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Treating ADHD or Anxiety First?

IcedChai

717d

Hello! For people with ADHD and Anxiety which have you treated first? My Dr. wants to treat my anxiety first but I feel like I only get my anxiety from my ADHD. (for example when the household chores pile up and then I get anxiety over it) Has anyone seen improvement with their anxiety after just treating their ADHD?

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    • Lady6ug

      690d

      So...I agree with you. I have general and social anxiety and if we were talking social anxiety vs ADHD then it would depend on which one you think is causing the biggest problem. But for general anxiety, getting a handle on your ADHD will help your anxiety a lot. But it won't nessicarily work in the other direction and like you said, you'll be anxious about your ADHD.

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    • Lady6ug

      690d

      So...I agree with you. I have general and social anxiety and if we were talking social anxiety vs ADHD then it would depend on which one you think is causing the biggest problem. But for general anxiety, getting a handle on your ADHD will help your anxiety a lot. But it won't nessicarily work in the other direction and like you said, you'll be anxious about your ADHD.

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    • amandaalsey

      691d

      I was treated for my anxiety first too. She wanted to make sure my sypmtoms weren't JUST anxiety because I also have pretty bad anxiety After anxiety meds, I still had my add symptoms and then thats when she prescribed medication. I went from ritalin (yuck), to Folcalin (nope,too many side effects) to finally adderall, 30mg perfect. 20mg extended release in AM and 10 mg ex adderall in PM. Now my anxiety and add are handled and ive accomplished so much the past few months since being treated. No more anxiety attacks, or obsessing over certain things, happier and more productive Finally got my GED at 38 years old, got it within 2 months and then I got a great job right after Finally doing something productive on my life

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    • Hydrohead1989

      715d

      I'm currently in the process of being diagnosed with ADHD. My psychiatrist also wants to treat my anxiety first but I feel the same way you do.

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      • IcedChai

        714d

        @Hydrohead1989 well once I start taking it regularly again ill see if it helps with anything. Good luck to you!

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        • Hydrohead1989

          710d

          @IcedChai thank you!

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    • CrohnsyPoo

      715d

      Forgot to add, I still have anxiety. But it's different, more due to issues not related to ADHD. For example, before medication, I used to have anxiety from realizing I kept talking over people. Like I couldn't help it. Being medicated, I can control that impulse to talk over people so I don't have reason to be anxious since I'm not talking I've others. That said...ADHD medication does help with my focus, but it is not create motivation. And that's very important, because if I'm anxious about confronting my boss about an issue, I might choose to avoid saying anything which adds anxiety. Or if I fixate feeling like I should call friends and family more, it causes me anxiety and I lock up...don't even make more calls. This has nothing to do with ADHD.

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      • IcedChai

        714d

        @CrohnsyPoo good to know thank you for sharing with me! I was wondering what the medication would help with. I just learned I was diagnosed as a child but my parents never told me about it until very recently when I went in to the Dr because I was pretty sure I had it. So hopefully the meds will help me in some ways.

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    • CrohnsyPoo

      715d

      Lol I feel like they go hand in hand, but my psychiatrist wanted to address anxiety first before diagnosing me with ADHD. Was told that anxiety can mimic ADHD. I had to take group therapy for anxiety and depression for a few weeks while seeing a counselor, simultaneously had to get family to fill out paperwork on symptoms they'd seen over the years (since childhood). The counseling was really helpful, and I wasn't even dealing with depression just some anxiety intermittently at the time. Altogether we got me meds afterwards. I also at the time wanted to hold off on medication, which in hindsight, should've chosen to start sooner because that was a game changer.

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    • Sweetiepi3.14

      716d

      That is how my psychiatrist diagnosed my ADHD. She determined my anxiety and depression were BECAUSE of it! BINGO! Don't be afraid to advocate for yourself. Only you (and God) know your brain.

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    • bongmaster

      716d

      i was medicated for anxiety first since i wasn't diagnosed with adhd for a few years after my anxiety diagnosis. i'm still unmedicated for adhd— anxiety meds are tricky and i've been on a ton with no luck, but adhd meds immediately made me even MORE anxious. no idea! i'm still messing around with which meds work and which don't with my psychiatrist. it's one tricky process and i hope you find something that works for you!

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    • amandaalsey

      716d

      My doc treated my anxiety first, didn't help with adhd symptoms. She let me get on adderall once I did what she asked

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      • IcedChai

        716d

        @amandaalsey good to know. I have a follow up appointment next month and I suspect my dr may do the same. Thanks for sharing!

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    • Wormymcsquirmy

      716d

      My doctor treated my anxiety first but I WISH they’d just treat my adhd. I feel like so much of my anxiety stems from my adhd

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      • IcedChai

        716d

        @Wormymcsquirmy I completely agree!

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    • djslimetime

      716d

      My doctor did the same thing, I went along with it since my anxiety was really bad and caused me to have super bad anger episodes. I feel as if even getting the intense emotional reactions under control really helped me notice that ADHD was the major issue, while also solving another problem! I hope you can convince your doctor to start you on an ADHD med or you find another anxiety med that works for you. Good luck!

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      • IcedChai

        716d

        @djslimetime thank you! Ohh see i didn't know anger episodes were apart of anxiety, I do get those sometimes and definitely a very emotional person so maybe it will help in that regard. Thank you, it sounds like she wants me to take half my dose of lexapro and then follow up in June to see about adhd medication. Thanks for your input!

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    • Niz

      716d

      I have anxiety and suspect I may have ADHD and honestly I've been treating the anxiety it's been getting better than worse. So thinking I should get diagnosed and treatment.

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      • IcedChai

        716d

        @Niz it is pretty common to have anxiety and adhd together! Good luck!

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    • swaghetti.girl

      717d

      i treated my adhd first, went on vyvanse, but that increased my anxiety a bit just because it is a stimulant. it got rid of my anxiety over tasks like school and work, but increased any other anxiety that was unrelated to adhd. i eventually couldn't handle that anxiety anymore, so i stopped the vyvanse. now it has been 2 years and i restarted the vyvanse and it worked wonderfully, but still not without side effects. now i am on lexapro AND vyvanse which has helped me so much. i recommend treating your adhd first, because if you don't have that reaction to the medication, you won't need anxiety meds, but if you do, then you can have your anxiety treated in response to that!

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      • IcedChai

        717d

        @swaghetti.girl Thank you for sharing your experience! Good to know about the other medicine causing more anxiety. My dr started me on Lexapro...I took for a week but I couldn't sleep at all (no matter if I took it in the morning or night) and was nauseous and had headaches everyday for the week I was on it so I stopped taking it a few days ago. I would prefer to treat the adhd first since that is my main issue but some reason the dr says my adhd might not be as bad if I treat the anxiety first..gahh 🙃

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    • Emanity

      717d

      For me definitely. When I found methods of managing my adhd I noticed I freaked out less and was just generally less overwhelmed

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      • IcedChai

        717d

        @Emanity I feel like this is how I will be too. Thank you for sharing!

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☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision

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