effects of adderal vs without adderall

I am a 33yo male who has had much difficulty with social aspects of my life, I'm also finding out that my executive function has never worked correctly. I have never been diagnosed with ADHD or HFA, but something has always been off in my life. Missing out on social cues (at least I thought so) and completely unable to prove it. I'm like a genius walking around, but I'll constantly be blasting out extreme technical details on things to people that I know could care less, and walk around glancing at strangers for only fractions of a second.

Two weeks ago, I was zoning out as usual, someone gave me a 15mg adderall. I was hesitant. I am extremely focused on certain things. To the point where nothing ever gets done, I want to do all of it, and end up hardly doing any of it to the very last second. That to me is extremely stressful. In fact I would describe it as having a complete inability to multitask at all.

After taking the adderall a few days later, I had those amphetimine like feeling during the come up/down, but things happened that I did NOT expect. I experienced on it the ability to back off and relax. For the first time in my life I was able to see the big picture, and I picked up on social cues. I could tell if someone was approachable, or indicate if I wanted to be approached through eye contact.

I was at Walmart trying on a new pair of shoes. While tying my shoe, I was able to pick up most of a conversation that was going on right behind me, and tie my shoe... in parallel, or having the ability to process more than one single stimulus at a time. I cried for days, and am still trying to wrap my head around all of it.

Never mattered how much I worked out, or anything else. Still a walking social retard. Just more confident and happier. I realized after that experience on adderall that it was true. I actually have been missing out on important noverbal comms. The adderall is the only thing that fixed it. Can anyone report similarities to what I am describing?

Hello Pharzus090: Unfortunately I cannot comment on your experience. Hopefully some other members here on PC who can will yet reply. In the meantime however, I see this is your first post here on PC. So... to PsychCentral… from the Skeezyks! May the time you spend here be of benefit.

PsychCentral is a great place to get information as well as support for mental health issues. The more you post, & reply to other members’ posts, the more a part of the community you will become. Plus there are social groups you can join & chat rooms where you’ll be able to connect with other PC members in real time (once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved.) Lots of great stuff! So please keep posting!

I think your experience is not unheard of for ADHD folks and maybe ASD as well. I personally didn't have such a stark difference in social factors due to medication, but it has definitely made a difference for me too. Trying to talk to people just requires more working memory than I normally have. I think I'm usually okay, maybe a bit awkward, as long as I just have to listen to or otherwise receive communication from other people, but as soon as I have to open my own mouth, things go downhill fast.

Although the diagnostic criteria for ADHD doesn't have anything about "deficits in social communication" in general (unlike ASD), several of the symptoms are examples of incorrect social behavior. There has been enough research and anecdotes about ADHD folks having social problems that any decent ADHD-knowledgeable mental health provider should hopefully be aware of it.

If you're hoping for diagnosis and treatment of ADHD, I'd recommend starting with whatever primary care doctor you normally see for anything else, and if necessary, look for a psychiatrist (not psychologist) who claims to specialize in ADHD. You can skip to the psychiatrist if you want, but they are often more expensive or more difficult to get an appointment with. PCPs often have inadequate knowledge about ADHD, but I feel like it's usually worth giving them a shot first, just don't be discouraged if the PCP is unhelpful or even condescending.

These things you said also sound fairly ADHD-ish:
(Yeah, even the "extremely focused" part.)

Some things to keep in mind about Adderall:

• Adderall can cause euphoria (feeling overly happy), which might make you overestimate its actual usefulness. For most people taking it therapeutically, the euphoria usually only lasts the first few days.
• Starting with a lower dose might mitigate both the euphoria and the "crash."
• Lots of people like to use Adderall for performance enhancement, appetite suppression, or getting high, so some doctors are paranoid about prescribing it.
• It was technically illegal for your friend to give it to you and I think for you to take it. I don't think you have to worry about getting in legal trouble for telling your doctor you took it, but some doctors might get extra-paranoid that you are "drug-seeking."
• Despite the above, telling the doctor you took the Adderall could be a good idea, both to explain your symptoms and to point them toward a treatment that you already know will be effective. So you'll just have to weigh the pros and cons.

Even though I was only just diagnosed with combined ADHD about 1.5 years ago, I've been easily distracted, absent-minded, hyperactive, and impulsive for as long as I can rememeber. My ADHD quirks are part of what makes me so entertaining or fun to be around--and why I'm so great at providing customer service with a smile... but those same traits aren't as useful as a partner, parent, confidant, and employee...

But, I've also managed to remain employed at the same workplace for 10 years (in a few different depts) and have gradually moved up in responsibility, autonomy, and income. And, I've been with the same person for 12.5 years (married for 3.5 years with a 2.5 year old son, too).

But -- thanks to therapy and medication (Adderall & Prozac), I've finally started getting better at managing my time and responsibilities as a mom, wife, friend, employee, daughter, and aunt.

Still a long way to go for sure, but I'm optimistic.