> After 30+ years, I have found the non-amphetamine medications work a lot more consistently and helpfully than the amphetamine ones.
I've watched a lot of friends go through the same cycle: Initial excitement from an Adderall prescription which gradually gives way to tolerance and a mismatch between reality and their perceptions of Adderall as a miracle pill.
The non-stimulant medications have worked wonders for a lot of people I know.
The catch (and it's a big one) is that they generally don't work immediately. In fact, they can be kind of unenjoyable for the first weeks or months while they begin to work. This is the exact opposite timeline of stimulants, which puts a lot of people off. If you can gradually titrate up and you're willing to give it a multi-month trial before ruling it out, the non-stimulant medications can actually be quite good. Some times better than the stimulants at controlling impulses and improving cognition, even. First-time stimulant users can easily get sidetracked by focusing too much on distractions.
The other catch is that it's hard to objectively evaluate the positive changes when they happen gradually over the course of a month. A lot of Straterra (Atomoxetine) users will think the medication isn't working, but when you ask them to objectively walk through their daily routines and work performance they realize they've improved tremendously. For others, they don't realize the benefits until the quit the medication and lose the positives, at which point they're back for round 2 of titration.
As you say, you don't get the immediate on/off feeling you do with amphetamines, which makes sense because of how it acts, but is a weird thing for those not used to it.
Having had to switch on and off it a few times over 30 years for various medication complexities, as you say, you notice a few days later when it's gone.
I've watched a lot of friends go through the same cycle: Initial excitement from an Adderall prescription which gradually gives way to tolerance and a mismatch between reality and their perceptions of Adderall as a miracle pill.
The non-stimulant medications have worked wonders for a lot of people I know.
The catch (and it's a big one) is that they generally don't work immediately. In fact, they can be kind of unenjoyable for the first weeks or months while they begin to work. This is the exact opposite timeline of stimulants, which puts a lot of people off. If you can gradually titrate up and you're willing to give it a multi-month trial before ruling it out, the non-stimulant medications can actually be quite good. Some times better than the stimulants at controlling impulses and improving cognition, even. First-time stimulant users can easily get sidetracked by focusing too much on distractions.
The other catch is that it's hard to objectively evaluate the positive changes when they happen gradually over the course of a month. A lot of Straterra (Atomoxetine) users will think the medication isn't working, but when you ask them to objectively walk through their daily routines and work performance they realize they've improved tremendously. For others, they don't realize the benefits until the quit the medication and lose the positives, at which point they're back for round 2 of titration.