Counter substitutesfor. adderall

This is hard to share as I’m about to turn 40 and have struggled with these two conditions since 5th grade. I have recently changed jobs a few times and have a fantastic role but I’m beginning to struggle once again with motivation and productivity as the newness has worn off.
I’ve taken ADHD meds before such as adderall XVivanse but they always triggered my anxiety, countering their usefulness with crippling anxiety symptoms. I’ve never taken anything for anxiety and I have no clue the interaction between the two.
Does anyone have suggestions as where to start as I am fearful that I’m losing my professional potential with these untreated conditions.

Trigger Warning : suicide. Backstory to give context; 34f, I was recently diagnosed. I started seeking out therapy 3 years ago, I've displayed all the adhd symptoms, but I guess because of my age/gender adhd hasnt occurred to anyone (including me). I've gotten the usual general anxiety, depression, and CPTSD. I've been through antidepressants and xanax, it just makes me feel nothing and sleepy all the time. It's hardER to function like that.
I got breast cancer, I got the full monte treatment with some heavy chemo, and I'm in remission (with no tatas lol). This stripped me of ALL my masking abilities and I was almost non functional (you know what i mean). My oncologist connected me with the psychiatrist in their network. After some time with him he suggested I may have adhd and wanted to evaluate me. I was stunned by the 50 page paper "quiz". It asked me questions that hit me at my core. I'm prescribed adderall xr and it has changed my life for the better in every way.
My mother has quite a few diagnosis under her belt, and I'm sure they've missed something. She has attempted suicide 3 times. I lived with my father beginning at age 8. At 63, she's still competent and holds down a full time job. In my adult life, we've become very close. I used to call her almost everyday (we live in different states).
She simply does not believe I have Adhd. She laughed when I first told her and stopped when she saw I was upset. She has continued to deny that I have it and I find myself reasoning with her and explaining myself!! She counters with the fact I was in gifted classes and was "a good kid". No, I didn't jump on coffee tables screaming and bite teachers, but I didn't talk to anyone at home! My mother was absent and my father and stepmother were too involved with each other to even notice my brother or myself. I masked hard and didn't realize it, my father wasn't really nice (he is now that he's old). It's so frustrating that she is willing to accept literally any other diagnosis but ADHD. It really feels dehumanizing talking to her about it. I don't want to call her like I used to. When I talk to her we avoid the subject, but it's heavy on me that she thinks of me that way.
So I'm thinking of cutting her off for a while. I can't stand the tension. I've sent her things to read for education and her response is to kind of laugh and say "yeah maybe later ha". I can't change or mind or convince her. I don't even think I want to at this point. I'm not going to ghost her, but I think I'm going to tell her just like I'm telling you guys. I'm going to say "getting the correct diagnosis has improved my life and I'm sorry you feel like you do. I have sent you education material and I'm sorry, but until you can accept this and be respectful.. I need to cut off contact for my well being." I'll figure out how to tell her she's welcome to come back when she can be more respectful.
I could cut her off at the knees, I could ask her how would she know because she wasn't there... but I don't want an argument.
Thanks for reading, i needed to get that off my chest. Hope you guys have a wonderful day.

I'm not asking for medical advise, simply options to present to my doctor for approval!
I was prescribed modafinil off-label for ADHD.
My psychopharmacologist was willing to go out on a limb with me because methylphenidate (in the past, I was on Ritalin LA or Concerta) and, god forbid, amphetamine (I tried Adderall for two terrible days) both make me feel wired and obsessive (worsened OCD symptoms) while also impairing sleep. My guess is that too much norepinephrine causes problems for my brain and body.
The problem is that modafinil does not always help me focus properly. I do well with modafinil (from modafinia) and a small amount of caffeine, however caffeine is usually too long-acting for me and keeps me awake at night.
Two questions, and I'll check with my doctors first, so please feel free to recommend anything legal (USA):
Are there any other (preferably over-the-counter) mild stimulants that mildly raise norepinephrine? Theobromine? Something more niche that I'm not thinking about? Alternatively, is there anything that would improve my body's ability to break down and absorb extra norepinephrine? TL;DR: I have ADHD, and I don't do well on methylphenidate/amphetamine. Rx modafinil is fantastic, but I need a bit more norepinephrine, and coffee keeps me awake for too long. Suggestions?

