First off, I'm an aspiring writer. I've been writing my entire life, everything from short stories and poetry, to, right now, my 2nd novel.

Since starting treatment on my ADD, I've completely lost touch with my creativity. I sit down to write and everything comes out so dull and lifeless. I bore myself to death with everything I write.

I'm part of a critiquing website and had posted something asking if any other writers were ADD/ADHD. I asked if they had ever been on medication before and if they found it killed their creativity. Concensus was...it does!

I'm so bummed. I though this would help put me back on track. I thought that if I could just focus better, my writing would come easier for me. I've always struggled to get from point A to point B with my writing. I end up in ten different directions and it gets confusing. I thought the medication would HELP my writing, but it's only done the opposite.

Other areas of my life have improved tremendously. I no longer have trouble keeping my household in working order, I'm not as scatterbrained or frazzled. I'm motivated to get things done the way they should be, not just half-azzed. I can talk with my husband and keep up with the conversation. BUT...I'm miserable without my writing. It's killing me. I feel so empty without it.

Sorry, I can be a bit dramatic at times, but it's really how I feel. Anyone with a passion in life can understand. I never, ever thought the day would come that I just couldn't write. I can't help but wonder if this is how "regular" people feel, and if so, how do they go on living?!?!

One response I received from my critiquing group was that someone said they switched to Wellbutrin and were able to write again.

Anyone else have this experience???? ANY other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I've talked with one person already who has suggested a certain book, which I an waiting to get from the library. I'm desperate to get back to writing. Please help!

Sorry for such a long post

I can back you up on this one. I am not a writer of fiction, but an academic in the humanities. Since starting treatment for ADD (inattentive type) my writing has gone downhill. My ability to find a nice short way to say many things at once with some semblance of subtlety seems to be completely blunted. I write like a freaking hammer now, with shorter sentences, less complexity, and more repetition.

It seems that the combo that I'm on (Adderall for 2 years now, with Wellbutrin added about 4 months ago) takes away two things: the sense of urgency in writing; and the broad, big-picture thinking that (used to) let me link together all the small details into an overarching narrative.

The irony, of course, is that I first sought treatment for ADD because of my problem with sitting down and writing.

I'm at a loss as to what to do. I feel foggy without my Adderall, and my wife will shoot me if I drop the Wellbutrin. This summer I may ease off all the meds to see what happens...

If you come up with a strategy on this, I'd love to hear it!

The irony, of course, is that I first sought treatment for ADD because of my problem with sitting down and writing.


Same here...at least that was part of it. There were many factors that pushed me to seek treatment, but my writing was suffering because I couldn't focus enough with my son around. I write the best in the morning and my son is always up, so I never get to work at my best time.


I'm at a loss as to what to do. I feel foggy without my Adderall, and my wife will shoot me if I drop the Wellbutrin. This summer I may ease off all the meds to see what happens...

If you come up with a strategy on this, I'd love to hear it!

I'll definitely let you know if I come up with anything, but I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Can't focus enough to write without meds, can't be creative on them. :mad::mad::mad:

Hey all, thought I'd give my two cents here.

I too am a writer, however my field (at the time I was on adderall) was comedic television writing. But I must say, unfortunately, that I have never written as excellently as I did when I was on it, and my creativity was astounding. I don't wish to toot my own horn, but I hope my point is getting across (there is no arrogance involved :P).

However, I must be honest. At the time I was on a different herbal medication too (:/), and I believe that also helped tremendously with the creativity part of it, and the adderall helped with actually getting my ideas down on paper and forming it into something I can present to others for my career. Luckily for me, random but witty things coincide quite nicely with comedy TV these days, and this regimen as you can imagine was almost stellar for that.

I'm not sure how that combo would help you (considering we are all of us in pretty different genres of writing), but I'm certainly not advocating obtaining anything by illegal means.

I now am solely on Wellb (only on week 3 though), and I had been contemplating seeing if I can combine adderall with it when i see my doc next time, but apparently (Charly), it's not so good? Or did you always have trouble writing when on adderall, even before the wellb?

However, I must be honest. At the time I was on a different herbal medication too (:/), and I believe that also helped tremendously with the creativity part of it, and the adderall helped with actually getting my ideas down on paper and forming it into something I can present to others for my career. Luckily for me, random but witty things coincide quite nicely with comedy TV these days, and this regimen as you can imagine was almost stellar for that.

