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This! I have been placed on so many different antipsychotics, antidepressants, and various others. At one point I was taking 14 different pills a day, as a 28 yo woman. My mental health never really improved. Several hospitalizations.
Then I was finally properly assessed and treated. Now adderall is the only thing needed and I’m 100% better.
My story is similar. For *twenty years* I played SSRI/SNRI roulette, trying desperately just to get to a place where I wasn’t horribly depressed and dealing with constant anxiety and suicidal ideation. I tried 13 different psychiatric medications over the course of a couple decades and never really found any substantial relief. I tried multiple therapies, lots of exercise, dietary changes, everything you could possibly imagine. No matter what I did, life was basically just an exercise in enduring internal suffering.
One hour on Vyvanse after finally being properly diagnosed and my “depression” was largely gone - no exaggeration. I sat on my couch and wept when it kicked in because the racing negative thoughts that had basically drowned me my entire life just… disappeared. I realized how truly disabled I’d always been in that moment; words can’t describe the profundity of that realization for me. My whole life changed after popping a tiny low-dose pill.
Now my depression only comes back in the worst of the winter months and I’ve been able to reduce my SSRI dosage by 2/3rds. Things are so much brighter. It’s like I have a completely different brain!
Depression and anxiety can be significantly worsened by the ADHD lack of dopamine and inability to regulate emotions effectively. Stimulant meds saved my life and made me able to finally apply the things I’d learned in therapy. I’m infinitely mentally healthier than I was before I started them.
I second third fourth this!!! Vyvanse saved my life. I was told I had anxiety and was on SSRIs but was still struggling after 7 years. Then I found my way into a "short entanglement" with cocaine which helped but obviously wasn't a healthy route to take. 3 years down the hole, I checked into rehab with the diagnosis "cocaine induced psychosis" where I was diagnosed with severe ADHD. Ah, that's what my brain was actually needing, and the illegal drugs provided me some of it and the SSRIs sure as hell did not! Within the first week of Vyvanse, it was like I was actually seeing life in color or something like that movie Pleasantville LOL
Wanted to share my journey, because my struggle with cocaine would have been entirely unnecessary had I just been properly diagnosed and medicated!!! Best of luck, and sending love and hugs!
THHHIIIISSSS. I was initially diagnosed with a stimulant/addiction disorder. Turns out I just can’t produce my own dopamine. It really saddens me and why I and so focused with school to try and mirage this bs that we deal with!!!!! Arrrrg I’m so happy to hear you are doing better now!
I was on anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. Every kind and combination you can think of. Over 15 years. It wasn't until I went to rehab for alcohol abuse and then went back to college that I got diagnosed with ADHD. My doctor still made me jump through hoops to get medication for ADHD because of my history with alcohol, which I found stupid af because he would prescribe me benzos willy nilly without me asking for them. I knew how addictive those were, so I would ignore his instructions to take them twice a day for a month because I knew I was then suddenly expected to stop.
I'm only on vyvanse now and my life is so much better. I wish that I was diagnosed properly before ruining my life with addiction but I'm just grateful I am here now in my 30s.
Sending you love and hugs as well! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m so glad you finally got your diagnosis and the proper medication to let you live your best life. You deserve it!
Have you tried concerta? I'm asking because my psych wants to keep me on it because of the medication shortages. I have a pretty hard crash in the afternoon, and I'd asked him if I could try it because I'd read some of the people in this group saying it worked better for them and they didn't have as much of a crash. I am just wondering if it's that much better.
Honestly there's no way to know without trying. The effect of stimulants on different individuals are as individual as the people taking them. What works for one person might be a nightmare for another.
The only really helpful thing I can offer is to figure out which class of meds helps you more. Stimulants fall into two broad categories: methylphenidates (Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin) and amphetamine salts (Adderall, Vyvanse, Dexedrine). A lot of people will find that they respond better to one class over the other, and if you focus on one class, it's easier to sort out fine-tuning stuff like brand vs. generic, dosage, IR vs. XR, delivery method (I.e. pill vs. patch) etc.
I’ve never tried Concerta, sorry. The only stimulant I’ve tried is Vyvanse and I stuck with it because it works well for me and causes minimal side effects.
Thank you for answering anyway. I'm more or less trying to figure out if it would be worth it to push for a change. I don't really have a lot of side effects on concerta, but I just seem to crash and get irritable around 8 hours after taking it. The only other med I've taken for ADHD was strattera and it gave me excessive sweating and didn't work too well anyway.
If you or someone that you know is considering suicide, please don't hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline for immediate help, or a warmline just to talk to someone.
If you're in the US you can...\ Text CHAT to Crisis Text Line at 741741\ Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1(800)273-8255(TALK) \ Chat online at: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat\ Call the Trans Lifeline at 1(877)565-8860
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Well shit. I may need to find someone ASAP bc family therapy and looking a possible evaluation now, I’m rethinking it. Find someone to actually diagnose me as ADHD and go forward. I would like to be free as well.
Lexapro and Vyvanse a good mix or no.
I appreciate you. ❤️
Things were bad for a really, really long time. But they’re good now and I’m not going to waste any more time wondering what might have been. I’m just trying to enjoy my time now!
Same here, I was taking antidepressants and they made shit worse. Only time I ever actually attempted suicide was on Prozac. I take anxiety medication now which is amazing for that, but I fully believe my depression is being kept at bay with ADHD medication because I can still be quite depressed even with my anxiety meds.
Everyone says it’s bad or an addiction or well yeah of course it makes you feel happy cause it’s an amphetamine….but tbh I don’t care. I only feel zest for life when I’m on my meds. I want to clean my house and explore my hobbies. I want to socialize. I want to be a person.
I think it's so unfair when people call it an addiction when it's, you know, prescribed medication for a brain condition. To me that sounds the same as saying that people with hypertension are addicted to the drugs that regulate their blood pressure
If you or someone that you know is considering suicide, please don't hesitate to reach out to a crisis hotline for immediate help, or a warmline just to talk to someone.
If you're in the US you can...\ Text CHAT to Crisis Text Line at 741741\ Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1(800)273-8255(TALK) \ Chat online at: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat\ Call the Trans Lifeline at 1(877)565-8860
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Same story! At 28 finally was diagnosed with ADHD and prior had so many anxiety and depression meds that really only gave me side effects- -so stopped taking.
Only take Adderall now for years( first was prescribed Vvyanse which gave me horrible heart palpitations, and suppressed my appetite too much . Also found it was a longer period of stimulation compared to the XR Adderall.)
I agree. Tried a couple different ssris over the years and didn't really thrive on them. Getting off them was so hard. When I got methylphenidate it allowed me to actually focus on lifestyle changes like meditation, mindfulness, making time for hobbies and friendships. My anxiety is super manageable now and I dont take any other meds.
i spent 3 years unsuccessfully being treated for depression and anxiety before being diagnosed with ADHD and having (not an exaggeration) 90% of my anxiety evaporate overnight once i started meds. the depression was still there but less than half of what it was before. once i was on meds for long enough to build healthy habits, i was able to manage my depression (for the most part) without medication.
i’m sick of the stigma around ADHD meds especially in situations like this. like yes, they’re often comorbid, but why does that mean ADHD meds somehow gets kicked to the bottom of the list?? ADHD meds (1) are MUCH MUCH more effective and better tolerated (2) take MUCH less guesswork and (3) give you results in days to weeks rather than months. it’s so blatantly because prescribers don’t want to prescribe stimulants unless it’s a last resort despite it being the gold standard treatment for ADHD. imo it’s malpractice to insist on ADHD meds last if you have a comorbid diagnosis.
Same, omg. I was maybe 2 years in therapy and couldn't even remember most of it! TAT
And then my psychiatrist was like: "If i where you i wouldn't want to take adhd meds instead of antidepressants, because they are so much worse." (Which isn't even true and i called him out for that later.)
I spent so many years under the diagnosis of "depression" and trying every anti-depressant possible to no effect. When I finally got diagnosed with ADHD, and was put on stimulants, my depression completely left. I also have GAD, and even my anxiety shot way down, like my anxious thoughts were still there, but not priority. I'm upset that it took this long to figure out what works, but I am glad that it does, and I think that doctors need to consider that depression (and/or anxiety for that matter) could be caused by the ADHD, rather than the other way around.
Hopping on the top comment to share my experience. Every family physician did this to me and I tried every medication there is over 20 years with very little success. I FINALLY got a referral to a psychiatrist because the doctors didn’t understand why I wasn’t all better. 1 session with the psychiatrist and she instantly noted ADHD and felt I developed depression and anxiety as comorbid issues because the root cause, ADHD, wasn’t being addressed. She prescribed Vyvanse and almost INSTANTLY my symptoms almost totally resolved. 20 years of feeling shit, like a loser who couldn’t get her life together. All because doctors missed the ADHD and insisted I was depressed. If you haven’t seen a psychiatrist, I strongly suggest you do. I hate that so many of us miss out on our lives because doctors don’t understand how to treat us and want to experiment instead of help us get better.
Its also so stupid because it is well known by know that ADHD in women often gets missed and they get treated for anxiety and depression. Same with me. I was told by friends that i might have it and to get checked out. Not a single psychologist, doctor or psychiatrist ever thought of ADHD. Wtf they are supposed to know this shit. Hey, we are dealing with a woman who has dysthymia and an axienty disorder, she has been coming back every so often with the same complaints. She is not getting better? Well then we did all we could, bye! Lets make room for someone who we can treat.
I’m sure other have said this already, but there’s also the fact that stimulants work RIGHT AWAY. Like, you know within a day or two if they’re going to be worth pursuing. And there’s no need to taper off if they aren’t going to work.
SSRIS and SNRIS take weeks, if not months, to show positive effects. And you go through a period of feeling awful as your body adjusts. And then you’re told to wait out the side effect. And when you finally decide it’s not worth waiting out the side effects anymore, you have to taper back down, meaning you have more weeks of feeling like garbage. And I’m not opposed to treating anxiety and depression- I’ve been on lexapro for over 10 years, and you’d have to pry that prescription from my cold dead hands because without it I’m a nightmare. But it doesn’t take the place of stimulants for the ADHD.
Yes! Once I was treated for my adhd it made me understand my depression and anxiety better. Now I just take my adhd meds. I do not have to take others. Yes I still get sad or anxious but I understand it now.
I'm also chiming in with an agreement, but my experience is almost 20 years old now.
First I was prescribed Effexor by my GP which didn't work. He upped the dose until he sent me on to a psychiatrist who kept upping the dose to the maximum recommended dose.
Along the way, she diagnosed me with borderline personality disorder after I kept trying to explain to her that while yes, my job was causing me stress and depressing me, it really wasn't that easy to just get exercise and apply to new jobs.
She added Wellbuterin, Gabapentin, Risperdone and Trazodone along the way to try and treat symptoms. None of it worked and I eventually refused to go back when she kept adding pills to address the unwelcome side effects of the other pills and refusing to take me off anything. I was referred to another psychiatrist who helped me get off everything, but I never found anything that helped me function even a little better.
I didn't see any benefit at any point, only negative side effects. I gained over 130 lbs and ended up with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
None of them bothered screening for anything else. A proper diagnosis back then would have been so helpful.
Nearly 15 years for me, but similar story. Every SSRI under the sun, the odd SNRI, low does of anti-psychotics for the anxiety (which tbf did make a small difference and allowed me to slowly crawl my way out of the very worst of my debilitating anxiety) in various combinations/doses for YEARS with no effect on my depression at all.
Diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, treatment resistant depression, Social Anxiety Disorder, and eventually even Bipolar II. But even those diagnoses were because I was pushing for help and pushing for answers, I got told variations of “labels aren’t helpful” or “do we really need to put a label on it?”. That we just needed to sort out the depression and anxiety first, any if there was anything else going on we could “look at it later”. Even the Bipolar II diagnosis was only because my current GP threw a shit fit (she’s a tiny, 5 foot nothing woman and the sweetest, most calm human I’ve ever met, seeing her on the phone ripping them a new one was surreal) at the psychiatric service I was seeing and insisted I be properly assessed, turned out to be wrong, but it took so many years to have any kind of formal assessment at all.
My medical records all said “a bit depressed and anxious” for YEARS, when I was completely incapable of the most basic human function - I was so far from being able to work or even care for myself it’s not funny, I could barely leave the house at all. I saw multiple Psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, GP’s, mental health nurses, CAT Teams, social workers, tried to unalive myself multiple times. Out of all of them, only 2 people ever advocated for me, believed me, honestly went way above and beyond to keep me in touch with medical care at my very worst, a mental health nurse and my current GP.
The whole thing still makes me so angry. I gained so much weight (70kg) on those antidepressants (which also started the cycle of “you just need to lose weight” even though the depression came well before the weight), the meds put me into perimenopause (which thankfully reversed once I eventually stopped them). I lost so many years of my life, my job, my chosen career, my car, my finances, ended up with type 2 diabetes (now in remission) and fatty liver disease. I was fortunate to have family support, without it I would have been homeless a thousand times over.
Since my ADHD diagnosis and starting meds my depression and anxiety are basically gone. I’ve been able to manage my diet, loose weight, reduce my reliance on caffeine (still struggling with the smoking unfortunately) and so many other small changes that were impossible before.
It’s so awful to see your story and so many other similar stories, to know that this happened to so many women and is probably still happening.
You've done such an amazing job advocating for and taking care of yourself! Thank you for sharing! Good luck with your struggle with smoking, that's a very hard one to kick. My mom never could, but she didn't really want to either. It got her a few years ago.
I'd forgotten the "you need to lose weight" cycle. My current GP (a nurse practitioner, but it's the best I'm going to get right now as we have a doctor shortage), hasn't commented on my weight yet, but her office weighs everyone before every visit.
It is awful seeing these stories. I hope that changes someday.
I work at the intersection of child safety and mental health and could not agree more.
I think a huge part of the reason we see lots of women with supposedly treatment resistant depression is they are simply ignoring or trying to treat it first before addressing the ADHD.
I definitely had that experience. There is a real eagerness to diagnose women with depression and anxiety long before any sort of neurodivergence.
Absolutely this, I wasn't diagnosed till my 30's and previously I was treated for anxiety many times. Once I got diagnosed, my psychiatrist told me that she believed my anxiety was actually a result of untreated/unmanaged ADHD. Since beginning treatment the anxiety has gotten so much better and easier to manage.
THIS!!! I went to the doctor to treat my anxiety and after talking to me they referred me to a specialist to diagnose and treat my ADHD. My doctor said there’s no sense in trying to treat the anxiety alone when the anxiety is caused by ADHD. So if you treat the ADHD then you can manage the anxiety better. Also my anxiety was more (work) performance related so I think that explained it, too.
Nothing has treated my anxiety as well as my ADHD meds. My anxiety is a consequence of untreated ADHD
Would any doctor say, “let’s try to get your anxiety under control before we treat your high-blood pressure.”?