I know I know this isn't an airport I don't have to announce my departure but wow man. It is so shitty to find this game and decide to give it a good try despite all the memes and shit and just have such a terrible time playing it. Really love it and maybe I'll just strictly play arcade but since I'm venting it sucks man. I think it all honestly comes down to the matchmaking. I tried watched videos and practicing my combos in the arena, went back to more videos, took even more time to practice over and over but there's just no point honestly.
There's nothing for me to learn or improve on when the matchmaking puts me with people that can consistently light parry, know all my combos, switch ups, timings, maximize every punish, and spam combos that I can't block or even know how to break out of. Every 1 of 20 games I finally get with people my level and it's a blast, we miss guardbreaks due to distance, we fuck up the punish and only hit with 1 light, we hit the walls every other hit and roll around to run away. But every 19 out of 20 games it's a warden that shoulder bash chains me (he magically knows when to switch the timing so my dodge doesn't work) into a corner and light spams me to death, a peacekeeper that feints every other attack and my new player reflexes can't keep up to save my life, a warmonger that stands infront of me and instantly parries every single light or heavy I throw (guardbreaks didn't work either she auto countered those too), a highlander that snuck up and kicked me into a corner and then proceeded to chain kick and heavy me then emote, a shinobi and orochi that after seeing me suck in a few battles worked together to spam kick me into a corner and keep me there for 2 minutes until they finally killed me.
Idk man, I really wanted to learn this game and have fun and I'm no stranger to struggling. I've beaten several dark souls games all the way to new game +9 and I've always been a fan of playing on the absolute highest difficulties possible but I'm at a loss on this game. It's hard to make sense of either it's got 4k+ players daily according to the statistics so unless you're telling me 98% of the player base is greater than rep 70 and all experts so it's impossible to get a lobby consistently with new players in it. If I was hitting and winning fights I could handle it, even just one so often but I've had multiple games back to back where I get 0 kills. Even in ganks the enemy players just shrug me off like I'm not even there, which sucks cause that's the only time I've been able to fight higher levels and hit them, even then as soon as they pop revenge they go 100% on me to get me out of the way and obliterate me.
Great game, but I think the matchmaking is taking a baseball bat to its fucking knees and crippling it. Then again maybe this is just one of those areas like R6 siege ranked where you only play if you want to sweat bullets and snort Adderall. Either way, it was fun for a week but I guess that's it for me folks. GL and hf on all your games for me.

Hi all!
I have autism, combined ADHD, and physical disabilities. I live together with my boyfriend, and he also has ADHD. I’m a full time student and work full time night shift in a hospital (12 hour shifts, 30 minute commute). He’s a full time scientist. We both work crazy schedules and are very busy people. Literally, we wake up, get ready for work, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat. There aren’t many days off. Oh and we are both on adderall.
Our apartment is getting to be disgusting. We are embarrassed by the state of our home and hate opening the front door on the off chance someone sees inside. It’s getting to the point that we are considering using paper plates and plastic utensils so there’s no cleanup, but hate the idea of contributing to excessive waste.
I’ve browsed through this subreddit and seen some good ideas. Hoping other very busy people might be able to lend some more advice or offer tips that might work for our crazy schedules. Problem areas are every single room. Dishes being piled up in the sink, on counters/stovetop, clutter everywhere, laundry not being put away and just piled on the dining table, the floors themselves are that laminate faux hardwood stuff and haven’t been cleaned in ages, etc.
Sorry for any rambling or lack of information. Apologies if this is a common post, just at our wits end. Thank you in advance for any helpful tips or tricks.
Things I’ve tried: setting up a cleaning schedule, chore chart, designated a house reset day, notifications, alarms, putting on music to vibe to, body doubling, purging things so there’s less to manage, etc.

Hello! I’m from the United States and my boyfriend is from England and we will be traveling there together in a couple of weeks so that I can finally meet his family. I’m not the most experienced traveler and have only been out of the country twice, to mexico and on a cruise. I currently take prescribed adderall for my ADD and birth control. What is the protocol for going through customs with these medications? Also, if I am bringing over the counter medications (Ibuprofen, dramamine, vitamins, etc) can these be in a travel pill case or do they need to be in their original bottles? Any and all help would be appreciated. I’ve tried to google information but can’t find anything. Thank you!

🤦‍♀️ I took out the niacinimide and doxycycline, set them on the counter, promptly zoned out (Adderall hadn't kicked in yet), looked down to see pills and auto-piloted. God dammit.

My psychiatrist is based in Miami, and I have been getting my medication via telehealth for years. Normally I live in Orlando and get the prescription filled through my university pharmacy, but they have been having trouble getting it. So now I'm visiting my parents in another city, so I had the prescription sent to the Walgreens near them (also in Florida) . But when I went to pick it up, the lady behind the counter said that it's not legal to fill adderall if you get telehealth in a different city. Is this correct, or do I push back?

29 Female 5’7 168lbs Medications: Adderall XR 20mg, Lamotrigine 200mg(been on this after the patch was already there), Tizanidine 4mg, Buspirone 10mg PRN, and birth control pill.
Weird dark patch on my left lower cheek non itchy. Very noticeable, I’m really worried but my derm appointment is at the end of June. People keep asking about this spot. I do wear sunscreen on my face about 80% of the time. The spot is noticeable with makeup as well when I try to cover it up I can’t. Any advice will be appreciated.
Also, may or not be related, inside both of my ears are flaky and crusty, not in the ear canal itself but around the cartilage and the ear. I’ve noticed that for a few months as well. Ive tried CeraVe ointment, I’ve tried over the counter steroid cream, and fungal cream with no improvement. Spot on cheek

how do i get adderale? if anyone has cheap insurance they used to get it plz lmk or if u know any over the counter options (if that’s even a thing) LMK!!!! not for addiction i had a prescription before just not insurance anymore !

I was prescribed Adderall for my ADHD about a month or two ago. I always left it on the kitchen counter so ill always see it and remember to take a dose before leaving for work. last week I opened up my bottle and half the pill capsules were completely emptied out. I've contacted the pharmacy and the manufacturer and they're both saying that there was no mistakes on their end. there's only 2 people that have access to the house that it could've been and I just want to know if I were to get a video of them doing it again, if I would get in some sort of trouble for not having the medicine in a safer place like a medicine cabinet? they've already stolen and know I have a prescription so I feel like hiding it would lead to them snooping in an attempt to find it leading to who knows what being stolen. any advice here guys?

