One of the major side effects of stimulant therapy is loss of appetite. As an almost 40-year-old, I wish my meds still took away my appetite the way they did when I was a kid. No such luck. But now I’m dealing with the same issue with my nine-year-old. Well, not the exact same issue. He actually eats a lot more than I did at his age. I had to supplement with old-school Ensure protein shakes. The graphic on the bottle makes it look fantastic. I can assure you that in the late eighties it was not. Super disgusting! My guy eats a good breakfast, claims to eat a decent lunch, and eats an enormous dinner. But he’s holding steady in the third percentile of height and weight. So it’s more of a concern with his overall growth. As background, both my wife, my brother-in-law, and myself all grew super late. In my case, I appear to have gotten the short genes in the family. My point is that the pediatrician had us go see the nutritionist about my son’s eating. She was great and gave up lots of options based on our food values. In other words, as a former chef I know a lot about food and we are pretty serious about eating low sugar, healthy, non-processed diets. So the nutritionist gave us lots of options to give him high impact, high energy foods that are also healthy. We’ve added in a cup of 2% milk with dinner and are experimenting with different nut butters and dried fruits so he doesn’t get sick of PB and craisins (which are usually pretty high in refined sugar anyway.) My biggest area of emphasis is his breakfast. He is very much all about white flour and sugar for breakfast. I can…

This has no bearing on ADHD but… I finally figured out a solution to a problem that has annoyed me for years and I feel the need to share. Whenever I take my propane tank to exchange at Curry Hardware it becomes a unpleasantly rolly-polly missile in my my car. I’ve tried packing stuff around it, putting it on the floor in the front seat, floor in the back seat, sitting it up, putting it on it’s side and wedging stuff under it. It always got loose. But I finally figured it out. See the picture. The ADHD life hack part is that I own two tanks. So I never run out in the middle of a BBQ. When on tank runs dry, I switch it out and IMMEDIATELY put refilling the first tank on my list of things to do. Then I don’t forget and have at least a few weeks to get it exchanged. 

So, I’ve always wanted to play an instrument. I tried the guitar around culinary school and the beginning of my career as a chef. It wasn’t the right time for me and it wasn’t the right instrument. But that was 15 years ago. For a while now I’ve been thinking that the drums are the right answer for me. But, I don’t want to be the guy who gets them, takes a few lessons and doesn’t practice. So, I’ve waited a long time to make sure that I’m ready to commit. I started three weeks ago and and practicing a few times a week and getting better… and having fun. One of the ways that I’m doing that is by keeping a super basic practice chart It give me positive momentum. I’ve talked about using this sort of thing for working out in the past. But it works really well for anything that you want to be consistent about. Check out the pic. Doesn’t have to be fancy.

I think I need to establish some givens in order to make this post as relevant to ADHD as I know it to be.  1st given: Exercise positively effect ATTENTION as well as mood and lessens anxiety. It helps manage hyperactivity and internal restlessness.  2nd given: Most ADHDers have a hard time setting up any routine, especially one that, by definition, requires consistency and intensity.  3rd given: I get demonstrable benefits from working out everyday. And, I’d say about 80% of my clients struggle to get the exercise I would argue that they need.  4th (not quite) given: There is plenty of emerging research that there is such a thing as an ADHD friendly diet. Lots of veggies, higher in lean protein, lower carbs, very low sugar, plenty of good fats, etc. Pretty much what’s good for humans, but it’s extra good for us.  So, that’s why I’m reviewing fitness apps. I’ve always said that keeping track of success is a great way to establish routine and make lasting life change. I alway suggest my clients use a blank calendar to keep track of days exercised. I do is as a seperate calendar in my digital calendar world. But I mark all my work outs and it feels sooooo good at the end of the month to see all those gold bars representing my work out “events.” But I also like to keep track of what I do. Specifically when running, I want to know how far and how fast. Which leads me to: App no. 1: Map My Run (Might be Map My Fitness now…)  Apps Website  I’m sure many of you have already heard of it. I’m also sure that there are many equally good competing apps. This is just the one I use. It is overall great. You can…

