Welcome to the ADHD Roller Coaster’s archive of posts about medication. Perhaps no area of ADHD creates as much confusion.
These posts approach this topic from various angles.
Self-education is critical here. But it’s far too easy to be intimidated—or, worse, to suffer from low expectations.
Can we trust the average prescriber to get it right? Probably not.
As an ADHD advocate and educator for 20 years, I’ve heard thousands of medication-gone-right/wrong stories.
Almost all consumer books on ADHD reduce advice on medication to “Talk with your doctor.” No, I’m sorry, but that is not enough. Not for most people.
Self-Education and Self-Advocacy
Self-education and self-advocacy is the only way to improve your odds of getting the best results from medication.
My first book, Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.?, remains the only consumer book to detail a methodical approach to optimizing ADHD medication.
With ADHD Success Training, I’ll offer step-by-step guidance for working with your prescribing professional to achieve the best outcome.)
Attention: Therapists Treating ADHD
If you are a therapist, please know that you can help individuals and couples with ADHD medication treatment—while still respecting your licensing guidelines.
Please refer to Adult ADHD-Focused Couple Therapy: Clinical Interventions, by Gina Pera and Arthur L. Robin, PhD (2016, Taylor & Francis).
In light of the ongoing problems with Concerta generics, yesterday I updated this 2013 post about a novel methylphenidate (MPH) product: Quillivant XR. Now, given new information, I’m again re-updating today, May 19, 2020. Before …
Benzedrine is not today a stimulant used to treat ADHD. But it was used to treat many things—perhaps including unrecognized ADHD—in the past. Maybe you’re too young to have heard the song, “Who Put the …
ADHD and driving: For many years, Adult ADHD researchers made it a top priority. The evidence is clear: ADHD can impair driving safety. Also clear: Medication can improve driving skills. As for this cartoon, count …
An ADHD Drug holiday, they call it. As if stopping to take ADHD medications guarantees a fun, freedom-filled break from tedious routine. My friend John decided to not take his stimulant medication on a recent …
Having trouble receiving the authorized generic Concerta medication for ADHD — again? Well, you’re in the right place. As the first person to cover—and advocate on—this issue from the beginning, I can tell you: It’s …
The generic drugs industry makes headlines this month. That’s thanks to the investigations of journalist Katherine Eban. She is the author of Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom. Generic drugs are …
Yes, for many ADHD couples, a weekend without ADHD meds can be a very big deal. This first-person story speaks to two common reader questions: “It ADHD a real thing?” “Do the medications for …
Update 6/10/19: This post still explains details around what constitutes a generic. But with the introduction of at least four 12 who-the-heck-knows more Concerta generics, I have written a new post: Authorized Generic Concerta Update: …
By Taylor J., guest writer It’s a pernicious myth, this idea that stimulant medications are dangerous. In fact, it has been repeated so often, it’s largely accepted as fact. Yet, just as with Uncle …
What difference does it make later in life, to be diagnosed with ADHD and take medication? Why take medication for ADHD, anyway? What’s the point? Meg and I met just a few years ago. …