ADHD Meds: Help, Not a Cure

This episode explores ADHD, medication options, and navigating healthcare as a college student. We share insight about diagnosis, medication types, and advocating for support at college - and with your doctor!

Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals! Do some more research and touch base with your provider, please.

We're answering:

• Are ADHD medications going to cure my problems? I’m starting my first year of college and my high school teachers helped me with IEP things but I don’t think my professors will do the same things. I was thinking of asking my mom to help me talk to my doctor about medications but I don’t know where to start. Am I allowed to ask or do I have to pass tests? Thanks for your help.
• What is it like to take adhd meds? My dr wants to put me on them but it sounds like there’s a lot of different types

Show notes: 

• Therapists - Join us June 17, 2026, at 12pm Pacific time: https://www.cryptidlearns.com/course/kink-healing-inner-child-live

To ask us questions, fill out the form at www.neurokink.org/auys

Find more content on Patreon (18+): www.patreon.com/AcesUpYourSleevePodcast

Sabrina at www.radicalingingishtsconsulting.com or @radicalinsightsconsulting on social media (FB, IG)

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

This is the Aces Up Your Sleeve podcast, and we're the Aces Up Your Sleeve in relationships from romantic to workplace, parental to platonic, your relationship with yourself, and everything in between. Led us to autistic aspect kinky therapist to be your secret weapon in neurodivergent life.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

And here's your disclaimer: this is not therapy or therapeutic advice, and we're not on the clock. What you'll hear are our thoughts on different topics, what we might do in your shoes, and how we've supported others through similar situations. Hello and welcome to the Aces Up Your Sleeve podcast. I am your host, Sabrina. And I'm your host, Cade. And today we're talking ADHD and ADHD meds, especially. Um, so welcome to the podcast. We're glad you're here. Let's jump in. Are ADHD medications going to cure my problems? I'm starting my first year of college, and my high school teachers helped me with and uh with IEP things, but I don't think my professors will do the same things. I was thinking of asking my mom to help me talk to my doctor about medications, but I don't know where to start. Am I allowed to ask? Do I have to pass tests?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Thanks for your help. There's a handful of questions actually in this question.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yeah. You want to go like question by question?

SPEAKER_00 1:36

Well, I was thinking the easiest one to answer is the piece around I don't think my professors will help me with the IEP stuff. They should. There should be uh either disability department or accommodations department or someone at your school you can talk with. Usually it's like a college counselor, um, if they don't have a department. And they should be able to say, Oh, you've got this IEP from high school. Great, bring us a copy, we'll see what we can do. And and they should help even advocate for some of those accommodations for you.

SPEAKER_01 2:05

The first time that I got accommodations was in college, was in undergrad, and it was actually before my ADHD diagnosis. Most campuses, all campuses, I believe, actually, have a student disability center or student accessibility. It's called different things. They are required by the ADA to support students who need support. And ADHD is a disability. Because of that, you have a right to supports that will actually help you. Having your old IEP is super helpful. If you were diagnosed with ADHD through a psychological assessment, um, so I think mine is like 15 pages of writing. I like went in, did a two-day thing, da-da-da. If you got diagnosed that way, it's not the only way to get diagnosed, but if that's how you were diagnosed, bringing that along is super helpful. If you have a therapist and they can write you, I write these all the time for clients. All like all of my college students need one like once a year at least. So we just sit down together. Some schools are great and they have a process where they will send me a form and I just have to go through it. I always go through it with my client, um, but like go through it and answer each of the questions. Um, but sometimes they just want a more informal letter, which like outlines these are the diagnoses, these are the treatments that we're like working on, these are how they impact them, and these are the accommodations that I recommend. So there's a whole system built just for this in college and in grad school. I also had accommodations in grad school. I had them for the GRE exam to get into grad school. Like I had them for my licensure exam to become a therapist. You can get accommodations at every level of education.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Yeah. So that's probably the easiest answer of all of your questions here. Uh and then are ADHD meds gonna cure your problem?

