Hi there,

New person to the forum, my name is James.
I'm a 34 year old Australian guy living in Switzerland.
I was diagnosed with ADHD about 4 months ago.

Quite relieved to get the diagnosis- I have the full gamut of adhd behaviour- procrastination, weird sleep patterns, forgetting names, bills etc, fidgetting, hyperfocus- well the lot really.

I went on medication, Effexor for co-morbid depression which my doctor told me would help with the ADHD type behaviour also.

I have felt pretty ok in the last few months but recently the ADHD type behaviour has returned. I'm a professional musician so when I have a task I simply wait until the last moment to do it.
I really want to get more proactive and sort things out- as well as finish the solo projects I've left for years.

Has anyone else stayed away from stimulant medication and found ways of coping?
I am pretty clued up and know of the coping mechanisms available- but so far feel as though I am out on a limb.

I've gotten this far into this post and suddenly I've lost my focus on what I was trying to say.

<time passses>

Ok, a bit better now, but I better make it quick before I phase out again (it feels like I am a shuttle launch and there is a small window of opportunity each day/min/hour to make sense to the rest of the world).

I'm looking for a few people to chat with about adhd in a non-public sense.
Email penpals I guess.

Is the effexor really helping adhd- or should i look for ritalin?

Regards,

James Richmond

Well, now that you seem to have the mood under control, it might be worth it to do a trial of stimulants, but it's entirely your call. Only YOU can decide if you continue to have symptoms that need treatment.

Well, now that you seem to have the mood under control, it might be worth it to do a trial of stimulants, but it's entirely your call. Only YOU can decide if you continue to have symptoms that need treatment.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I guess I asked because I don't really have a frame of reference on what the medication will do, aside from what I have read from a clinical perspective.
I was looking for 1st hand experience from people who have taken Effexor for co-morbid depression and then have gone on (or not) to take stimulant medication.
Sorry for not being clearer- I am not focussing very well today.

Well, I didn't respond well to effexor (I took it when it first came out), but I've been on Prozac since '94 and just started Adderall XR about 2 and a half months ago.

The only problem I've had is when I accidently took 2/3 of my prozac dose during the first week on Adderall (long story) and felt kind of out of it for a couple of days until I figured out what had happened.

Adderall might weaken the effexor slightly, but there's no other notable interactions.

Good luck!