Adult ADHD: Anyone have experience?

Ive had severe adhd since childhood. I am now 70. Twenty years ago i was finally put on Adderal 20 2x daily. It was a game changer. My depression and anxiety were dramatically better. Ive read all the books (able to do it with adderall) on skills to help and they absolutely do but a stimulant is still needed. Now that i hit 70 and my psychiatrist for the past 8 years retired, i cant find one dr to prescribe the adderall because of my age. I understand the risks with this med. My life is miserable again with deep depression. After being shamed by 3 new providers and talking into deaf ears im at my wits end. I take my bp regularly. Whats the sense of living longer if your miserable with depression and anxiety. The risks of stimulants are worth it and a no brainer. Age does not make adhd go away. In fact i think the challenges of normal aging make it worse. Ive read not a lot of research has been done with adhd over 70 years old. Why?? So hear we suffer terribly. Please help. If there is a provider who will write this script please forward. Im at the end o my rope. Thank you. Ed

I am so sorry to hear of the life challenges… who needs ‘extra’ as we get older? I am 60 and have been recently dx’ed with ADHD secondary to trauma. I would agree that as we age we have brain challenges. I can for. Fact that that info is in black white data. I wish I could help with finding a doc that gets you. I don’t know anyone as right now I am being prescribed by my pcp until I attend my new patient psychiatry appt which is further down the road than I could function. I’m wondering if there is a Gerontologist that might have some experience with your situation? Best wishes!

Ed, I am not sure if I can help you but I have a son who is 50 and has always had ADD/ADHD. Unfortunately he was never diagnosed till he was 16 due to his inability to succeed in school and keep a side pizza job. His anxiety can go through the roof . He is married now for over 20 years with a lovely wife seven children, and an administrative type of position. As a teen we took him to a child psychiatrist who started him on methylphenidate which was a game changer. I want to say there has been a mood stabilizer and an anti depressant med added. My advice to you at your age is to go see a psychiatrist not a pcp and really sell your situation. I know there have been times when it was hard for my adult son to find someone, but a good psychiatrist should be able to help you. As long as you don’t have an additive personality you should be able to find someone who can help you . But I would not recommend a pcp for ADHD initially if at all. I don’t think it is their forte. (especially if you are older). Good luck. I’m sorry you are dealing with this. Life should be easier!! irene5

@blackie1234
My 15 year old son was diagnosed at 8 years old due to feedback from school/teachers and his struggles with learning/focus/behaviors. He went to his pediatrician and we completed surveys (parent/teacher input) and then he was referred to a psychologist to do a psychological assessment/evaluation. He was diagnosed with ADHD and then his pediatrician received the report and prescribed amphetamine salts at first but he had bad side effects. He was then prescribed methylphenidate and it took a while to adjust the medication to help with symptoms. Additional survey inputs were gathered along the way and it took about 2 years to get to good dosing. He had a child psychiatrist help the pediatrician adjust medications. He was also prescribed 3mg guanfacine for mood which he took at night and the 72 mg methylphenidate (maximum dosage allowed) in the morning. This helped him tremendously. His behaviors and grades improved. He needed to eat a lot in the morning before medication due to reducing appetite and then a lot at night when the medication wore off. He takes 5mg methylphenidate in the afternoon after school to help him do homework as he is coming off medication (helps smooth the transition off the stimulant).

My son’s father was then diagnosed with ADHD by a psychologist after testing. We were already divorced annd the diagnosis explained a lot. He was in his early 50s at the time. He was prescribed adderal amphetamine salts plus a SSRI antidepressant due to his high anxiety. His primary care physician is the prescriber. He is currently 59, soon to be 60. He also shows some signs for being on the autism spectrum and/or sensory processing disorders.

My son got an updated psychological evaluation which then showed several learning disabilities. Despite this, he has been able to be on the honor roll in middle school and at the start of high school. He has reduced his methylphenidate to 54mg per day and has not had any growth issues (6ft tall and still growing at 15 years old). I do worry about his challenges as an adult continuing to get treatment for ADHD and medication to help him do his best.