Hi MCAS friends -- what a shitshow.
I had a great 7-day run, feeling strong, mobile, and overall on top of my symptoms.
Fri PM - added cherries to my normal smoothie (flx oil, coco oil, psyllium, mangoes, blueberries, and peaches) - Just some new ass cherries.
About an hour later - INTENSE abdominal pain for hours, sweating that lasted 3 days, and then muscle weakness and cognitive difficulties that lasted 3 days. My legs shook while I walked, I had to hold on to the counter to stand up. I slept and slept and slept.
Today, I took a ton of B1, Complex B, D, Copper, and Iron and seem to be back to somewhat normal. But what happened? oh, I also took Adderall - could it be a dopamine thing???
Anyone smarter, more experienced than me have answers?
I had a similar but milder thing happen with hamburger last week but I was able to manage within a few hours - this was brutal. Solo mother, dealing w an overactive 9 year old, just brutal, feel awful for him and want my life back.
​
(Black mold is likely the culprit)

Lately after I eat dinner my body temp feels like it jumps and I get super tired. I haven't opened our pool for the summer yet but I'm about to just because this crap. About a half hour after dinner, I get soooo tired and I almost feel like I run a temperature. 1.5 - 2 hours later, I feel fine. It's to the point where I'm going to take my IR adderall before eating then jump in the pool right after and drink a couple celsius to counter the sluggishness. Does this happen for anyone else?
Would have had a better title but the garbage automod kept deleting my post.

Female 24, 184 pounds. diagnosed Medical conditions: allergies, ptsd, asthma, adhd, anxiety possible tachycardia? Not sure doctor put me on bystolic for high resting heart rate.
Medications: adderall 20mg, potassium 20mg, phosphate 5mg, buspirone, I have been taking vitamin d and iron over the counter. I tried b12 because I was worried I wasn’t getting enough but stopped out of fear that I was causing my issues.
Recently I asked my doctor to check my vitamin levels, I tested for an allergy to yeast and milk by blood work and tested positive for both and also have multiple reactions to even a tiny bit of each. I was worried I wasn’t getting enough nutrients because lately I’m very shakey, sometimes my hands feel like they do not want to work correctly and my stool is usually not very solid. My bloodwork came back and my Potassium level was 2.9 mEq/L and phosphate level was 1.6 mg/dL. I ended up going to the ER because my primary doctor was out until Monday and my cardiologist wasn’t calling me back. I was also having muscle weakness and a very strange feeling in my eyes and I could not get my brain to focus along with really bad stomach cramps also my heart rate was staying up even when resting and was making my chest feel weird. The ER doctor diagnosed me with hypokalemia and hypophosphatemia and also mentioned she was putting in a referral for a GI specialist because she thinks it could possibly be something other than allergies and prescribed me phosphate and my cardiologist also called after and sent me potassium to the pharmacy. They also gave me three doses of potassium, I think one had phosphate already in it.
Is it possible I caused this? Is this what refeeding syndrome is? I’ve tried finding answers online because the doctors don’t have any for me yet. It’s been two months of wondering what is happening to my body. My eating is much more restricted but at the same time I’m not starving. I’ve been reading it is very hard to not get enough phosphate.
There is a family history of IBD in my family, my father has Crohn’s disease and my mother had something but I cannot remember at this moment what it was. If I were to have a bowel disease could that cause the low potassium and low phosphorus?

So for the last 9 months or so my Dr has had me on 15mg Adderall IR 2x a day. This has worked wonders for me and I have really liked this treatment plan. I just noticed today after requesting my most recent refill that my Dr has now swapped me over from 15mg IR 2x a day to 15mg XR one in the morning and one at bed time.
In my research I've found that the XR has 50% IR in it so it would be the equivalent of taking 7.5mg now and 7.5 over the course of the next 10-12 hours.
Here's my concern though, I have been taking 15mg in the morning (6am) then 15mg again around 12-2pm which is 30mg over the course of a 12 hour period.
Should I be concerned about having any side effects from making a swap to XR that is the exact same dose but now spaced almost 12 hours apart? If I miss a morning dose of my medication I am so tired I could sleep all day. I'm concerned that my executive function issues may return swapping over to the XR...
Any thoughts or reassurance is greatly appreciated. This change was made suddenly without any prior discussion so I'm a little hyped up at the moment.
Edit - I'm also confused about the 15mg at bedtime. Isn't this completely counter intuitive since the time that the Adderall would actually be working in my system is while I am asleep?

Hi folks,
I’m a 30 year old AFAB person who can’t afford to have a sleep study done. Knowing that, I took part of a research study that involved sleep so that I can get the results listed in the links below:
https://ibb.co/khz7ck2
https://ibb.co/BLF1pCF
https://ibb.co/9WMGpYZ
https://ibb.co/VYWCG04
https://ibb.co/Tb5D43x
https://ibb.co/jzMDhRS
These results are from the Dreem Headband which uses EEG. These nights were done before any of the experimental phases of the study - this is just me sleeping as usual.
EDIT: I am aware that the info in the images is limited. The Dreem headband does eeg but I can’t see that part - I can only see the summary. The fact that it is eeg means that it should just be more accurate to the phases vs. other over the counter devices that only monitor heart rate and position.
Symptoms:
All of these have been present since at least puberty (11 yo) but as I get older, get harder to manage

• Fatigue, tiredness, exhaustion. I know those are all similar but to me, I experience them differently… but I have them all.
  
