My experience is that the psychiatrist initially prescribed me way too large doses even though I mentioned I’m sensitive to drugs, they just went on with the “regular titration plan”, and I believe that intensified my burnout. Another thing in here is that they’ll basically try 3 individual drugs (with maybe 3 different doses) and that’s it. If there are any issues you’ll easily get cut off the meds, there isn’t much consideration for alternatives. You’ll be lucky to try the actual ADHD meds, especially if you rely on public health care, as many are refused neurological evaluations and are stuck with SSRI’s or similar.

Thank you for your thoughtful response and funnily enough it makes me think of surfing.

The hardest part to surfing by far is dropping in on the wave, it is a dynamic motion that is unlike what happens once you get to a standing position and have fully caught the wave. You have to experience it as a reactive process that you fling yourself into and if you have ever watched surfing videos it is obvious it can easily go haywire if just a couple of motions are off or are timed incorrectly. If surfers only judged waves by how they felt initially to catch and not what riding the wave actually felt like after would that make sense?

Yet this is how we treat ADHD people beginning drugs. Catching a wave is inherently a moment of chaos that has to be framed in that way, but why do we frame beginning an ADHD drug and adjusting dosages like it could be something you could schedule like a timetable of train arrivals? Everything is stilted about ADHD treatment including medication and the sloshing wavelike nature of adjusting to a new drug makes a rigid attempt at navigating it almost feel meaningless sometimes. Maybe it will work maybe it won't but can I even know if I am am even gathering data about what works and what doesn't given how unresponsive and rigid the methods available to me are?