Hi everyone!
I was diagnosed ADHD a couple of weeks ago, but have a couple more weeks until my psychiatrist appoint to discuss medication.

I understand from reading these boards, and other resources around the internet that it can take a while to get the right medications and right dosage figured out.

I was just hoping to find a little information about what i can expect as far as symptom relief from these medications. I'm hoping that this info may make the process of finding the right medication and dosage a little easier.

I also realize that everyone reacts differently to medications and dosages. But I guess I figure with enough responses I may be able to find out some generalized information..

Such as: (if you could/ don't mind providing which medication your on as well, it would be great to get a better understanding. Some of these questions, I'm sure, are repetitive, these are just the questions that I have as they pop in my head)

What of your ADD/ADHD symptoms did you find were relieved the most with medications? Are you just able to think clearer (like 1 tv channel at a time, instead of 10 at once.), or are there others?
While on meds, do you find yourself more comfortable in social situations, and in conversations, or less?
Do you find yourself experiencing more or less anxiety while on meds than not on meds?
Do you find that if you had impulsivity issues before hand, did you find that medication helped your impulsivness? How so?
Does it help you pay attention better in conversations, meetings, etc?
Does medication only seem to help with your ability to concentrate, which in turn helps in all other aspects of ADD/ADHD, or does it seem to help each aspect of ADD/ADHD individually?
Does the medication cause you to slow down (in a good or bad way)?
Has anyone ever tried medications and chose to not take any at all becuase it wasn't what you expected?
While on medication, do you find that you have a difficult time settling down to do a task, even though you may be able to concentrate more once you get into it?
Are there traits about your self that you like that it seem that medication takes away from you? Has it caused to to stop, or think about stopping medication?
Were there expectations that you had going into treatment with medication that you thought the meds would resolve, but didn't?
When you were, or if you still are currently trying to find the right medication/dosage what were the problems that you had with certain medications, that made you want to go back to your doctor and change your med/dosage?
I know this is kinda long winded :-) but it's stuff i've been apprehensive about while waiting for my appointment, so i figured what better place to ask than here.

Thanks so much everyone!

Expect the medicatoin to help. Don't expect a cure. In some cases, it helps a lot, in others, not so much. A lot depends on the individual.

You should expect to be more focused , and less impulsive.

You can expect to have side effects in some form or another.
Maybe beneficial, maybe not. It depends...

A small percentage of people (20%-30%) get no benefit whatsoever from medications, but if one med does not work, try another.

It takes some adjusting on your part and typically a medication regime will have to be fine tuned until it is working well. It can take a while and will likely require some persistence and patience on your part. Most people never end up with exactly the right meds on the first try. I think that too many people give up too soon when they don't get the result they hoped for right away. There seems to be a balancing act between side effects and effectiveness.

Good luck

Me :D

There's this sticky, at the top of General meds section:

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6628

1. What of your ADD/ADHD symptoms did you find were relieved the most with medications? Are you just able to think clearer (like 1 tv channel at a time, instead of 10 at once.), or are there others?

For me, my attention/focus, sleepiness, and motivation were some of the biggest changes that I noticed. Am I able to think clearer? Well personally, the ideas flow much easier when I'm on medication. Things seem to "click" better after on medication than without.

2. Do you find that medication helped your impulsivness? How so?

In some ways. I mean I constantly made coffee purchases, and no matter what I did I couldn't seem to break my habit. But after I was medicated, I noticed I didn't make any rash purchases, or as many of them. I mean I should say it's not like I went out and bought a bunch of stuff I couldn't afford, but it was the little things like coffee that really added up for me.

3. Does it help you pay attention better in conversations, meetings, etc?

Heck yeah!!

4. Does medication only seem to help with your ability to concentrate, which in turn helps in all other aspects of ADD/ADHD, or does it seem to help each aspect of ADD/ADHD individually?

As you will find, medication is only one step of the whole method of dealing with ADD. Put it this way; dealing with the symptoms now allows me to focus so I can tackle things like time management, procrastination, etc. But it's not a magic bullet. I still have to learn how to organize myself to get things done.

Has anyone ever tried medications and chose to not take any at all becuase it wasn't what you expected?

This is a personal choice, so I can only speak to my own thoughts. But let me say this. Medication can be somewhat deceptive because it feels so natural. You notice that you're able to do all these things, but it doesn't feel "wrong." There might be a part of you that feels medication is unnecessary. I know I did.

Whatever you decide with regards to medication, you need to be patient and give them a chance to work and to find out what dose works for you.

I found however I am not able to cope or manage my ADD without my meds. Now I know there may come a day where I may seek alterntative ways to manage my ADD. For now, I need the meds.

While on medication, do you find that you have a difficult time settling down to do a task, even though you may be able to concentrate more once you get into it?

Yeah, and that brings me to the earlier question about medciation. Don't be too hard on yourself if despite being medicated you still are doing what you did before. It takes a while to get the right dose, plus you need to learn skills that you don't have.