I'm not sure how that combo would help you (considering we are all of us in pretty different genres of writing), but I'm certainly not advocating obtaining anything by illegal means.

Well, now that sounds perfectly reasonable to me. As an academic writer, I don't have too many opportunities to use humor. On the other hand, I also used to take regular doses of a particular herbal supplement that I found wonderful for creativity, careful, deep and expansive thinking, and for working out the way that disparate phenomena relate to each other. Unfortunately, I now live a place where I can't quite find the same type of herbal supplement, and what I have found usually just puts me to sleep.

But, yeah, I can see how the combination of adderall and a particular strain of some herbal supplements could both enhance creativity and also help to translate that creativity into words on a page.

In other words, that combo would work quite nicely, thank you.

I now am solely on Wellb (only on week 3 though), and I had been contemplating seeing if I can combine adderall with it when i see my doc next time, but apparently (Charly), it's not so good? Or did you always have trouble writing when on adderall, even before the wellb?The problem that I have with adderall is that whatever I am working on becomes the most important and interesting thing in the world. Typical hyper-focus. This means that my tendency to not leave a paragraph until it says exactly what I want it to say becomes a debilitating tendency to not leave a sentence until it becomes exactly what I want it to say -- and then finding that sentence inadequate a few hours later.

I started with the Wellbutrin for two reasons. First, I wanted to cut down or phase out the adderall precisely for the reasons that I stated above. It was my understanding that Wellbutrin would allow me to try that out, and my crazy-head-doctor (the Spanish slang is 'loquero,' as in, "person who deals with 'locos'") seemed to agree.

Second, I have had depression as a constant in my life since about age 13. When I was about 31, I went on Prozac for a while, but found it scary. I now understand that the weird, scary sensations that I had while on Prozac are what is commonly referred to as "being in a good mood for no particular reason," something that was new to me. After quitting that after about 4 months, I simply relied on regular exercise, exploring and obsessing over every little thing that I became curious about, and a weekly dose of a particular kind of herbal supplement that allowed me to have the type of introspective gathering of forces that allowed me not to become a complete jerk. Well, now, at 40 years old, my wife basically told me that I had to get treatment. So I did.

On a slightly different note, I will soon find out what things are like with Wellbutrin sans adderall. At the start of the year I had a new healthcare program kick in, and had no problems with having my prescriptions covered ... until yesterday. After many, many hours on the phone trying to get a clear answer on what was going on, I was finally informed this afternoon that my new insurance company does not recognize ADD in those older than 18 years old. In other words, I'm cured as of 22 years ago, so I don't need my medication, so they won't be covering it, thank you very much. This just happens to be about 16 years prior to actually getting diagnosed, so I don't know what my psych is smoking. (Please to insert all appropriate scowling and sarcastic derision into the preceding sentences.)

I'll let you know if I see any changes in the next few days or weeks as far as writing is concerned. I went most of the day without adderall today, just to really observe myself without it, and the old "my brain is made out of cotton" feeling was back in full force.

I have had a completely different experience.

I am working on a novel now, and my thinking is so much clearer and saner than it was when I worked on a previous novel without meds. I'm able to think, plan isolate, make decisions, narrow my focus, set a schedule, get support and help, so much better. My mind is slow enough now for me to focus in a sustained way on the larger structure of the book, etc.

Now here's what's changed: before meds, I used to go off on wild tangents and my brain used to make more of those wild unthinkable connections that no one else saw. But for every totally wild connection I made, I made ten more that completely took me off on a tangent. I got so lost on tangents and side roads on my previous work that it was painful.

I know what you're talking about. Staying on track, especially with a project as huge as a novel, is truly a challenge, but I've found ways to cope with that. I make outlines to follow that connect the dots for me. They spell out everything I want to happen in my book from beginning to end. It helps so if I do go off on one of those tangents I can look at my outline and get back to where I should be. Just making those outlines are a huge challenge in itself, but once they're done, my writing really takes off.

I've actually been writing much better lately. I think I broke through my write's block *knocks on wood* for now anyway. I still don't know if it was a mere coincidence or if I just needed to re-learn how to use my new and improved brain. I try not to take my medication on the days I want to write, and it goes much better.

