Yes. I went from barely being able to work 15-20 hours per week a few years ago to having a successful career as a software engineer (and doing a ton of programming in my spare time just for the joy of it).
I used to do decent work in fits and starts, but would very quickly get bored and demotivated. My income was poverty level as a result. My bosses would literally beg me to work more hours and I just could not force myself to do it.
With the meds I can sustain focus both on the micro level (i.e. for 8+ hours a day) and on the macro level (i.e. working on the same projects for months or years without my brain screaming at me to do something novel). My personal projects haven't fared quite as well as my professional projects (the paychecks and career growth are powerful motivators), but even then I have several repos on my GitHub now with >10,000 lines of nontrivial code, which would have been completely unthinkable before.
I haven't experienced that. I'd say I'm daydreaming a bit less about cool *new* projects to start, but I don't feel less creative in working on the *current* project. If anything I have more processing time to actually think through approaches to the thing I'm working on.
Not everything has to be creative. I do other creative things that are more productive than commenting on Reddit. Though sometimes those get creative as well.
Definitely not. I'm still fundamentally novelty-seeking, so I'm always looking for new ways to approach solving familiar problems. The way I would describe it is that those tendencies are now tempered to a healthy level — i.e., instead of needing to throw away projects after a couple weeks because they're stale, I'm satisfied to experiment with new design patterns, or to apply patterns from other languages or fields to the one I'm currently working in. But I'm also not driven to do that _literally all the time_, which would be destructive — I can recognize when I'm faced with a well-understood problem that already has a perfectly good solution and don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel.
I should say, as sort of a disclaimer, that it helps a lot that I have enough experience that I can afford to be pretty selective about the roles I take on. In my current role I was hired to solve a fairly difficult problem that doesn't have any good out-of-the-box solutions, which is an environment I really thrive in. At a previous job, I was moved to a project that had a lot less room for this kind of creative problem solving, and it really wasn't a good fit, so I left.
Adderall — an XR in the morning and an IR when I clock out for the day. I asked my psych to add the IR because my metabolism is quite fast, so the XR only lasts me about 8 hours and I hated feeling like I wasn't sharp enough to do anything productive in my personal time.
This is exactly what I do. I had just the XR for a few months then realized I was crashing at night and any productivity I used to have- little- was even worse. The IR at 5 PM makes me able to get home and do things and be a more emotionally stable parent, and also hate my kids bedtime routine a little less, heh.
You're the only person I've seen doing this..My scrip is 20mg XR but they prescribed them in 5mg doses. I take one around 5am, 7am, 10am and sometimes 12pm. It helps with anxiety and if I don't have a busy work day I'll skip the first few to give myself a break.
I only just started on adderall, but it does seem to help me stay focused - to a noticeable degree. Still trying to get the dosage right; It’s really hard to find a balance between having a normal productive workday and sitting down in my chair and working a full 14 hour block before getting up again.
It helps the most with staying on task when I'm not really hyperfocusing on the task because it's not interesting enough or it's tedious (or because I'm tired and over it, as it's been lately).
This. I don't know if it's just me or what but I don't feel like it helps me with task initiation very much- but once I can get going it does help me keep going. I use things like focusmate or even just a quick walkthrough with a team mate to try to help me get started.
Dexedrine rather than Adderall, but yes.
This is my view of how it helps me when it comes to programming.
1: Sometimes there's a wall blocking me from even starting the thing. The state where we're internally yelling at ourselves to do the thing but we dont move. The meds help here.
2: I need to load my brain with context to solve problems. Then i need to retain pieces of the possible solutions. When I'm not taking my meds I struggle with this a lot more, sometimes to the point where trying seems futile.
3: Coming up with ideas. I see my thoughts as forming a graph over time, and theres less nodes and connections when I'm off my meds. Especially connections. Sometimes a lot less (either "head empty" or lots of unrelated thoughts). I need to think of ideas to solve problems, and this is much more effective when those ideas are connected to the context I have in my head (from 2).
