It is inappropriate and rude to assume what others need. I am the complete opposite of what you assume on Adderall, I am more verbose, my thoughts are more coherent and I can keep up with meetings because I can actually pay attention to them. The first time my spouse heard me conduct an interview after medications, he told me how much more cohesive, steady and assured my speaking was.

It helps no one, not even yourself, to tear down someone else because they are using a different solution than you.

It wasn’t until after I was diagnosed and medicated that I finished my undergrad after almost a decade, started my career, and started grad school. You do you, but don’t be sanctimonious about mental health treatment based on your anecdotes.

What you describe sounds more like symptoms of untreated ADHD rather than treated ADHD.

Strict routines? Good diet? Exercise???

Good luck doing any of these if you have even moderate ADHD. It's hard enough getting out of bed.

As a sibling mentions, your description of people who are "drugged" sounds more like people who have undiagnosed-ADHD and are not medicated.

The drugs don't make you drugged -- that's sorta the default state. The drugs make you functional enough to try and develop coping mechanisms in the first place.

I don’t take it on a day when I’m being creative or brainstorming, because the lateral thinking required does that is actually something ADD helps, but I take it when I have to get something done.

Take it from a guy who has had ample coping mechanisms, got a CS degree from MIT, founded and sold a security startup, etc.; all of those coping mechanisms worked, but got much easier once I accepted the ADD and found the right meds. It only made me more productive and a better contributing member of the team.

YMMV, but I suspect your assumptions about how it affects people are very wrong.

Methylphenidate is the only authorized substance for ADHD treatment here in Germany. I had to pay for my Amphetamine treatment by myself. I had the impression that the pharmaceutical industry doesn't have an interest in getting an authorization for amphetamines as that substance can be produced by a local pharmacy on site. Even thou I can confirm that the side effects are much less with amphetamines.

Now age 35 I haven't taken any medications for ADHD for 8 or 9 years. It was good to help me with school and university but now I don't need to put myself into a position where medication could be helpful. Still wouldn't want to work in an open floor plan office. Not sure if that is an medical condition.

I got it from my doctor and have been taking it for a year after trying Methylphenidate which did not show any positive effect on me.

I'm currently on a rather high daily dosage of Medikinet CR (2x30mg + another 1x20mg on long days if anyone's curious). It works but too inconsistently. It's also rather expensive here in the Netherlands.

Now I am on 50 mg. The medicine stimulates my focus and makes me more enthusiastic about activities, which can be annoying since I need to control not to apply my new powers on wrong or useless activities. I am also very verbose for couple hours after taking a pill. I would not say I am completely cured from ADHD. In the evenings, positive effect disappears, so I need to plan accordingly.

I avoid drinking coffee in the morning now, as the combination of two stimulants makes me shaky, I experience muscle tension, and it affects my ability to interact with people.

We tried 70mg with the doctor as well, but it made me aggressive and grim in couple months without noticeable improvements over 50mg. To manage tolerance I often skip taking pills on weekends. I also lost a few kilograms, which is good.

All in all, I am only half satisfied with the result - based on what I read I expected a better effect. I think my type of ADHD may be addressed with more sophisticated medication. Unfortunately, in Germany there are not a lot of other options to try, and my doctor seems to lack experience in treating ADHD. I try to combine pills with diet, exercises, and sleep management.

With regards to the effects this particular type of medication has on your behaviour, you have essentially described me - but on Medikinet, on those odd days when it decides to just work that way.

In the Netherlands we have a specialised ADHD treatment centre called ADHD-Centraal. I've been extremely impressed with their methods, their high level of competence, and with their care and involvement. The fact that they really know what they're doing also shows in the tiny practical adjustments they've made to their workflows to accommodate or even compensate for "the likes of us"!. I'll gladly provide you with direct contact details for you to pass on to your doc or call directly if you believe there's something to be gained in that.

Unfortunately, as you mention, the medication options are limited and at some point you're going to run out of things to try.

The main reason I'm not on Dextroamphetamine is that it registers on the quick saliva drug test that the Dutch police carries. It is amphetamine after all. When that happens, you'll get fined for driving under influence, and won't be allowed to drive for a few hours which is very annoying. The bigger problem is that if you're ever involved in an accident and the presence of amphetamines in your system was registered, you might even get a criminal record plus the insurance might decide not to pay out. Impractical to say the least...

Long acting or slow release Methylphenidate medication - such as the Medikinet I'm on, is only partially covered by Dutch health insurance. Legislators have decided that the short acting variants are identical and that anything else is essentially a luxury. They would quickly change their minds if you'd lock them in a room with me when I'm suffering from disastrous rebounds every hour on short acting Ritalin :)

For some of us this is the experience without any medication. I still get this now with medication, but it's definitely less frequent.