• I almost never feel rested in the morning. If anything, sometimes I’m more exhausted than the night before. It’s like when I go to sleep, I live a whole other life and when I wake up, I’m fatigued like I need to go to bed.
  
• I have had chronic nightmares for as long as I can remember. I have violent and distressing nightmares most days of the week and often can remember several of them per night.
  
• Because if my fatigue, I often need to nap. When I nap, it is usually midday and for about 2-3 hours. Experientially, it’s like I fall immediately into deep sleep, I don’t remember having any dreams, I am difficult to wake, and I like to wake naturally when my body is ready so I don’t feel as groggy.
  

Ex: wake up between 8am and 9am, do light work around the house, sleep from 1-3pm, light activity around the house, go to bed between 10pm and midnight.
My naps don’t seem to disrupt my sleep schedule, it just reduces my fatigue and overall body pain. I have gone periods without napping to see if it helps/hurts and I just get more and more tired until I am going to bed at 8pm every night and exhausted all day. Sometimes I can nap as late as 3-5pm and still feel ready for bed at 9pm and go to sleep like normal.
If I try to cat nap or set an alarm for 15/20 minutes, I always feel groggy, have headache, etc. I’ve experimented a lot with naps over the years and my current routine seems to help the most.
Overall Health:

• I have widespread chronic pain (10+ years), suspected ehler’s danlos, confirmed hypermobility, gastro issues, depression, anxiety, ADHD, cPTSD
  
• I take 15mg adderall per day (last 3 years, has not impacted my sleep or fatigue) and 40mg of Prozac (last 3 years, helps depression, no noticeable affect on sleep/fatigue)
  

Summary:
I am happy to answer more questions or get more data per night from the dreem (I can screen record and scroll through, show exact times, etc.) if that’s helpful.
I am not a medical professional by any means - I’m just an average American who can’t afford healthcare so I do as much research on my own as I can 😅 Any professional help interpreting those results would be so helpful.
EDIT: to me, it seems like a non-typical breakdown l/timeline of the sleep phases which is what I’m checking for here.
Much appreciated!

Male. 31. 190cm. 100kg. Richmond Virginia USA. Zenzedi 20mg x3 daily. Gaufacine 1mg x3 daily. Sunosi 150mg 1x daily. Xyzal 1x daily (discontinued for zertec). Zertec 1x daily. Glucocorticoid 4x daily ( started 4/20 ).
All symptoms started on morning of the 19th, as a "film" on the back of my throat . I arrived in Richmond on the 18th at 11:45pm local time.
Current symptoms are , lightheaded, ear pain, throat pain, nasal pain , nasal drip/drainage , frequent sneezing, and since last night coughing up mucus.
I have taken an Antigen Rapid test, yesterday, and tested negative for covid.
Currently visiting a friend , but I have light headedness, pressure on all my sinus cavities , ear pain, throat pain, coughing up mucus, the whole 9 yards,, and I have only been here 3 days ( for the planned 7 day visit. )
I was thinking to try using a neti pot and taking a hot shower every other hour until I left , but the light headedness, ear pain, and mucus has me afraid it may be too late for that.
I don't have any income and bills make me very suicidal and I am already suffering from depression, so I have a lot of anxiety about visiting an ER.
I previously worked as an unloader, and didn't have a mask once and was scoffed at for requesting a mask to just get a pallet off of a truck, so I did it anyways, and then went to an urgent clinic after work, where I was told "acute sinus infections" don't exist.
I was not treated and recommended basically every thing you can read on web MD, I went back the next day, and got an apology and the doctor said "In all my years I have never seen anything like this" as a defence.
I was given an allergy shot and a zpac, and usually every year I get at least 2 allergy shots , this year just had been good to me and I had not gotten an allergy shot.
Now in a different state with new allergies, I am struggling. I am afraid my Medicaid based insurance will decline my emergency room claim the grounds that "acute sinusitis" does not exist.
And since I have only had the symptoms for 3 days, despite the severity, that it doesn't warrant an emergency room visit , and leave me with a life threatening bill.
I don't know what to do, I have tried zertec, xyzal, Flonase , boiling watesteam, and am taking multiple ( 5 yesterday ) hot showers a day , and wearing a mask out.
Is there anyway to insure coverage, or any treatment outside of hourly/every other hour use of neti pots.
The only downside to neti pots is I already get nose bleeds and typically neither pots make this worse, I been to an ENT once , but only saw the nurse practitioner, who told me that I should stop taking Adderall and use Neti Pots more regularly and that would fix my nosebleeds, ill be honest, I have done both, but not because she told me to, and I still have pretty regular nosebleeds.
So yeah, should I try adding multiple nasal irrigations into my daily routine or is their some other combination of over the counter medicine I can use to temporarily dry everything up until I can get back into my state on Wednesday.
I came to visit a friend struggling with depression, so I am trying to not be a burden, which just makes everything worse.

