂 🎄
Yo Scott! No worries, you’ve actually raised a brilliant point which ties into the social and lifestyle impact of ADHD, medication; and on diet/nutrition, which is something I’d definitely like to talk about. Number one - wicked to hear that day one and two are going well so far, and long may it continue for you.
Quickfire answers to your questions; my diet is nothing too controlled or specific; but I do prioritise a minimum level of daily calorie and protein intake (which I’ve been doing since, Lord, 18?). Wherever possible, I run with (less) processed foods and try to keep my day-to-day diet as similar as possible; enough variety, but based on a foundation of routine. I’ve found that’s given the best levels of energy, performance and sustainability. Outside of that, I’ve found personally that a higher fat/lower carb intake (relative to the ‘norm’) suits my brain and body better. I don’t cut out sugar, but try to minimise it - I just feel better that way.
Since diagnosis and medication, I’ve had to be more conscious about nutrition due to appetite changes: same foods, similar volumes, but deliberately making sure I get enough early in the day, and have easy/accessible versions available for when my food drive is lower, I’m busy or abroad. I’ve lost a couple of (much needed) kilos since October mainly due to increased training volume, but I do have the good fortune of a few years dieting/nutrition expertise under my belt to help manage that sensibly.
As for alcohol - disclaimer first; I’m a lightweight, and I’ve not been a major drinker since rugby days. That said, I deliberately abstained from any booze for the first 5-6 weeks on meds on medical advice. I’ve had a couple (literally) of drinks over December; generally late in the evening. Based purely on my experience, I think it’s something to go cautiously with. I’ve suffered no harm from a couple of whiskeys, but noticed for example that I didn’t ‘feel’ the buzz I would expect (which, objectively, could be dangerous), while it did disrupt my sleep and next day’s mood. My plan is to stay measured with it going forward; I’m very happy socialising sober, but also to enjoy a macallan when the vibe is right.
I think your approach mirrors mine: take this time to give yourself the best chance of feeling and being your best. For me that meant staying away from alcohol, getting a bit more serious with my sleep/recovery and using it as a time to focus on building healthy and sustainable routines. Let us know how you get on over the next few weeks. And for now, happy holidays!
GC
@ Cheers Gareth. I think i will continue in a similar pattern to you.. I found yesterday to feel fairly non-eventful although I didn’t feel too knackered after a night of poor sleep for the entire day, I and i did find myself ‘locking in’ on listening to people at one part, which was novel. It was similar to the spotlight analogy but i described it as like watching a studio camera pan across the room and zooming in towards the face speaking. Sleep was much better last night. I’m also testing taking med without food this morning… see if that makes any difference! I will continue watch for updates from you in case you test out or experience anything new before i do :-) Good luck in growing your very helpful channel!