I recently started atomoxetine for my ADHD and had to completely stop it. Side effects were killing me.
After I stopped, I was more hyperactive and less focused... Yet the hyperactivity compensated for the "less focused" part, and I finished a week's work in a day.
That's my experience with meds so far. They completely eliminate my anxiety and make me feel in control of my emotions. Yet they make me less productive than when I'm in a hyperactive rush (even if my focus is reduced).
So for now I'm just going to embrace my inconsistency (in terms of emotions, energy, and focus) because I think I'm way worse without it. Establishing a routine helps me cope much better - I feel waking up early and having a good morning dictates how productive my day will be.
On meds, I finally felt in control of my life and energy. But it also felt bland, boring. I didn't feel anything. I had no anxiety to push me to go the extra mile. My personality & cheeriness were nonexistent. And I was, overall, simply less productive.
I said this somewhere else in the thread already but it sound like it could help you, get a genetic compatibility test for adhd meds, my doctor gave me a referral for one and it gave clear recommendations on which medications would likely be fine and which would have chances of negative side effects. Even without the referral I'm sure you can get a test like this privately for reasonable price.
These medications are serious and side effects can include thoughts of suicide so I'm always shocked when doctors try to wing it and just prescribe whatever and see how it goes. I'm hoping it's because they don't know about the genetic tests yet but some are likely willfully ignorant.
> But it also felt bland, boring. I didn't feel anything
I don't have experience with atomoxetine, but other meds, and this sounds a like an symptom of over dosage. The typical "ritalin robot" is usually causes by taking to much.
Maybe you can check out other meds. I experienced the "blend robot" situation a few times with Medikinet and learned that Methylphenidate is very sensitive to food intake and PH in the stomach, which can make the effect less predictable. I switched to Lisdexamfetamin - it's less dependent on food and works better for me.
After I stopped, I was more hyperactive and less focused... Yet the hyperactivity compensated for the "less focused" part, and I finished a week's work in a day.
That's my experience with meds so far. They completely eliminate my anxiety and make me feel in control of my emotions. Yet they make me less productive than when I'm in a hyperactive rush (even if my focus is reduced).
So for now I'm just going to embrace my inconsistency (in terms of emotions, energy, and focus) because I think I'm way worse without it. Establishing a routine helps me cope much better - I feel waking up early and having a good morning dictates how productive my day will be.
On meds, I finally felt in control of my life and energy. But it also felt bland, boring. I didn't feel anything. I had no anxiety to push me to go the extra mile. My personality & cheeriness were nonexistent. And I was, overall, simply less productive.
Not doing that again.