When I started taking Concerta, it felt like magic. I became calm, focused, and productive. Although I disliked the rebound effects, the positive aspects far outweighed the negatives. Now, after about three years, it seems that Concerta is no longer effective (with about a 90% decrease in effectiveness). Instead, I feel nervous and anxious, and these feelings worsen with the evening rebound effect. Lowering the dose reduces the side effects but also diminishes the remaining 10% of the beneficial effects. Increasing the dose slightly enhances the positive effects but makes the negative ones unbearable. I've found Diazepam effectively counters the adverse side effects, but obviously, this is not a long-term solution. I once stopped taking Concerta for several months, but it didn't really change anything; resuming it was nothing like the initial experience.
In the country where I live, I have to rely on Concerta, and alternatives like Vyvanse or even Adderall are not available. I'm also aware that it's normal for the effectiveness to decrease over time, but ideally, the side effects should diminish as well...
I've always felt that the rebound effect is horrible, and I wonder if this is common or rather rare.

American programmer here. I have a fairly successful career so far, but I’m lacking attention to detail and am significantly disorganized in the rest of my life. A recent annual review included stuff like “innovative, creative, but often over engineers solutions and has trouble communicating set backs. Always trying to use tools he’s learned but sometimes in the wrong situations”. The classic “he has potential.”
Doing some research into ADHD, I connected a lot with the symptoms. Over the past few months I’ve listened to a ton of audiobooks on the subject and have read through CHADD, Additude, and watched YouTube videos.
I brought it up with my doctor and prepared a list of issues that I’ve experienced since early childhood and I’m meeting with him next week to discuss treatment options/medication. I’m assuming this means that I’ve been diagnosed (although my chart says attention difficulties).
Anyway, it feels like it’s easiequicker than I expected. I want to make sure it’s adhd before starting medication (10mg Adderall is what we discussed). I’ve had a couple meetings with a behavioral counselor affiliated with my physician.
One thing to note, my self assessment scored likely adhd (although mild), while the one my sister did for me ranked normal. I wanted her to do the assessment instead of my parents because they think ADHD is just “normal male behavior” and I don’t want them knowing that I’m investigating a diagnosis.
Anyway, I guess here’s a few reasons why I think it may be adhd

• constantly losing things
• my house is basically one giant junk drawer
• late for appointments unless I start getting ready to go an hour before I need to leave
• sometimes straight A’s, sometimes B’s, C’s, and D’s. A lot of second (and third/fourth) chances to help pull me through school. “Has potential, needs to apply himself”
• aced tests even though I didn’t do homework
• was fairly misbehaved when I was in elementary school and middle school. Constantly in detention, was paddled/suspended once, always felt younger than my peers.
• major video game addiction (I no longer play games to my friends’ disappointment)
• I’ve started enjoyable tasks and accidentally pull all nighters without eating/drinking all day. Literally did this last weekend.
• Procrastination…. Luckily I have a friend who is an accountant so I thought tax day was Friday since that was her firm’s deadline 😂
• Temper issues. Broken game controllers, pencils, holes in the wall. These have subsided as I’ve gotten older, but I still break a pencil now and then.
• I have a lot of hobbies/skills that I’m pretty good at. I speak several languages, I’m a professional musician on the side, I ski double black diamonds, and climb at a 5.12, knowledge of a ton of different subjects. Things come super easily to me. I’m not saying that to brag, I’m just wondering if it’s a counter example to having ADHD.
• I take on a lot of personal projects at once and I don’t seem to complete many of them. I try to take a step back and do one at a time, but then another interesting one pops up and I devote all of my attention to it instead. Rinse and repeat.
• failed relationships with people I shouldn’t have been with. Bad matches + sunk cost fallacy.
• bad imposter syndrome.
• I’ve forgotten about going to some of my music gigs! That’s a ton of money thrown down the drain and majorly hurts my reputation
• if I wasn’t in this career, I have no idea how I would make ends meet. I throw so much money away and don’t save much. I should be much better off financially

I am really thankful for my parents, I grew up in a safe home and they took care of most of my needs. And it’s taken a while for me to become comfortable with reaching out to my doctor about it with the skepticism about ADHD that I grew up with. Stimulants worry me because of their abuse potential, and I’ve definitely had issues with alcohol and weed in the past. I’m also a big fan of Zyns and Snus (shout out to my Swedish friends).
Anyway, I just feel like the diagnosis process hasn’t been very thorough. I’ve told my doctor about these symptoms and they do fit fairly well with ADHD. But all I’ve had was the self assessment and a few meetings with a counselor, plus a lot of people think I’m normal, successful, and peaceful. What if Im just undisciplined/lazy/have the wrong priorities in life? I want to stop this behavior before it’s too late and actually accomplish the things I want to do. It’s not that I haven’t tried, I just burn out and forget my self control. I just don’t want to be misdiagnosed with ADHD and become addicted to stimulants. Sorry for the long message.
Do you have any thoughts/suggestions?