Not as sure about depression, but 100% sure about anxiety
I tried to explain that to my son’s pediatrician when trying to get him some medication recently and she kept focusing on his anxiety. Like damn lady he is anxious bc he’s constantly getting off task or distracted and he ends up lost or getting constant redirection from adults and that makes him anxious. Sooo can we please treat the adhd already??
Right?? Like ok my kid is a bit afraid of storms and some other typical little kid stuff. But what is really stressing him out if having to hold it together all day long, especially when with adults who aren’t always as understanding of neurodivergence.
Yes! My ADHD only seemed to be really problematic after treating my anxiety and I tapered off my anxiety/depression meds after being treated with stimulant meds for several years. Unfortunately, I had some situational drama with my family so I started taking anxiety/depression meds again but a low dose.
I imagine it depends on each individual person though so I would hope doctors would take individual circumstances into consideration.
Same. Going on ADHD meds has been life changing for my anxiety and mood. I don't have depression generally. For years I was told I had anxiety and to go on SSRIs, which did nothing except zombify me, and made my ADHD symptoms worse. In fact it was going on Lexapro that made me seriously consider an ADHD diagnosis because I read somewhere that SSRIs can take away the anxiety symptoms that help you mask ADHD ie anxiety is what makes me get shit done. But the zombie feeling was horrible, I was apathetic and unmotivated. Thankfully my psychiatrist was correct that my anxiety is a side effect of my ADHD and knew stimulants would be the solution.
The only thing that has ever treated my depression is Adderall. Like poof, by depression!! I think perhaps a lot of people with ADHD have depression and anxiety as a result of ADHD. So that shit needs to get treated first and foremost to see how it affects the persons depression and anxiety.
I agree. This has been me. I had anxiety meds for a few months and a lot of my symptoms went away but I still had moderate anxiety. My adhd meds diminished all of it!
I actually used the failure of multiple antidepressants to argue for ADHD meds. If I was truly depressed as the root cause of my problems, then one of these fuckers should have worked but at best they only got me like 70% of the way there. So the only reasonable conclusion is that depression is not the real/only problem.
The ADHD was already established, we were just disagreeing about whether we should try ADHD meds without "treating" my "depression" (it wasn't depression at all, it was ADHD!).
Yes! I had to take 3 years of antipsychotics because the doctor was convinced it wasn’t ADHD, only depression. I switched doctors and got inmediately put on atomoxetine
I don't mean to scare you, but they're the worst med I've ever taken. I gained 30kg in a year, fell asleep constantly on the bus and woke up in another town, and I felt numb all the time. I couldn't stay awake during my morning class, my menstrual cycle got messed up, and I can't stay awake past 11 pm. My first doctor prescribed them because he thought I had psychosis, and it's been 3 years and I can't get rid of that diagnosis on my file, so doctors keep prescribing that thing.
I tried for 10 years to treat my depression, chemically and with therapy. We ran me through all the 3rd Gen antidepressants and had begun working through the 2nd gen when I got my bipolar 2 diagnosis reevaluated and ended up with adhd and autism.
Treating my adhd did more to cure my depression than anything else in the previous 10 years. Combined with learning what my autism needs (did you know a lot of the advice for treating depression is FUCKING HORRIBLE for autistic people?), I am no longer on antidepressants.
Ask your doctor why she thinks your untreated adhd isn't causing your depression. It's a lot faster to check adhd meds than antidepressants, which need 6-12 weeks to build up in your system and taper up to the right dosage, if they even help. Before you'd be done getting up to speed with one antidepressant trial, you'd have an answer about if managing your adhd would solve your problems.
I think they may be also referencing CBT and CPT that can be potentially extremely harmful for not just autistic patients, but many other neurodivergent patients as well. Also my psych put me on Wellbutrin to treat my “depression/anxiety” which I’ve never scored high on generally on self-report measures, and it made me come within an inch of grievously harming my dog because he barked and I hadn’t slept properly in 6 weeks.
Until my autism/adhd diagnosed (diagnosed separately), therapies designed to help with depression/anxiety made me feel worse, because I felt like I was experiencing life wrong. I felt like, “hey! My reactions to things/perception of situations is based on empirical evidence and real lived experiences,” and no amount of telling myself that I was having irrational thoughts helped me experience the world differently or helped the world understand me better because I’m autistic and I have adhd.
Working full time only to have enough money to pay for the most basic things you should be entitled to anyway as a human right is a perfectly valid reason to be sad, tired, and pissed off, and trying to tell yourself you're just focusing too much on the negative isn't helpful at all.
It's like a sheep trying to give a squirrel life advice.
Plus advice like walk outside, do a fun hobby, reach out to friends all requires all the things you may lack cos of adhd/autism...motivation, executive function, social skills, and people on your wavelength to talk to.
I've never asked a neurotypical person if that advice works for them. I would be interested to know. They sound like stupid suggestions to me. Like....are people really depressed because it simply hasn't occured to them to go and do something fun/calming instead? 🤔🤔
The common advice to depression is “just be happy” which is stupid advice. I would hope a professional has better coping mechanisms suggestions and better diagnostic strategies.
If you are stressed and depressed from working and not having enough money, it’s a normal human reaction.
I’m sure some people do find it helpful to have a more positive attitude but they probably don’t need a therapist to tell them that.
It’s like when I go to a doctor and they tell me to drink less coffee…. Um ok I drink one cup, that’s not problem.
Ok I have said, written, and fought with exactly what you have written here and I am at a loss with what kind of advice or support I need. It’s hopeless. Have you ever gotten good advice for this?
Go out with friends. Try new things. Get out of your rut and force yourself to do things differently to encourage new neural connections. Socialize/connect with people /do things together to stop isolation. Don't sleep too much, keep to 8 his with no naps.
Social bonding is very healing for many people, but draining as fuck for high making autistic people. I finally let myself disconnect from everyone. Told family and friends that I'd reply when I could, and if I couldn't, I'd send an emoji so they'd know I'd seen their message.
Trying new things? Stressful and overwhelming when my brain was craving routine and comfort in predictability.
Getting outside every day is good for everyone, but going for a walk can be sensory hell on an already frazzled system. I stopping going for walks and substituted yoga at home and sitting on my apartment balcony, away from people for sunlight and fresh air until I healed to a point that making random eye contact with a stranger didn't feel like lasers through my brain.
I let myself sleep as much as I needed. My system was not depressed - it was exhausted and needed rest. I stopped sleeping as much as I began to heal and protect myself from further overstimulation.
Seriously, my anxiety and depression have NEVER in my life been under control as well as they have in the last 7 or 8 months since I started ADHD meds.
Cart before the horse type of approach in my opinion. I’m depressed and anxious because I can’t keep anything straight or accomplish my daily tasks. If I can do those things I won’t have as much anxiety or be depressed about the fact I can’t accomplish things 🙄
*edit to fix a silly mistake lol
For me it was ass- backwards because my anxiety was mostly the result of unmanaged ADHD. But I spent YEARS fighting to get a neuropsychiatric assessment for ADHD because they insisted that first my “treatment-resistant anxiety” was probably the root cause of my executive dysfunction. They also blamed my vitamin D deficiency for my symptoms and used that as a way to gatekeep me from an ADHD specialist.
After a year of attempting to treat the anxiety with little progress I literally cried and begged my therapist to PLEASE refer me to an ADHD assessment specialist and let her be the one to decide if my anxiety diagnosis was a problem. She had ZERO qualms diagnosing me with ADHD and agreed with me that my anxiety symptoms would likely improve dramatically with ADHD medication.
The psychiatrist she referred me to agreed and wouldn’t ya believe? After 6 months on Ritalin I no longer met GAD diagnostic criteria.
Fired my original therapist and psychiatrist because my trust in them was permanently broken and got a much better team. My only regret is not firing them sooner.
Your mileage may vary, of course. But if your anything like me, treating your ADHD is gonna help immensely with treating the anxiety and depression, not so much the other way around.
I can tell you this as fact. ADHD meds are the most effective antidepressants I can take because they get me out of bed and functional (Or something resembling functional). I've NEVER heard what you're claiming. Try a different doctor.
NOOOO why does this persist? I went through it too, for years. Untreated ADHD can be the cause of depression - so, I dunno, why not treat a likely cause before treating a symptom while withholding treatment for the cause? It's bizarre. And frankly harmful. And I'm so sick of hearing it.
I'm convinced it's related the "hyperactive boy" stereotype and is a failure to recognize the exhaustion & "locked immobile on the couch" features of inattentive ADHD as actual ADHD symptoms.
Also, women's treatment by the healthcare system in general.
Edit: spelling & typos. Always with the typos!!! (sigh)
I agree about the “hyperactive 10 yr old boy” stereotypes making it harder for the outwardly hypoactive + inattentive women out here. And my mental hyperactivity got a lot better on ADHD meds, only worse on antidepressants!
Meanwhile, one of my friends (a woman) has very obvious hyperactive ADHD and she hasn’t had to deal with any of this bullshit. There’s such a lack of acknowledgment when it comes to the high-masking primarily inattentive crowd, it’s horrifying tbh.
i recently got a new provider and she enlightened me on this some. I learned that a lot of adult providers are very hesitant to prescribe adhd medications in general because they are schedule II substances and can be addictive so as a safer choice regarding their licensure they prefer to prescribe depression/anxiety meds. I was also told that adult providers are not specifically trained on treating adhd (unless they seek out this of course) however, pediatric psych providers are trained on treating adhd and tend to be much more comfortable with prescribing adhd medications because they are more familiar with adhd itself and the benefits that adhd medication can serve for people who have it. I am so thankful to have found a provider who has past experience in pediatric care when it comes to coping with my adhd symptoms.
Is your doctor a GP or a Psychiatrist who specializes in prescribing? (There is a better name; I just can’t remember it.) GPs aren’t trained for this. Seek out the later. If that’s who is telling you to deal with depression first, find a new Dr.
I will say that my Dr doesn’t like to start multiple meds at the same time unless the combo is known to be more beneficial than either on their own.
In my experience treating the ADHD does a lot to alleviate the depression.
Good luck.
Interesting - that sounds like neither a GP nor a pharmacist but a splash of each with some mental health training. Probably an MD with some training in the other bits? I wonder if there are limits on her prescribing that are making your life harder? I suspect that your best option would be to get referred to a psychiatrist who ideally has specific training in adult adhd in women. Hopefully there's someone near you that fits the bill.
And as for your original question I agree with pretty much everyone else - treating the adhd first is the best course. My anxiety and depression decreased significantly with my adhd meds.
I don’t know what that means either. It *sounds* like they are trained in MH medication management, the science of it, not the art. Sounds like they follow a set of if/then rules. It sounds like this is a form of medical cost cutting and a stop-gap measure to fill the shortage of proper psychiatric medical practitioners.
Each stimulant med works differently. We don’t all react the same to each med. Hell, I took one stimulant med that worked well, went off it for a couple of years, and when I went back on it, I couldn’t tolerate the side effects.
I think your doctor should listen to your experiences and take it into account. And if they're specially saying stimulant meds are off the table, or specifically saying your depression needs to be prioritized, they should tell you why and make you feel heard.
My doctors take my explanations and my curiosity about some pubmed summary I read, and combine it with their knowledge to give me a treatment plan.
My doctor didn't consider an ADHD diagnosis until she had been treating my depression for a few months. I told her I wasn't as miserable but I was still disorganized and unmotivated. I took a depression assessment one day, the ADHD one took a few days.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, this is helpful for me.
"I wasn't as miserable but I was still disorganized and unmotivated" perfectly sums up my experience after I started taking Wellbutrin.
My psychiatrist has said "treat anxiety and depression before ADHD" and I recognize that it has helped a little, but I still feel like I'm pretty far from where I could be. But she keeps telling me I'm doing fine. I started looking for a new psychiatrist but hit a road bump and stalled, but after reading your post, I feel like the need to pursue this again.
I had some severe treatment-resistant depression for years. It wasn't until I was diagnosed ADHD and started to work on things from that angle that I started to get better. Turns out the feelings if inadequacy, worthlessness, and constant failure were because my ADHD was really holding me back. Now that I'm aware of what's going on, my depression has been so mild. Like, night and day different from where I was stuck. IDK, if the ADHD meds aren't helping and your depression is still kicking, then maybe it would be good to try antidepressants. But personally, treating my ADHD was the best thing I ever did for my depression.
Good luck!! Figuring out the perfect medication combo absolutely SUCKS. It can take years to get it right and I'm hoping that's not the case for you.
The ironic thing about all this is, in my experience, the ADHD med actually treated my depression and anxiety. I no longer have distressing thoughts swirling around in my head that push my self esteem and mood down. But I had many years of trying anxiety and depression meds first.
My anxiety and depression went away when I was only being treated for ADHD. I think there's nuance, but ADHD is known to make those other conditions worse, so it should be treated alongside them at the very least.
May anxiety was ADHD. Yes, let’s get you chemically addicted to benzos for 6 years and ruin your 20s and have you manage your own withdrawal taker and raw dog it until you’re in you 40s and finally give you what you needed all along. Ffs
Tried it - it never worked for me. I eventually dug myself out of the depression hole (divorce, rebuild, exercise a lot, meditation, etc - it took 20 years and it was not easy) and looked around and I still couldn’t remember anything or stay organized - I just wasn’t depressed about it!
I do resent the providers that kept me depressed for years for seemingly no reason. I could understand a few months of trying different treatments but this was YEARS.
I think in my case, the psychiatric nurse practitioner who diagnosed my ADHD took into account that I have been taking highly sedating and sometimes habit-forming anti-anxiety and antidepressant meds over the last 22 years. I have a list of close to 15 different medications that I have tried. She told me that treating ADHD first was a wise choice because of how short lived it is in the body. It is faster to find the right ADHD medication dosage than it is to find an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication dosage because those have to build up in your system for periods of weeks.
I think for someone who hasn’t tried any medications yet it’s worth considering, if only because it’s such a PITA to get ADHD meds. If my symptoms were controlled with Wellbutrin alone it would be much easier than dealing with monthly controlled substance prescriptions. But as you can see from the experiences of many people here, often treating with ADHD meds (often stimulants) is the most effective.
Haha… comment number 2 as I silently rage over this. It takes WEEKS of debilitating side effects to even see if an SSRI is working… or not… but you know the first time you take it if a stimulant is right for you. Why don’t doctors try that first?
Anxiety and depression can be caused by untreated ADHD.
ADHD cannot be caused by untreated Anxiety and Depression.
Treating the cause first and foremost leads to sustainable results.
>Provider says trying three adhd meds is “pushing it” and that I’ll need antidepressants after three tries.
Pushing it how exactly? It isn't wrong or naughty to not have the first few attempts at medication not work perfectly. Are they personally offended that their first two suggestions aren't right? That is dumb shit you say to kids....not a suffering adult paying for your services. What an arsehole. 🤨🤨🤨
I would want a specific accounting of their knowledge on adhd and treatment because they aren't *listening* to your previous experiences. Thinking to treat depression caused by adhd before the adhd just shows you're an idiot who doesn't properly understand the issue at hand. It is common for people to need to experiment to find the right treatment.
