... or cocaine! These days I prefer to get by with large amounts of caffeine instead of my Adderall tho
this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
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I knew a guy who had ADHD and sold his adderall for Cocaine and then "microdosed" cocaine through college.
I think he works in tech sales now
I'm self-medicated with ADHD as well, but my medication is coffee.
Two or three cups a day works splendidly and it's a hell of a lot more cost effective than paying for the prescriptions.
I've found prescriptions to be life-changing, and speaking as someone that is not exactly caffeine-shy.
I used to be on Concerta for it, I stopped entering middle school, I just find caffeine easier and cheaper for almost the same effect as what Concerta did for me. I also did not like the side effects of the medication, I suffered with loss of appetite for years, and even after stopping the medication it took quite some time for my feeling of hunger to return again. It also made me feel disassociated at times. I don't experience these side effects with Coffee so that's what I stuck with.
Obviously, this is all your choice in the end, but I got rotated on like, 5 drugs until they found one that worked for me and didn't have any significant side effects. Asking your doc, and specifically pointing out that you don't want a specific drug or have tried it before and found it ineffective, is always an option. I fought with asking my doctors to try different drugs for the longest time, but when I worked up to it, it was super smooth and easy.
Yea I understand, I'm glad it worked for you. In my case we tried a handful of types in my childhood, Adderall and ridalin (I might be misremembering the names but I think those were it) would put me into a living coma where I just didn't talk to anyone, Concerta was the one that we settled on, but the dosage was still quite high for it to actually do anything for me (I was on 54 mg for perspective which is apparently on the higher end, 72 mg is the max dose they can do and generally start at 18 mg). I probably could look into swapping around again but, for the most part caffeine works well enough for me, plus I don't really want to have an ongoing prescription again after being off it this long
Or having shortage issues and dealing with the way it screws with you
oh man and not having to deal with pharmacies... I see my family members fight hard enough with prescriptions. I don't need that in my life.
Same, I've found coffee is literally the only thing that tangibly improves my symptoms instead of making them worse.
Out of curiosity, what problems do you have when you're not having coffee, and what does the coffee seem to help with? I'm curious about ADHD for myself and trying to learn more about others symptoms to see if its something I should get tested for.
When I miss my morning coffee I have attention issues where I struggle to be able to pay attention to a conversation(you know the squirrel memes? yea exactly like that where I will be listening at one point, then full 180 attention elsewhere with no indication). Don't get me wrong this does still happen on extended conversations with caffeine but I have better control of it, and it's extremely noticeable without. I also have hyperactive tendencies off and on and constantly fidget, the first of which weirdly I think may have actually improved some as I aged but I still have every once and awhile.
Also Sometimes if I enter a conversation, I just super hyperfocused on the topic, and I miss context cues that I really don't have to go into as much detail as I did, I blame it on the inability to pay attention but I guess it could be something else in play as well. I just notice it happens less often when I have it.
Been sucking back lots of coffee since the 80's. Only when reading up on my daughter's ADHD diagnosis did I realize I have been self medicating for it myself for decades.
Out of curiosity, what problems do you have when you're not having coffee, and what does the coffee seem to help with? I'm curious about ADHD for myself and trying to learn more about others symptoms to see if its something I should get tested for.
Without coffee I can't focus on work (or previously, school). I get distracted by things, including random thoughts. I can't focus on something because I keep finding I'm thinking about other things.
ITT: "No, that's caffeine"
Damn right but even then it's situational. I love tea. I drink copious amounts of it to the point I tell everyone "if I'm not tea-ing I'm peeing"
I don't take my caffeine any other way.
It's a healthy medication.
frankly i just wish more people realized that you can just buy caffeine pills, and actually treat it like medicine. Cheaper, more convenient, and if you can find pills in small enough doses you can play around with the amount and only use precisely as much as you need.
For a lot of people, the coffee/energy drink has become a ritual of sorts. This isn't necessarily a bad thing.
But you're not wrong.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11032069/
PSA from a cannabis user with ADHD, there is a reason I only use it on holidays and not for treating my mental health issues. It actively makes them worse. If you need to self-medicate for insurance reasons, coffee or caffeine pills and setting timers and alerts on your phone are far more effective.
While experimentation with psychoactive substances is relatively normative for adolescents and young adults, those with ADHD are more likely to experience negative consequences of use compared with neurotypical peers and despite comparable rates of use.21,22 A closer look at the worsening risk of cannabis use problems in ADHD populations is warranted, starting with cannabis use trends, effects on cognition, and motivators for use.
Chronic cannabis users with ADHD may worsen preexisting deficits in working memory and executive function in ways that may not become apparent until later in life, with long-lasting, persistent effects despite discontinuing use
Hippie speedballs make me a productive member of society
Sadly, I'm too straight-laced to even know what that is (outside the obvious "speed" implication).
Coffee and weed
TY, TIL.
For me it's insane amounts of caffeine.
Don't you need a stimulant for ADHD? I'd think THC would be a bad choice
Most of the folks I know with ADHD are heavy cigarette smokers