SPEAKER_01 3:47

I thought that was the easiest to answer because no.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

No, there's no cure. And like all the problems in your whole life. Like, I don't think that's what you mean, but I do think that like, no, man, they could help. They might help. They might not, they might, but like cure nah. I do think that like instead doing like looking to see if they could be helpful and might reduce like challenges.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Absolutely. I meant to brush up on the research before we hit record, but I forgot to do that. But there was a new study, I believe, from this year that came out about the effects of ADHD meds and essentially said that taking them is like refreshing your brain with a decent night's sleep. So if you also get a good night's sleep, then that kind of doubles their effectiveness that day. And that it makes the tasks that are not completely miserable more doable. The tasks that are still completely miserable for us sadly stay pretty miserable. So if you're defining your problems as I can't do these tasks that I hate, ADHD meds might help with that at first, but they're not gonna make you suddenly love certain tasks or be like a wizard at certain skills that you haven't had before. It they just help bring us a little bit more of those feel-good endorphins and a little bit more of that focus.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah. And my experience with them, I used to say, so um, I'm better doing like um kind of admin type work, paper writing, things like that, outside of my house. So when I was in grad school, I used to show up to the building really early. Like my first class was at like nine or ten or something. Um I would show up at like seven. Um, and then I would sit there and do like write papers. Like I would write a whole paper before class. Um, and part of that was just like I needed a different environment. And then when lockdown happened, um, when we began our COVID journey, um like we were all sent home and I couldn't go and write my papers. And so I actually found so I started taking ADHD meds. Um, once again, I've been on and off of them throughout my adult life. What I found was that like it felt like I was writing back at the school, where like it's still like challenging, but it was like I had like an extra upper hand was kind of how I like described it, right? It was like, okay, so like what was not doable at home, but doable somewhere else. Now that I couldn't do it somewhere else, I could actually do it at home with the meds. And that's kind of what it felt like to me.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

I think it's much more rare that people um take them and I've heard it described as like, oh, I feel like a Disney princess suddenly I can get things done and sing to the little animals, and it just feels like everybody's helping me finish all these tasks and everything's going good and smooth. That tends to be a very small percentage of people I talk to who are on ADHD meds. Most of what I hear is much more like what Sabrina's saying, where it just boosts things and makes it feel a little more accessible in different environments.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

I see a lot of people have a the first month is a little bit of the Disney princess. Like, and I don't know if this is placebo. I don't, I don't know what it is. And even for some folks, if they take a break and come back to them, like um, I usually part of the reason that I go on and off is because like I usually find them most efficacious if I like have only recently started them. Like, I haven't done any research on why that is, but I at least know that like it is not uncommon for like if you do feel like, oh my god, this is like black and white difference. This is a huge whatever. Um, if that goes down, that doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong or like, you know, whatever. It's not uncommon in any way.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

I wonder, in part, you know, with the newer research, if that's because you go for like uh a year getting a night's sleep every night through the meds, and that starts to just feel like the average regular every night I feel. Yeah. But then you stop getting that good night's sleep for a couple months, and you're like, whoa, I'm tired, things are kind of falling apart, I don't know how I'm gonna get these tasks done, and you go back to taking it, and again, suddenly, oh, I'm getting a good night's sleep, and this is fresh and new, and I feel rejuvenated. That would make a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Yeah, I agree. In general, we acclimate to how easy your heart something is. This is the same thing of like why different people's pain feels differently, like folks with chronic pain. By the end of my day, I'm usually in an amount of pain. I'm getting to the point of like that's been true for several years now. It's just the amount of pain I expect to be in. It's not anything that I'm necessarily saying anything about or acting on because it's just by the end of my day, I'm expecting to be in that much pain. You know, sometimes I'm like real creaky getting up to bed or whatever, but like it's a little bit different than like someone who maybe is not, uh does not have chronic pain or has not broken their back or whatever the fuck, who like ending a day in pain is like really uh a highlight, right? Or a low light. It's like very distinguishable. That's kind of I think the difference. And especially because our brains, as ADHDers, are really looking for that novelty and are really like looking for something new and different. Once attention becomes, or like once that like steady focus becomes the norm, we acclimate to that really quickly. And then it's like, okay, but like, shouldn't it be more?