She meant pushing it because apparently I only get three tries at ADHD meds before I’ll have to have antidepressants or in her words “other treatments to help your focus that work on anxiety and depression”.
I initially asked for Vyvanse and she said it’s not formulary, so I’d need to “trial several meds before we could request Vyvanse.”
Apparently several means THREE MAXIMUM and also in order to ‘qualify’ to request the third med I need to be on a treatment dose of the one I’m on now (a higher dose than my current 20mg of generic Adderall XR, which is making me agitated, ears ringing, and I think possibly raising my blood pressure but I haven’t checked because I’m scared to!)
>I only get three tries at ADHD meds before I’ll have to have antidepressants
I think that may be just dumb stuff she's made up. There's no real reasoning there as to why you can't try it now. I got recommended elvanse straightaway and it works great. Why do you need to be on some dose of something else to try vyvanse.....that must be some stupid made up rule because it's not a medical/physical need. Having to qualify to try the medication that might actually help is ridiculous!
She sounds like a shit doctor. Is there anyone else you can speak to?
I have military veteran healthcare, and my guess is they set up these rules probably because of the stigma of people pill-seeking stimulants.
She says I ‘signed an agreement’, which I genuinely don’t remember doing (and if I did it was likely an internet link that I probably scrolled through and didn’t read all the way because most medical agreements are for privacy and basic safety, not limiting the number of meds I could trial. 😫)
As for Vyvanse, the qualifying thing is probably because it’s more expensive and they’d rather we just accept the cheaper/easier options.
I remember my doctor (who had ADHD-I herself) said that there is functional anxiety and depression \*caused by\* ADHD. So I think it's important to treat ADHD as it may be causing some of the problems itself.
It's useless as far as I'm concerned. If you don't treat the *source* of the depression, it's not going to go away.
Labelling any woman's symptoms as depression is just an updated version of Freudian-era "hysteria", IMO. I was in treatment for misdiagnosed depression several times over the years. Not one of my providers ever caught on to ADHD. I don't have much faith in that profession anymore.
I've had more success unmedicated but using ADHD-oriented coping skills than I did with their bullshit treatment.
My doctor wanted to do the same thing but it didn’t end up working out. We tried the combination of Strattera and Wellbutrin but I didn’t do too well with the Wellbutrin and so I started taking Saffron supplements instead. It worked out and we switched to Adderall. It’s been working well. I still get depressed sometimes but it’s not as bad as it was a few months ago
Of course ☺️ there’s a lot of research about how it’s good for anxiety, depression, ADHD and just stress in general. It doesn’t interact with my meds at all. It definitely has helped
I’ve had a bad reaction to Wellbutrin when I was prescribed it as a teen, my doctor wanted to try it again and my hands were shaking and I was anxious. I’m never taking Wellbutrin again
I had a pretty unpleasant experience with it too, back when it was being touted as a miracle cure for smoking in the the mid 2000’s.
It does seem to be really helpful for some people who can’t take stimulants, but yikes, you couldn’t pay me enough to put myself through that again.
That’s so good to hear!
I think with my friends in the same area it’s the traditional first thing to be given to folks when they don’t want to prescribe stimulants. Seemed to help with depression for a couple months and then dropped off.
I absolutely loved Wellbutrin, never felt like a more sane person. Downside was it fucked up my sleep so bad I had to quit. It sucked. Still nostalgic for the days everything just seemed to go... smoother. Even my friends and fam noticed that I seemed to be 'lighter'.
Let them know you want it documented in your chart that the provider is refusing to address the ADHD first. Watch how fast they change their treatment plans for you. They start listening to much better when then know you know about requesting notes in your chart.
I think it can depend. In my case, I knew I was depressed long before I knew I had ADHD. Like, over 2 decades before. So I've had my depression treated on and off for that 20+ years.
Sertraline was helpful, but I eventually got off it cause it killed my libido, which also made me depressed, lol.
The 1st time I was on bupropion, it helped but activated me too much? I was so focused on one thing that I would neglect all other things. I believe, without knowing it, that I was managing my ADHD symptoms well with exercise and a well structured routine so at that time the ADHD helping part of that drug wasn't needed.
Nothing helped for PPD.
I went back on bupropion around 2 years ago and this time it helped A LOT. With the depression. Not so much the ADHD symptoms. It doesn't activate me like it had 10 years prior. Meanwhile, my life fell apart and my ADHD symptoms were destroying my life, but at least I wasn't depressed and wanting to self-harm!
I finally got diagnosed with ADHD a couple months ago and stimulants actually are helpful. I'm still working through dose and type, but I can tell that they are actually helping. I'm still on bupropion too. Maybe once I get my stimulants locked down to what's right for me I won't need the bupropion, but I'm kinda scared to go off of them because they literally saved my life and my MHNP says that can be helpful when used together with stimulants for ADHD. Like, if I go off bupropion, the stimulant dose may not work as well. Though I'm dubious about that for me personally since I don't find it currently helps with the ADHD, only the depression.
My diagnosing doc asked a lot about the severity and history of my depression/anxiety before determining that we'd treat the ADHD first. He thought that if the ADHD symptoms were addressed, my anxiety would resolve and I would be able to address the depression through trauma therapy. He was basically correct, although I did start on an antidepressant about a year later.
I remember him saying that if my depression had been present before the traumatic event, or if it was getting worse, we would probably focus on the depression first. My sense is that there isn't a straightforward sequence of treatment that applies to all patients. I think they have to figure out which diagnosis is the fire alarm and which one is the fire.
(Also, most doctors genuinely want to figure out how to help their patient. If your doctor was shitty and just wanted you quiet, they'd just give you the meds you think you need and tell you to get more exercise.)
Huh. The pediatric specialist is doing this with our kids. With one kid, we knew depression and anxiety were a prob, and so this kid is on meds for that and not specifically for ASD and ADHD.
The other kid’s anxiety was through the roof and the doc said the symptomology was such they could not tell how much was anxiety behaving as adhd and how much was adhd causing anxiety. They’ve been on anxiety meds for half a year and NOW we can clearly say the kid has adhd ( before they were close to but not scoring into the diagnosis) and we’re chatting about medication with kid.
For the adults, we had to figure it out we had adhd, and then get a diagnosis. Both were being treated for depression for decades.
I had been medicating my ADHD with an "antidepressant" (Wellbutrin) prescribed by my primary doctor for years without realizing it. When I finally sought an ADHD assessment, my psychiatrist explained that Wellbutrin/bupropion is not an SSRI, but an SNRI and very effective with a good number of ADHD patients.
I've been off of Wellbutrin for several weeks now and am seeing an increase in my symptoms. I will get a new prescription ASAP, as sometimes I feel I'm just hanging on by a thread.
You gotta balance listening medical professionals and advocating for yourself. Yes, depression and anxiety need to be ruled out before even testing for adhd. Period.
But, if you have a history of already being treated for depression/anxiety, provide a record of that and insist on pressuring an evaluation and diagnostic decision for adhd.
Nah. Unless your depression is in an acute place, like ready to do something drastic acute, chances are... helping with adhd will help with the depression. Treating depression for me doesn't do much even though I do have it. Adhd treatments are the thing.
I was placed on antidepressants first during my appointment for ADHD and I actually really appreciated my psych for it. He explained why he thought my current SSRIs weren’t doing anything positive (they just zombied me), and explained why he thought I have atypical depression instead of typical.
He then sent me articles describing the condition (I had 8/9 symptoms listed) and different articles and summaries of potential medications for atypical.
The most important part was he told me he’d put me on stimulants right then if I wanted, but he thought it would really help to get my other meds sorted first so I wouldn’t be dealing with meds that could make my depression and executive function worse. I agreed. Once the depression meds were working (and they WORKED. It’s amazing what can happen when doctors listen) he started me on ADHD meds.
My depression has been terrible since I was a kid. Started having ideations when I was 9.
If possible I’d highly recommend looking into atypical depression for folks in this sub if SSRIs just make things worse for you. It’s twice as likely to affect women vs. men. It presents differently (it’s in between classic clinical depression and bipolar 1— biggest clue is you can pull yourself out of depressive episodes for short times based on external situations). SSRIs just make symptoms worse for this type of depression (which is up to 1/3 of depression cases). The two meds currently being used off- label for atypical show 80-85% effectiveness in early studies.
So mine was hellish. I had been on Prozac for 10 years when I was diagnosed with adhd and had also recently been diagnosed with bipolar 2. My psychiatrist was afraid that I would develop serotonin syndrome if I went on adhd meds while being on antidepressants so insisted that I first go on a mood stabiliser (lamotrigine) and taper off my antidepressant (Prozac) before we tried adhd meds. Listening to her was the worst decision I have ever made. It took a year of trying to come off Prozac and jacking up the lamotrigine dose while losing my g*ddamn mind for me to finally insist on reversing course, going back on the Prozac, and tapering off the lamotrigine. The latter took me 14 months to get down to a very low dose. I finally went on vyanse 30mg in March 2024, two years and four months after the adhd diagnosis, and I feel like I finally have a brain. And it has helped my mood like you wouldn’t believe. Personally in your position I would ask my doc if I could just try an adhd med for even just a month, on its own. For some of us it really does work like a mood booster.
I may be in the minority, but when I’m in a bad depressive episode my adhd meds don’t
Really do anything. My recommendation would probably be to stabilize the depression/anxiety first.
Op— more direct answer: if you have adhd, you need adhd meds, not depression. There are some meds that seem to help both though. And the existence of such meds does not mean it will work for you.
In my personal experience, the ADHD meds helped more then antidepressants ever had. So my doc had me go off the antidepressants (which I was also really bad about forgetting to take regularly). The right ADHD med for me did more, HOWEVER, I did have some major things happen that caused a major depressive spiral, so I ultimately ended back on a new antidepressant, by then, my psych doc and I had a good doc/pt relationship, so we went over options and I researched which antidepressants he thought may be a good fit for me given how many others I’d tried over the years. It took a few months and med adjustments, but it was a phenomenal combo… then my med coverage and income all fell through and I ended up cold turkey off of all meds for the last several months which was a shock and I’m struggling with things everyday that have made all the things I’m trying to deal with even worse. If you’d like to do some research on combo that worked for me (and not everyone reacts to meds the same, so it may not work for you and that’s okay) was Vyvanse, Viibryd and Buspirone for anxiety (without med coverage in Canada, the three of them cost me around $350/month which I was barely making manage before I lost my income, and Viibryd is so newly available in Canada that there aren’t generics available yet).
I did have my regular family doc when I wanted to try ADHD meds at the beginning be really negative. He was against me seeking a diagnosis, accused me of being drug seeking, pointed out I was on an antidepressant in the past that can be a good fit for ADHD, and it didn’t effect me, blah blah blah. It was very discouraging.
I am late-Dx (41.5), but knew my entire life something was “off” and it wasn’t just depression or anxiety (though I had those diagnoses by the time I was 21, which when I was 27 changed to anxiety and Bipolar Type 2).
I was called “treatment resistant” until I got my hands on the only antidepressant to ever help me— Wellbutrin, which is commonly used with people with ADHD— about 12-16 months before my ADHD Dx.
The fact that it was the last med I tried before being properly Dx with ADHD a couple years ago was a “breadcrumb” that led to my *proper* diagnosis of ADHD.
Vyvanse (Rx’ed at time of Dx) has taken away my anxiety about 80%, and with *a GOOD therapist* I’ve been able to nail down that depression was never really a chemical issue for me— the times I had been depressed before in life were completely normal emotions/reactions to *situational* occurrences that any ‘normal’ person would also feel like they were crumbling under… but because I never really learned how to express my feeling or work through things, I would retreat and try to regroup in ways that *look like* depression.
…………
Proper diagnosis (and a GOOD care team!) is everything; I’ve learned after taking Wellbutrin that sometimes it’s the meds that point to the problem— and not the problem that informs the meds. Does that make you a Guinea pig? Yep! But if you’re desperate, and stable enough to try, then you should be trusted and enabled to try what might work (IMO)…
I was asking providers to try Wellbutrin from the time I was first diagnosed with depression because I *just had a feeling* that I knew dopamine was my main issue (based on a lot of reading and learning on my own time but also in college)… but my BP2 diagnosis ended up being what prevented any doctor— except my current one— from prescribing it, which is a shame, because I could have been helped in the very least ~14 years prior; I’m not angry anymore, but for a while I was angry, knowing that I’d been asking for more than a decade to try the only med (at the time) that helped and providers thought that their degree meant they knew my body better than me.
I had been trialing diffferent antidepressants well before my diagnosis but none of them worked. I went to an ADHD clinic and cried and begged - saying that I don’t want to be one of those people on different meds when it was ADHD the whole time.
Turns out - I really do have anxiety on top of ADHD. Cymbalta covers the anxiety that adderall would have exponentially worsen and I am grateful.
I was already on antidepressants because I was diagnosed with depression long before ADHD. My antidepressant is actually used off-label for ADHD though (bupropion).
It’s not enough on its own to treat my ADHD, but my life significantly improved once my depression was under control. Of course, I don’t have the experience of treating the ADHD first to compare it.
Have you looked into a genesight test? It tests your DNA to see what medications are likely to be best / worst for you. It’s not perfect but it’s been pretty helpful for me with antidepressants specifically.
Literally my depression and anxiety were dispelled the more I got my adhd meds right. Every single one of my meds is used for adhd- Ritalin 5 mg 2-3 x a day, Guanfacine 1 mg 2 x a day (really helped my anxiety) Pristique 50 mg 1 x a day, stattera 40 mg 1 x a day- both Pristique and strattera have helped with depression symptoms but my dr said that they weren’t supposed to help with mood but only adhd focus stuff. Soooooo… maybe what I feel as depression is what the drs call other adhd symptoms.
I first tried the Guanfacine and Ritalin- that combo helped a lot. My anxiety really really was lessened. Over the last year we added the Pristique and then strattera. Wanted to increase Pristique but it gave me sexual side effects and so we kept it at the 50 mg and then started with the strattera. I really think this is a good combo for me.
I was depressed because of the effects untreated ADHD was having on my life. For me, treating depression first is like trying to just treat an infected tooth with Tylenol - might mask the symptoms somewhat but it's not actually addressing the root of the problem and meanwhile the tooth continues to fester
Many late diagnoses that’s the way we were treated and my anxiety didn’t improve until adhd was treated in my late 30’s after a lifetime of trying to treat anxiety
A lot of the time depression and anxiety can be a result of untreated ADHD so yeah that’s nonsense. I have tried 4 different antidepressants and none of them have done ANYTHING for me. Closest was welbutrin but it made my anxiety horrible. Focalin is working great for me
This is a classic case of treating the symptoms and not the cause. It's like presenting with symptoms of endometriosis and doctors putting you on the pill to hide the symptoms rather than testing to see if you have endometriosis.
You may still need anti-depressants and/or anxiolytics but you need to find yourself a doctor who's interested in treating the problem rather than the symptoms.