I was having a lot of trouble with my first three chapters (I hate writing the opening to a book!!!) and as much as I tried to move on with the rest of the book, I just couldn't let those first chapters go. It was becoming an obsession of mine. I think I have them figured out so I'm a lot more relaxed.

Funny. Self-sabotage seems to be a redundant theme of mine lately.

Hi tlhengel - this is good news! I read the first post of this thread yesterday and didn't happen to look at the date, and I thought "uh-oh, this isn't going well for her...." but now it looks like maybe things are shifting a bit for you. I truly hope they continue to improve. :)

Could you take medicine breaks when starting a work? Perhaps go away for a week or something, write down ideas, etc. and then use the meds to get things written. I'm trying to treat my ADHD so I can finish my master's program. I've in the past used hyperfocusing to write and could write fast and creatively. Now, I'm a little concerned. If I treat the ADHD and loose the creativity, how will that work? I'm on Wellbutrin and am starting Adderall next week. Hopefully, I will find the right balance also.

As an artist, I was really worried about this also. I found that my creativity wasn't diminished - my process just felt different. Initially it felt like I'd lost touch with that intuitive part of me that I was so dependent on for my work, and I think was so developed because it was all I had to work from. Suddenly I had other "tools" available to me and it at first felt very surface/superficial.

It's taken some time to adjust and recognize that the creative decisions I've been making have actually much more effective for what I'm wanting to convey in my work. My work over the last three months has evolved quickly and become much stronger, and I'm recognizing that the intuition is still there, and is now being expressed with more intellectual support.

It continues to surprise me though because of years of relying so heavily on my "sense" of things to tell me what comes next in a painting I'm working on. Also there's much less over thinking of things and trying so hard. Suddenly there was a lot more clear cerebral involvement, and it threw me at first. I was totally unfamiliar with what that was like and it seemed so foreign. Anyway, I decided to try to continue to work through it and see what happened, and sort of like forming a new habit, I've begun to adjust and am happy about that.

This is just my experience, but I think it's important to try things even if they don't feel quite right, and give yourself an opportunity to adjust. It would be a shame to give up too soon when there's a possibility it might be a very positive thing.

Thanks novagal!

I'm trying to be optimistic but I still feel like I'm waiting for disaster to strike again. I've been thinking about starting treatment on my anxiety, but I'm really nervous about adding another medication into my regiment. With how obsessively I worry about my inability to write sometimes, I can't help but wonder if treating my anxiety would help me relax enough to let my creativity shine through.

For now, I'm happy with what I'm producing and I'm trying to focus on that. I hate that I can't fully devote myself to writing, but I have to put my family first. Just one of the many sacrafices I didn't really think through when I decided I wanted a child.

I'm glad to hear your painting is going so well. Can I ask what you paint? I know you do series of paintings, but you never said what exactly it is you paint. Sorry, i know absolutely nothing about that aspect of artistry, so forgive me if I am asking a foolish question.

I've always wanted to paint. I'd probably paint very dark, disturbing images if I had the talent to do so. No flowers or beautiful scenery for me. I could probably do some abstract art, but it seems like it'd be an expensive hobby.

Anyway, thanks everyone. Good luck to you all!

I'ts funny that you brought this up for I am dealing with a similar condition. Now 4 me, adderal and klonipin expands my creativity but there is another medication that I have just found kills creativity: abilify. Now mind you that if your are not dependant on expression to survive, Abilify is an excelant medication, but it stole my ability to think clearly. I can't even write on it, 3 weeks now, and I'm a writer. I'm sticking with welbutrin, 300 mgs, and adderal, 60 mgs with Klonipin 2 mgsand 4 hours later without the welbutrin. One 2mg klonipin and before you go to bed, 2 mgs of klonipin. Prozac kind of knumbs your feelings. Mental illness is a hard thing to live with. The creativity of a normal life. I choose creativity myself. If was on 10 mgs of Abilify and rushed it taking 20, 30 one night. Perhaps there is a good level, perhaps the 2mgs just to aid to the Welbutrin. I must write. I'd rather die than give up my right brain. So I stay away from stress and go back to the natural to heal myself. (hj)

Wow! This hits home a concept I was wrestling with on a barely-conscious level. Lately, I've noticed that my problem solving skills aren't just what they used to be. Some suspicion involved meds, and this really connects with that.

I guess that means if I want to go hardcore creative, I will simply have to take myself off stims for a day or two.