SPEAKER_00 9:28

I think you're right. I think that's a good point. And it's also why a lot of people end up tapering meds a little higher or down and trying something different. The other piece of the question here around I was thinking of having my mom help me talk to my doctor about meds. I don't know where to start. Am I allowed to ask for meds? Do I have to pass tests? If you haven't already been evaluated for ADHD, you might have to do some semblance of a test. It might be what Sabrina's describing, but it might also be here's a short questionnaire for you and one of your guardians to fill out. Really depends on the doctor.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah. Um, so you can go a variety of routes in terms of um like getting prescribed ADHD medication. You can go to your primary care physician. Some of them um will feel comfortable both diagnosing but also prescribing ADHD meds if you don't have that whole setup. Um, sometimes you can talk to your PCP. Sometimes they might say, no, um, I'd really be more comfortable if you went and saw like a psychiatrist or a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Trying to think of who else tends to be med managers, what the other license.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Psychiatrist, yeah. Yeah. Um so some uh yeah, I forget the other type. But yeah, you you get usually referred if your doctor isn't feeling up to it, or like maybe there's some other complex mental or medical health needs. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Yeah. And, you know, I think actually there's a lot to be said about going to um a psychiatrist or a psychiatric nurse practitioner. There's a specialized training there with ADHD. And especially if you go to one who specializes in ADHD, there's a specialized training in mental health meds, I should say. It can be harder because sometimes they're gonna be a little bit more specific on, like, well, are you sure that it's not XYZ? And here's the other like mental health things it could be. But um, if you go to one who kind of specializes in an ADHD, you might not have quite as hard of a time there. Either your regular primary care doctor or um your psychiatric nurse practitioner, med manager is what I call them all. Just that class of uh of support is like med managers, right? And you'll kind of say, Hey, I have ADHD. I was diagnosed, whatever your diagnosis story is, or self-identified because of X, Y, and Z thing. Um, and I'd like to understand like what the process would be for me to start on medication so that it will help me for college. Um, and so you can kind of talk to them, like, I had this IEP and these are what I found helpful. And they may or may not want you to pass a test. Um, I'm gonna, instead of calling it a test, I'm gonna call it an assessment. Um, because like there is no passing and failing, but they might want to see certain things on a test. Um, there's also a pretty big move towards like try the non-stimulants, which may or may not. I know, like because of my weird past, like my mother, when she was finding me a psychiatrist when I was younger, focused on one that would be very conservative in terms of medications that can be addicting because my biological mother was addicted, and so it's always been like one of her big concerns for me. Um, and so he would like not basically put me on a stimulant, and that actually ended up being what works best for me. Like, pretty classic Adderall is just what works best for me. Um, and so you might have to do some advocating, you might have to do some shopping around for a medication manager who's willing to work with you. And that's not to say that non-stimulants don't work. Um, they absolutely can, but you just don't want someone who's not gonna be open to the idea if and when it becomes time to use a stimulant medication.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Yeah. Yeah. Our next question, which we've already started answering a little, was what is it like to take ADHD meds? My doctor wants to put me on them, but it sounds like there's a lot of different types. So kind of what you're saying about the stimulant versus non-stimulant. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

I I will just wrap this first question up by just saying, like, you're absolutely allowed to ask. I think a lot of people have this really big fear of like, I don't want to look like I'm drug seeking. I don't want to um have the doctors think poorly of me. If your doctor, med manager, whatever, if they think that you're drug seeking for asking for medication that helps for with like a thing that you're struggling with, that's probably not the doctor for you, right? Um, if you remember from our episode with Olivia Bellknap, right, we talked a lot about like it really, really, really sucks to have to shop around doctors and it is well within your rights and you deserve medical care that like actually works for you.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

