Okay, “high” is a wild exaggeration.
But I don’t drink, smoke, or use drugs. This is all I can party with, people. A minor tinge of a half of a slight buzz.
It’s a side effect from ADD medicine that I started taking over the past few months. I have been on some form of ADD med for the past four years, but they’ve all been non-stimulant based. In the fall my doctor and I agreed to try a traditional approach to combatting Attention Deficit Disorder – stimulants.
I don’t know the science behind it, but maybe I don’t produce enough dopamine or norepinephrine or something. Or maybe I produce the same as everyone else, but the neural reuptake process is screwy. All I know is something f’s with my ability to concentrate.
Because these drugs are highly controlled by the FDA they’re kind of a pain in the butt to obtain. Apparently non-ADDers abuse the stuff. At the pharmacy you have to show ID and they only give you a 30 day supply. If you walk in the next month even one day early they reject you. You have to be on top of things to never run out. And ADDers tend to have an issue with organization.
Anyway – I started taking this one and the most bizarre thing happened.
Now, mind you, I’m the king of high tolerance. I never get side effects from anything and most of the time I have to take double the normal dose to get the intended effect. I’m that guy that needs four ibuprofens to kill a headache. Thankfully I only get two headaches a year, so my liver is in good shape.
That’s was a weird assessment. How the hell do I know if I have a healthy liver? I didn’t exactly pass physician school. (It’s not really called that)
The ADD pill starts working pretty fast – I’d say within an hour or so. It’s supposed to last a total of six hours. I take it before lunch and then I have super-employee production in the afternoon. At around 2pm this strange side effect kicks in. All of a sudden I have the intense desire to connect intimately and emotionally with people. If I’m in a meeting I start appreciating all the great qualities the other members have. If I’m talking to my boss I silently thank him for employing me. The guy in the office who never says, “Bless you!” when I sneeze – he’s forgiven.
If I’m online I’ll have an overwhelming desire to send my girlfriend an “I love you!” instant message. She then replies with, “Meds are kicking in, huh?”
It’s a short-lived buzz and an hour later the side effect vanishes. The med then does it’s regular job of helping me focus. No more love party.
Well, today I forgot to take my med until around 6pm, when I got home.
So, yep, right about now I’m feeling pretty appreciative. I found myself looking at all the recent comments on the blog and wanting to virtually hug everyone who took the time out to write.
When I first felt this side effect I thought it was just a natural and genuine feeling. I didn’t realize it was the meds. I was very impressed with myself and thought maybe I had achieved nirvana or enlightenment. But then I remembered I don’t meditate and I can’t even touch my toes, let alone sit in the lotus position. I’m a naturally happy guy and all, but I ain’t that happy.
I Google’d it and yep, many people experience this “sense of appreciation” effect.
Now, when the short window opens with this feeling, I take advantage of it. I mentally list all the things I’m grateful for and step into that emotion. Screw writing out Oprah’s gratitude list. Just artificially create the feeling with pharmaceuticals! I’m kidding.
So, while it’s fresh in my mind, I do want to send out a very specific thank you to all who are reading these words. Yes, the meds are bumping up this sensation a little, but I mean it. The amount of traffic has increased to the point where I am migrating over to a new server with better hardware. You guys outgrew my old hosting.
Okay, the feeling’s about over. I’m back to my typical, non-appreciative self.
I still love ya, though. I really do.
Lil says:
Damn it! I zoomed right over here from Twitter and suddenly remembered… I didn’t take my meds … again!
Now, quite please. I have some reading to do.
Lil says:
Damn it! I zoomed right over here from Twitter and suddenly remembered… I didn’t take my meds … again!
Now, quite please. I have some reading to do.
Lil says:
*quiet* Yeesh!
D.J. Paris says:
Go take them or I hear you turn into a werewolf at midnight!
CeCe says:
I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I find this post adorable. But what I’m really dying to know is what happens when you sneeze at work after the appreciation wears off? Do you go back to square one with the guy who refuses to say, “bless you”?
D.J. Paris says:
Thanks for the compliment! And yes, I silently wish death upon the guy who doesn’t acknowledge my sneeze. Well, not death. Just a nasty disease of sorts.
Lorraine says:
Have experience with similar meds and my son. Love this pits and your sincerity and honesty!
Lorraine says:
Yea piece not pits. Got to love autocorrect.
Eleanorjane says:
You know, I can think of all sorts of uses for a pill that causes people to feel appreciative! If I were you, I’d be tempted to slip them to the guy who doesn’t say ‘bless you’ to see if it makes him nicer. And I could certainly do with my boss having a dose, particularly as it’s performance appraisal time right now!