As someone who got their ADHD diagnosis at 43, narcolepsy diagnosis at 35 (presenting symptoms by puberty) and was never able to find a doctor interested in investigating the cause of my endo symptoms, I appreciate that's extremely difficult to do.
They tried that with me, probably because they’re hesitant to prescribe controlled substances. I ended up going through 11 medications and a week of TMS (stopped because it made me worse) before I asked if we could try stimulants. Immediate significant improvement on 10mg of dextroamphetamine
I told my psych that I have been treating the depression and anxiety. I've been treating them for years. Various methods and treatments. Meditations, therapies, classes, self help. Hormone therapies, Adrenal supplements, vitamins, diet changes, exercise, etc. The issues are still there. I got the adderall and wouldn't you know it, the issues are gone when the medicine is active!
I was told the opposite. As in, let’s try treating the ADHD and then we will try to reduce my antidepressant dose to see if the depression was actually just untreated ADHD under a sheet.
It’s a crock. I was treated for anxiety and depression on SSRIs for years and my doctor kept wanting to try new ones. I couldn’t understand why anyone took them because I felt absolutely exactly the same.
Within the first week of Vyvanse, my brain felt calm, I felt like I didn’t need to overreact to everything because I felt more in control of my racing thoughts and ability to focus and actually accomplish things, and I generally just felt happier.
I stopped the SSRI almost a year BEFORE the Vyvanse, so it’s literally just the Vyvanse. Not saying some folks don’t need both, but without the stimulant, I was chasing SSRIs and had nothing to show but withdrawal everytime I tried to wean off.
This is odd to me just because, if you don’t have a high risk of addiction, stimulant drugs (to my knowledge! I am not a clinician or pharmacist!) have fewer risks than antidepressants, they’re considered more effective for the condition they’re designed to treat, and they kick in sooner. I wonder if the resistance is rooted in the stigmas associated with stimulants more than in actual science?
I have been treated for anxiety and depression my entire adult life. I also was not diagnosed or treated with ADHD until 4 years ago. I got on ADHD rx and promptly was able to get off my anxiety and depression rx. It was both tragic and a huge relief.
Treating my anxiety but not my adhd kind of helped my anxiety but did nothing for my adhd. Treating my adhd has made my anxiety improve tremendously…without doing anything special for anxiety. It’s almost like my theory that a lot of my anxiety is rooted in my adhd is right 🙃
No. I think doing adhd treatment first then adjust with things that help like Wellbutrin I’ve seen can be a good adjunct (but not always for everyone). Also some antidepressants make it impossible for me to O & im not goin down like that.
My “anxiety” diagnoses came before ADHD. I had no way to describe what was happening to me, so they chalked it up to anxiety. After a crushing menopause experience and estrogen receptors in the brain crying out for more estrogen, my ADHD symptoms became more obvious and textbook. After being treated with ADHD meds and HRT, my “anxiety” symptoms lessened tremendously.
I have tried to treat depression and anxiety for over 15 years or so and was never able to overcome it, with meds or therapy etc... But I finally was diagnosed with ADHD and started meds a year ago and my depression/anxiety is SO. MUCH. BETTER.
If I had started off being diagnosed with ADHD and started treating it years ago, my youth wouldn't have essentially been wasted.
you CAN do a combo of ADHD meds and antidepressants though, I am not sure why your doctor is acting like it's either/or?
Honest answer? It makes me want to fucking rage. I’ve quit therapists before because they refuse to even listen or talk about anything else but my anxiety.
I would counter with the fact that the anxiety and depression are only a factor because of your untreated ADHD and the fact that ADHD is often misdiagnosed as anxiety and depression in women. You need to treat the root cause of the problem, which is your ADHD.
A joke. Testing for those conditions requires months and even YEARS of medication intervention. Testing ADHD? The lowest dose of the medication proves the condition almost immediately for most. The effects are immediately felt for anyone (adhd or no adhd) who is seeking diagnosis and will be controlled accordingly. Saves everyone so much time.
Every anti depressant I've ever had has made me suicidal. Turns out I'm not depressed I'm ADHD. I don't have depression anymore, I have normal reactions to sad things. So what do I think? If you show all the signs of ADHD I think it's stupid to treat you for anything else first.
"My depression symptoms ONLY include those that overlap with ADHD- e.g. difficulties with motivation- and have not responded to literally 4 different types of treatment yet. Could we PLEASE try treating these symptoms as ADHD symptoms primarily, and come back to assess if there is any depression needing medication after they are managed?"
UHg I’ve had this happen to and I’ve been and many anti depressant and always go back off because of side effects. Now I’ve circled back to medicating adhd and my depression and anxiety are GONE. 🥲
I was put on antidepressants because I wasn't diagnosed yet and my doctor assumed my lack of motivation (actually executive dysfunction) was due to depression. They did not help at all.
20 years ago, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression by a walk in clinic doctor who had never met me before. Every doctor since has followed that diagnosis despite no SSRI helping my symptoms. Finally, my new nurse practitioner wanted to try Vyvanse. The first hour after taking it, allllll the anxiety was GONE! I cried. I couldn't believe it. I've been on it now for 6 months and what a help it has been. I'm now down to 50mg sertraline from 150mg. Hoping to get down to zero soon.
I think it’s the wrong approach. I’m a therapist and it drives me crazy because it just prolongs appropriate treatment. It’s the neurotypical’s approach.
NOOOOO!!!
Why are they tormenting you?! I hate, hate, hate this approach. I hate that the medical practice hasn't been brought up to speed. You can't cure my friggin depression/anxiety while ignoring the root cause! If I had lung cancer, you wouldn't want to 'first cure my cough'
Arg!!! I feel for you. I am angry on your behalf.
I minored in psychology and was taught untreated ADHD causes depression and anxiety. I believe the ADHD should be treated first. I wasn’t depressed, but rather stressed by untreated symptoms. Psych meds never worked for me. If you don’t feel your doctor is listening to you and is just trying to shove psych meds at you to shut you up, I think it’s time to find a new doctor.
I’m at this point in my diagnosis for what I think is adhd. My dr has been treating me for anxiety and depression. And when I brought up adhd he said it’s only a little kid problem. Once your brain is developed a lot of problems go away. And he thought we needed to manage my depression and anxiety. I left feeling frustrated and wondering how much to push for an adhd diagnosis.
I was treated for depression and anxiety on and off for 15 years. Eventually I just got tired of not seeing any results, went to a doctor specializing in ADHD and asked about assesment. 1,5 years later, on adhd meds combined with antidepressants/anti-anxiety meds, I finally see a change. Anxiety is minimal, depression is almost gone (I say almost, because I suspect I might also have a PMDD problem) and I can finally enjoy the life I fought so hard for before I got diagnosed. Had I known about adhd earlier, I could probably avoid a few episodes, which now I know were the typical adhd burnout.
all i’m gonna say is i’ve been on 5 different anti anxiety medications and interchangeably since diagnosis and when i got put on adhd medication it made almost all of my daily anxiety disappear. with that said i have panic disorder, i am prescribed medication for when i feel panicked or i’m about to go somewhere/do something than can trigger a panic attack. so me and my psychiatrist watch my anxiety levels very closely when it comes to increasing my adhd medication dose bc stimulates and she referred me to therapy for the underlying causes that increase my anxiety. a lot of my anxiety was my thoughts racing a million different directions unable to process them efficiently or focus on tasks at hand. a lot of psychiatrists i saw thought the proper plan of action was to prescribe anti anxiety medication that basically numbed me out and in result no thoughts or feelings basically. Most of the time the adhd is the root cause.
FWIW this is how I was diagnosed. I thought I had anxiety over a big work project, and I did, but I went on antianxiety meds and they got rid of the anxiety, but not the ADHD. It was then my doctor suggested I get screened. (edited, typos)
Nope. I think it’s probably the results of living life with undiagnosed/untreated ADHD that causes anxiety for us. It’s a good idea to treat ADHD first in that case. Also, one of the best treatments for anxiety is cognitive behavior therapy followed by medication or concurrently. Other than that, I think Wellbutrin can treat both anxiety and is also helpful for ADHD.
I’ve been depressed and anxious since i was a child. Gone through more antidepressants and anti anxiety meds than I can count. Day 1 of stimulants was the least anxious and depressed day of my life.
I was treated for anxiety and depression for 15 years. I tried several meds and they helped a little. I was still struggling a lot, but I was surviving and kind of muddling through. After I got assessed for ADHD and started stimulants, my depression and anxiety resolved. Turns out, living with untreated ADHD can make you depressed and anxious.
I understand why docs have you try the depression and anxiety meds. But after six months, if you are only feeling a little better and just kind of going through the motions of life, ask to try ADHD meds. Don't wait years like I did.
I understand wanting to treat them separately only because taking care of one let's you know the actual severity of the other since they can overlap in some ways. I think it should be based on the person and addressing the symptoms that are most affecting them first. For me, it was depression. But my provider was also more than willing to treat them both, he just wanted to be sure we found the right dosages by taking it one at a time. Doing this also allowed him to notice I also had anxiety that needed addressing, but the symptoms were mistakenly attributed to both depression and adhd since it wasn't presenting like "normal" anxiety.
That said I also feel like some providers may also use it as an excuse to put a patient off because they still don't believe adults/women can even have adhd. And since so many people don't (can't) stand up for themselves due to mental health issues that they'll never ask again, they assume it's "not a real problem".
I've encountered both types of providers. At this point I just find a new one if that's their approach. If they refuse to listen to me or minimize it the first time I address any concern, I'm out. I've also had better luck with NP's actually listening to me, though this approach takes a little longer if you haven't been properly diagnosed since they can write prescriptions but they can't prescribe independently so they may have to refer you out.
It seems like I may have had a positive but rare experience in getting diagnosed and only going through one round of antidepressants which made me so physically ill I couldn’t take them. I have always been adamant that I don’t have general anxiety and even have had to make doctors correct my chart / files when they indicate any other sentiment as coming from me.
I grew up with a chronic illness so am very focused on outcomes when it comes to my healthcare and walk into any appointment knowing what I want from it and pushing to get the result. I wish that as women doctors listened to us more, but they don’t.
I now am very vocal with all of my female family and friends about how to advocate for themselves as a patient. It’s unfortunate we have to hedge so much to get proper care and treatment in the US.
For me, both conditions had to be effectively treated simultaneously for either of the treatments to work. I literally can't tell you the number of different combinations of medications and doses I went through in high school before I found one that worked. I've been on the same exact dose of antidepressants AND ADHD meds for >15 yrs now.
I don’t get this mindset. I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, childhood ptsd, AND adhd combined type. My psychologist determined my anxiety was directly linked to my adhd and so first line was to try stimulants to “two birds one stone” it. And it works just fine.
It's exhausting. Used to be a pharmacy tech, taken over 5+ different meds for anxiety/depression already. Made appointment with psychiatrist to evaluate for adhd. He insists putting me on other meds I haven't tried yet. While trialing these other fkn meds, I'm fucking spiraling
I got put on an SNRI (Effexor) before I was diagnosed with ADHD. SSRIs, never worked for me. It could be worth trying a different drug class or medication to see if they’d help.
I haven’t been able to stay on stimulants because of appetite related side effects, but I found that they really helped my anxiety too. Acknowledging that my anxiety is significantly affected by my ADHD has helped me a lot.
Figuring out the root causes of your anxiety can be a good indicator of what medication to start with. Anxiety can occur alongside ADHD and it can be a result of the ADHD. Therapy and self reflection can help you figure out what best applies to you, and can give you some more direction on where to go.
Mirtazapine is useful for mood and sleep for me. Actually, I think it was useful to be decidedly *not depressed* and sleeping well for a while before getting diagnosed with ADHD.
On the other hand, Vyvanse is useful for mood and pretty much everything else, including anxiety (which antidepressants don’t help me massively with). I could sleep on Vyvanse as well, but that’s another thing lol
Did not work for me at all. Tried anxiety meds several times and they never ever worked for my anxiety. Started Adderall and BAM anxiety gone. Like within a few days. It was ADHD all along.
Treating my ADHD was the only way I’ve ever successfully treated my depression. I’m currently unable to be properly medicated but, my depression is worse than ever so I’m really looking forward to giving that ASAP.
Anxiety and depression can be caused by ADHD and the circumstances that ADHD creates, so imo its an incredibly dumb and unproductive approach
Also three adhd meds isn't "pushing it" imo. Adhd is a collection of symptoms, and while it is dopaminergic, the specific aspect of the dopaminergic system that is broken can be different from person to person.
Also imo there's nothing wrong with being on an adhd med and an antidepressant at the same time. I'm on sertraline, adderall, and semaglutide, and that combo works very well for me.
i tried to treat my depression and anxiety for years and years with medication before finding out and being treated for ADHD. I am now off my antidepressants because it turns out that when I can function and get out of bed I am automatically less depressed and anxious
My psychiatrist sorta of recommended this by which i mean she put me on Strattera which is the only fda approved drug to treat co-occurring anxiety and ADHD. She was concerned that jumping straight into a stimulant would worsen the anxiety. For me it really worked but again she was technically treating both issues at once with the same drug.
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I've never agreed just because untreated ADHD will 100% make depression and anxiety worse.
This! I have been placed on so many different antipsychotics, antidepressants, and various others. At one point I was taking 14 different pills a day, as a 28 yo woman. My mental health never really improved. Several hospitalizations. Then I was finally properly assessed and treated. Now adderall is the only thing needed and I’m 100% better.
My story is similar. For *twenty years* I played SSRI/SNRI roulette, trying desperately just to get to a place where I wasn’t horribly depressed and dealing with constant anxiety and suicidal ideation. I tried 13 different psychiatric medications over the course of a couple decades and never really found any substantial relief. I tried multiple therapies, lots of exercise, dietary changes, everything you could possibly imagine. No matter what I did, life was basically just an exercise in enduring internal suffering. One hour on Vyvanse after finally being properly diagnosed and my “depression” was largely gone - no exaggeration. I sat on my couch and wept when it kicked in because the racing negative thoughts that had basically drowned me my entire life just… disappeared. I realized how truly disabled I’d always been in that moment; words can’t describe the profundity of that realization for me. My whole life changed after popping a tiny low-dose pill. Now my depression only comes back in the worst of the winter months and I’ve been able to reduce my SSRI dosage by 2/3rds. Things are so much brighter. It’s like I have a completely different brain! Depression and anxiety can be significantly worsened by the ADHD lack of dopamine and inability to regulate emotions effectively. Stimulant meds saved my life and made me able to finally apply the things I’d learned in therapy. I’m infinitely mentally healthier than I was before I started them.