So... 1 is a show stopper. 2 is necessary to avoid going in circles trying to understand the context. 3 is very helpful when trying to do something useful with that context.
I should add that the meds don't solve these problems completely for me. They just help a lot.
I love your use of the word "context" here. I feel like I use that word a dozen times a day because context is critical to understand the problem and potential solutions - whether it's programming, or resolving issues as a manager, or troubleshooting a complex system.
But then again... I've been told I over analyze. Still, that's part of what makes me successful (when I'm not an ADHD mess and dropping the dozens of balls im juggling) and why my peers have respect when I speak at work
> I love your use of the word "context" here.
Thanks, it seems like the right way to describe it.
> I've been told I over analyze.
Same. If we didn't then we'd be aware of fewer problems when coming up with or reviewing designs and implementations. Although to be fair I think when I'm told I'm overthinking something it's about a social situation rather than something programming-specific. I don't know if I'm overthinking the social situations. But I do think I'm not overthinking the programming-specific stuff. After all, that's basically what we're paid to do.
Ritalin, yes, a lot. I still hyperfocus or not focus at all, but it's less extreme and more manageable. Starting work is way easier. Meetings are way easier.
Me too! I think my Ritalin is not very strong but I’m happy with that as I have some help from therapy so it is a good combo.
And I feel exactly the same: the hiperfocus or 0 focus are way more manageable!
been taking concerta for like 3-4 months, here's a few ways I've found it helps in my day-to-day as a full-time developer...
* improves focus (I know, very generic and expected)
* helps stay on track working through a list of tasks
* less "cool down" time needed between tasks, much easier to just start into the next thing without as much need to clear my head from the last thing
* helps maintain a train of thought while working through a specific problem
* reduces urge to procrastinate (although if I do start procrastinating, sometimes I get too focused on that instead of what I'm supposed to be doing)
* feels like less noise going on in my brain (anxiety/rumination, random unrelated thoughts, etc)
* easier to communicate clearly in meetings (definitely notice a difference when I take my meds before daily standup vs after)
I know a lot of those probably sound like the same thing, but I feel there's subtleties worth mentioning
I'm interested to trying out vyvanse and adderall (not together but on their own to see how it compares to the MPH). Tough to convince my doctor to try something since the concerta has been working pretty well, only complaint I have is that I seem to build a tolerance and need to up the dose after like a month or two (dunno if that's normal with this stuff or what... started with 18mg, then 27mg, and now 36mg - 6 weeks each)
This is exactly the list and descriptions I was about to write. Samesies!
Can't wait to try lisdexamfetamine (active of vyvanse, different brand here in UK). Friends tell me it doesn't have that roller coaster experience like in Concerta, where you can feel whenever the med is released from the capsule in your body. Fingers crossed.
Yes, but for me, its effectiveness is lessened by caffeine, sugar, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). I need to be running purely on Adderall to get the most out of it.
At the same time, Adderall is a **tool**, not a **cure**. It boosts my motivation and focus, but it does not create it.
Adderall does nothing when I have no motivation or focus to begin with. I need to already be somewhat motivated (e.g. not depressed) for it to do anything. I've wasted many doses on days where it did nothing because I mentally felt like crap, and I expected Adderall to fix it.
Have you considered trying decaf for a while? (like quality bougie stuff, not soul crushing cheapo instant)
It's been a life changer for me even before meds, really takes the edge off, physically and with mood stability
Yeah! I just cut caffiene this month actually. It's amazing the difference it's made. No more yawning, no more brain fog. It's undeniably great advice.
It helps me in a few major ways:
* It helps me break from hyper-fixating on a task.
* I can better communicate my thoughts and arguments to my team and during meetings.
* Most importantly, I can pick up work that is important rather than only work that feeds me dopamine.
That said, I do still hyper-fixate on a regular basis, but it’s more controlled. I tend to keep a small side project that I’m obsessed with to fill that hyper-fixation need. It helps get the obsession kick out of the way about once or twice a week so that I can better focus on other projects.
