> 1. Weight change, either bulking on muscle or fat can change your optimal dose for medication... And it's my opinion (and totally just my opinion) that starting to treat ADHD usually leads to a weight gain, either by getting you more able to exercise or increasing your activity and caloric intake.
Stimulant medications are strong appetite suppressants, and if not specifically paid attention to, the usual concern is weight loss.
To the point that an actual medically approved use of certain stimulants is for weight loss. You can in fact be prescribed meth (Desoxyn in the US when it's coming from a pharmacy and not the backseat of a 1996 Chevy Caprice) by your doctor for obesity if nothing else is working for you.
Speaking to personal anecdotes, while unmedicated there's always been a certain quantity of accidentally skipped meals, with medication I could go the day without eating much of anything and not be particularly bothered.
On the other hand, I'm better at sticking to structure with medication and eating at normal mealtimes more often, even without a hunger impulse. I do still wind up having to mentally (or otherwise) tally what I've eaten in the evening and sometimes shoveling in a pile of extra calories because it obviously wasn't enough.
So there are pulls in both directions, but IMO I'd say the weight loss is more likely to accidentally happen.
> 2. Resistances, stimulants build up resistances pretty quickly for most people so if you're unlucky you'll likely be med hopping for several years until you run out of options or find a winner - if you're lucky and don't build up a resistance then you're probably set for life.
The usual advice I've always been told is to not take it if there's times you don't need it. If I'm going out to have fun for the day on a weekend, or taking an unstructured vacation for a week or the like, I typically don't take it.
I don't think it fully resets those resistances, but it's allowed me to continue to get a noticeable benefit out of a steady, middle of the road prescription.
Stimulant medications are strong appetite suppressants, and if not specifically paid attention to, the usual concern is weight loss.
To the point that an actual medically approved use of certain stimulants is for weight loss. You can in fact be prescribed meth (Desoxyn in the US when it's coming from a pharmacy and not the backseat of a 1996 Chevy Caprice) by your doctor for obesity if nothing else is working for you.
Speaking to personal anecdotes, while unmedicated there's always been a certain quantity of accidentally skipped meals, with medication I could go the day without eating much of anything and not be particularly bothered.
On the other hand, I'm better at sticking to structure with medication and eating at normal mealtimes more often, even without a hunger impulse. I do still wind up having to mentally (or otherwise) tally what I've eaten in the evening and sometimes shoveling in a pile of extra calories because it obviously wasn't enough.
So there are pulls in both directions, but IMO I'd say the weight loss is more likely to accidentally happen.
> 2. Resistances, stimulants build up resistances pretty quickly for most people so if you're unlucky you'll likely be med hopping for several years until you run out of options or find a winner - if you're lucky and don't build up a resistance then you're probably set for life.
The usual advice I've always been told is to not take it if there's times you don't need it. If I'm going out to have fun for the day on a weekend, or taking an unstructured vacation for a week or the like, I typically don't take it.
I don't think it fully resets those resistances, but it's allowed me to continue to get a noticeable benefit out of a steady, middle of the road prescription.