A complex relationship with prescription ADHD medication.

My impromptu experiment with being unmedicated.

After being re-diagnosed with ADHD back in 2019, I suggested that my prescriber put me back on Vyvanse, and she readily obliged.

Vyvanse was the last ADHD medication I’d taken, around a decade earlier, before I had decided to stop taking the medication entirely, cold turkey and unsupervised.

The reason I wanted to return to Vyvanse was because I’d tried both Ritalin and Adderall XR in my teens and I didn’t like the feeling of them “kicking in” — it was too similar to the way cocaine felt when it kicked in, and I was trying to stay away from my “drug of choice” at the time.

For anyone curious, I haven’t done cocaine since 2008 and I no longer consider this an issue for myself. I figure it’s worth mentioning because this experience directly informed my decision to try Vyvanse back in the day.

Vyvanse, by comparison, felt much smoother as it entered my system. It wasn’t a jarring jolt of energy, it was more subtle.

I’ve never tried non-stimulant prescription ADHD medication, for no real reason other than… I stopped trying other medications after trying Vyvanse. 🤷