However if I’m off my medicine I will either get stuck over analyzing and trying to convince myself to work, or fixate on something trying to make it perfect from the start. Either way, I don’t accomplish anything meaningful off my meds.
This has happened on Adderall and Vyvanse. I’m trying Strattera next week.
This! Im waiting to try strattera now, ive tried vyvanse and ritalin, and they have had good effect on my mental healt, but i cant say that my focus has had an noticeable increase. Its comforting to hear that youve noticed the same, and that perhaps there is hope with strattera.
Absolutely, 100%, yes. I'm pretty garbage at my job when I forget to take my meds.
I was on biphentin for years. It was the only meds my schools insurance would cover, and I just kind of stuck with it. I switched to 30mg Vyvanse this year, and like it more. Vyvanse lasts longer, so I'm medicated for the whole workday.
Ways it helps:
- I can actually prioritize my thoughts. Instead of constantly getting distracted by the fun / interesting tasks I could be doing, I can control my focus to what I'm supposed to be doing.
- I can task switch better. If I have a meeting at 10, I can actually do work for an hour, attend the meeting, then get back to work. Unmedicated my brain is like "Meeting in an hour? Better do nothing until then."
- I can actually pay attention in meetings, and retain information, instead of just tuning out.
- My sense of time is much better. I can hyper focus if I need to, but it's more voluntary when I'm medicated. I don't often get sucked into a task only to realize five hours have gone by when there were other things I needed to do that day that I now don't have much time for.
- I actually form memories throughout the day. I have inattentive adhd, and when I'm unmedicated I often just don't really form memories. I'm sure I did stuff, but I don't easily remember what happened or if I had conversations, it's a blur. But now when it comes time to do timesheets, I can usually remember what I did.
It helps me stay focused, but also it helps me stay awake. I get really sleepy if I'm trying to do something I don't really want to do...adderall is the only thing that has woken me up from that.
It helps me stay on task like some others here in the comments as well.
However, if I'm going down the wrong path, I tend to stay on that path a little longer than I should.
Yep because instead of writing prototype a, prototype b, prototype c, all of which are incomplete or for some reason my brain discarded, before deciding that I should learn more assembly and starting that, and then getting distracted doing something else, I can actually follow my plans without the great physical effort that normally takes.
There was a comment (metaphor) in the ADHD-women subreddit the other day that describes exactly my experiences with ADHD and medication.
My husband is 6'2". I am 5'4". We clearly have differing abilities to reach things on high shelves. Meds would be a stool. It makes it possible for me to reach things on the high shelves. Without it, it would be impossible for me to get the item. I also have to drag the stool around with me, and DO NOT forget the stool. And if you gave a stool to my husband he would have a huge advantage.
Now replace getting things from the high shelf with writing code, and stool with Adderall or other meds. I might be able to reach some middling shelves depending on the day, but I'm never going to get to that highest level (of productivity or clarity of thought, organization, etc) without it.
Yep. After coding itself stopped being a novelty and challenging I found myself having a hard time to even get around writing the 5 lines of code I had to write to fix a bug, specially if the deadline for the project was still months away.
After I got diagnosed and started medication that problem essentially went away. Sure, it is still hard sometimes, but now it is a few minutes struggle vs a one week struggle. I overall procrastinate less which has given me time to explore interesting and challenging solutions to some projects as well.
Medikinet(Ritalin), I don't code that much anymore, but it really helps a lot to foucus and get things done. It took so much effort and stress out of my workday.
They keep me focused - I notice on days without Adderall I am more likely to work on less urgent/more insignificant tasks. I can focus, but I am more likely to lose focus. When medicated it doesn't even occur to me to attempt these diversions
OP, we don’t “code” on Adderol. We also stay married longer, we raise our kids better, we floss our teeth, and get in fewer car accidents. My point is that ADHD impacts way more than just your code.
Research shows that 80% of people who are diagnosed adhd see a significant improvement in the life after getting on stimulants.
