Thanks guys for the replies guys
Nothing is perfect. What you’re calling as “motivation” I’m translating as desire to want to do things that you like, don’t like, and don’t know about yet in a consistent manner. MPH will probably help get through tasks you already know but it won’t necessarily make you happier or more creative or willing to try new things.
What I mean with 'motivation' is mostly towards things I actually like, like hobbies.
Chores like 'clean the dishes', 'do this task', 'buy groceries' are no problem. Maybe starting is sometimes difficult when not medicated, but no big issue.
But hobbies, like 'go out and take pictures with your new camera', despite me really wanting to do them, I can't. I can do everything until actually doing it, like researching techniques, buying lenses and equipment, but when it's time to use all of that, it feels like a mental block.
Another example is dancing. I love dancing and am doing choreographies with friends. It's always a ton of fun and practicing with them is no problem, but when I want to practice alone to get better, I just can't. I can think about every step I am going do, pick out the location where I will go to, what to pack, but then when it's time to actually go out and do it, the block is back.
This happens to most things that require initial motivation out of my own will to start that are without external influence, just me. And these are things that I genuinely enjoy and have fun doing and look forward to. It's very hard to describe, almost like a mental wall?
I checked a bit up and some people with ADHD have similar issues. Stims help really well with sticking to things and focus, but I hoped there was more I can do because living like this is very frustrating. That's why I created this thread.
If we're purely talking medications and/or supps then don't forget about wellbutrin. It very well might be the most activating of the common AD's. I find it helps with motivation more than adderall, but doesn't give me nearly the same amount of focus, ability to think many steps ahead, and does nothing for restlessness. I ended up having to pick one or the other because taking both together at the same time gave me really bad anxiety so I went with the adderall.
Wellbutrin didn't cross my mind. Though it seems to be very similar to my current Atomexetine + MPH combo in that it inhibits dopamine and norepinephrine. I'll try to read a bit up on it!
Guanfacine will help concentration and working memory but not necessarily motivation. It also changes your blood pressure and can make it too low but maybe not in conjunction with MPH.
The reason why I also added Guanfacine to the list is because it's helping a lot with rejection sensitive dysphoria. It's a far stretch, but one thought was that maybe this somehow attributes to depression, or to fear of trying things and failing. Again, far stretch.
The Vayarin combo is marketed to do the same thing for focus but not necessarily motivation.
Omega3 is probably good in either way. There is also talk about it improving depressive symptoms in high dosages. I'm a strict non-fish / seafood eater and thought that I might be lacking in it. Again suspecting maybe some sort of depression. Adding phosphatidylserine on top was because of Vayarin.
What about trying to swap the MPH with an MAOI. Believe I saw a few studies out there I think that show similar efficacy with MAOIs. Maybe you should ask your doc if that’s an option instead of trying to take them together. I don’t think many docs would be comfortable with coadministration and would probably rather have you on one or the other. There are a couple of anecdotals out there from those that combine the two but it’s experimental and they stick to really low dosages and you’d be playing with fire here.
Nothing is perfect. What you’re calling as “motivation” I’m translating as desire to want to do things that you like, don’t like, and don’t know about yet in a consistent manner. MPH will probably help get through tasks you already know but it won’t necessarily make you happier or more creative or willing to try new things.
There is no perfect pill or stack. With things like this we have to take the least amount needed and build up the rest environmentally. If you’re using Adhd meds to try to get to a point over baseline, you’re setting yourself for a long ordeal of trying to manage your life with constant volatility and possible damage to your health.
I don’t know if MAOIs and Strattera are ok together but it might be an better option to take out the MPH at this point and try MAOI with Strattera or even by itself, rather than continuing to look for validation for a risky combo. Problem with MAOI is that they cause levels of neurotransmitters to rise over time so things could be fine for 2 weeks and then you suddenly start having interactions which is partially what makes them unpredictable and unsafe. RIMA is safer but I’d still pause at combination with MPH.
Modafinil is somewhat similar to MPH but weaker. It may be worth a try at some point independently, or maybe with just Strattera. Please check the interactions. The risk of it adversely affecting your heart if you take it with any type of mao is something you should probably stay away from. Best of luck.
Yes I agree with you. I gave up on the idea idea of combining a MAOI and MPH, unless I find a way to try it in a very safe matter (that is, for MAO-A).
The reason why I even started with this was because MAOIs seem from what I gathered very good for ADHD (+ symptoms like RSD) and depression in general. I hate munching pills, and being on stimulants most of the time worries me about long term effects, so replacing all of that with a MAOI which seems to be much safer, is something that absolutely caught my attention.
Swapping MPH for a MAOI is something I want to do, but currently my work makes it difficult to stop MPH completely without falling back a good chunk. It's going to be another few months or so before I have enough time, sadly.
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On the topic of MAOIs, I posted in my other MAOI thread as well that I ran into Selegeline which is in very low dosages (5mg~10mg) selective to MAO-B.
There is also this study here (https://www.research...andomized_Trial) comparing Selegiline to MPH, but it looks like with the dosaging up to 15mg, that it might have lost selectivity for that study.
Nevertheless Inhibiting MAO-B exclusively would still act on dopamine and maybe allow to reduce MPH, if not stop it completely which is still a win but it probably won't do much to motivation or any of the other symptoms I mentioned though. So, meh.
Sorry for being a little all over the place. I am also still learning about all of this day by day and any input is helping me a lot.