I live in NY- I was hired for a job that required a urine drug test 14 days before my start date. I went to Quest the first day they sent me the paperwork to get tested. I had to wear a mask because I had a head cold and I was taking tons of over the counter medicine, nasal sprays constantly and I told the nurse that, ive been prescribed Adderall for years, I brought my prescription bottle for her to document but the woman who conducted my test- didn’t take her eyes on the computer screen and waved for me to put the bottle back in my purse saying she didn’t need to see anything.
I took the test, she locked my phone in a box in the bathroom with me, she watched me wash my hands, handed me a pre opened cup, I completed the test, she told me to just say “done” and she will come in which I did but the lid to the cup wouldn’t click shut fully, she made a joke how the cups are problematic- she stepped out of the bathroom poured my urine into another, pre opened cup that closed properly.
I took the drug test 11 days before my start date, I heard nothing about my drug test in the mean time or HR. On the first day of work the director of HR pulled me aside and said I needed to call Quest about my results (so HR knew before my start date something was off with my test)- I called a 3rd party that works for Quest. I was told I was positive amphetamines and they got a “false/positive” for methamphetamine. I don’t know what a false/positive means or what methamphetamine is, I told them I brought my prescription with me and it should be noted but they said it wasn’t, I questioned the methamphetamine part strongly- the rep said there’s a number of over the counter drugs that could have triggered the false/positive, she asked if I was any over the counter medications? I said “like I told the woman who took my test yes I had a horrible head cold- I was taking Vicks nasal spray, Walgreens brand nasal spray, day and night cold and flu meds, I take birth control, work out powders like pre workout, creatine. I emailed in photos of everything I took- the HR told me “I’m not worried about it, you clearly don’t do drugs. I freaking hate Quest for these reason” I also gave quest verbal authorization to release information to my HR director and she heard the entire conversation because I called them and put them on speaker.
Quest never posted the results of that drug on their portal, and I shouldn’t the HR rep that and told the rep on the phone. I’ve used them in the past and they were great at getting results back quickly- and I can see every test result that I’ve ever had done on my portal EXCEPT this drug test, it does say I took a urine test but “no results” I requested the results never got them.
The company loved me, but also I don’t do drugs- I told the woman of HR that the company can random drug test me on the spot anytime they want or they can send me to take a drug test and I’ll pay for it just to get this cleared away. Quest offered to run another test if the company approved, the HR director told me “ I can’t guarantee anything they’ve never ran a second test for anyone, but I’m gonna fight for hell for you.”
10 minutes later, she came back smiling that they approved it. Her and I thought it would be another urine/blood/hair test. She told me “don’t worry about anything, your doing flipping amazing and you’re a damn good hire, so don’t worry”
A whole month goes by without anything- she messaged me to call her and said quest did another test but won’t release the results to her (same thing they did in the beginning) I told her I never re took a test so how did they retest it? I check my portal still no results from either of these tests.
I told the HR directors I’m going to call them and add her to the call because there was a disconnect in communication. I asked my manager if I could step off the floor bc I have to call quest and he said absolutely. Than I could over hear him saying how Quest is the worst and im not the first person this has happened to etc
On the phone was me, HR director, a rep from that third party testing- he explained they ran a additional test from the original test sample which has been sitting there for a month and a half, we didn’t understood anything he explained to us or what questions to ask. I HAVE NEVER DONE METH IN MY LIFE. I asked how this could have happened and he beat around the bush, but he did mentioned how my medicated nasal spray that was over the counter could trigger a false positive.
I took photos of the companys policy about drug/substance and the company didn’t follow the steps listed. They are supposed to open a investigation if a allegation is made by sending the person for a random drug test. If they think someone is under the influence “while on company grounds or on the clock” that person would need to go take a urine test and if refused disciplinary actions could be taken and behaviors such as lurring words, slow speech, fatigue, falling asleep etc NONE OF ANYTHING LISTED WAS ANYTHING I DO. I mean I was the BEST hire in my class, I was ahead of everyone. The HR director told me she doesn’t want to fire me but she has to and it kills her as much as me because she knows I don’t do drugs. She mentioned me reapplying to there next hire class which is unknown.
She told me I was terminated and that if she was me she would go after Quest for delaying results, not letting me or her have proof of these tests and results. I never mentioned suing so it was strange she mentioned it which automatically makes me think she’s worried about being sued and trying to shift blame.
I even offered to take random tests while employed there and pay for them. I told her “someone who takes drugs wouldnt offer that hypothetically speaking you guys listed the 5 drugs you were testing for, you allow ample time to take the test - any genius would google how long it stays in their system, stop taking it or buy some kind of detox thing, buy over-the-counter drug tests that test for way more substance than the 5 drugs you were testing, they’d test themselves first and take the work drug test when they’re negative.” And she agreed with me.
Do I have a case? Would I go after quest or my job? I was fired over a test that neither me or my work physically seen the results of, I’ve requested the results several times now and still nothing. I did take a 12 panel drug test since this happened because I don’t do drugs, I don’t know what meth looks like- have never done it. This whole thing has been embarrassing I’m a attractive 30 yr old single mom, with no criminal background, not even a speeding who is scrambling looking for any work but how do I tell new employers why I left my previous job?

