Sorry for the wall of text, but if you want to participate in this market I recommend reading through this description. I will also answer almost any questions you may have in the comments.
I am 32 years old and my life is a mess in many ways. I have lots of interests, capabilities, possibilities and a mind full of shenanigans but, since early adulthood, I have been unable to actualize most of my effort into things I have otherwise had the will and energy for. For the last several years I have been unable to work or study, and stuck in a limbo between dismissive doctors and various levels of desperate attempts at self-medication and therapy, trying to get some sort of accurate diagnosis and/or treatment for my mental health.
Yesterday I finally got diagnosed with ADHD. I have started on Methylphenidate (Concerta 18mg, likely upped to 36mg within the month) this morning. Will I deem that my life is significanly altered for the better within the first month of being medicated?
Ultimately the resolution will come down to vibes. I will estimate the effect on several fronts:
Productivity (currently almost nonexistent)
Social energy (currently I am very fond of socializing but need to spend a day or two alone resetting my mental after even a very pleasant time spent in company. I have also, for years, been unable to properly keep up with friends and acquaintances via phone/messages/discord/etc)
Personal relationships (I currently somewhat involuntarily neglect my family, my girlfriend and my cat, wasting my time instead of spending it with them)
Ability to organize and take care of my apartment and myself (currently very challenging aside from a base level personal hygiene and presentability)
Rest (I sleep well but I have N24 aka Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder which complicates literally every part of my life to some extent. ADHD medicine may help with both the rhythm itself, and the ability to cope with the difficulties irregular sleep introduces)
Eating (currently/recently I stress eat a bit excessively)
Hobbies (I often postpone or skip participating in my hobbies due to low energy/inability to get started with anything)
TRUMP CARD: Substance abuse (I vape weed almost daily and have a nicotine (pouch) addiction. I would like to quit habitually using both. I have never had a problem with other substances, but if there is even a hint of developing one for any other recreational drug (including methylphenidate itself), this market will instantly resolve NO).
If the majority of these metrics see a significant improvement within a month, or 3+ of them become de facto non-issues, I will resolve YES.
If there is no significant improvement on the majority of them, or 3+ of the issues worsen, I will resolve NO
If the results are somewhere in between, so that the overall vibe I have is that my life has improved, but not significantly, I will resolve to a percentage between 50 and 75.
My doctor did hint (according to my own research, I tend to agree) that Elvanse (Vyvanse; Lisdexamphetamine) may be better suited for me than Methylphenidate, but due to common practice in my country it is almost always required to try Methylphenidate first before Amphetamine-derivatives. In case my doctor suggests I switch to Elvanse within a month (I estimate a 25-30% chance of this), I will resolve this market to N/A and recreate it for that drug.
Related questions
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So as per the resolution conditions, and because I apparently love oversharing my life to you internet weirdos, here's a breakdown of the resolution categories:
Productivity: Has not increased all that much for me personally, but I have had a much easier time getting up and out of the door to help other people / a society I belong to in real life. It does feel like I have more capability for productivity, but it will take some effort to undo my terrible built-up habits, now that I do not feel the need to cope and do nothing all day.
I will be applying for my dream studies this spring so this will be put to the test later.
Social energy: Has increased massively. I have attended almost every possible friend group / society get-together this month, as well as just visited my friends multiple times a week for no particular reason. I have needed zero time to recharge my social energy and feel good about all of it. I have also had zero problems keeping up with messages and such anymore. Feels good man.
Personal relationships: Not going to open this one much but it's gotten somewhat better. My great response to the medication has made us determine my girlfriend probably needs to shop around for other options since her Methylphenidate (Medikinet CR) response is extremely lackluster compared to mine and we have realized there's much room for improvement.
Ability to organize and take care of my apartment and myself: Slight change for the better. I now remember to take care of myself better (Instead of, say, forgetting to shave for 3 weeks) and have had more energy to help with chores.