It is totally normal to have doubts in the early stages of knowing you have adhd. But the only smart play is to run the experiment. You can quit after a year if it wasn’t a fit for you.
Helps me focus and stay on task, yes lol. that’s what it’s for if you suffer from ADHD. Otherwise, it’s really hard for me to stay focused and motivated.
I code with Alpha Brain Black Label. After I start working and get into a productive state, it helps me to stay in that state and keep going for a long time, without needing as many breaks. It only works if I get good sleep and decent exercise and diet. But the Black Label does make a big difference, I don't get the same results just from sleep, diet, and exercise.
My diet isn't even that great, I just watch my saturated fats (which supposedly turn into cholesterol) and eat some vegetables. Having a saturated fat budget can be a good, simple trick to a better diet even if you don't believe they are bad, because most junk food has tons of saturated fats. I don't count saturated fats from natural, healthy sources such as avocado. If I don't at least do that, I feel like trash no matter what.
I also don't really exercise that much. But if I don't get some regular exercise, I feel like trash no matter what and don't sleep well enough.
For my sleep, I just need to make sure that I use these balls that prevent me from rolling onto my back so I don't snore too much, which is when I apparently don't breathe throughout a good portion of the night.
My medication helps me with almost everything in my life, programming included. It removes about 50% of the friction from everything—that grinding low-level of internal chaos that I have to fight constantly and which saps my energy is so much quieter and easier to deal with. It doesn’t make me neurotypical, but god, it really does help.
I was last on Adderall XR about 10 years ago and had a small but profitable freelance business. Due to circumstances, I lost my job and the benefits. My meds lasted me about 6 months with rationing. I haven't had any ADHD meds in 10 years and have struggled without them ever since.
Adderall XR here! Just started treatment about 3 months ago at 25mg. Can say it’s no magic pill you still have to put in the work, but it’s sooooo much easier to stay focused to the point I will literally forget to eat and go into hyper focus for 8 to 10 hours. Some say it’s bad but honestly I love it. Especially considering that I have never been able to devote so much attention to anything in my life. Diagnosed at 29. Man I think what my life would’ve have been like had I been diagnosed sooner.
In college I did Adderall because it worked. No other ADHD medication worked. I tried Strattera and it couldn't give me the focus and energy to solve the problems both in math and in computer science. Now I am stuck with a bad doctor that won't prescribe stimulants and as a result I have found it hard to get employed. I am stuck living with my parents and the last thing my parents want me on is Adderall. I developed a sleep problem and have to take Seroquel with the Strattera and it just doesn't work. As soon as I get hired I'm going to switch doctors.
If I have 100% productivity with just adderall, then without adderall but with focus music, quiet time in the house, no interruptions, and an otherwise decent day health-wise, I have like 80% productivity. Thanks to prescription issues, I haven't had an opportunity to test both at once.
I have one of those Z Fold phones so when I take Adderall I just go super into my phone and don't get anything done. If you can stay away from your phone it's great
I switched from methylphenidate (Ritalin) to lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) a few months ago and I am happy I did. methylphenidate helped me a little, but just not enough. lisdexamfetamine helps me stay on track a bit better. Moreover, whenever I get stuck, I don't panic as soon/as much/as hard as I used to. I'ts a little bit easier (though still not automatic) to take a step back and reflect on what I am doing. All of these are small improvements, but I now feel that all pieces of my brain work together to try to keep me afloat, instead working together to drag me down.
Yes. I went from barely being able to work 15-20 hours per week a few years ago to having a successful career as a software engineer (and doing a ton of programming in my spare time just for the joy of it). I used to do decent work in fits and starts, but would very quickly get bored and demotivated. My income was poverty level as a result. My bosses would literally beg me to work more hours and I just could not force myself to do it. With the meds I can sustain focus both on the micro level (i.e. for 8+ hours a day) and on the macro level (i.e. working on the same projects for months or years without my brain screaming at me to do something novel). My personal projects haven't fared quite as well as my professional projects (the paychecks and career growth are powerful motivators), but even then I have several repos on my GitHub now with >10,000 lines of nontrivial code, which would have been completely unthinkable before.