Have you had a psychologist diagnose your ADHD and provide you with a copy of your report? Did your retired psychiatrist transfer his patients to a new psychiatrist to continue medication management for his patients? That should have happened. You shouldn’t have been just dropped and left on your own. I would try to find out where patients were referred after your psychiatrist’s retirement, get copies of your records, find a new psychologist/psychiatrist and get the right medication to treat your ADHD and depression so you can function at your best no matter what your age is. You are more at risk for not being treated for ADHD (driving, falls, accidents, self care, paying bills on time, etc.). You are right that many do not fully understand ADHD, especially adult ADHD. There may be concern about prescribing stimulants to people over 50 due to concerns for reduced appetite but adding medication for depression and taking stimulants after eating and eating more after medication wears off may help ensure there is no weight loss due to stimulant medication.

I was diagnosed with ADD (or ADHD inattentive type) in my 40s. I am now 54. Adderall worked for me. Strattera did not. Now I am on 60 mg of Vyvanse. It helps, but I have had significant life changes over the past year.

So, I am currently struggling with ADD, MDD, and Dysthymia (now called Persistent Depressive Disorder).

I was finally diagnosed with MDD, GAD, and Dysthymia at age 28. PTSD diagnosis came later on, but I believe the PTSD has resolved over time.

My Psych NP is very focused on getting my insomnia under control, so he had been doing the trial and error thing for months. For me, insomnia is the first symptom to show up and the last symptom to go away. The current Psych NP thinks that trauma is the reason for the insomnia, however, I disagree with him.

I am so tired of not functioning. My executive function is non-existent. I have zero motivation and feel like a total failure.

I am seriously considering switching providers. I recently went to a different practice to have the GeneSight testing done, to see what meds I best metabolize, since my current provider was reluctant to do the test. The practice that did the GeneSight test is about 45 minutes away, but I am willing to do that drive for the right provider. I had 2 appointments there so far. The first appointment was quite an extensive intake. The second appointment was kind of like the intake plus doing the DNA cheek swab.

I have a third appointment scheduled toward the end of this month to go over the results of the test. Hoping I get some good med suggestions from the test.

For a long time, I wished I had Bipolar instead of MDD because I have known people with Bipolar that seemed to accomplish so much of what they wanted to do. They got shit done. But after learning about the negative aspects of mania and how hard it is to regulate Bipolar mood swings, I am glad I do not have it.

Sorry for the random ramble.

@2026 did you find help and a prescriber for your meds?

@mglayton72 I can’t imagine all of this. But can relate to your comments when you said this,

“ or me, insomnia is the first symptom to show up and the last symptom to go away. The current Psych NP thinks that trauma is the reason for the insomnia, however, I disagree with him.

I am so tired of not functioning. My executive function is non-existent. I have zero motivation and feel like a total failure.”

As far as insomnia goes-while I don’t suffer overall from it, can certainly be kept awake by not being able to shut off racing thoughts, ideas, anxieties,…all typical adhd issues. Not just ptsd. And absolutely I disagree with doctors, and often must advocate for different paths and explanations of why “this or whatever,” is happening. The best ones truly listen and try to understand and find ways to help or help you navigate locating solutions. It’s a maze and you unfortunately have to be the captain of the ship. If that makes sense!

And not functioning-oh yes!!! Likely anyone reading this, including myself, can relate to this! I feel worthless and unable to complete simple projects, etc. beyond annoying and feeling worthless- leading to being self critical and more.

Zero motivation-certainly without supportive adhd I would lack all motivation,…. And often feel like a total failure. So many circumstances feel this.

I’ve heard little about the testing for the proper treatments based on genes and hope you learn something from it. If so that you can share whatever you learn, as likely many people have an opportunity to also benefit from we are all so different

Have you seen any functional medicine doctors ? I’m seeing one, and while it’s early in my path for this find some of what they offer can be learned online and with some great podcasts that can be very helpful.

One area comes up that I saw in a previous mental health topic brought up having low vitamin D. Now that’s not my issue, but what I’ve gathered from it could be applicable to yourself or some of the others searching for answers to this. Oftentimes levels of vitamins-like Vitamin Deficiency can affect your mood and body/mental health more than given credit for. Having a work up of some overall measures can help balance you. I’m not a doctor, but have tried to understand how this can be implemented and improved if possible

Good luck-you aren’t a failure and i appreciate you Thank you for sharing your ramble. I’m sure my ramble is truly a RAMBLE! Lol

@patwerthman

Functional Medicine? I am not familiar with that specialty. I will have to look into that.

