What Happened When I Stopped Taking My Medication

As much as my meds help me, it’s a battle to remember to do all the things I need to do to be able to take them: sign up for health insurance, pay my bill, make a doctor appointment, GO to that appointment, get my prescription, find a pharmacy that can fill it, remember to pick it up before it closes, remember to bring my ID so they’ll let me…

I forgot to pay my health insurance bills, so i couldn’t get my meds this month. yes, i could’ve paid the hundreds of dollars out of my pocket, but that’s a lot of money! okay, so two weeks without medication means more coping strategies i’ve been meditating almost daily for *pauses* a month and a half. going off meds this time (because, yes this has happened before)

Was way easier than it’s ever been for me. i kept meditating, even though it was harder to sit still. i updated my schedule every day, and i tried to stick to it! (because, yes, wanting to eat everything in the world is something that can happen after going off adhd meds) i missed that feeling when the meds begin to take effect. like putting on glasses and realizing

You can see without squinting. i missed wanting to do something and being able to sit down and do it. so finally, when i really needed to write something from the time i woke up one morning, i did not sit down until i was ready to write. until my legs were tired enough and my brain was awake enough and tell you that this is what i wrote after fighting passed the fog of

Being unmedicated, but only after trying to write a different episode. getting frustrated at not being able to make sense of the jumble of thoughts on the page in front of me, and then remembering i had a backup stash of medication and taking a pill. i didn’t want to admit to myself, or to anyone else, that i couldn’t do this without my meds. which is why i decided to

Make a video about it and admit it to as many people as possible. there is so much stigma against taking adhd medication. i’m not immune to feeling like i should be able to cope without it. we all get messages from people offering “alternative solutions” we deal with having to get a new prescription every month because adhd meds are considered a controlled substance.

And health insurance providers make us get special permission from our doctors explaining why we’re still taking it even though we’re not children. nobody tells a diabetic they shouldn’t use insulin. but there’s an entire world out there that will tell you that if you use adhd meds, you’re just not trying hard enough, that if you still need them as an adult, there’s

Something wrong with you. that if you give them to your kids that you’re taking the easy way out or “drugging them” because you aren’t dedicated enough to find a “better solution. there is nothing wrong with taking the medication your doctor prescribes to correct the neurotransmitter deficit in your brain. there is nothing wrong with providing the most effective adhd

Treatment available to your kids. there’s nothing wrong with choosing not to take it either! is trying to sell you something. *cash register noise* ourselves or anyone else, for their decision of treatment. if you do take it, don’t judge those who are looking for another way. and while we’re at it; if you’re successful managing your adhd, don’t criticize someone who’s

Still trying to figure it out. don’t be hard on yourself for not doing as well as somebody else is. we get enough judgement from the rest of the world without judging each other, the severity varies from person to person, and also depends on environment, so it’s totally possible that you do know someone who’s adhd was manageable with diet and exercise alone, but that

Doesn’t mean it’s enough for someone else, it’s rare that we adhd-ers get to hear that it’s okay that we need treatment and if you love this episode and wanna help me make more, thank you to all my patreon brains for your support. stimulant medication, which is what i take, is the most common and effective treatment for adhd, i’ll do a full episode in the next couple of

Months covering the different adhd medications and what the process of trying to find the right treatment is like. in the mean time, i’ve included links to more information in the description below.

Transcribed from video
What Happened When I Stopped Taking My Medication By How to ADHD