And it might be worth joining a local Facebook group and saying, hey, does anyone else have ADHD? I'm about to start college. I could use a doctor who is willing to prescribe meds. That way, as you shop for a doctor, you're not going to multiple and all of them writing in your chart, drug seeking. I know that that really sucks when when you've got that in your medical records, and it shouldn't stop you from finding a doctor who provides ADHD meds.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Absolutely. Um you might also, if you have a therapist, asking them for referrals um options. Um, if you have any friends who are therapists, if you know any therapist, like having access to someone who has access to therapy spaces and then can kind of do some of that that searching for you can be helpful.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

They can get some of that insider info that others can't because they just can't join certain groups and spaces that we're in.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Exactly. Exactly. Okay, so the next question what is it like to take ADHD meds? My doctor wants to put me on them, but it sounds like there's lots of different types. I think starting by going through the types a little bit. Um, so there's extended release and immediate release. Immediate release, some folks end up taking two throughout the day. So when I was on immediate release, I would take like one in the morning uh before like my first, because like in grad school, right, I would take like one in the morning before my first three-hour class, and then I would like have like whatever the two-hour break, and then one in the afternoon before my second three-hour class. So sometimes that can work well for folks. Um, it is an extra thing to remember. But a lot of ADHDers that I know who are on meds report like being pretty able to tell when the meds are wearing off. Um, and so you know, that can sometimes be helpful. Extended release tends to be just one tablet in the like morning time sometime. You do want to be careful not to take any of them too late in the day because they can keep you up at night, especially if they're stimulants. And so for the most part, you're gonna be taking them like morning or morning and early afternoon.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

And if you're somebody with some gut motility struggles, like it takes your tummy a little bit to process and digest things, you'll really want to weigh your options between the instant versus extended, because sometimes that extended doesn't get used up as fast as it might for somebody who doesn't have gut motility stuff going on. Yeah. Yeah. And so there's the extended immediate, and then there's also the stimulant versus non-stimulant, which I wish we had one of our med provider friends on here to talk about it. Because I wonder if there's even some options we may not know about because we've just never stumbled across them or haven't had clients who've used them.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Yeah, we can definitely work on getting we know a couple of good med providers that we could have on. I also really struggled, so um, most of the time it's a pill, and I don't take pills well. So I actually found out a couple years ago that they make a patch now that you wear.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Like a specific one, like one of the meds.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Is it like a Adderall patch or a Vivance patch? It's called Zellstrom, but essentially it's Adderall.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Oh, I've heard of this.

SPEAKER_01 16:41

But it's like on the Adderall like branch, is how my med manager described me. It's like there's an Adderall branch and a Riddle and branch.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Okay. And so we found that like the Riddlein branch really does nothing for me in general, and I live in the Adderall branch land. She described this to me gotta be a decade ago now. Um, so you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Uh maybe there's even newer things out. Yeah, yes, there could be.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

But yeah, so it's in the Adderall branch, and it's a it's uh I wish I like had one down here with me, but it comes in like a little box. Yeah, it looks kind of like a band-aid, like it's a square, and you like pull it out and you stick it. So like here, here, you can do it on the like tops or backs of your shoulder, or you can do it on like your hip. I think there might be a few other places, but like I mostly do them here. Uh, you want to like kind of rotate around. You don't want to be in like in a sauna or direct heat. I actually had to have the conversation like, my car has no AC. Is there how do we feel about me sitting in a in a hot ass car in traffic? And she's like, maybe just you know, take it off before you go. Um, it doesn't really want like super hot direct heat, but um, and it has like a set duration of how long you can keep it on all these things. And so, um, but I found it was actually quite helpful for the fact that like actually taking a pill was just so challenging for me, um, that it was really really putting me off to it. And so um that was helpful.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

I didn't realize that was an option, but that sounds like a great option for a lot of folks.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Um, I've always done the pill format because that's just the most accessible, and it's often what they try to start you on first.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Yes, yeah. I had definitely tried uh pill form before. Um, this like no pills that my body prefers is uh really fucking disruptive to my whole life. So really, really fun. There's a lot of different types, and so there's also nothing wrong with like talking to your doctor and be like, could you explain to me pros and cons, right? Risks, rewards, like why should I try this? Like, how long do I try it? What symptoms or what side effects might I experience? I know some people, like I said, like who will describe it as like it feels like day and night difference. It feels like once I take my pill, I can like clean the whole house and do da da da. That's not my experience. I don't experience that. I also have heard the like if the meds don't work perfectly for you, then you don't actually have ADHD. And I don't think anyone who's ever met me in my whole life would think that I don't have fucking ADHD. Um so like I also want to debunk that real quick.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

