Finding HopeAD(H)D It To The List
Posted on March 21, 2021
A couple of months ago, I was diagnosed with ADHD. It was something I’d been thinking about investigating for a while but with COVID and the lockdowns, it was just something that got pushed to the back on my mind; I was busy trying to deal with my anxiety and depression. But then the opportunity to have an assessment came up unexpectedly and I decided to take it.
At the end of my hypermobility assessment, we were really just making conversation and the appointment was drawing to a close when I mentioned something offhandedly (I can’t even remember what now) and the specialist commented that she had worked with multiple individuals with ADHD who had similar experiences. I decided to bite the bullet and so I told her that I had done some research into the combination of ASD and ADHD and that I’d been thinking about whether I should be assessed. She said she could arrange that for me, which was more than a bit shocking: I’m so used to having to fight like hell for people to give me that sort of opportunity. So I took it gratefully and to my complete and utter surprise, I received a letter later that week with an appointment date in less than a month. I was expecting months of waiting. And it was also with the same specialist so that was reassuring since consistency is helpful for me, as someone with ASD.
In the time before the assessment, I was sent a handful of questionnaires used when diagnosing ADHD, which I filled out, but it was clear that they were old: aimed at children and the stereotypical presentation (they were old: I searched them and when they’d been created). But I filled them in anyway and we sent them back in preparation for the assessment.
I also did a load of research into ADHD in adult women (more extensive than I’d previously done). I collected articles, personal essays, blog posts, and anecdotes from social media that I related to or felt were relevant to my life, and compiled them into a document. It was a LONG document. That done, we emailed it to her, although it was so close to the assessment that I wasn’t sure whether she’d have time to read it before she saw me. I still thought it was worth sending and when we spoke, she did too.
When the assessment rolled around, I was nervous. I’ve had enough bad experiences at this point to at least be apprehensive before these things. But already knowing the specialist was helpful and she was really good. She hadn’t had a chance to read the document I’d sent but promised she would before making any decisions about a diagnosis. Then she spent about an hour asking me and my Mum (who was also present for emotional support and information about my childhood) lots of questions, the majority of them about my childhood, my experiences at school, and typical ADHD symptoms. Some of the questions were quite stereotypical but having said that, she was incredibly knowledgable and very aware of the fact that there are different presentations of ADHD, as well as how different everything can be when you have ASD in the mix as well. So even though she obviously had to ask the conventional questions, she did tailor her approach to fit my circumstances, which, of course, gave her a much more accurate picture of what I was dealing with and how I’ve been struggling.
After an hour – at the mid point of the assessment – she suggested we take a break: to move, have a drink, etc. But as soon as I tried to move, I got the blinding, electric shock like pain in my leg that I’ve been getting on and off since the first lockdown. It’s excruciating and nothing helps it; I just have to try to remember to breathe and wait until it fades. This can take from a few minutes to almost an hour and I’m always exhausted after so when the break ended and the specialist rejoined the online call, Mum told her what was happening (she was already aware that it was something I was having to manage since it had come up in the hypermobility assessment) and between them, they rescheduled the second hour of the assessment for a later date. I doubt I could have kept going but it was frustrating to slam the breaks on halfway through a process like that and then have to wait almost two months to continue. Having begun, I just wanted to get on with it and get an answer, one way or the other.
But when the second appointment finally rolled around, I wasn’t sure whether I was relieved or nervous. But again, the specialist was great. She’d read all of my research and she asked me a few more questions based on certain things I’d included or commented on. Then she moved on to her observations and her conclusions, based on the original questionnaires, the questions she’d asked me, and my research. She said that, because of the overlap between ASD and ADHD, it can be very tricky to determine which symptoms ‘belong’ to which condition but having said that, she felt that I did display enough symptoms and the impairment caused by those symptoms to diagnose me with ADHD Inattentive Type. And that’s that. Except, of course, it isn’t. But it is an explanation and it does point in the direction of potential help and support.
Initially it was pretty overwhelming; for some reason I found it really hard to process. I had to just sit with it for a bit – let the dust settle – and then, after a while, it just felt less intense. I could think about it without feeling overwhelmed by it. But, even though I had been wondering about it before the assessment, it’s still very new and I’m still learning about what this means for me and how I move forward.
