Anyone else feels more stereotypically autistic while on stimulants?
I’ve been struggling with whether to get an autism diagnosis or an adhd one (or to blow the money on therapy instead). I feel like I’m functioning less and less the older I get and sometimes wish a test trial of stimulants could tell me if I had ADHD.
Like if I functioned better on meds then I’d know I’m ADHD. I know it’s not a logical wish but I hate all the loopholes and money. I struggle to make medical appointments for anything that is immediately obvious like a wound or rash. Need to get a script ready in my head and hate advocating for myself or the kids to indifferent professionals.
I love being lazy but in a fast way.
I definitely get much more in my head and overthinking everything that I say when I take meds. Which makes socializing much less fun. On the other hand when I don’t take them I am more likely to blurt out the first thing I think which can also be bad.
Treating my ADHD definitely helped me so much but not in the ways I was expecting and it definitely allowed for my suppressed autism traits to become more apparent.
I experience less anxiety pressuring me to create conversations. The result is that I more confidently refrain from participation.
I don’t consider this making me more autistic, but rather helping me to mask less / accept what I really want more.
I haven’t been formally diagnosed with autism but I definitely relate with this. My psychiatrist said it was quite likely that I was on the autistic spectrum but they don’t bother to diagnose people because there’s no real value in it, according to her
Edit: I disagree with the psychiatrist - I think an autism diagnosis definitely has value. From her perspective, there aren’t any additional treatment options available where I live (e.g. no medications, any therapy would be just as accessible without a diagnosis, etc.) and the diagnosis itself is a long, expensive process, so I can understand the reluctance, but obviously I feel like diagnosis would still be worthwhile.