Rest: This is the most surprising, and the most delightful change. I have had almost no issues at all keeping to a regular'ish sleeping schedule. I am also not nearly as tired and grumpy for the first hours after waking up. As a result days feel longer (in a good way) and the anxiety from spending a good portion of my waking hours alone in society is fully gone.
Eating: Some good, some bad, leaning heavily towards good so far. I have almost completely stopped impulsive snacking. I have had trouble mustering appetite for regular meals, though, and as a result my weight has dropped about 4kg (9lbs). I have another 10kg wiggle room before this, in and of itself, becomes problematic in any way. I have still eaten well enough to not crash or get malnourished in any way, Eating just feels more like a chore now.
Hobbies: I have dedicated a lot more time towards the aforementioned society I belong to; organizing and unpacking events, dancing, socializing. I count this as my main hobby at the moment. Haven't managed to pick up a couple of new hobbies (swimming, reading more again, cycling) I am interested in, yet, but I have made concrete plans to.
I have almost completely stopped watching livestreams for hours at a time daily, which I consider a good change, as I used to do a lot of it to cope with all the time I was awake during hours no one else was.
TRUMP CARD: Substance abuse: I am still just as addicted to nicotine but I have heavily decreased my weed consumption, rarely vaping at home anymore and leaving that for weekends. I have bought around 2 grams compared to the 10-15g of a typical month before.
I love my recreational drugs like I did before, but as before, I have had no problems with any of that stuff getting out of hands or leaking to non-special days of my life.
Overall it's a resounding YES. None of the categories has gotten worse and almost half have become non-issues. I am also more motivated to actually start doing stuff I plan to, my short-to-medium time frame memory has gotten a lot better and my overall mod is just very much more focused and elevated.
If you have ADHD, please do not think the medication is a crutch that you shouldn't need. Do not lie to yourself that you need to be able to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get over it. I wasted enough of my life doing that. You deserve better.
Thanks for attending my TED talk.
Update: after a week, I can definitely say a) I should have been medicated 20 years ago b) I'm never going back to being unmedicated.
As for how the metrics I have listed have improved? Let's say I would resolve YES in a heartbeat if the resolution date was today. 4 of the problems I have listed vanished the second my first dose kicked in. Also besides the ones listed, my short-term memory boosted up by >500%. We'll see if this keeps until the resolution date (im might still start injecting krokodil) but I am EXTREMELY happy about the results so far.
Having ADHD, and having gotten treatment for it as an adult (with methylphenidate), I can tell you it is shocking. I didn't know that it was normal to not experience physical pain sitting through an hour long meeting. I can remember what I told somebody I'd do long enough for me to do it. Words don't disappear from my brain in the middle of sentences. I can calmly complete paperwork without a few hours of handwringing. The difference in how clean my classroom is when I'm medicated vs not medicated is striking
It might not help with appetite, but it might make the substance stuff better. I use a stable amount of weed, and don't really crave alcohol whereas I used to.
Best of luck, hope you get similarly positive results.
@dgga I hope the medication is helpful for you! I don’t think it’ll magically fix everything, but I do think it’s likely to help make things easier.
I’d also encourage you to find an ADHD therapist or coach — a professional who is very knowledgeable about ADHD and with whom you can meet weekly.
Russell Barkley has some YouTube videos (and books) that might be of interest to you too.
@snazzlePop thank you! I am not expecting a miracle cure per se, but since most of my issues seem to revolve around stunted executive functions, I do have high hopes for an effective medical response.
My doctor recommended against the introduction-to-ADHD group therapy that is available, since I performed extraordinarily well in cognitive testing and "seem way more knowledgeable on myself and ADHD than the baseline of said groups." Currently I am unable to get 1-on-1 ADHD therapy due to not having such available in the area, with my healthcare coverage. I did, however, enroll into a free web-based ADHD coaching program offered by the state and I've heard good things about it. If my financial situation improves, or the availability of subsidized therapy improves, I will definitely go for it.
Will check out Russell Barkley!