[jonwest]

I can’t say conclusively, but anecdotally, I do extremely well on a much lower dose of a stimulant than I was originally prescribed. I would try with the _absolute_ smallest amount of the extended release variant of your medication that is prescribed.

I was originally prescribed something like 30mg daily when I was in university and it made me super anxious to the point of dumping all of my medication. Years later, I gave it another shot with the understanding that it would be a tool and not a solution, and I would take the absolute minimum amount necessary and no more. It worked significantly better.

It’s unfortunate that so few doctors are willing to prescribe medication for people with properly diagnosed ADHD. I also can’t help but think that regardless of the condition, if your doctor is only willing to try one type and dose of medication to treat a condition, that sounds like a shitty doctor. This isn’t diabetes—there’s not a measurable target that’s needed to be hit for optimum performance.

ADHD conditions and symptoms are a spectrum and different people respond to different medications and doses differently. Every trial of medication should be exactly that—a trial, until something works.

You don’t go to an optometrist and have them say “you’ve got astigmatism, here’s your glasses” in a one size fits all scenario, you go through the different lenses until you reach the best one _for your situation at the time_.