Read on Twitter
So this tweet connected some dots for me and inspired me to do my own thread: ADHD and interoception. https://twitter.com/ItsEmilyKaty/status/1391342722330550272">https://twitter.com/ItsEmilyK...
I& #39;m a recently diagnosed, 39 years old non binary person on meds for about a year.
All experiences are my own, except for the examples I stole from my ADHD partner.
All experiences are my own, except for the examples I stole from my ADHD partner.
Interoception and hunger:
V1: Eats a single bowl of cereal in a day.
V2: *grumpy and uncomfortable*
Gets progressively worse until I remember food is a thing
*eats until I don& #39;t feel grumpy anymore*
V1: Eats a single bowl of cereal in a day.
V2: *grumpy and uncomfortable*
Gets progressively worse until I remember food is a thing
*eats until I don& #39;t feel grumpy anymore*
This may explain why people with ADHD have a much higher rate of obesity than the general population.
Interoception and bladder:
Me: realizes I have an urgent need to pee.
Me: dances around the house looking for my phone for 5 minutes instead of going to the bathroom for 2 minutes because I don& #39;t want to pee without it.
Me: realizes I have an urgent need to pee.
Me: dances around the house looking for my phone for 5 minutes instead of going to the bathroom for 2 minutes because I don& #39;t want to pee without it.
Interoception often means that by the time you know you have a need, it& #39;s severe. ADHD means that you still struggle to prioritize that need.
Interception and thirst:
Me: *feels something*
Could this be a desire for food?
Me: *feels something*
Could this be a desire for food?
I drink so much more water now that I am medicated. Some of that& #39;s dry mouth caused by Adderall but I sincerely don& #39;t think I knew how thirsty I was because I couldn& #39;t tell the difference between thirst/hunger
And again back to disordered eating caused by ADHD
And again back to disordered eating caused by ADHD
Interoception and BM& #39;s:
Me: *nauseated and miserable with mounting lower back pain*
*lies motionless on the sofa disassociating into their phone*
UNTIL
*Madly dashes toward bathroom because my bowel is about to perform an emergency evacuation*
Me: *nauseated and miserable with mounting lower back pain*
*lies motionless on the sofa disassociating into their phone*
UNTIL
*Madly dashes toward bathroom because my bowel is about to perform an emergency evacuation*
Interoception can also mean that you miss simple cues. Most days I don& #39;t feel a basic urge to go number two. I& #39;ve learned to associate certain painful sensations with the need to poop because I don& #39;t often feel more subtle hints.
Interoception and cold:
*Wanders around barefoot in snow because I lack the spoons/patience to put on socks + boots and tingly sensation is stimmy.*
*Wanders around barefoot in snow because I lack the spoons/patience to put on socks + boots and tingly sensation is stimmy.*
I did this more than once as a child. It& #39;s a combination of impulsivity and executive dysfunction. Dumb luck that I didn& #39;t get hypothermia or frostbite.
Interoception and exhaustion:
It& #39;s going on one in the morning. I felt tired two hours ago. I& #39;m tweeting this thread instead of going to sleep. I don& #39;t feel tired per say but ime, on nights like tonight, I usually stay awake until I just pass out.
It& #39;s going on one in the morning. I felt tired two hours ago. I& #39;m tweeting this thread instead of going to sleep. I don& #39;t feel tired per say but ime, on nights like tonight, I usually stay awake until I just pass out.
The list goes on. I could talk about heat (I& #39;ve had heat stroke and not realized it), pain (why am I dizzy and achy? Oh well. *Keeps going until something gets really effed up*) or even pleasure. (What normally feels good just tickles 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤬" title="Gesicht mit Symbolen über dem Mund" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Symbolen über dem Mund">)
You get the jist. Signals get lost or misinterpreted. Distraction causes sensations to be unintentionally ignored until they& #39;re painfully urgent or it& #39;s too late. Sometimes the search for dopamine means we ignore signs something is wrong.
I& #39;m going to go to bed now because I really should. Maybe I& #39;ll come back to this later and we& #39;ll talk about how medicine has changed these experiences for me.
Okay it& #39;s been a long day and I am totally out of spoons. Time to mine Twitter for some dopamine.
Let& #39;s talk about what happens, for me, when you add Adderall to the interoception + ADHD equation.
Let& #39;s talk about what happens, for me, when you add Adderall to the interoception + ADHD equation.
Hunger: This one& #39;s tricky. Adderall suppresses appetite. I think most stimulant ADHD meds do. So I eat less overall. However I also am more aware of my hunger before I become ravenous.
I& #39;m less likely to forget about food until the last second.
I& #39;m less likely to forget about food until the last second.
Another interesting side side effect of medication on hunger awareness is I& #39;m much more aware of what I want to eat.
I have a physically demanding job so with dopamine supplementation, I& #39;m aware enough of my hunger to know that I crave protein and vegetables.
I have a physically demanding job so with dopamine supplementation, I& #39;m aware enough of my hunger to know that I crave protein and vegetables.
I don& #39;t actually crave sweets or starches nearly as often as I used to. (Serotonin self-medicating anyone?)
I& #39;m also much more aware of fullness. I can stop eating when I& #39;m full instead of continuing to eat because my brain wants chemicals.
I& #39;m also much more aware of fullness. I can stop eating when I& #39;m full instead of continuing to eat because my brain wants chemicals.
Meds and bladder: Planning to pee is possible now.
I can feel the urge building and start thinking about what I& #39;m going to do about it before I& #39;m doing the antsy pants dance.
I can also prioritize actually going to the bathroom instead of looking for my phone.
I can feel the urge building and start thinking about what I& #39;m going to do about it before I& #39;m doing the antsy pants dance.
I can also prioritize actually going to the bathroom instead of looking for my phone.
Meds and thrist: I drink a lot more because Adderall dries out your mouth. I& #39;m also much more aware of thirst. I don& #39;t confuse it with hunger near so much.
One thing I& #39;ll note is that I actually crave water now. I seldom drank it before. I usually only drank when I wanted caffeine and I grabbed whatever the easiest source at hand was.
Much like food, I wasn& #39;t drinking to hydrate. I was drinking for chemicals.
Much like food, I wasn& #39;t drinking to hydrate. I was drinking for chemicals.
I was probably low key dehydrated most of the time.
Meds and BM& #39;S: What a fun topic right? Why did I choose to share this on the internet?
Seriously this is more complicated because I do have an additional chronic illness that messes with my gut. So nauseating painful sudden bowel movements are definitely still a thing for me.
Seriously this is more complicated because I do have an additional chronic illness that messes with my gut. So nauseating painful sudden bowel movements are definitely still a thing for me.