In terms of blood work, most of my levels are normal. Some months ago I had abnormal results for iron and ferritin. Both were low. My doctor diagnosed me as having Iron Deficiency Anemia and put me on an iron supplement. Sometime in September, I will have more blood work to test my iron and ferritin levels again. Hopefully the iron supplement has brought up my levels to normal. If not, then maybe my doctor will increase the iron from once a day to twice a day. It is possible the cause is due to the gastric bypass surgery I had in 2018, however the iron and ferritin levels being low came on all of a sudden. Previous blood work showed normal levels. So, why would iron and ferritin numbers suddenly drop? I would like to know the cause of Iron Deficiency Anemia.

The struggle with depression is an every day thing. Since at least January 2026. Emotionally, I am mostly flat or numb. I do feel anger at times. And I definitely am annoyed or irritated easily and those feelings are more often than straight up anger. Part of the annoyance or irritation may be due to weaning/tapering off of Abilify.

I am going to ask for or suggest adding Vraylar to my prescriber in 2 days (Monday). It will require decreasing or discontinuing some of the medications I am on currently. I feel like I am on a shit ton of psychotropics.

Zoloft, Vyvanse, BuSpar, Trazodone, Hydroxyzine.

Thankfully during this MDD episode I have not had the suicidal thoughts or urges. And I was only homicidal once...when I could not take the damn vacuum apart. I about launched that vacuum into orbit. I was totally yelling and cussing at it like it was a person. Looking back, I kind of find it humorous. The rage was completely out of character for me.

Anyway, another rambling post...

@mglayton72
Interesting. I’m not sure what causes low iron, but several of the girls in our family have it. Daughter recently, though she experienced severe blood loss-long story. But is recovering. Daughter in law-maybe it’s the surgery. Granddaughter -one of them for sure, but she takes liquid iron daily,.. so very much want to support them as well. Multiple medications and of course different people and conditions dealt with should make solutions individualized. There should not be a one sized fits all for everyone, unfortunately!

So I looked up what “functional,” medicine is and where I checked in with a different doctor in hopes of getting to the bottom of some of what seems off in myself. I am pasting what they claim as it’s much of what I am seeking and attempting to work through.
What is it?
“a direct-pay functional and holistic medicine clinic.

History and Leadership
* Led by Dr. who brings over 30 years of medical experience spanning critical care, cardiology, and regenerative medicine.
* Operates as a direct-pay facility that bypasses Medicare and commercial insurance to provide highly individualized care.
Focuses on identifying and treating root causes of complex, chronic conditions rather than just masking symptoms.
Core clinical targets include gut health, thyroid disorders, autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammation, hormone imbalances, and cellular recovery. “
I have found the main point to get to the “root cause,” of an issue. So for example in general it’s easy to pacify a person by saying take two aspirin and call me in the morning, when complaining about a problem, versus investigating deeper-why are you always having this problem??? Granted that’s an over generalized and simple answer, but you likely get the point. If your levels are low in something taking a supplement or drug may help, of course, but before that (if or whenever possible) trying to figure out just why this level is so off??? I’m not a fan of throwing a drug or anything at an issue without understanding why. And also would like to attempt more natural ways of dealing with say blood pressure, blood sugar, &/or others.
I hope this makes sense!

From @ellu - I have four adult children, and three of them are on medication for ADHD. I wish I had recognized the symptoms earlier, but they were not diagnosed (by a psychiatrist) until ther 30s. The good news is that as soon as he started on medication, my oldest son immediately felt the benefit, and is now holding down a senior job at Melbourne University - that is Melbourne, Australia. We have psychologists here who specialize in ADHD Life Coaching. They help by addressing the abnormal thinking which can come with ADHD, and two of my sons see a psychologist regularly, to help them live "normally" in the world. Every person is different, so a medication which works for one person may not suit another, so it is a trial-and-error process of trying different medications until you and your doctor hit upon one that works for you. I believe the psychological counselling is vital, helping my children to understand their issues and learn how to navigate
life. By the way, all three of my adultchildren who have ADHD hav ben enabled to hold down demanding professional jobs and have a rich social life. There is light at the end of the tunnel!! From @ellu