When I’m organizing with folks there is often a lot of anxiety about getting rid of stuff that the client is somehow invested in, whether it’s monetarily, emotionally, in terms of time, etc. I get that. It’s harder to let go of things that seem like they have come at a cost. Plus, we don’t want to create more waste than is necessary. But, the expression, “throwing good money after bad” comes to mind here. Here are a few examples, including one from my life. That dress that you spent a fortune on and only wore once before having your first child… that you’ll never fit into again. The supplies that you bought to do a specific art project (that you really think that you want to do) that have been languishing in the spare bedroom for three years. That sweet pair of shoes that are exactly what you always wanted and have never been able to find again… that are a half size too small and well never be comfortable.  The half finished woodworking project that you decided two years ago (on some level) wasn’t worth finishing. Yes, these things have all come at a cost of some kind or another. But now they are costing you in an entirely different way. They are causing your space and your life to negatively effect you. Ultimately, they aren’t worth anything to you, except pain and anxiety. I suggest moving on. Let that dress have a new life while it’s still fashionable. Let someone with slightly smaller feet dig those shoes as much as you do. Move on to an art project that you are really invested in. Create a new you while you create meaningful art. Clear out that project so you have the room in your workshop to make…

Reasonably good article in my in box this morning from ADDitude. Most of which I’ve covered in previous posts. But, if you wanted to hear it from a doctor, here’s the link and some important take aways (if you don’t feel like reading the whole article.) Whole Article Some take aways: You don’t have to wait forever to go up. When closely monitored by an experienced physician, you can begin go up on your dose as quickly as 3 – 7 days. The ONLY way to know what meds will work for you is trial and error. It is highly likely you will need to try more than one. Stimulant dose is not based on age, gender or body mass. It’s really about how your body metabolizes it. I’m 5′ 6 1/2″ and take more Ritalin than anyone I know. It is what it is. How long it lasts is unique to you. (I have many clients who say that Vyvanse, for instance, only lasts them 7-8 hours, not the 12 – 14 that it is touted as lasting.)

I find that often one of the biggest sticking points in getting rid of things is what to do with them. For those of us ADHDers who struggle with clutter, getting rid of things can be very difficult. Not only are there usually psychological underpinnings to why we struggle with the part of getting organized, there are also very practical reasons too. In order to decide what to get rid of, we need to be attentive, persistent, and use multiple executive functions. And of course there is decision making… which many of us struggle with.  So, what I often see is that a person can’t decide what to do with an item(s) so their default is to keep it… which is a total bummer. After examining and assessing an item and considering what to do with it, you’re stuck putting it back in the keep or maybe or I don’t know pile. And, there is no reason to believe that it will be easier to decide what to do with said item later. This can definitely contribute to a sense of not making progress, partly because it might mean you aren’t actually making progress.  So, what’s the solution? Give yourself only one decision to make. When evaluating every item simply ask yourself, “Is this item staying in my life of leaving it?” That minimized your executive function burden as much as possible. And, this is a great place to have your significant other, helpful friend, daughter, grandson, etc. help you. Let them take care of getting rid of the stuff that you decide that is going to leave your life. And let go of controlling that end destination. 

It has been my experience that, as ADHDers, we tend to get overwhelmed by simple but tedious tasks… like doing the dishes. The underlying brain chemistry reason is that we are tortured by boredom due to our lack of inherent dopamine in our prefrontal cortex. And, beyond that, we have a history of these things being unpleasant and seeming to take forever. But… we aren’t so good with time, right. I would suggest an experiment. And, to practice what I preach, I executed said experiment today. Being the former chef that I am, I took my morning off today to make sausage and duck confit from scratch. The picture below was the result of the preparation. (Bear in mind that I do clean while cooking to not leave a huge mess, but I was essentially using all of this at once while multitasking.) I found the kitchen overwhelming. Do you? But my experience told me two things. One, it wasn’t actually that bad. Two, go the the gym first then clean up when I have more dopamine, serotonin, and a sense of accomplishment on board. So I did that.  But here’s the real experiment. When I got back I made a sandwich, which was delicious but slightly added to the mess. Then I started a timer. In fact, this overwhelming task of cleaning the kitchen, wiping the surfaces, doing the dishes, and making myself a quesadilla for lunch, pt. II took a grand total of 14 minutes and 13 seconds. My reaction to this is: No big deal! I can handle 14 minutes of boring to have the clean kitchen. 14 minutes is concrete and not overwhelming. It is doable for me.  I will admit that I have the benefit of knowing that it wouldn’t be as bad as I thought it…