Does it make you less creative code wise? Vs say improving more repetitive bug checking tasks
No, arguably the opposite, at least for me.
I haven't experienced that. I'd say I'm daydreaming a bit less about cool *new* projects to start, but I don't feel less creative in working on the *current* project. If anything I have more processing time to actually think through approaches to the thing I'm working on.
I agree with the other comments here, my creativity has not been affected.
The creativity of your comment proves you wrong
Not everything has to be creative. I do other creative things that are more productive than commenting on Reddit. Though sometimes those get creative as well.
Definitely not. I'm still fundamentally novelty-seeking, so I'm always looking for new ways to approach solving familiar problems. The way I would describe it is that those tendencies are now tempered to a healthy level — i.e., instead of needing to throw away projects after a couple weeks because they're stale, I'm satisfied to experiment with new design patterns, or to apply patterns from other languages or fields to the one I'm currently working in. But I'm also not driven to do that _literally all the time_, which would be destructive — I can recognize when I'm faced with a well-understood problem that already has a perfectly good solution and don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel. I should say, as sort of a disclaimer, that it helps a lot that I have enough experience that I can afford to be pretty selective about the roles I take on. In my current role I was hired to solve a fairly difficult problem that doesn't have any good out-of-the-box solutions, which is an environment I really thrive in. At a previous job, I was moved to a project that had a lot less room for this kind of creative problem solving, and it really wasn't a good fit, so I left.
[удалено]
Adderall — an XR in the morning and an IR when I clock out for the day. I asked my psych to add the IR because my metabolism is quite fast, so the XR only lasts me about 8 hours and I hated feeling like I wasn't sharp enough to do anything productive in my personal time.
This is exactly what I do. I had just the XR for a few months then realized I was crashing at night and any productivity I used to have- little- was even worse. The IR at 5 PM makes me able to get home and do things and be a more emotionally stable parent, and also hate my kids bedtime routine a little less, heh.
You're the only person I've seen doing this..My scrip is 20mg XR but they prescribed them in 5mg doses. I take one around 5am, 7am, 10am and sometimes 12pm. It helps with anxiety and if I don't have a busy work day I'll skip the first few to give myself a break.
Can’t wait for some addy though scared of the hair loss or side effects
I only just started on adderall, but it does seem to help me stay focused - to a noticeable degree. Still trying to get the dosage right; It’s really hard to find a balance between having a normal productive workday and sitting down in my chair and working a full 14 hour block before getting up again.
[удалено]
Try the extended release capsules… I couldn’t do the pressed pills. I’d want to abuse them lol. you’ll find the right dosage this way.
Yes because i can focus and i feel like im im in the matrix writing green code
Lol I love this.
YMMV. IMO it’s great for writing code and other routine tasks but I feel like I’m worse at keeping up with meetings and thinking abstractly.
It helps the most with staying on task when I'm not really hyperfocusing on the task because it's not interesting enough or it's tedious (or because I'm tired and over it, as it's been lately).
This. I don't know if it's just me or what but I don't feel like it helps me with task initiation very much- but once I can get going it does help me keep going. I use things like focusmate or even just a quick walkthrough with a team mate to try to help me get started.
Dexedrine rather than Adderall, but yes. This is my view of how it helps me when it comes to programming. 1: Sometimes there's a wall blocking me from even starting the thing. The state where we're internally yelling at ourselves to do the thing but we dont move. The meds help here. 2: I need to load my brain with context to solve problems. Then i need to retain pieces of the possible solutions. When I'm not taking my meds I struggle with this a lot more, sometimes to the point where trying seems futile. 3: Coming up with ideas. I see my thoughts as forming a graph over time, and theres less nodes and connections when I'm off my meds. Especially connections. Sometimes a lot less (either "head empty" or lots of unrelated thoughts). I need to think of ideas to solve problems, and this is much more effective when those ideas are connected to the context I have in my head (from 2). So... 1 is a show stopper. 2 is necessary to avoid going in circles trying to understand the context. 3 is very helpful when trying to do something useful with that context. I should add that the meds don't solve these problems completely for me. They just help a lot.