D.J. Paris says:
No way – I’m not sharing my pills and YOU CAN’T MAKE ME! They’re mine, dammit!
AlwaysARedhead says:
I have a fatty liver, not because I drink (I don’t) rather it is a genetic thing. Anyways, to find out whether or not your liver is healthy, it just requires a simple blood test. Then if you are lucky like me, they find something abnormal and you get to go have a biopsy done which is painful. You are given a local, then your liver is jabbed with a large needle of some sort while you are laying there on the table. Then the doctor literally cuts a chunk of your liver. Of course they need a few samples, then the doctor says the sample is too small, he needs to do it again. During this, you beg him to please stop because well he hurts, bit-time and I have a high tolerance for pain. So that is what happens if you would like to find out if you have a healthy liver. Good luck.
D.J. Paris says:
And thank you very much for the most depressing comment of the year so far! 🙂
Seriously, sorry about your liver. Go fix it!
Karma Girl says:
Never been big on drugs myself. I think it has something to do with a bad trip I had when I was a kid. I had four wisdom teeth surgically removed all at the same time, and the doctor left the room just as the laughing gas was taking effect. The stuff made me think the ceiling was swirling around, the room I was in was located next to the reception area, so every time the phone rang, I would hear it. Only the rings would echo and vibrate in this weird fashion like the sounds were being bounced around against the walls. I got this overwhelming feeling of doom. When the doctor came back into the room to start working on my mouth, I realized that feeling was dead on. Yeah, no drugs for me, thank you.
Karma Girl says:
That last one posted twice for some reason. Sorry.
D.J. Paris says:
UNACCEPTABLE! 🙂
Karma Girl says:
It wasn’t the drugs man! I swear!
Jana says:
When you said you had “the intense desire to connect intimately and emotionally with people” at work, I got a little afraid about what I was going to read next. Let’s just say I’m happy that your appreciation is expressed mostly in your thoughts and not in some X-rated physical fashion 🙂
On the other hand, I’m a little jealous I did not have the same reaction when I was taking Adderall. After a few days of coming home and crashing on the couch before dinner when the drug wore off, I never really noticed I was on it. I’m sure the people at work would have been very excited if I had become less of a bitch and more appreciative.
D.J. Paris says:
Yes, I’m not much of a pervert, sadly. Just don’t have the discipline for it.
Katy Anders says:
I laughed all of the way through this.
I was prescribed ADD drugs as a kid even though I was clearly NOT ADD. The thing is, Ritalin back then was basically indistinguishable from cocaine, so far as non-ADD brains were concerned (I actually prefer Ritalin to cocaine).
I ended up giving my parents a lot of 2-hour lectures on musicians and movies at 2 o’clock in the morning because of it.
The bad part, I guess, is that I’m such a sociopath that I never get that “sense of appreciation,” so you’re girlfriend is lucky that way (or does that make me a psychopath, not a sociopath? I always get those those mixed up…).
D.J. Paris says:
Yes, it definitely makes you want to talk and pontificate even though most of what comes out of my mouth is poorly thought out and ill-conceived. But still, I do it because the drug tells me to!
Katy Anders says:
I’m not sure why that posted four times. My apologies.
In my defense,… ADD.
D.J. Paris says:
You’re obviously a spaz. Accept your identity.
Lady Unemployed says:
I really really think there needs to be mass production of this appreciative pill. Especially for my boss.
D.J. Paris says:
Ha – it’s called Vyvanse. Mass produced. You can probably obtain via your local dealer if that’s how you roll…
Mari Corona says:
Appreciate the share great read!!
D.J. Paris says:
Thanks Mari!
Lori in Texas says:
I take Adderall (started with a non- stimulant like you but still had trouble doing the tedious parts of my job) & I have a similar reaction to it. I find I become very earnest & sometimes over share. Crying is something I rarely ever do normally but on Adderall I sometimes get tearful in situations in which I otherwise wouldn’t. Working in a formal corporate job I have to work to control this. Thanks for the idea of writing gratitude statements – I will try this to see if it reduces the challenge of these side effects.
D.J. Paris says:
Hmm – maybe I need to switch to Adderall! Sounds fun. I love the side effect of gratitude though. Makes the day more fun!
Dorothyl says:
That was quite an entertaining read. It almost sounds like you are enjoying your meds. Luckily, I personally have never been on any type of medication.
The closest I can come to understanding medicated people is through one of my friends that is clearly bi-polar and I can tell when she is on or off her meds. Having to medication has always seemed like a double edged sword as you suffer without them and it is a real mind game when you are on them.
In your case, hopefully your meds balance out for you~
D.J. Paris says:
My meds are fun for sure. Thankfully I don’t have bipolar issues – that would be awful!
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