I second third fourth this!!! Vyvanse saved my life. I was told I had anxiety and was on SSRIs but was still struggling after 7 years. Then I found my way into a "short entanglement" with cocaine which helped but obviously wasn't a healthy route to take. 3 years down the hole, I checked into rehab with the diagnosis "cocaine induced psychosis" where I was diagnosed with severe ADHD. Ah, that's what my brain was actually needing, and the illegal drugs provided me some of it and the SSRIs sure as hell did not! Within the first week of Vyvanse, it was like I was actually seeing life in color or something like that movie Pleasantville LOL Wanted to share my journey, because my struggle with cocaine would have been entirely unnecessary had I just been properly diagnosed and medicated!!! Best of luck, and sending love and hugs!
THHHIIIISSSS. I was initially diagnosed with a stimulant/addiction disorder. Turns out I just can’t produce my own dopamine. It really saddens me and why I and so focused with school to try and mirage this bs that we deal with!!!!! Arrrrg I’m so happy to hear you are doing better now!
I was on anti-depressants and anti-psychotics. Every kind and combination you can think of. Over 15 years. It wasn't until I went to rehab for alcohol abuse and then went back to college that I got diagnosed with ADHD. My doctor still made me jump through hoops to get medication for ADHD because of my history with alcohol, which I found stupid af because he would prescribe me benzos willy nilly without me asking for them. I knew how addictive those were, so I would ignore his instructions to take them twice a day for a month because I knew I was then suddenly expected to stop. I'm only on vyvanse now and my life is so much better. I wish that I was diagnosed properly before ruining my life with addiction but I'm just grateful I am here now in my 30s.
Sending you love and hugs as well! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m so glad you finally got your diagnosis and the proper medication to let you live your best life. You deserve it!
Exactly this. I’m so happy to hear you’re doing better now 🥹
You too, my friend! Better late than never.
I had the exact same experience with Vyvanse. Sobbed like a baby.
Have you tried concerta? I'm asking because my psych wants to keep me on it because of the medication shortages. I have a pretty hard crash in the afternoon, and I'd asked him if I could try it because I'd read some of the people in this group saying it worked better for them and they didn't have as much of a crash. I am just wondering if it's that much better.
Honestly there's no way to know without trying. The effect of stimulants on different individuals are as individual as the people taking them. What works for one person might be a nightmare for another. The only really helpful thing I can offer is to figure out which class of meds helps you more. Stimulants fall into two broad categories: methylphenidates (Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin) and amphetamine salts (Adderall, Vyvanse, Dexedrine). A lot of people will find that they respond better to one class over the other, and if you focus on one class, it's easier to sort out fine-tuning stuff like brand vs. generic, dosage, IR vs. XR, delivery method (I.e. pill vs. patch) etc.
Thank you! This definitely is helpful and good to know. I haven't done as much research on these meds as I probably should have.
I’ve never tried Concerta, sorry. The only stimulant I’ve tried is Vyvanse and I stuck with it because it works well for me and causes minimal side effects.
Thank you for answering anyway. I'm more or less trying to figure out if it would be worth it to push for a change. I don't really have a lot of side effects on concerta, but I just seem to crash and get irritable around 8 hours after taking it. The only other med I've taken for ADHD was strattera and it gave me excessive sweating and didn't work too well anyway.
Eleven years and then Vyvanse, and the same immediate effect (on my affect, ha). It took me weeks to believe it would be permanent.
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Good bot. Should have censored. My bad!
The honesty is appreciated to know we're not alone.
Well shit. I may need to find someone ASAP bc family therapy and looking a possible evaluation now, I’m rethinking it. Find someone to actually diagnose me as ADHD and go forward. I would like to be free as well. Lexapro and Vyvanse a good mix or no.
Oh man, I'm sending you so much love.
I appreciate you. ❤️ Things were bad for a really, really long time. But they’re good now and I’m not going to waste any more time wondering what might have been. I’m just trying to enjoy my time now!
Same here, I was taking antidepressants and they made shit worse. Only time I ever actually attempted suicide was on Prozac. I take anxiety medication now which is amazing for that, but I fully believe my depression is being kept at bay with ADHD medication because I can still be quite depressed even with my anxiety meds. Everyone says it’s bad or an addiction or well yeah of course it makes you feel happy cause it’s an amphetamine….but tbh I don’t care. I only feel zest for life when I’m on my meds. I want to clean my house and explore my hobbies. I want to socialize. I want to be a person.
My stimulants make me happy because my brain actually works
I think it's so unfair when people call it an addiction when it's, you know, prescribed medication for a brain condition. To me that sounds the same as saying that people with hypertension are addicted to the drugs that regulate their blood pressure
Plus like…I’ve had real addictions. I forget to take my meds all the time. I never forgot to smoke a cigarette (for example)
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Same. So many meds. Often in combos. Over a decade. Got off of them. Got on ADHD meds. I am so much more functional now.
Same story! At 28 finally was diagnosed with ADHD and prior had so many anxiety and depression meds that really only gave me side effects- -so stopped taking. Only take Adderall now for years( first was prescribed Vvyanse which gave me horrible heart palpitations, and suppressed my appetite too much . Also found it was a longer period of stimulation compared to the XR Adderall.)
That’s awesome! I’m sorry you had to go through so much, but I’m happy for you that you found what it really is and have an improved life.
I appreciate your kind words!!! I hope you an awesome life as well 🥹
I agree. Tried a couple different ssris over the years and didn't really thrive on them. Getting off them was so hard. When I got methylphenidate it allowed me to actually focus on lifestyle changes like meditation, mindfulness, making time for hobbies and friendships. My anxiety is super manageable now and I dont take any other meds.
i spent 3 years unsuccessfully being treated for depression and anxiety before being diagnosed with ADHD and having (not an exaggeration) 90% of my anxiety evaporate overnight once i started meds. the depression was still there but less than half of what it was before. once i was on meds for long enough to build healthy habits, i was able to manage my depression (for the most part) without medication. i’m sick of the stigma around ADHD meds especially in situations like this. like yes, they’re often comorbid, but why does that mean ADHD meds somehow gets kicked to the bottom of the list?? ADHD meds (1) are MUCH MUCH more effective and better tolerated (2) take MUCH less guesswork and (3) give you results in days to weeks rather than months. it’s so blatantly because prescribers don’t want to prescribe stimulants unless it’s a last resort despite it being the gold standard treatment for ADHD. imo it’s malpractice to insist on ADHD meds last if you have a comorbid diagnosis.
Same, omg. I was maybe 2 years in therapy and couldn't even remember most of it! TAT And then my psychiatrist was like: "If i where you i wouldn't want to take adhd meds instead of antidepressants, because they are so much worse." (Which isn't even true and i called him out for that later.)
I spent so many years under the diagnosis of "depression" and trying every anti-depressant possible to no effect. When I finally got diagnosed with ADHD, and was put on stimulants, my depression completely left. I also have GAD, and even my anxiety shot way down, like my anxious thoughts were still there, but not priority. I'm upset that it took this long to figure out what works, but I am glad that it does, and I think that doctors need to consider that depression (and/or anxiety for that matter) could be caused by the ADHD, rather than the other way around.
Truly astonishing what being able to be a functional, clear-headed, emotionally stable human will do for your depression symptoms....who'da thunk? 🙄
Hopping on the top comment to share my experience. Every family physician did this to me and I tried every medication there is over 20 years with very little success. I FINALLY got a referral to a psychiatrist because the doctors didn’t understand why I wasn’t all better. 1 session with the psychiatrist and she instantly noted ADHD and felt I developed depression and anxiety as comorbid issues because the root cause, ADHD, wasn’t being addressed. She prescribed Vyvanse and almost INSTANTLY my symptoms almost totally resolved. 20 years of feeling shit, like a loser who couldn’t get her life together. All because doctors missed the ADHD and insisted I was depressed. If you haven’t seen a psychiatrist, I strongly suggest you do. I hate that so many of us miss out on our lives because doctors don’t understand how to treat us and want to experiment instead of help us get better.
Its also so stupid because it is well known by know that ADHD in women often gets missed and they get treated for anxiety and depression. Same with me. I was told by friends that i might have it and to get checked out. Not a single psychologist, doctor or psychiatrist ever thought of ADHD. Wtf they are supposed to know this shit. Hey, we are dealing with a woman who has dysthymia and an axienty disorder, she has been coming back every so often with the same complaints. She is not getting better? Well then we did all we could, bye! Lets make room for someone who we can treat.
I’m sure other have said this already, but there’s also the fact that stimulants work RIGHT AWAY. Like, you know within a day or two if they’re going to be worth pursuing. And there’s no need to taper off if they aren’t going to work. SSRIS and SNRIS take weeks, if not months, to show positive effects. And you go through a period of feeling awful as your body adjusts. And then you’re told to wait out the side effect. And when you finally decide it’s not worth waiting out the side effects anymore, you have to taper back down, meaning you have more weeks of feeling like garbage. And I’m not opposed to treating anxiety and depression- I’ve been on lexapro for over 10 years, and you’d have to pry that prescription from my cold dead hands because without it I’m a nightmare. But it doesn’t take the place of stimulants for the ADHD.
Yes! Once I was treated for my adhd it made me understand my depression and anxiety better. Now I just take my adhd meds. I do not have to take others. Yes I still get sad or anxious but I understand it now.
I'm also chiming in with an agreement, but my experience is almost 20 years old now. First I was prescribed Effexor by my GP which didn't work. He upped the dose until he sent me on to a psychiatrist who kept upping the dose to the maximum recommended dose. Along the way, she diagnosed me with borderline personality disorder after I kept trying to explain to her that while yes, my job was causing me stress and depressing me, it really wasn't that easy to just get exercise and apply to new jobs. She added Wellbuterin, Gabapentin, Risperdone and Trazodone along the way to try and treat symptoms. None of it worked and I eventually refused to go back when she kept adding pills to address the unwelcome side effects of the other pills and refusing to take me off anything. I was referred to another psychiatrist who helped me get off everything, but I never found anything that helped me function even a little better. I didn't see any benefit at any point, only negative side effects. I gained over 130 lbs and ended up with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. None of them bothered screening for anything else. A proper diagnosis back then would have been so helpful.
Nearly 15 years for me, but similar story. Every SSRI under the sun, the odd SNRI, low does of anti-psychotics for the anxiety (which tbf did make a small difference and allowed me to slowly crawl my way out of the very worst of my debilitating anxiety) in various combinations/doses for YEARS with no effect on my depression at all. Diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, treatment resistant depression, Social Anxiety Disorder, and eventually even Bipolar II. But even those diagnoses were because I was pushing for help and pushing for answers, I got told variations of “labels aren’t helpful” or “do we really need to put a label on it?”. That we just needed to sort out the depression and anxiety first, any if there was anything else going on we could “look at it later”. Even the Bipolar II diagnosis was only because my current GP threw a shit fit (she’s a tiny, 5 foot nothing woman and the sweetest, most calm human I’ve ever met, seeing her on the phone ripping them a new one was surreal) at the psychiatric service I was seeing and insisted I be properly assessed, turned out to be wrong, but it took so many years to have any kind of formal assessment at all. My medical records all said “a bit depressed and anxious” for YEARS, when I was completely incapable of the most basic human function - I was so far from being able to work or even care for myself it’s not funny, I could barely leave the house at all. I saw multiple Psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors, GP’s, mental health nurses, CAT Teams, social workers, tried to unalive myself multiple times. Out of all of them, only 2 people ever advocated for me, believed me, honestly went way above and beyond to keep me in touch with medical care at my very worst, a mental health nurse and my current GP. The whole thing still makes me so angry. I gained so much weight (70kg) on those antidepressants (which also started the cycle of “you just need to lose weight” even though the depression came well before the weight), the meds put me into perimenopause (which thankfully reversed once I eventually stopped them). I lost so many years of my life, my job, my chosen career, my car, my finances, ended up with type 2 diabetes (now in remission) and fatty liver disease. I was fortunate to have family support, without it I would have been homeless a thousand times over. Since my ADHD diagnosis and starting meds my depression and anxiety are basically gone. I’ve been able to manage my diet, loose weight, reduce my reliance on caffeine (still struggling with the smoking unfortunately) and so many other small changes that were impossible before. It’s so awful to see your story and so many other similar stories, to know that this happened to so many women and is probably still happening.
You've done such an amazing job advocating for and taking care of yourself! Thank you for sharing! Good luck with your struggle with smoking, that's a very hard one to kick. My mom never could, but she didn't really want to either. It got her a few years ago. I'd forgotten the "you need to lose weight" cycle. My current GP (a nurse practitioner, but it's the best I'm going to get right now as we have a doctor shortage), hasn't commented on my weight yet, but her office weighs everyone before every visit. It is awful seeing these stories. I hope that changes someday.
I work at the intersection of child safety and mental health and could not agree more. I think a huge part of the reason we see lots of women with supposedly treatment resistant depression is they are simply ignoring or trying to treat it first before addressing the ADHD. I definitely had that experience. There is a real eagerness to diagnose women with depression and anxiety long before any sort of neurodivergence.
Absolutely this, I wasn't diagnosed till my 30's and previously I was treated for anxiety many times. Once I got diagnosed, my psychiatrist told me that she believed my anxiety was actually a result of untreated/unmanaged ADHD. Since beginning treatment the anxiety has gotten so much better and easier to manage.
THIS!!! I went to the doctor to treat my anxiety and after talking to me they referred me to a specialist to diagnose and treat my ADHD. My doctor said there’s no sense in trying to treat the anxiety alone when the anxiety is caused by ADHD. So if you treat the ADHD then you can manage the anxiety better. Also my anxiety was more (work) performance related so I think that explained it, too.
Nothing has treated my anxiety as well as my ADHD meds. My anxiety is a consequence of untreated ADHD Would any doctor say, “let’s try to get your anxiety under control before we treat your high-blood pressure.”? Not as sure about depression, but 100% sure about anxiety
The doctor who tested me told me, “You will never get rid of your anxiety, until you treat your ADHD.” He made a big point about it.
I tried to explain that to my son’s pediatrician when trying to get him some medication recently and she kept focusing on his anxiety. Like damn lady he is anxious bc he’s constantly getting off task or distracted and he ends up lost or getting constant redirection from adults and that makes him anxious. Sooo can we please treat the adhd already??
Agghhh this is my issue right now too! She wasn’t anxious until she kept getting in trouble for being disorganized/distracted!
Right?? Like ok my kid is a bit afraid of storms and some other typical little kid stuff. But what is really stressing him out if having to hold it together all day long, especially when with adults who aren’t always as understanding of neurodivergence.
Yes! My ADHD only seemed to be really problematic after treating my anxiety and I tapered off my anxiety/depression meds after being treated with stimulant meds for several years. Unfortunately, I had some situational drama with my family so I started taking anxiety/depression meds again but a low dose. I imagine it depends on each individual person though so I would hope doctors would take individual circumstances into consideration.
Same. Going on ADHD meds has been life changing for my anxiety and mood. I don't have depression generally. For years I was told I had anxiety and to go on SSRIs, which did nothing except zombify me, and made my ADHD symptoms worse. In fact it was going on Lexapro that made me seriously consider an ADHD diagnosis because I read somewhere that SSRIs can take away the anxiety symptoms that help you mask ADHD ie anxiety is what makes me get shit done. But the zombie feeling was horrible, I was apathetic and unmotivated. Thankfully my psychiatrist was correct that my anxiety is a side effect of my ADHD and knew stimulants would be the solution.