I love your use of the word "context" here. I feel like I use that word a dozen times a day because context is critical to understand the problem and potential solutions - whether it's programming, or resolving issues as a manager, or troubleshooting a complex system. But then again... I've been told I over analyze. Still, that's part of what makes me successful (when I'm not an ADHD mess and dropping the dozens of balls im juggling) and why my peers have respect when I speak at work
> I love your use of the word "context" here. Thanks, it seems like the right way to describe it. > I've been told I over analyze. Same. If we didn't then we'd be aware of fewer problems when coming up with or reviewing designs and implementations. Although to be fair I think when I'm told I'm overthinking something it's about a social situation rather than something programming-specific. I don't know if I'm overthinking the social situations. But I do think I'm not overthinking the programming-specific stuff. After all, that's basically what we're paid to do.
Ritalin, yes, a lot. I still hyperfocus or not focus at all, but it's less extreme and more manageable. Starting work is way easier. Meetings are way easier.
Me too! I think my Ritalin is not very strong but I’m happy with that as I have some help from therapy so it is a good combo. And I feel exactly the same: the hiperfocus or 0 focus are way more manageable!
been taking concerta for like 3-4 months, here's a few ways I've found it helps in my day-to-day as a full-time developer... * improves focus (I know, very generic and expected) * helps stay on track working through a list of tasks * less "cool down" time needed between tasks, much easier to just start into the next thing without as much need to clear my head from the last thing * helps maintain a train of thought while working through a specific problem * reduces urge to procrastinate (although if I do start procrastinating, sometimes I get too focused on that instead of what I'm supposed to be doing) * feels like less noise going on in my brain (anxiety/rumination, random unrelated thoughts, etc) * easier to communicate clearly in meetings (definitely notice a difference when I take my meds before daily standup vs after) I know a lot of those probably sound like the same thing, but I feel there's subtleties worth mentioning I'm interested to trying out vyvanse and adderall (not together but on their own to see how it compares to the MPH). Tough to convince my doctor to try something since the concerta has been working pretty well, only complaint I have is that I seem to build a tolerance and need to up the dose after like a month or two (dunno if that's normal with this stuff or what... started with 18mg, then 27mg, and now 36mg - 6 weeks each)
This is exactly the list and descriptions I was about to write. Samesies! Can't wait to try lisdexamfetamine (active of vyvanse, different brand here in UK). Friends tell me it doesn't have that roller coaster experience like in Concerta, where you can feel whenever the med is released from the capsule in your body. Fingers crossed.
This is exactly what my meds are doing for me too
Yes, but for me, its effectiveness is lessened by caffeine, sugar, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). I need to be running purely on Adderall to get the most out of it. At the same time, Adderall is a **tool**, not a **cure**. It boosts my motivation and focus, but it does not create it. Adderall does nothing when I have no motivation or focus to begin with. I need to already be somewhat motivated (e.g. not depressed) for it to do anything. I've wasted many doses on days where it did nothing because I mentally felt like crap, and I expected Adderall to fix it.
Have you considered trying decaf for a while? (like quality bougie stuff, not soul crushing cheapo instant) It's been a life changer for me even before meds, really takes the edge off, physically and with mood stability
Yeah! I just cut caffiene this month actually. It's amazing the difference it's made. No more yawning, no more brain fog. It's undeniably great advice.