So now I’m investigating various options in terms of support. Apparently group therapy is a commonly used method of supporting individuals with ADHD but, of course, that’s not possible at this moment in time. The specialist told me that the NHS are currently building an online hub of resources but, as far as I know, that’s not been published yet. I’m fortunate to already have a very good therapist so I feel well supported there.
That just leaves medication. Unfortunately, I can’t take the classic ADHD medications with my current antidepressant because they both potentially cause high blood pressure, which could be dangerous. There are other ADHD medications that I could take but they all appear likely to have a sedating effect, and with the sedation I already struggle with due to the Phenelzine, that just feels unbearable. I can barely get through the day without two Red Bulls and caffeine pills. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I was even more sleepy; I’m not even sure if I’d be functional. So that’s not really an option. I’ve been doing some research, talking to the various medical professionals involved, and thinking about it a lot. I’m still not sure what’s going to happen next but I’ll work it out. I just need to be patient and keep looking through the kaleidoscope; I have to believe that, at some point, the bigger picture will become clear.
Some ‘Interesting’ Medication Experiences
Posted on February 23, 2019
I’ve now been taking various medications for four and a half years. It’s been a very mixed experience but through it all, I’m an advocate of medication because when we get it right, it’s incredible. A whole new person emerges, a person you’d forgotten you could be and that is the most amazing experience. It’s the closest thing to freedom that I’ve ever felt. But during that time, there have been a number of interesting and strange experiences. I don’t know if reading about them will be helpful to anybody but all of this stuff can be so scary if you think you’re going through it alone. So I’m putting it out there, just in case.
Venlafaxine withdrawal
I’ve written about this before but it makes sense to include it here as well. Because of several very busy days, I forgot to take my Venlafaxine and accidentally went into withdrawal. It started with an almost debilitating headache and on day four I woke up unable to think clearly. I couldn’t hold on to a thought: they were moving so fast that it made me feel dizzy and sick. On my Psychiatrist’s advice, I resumed the medication and I started to feel better pretty quickly although it took about a week before I felt like myself again.
Too much Pregabalin
At one point, I picked up my prescription and didn’t realise that the pills were at different doses than the previous prescription had been. So when I thought I was taking 150mg, I was actually taking 450mg. I woke up the next morning feeling shocking: I felt like my head was filled with cotton wool, the ground was moving under my feet like ocean waves, and my legs and hands kept twitching. It was awful and because I wasn’t aware that I’d changed my dosage, I was really freaked out. I ended up at the out of hours doctors because both me and my family were so worried. They didn’t find anything serious so we were left to wait and see but then my Mum realised what had happened. So that was a scary experience that I have no desire to repeat; I’m much more diligent about checking these things now.
Obsessive eating with Amitriptyline
Almost from the moment I started taking Amitriptyline, I was obsessed with eating, constantly thinking about what I could eat next, what it would taste like, what it would feel like. It was very much about the sensation of eating rather than being hungry. And the higher the dose, the more I wanted to eat. It was all I could think about. Seriously. I couldn’t think about anything else; I couldn’t function. It eventually caused me so much anxiety that I had to stop taking the Amitriptyline and try a different medication. I’d lost a lot of weight while on previous medications but I gained it all back while taking Amitriptyline and I found that very stressful and upsetting.
Taking Diazepam with Redbull
During a period of particularly high anxiety, I was taking Diazepam regularly throughout the day. The anxiety lifted but what was left was this overwhelming tiredness and sleepiness that had me falling asleep in the middle of the day, sometimes mid sentence. So I started drinking Redbull to keep myself awake and functioning. It wasn’t until a few weeks later – when I used Redbull to wash down the Diazepam – that I realised that it was the Diazepam that was making me so sleepy and that this was not something I could continue to do (not that Diazepam had ever been a long term strategy). I’d been taking it to ease the transition between medications and fortunately my anxiety started to go down and I didn’t feel the need to keep taking it.