I feel like everything I read before I came to Japan was a bit exaggerated so I thought I’d write a little of my experience if it would help. These are all the things I was concerned about and what I’ve learned. Also this is my experience it’s not end all be all, so please calm down with the comments, unless I’ve said something that’s 100% incorrect, as people mentioned you must carry your passport with you at all times, which I didn’t know, but now we all do. So please Do your own research and be nice.
Kyoto- I think starting in April there is some tourist ban in certain areas. So check on this. Basically follow all their rules and signs.
This is coming from someone who likes to plan ahead and not on a college student budget but also not on an unlimited budget. I rather pay extra for comfort when it comes to any situation.
We used a travel agent so they had someone meet us at the airport, we had a driver to the hotel, driver to train station and someone to meet us at train station to take us to the correct train. We came to really appreciate this to be honest. I would recommend giving yourself time to figure out the trains and subway if you’re doing it on your own.
Preparing: Register here https://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/ and get your QR code so you don’t have to deal w it at the airport. Also you can get QR code for tax free shopping, not all places accept it.******* correction******* ##I’ve been told you need to carry your passport with you at all times as a tourist in case you get stopped by police you must show it.### Once they put your tax free items in a sealed bag you’re not suppose to take them out. So if you’re getting snacks and such don’t do duty free. Although no one checked this at the airport. It’s not like Europe where you have to go to the counter at the airport….. at least this was my experience.
MEDICATION- you cannot take adderall, no ifs and or buts. On the website below they will go over all the meds you can’t bring and the ones you need to apply for permission. Adderall is an absolute no, even w a doctor’s note. I emailed them about all our meds one of them we had to get permission for which I got within 2 days. So definitely plan ahead they say give them 14 days to respond back I think. https://vjw-lp.digital.go.jp/en/
Btw, no one checked our meds or asked to see papers, but you’re suppose to show the medication paper, if you needed one, at custom clearance. They had dogs walking around sniffing bags so don’t risk it.
Transportation: They have subway for you to get around. We mostly used Uber and taxis in Tokyo, 1) because we felt like it and 2) because we didn’t want to deal w figuring it out and it’s like getting a little tour of the city, we saw so much we wouldn’t have on the subway. Uber Rides were anywhere between 13-70$, but there were 5 of us and we needed a big van. When it comes to train vs cab, cabs were mostly faster for us or took the same time so we would choose whichever was faster, obviously taxis cost way more. Decide what’s better for you. So if you’re scared of the trains you can always rely on Uber and taxis in Tokyo, don’t let Reddit or IG scare you. They all spoke enough English, but you just show them the address. I feel that when I was researching transportation before my visit it seems like subways were the only option or you’re not getting around and this is not the case in Tokyo. Kyoto was a different story. Subway was the way for us. They have taxis though. When I was there people were aggressive getting off and on the trains/subway in Kyoto. Get ready to get on and off and don’t be shy or youre not getting on that train. I’m sure it’s mostly because there are so many tourists.
The JR train- pay attention to your stop and get ready to get off quickly because you don’t have much time getting on and off, have your stuff in hand and ready to go! They do not play around.
Suica card- get that on your phone, it’s in your Apple wallet and you just add money to it. Can’t do this w Android for some reason? I could be wrong about this but our friend w android couldn’t do it.
Crossing streets- it doesn’t matter if it’s a small street and no cars are passing and it’s only two steps across. If the pedestrian light is red DO NOT CROSS. They are respectful of this rule.
Language: Almost Everyone speaks English here. They may not be fully fluent but their English is better than our Japanese. We learned simple words for thank you, please, yes etc. But everyone was nice and spoke English. I do recommend learning those simple words. “Arigato Gozaimasu” became second nature. Google translate app is very helpful as well, the picture feature is very helpful on signs and writings. I added almost everyone speaks English because many commenters on Reddit are upset about this. Yesss not every Japanese person speaks English but mosssssst people do. Reddit and ig make it seem so scary and it wasn’t at all. Communication was never an issue because they either speak enough English or you use your translator on your phone, it’s common sense. Someone commented I must have gone to touristy places and yes, yes I did because this was my first time and I will 100% do all the touristy things my first few times, without shame.
Clothes: (we came March 22-April5) We visited in March so it was still a bit cool and rainy, I would recommend a small umbrella but they also sell them everywhere. Wear whatever you want, athleisure is fine. Literally no one cares what you are wearing. I did not see anyone wearing crop tops, that part is accurate, but I did see younger girls wearing short school uniform style skirts. People love their long skirts here. Everyone here wears baggy clothes like they are skaters from 1990’s, but with a stylish preppy edge. All the pants are short and baggy, but in general no one is paying attention. They do wear modest clothes.
Bring plenty of socks because you’ll be walking all day in them, so definitely change those daily, specially if you have to take off your shoes in certain places during your visit. Clothes wise I wore the same thing every day and changed on the 4th day (I changed underwear daily everyone calm down geez) also because I wore a long coat every day so clothes weren’t dirty and I didn’t sweat since it was cold. (Again commenters are very sour about me not changing every day, it’s just not going to happen if you pack minimally and you’re not sweating like an athlete) also this is to point out you don’t need to pack fancy clothes you’re on the go all the time and traveling constantly. All this to say don’t over pack so you have more room for everything you’re going to buy. I’d say 3 pants 3 shirts 3 sweaters for two weeks. We did laundry one night it was at the hotel, it took coins, our clothes smelled so bad when I took them out of the washer, it atutomatucally added detergent. I had to dry them for two hours to make the terrible smell go away. They smelled fine once fully dry. Bring a rain coat if you’re here in the spring. Mine was a puffy coat down to my ankle, w a hood. I get cold easily, best decision I made because I didn’t have to use an umbrella and I was warm and cozy the whole time.