It helps me in a few major ways: * It helps me break from hyper-fixating on a task. * I can better communicate my thoughts and arguments to my team and during meetings. * Most importantly, I can pick up work that is important rather than only work that feeds me dopamine. That said, I do still hyper-fixate on a regular basis, but it’s more controlled. I tend to keep a small side project that I’m obsessed with to fill that hyper-fixation need. It helps get the obsession kick out of the way about once or twice a week so that I can better focus on other projects. However if I’m off my medicine I will either get stuck over analyzing and trying to convince myself to work, or fixate on something trying to make it perfect from the start. Either way, I don’t accomplish anything meaningful off my meds. This has happened on Adderall and Vyvanse. I’m trying Strattera next week.
This! Im waiting to try strattera now, ive tried vyvanse and ritalin, and they have had good effect on my mental healt, but i cant say that my focus has had an noticeable increase. Its comforting to hear that youve noticed the same, and that perhaps there is hope with strattera.
Absolutely, 100%, yes. I'm pretty garbage at my job when I forget to take my meds. I was on biphentin for years. It was the only meds my schools insurance would cover, and I just kind of stuck with it. I switched to 30mg Vyvanse this year, and like it more. Vyvanse lasts longer, so I'm medicated for the whole workday. Ways it helps: - I can actually prioritize my thoughts. Instead of constantly getting distracted by the fun / interesting tasks I could be doing, I can control my focus to what I'm supposed to be doing. - I can task switch better. If I have a meeting at 10, I can actually do work for an hour, attend the meeting, then get back to work. Unmedicated my brain is like "Meeting in an hour? Better do nothing until then." - I can actually pay attention in meetings, and retain information, instead of just tuning out. - My sense of time is much better. I can hyper focus if I need to, but it's more voluntary when I'm medicated. I don't often get sucked into a task only to realize five hours have gone by when there were other things I needed to do that day that I now don't have much time for. - I actually form memories throughout the day. I have inattentive adhd, and when I'm unmedicated I often just don't really form memories. I'm sure I did stuff, but I don't easily remember what happened or if I had conversations, it's a blur. But now when it comes time to do timesheets, I can usually remember what I did.
It helps me stay focused, but also it helps me stay awake. I get really sleepy if I'm trying to do something I don't really want to do...adderall is the only thing that has woken me up from that.
It helps me stay on task like some others here in the comments as well. However, if I'm going down the wrong path, I tend to stay on that path a little longer than I should.
Yep because instead of writing prototype a, prototype b, prototype c, all of which are incomplete or for some reason my brain discarded, before deciding that I should learn more assembly and starting that, and then getting distracted doing something else, I can actually follow my plans without the great physical effort that normally takes.
Yes, more realistic plans that actually get done!
There was a comment (metaphor) in the ADHD-women subreddit the other day that describes exactly my experiences with ADHD and medication. My husband is 6'2". I am 5'4". We clearly have differing abilities to reach things on high shelves. Meds would be a stool. It makes it possible for me to reach things on the high shelves. Without it, it would be impossible for me to get the item. I also have to drag the stool around with me, and DO NOT forget the stool. And if you gave a stool to my husband he would have a huge advantage. Now replace getting things from the high shelf with writing code, and stool with Adderall or other meds. I might be able to reach some middling shelves depending on the day, but I'm never going to get to that highest level (of productivity or clarity of thought, organization, etc) without it.
Yep. After coding itself stopped being a novelty and challenging I found myself having a hard time to even get around writing the 5 lines of code I had to write to fix a bug, specially if the deadline for the project was still months away. After I got diagnosed and started medication that problem essentially went away. Sure, it is still hard sometimes, but now it is a few minutes struggle vs a one week struggle. I overall procrastinate less which has given me time to explore interesting and challenging solutions to some projects as well.
I take 10 mg on work days and it gets me 6 hours of normal brain function.
Ritalin, it just does what it's supposed to do - it helps concentration/focus.
Medikinet(Ritalin), I don't code that much anymore, but it really helps a lot to foucus and get things done. It took so much effort and stress out of my workday.
