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sciencesnob t1_itl296v wrote

I was a classic case of ADHD as a child. It went into remission when I was teenager. Came back full force as an adult though. Same thing happened with my friend.

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Rubyhamster t1_itmxmtj wrote

How can one get "remission" on a neurology you were born with? Isn't ADHD a lack of dopamine reseptors, among other inherrent physical aspects? I know the brain is adaptable, but remission sounds like it is a disease, which it is not. You probably just had a lifestyle that fitted well with your teenage ADHD brain? I lived totally functionally until I was 19, when my life went into the shitter because of changes in my life.

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TarthenalToblakai t1_itn6e69 wrote

From what I understand it's not a lack of dopamine receptors so much as one's dopamine reuptake system being "too efficient" -- effectively cleaning up the dopamine before it's had the opportunity to actually finish doing its neurological job.

But yeah, ADHD in particular is a very multifaceted, complex, and nuanced topic. Being a neurological disorder already makes it such, but the way it intersects and interacts with social contexts makes for such a large variety of manifestations, many seemingly contradictory.

I did mostly fine as a kid because structure was imposed on me by school and parents...and because I had intense rejection sensitivity (and validation euphoria) which shaped my coping mechanisms. Yeah I hated and procrastinated on homework until the very last minute, but I'd ultimately do it because the prospective shame of teachers and parents being disappointed in me was overwhelming. Yeah I'd fidget, but to save myself from attention and embarrassment I'd keep them subtle and unnoticeable by others, like little tiny finger movements (imagining I'm playing an instrument -- in my case initially the recording and then the violin). Yeah I'd daydream and lose focus in class, but if there was a chance the teacher would call on me to answer something I'd be laser focused -- don't wanna disappoint.

Because of this no one knew I had ADHD, including myself. Always just figured I was just a "creative daydreamer" and "sensitive hopeless romantic". Never even considered the possibility as all I knew was the stereotype of hyperactive disruptive children with poor grades who couldn't focus where I was the opposite: a quiet and reserved kid with good grades who would hyperfocus on a good book or video games for hours (gee who would've thought that hyperfocus on things you're very interested in is itself a symptom of something called "attention-deficit" disorder.)

In middle school my family and I suspected social anxiety and got some SSRIs to medicate which ended up being terrible (made me feel incredibly apathetic to everything.)

And so for the longest time I figured I was just doomed to be an introverted socially anxious person.

Then adulthood came and I lost the externally imposed life structures of childhood and just fell apart. Still took me a decade to figure out I had ADHD, but in retrospect it all made so much sense...and my so-called social anxiety was primarily me subconsciously leaning into my rejection sensitivity as a coping mechanism to fight against other ADHD symptoms.

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Rubyhamster t1_itn7lrf wrote

Wow, you are me. I was exactly the same. Realizing in my 30s that I've lived with ADHD my whole life was such a relief. I was mindblown. It all suddenly made sense. Thought I was doomed to not handle life and have been constantly stressed for 15 years. I just hope I can repair my self esteem in time to save my health from further unhealthy stress

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iforgotmyacctinfo123 t1_itntplb wrote

Holy hell, this hit really close to home to the point that I got a bit emotional, reading it; I could’ve sworn we were living the same life. I’m no expert in the field nor topic, but have been struggling for years now in my adult life (I’m 27), to the point of emotional distress. I had always suspected the possibility of ADHD, but didn’t fully buy into it (mainly because I thought you had to be the textbook hyperactive, attention deficit description to fully consider it a possibility. The other reason being that I was an adult and it seem so odd to me to have these issues arise so prominently now; I just shrugged as just “life” itself), but reading this, I should get myself checked out or tested. Thank you for sharing your story, and I hope things have been much easier to manage for you in recent times

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volkmasterblood t1_itn3xnd wrote

You can’t get ADHD remission and the original guy is talking out if his ass.

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Mercinary-G t1_itnmc8o wrote

A lot of people are not aware that estrogen diminishes ADHD symptoms and puberty can be a positive time for some ADHD peeps. Estrogen is important hormone for both males and females.

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sciencesnob t1_ito7xea wrote

That tracks as my I have been put on estrogen pills now bc I dont produce enough

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Mercinary-G t1_ito9mko wrote

I just recently learnt all of this because I had a Progesterone only iud implanted and my ritalin stopped working. My doctor thought it was all in my mind because the dose is so small but she agreed to give me estrogen gel. She is not my ADHD doc. Estrogen helped so much. Estrogen has an enhancing effect while Progesterone has a canceling effect on ritalin. All executive function is impacted by these hormones. Just fyi

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