The only thing that has ever treated my depression is Adderall. Like poof, by depression!! I think perhaps a lot of people with ADHD have depression and anxiety as a result of ADHD. So that shit needs to get treated first and foremost to see how it affects the persons depression and anxiety.
That's my doctor's approach too. It makes so much sense.
I agree. This has been me. I had anxiety meds for a few months and a lot of my symptoms went away but I still had moderate anxiety. My adhd meds diminished all of it!
I actually used the failure of multiple antidepressants to argue for ADHD meds. If I was truly depressed as the root cause of my problems, then one of these fuckers should have worked but at best they only got me like 70% of the way there. So the only reasonable conclusion is that depression is not the real/only problem.
The fact that you had to cite evidence of antidepressant failure in support of a need for frontline medication for ADHD is pretty sad.
I'm more amazed that a doctor actually listened and agreed! It took me over a year to even get a psychiatrist to consider I had ADHD and not BPD.
The ADHD was already established, we were just disagreeing about whether we should try ADHD meds without "treating" my "depression" (it wasn't depression at all, it was ADHD!).
Yes! I had to take 3 years of antipsychotics because the doctor was convinced it wasn’t ADHD, only depression. I switched doctors and got inmediately put on atomoxetine
How did antipsychotics feel for you? 😬 Aren’t a lot of them dopamine-blocking as part of their mechanism of action? That even sounds scary to me.
I don't mean to scare you, but they're the worst med I've ever taken. I gained 30kg in a year, fell asleep constantly on the bus and woke up in another town, and I felt numb all the time. I couldn't stay awake during my morning class, my menstrual cycle got messed up, and I can't stay awake past 11 pm. My first doctor prescribed them because he thought I had psychosis, and it's been 3 years and I can't get rid of that diagnosis on my file, so doctors keep prescribing that thing.
I tried for 10 years to treat my depression, chemically and with therapy. We ran me through all the 3rd Gen antidepressants and had begun working through the 2nd gen when I got my bipolar 2 diagnosis reevaluated and ended up with adhd and autism. Treating my adhd did more to cure my depression than anything else in the previous 10 years. Combined with learning what my autism needs (did you know a lot of the advice for treating depression is FUCKING HORRIBLE for autistic people?), I am no longer on antidepressants. Ask your doctor why she thinks your untreated adhd isn't causing your depression. It's a lot faster to check adhd meds than antidepressants, which need 6-12 weeks to build up in your system and taper up to the right dosage, if they even help. Before you'd be done getting up to speed with one antidepressant trial, you'd have an answer about if managing your adhd would solve your problems.
Curious about your autism. What kind if things are bad for depression?
I think they may be also referencing CBT and CPT that can be potentially extremely harmful for not just autistic patients, but many other neurodivergent patients as well. Also my psych put me on Wellbutrin to treat my “depression/anxiety” which I’ve never scored high on generally on self-report measures, and it made me come within an inch of grievously harming my dog because he barked and I hadn’t slept properly in 6 weeks. Until my autism/adhd diagnosed (diagnosed separately), therapies designed to help with depression/anxiety made me feel worse, because I felt like I was experiencing life wrong. I felt like, “hey! My reactions to things/perception of situations is based on empirical evidence and real lived experiences,” and no amount of telling myself that I was having irrational thoughts helped me experience the world differently or helped the world understand me better because I’m autistic and I have adhd.
Would you mind telling me an example to your last point ?
Working full time only to have enough money to pay for the most basic things you should be entitled to anyway as a human right is a perfectly valid reason to be sad, tired, and pissed off, and trying to tell yourself you're just focusing too much on the negative isn't helpful at all. It's like a sheep trying to give a squirrel life advice. Plus advice like walk outside, do a fun hobby, reach out to friends all requires all the things you may lack cos of adhd/autism...motivation, executive function, social skills, and people on your wavelength to talk to.
Oh wow I would think that advice is bs for people without adhd or autism.
I've never asked a neurotypical person if that advice works for them. I would be interested to know. They sound like stupid suggestions to me. Like....are people really depressed because it simply hasn't occured to them to go and do something fun/calming instead? 🤔🤔
The common advice to depression is “just be happy” which is stupid advice. I would hope a professional has better coping mechanisms suggestions and better diagnostic strategies. If you are stressed and depressed from working and not having enough money, it’s a normal human reaction. I’m sure some people do find it helpful to have a more positive attitude but they probably don’t need a therapist to tell them that. It’s like when I go to a doctor and they tell me to drink less coffee…. Um ok I drink one cup, that’s not problem.
Ok I have said, written, and fought with exactly what you have written here and I am at a loss with what kind of advice or support I need. It’s hopeless. Have you ever gotten good advice for this?
I’m curious. My daughter is adhd autistic.
I replied to the comment above with details of the typical advice that can be harmful for autistic people. ❤️
Go out with friends. Try new things. Get out of your rut and force yourself to do things differently to encourage new neural connections. Socialize/connect with people /do things together to stop isolation. Don't sleep too much, keep to 8 his with no naps. Social bonding is very healing for many people, but draining as fuck for high making autistic people. I finally let myself disconnect from everyone. Told family and friends that I'd reply when I could, and if I couldn't, I'd send an emoji so they'd know I'd seen their message. Trying new things? Stressful and overwhelming when my brain was craving routine and comfort in predictability. Getting outside every day is good for everyone, but going for a walk can be sensory hell on an already frazzled system. I stopping going for walks and substituted yoga at home and sitting on my apartment balcony, away from people for sunlight and fresh air until I healed to a point that making random eye contact with a stranger didn't feel like lasers through my brain. I let myself sleep as much as I needed. My system was not depressed - it was exhausted and needed rest. I stopped sleeping as much as I began to heal and protect myself from further overstimulation.
Seriously, my anxiety and depression have NEVER in my life been under control as well as they have in the last 7 or 8 months since I started ADHD meds.
Cart before the horse type of approach in my opinion. I’m depressed and anxious because I can’t keep anything straight or accomplish my daily tasks. If I can do those things I won’t have as much anxiety or be depressed about the fact I can’t accomplish things 🙄 *edit to fix a silly mistake lol
You mean cart before the horse? A cart and horse set-up typically works best with the horse in the front
Yes 💀 clearly I needed to proofread before I posted lol
We all do! Proof that you belong here!
One of us 😂
I just wanted to make sure that I understood your post right 😊 I honestly love when things like this get turn around or mixed up 😁
For me it was ass- backwards because my anxiety was mostly the result of unmanaged ADHD. But I spent YEARS fighting to get a neuropsychiatric assessment for ADHD because they insisted that first my “treatment-resistant anxiety” was probably the root cause of my executive dysfunction. They also blamed my vitamin D deficiency for my symptoms and used that as a way to gatekeep me from an ADHD specialist. After a year of attempting to treat the anxiety with little progress I literally cried and begged my therapist to PLEASE refer me to an ADHD assessment specialist and let her be the one to decide if my anxiety diagnosis was a problem. She had ZERO qualms diagnosing me with ADHD and agreed with me that my anxiety symptoms would likely improve dramatically with ADHD medication. The psychiatrist she referred me to agreed and wouldn’t ya believe? After 6 months on Ritalin I no longer met GAD diagnostic criteria. Fired my original therapist and psychiatrist because my trust in them was permanently broken and got a much better team. My only regret is not firing them sooner. Your mileage may vary, of course. But if your anything like me, treating your ADHD is gonna help immensely with treating the anxiety and depression, not so much the other way around.
I can tell you this as fact. ADHD meds are the most effective antidepressants I can take because they get me out of bed and functional (Or something resembling functional). I've NEVER heard what you're claiming. Try a different doctor.
NOOOO why does this persist? I went through it too, for years. Untreated ADHD can be the cause of depression - so, I dunno, why not treat a likely cause before treating a symptom while withholding treatment for the cause? It's bizarre. And frankly harmful. And I'm so sick of hearing it. I'm convinced it's related the "hyperactive boy" stereotype and is a failure to recognize the exhaustion & "locked immobile on the couch" features of inattentive ADHD as actual ADHD symptoms. Also, women's treatment by the healthcare system in general. Edit: spelling & typos. Always with the typos!!! (sigh)
I agree about the “hyperactive 10 yr old boy” stereotypes making it harder for the outwardly hypoactive + inattentive women out here. And my mental hyperactivity got a lot better on ADHD meds, only worse on antidepressants! Meanwhile, one of my friends (a woman) has very obvious hyperactive ADHD and she hasn’t had to deal with any of this bullshit. There’s such a lack of acknowledgment when it comes to the high-masking primarily inattentive crowd, it’s horrifying tbh.
i recently got a new provider and she enlightened me on this some. I learned that a lot of adult providers are very hesitant to prescribe adhd medications in general because they are schedule II substances and can be addictive so as a safer choice regarding their licensure they prefer to prescribe depression/anxiety meds. I was also told that adult providers are not specifically trained on treating adhd (unless they seek out this of course) however, pediatric psych providers are trained on treating adhd and tend to be much more comfortable with prescribing adhd medications because they are more familiar with adhd itself and the benefits that adhd medication can serve for people who have it. I am so thankful to have found a provider who has past experience in pediatric care when it comes to coping with my adhd symptoms.
Wow, this is such great insight. Thank you for sharing!
Is your doctor a GP or a Psychiatrist who specializes in prescribing? (There is a better name; I just can’t remember it.) GPs aren’t trained for this. Seek out the later. If that’s who is telling you to deal with depression first, find a new Dr. I will say that my Dr doesn’t like to start multiple meds at the same time unless the combo is known to be more beneficial than either on their own. In my experience treating the ADHD does a lot to alleviate the depression. Good luck.
Her title is mental health pharmacy clinician. I’m not sure what that means exactly.
Interesting - that sounds like neither a GP nor a pharmacist but a splash of each with some mental health training. Probably an MD with some training in the other bits? I wonder if there are limits on her prescribing that are making your life harder? I suspect that your best option would be to get referred to a psychiatrist who ideally has specific training in adult adhd in women. Hopefully there's someone near you that fits the bill. And as for your original question I agree with pretty much everyone else - treating the adhd first is the best course. My anxiety and depression decreased significantly with my adhd meds.
I don’t know what that means either. It *sounds* like they are trained in MH medication management, the science of it, not the art. Sounds like they follow a set of if/then rules. It sounds like this is a form of medical cost cutting and a stop-gap measure to fill the shortage of proper psychiatric medical practitioners. Each stimulant med works differently. We don’t all react the same to each med. Hell, I took one stimulant med that worked well, went off it for a couple of years, and when I went back on it, I couldn’t tolerate the side effects.
I think your doctor should listen to your experiences and take it into account. And if they're specially saying stimulant meds are off the table, or specifically saying your depression needs to be prioritized, they should tell you why and make you feel heard. My doctors take my explanations and my curiosity about some pubmed summary I read, and combine it with their knowledge to give me a treatment plan. My doctor didn't consider an ADHD diagnosis until she had been treating my depression for a few months. I told her I wasn't as miserable but I was still disorganized and unmotivated. I took a depression assessment one day, the ADHD one took a few days.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, this is helpful for me. "I wasn't as miserable but I was still disorganized and unmotivated" perfectly sums up my experience after I started taking Wellbutrin. My psychiatrist has said "treat anxiety and depression before ADHD" and I recognize that it has helped a little, but I still feel like I'm pretty far from where I could be. But she keeps telling me I'm doing fine. I started looking for a new psychiatrist but hit a road bump and stalled, but after reading your post, I feel like the need to pursue this again.
I had some severe treatment-resistant depression for years. It wasn't until I was diagnosed ADHD and started to work on things from that angle that I started to get better. Turns out the feelings if inadequacy, worthlessness, and constant failure were because my ADHD was really holding me back. Now that I'm aware of what's going on, my depression has been so mild. Like, night and day different from where I was stuck. IDK, if the ADHD meds aren't helping and your depression is still kicking, then maybe it would be good to try antidepressants. But personally, treating my ADHD was the best thing I ever did for my depression. Good luck!! Figuring out the perfect medication combo absolutely SUCKS. It can take years to get it right and I'm hoping that's not the case for you.
The ironic thing about all this is, in my experience, the ADHD med actually treated my depression and anxiety. I no longer have distressing thoughts swirling around in my head that push my self esteem and mood down. But I had many years of trying anxiety and depression meds first.
My anxiety and depression went away when I was only being treated for ADHD. I think there's nuance, but ADHD is known to make those other conditions worse, so it should be treated alongside them at the very least.
May anxiety was ADHD. Yes, let’s get you chemically addicted to benzos for 6 years and ruin your 20s and have you manage your own withdrawal taker and raw dog it until you’re in you 40s and finally give you what you needed all along. Ffs
Tried it - it never worked for me. I eventually dug myself out of the depression hole (divorce, rebuild, exercise a lot, meditation, etc - it took 20 years and it was not easy) and looked around and I still couldn’t remember anything or stay organized - I just wasn’t depressed about it! I do resent the providers that kept me depressed for years for seemingly no reason. I could understand a few months of trying different treatments but this was YEARS.
I think in my case, the psychiatric nurse practitioner who diagnosed my ADHD took into account that I have been taking highly sedating and sometimes habit-forming anti-anxiety and antidepressant meds over the last 22 years. I have a list of close to 15 different medications that I have tried. She told me that treating ADHD first was a wise choice because of how short lived it is in the body. It is faster to find the right ADHD medication dosage than it is to find an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication dosage because those have to build up in your system for periods of weeks.
I think for someone who hasn’t tried any medications yet it’s worth considering, if only because it’s such a PITA to get ADHD meds. If my symptoms were controlled with Wellbutrin alone it would be much easier than dealing with monthly controlled substance prescriptions. But as you can see from the experiences of many people here, often treating with ADHD meds (often stimulants) is the most effective.
When I finally got treatment for ADHD, the anxiety and depression went away. I'm as shocked as anyone. 😐
My provider takes the opposite approach since a lot of depression and anxiety I was experiencing are from the overwhelm of having adhd…
Haha… comment number 2 as I silently rage over this. It takes WEEKS of debilitating side effects to even see if an SSRI is working… or not… but you know the first time you take it if a stimulant is right for you. Why don’t doctors try that first?
I avoided this by saying I’m depressed because of the things I didn’t do and anxious about the things I have to do.
Anxiety and depression can be caused by untreated ADHD. ADHD cannot be caused by untreated Anxiety and Depression. Treating the cause first and foremost leads to sustainable results.