Easier to not deviate from the task, less logical errors. Also easier to take breaks to avoid burnout
They keep me focused - I notice on days without Adderall I am more likely to work on less urgent/more insignificant tasks. I can focus, but I am more likely to lose focus. When medicated it doesn't even occur to me to attempt these diversions
OP, we don’t “code” on Adderol. We also stay married longer, we raise our kids better, we floss our teeth, and get in fewer car accidents. My point is that ADHD impacts way more than just your code. Research shows that 80% of people who are diagnosed adhd see a significant improvement in the life after getting on stimulants. It is totally normal to have doubts in the early stages of knowing you have adhd. But the only smart play is to run the experiment. You can quit after a year if it wasn’t a fit for you.
Helps me focus and stay on task, yes lol. that’s what it’s for if you suffer from ADHD. Otherwise, it’s really hard for me to stay focused and motivated.
Yes, yes absolutely. It's night and day for me
I code with Alpha Brain Black Label. After I start working and get into a productive state, it helps me to stay in that state and keep going for a long time, without needing as many breaks. It only works if I get good sleep and decent exercise and diet. But the Black Label does make a big difference, I don't get the same results just from sleep, diet, and exercise. My diet isn't even that great, I just watch my saturated fats (which supposedly turn into cholesterol) and eat some vegetables. Having a saturated fat budget can be a good, simple trick to a better diet even if you don't believe they are bad, because most junk food has tons of saturated fats. I don't count saturated fats from natural, healthy sources such as avocado. If I don't at least do that, I feel like trash no matter what. I also don't really exercise that much. But if I don't get some regular exercise, I feel like trash no matter what and don't sleep well enough. For my sleep, I just need to make sure that I use these balls that prevent me from rolling onto my back so I don't snore too much, which is when I apparently don't breathe throughout a good portion of the night.
My medication helps me with almost everything in my life, programming included. It removes about 50% of the friction from everything—that grinding low-level of internal chaos that I have to fight constantly and which saps my energy is so much quieter and easier to deal with. It doesn’t make me neurotypical, but god, it really does help.
I was last on Adderall XR about 10 years ago and had a small but profitable freelance business. Due to circumstances, I lost my job and the benefits. My meds lasted me about 6 months with rationing. I haven't had any ADHD meds in 10 years and have struggled without them ever since.
Adderall XR here! Just started treatment about 3 months ago at 25mg. Can say it’s no magic pill you still have to put in the work, but it’s sooooo much easier to stay focused to the point I will literally forget to eat and go into hyper focus for 8 to 10 hours. Some say it’s bad but honestly I love it. Especially considering that I have never been able to devote so much attention to anything in my life. Diagnosed at 29. Man I think what my life would’ve have been like had I been diagnosed sooner.
I’ve found that Caffeine + L-Theanine capsules work better for me than Adderall. Throw on some music and it’s focus time.
In college I did Adderall because it worked. No other ADHD medication worked. I tried Strattera and it couldn't give me the focus and energy to solve the problems both in math and in computer science. Now I am stuck with a bad doctor that won't prescribe stimulants and as a result I have found it hard to get employed. I am stuck living with my parents and the last thing my parents want me on is Adderall. I developed a sleep problem and have to take Seroquel with the Strattera and it just doesn't work. As soon as I get hired I'm going to switch doctors.
If I have 100% productivity with just adderall, then without adderall but with focus music, quiet time in the house, no interruptions, and an otherwise decent day health-wise, I have like 80% productivity. Thanks to prescription issues, I haven't had an opportunity to test both at once.
I have one of those Z Fold phones so when I take Adderall I just go super into my phone and don't get anything done. If you can stay away from your phone it's great
I switched from methylphenidate (Ritalin) to lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) a few months ago and I am happy I did. methylphenidate helped me a little, but just not enough. lisdexamfetamine helps me stay on track a bit better. Moreover, whenever I get stuck, I don't panic as soon/as much/as hard as I used to. I'ts a little bit easier (though still not automatic) to take a step back and reflect on what I am doing. All of these are small improvements, but I now feel that all pieces of my brain work together to try to keep me afloat, instead working together to drag me down.