First off: I am still undiagnosed. I’ve followed the ADHD topic for more than a year now since I seem to match a whole lot of symptoms and behavior patterns. An official diagnosis will most probably still take another year. I live in Germany.
One thing that got me wondering was caffeine. As I’ve heard, drinking coffee will make ADHD folks not feel any more awake, maybe even a little tired.
While it doesn’t make me feel awake as well, I very vividly remember my first coffee a long time ago that caused a massive outburst of productivity when all of the time I was known for being ‘lazy’ and distracted. However the effect quickly diminished with each subsequent coffee over the next year.
Isn’t this a contradiction though? If I actually had ADHD, why did coffee have this awakening effect on me back then?
I’m diagnosed. If I haven’t had coffee in a few days and drink a few strong cups it mainly drives up my anxiety and wakes me up a tiny bit. Then I usually crash hard. If I’ve had it for multiple days in a row, I can barely register any difference in how I feel at all. It definitely affects my resting heart rate though, so I try to keep my intake low. Eating a snack and staying hydrated is more affective at perking me up.