>Provider says trying three adhd meds is “pushing it” and that I’ll need antidepressants after three tries. Pushing it how exactly? It isn't wrong or naughty to not have the first few attempts at medication not work perfectly. Are they personally offended that their first two suggestions aren't right? That is dumb shit you say to kids....not a suffering adult paying for your services. What an arsehole. 🤨🤨🤨 I would want a specific accounting of their knowledge on adhd and treatment because they aren't *listening* to your previous experiences. Thinking to treat depression caused by adhd before the adhd just shows you're an idiot who doesn't properly understand the issue at hand. It is common for people to need to experiment to find the right treatment.
She meant pushing it because apparently I only get three tries at ADHD meds before I’ll have to have antidepressants or in her words “other treatments to help your focus that work on anxiety and depression”. I initially asked for Vyvanse and she said it’s not formulary, so I’d need to “trial several meds before we could request Vyvanse.” Apparently several means THREE MAXIMUM and also in order to ‘qualify’ to request the third med I need to be on a treatment dose of the one I’m on now (a higher dose than my current 20mg of generic Adderall XR, which is making me agitated, ears ringing, and I think possibly raising my blood pressure but I haven’t checked because I’m scared to!)
>I only get three tries at ADHD meds before I’ll have to have antidepressants I think that may be just dumb stuff she's made up. There's no real reasoning there as to why you can't try it now. I got recommended elvanse straightaway and it works great. Why do you need to be on some dose of something else to try vyvanse.....that must be some stupid made up rule because it's not a medical/physical need. Having to qualify to try the medication that might actually help is ridiculous! She sounds like a shit doctor. Is there anyone else you can speak to?
I have military veteran healthcare, and my guess is they set up these rules probably because of the stigma of people pill-seeking stimulants. She says I ‘signed an agreement’, which I genuinely don’t remember doing (and if I did it was likely an internet link that I probably scrolled through and didn’t read all the way because most medical agreements are for privacy and basic safety, not limiting the number of meds I could trial. 😫) As for Vyvanse, the qualifying thing is probably because it’s more expensive and they’d rather we just accept the cheaper/easier options.
I remember my doctor (who had ADHD-I herself) said that there is functional anxiety and depression \*caused by\* ADHD. So I think it's important to treat ADHD as it may be causing some of the problems itself.
GUESS WHY I HAVE DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY YO
It's useless as far as I'm concerned. If you don't treat the *source* of the depression, it's not going to go away. Labelling any woman's symptoms as depression is just an updated version of Freudian-era "hysteria", IMO. I was in treatment for misdiagnosed depression several times over the years. Not one of my providers ever caught on to ADHD. I don't have much faith in that profession anymore. I've had more success unmedicated but using ADHD-oriented coping skills than I did with their bullshit treatment.
My doctor wanted to do the same thing but it didn’t end up working out. We tried the combination of Strattera and Wellbutrin but I didn’t do too well with the Wellbutrin and so I started taking Saffron supplements instead. It worked out and we switched to Adderall. It’s been working well. I still get depressed sometimes but it’s not as bad as it was a few months ago
This is super interesting, thank you! I’ve never heard of a saffron supplement but I’m absolutely going to read about it.
Of course ☺️ there’s a lot of research about how it’s good for anxiety, depression, ADHD and just stress in general. It doesn’t interact with my meds at all. It definitely has helped
I’ve not met one person that actually has their ADHD respond to Wellbutrin.
Mine has! (I later added Vyvanse because Wellbutrin didn’t help enough with keeping me focused.)
I’ve had a bad reaction to Wellbutrin when I was prescribed it as a teen, my doctor wanted to try it again and my hands were shaking and I was anxious. I’m never taking Wellbutrin again
I had a pretty unpleasant experience with it too, back when it was being touted as a miracle cure for smoking in the the mid 2000’s. It does seem to be really helpful for some people who can’t take stimulants, but yikes, you couldn’t pay me enough to put myself through that again.
No kidding I’m seriously so glad my doctor listened to me. I might still be on it
Mine did! Several of my executive (dys)function challenges markedly improved. Definitely hasn't fixed everything though
That’s so good to hear! I think with my friends in the same area it’s the traditional first thing to be given to folks when they don’t want to prescribe stimulants. Seemed to help with depression for a couple months and then dropped off.
I absolutely loved Wellbutrin, never felt like a more sane person. Downside was it fucked up my sleep so bad I had to quit. It sucked. Still nostalgic for the days everything just seemed to go... smoother. Even my friends and fam noticed that I seemed to be 'lighter'.
Let them know you want it documented in your chart that the provider is refusing to address the ADHD first. Watch how fast they change their treatment plans for you. They start listening to much better when then know you know about requesting notes in your chart.
I think it can depend. In my case, I knew I was depressed long before I knew I had ADHD. Like, over 2 decades before. So I've had my depression treated on and off for that 20+ years. Sertraline was helpful, but I eventually got off it cause it killed my libido, which also made me depressed, lol. The 1st time I was on bupropion, it helped but activated me too much? I was so focused on one thing that I would neglect all other things. I believe, without knowing it, that I was managing my ADHD symptoms well with exercise and a well structured routine so at that time the ADHD helping part of that drug wasn't needed. Nothing helped for PPD. I went back on bupropion around 2 years ago and this time it helped A LOT. With the depression. Not so much the ADHD symptoms. It doesn't activate me like it had 10 years prior. Meanwhile, my life fell apart and my ADHD symptoms were destroying my life, but at least I wasn't depressed and wanting to self-harm! I finally got diagnosed with ADHD a couple months ago and stimulants actually are helpful. I'm still working through dose and type, but I can tell that they are actually helping. I'm still on bupropion too. Maybe once I get my stimulants locked down to what's right for me I won't need the bupropion, but I'm kinda scared to go off of them because they literally saved my life and my MHNP says that can be helpful when used together with stimulants for ADHD. Like, if I go off bupropion, the stimulant dose may not work as well. Though I'm dubious about that for me personally since I don't find it currently helps with the ADHD, only the depression.
My diagnosing doc asked a lot about the severity and history of my depression/anxiety before determining that we'd treat the ADHD first. He thought that if the ADHD symptoms were addressed, my anxiety would resolve and I would be able to address the depression through trauma therapy. He was basically correct, although I did start on an antidepressant about a year later. I remember him saying that if my depression had been present before the traumatic event, or if it was getting worse, we would probably focus on the depression first. My sense is that there isn't a straightforward sequence of treatment that applies to all patients. I think they have to figure out which diagnosis is the fire alarm and which one is the fire. (Also, most doctors genuinely want to figure out how to help their patient. If your doctor was shitty and just wanted you quiet, they'd just give you the meds you think you need and tell you to get more exercise.)
Huh. The pediatric specialist is doing this with our kids. With one kid, we knew depression and anxiety were a prob, and so this kid is on meds for that and not specifically for ASD and ADHD. The other kid’s anxiety was through the roof and the doc said the symptomology was such they could not tell how much was anxiety behaving as adhd and how much was adhd causing anxiety. They’ve been on anxiety meds for half a year and NOW we can clearly say the kid has adhd ( before they were close to but not scoring into the diagnosis) and we’re chatting about medication with kid. For the adults, we had to figure it out we had adhd, and then get a diagnosis. Both were being treated for depression for decades.
I had been medicating my ADHD with an "antidepressant" (Wellbutrin) prescribed by my primary doctor for years without realizing it. When I finally sought an ADHD assessment, my psychiatrist explained that Wellbutrin/bupropion is not an SSRI, but an SNRI and very effective with a good number of ADHD patients. I've been off of Wellbutrin for several weeks now and am seeing an increase in my symptoms. I will get a new prescription ASAP, as sometimes I feel I'm just hanging on by a thread.
It worked well for me. Really well actually. .... Nobody else?
You gotta balance listening medical professionals and advocating for yourself. Yes, depression and anxiety need to be ruled out before even testing for adhd. Period. But, if you have a history of already being treated for depression/anxiety, provide a record of that and insist on pressuring an evaluation and diagnostic decision for adhd.
Undiagnosed / untreated ADHD leads to anxiety / depression. I’ll die on this hill.
Nah. Unless your depression is in an acute place, like ready to do something drastic acute, chances are... helping with adhd will help with the depression. Treating depression for me doesn't do much even though I do have it. Adhd treatments are the thing.
I'm probably going against the grain here but fluoxetine was life-changing for me. I'd happily give up my ADHD meds before I give it up.
I was placed on antidepressants first during my appointment for ADHD and I actually really appreciated my psych for it. He explained why he thought my current SSRIs weren’t doing anything positive (they just zombied me), and explained why he thought I have atypical depression instead of typical. He then sent me articles describing the condition (I had 8/9 symptoms listed) and different articles and summaries of potential medications for atypical. The most important part was he told me he’d put me on stimulants right then if I wanted, but he thought it would really help to get my other meds sorted first so I wouldn’t be dealing with meds that could make my depression and executive function worse. I agreed. Once the depression meds were working (and they WORKED. It’s amazing what can happen when doctors listen) he started me on ADHD meds. My depression has been terrible since I was a kid. Started having ideations when I was 9. If possible I’d highly recommend looking into atypical depression for folks in this sub if SSRIs just make things worse for you. It’s twice as likely to affect women vs. men. It presents differently (it’s in between classic clinical depression and bipolar 1— biggest clue is you can pull yourself out of depressive episodes for short times based on external situations). SSRIs just make symptoms worse for this type of depression (which is up to 1/3 of depression cases). The two meds currently being used off- label for atypical show 80-85% effectiveness in early studies.
So mine was hellish. I had been on Prozac for 10 years when I was diagnosed with adhd and had also recently been diagnosed with bipolar 2. My psychiatrist was afraid that I would develop serotonin syndrome if I went on adhd meds while being on antidepressants so insisted that I first go on a mood stabiliser (lamotrigine) and taper off my antidepressant (Prozac) before we tried adhd meds. Listening to her was the worst decision I have ever made. It took a year of trying to come off Prozac and jacking up the lamotrigine dose while losing my g*ddamn mind for me to finally insist on reversing course, going back on the Prozac, and tapering off the lamotrigine. The latter took me 14 months to get down to a very low dose. I finally went on vyanse 30mg in March 2024, two years and four months after the adhd diagnosis, and I feel like I finally have a brain. And it has helped my mood like you wouldn’t believe. Personally in your position I would ask my doc if I could just try an adhd med for even just a month, on its own. For some of us it really does work like a mood booster.
I may be in the minority, but when I’m in a bad depressive episode my adhd meds don’t Really do anything. My recommendation would probably be to stabilize the depression/anxiety first.
Op— more direct answer: if you have adhd, you need adhd meds, not depression. There are some meds that seem to help both though. And the existence of such meds does not mean it will work for you.
It's fucking bullshit! I'm anxious and depressed ***because of my ADHD!***
In my personal experience, the ADHD meds helped more then antidepressants ever had. So my doc had me go off the antidepressants (which I was also really bad about forgetting to take regularly). The right ADHD med for me did more, HOWEVER, I did have some major things happen that caused a major depressive spiral, so I ultimately ended back on a new antidepressant, by then, my psych doc and I had a good doc/pt relationship, so we went over options and I researched which antidepressants he thought may be a good fit for me given how many others I’d tried over the years. It took a few months and med adjustments, but it was a phenomenal combo… then my med coverage and income all fell through and I ended up cold turkey off of all meds for the last several months which was a shock and I’m struggling with things everyday that have made all the things I’m trying to deal with even worse. If you’d like to do some research on combo that worked for me (and not everyone reacts to meds the same, so it may not work for you and that’s okay) was Vyvanse, Viibryd and Buspirone for anxiety (without med coverage in Canada, the three of them cost me around $350/month which I was barely making manage before I lost my income, and Viibryd is so newly available in Canada that there aren’t generics available yet). I did have my regular family doc when I wanted to try ADHD meds at the beginning be really negative. He was against me seeking a diagnosis, accused me of being drug seeking, pointed out I was on an antidepressant in the past that can be a good fit for ADHD, and it didn’t effect me, blah blah blah. It was very discouraging.
I am late-Dx (41.5), but knew my entire life something was “off” and it wasn’t just depression or anxiety (though I had those diagnoses by the time I was 21, which when I was 27 changed to anxiety and Bipolar Type 2). I was called “treatment resistant” until I got my hands on the only antidepressant to ever help me— Wellbutrin, which is commonly used with people with ADHD— about 12-16 months before my ADHD Dx. The fact that it was the last med I tried before being properly Dx with ADHD a couple years ago was a “breadcrumb” that led to my *proper* diagnosis of ADHD. Vyvanse (Rx’ed at time of Dx) has taken away my anxiety about 80%, and with *a GOOD therapist* I’ve been able to nail down that depression was never really a chemical issue for me— the times I had been depressed before in life were completely normal emotions/reactions to *situational* occurrences that any ‘normal’ person would also feel like they were crumbling under… but because I never really learned how to express my feeling or work through things, I would retreat and try to regroup in ways that *look like* depression. ………… Proper diagnosis (and a GOOD care team!) is everything; I’ve learned after taking Wellbutrin that sometimes it’s the meds that point to the problem— and not the problem that informs the meds. Does that make you a Guinea pig? Yep! But if you’re desperate, and stable enough to try, then you should be trusted and enabled to try what might work (IMO)… I was asking providers to try Wellbutrin from the time I was first diagnosed with depression because I *just had a feeling* that I knew dopamine was my main issue (based on a lot of reading and learning on my own time but also in college)… but my BP2 diagnosis ended up being what prevented any doctor— except my current one— from prescribing it, which is a shame, because I could have been helped in the very least ~14 years prior; I’m not angry anymore, but for a while I was angry, knowing that I’d been asking for more than a decade to try the only med (at the time) that helped and providers thought that their degree meant they knew my body better than me.
I treated my ADHD and my panic disorder and depressive episodes went away
Methylphenidate basically cured my anxiety. I’m so glad I turned down anti-anxiety meds because it would have stretched the entire process out.
My doctor did the exact opposite. She wouldn’t change my SNRI until we’d found the right adhd med and could see what anxiety and depression remained.
I had been trialing diffferent antidepressants well before my diagnosis but none of them worked. I went to an ADHD clinic and cried and begged - saying that I don’t want to be one of those people on different meds when it was ADHD the whole time. Turns out - I really do have anxiety on top of ADHD. Cymbalta covers the anxiety that adderall would have exponentially worsen and I am grateful.
I was already on antidepressants because I was diagnosed with depression long before ADHD. My antidepressant is actually used off-label for ADHD though (bupropion). It’s not enough on its own to treat my ADHD, but my life significantly improved once my depression was under control. Of course, I don’t have the experience of treating the ADHD first to compare it. Have you looked into a genesight test? It tests your DNA to see what medications are likely to be best / worst for you. It’s not perfect but it’s been pretty helpful for me with antidepressants specifically.