There's also so many different types of meds, like this person's saying, and different doses of all of these types of meds. So just because three, four, five of them don't work, you're I don't even think you're halfway through your options at that point. There are so many more, and we haven't even talked about uh scaling the dose to see if the dose makes a difference.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

Yep. I also really enjoyed doing the gene site testing. Um, that's at least the brand that was doing it when I was uh involved in that world. Um I had originally done it for depression meds because I had tried so many since being a teenager, and turns out most of the ones I had tried were on the red list for me. My genes were just not super happy with it. Um, but the one one of the ones on the green list turned out to be like the best depression med I have ever been on. I took it actually consistently. It was really, really good for me. So I also think that like if that's something that might be accessible to you, that can cut out some of the like, let's throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

SPEAKER_00 20:15

That's so interesting because uh my old therapist had recommended that when we were trying to find a depression med for me, because I thought I had depression, probably just alexithymia. And I did the test, and it the guy was like, Oh, yeah, everything should work just fine for you. And it does it said something about like my serotonin or dopamine being whatever, but he just put me on gabapentin and was like, This'll fix it. And I was like, that's a really odd, that's like a nerve pain med with off-label use for certain other things, and they also were sued, I believe, a long time ago for giving it to children for depression and anxiety. So we went back to my therapist and she was like, Yeah, so everybody I've sent over there gets put on gabapentin.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Okay, maybe stop sending people over there.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

She had found it out later, yeah. And so I was like, I don't know. For me, that info was really not useful, and I just randomly one day told my my doctor, hey, I think I might have treatment resistant depression based on everything we've tried. I saw some people online talking about using a low dose of a stimulant. Could we try that? She was like, Oh yeah, your sister has ADHD, sure, let's let's try, why not? And it worked well for other reasons, but yeah, so if you have the money to spend or if your insurance covers it, it couldn't hurt to try. Yeah, I think my insurance covered it at the time. Okay, mine was like 300 bucks to get given gap a pen.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

God, that's really frustrating. I I think it's hard. Like, I know I've worked with folks in the past who have been like, I don't want to try to start another med journey and that it stops them because of that worry of like we're gonna have to go through the all right, take it for a month, see what side effects you get, see what side effects you don't get, see how they like da da da da da. And like that whole thing just feels so overwhelming and so daunting. And so that's why I like the gene site testing. Is like maybe it will cut some of that a little bit. It might not. They might all work well for you, or all not work well, or like something, but it was a real relief for me when I was like, I was like depression is treatment resistant. My depression was trauma being like living in an in an actively abusive home, right? And that also did foster and create depression. Once I found a med that actually worked and I moved out, things started working well. Yeah, it can just be so frustrating to like just continually over and over be on that ride.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Oh yeah. And I will say with stimulants at least, luckily you know pretty fast if they're gonna do something. Cause again, extended release and instant release, within the span of a day, you'll feel or not feel something. Yeah. And it might take you a few days to figure out is this the right something to feel or is this not? But you might also know right away this does not feel right.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

I've never taken ADHD meds daily. I might take them during the workday. Um, like I'm thinking when I used to work as like a one-on-one support person, um, like during the school day, you know, I might take them, uh, take one, um, but then not usually during the weekends. I don't take them when I don't have anything I need to focus on. So even like once I started in my career, like I wouldn't take them when I was in sessions because I don't need help focusing then. Like I'm usually very on top of that, but I would absolutely take them when I had to write notes. So I would always make sure to also be on one that like isn't gonna build up, that's not gonna have any any issue if I like miss a dose or whatever, because I really wanted to use them very like as needed type of thing.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

