Hello all. I was diagnosed with ADHD probably 5 years ago (I'm 35). I have a panic disorder, so when I was initially diagnosed and given Adderall, I was scared to take it bc I didn't want to have a heart attack lol. Insane, I know. So I just never took it, never followed up, etc.
Some other background. I started drinking heavily when I was probably 20 years old. I finally quit 19 months ago, and now am active in AA. I also started smoking around 14 years old, switched to vapes at 30, and just quit nicotine completely about 2 months ago.
Since quitting my vices, ESPECIALLY nicotine, I'm finding it harder than ever to manage unmedicated. I can't even watch a show on TV. Work is not going well at all for me (I'm a data analyst, that requires focus and concentration). I cleaned my house Sunday and it took 7 hours because I couldn't stay on track with one or even 3 things at a time. My memory is horrible, I can't finish a sentence sometimes because I lose my train of thought (not sure if that's ADHD or something else).
I'm going to copy/paste this into a text to myself to take with me to my doctor on Friday, but I have questions.
Does all of this (including the memory piece) sound like ADHD or something else I need to figure out?
Is Adderall generally the best course of action for people, or is there something else that people are better results from?
I use Xanax for emergency panic attack situations. Is this an issue for getting prescribed something for ADHD?
I'm sure my doctor will address all of my concerns, but I figured it couldn't hurt to post here. I just joined this sub 10 minutes ago, so I apologize if all the answers are out there. I'm just on my lunch break lol. Thank you for reading you got this far!! ❤️❤️