Pragmatism for November 3, 2009 - back from the doctor's surgery

Good to hear you’re taking steps to figure things out. One thing I’ll mention is that for me, (and obviously I’m not you) but for me, depression was triggered by the ADHD, not the other way round. It’s always there, but gets ugly when the ADHD is full-strength. I got on Adderall XR and that levelled out the part of me that was chaotic and it was the beatdown on the chaos that kept the bipolar stuff at arm’s length. Your mileage may vary, as they say, but it is something to consider when you’re talking to the therapist.

Adderall XR was not the first med they tried me on; I was not compatible with Concerta, but I don’t remember what else (if anything) we tried. I remember upping and lowering doses to hit the sweet spot with Adderall and my entire world changed for the better. I was less argumentative, defensive, agitated, pessimistic, overwhelmed… you name it. Once the chaos was tamed, stuff started to feel righter than I’d ever known in my life.

I battled my local GP and all they could do was get me a private appointment I couldn’t afford. Dead end. Glad yours is more open. I will likely approach the NHS again for treatment options; perhaps by now they’re more on the ball with mental health in my area.

I look forward to hearing about your further progress and journey.