You know, I find that if I miss or don't take mine for more than two or three days, I notice an effect in my mood. In like a almost, I don't know, irritability, depression, like something is not right. So I have to be pretty cautious not to miss too many or to purposefully skip too many. Right now I'm on Vibant and it does that, but same when I was on like the fast-acting methylfinidate concerta type stuff. Didn't really matter. If I miss too many, it messes with those feel-good endorphins to a point where it becomes noticeable. So interesting. The a lot of med providers will give the advice of like, oh, take a tolerance break from certain medications, you know. Um, I don't know if that always works for everybody. So definitely if your doctor tells you that and it doesn't feel right, let them know pretty quickly.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

Yeah. I think that's the number one thing in general is like your medical health, like your medical experience, your health is you're the expert, right? And so the hope is that you're sharing early and frequently. I have so many friends and loved ones and clients who are like, I don't want to bug my doctor. I feel so bad.

SPEAKER_00 25:00

They're your doctor. Dr.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

B get on the uh get on the portal. I have questions, I have comments, questions, and also concerns. No, I have not scheduled my yearly like I don't care. Answer my question. This is your job.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

Yeah, you have a whole lot of things. And they'll usually tell you if they're like, hey, this is actually a we need to have a meeting.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

Yeah, they'll let you know. Exactly. And same thing. I feel the same way about my clients. Hit me up. I won't answer if I can't answer. Hit me up.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

Yeah, yeah. And we also will let you know if it's like, oh, that's a full therapy session question, or oh, here's a quick resource. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:37

Look forward to talking about that more in session. Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I genuinely mean that shit.

SPEAKER_00 25:42

Same. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

So hopefully y'all get some are able to kind of go in and check on it. I do definitely think like um trying out some meds, seeing what works for you, because like what works for us is not gonna work for you. We're not you.

SPEAKER_00 25:59

Um everybody's body is so different, brains are so different.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

And also, as long as things are feeling like a partnership, right? Your doctor has the medical knowledge and you have your personal body knowledge. And so the goal is that there's a partnership there happening, right? You're bringing in the information about your body, they're bringing the information about the medication. You are allowed to ask as many questions as you want, they might have lots of questions. These are um, I think really important things to try to like make enough space for. You don't have to start anything you don't want to. Um, and the hope is that like you're gonna be taken seriously because the medications are there for a reason. It sucks that they've been so stigmatized, and it sucks that they've been so like that people are like, oh, you're drug seeking, and this and that, and the third. Oh, another thing I actually do want to mention on this, um, because I've been hearing like more and more people are experiencing it, and it's really surprising some folks. But um, I've been hearing more and more that like there are required uh drug screenings and drug tests for folks who take stimulants. Um, they're actually my understanding is that they're actually looking for usage. So they are looking for it to be positive.

SPEAKER_00 27:10

So they know you're not selling your medication.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

So they know you're not selling your meds. And so that is also something like if you are doing like me, I always have the conversation with my med manager. Hey, babe, you know that I don't take that regularly, right? Hey, I haven't needed it in a bit. Hey, da-da-da-da-da. Like making sure to stay in pretty consistent communication about your usage and things like that, um, and making sure that you know what the place's policy is on that, also so that you know, like location-wise, because like I'm getting a provider out two, three hours from my house, and then I have to go in monthly for a drug screen. Uh no, no.

SPEAKER_00 27:49

And making sure you know your state's rules about other substances, because although they are mostly checking that you're actually using them and not just getting rid of them, um, there are some states where, say, if you casually use marijuana and it's illegal and they find that in your system, some states and the medical providers there would still discontinue your meds. So getting really clear on what is this test looking for and what all will be drawn and what will happen if XYZ shows up. Yep. Hypothetical.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Yep. And who will have access to these records and like all those things? Just keep yourself safe because it it's becoming, I think, even like from the medical boards and from legislation, like it's becoming required. And so, like, some places have those requirements, but then some don't have them and are just saying, like, we're creating policy within our practice for when that comes and like getting ahead of it, which is super fucking annoying. But that can also affect access.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

Well, and not to get too like lost in the specifics, but like a year ago, a little over a year ago, there started being a bunch of shortages on ADHD meds, and it's because I mean, there's a few reasons, but one of the big reasons was hey, we think there are too many people on ADHD meds, and so that's not possible because there shouldn't be this many ADHDers in the United States. Let's cut production of the meds and try to prove that some people don't need them. And so I think we're seeing the after effects of that still.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