Running out of Pregabalin
At one point, I ran out of the 225mg capsules, which didn’t seem like a problem because it was less than a week until my next appointment and we still had a load of Pregablin pills from earlier prescriptions, when we were still trying to get the dosage right. But then we realised they were 50mg capsules that you couldn’t split in half so I wasn’t going to be able to take my full dose of 225mg. I’d have to take 250mg or 200mg and the safer course was the latter. So I did several days on 200mg with pulsing headaches to remind me exactly why you take the exact amount you’re prescribed.
Too Much Magnesium?
This is speculation but not long after I started taking a Magnesium supplement, my mood seemed to nosedive. I’d been doing pretty well and was actually having bursts of what I think was happiness and so I’d felt able to add the (nutritionist) suggested supplement into my system. Nothing happened straight away and taking it became a habit but then depression started to creep in again. The only thing we could attribute it to – the only change – was the addition of the Magnesium. I’ve always been incredibly sensitive to stuff like this (I once threw up moments after taking a different supplement because it had too much copper in it) so I stopped taking it and within a couple of weeks, I felt more like myself.
Twitching on Pregabalin
The one real side effect of taking Pregabalin – in my experience, at least – is that it causes twitching, mostly in my legs but sometimes in my hands and arms too. It’s very disconcerting to not feel in control of my body and I really, really don’t like it. But as of now, Pregabalin is something I need to get through the day. It helps me manage my anxiety but if another option became available, I would jump at the chance to change, even with all the potential problems of switching medications.
I hope I haven’t put any of you off medication. These experiences weren’t fun but as I said, getting it right is worth it. At least I hope so.
The Next Chapter in the Medication Chronicles
Posted on January 19, 2019
Just over two months ago, I finally stopped taking Amitriptyline and started taking the new medication I’d been prescribed, Clomipramine. I’d had the prescription for over a month but I just hadn’t felt able to start taking it: I felt so drained and so worn down by what felt like an endless train of medications that made me feel worse instead of better. And on the off chance that it worked, I didn’t feel ready to feel ‘better.’ It’s hard to explain but it felt like I’d physically feel better – chemically happier – but still have all these ‘depressed’ thoughts, a juxtaposition that I did not feel strong enough to cope with.
But on this particular night, I felt a little more steady and so I took advantage of that: I stopped taking the Amitriptyline and started the Clomipramine. I felt different almost straight away; it took less than a week. I felt physically lighter, like a fog had lifted, a fog that I hadn’t felt settle. It was disconcerting – I felt a little bit like I might just float away – but it felt good too. It felt cathartic.
Suddenly, I was excited again. I was excited about pretty much everything, from swimming and playing with the cats to bigger things like future writing sessions and far away holidays. I hadn’t realised that that was something that had disappeared. I’d been excited about things in theory, in the way I thought about things – I could recognise that something was exciting. But I wasn’t actually feeling it. So to have it back was exciting in itself. It was amazing and I savour the feeling every single time it appears.
The most exciting thing is that my creative brain woke up and started firing again. It’s like my depression completely suppressed my creative brain and so I was physically unable to write songs, to function at the cognitive level necessary to write songs. I wrote about this in a post a few weeks ago. I’ve got several writing sessions coming up which I’m really, really excited about so I’ll keep you guys updated as to how they go.
I’ve also been taking Pregabalin – for several months now – to manage my anxiety. It has reduced my anxiety to a degree but I’m still dealing with A LOT of anxiety, so I need to talk to my psychiatrist. But it has helped. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been side effect free: I’ve been experiencing muscle twitches, mostly in my legs but sometimes in other parts of my body too. And it’s gotten worse as I’ve increased the dosage. That can feel quite scary, to not be in control of your body… I’m in the process of trying a new anti-anxiety, Flupentixol. It doesn’t seem to have had much of an effect so far but I’m trying not to lose hope.
The excitement and the giddiness have faded a bit since the initial boost. I’ve had a pretty bad week: my depression got overwhelming for a moment there. I’m coming out of it but it was pretty scary and I still feel quite shaken by it.
So that’s an update on the medication front. As per usual, it’s been a bumpy road but things are better than they were and for that, I’m really grateful.
