Is it possible I just have really bad ADHD?

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And as a result I have a lot of symptoms similar to autistic traits?

I am pretty sure I have ADHD already (inattentive type), and I was actually diagnosed multiple times (once at age 11, once at university where I was having an extremely hard time, mostly with executive functioning. I also was pretty depressed because of my lack of social ability (there were multiple girls who showed interest in me, which in retrospect is pretty obvious to me, I even managed to ask one on a date, but I didn't know what to do afterwards so nothing really happened.)

What got me wondering is that for this past week or two, I have been having trouble with just doing anything. I have felt generally confused, and little tasks seem overwhelming, even my own interests seem like too much effort to pursue. I made a topic about it in this section yesterday, and I got two replies, one from EzraS mentioning ADHD, and another by goldfish21 mentioning success with helping these issues with changes in diet (which would suggest more of a neurochemical imbalance as the root cause, also pointing more towards a disorder like ADHD).

It was really bad today, I couldn't even do something as simple as watch a YouTube video longer than 5 minutes without wanting to just turn it off and do something else because I couldn't focus that long. I haven't taken my Adderall for over a month, because of side effects, but I figured if it will help me right now I can deal with having the after-effects for a few hours, since I basically felt unable to do anything other than stare at the ceiling.

So I took one of my IR Adderall tablets about 1.5 hours ago, and I can definitely tell it has taken effect (usually it affects me faster but I had just eaten). Now I feel SO much better. Not euphoric or like I'm on a drug (like a lot of people who take it for a high), not at all. I just feel like I can think clearly. My heart is pounding a bit and I feel a bit warm, but I think that's normal for a stimulant like Adderall.

But I can THINK, and that makes me feel extremely relieved. And I don't think this could have been a result of withdrawal from taking it either, because I've been pretty much ok, and I stopped taking it well over a month ago (I don't remember what day was the last time, but it was probably closer to 2 months ago actually).

In some ways I become more autistic when I feel like this. I feel very unemotional and logical, and I usually end up being even more withdrawn into my own world. I can have better conversations with people, but I still prefer to talk in depth about only one intellectual topic, rather than changing the subject often or talking about trivial things, and I dominate the conversation, because I basically just say everything I'm thinking in real time.

In fact, when I'm on it, all I really want to do is research things, learn about my various interests and/or talk about them. I do function better as well, and I feel more calm. But I don't feel like a normal person, I still would probably come across as very socially unaware and weird. At work there were several times where I had very long conversations with myself while on Adderall, and I noticed some of my coworkers pointing at me. Not that I cared, I thought their reaction was kinda funny actually.

But I feel less autistic too. I feel a lot less overwhelmed and stressed by things. And my friend says I really always talk a lot, but he can tell when I'm on Adderall because my rambling is more focused on one topic, I sound more intelligent, and I give him a turn to talk

But I don't know, maybe this is a somewhat normal response to being on a strong stimulant such as Adderall. Or maybe I'm just obsessing too much over the idea that I might not have AS and just wait for the professional to tell me. (And as you can see from the length of this post, I'm kind of obsessing over this too).

But I also have another question then: since I feel more normal (or more myself, anyway) while I'm on the Adderall, should I take it when I go to my assessment appointments in a month?

I suppose anything is possible.

In the thread I posted last January, I proposed that the root cause of all of these comorbids is digestive & that the worse it gets the more amplified symptoms become. Also, I suggested the possibility that ADHD symptoms are sort of at the milder end of the ASD spectrum & that as physical health worsens so do symptoms until full blown ASD symptoms are obvious. This MAY be why some people consider ADHD a part of the ASD spectrum. IMO they have different diagnostic criteria and are diagnostically separate, but they're all either caused or exacerbated by the same thing - genetic predisposition combined with intestinal dysbiosis, very likely antibiotic induced, that in turn causes salycilate & other chemical sensitivities.

edit: I took dexedrine for a few years (similar to adderall) & experienced many benefits from it for most of the time until I realized it was contributing to the problem. I haven't taken any for what must be a year and a half now and no longer need them for the good they did before.

As for taking any pre-assessment.. IMO you'd get a better and more accurate assessment if you're med-sober for at least a week before your assessment. Adderall may mask some symptoms an assessor would want to assess. And I say a week because I know when I was taking dexedrine I'd take it for several days at a time (low dose, started w/ 5mg the moved up to 10mg IR twice a day and very rarely took any more than that.) and then would take a "med holiday" to give my brain a rest from the stimulants for a couple days and I know I'd be groggy that first day for sure.. so a good week off of anything like that should put you in your natural state, which should result in a more accurate diagnosis. IMO.

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