That's so annoying, too. I remember friends that I had who are teachers or like parents that I work with, like kids that I work with, just struggling. Just because y'all don't have accurate census data, just because y'all have missed so many people, myself included, yourself included, in diagnosis, does not mean that like y'all can just start fucking with people's medications that they need. That is another thing I've also heard people being worried to start an ADHD med because what happens if then there's not and I become dependent on it. I think the thing to remember is like if you're not on one now and you're functioning, you're functional. Like, you know that you can do it. It just for a lot of people feels easier. And it's worth things feeling easier even for a short time.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

And for most of the folks I know, the disruptions because of that are less than a month. Especially if you're the type who will call pharmacies every day or two to check did you get your stock in yet? Or if you have a loved one who will call for you and check. The disruptions are not quite as bad as I think some people are worried that it will be, at least at this point.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

I found a pharmacy that would mail it to me because that is another annoying part about idiot she men's. Like, this happens to my partner all the time where they'll be like, You forgot, you didn't tell us in time, so it's not here anymore. Do you know what this medication is for? You're a whole pharmacist. You think maybe some extra reminders?

SPEAKER_00 30:40

Or when they're so particular about when you can call the refill in. It's like, okay, I remember it now. Can you please just like put a note in the chart that I requested it and then process it when it's allowed? Because I'm worried I won't remember the right day to call back.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

It's so frustrating. So it also just recognizing that like if you do go the med route, like there might be some some stumbles and some challenges and things like that. If you find them to be worth it, it's still worth it. If you don't, you don't. I I intermittently find it to be worth the effort, to be honest with you.

unknown 31:15

Cool.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

All right, well, we're gonna head over to our Patreon now and share more about our personal experiences on PsychMids. Um, and we're probably just gonna chat a bit about life uh because that's the way that today is going. So uh if you want to join us, we'd love to have you. It is also not too late for you to join us for our live training tomorrow for therapists. So this is tomorrow um from 12 to 1.30 Pacific. What is that? 12 to 1, 1 to 2, 2 to 3. Is that 3 o'clock?

SPEAKER_00 31:43

3 to my time.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

3 to 4:30 eastern. We always be putting things in Pacific. It's because Kate always be writing a copy. Listen, we do want our best out here, y'all. Um, 12 to 1:30 Pacific, 3 to 4:30 Eastern, um, on Zoom, and we're talking Kink, Trust, and Pixie Dust. It's a primer on healing for the inner child using kink. So uh we originally did this last year.

SPEAKER_00 32:09

Yeah, for a Disney conference.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

For a Disney conference last year. Um, and so now we are doing it for the wider public. Um, and so the link to that is in the show notes. Um and so we would love to have you there. That is tomorrow. Um, if you're listening to this when it comes out on Tuesday.

SPEAKER_00 32:27

So also send it to your therapist, invite your therapist if you think they need to learn more about kink. I guess we should also say so we don't get in trouble, it's not sponsored by Disney, and clearly no Disney copyright is used.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

We just originally presented it at a Disney conference. Um, but it's about like inner child work and uh how kink you can use kink ethically for that. Um so we'd love to have you. And then expect new episodes weekly on Tuesdays. You can find Kate at CryptedLearns. You can find me at Radical Insights Consulting on Facebook or Instagram at a dot com at the end for our websites. Follow the podcast on Facebook or Instagram at AcesUp Your Sleeve Pod. Um AsesUp Your Sleeve would be even better. Um Aces Up Your Sleeve Pod so you can interact with us and see when new episodes release. If you have any questions for us, we would love them. Please visit neurokink.org slash a uys and send it our way. We're gonna jump over to Patreon, record Upping the Anti, our exclusive bonus content. And so that's over at patreon.com slash aces up your sleeve podcast. You can also listen wherever you stream once you join the Patreon. It's on its own private stream now. We appreciate you listening. Thanks so much. Bye bye.