Good article in ADDitude about ADHD and emotions. I’ve always just referred to it as emotional dysregulation and thought of it as a symptom of whatever ails our prefrontal cortex. But is definitely a real thing. https://www.additudemag.com/slideshows/adhd-emotions-knock-off-our-feet/?utm_source=eletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=adult_june_2018&utm_content=062618

My son brought home this super addictive fidget toy the other day. Of course he got it as some sort of craft in after school. But I promptly appropriated it for fidgeting purposes. Play foam.  Pros: It apparently stays sticky and moldable… forever! It’s super fun to smush up. It doesn’t get stuck to anything except itself. Cons: I have noticed that after a week of so the color starts to come off a bit in my hands. It is, believe it or not, a bit noisy. Not great for super quiet environments.  Sticky Foam Link

So, I usually like to do a series of posts over the summer. I think I’ll start this summer with some quick tips on how to get organized… or more specifically, how to get rid of the clutter. It has been my professional experience that most people who have disorganized homes don’t struggle as much as they think with how to be “organized.” Rather, they usually struggle with how to get rid of things. Once we get rid of the excess, it is so much easier to organize what’s left. So, here’s tip number one.  Most people with substantial clutter have tried many times to get that clutter under control. That usually means boxes, bags, crates, shelves, drawers, or piles of stuff. Often those boxes haven’t even been looked through in months or years. Those boxes become sources of stress and anxiety. They feel impossible to go through or deal with in any way. Well, here’s a quick tip to make it much easier.  There are two ways to look at that box of old stuff. First is to think, “That box is full of great stuff. I’ll look through it and see if there is anything I can get rid of.” Second is to think, “This is a box of junk. Let me check quickly to see if there is anything worth keeping.” You might think this is a semantic argument. But it makes a big difference how you approach that box. It’s all about the burden of proof. Make those things in the box prove to you that they deserve to stay in your life, rather than keeping them being the default state. This applies even more the longer that box has been sitting around. If you haven’t touched it in over a year, consider taking it right…

I am not a doctor. But I have tremendous experience with taking medication and with working with my clients to help them understand how their meds are working… or not working. What I have found is that individuals often experience effects or side effects that are not listed in the literature. Some doctors poho-pooh these unreported side effects. But, my experience has been that, unless you are a legit hypochondriac, you’re probably right if you think you’re having a specific effect. And, over time, it’s pretty easy to figure out if it is related to the meds. But sometimes it’s hard to tell until you change dosages, take the med for a period of time, or go change. It’s also tough if you are a person who is not particularly attuned to you how your body works on a daily basis.  I’m lucky that I’ve got a pretty good level of self awareness. Always have. It was a real benefit when I was first trying meds at age 10. And, it continues to be as I continue to manage my brain chemistry with my amazing doctor. I’m going to use my current antidepressant as an example. It is called Trintellix (Vortioxetine.) It’s a pretty new drug. As far as I know it is in it’s own category. It is not a trycyclic, SSRI, or SNRI. The following the latest chapter in my antidepressant journey.  My most recent depressive episode began about 3 1/2 years ago. It was my third and I caught it quickly. I had had success with Zoloft (Sertraline) in the past. But this time it actually made me worse. That is strange thing number one. Just because something worked once, doesn’t mean it will now. My doctor wanted to go right to Trintellix after that, but the insurance…