My Browser Tabs Multiplied Again
Or “How my brain functions when my ADHD meds are back-ordered.”
My husband asked me this morning how the coffee was.
“It feels good.”
“Excuse me? It feels good? How does it taste?”
I blinked at him. “Uh, yes.”
He raised a brow.
I waved him off. “You know what I mean.”
And so that’s how we start my second day without my ADHD meds.
This wasn’t a voluntary choice. It wasn’t as if I chose to not take them. Hell, it wasn’t even that I’d forgotten to take them. Despite being a stimulant, if I didn’t have a pill box, I have been known to forget. So much for being an addictive drug like meth.
But that’s an article/rant for another day.
No, the reason I currently do not have methelphenadate in my system is because it’s currently on back order. In my entire little town. And if I’m lucky, it’ll be back in stock next Friday.
It’s been a while since I’ve been off my meds, and it only took two days for the effects to be evident.
Aside from the brain fog and — squirrel! — distraction, the biggest effect is my fatigue level. When I’m not medicated, the amount of time I spend asleep increases exponentially. And while that sounds great, imagine sleeping 8–10 hours, and you wake up feeling like you haven’t slept a wink.
Yeah, no fun.
So, what will I do in the interim? After all, I can’t stop living my life, or more importantly, doing my work. I have deadlines that I accepted before I knew medication would be an issue.
The first thing I always do it tell my family, especially my husband, as they are good at asking what I’m supposed to be doing when I wander around or I’m sitting at my desk with that deer-in-the-highlights look.
My notepad comes out, so I can write down things when I think about them. Because the remembering doesn’t always happen at a time when I can do something about it.
This gives me a running list of things that are on my plate, so when I’m done with my current project, like this article, I can see what’s next. This really helps when my brain is a sieve.
Also, I have many timers on my phone to remind me about things, like eating, because time blindness is besties with my concentration, and they like to go on vacation together.
Normally, this works well enough to get me through any lapse in medication. But the longer I go without, the less these processes work for me, so I hope next Friday is the day!
Wish me luck!
What do you do to help your brain stay on task? How do you handle your day-to-day ADHD challenges? Let me know!