Anxious To Be Stimulated

Today I had an appointment with a real-live psychiatrist! I went in to see if he could either confirm or deny my theory that I have Adult ADHD. He was basically pleasant and asked me lots of questions like "Is your house a mess or is it organized?" And I'd say "It's a twisted mess." Then he asked me to fill out a questionnaire with similar questions. At the end of the hour he was explaining to me how he was prescribing Adderall XR and that I should make an appointment to see him next week. I was a little apprehensive about being prescribed medication after spending only 45 minutes with this psychiatrist, and I told him so. We went through my list of questions and concerns, the best of which was "What if I don't have ADD and I take this drug, will it cause me any harm?" His response was "No it's basically harmless. Besides, I'm pretty sure you have ADD."

So now I've been doing a little research on Adderall XR and I have to say I'm anxious to see how it affects my crazy brain. My main long-term concern is with my med school studies. I've never been an A+ student, but my IQ has always been very high. I hope this will help me focus on my studies so that I don't struggle so much in school when it starts up in August. Tomorrow will be my first day on it, although it's a small dose of only 10mg. What I don't understand is how this drug that's classified as a stimulant is supposed to help me calm down and concentrate and reduce hyperactivity (in my case manifesting as nervous/obsessive finger tapping/air piano playing/air word typing). I'll report my findings here over the weekend.

Filed in: ADD • ADHD • Adderall