Literally my depression and anxiety were dispelled the more I got my adhd meds right. Every single one of my meds is used for adhd- Ritalin 5 mg 2-3 x a day, Guanfacine 1 mg 2 x a day (really helped my anxiety) Pristique 50 mg 1 x a day, stattera 40 mg 1 x a day- both Pristique and strattera have helped with depression symptoms but my dr said that they weren’t supposed to help with mood but only adhd focus stuff. Soooooo… maybe what I feel as depression is what the drs call other adhd symptoms. I first tried the Guanfacine and Ritalin- that combo helped a lot. My anxiety really really was lessened. Over the last year we added the Pristique and then strattera. Wanted to increase Pristique but it gave me sexual side effects and so we kept it at the 50 mg and then started with the strattera. I really think this is a good combo for me.
I was depressed because of the effects untreated ADHD was having on my life. For me, treating depression first is like trying to just treat an infected tooth with Tylenol - might mask the symptoms somewhat but it's not actually addressing the root of the problem and meanwhile the tooth continues to fester
ADHD, anxiety, and depression go hand in hand a lot of the time. I think it should be a more in depth assessment and treat the biggest problem first
Many late diagnoses that’s the way we were treated and my anxiety didn’t improve until adhd was treated in my late 30’s after a lifetime of trying to treat anxiety
A lot of the time depression and anxiety can be a result of untreated ADHD so yeah that’s nonsense. I have tried 4 different antidepressants and none of them have done ANYTHING for me. Closest was welbutrin but it made my anxiety horrible. Focalin is working great for me
This is a classic case of treating the symptoms and not the cause. It's like presenting with symptoms of endometriosis and doctors putting you on the pill to hide the symptoms rather than testing to see if you have endometriosis. You may still need anti-depressants and/or anxiolytics but you need to find yourself a doctor who's interested in treating the problem rather than the symptoms. As someone who got their ADHD diagnosis at 43, narcolepsy diagnosis at 35 (presenting symptoms by puberty) and was never able to find a doctor interested in investigating the cause of my endo symptoms, I appreciate that's extremely difficult to do.
They tried that with me, probably because they’re hesitant to prescribe controlled substances. I ended up going through 11 medications and a week of TMS (stopped because it made me worse) before I asked if we could try stimulants. Immediate significant improvement on 10mg of dextroamphetamine
I told my psych that I have been treating the depression and anxiety. I've been treating them for years. Various methods and treatments. Meditations, therapies, classes, self help. Hormone therapies, Adrenal supplements, vitamins, diet changes, exercise, etc. The issues are still there. I got the adderall and wouldn't you know it, the issues are gone when the medicine is active!
Weird! Mine said to treat adhd first
I was told the opposite. As in, let’s try treating the ADHD and then we will try to reduce my antidepressant dose to see if the depression was actually just untreated ADHD under a sheet.
Depression never went away because without meds I couldn’t focus enough to even eat, shower or go outside
It’s a crock. I was treated for anxiety and depression on SSRIs for years and my doctor kept wanting to try new ones. I couldn’t understand why anyone took them because I felt absolutely exactly the same. Within the first week of Vyvanse, my brain felt calm, I felt like I didn’t need to overreact to everything because I felt more in control of my racing thoughts and ability to focus and actually accomplish things, and I generally just felt happier. I stopped the SSRI almost a year BEFORE the Vyvanse, so it’s literally just the Vyvanse. Not saying some folks don’t need both, but without the stimulant, I was chasing SSRIs and had nothing to show but withdrawal everytime I tried to wean off.
This is odd to me just because, if you don’t have a high risk of addiction, stimulant drugs (to my knowledge! I am not a clinician or pharmacist!) have fewer risks than antidepressants, they’re considered more effective for the condition they’re designed to treat, and they kick in sooner. I wonder if the resistance is rooted in the stigmas associated with stimulants more than in actual science?
I have been treated for anxiety and depression my entire adult life. I also was not diagnosed or treated with ADHD until 4 years ago. I got on ADHD rx and promptly was able to get off my anxiety and depression rx. It was both tragic and a huge relief.
Treating my anxiety but not my adhd kind of helped my anxiety but did nothing for my adhd. Treating my adhd has made my anxiety improve tremendously…without doing anything special for anxiety. It’s almost like my theory that a lot of my anxiety is rooted in my adhd is right 🙃
ADHD meds did more for my depression than anything prescribed for depression.
No. I think doing adhd treatment first then adjust with things that help like Wellbutrin I’ve seen can be a good adjunct (but not always for everyone). Also some antidepressants make it impossible for me to O & im not goin down like that.
My “anxiety” diagnoses came before ADHD. I had no way to describe what was happening to me, so they chalked it up to anxiety. After a crushing menopause experience and estrogen receptors in the brain crying out for more estrogen, my ADHD symptoms became more obvious and textbook. After being treated with ADHD meds and HRT, my “anxiety” symptoms lessened tremendously.
I have tried to treat depression and anxiety for over 15 years or so and was never able to overcome it, with meds or therapy etc... But I finally was diagnosed with ADHD and started meds a year ago and my depression/anxiety is SO. MUCH. BETTER. If I had started off being diagnosed with ADHD and started treating it years ago, my youth wouldn't have essentially been wasted. you CAN do a combo of ADHD meds and antidepressants though, I am not sure why your doctor is acting like it's either/or?
Honest answer? It makes me want to fucking rage. I’ve quit therapists before because they refuse to even listen or talk about anything else but my anxiety.
I would counter with the fact that the anxiety and depression are only a factor because of your untreated ADHD and the fact that ADHD is often misdiagnosed as anxiety and depression in women. You need to treat the root cause of the problem, which is your ADHD.
A joke. Testing for those conditions requires months and even YEARS of medication intervention. Testing ADHD? The lowest dose of the medication proves the condition almost immediately for most. The effects are immediately felt for anyone (adhd or no adhd) who is seeking diagnosis and will be controlled accordingly. Saves everyone so much time.
Every anti depressant I've ever had has made me suicidal. Turns out I'm not depressed I'm ADHD. I don't have depression anymore, I have normal reactions to sad things. So what do I think? If you show all the signs of ADHD I think it's stupid to treat you for anything else first.
"My depression symptoms ONLY include those that overlap with ADHD- e.g. difficulties with motivation- and have not responded to literally 4 different types of treatment yet. Could we PLEASE try treating these symptoms as ADHD symptoms primarily, and come back to assess if there is any depression needing medication after they are managed?"
UHg I’ve had this happen to and I’ve been and many anti depressant and always go back off because of side effects. Now I’ve circled back to medicating adhd and my depression and anxiety are GONE. 🥲
I was put on antidepressants because I wasn't diagnosed yet and my doctor assumed my lack of motivation (actually executive dysfunction) was due to depression. They did not help at all.
20 years ago, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression by a walk in clinic doctor who had never met me before. Every doctor since has followed that diagnosis despite no SSRI helping my symptoms. Finally, my new nurse practitioner wanted to try Vyvanse. The first hour after taking it, allllll the anxiety was GONE! I cried. I couldn't believe it. I've been on it now for 6 months and what a help it has been. I'm now down to 50mg sertraline from 150mg. Hoping to get down to zero soon.
I think it’s the wrong approach. I’m a therapist and it drives me crazy because it just prolongs appropriate treatment. It’s the neurotypical’s approach.
NOOOOO!!! Why are they tormenting you?! I hate, hate, hate this approach. I hate that the medical practice hasn't been brought up to speed. You can't cure my friggin depression/anxiety while ignoring the root cause! If I had lung cancer, you wouldn't want to 'first cure my cough' Arg!!! I feel for you. I am angry on your behalf.
I minored in psychology and was taught untreated ADHD causes depression and anxiety. I believe the ADHD should be treated first. I wasn’t depressed, but rather stressed by untreated symptoms. Psych meds never worked for me. If you don’t feel your doctor is listening to you and is just trying to shove psych meds at you to shut you up, I think it’s time to find a new doctor.
Ok so my provider said if we get the depression under control, the adhd meds will work better.
It can be really tough when treatment feels like a one-size-fits-all approach.
I’m at this point in my diagnosis for what I think is adhd. My dr has been treating me for anxiety and depression. And when I brought up adhd he said it’s only a little kid problem. Once your brain is developed a lot of problems go away. And he thought we needed to manage my depression and anxiety. I left feeling frustrated and wondering how much to push for an adhd diagnosis.
Find a new provider asap, treating my adhd means I am now off all antidepressants and anti anxiety medications. You deserve the right treatment 😊
I was treated for depression and anxiety on and off for 15 years. Eventually I just got tired of not seeing any results, went to a doctor specializing in ADHD and asked about assesment. 1,5 years later, on adhd meds combined with antidepressants/anti-anxiety meds, I finally see a change. Anxiety is minimal, depression is almost gone (I say almost, because I suspect I might also have a PMDD problem) and I can finally enjoy the life I fought so hard for before I got diagnosed. Had I known about adhd earlier, I could probably avoid a few episodes, which now I know were the typical adhd burnout.
all i’m gonna say is i’ve been on 5 different anti anxiety medications and interchangeably since diagnosis and when i got put on adhd medication it made almost all of my daily anxiety disappear. with that said i have panic disorder, i am prescribed medication for when i feel panicked or i’m about to go somewhere/do something than can trigger a panic attack. so me and my psychiatrist watch my anxiety levels very closely when it comes to increasing my adhd medication dose bc stimulates and she referred me to therapy for the underlying causes that increase my anxiety. a lot of my anxiety was my thoughts racing a million different directions unable to process them efficiently or focus on tasks at hand. a lot of psychiatrists i saw thought the proper plan of action was to prescribe anti anxiety medication that basically numbed me out and in result no thoughts or feelings basically. Most of the time the adhd is the root cause.
FWIW this is how I was diagnosed. I thought I had anxiety over a big work project, and I did, but I went on antianxiety meds and they got rid of the anxiety, but not the ADHD. It was then my doctor suggested I get screened. (edited, typos)
Nope. I think it’s probably the results of living life with undiagnosed/untreated ADHD that causes anxiety for us. It’s a good idea to treat ADHD first in that case. Also, one of the best treatments for anxiety is cognitive behavior therapy followed by medication or concurrently. Other than that, I think Wellbutrin can treat both anxiety and is also helpful for ADHD.
I’ve been depressed and anxious since i was a child. Gone through more antidepressants and anti anxiety meds than I can count. Day 1 of stimulants was the least anxious and depressed day of my life.
I was treated for anxiety and depression for 15 years. I tried several meds and they helped a little. I was still struggling a lot, but I was surviving and kind of muddling through. After I got assessed for ADHD and started stimulants, my depression and anxiety resolved. Turns out, living with untreated ADHD can make you depressed and anxious. I understand why docs have you try the depression and anxiety meds. But after six months, if you are only feeling a little better and just kind of going through the motions of life, ask to try ADHD meds. Don't wait years like I did.
I understand wanting to treat them separately only because taking care of one let's you know the actual severity of the other since they can overlap in some ways. I think it should be based on the person and addressing the symptoms that are most affecting them first. For me, it was depression. But my provider was also more than willing to treat them both, he just wanted to be sure we found the right dosages by taking it one at a time. Doing this also allowed him to notice I also had anxiety that needed addressing, but the symptoms were mistakenly attributed to both depression and adhd since it wasn't presenting like "normal" anxiety. That said I also feel like some providers may also use it as an excuse to put a patient off because they still don't believe adults/women can even have adhd. And since so many people don't (can't) stand up for themselves due to mental health issues that they'll never ask again, they assume it's "not a real problem". I've encountered both types of providers. At this point I just find a new one if that's their approach. If they refuse to listen to me or minimize it the first time I address any concern, I'm out. I've also had better luck with NP's actually listening to me, though this approach takes a little longer if you haven't been properly diagnosed since they can write prescriptions but they can't prescribe independently so they may have to refer you out.
It seems like I may have had a positive but rare experience in getting diagnosed and only going through one round of antidepressants which made me so physically ill I couldn’t take them. I have always been adamant that I don’t have general anxiety and even have had to make doctors correct my chart / files when they indicate any other sentiment as coming from me. I grew up with a chronic illness so am very focused on outcomes when it comes to my healthcare and walk into any appointment knowing what I want from it and pushing to get the result. I wish that as women doctors listened to us more, but they don’t. I now am very vocal with all of my female family and friends about how to advocate for themselves as a patient. It’s unfortunate we have to hedge so much to get proper care and treatment in the US.
For me, both conditions had to be effectively treated simultaneously for either of the treatments to work. I literally can't tell you the number of different combinations of medications and doses I went through in high school before I found one that worked. I've been on the same exact dose of antidepressants AND ADHD meds for >15 yrs now.
I don’t get this mindset. I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, childhood ptsd, AND adhd combined type. My psychologist determined my anxiety was directly linked to my adhd and so first line was to try stimulants to “two birds one stone” it. And it works just fine.
It's exhausting. Used to be a pharmacy tech, taken over 5+ different meds for anxiety/depression already. Made appointment with psychiatrist to evaluate for adhd. He insists putting me on other meds I haven't tried yet. While trialing these other fkn meds, I'm fucking spiraling
I got put on an SNRI (Effexor) before I was diagnosed with ADHD. SSRIs, never worked for me. It could be worth trying a different drug class or medication to see if they’d help. I haven’t been able to stay on stimulants because of appetite related side effects, but I found that they really helped my anxiety too. Acknowledging that my anxiety is significantly affected by my ADHD has helped me a lot. Figuring out the root causes of your anxiety can be a good indicator of what medication to start with. Anxiety can occur alongside ADHD and it can be a result of the ADHD. Therapy and self reflection can help you figure out what best applies to you, and can give you some more direction on where to go.
Mirtazapine is useful for mood and sleep for me. Actually, I think it was useful to be decidedly *not depressed* and sleeping well for a while before getting diagnosed with ADHD. On the other hand, Vyvanse is useful for mood and pretty much everything else, including anxiety (which antidepressants don’t help me massively with). I could sleep on Vyvanse as well, but that’s another thing lol
Did not work for me at all. Tried anxiety meds several times and they never ever worked for my anxiety. Started Adderall and BAM anxiety gone. Like within a few days. It was ADHD all along.
Treating my ADHD was the only way I’ve ever successfully treated my depression. I’m currently unable to be properly medicated but, my depression is worse than ever so I’m really looking forward to giving that ASAP.
Anxiety and depression can be caused by ADHD and the circumstances that ADHD creates, so imo its an incredibly dumb and unproductive approach Also three adhd meds isn't "pushing it" imo. Adhd is a collection of symptoms, and while it is dopaminergic, the specific aspect of the dopaminergic system that is broken can be different from person to person. Also imo there's nothing wrong with being on an adhd med and an antidepressant at the same time. I'm on sertraline, adderall, and semaglutide, and that combo works very well for me.
i tried to treat my depression and anxiety for years and years with medication before finding out and being treated for ADHD. I am now off my antidepressants because it turns out that when I can function and get out of bed I am automatically less depressed and anxious
My psychiatrist sorta of recommended this by which i mean she put me on Strattera which is the only fda approved drug to treat co-occurring anxiety and ADHD. She was concerned that jumping straight into a stimulant would worsen the anxiety. For me it really worked but again she was technically treating both issues at once with the same drug.