For the summer I would say you probably need to change way more often.
Trash: This part was definitely true. Trash cans are hard to find but if you go to a bathroom they have them there but definitely bring mini trash bags to put in your purse/backpack. I got stuck w a cup of ice for about an hour or so because I couldn’t find a trash can and I couldn’t put it in my mini trash bag.
There are no trash cans in the food courts or grocery stores either fyi.
Bathrooms- 99% of their toilets are bidets. I did come across the ground toilets at the department stores. I wondered why the lady in front of me said I can skip her, but it’s fine I’ve used them before, just have mad squatting skills.
Napkins: Most bathrooms I went to had paper towels or air dryer. I definitely didn’t need to bring mini hand towels. Public bathrooms didn’t have paper towels but most restaurant bathrooms did. Napkins when youre dining were rare however, so I recommend carrying those small pocket Kleenex with you. They give you a wet hand towel when dining but napkins were very rare. They say it’s because they pick up their dish and hold it close to their mouth so they don’t make a mess when eating, so they don’t need a napkin. You also don’t get a menu for everyone I noticed, no matter where we went, it seemed like we were always sharing a menu, not that it matters.
Chopstick manners- this is a legit thing, look up on google on proper etiquette. We break so many traditions in the USA w chopsticks.
If you forget something there are markets at every corner so you can buy toothbrush, razor, tissue, meds etc. all our hotels had razors, toothbrush and toothpaste, very different than the USA.
Shoes- you better bring the most comfy shoes ever, forget style. My feet hurt so much from all the walking and I was wearing comfy shoes. I don’t know how people wear wedges and stylish shoes. You’ll be walking 10-25k or more steps a day.
Walking/standing on the right side- follow the signs and the people. They walk on certain sides and on escalators they stand on certain sides and walk on the other side. Pay attention to what others are doing.
WiFi: Highly recommend getting a pocket WiFi or whatever else they offer. I used Japan Wireless. Best decision. They deliver it to your hotel and then you drop it off at the airport in the mailbox (I had our hotel do it for me) it comes w a battery pack too. I recommend charging it with the cables they provide, and not the ones you bring from your own country. Mine stopped working and they delivered a new one the next day to a new hotel in a new city. Pretty amazing. Nice speed. I did noticed the WiFi wasn’t as strong in Kyoto and Hiroshima. Most websites give you option for SIMS or WiFi.
Food: It is overwhelming, because there are sooo many options and all of them are busy. If you’re not on a tight budget and you’re not roughing it then I recommend you do make reservations, you can always cancel them, unless they are the super expensive ones. Do your research, look on tablog. If you’ve been walking around all day and you’re tired and hungry trust me you don’t want to be looking for a place to eat, because everyone’s always full or need reservations or they say come back in two hours, or there are long lines. Lines everywhere, I will not miss that about Japan. Prepare ahead of time for your must go to restaurants like 3-6 months in advance. Many of the popular places open reservations at a certain time. I think a lot of the themed ones like Mario etc. My must go tos were the fluffy pancakes and fluffy cheesecake. Happy pancake is where we went. I went I think about 40 minutes before they opened and I was 5th in line and by opening the line was long. Also they do take reservations which I clearly didn’t make. Some restaurants do limit you on time while eating, usually 2 hours. Fluffy cheesecake was in Osaka. The one I went to was Rikuro’s in the mall and the line was short. One is for fresh cheesecake which is the longer line and another line for cheesecake from 1-2 hours ago. Honestly it tasted better cold to me. The hot one is a bit eggy, the custard was good too.
Perfume: Some restaurants specifically put on their website that you will not be able to eat there if your perfume is strong. I love perfume but I didn’t wear any on this trip just to be safe, but I definitely found a few perfumes I really liked in Japan.
Cafe capybara- we literally had 4 devices ready to make reservations at 8am the day of. I’m shocked one of us got a reservation. Making the reservation was very stressful but the cafe was cute. It’s small, you have to get a drink. I would recommend getting 6 meals for the capybaras so you have time with them and for picture purposes. They are very calm and chill. It is also out of the way from where youll be staying in Tokyo, most likely, this was the most expensive Uber we got, it was nice seeing a different part of the city. We went to a cute local cafe, while waiting for our time a lot and the people were so friendly and nice.
Train stations have a lot of restaurants as well. In Hiroshima our guide said they have some of the best food and it was where we ate the two days we were there. I had some of my favorite sushi here.
You can use tabelog or tableall to find restaurants and reservations, but personally did not find it easy to make reservations, last minute.
Tipping- you don’t tip here, but they definitely don’t get offended if you do tip. We tipped our tour guides and Uber drivers, restaurants we didn’t.**** I’ve gotten some angry messages about tipping 😳🫣. sooo don’t tip but we did bring some stuff from the USA that we gave people. Some locals said they like sports items from your local city. Trader Joe’s was a thing too when I asked Reddit and even our guides, I don’t understand the traders joes thing but I got a few bags from there and some cashews that gave to people.
Cash- def bring cash but most major places accept card, but you need cash for markets, temples, shrines, so get some. Max cash before you have to declare it is 1million yen I believe, I think it’s around 6.5k US dollars. Again do your own research as well.
Sitting/eating- I feel like there’s hardly anywhere to sit and rest while walking around, but then again not many places to sit around in nyc either. If you go to a shop that has seating be ready to make an order for everyone in your group. The no eating while walking around is a thing. We would stop outside of the shop and eat the food, then leave, this way you can throw the trash in their own trash can. The department store food shops/groceries do not have sitting area or trash cans either really. Bring your little trash bags. We were bad and walked with our coffee cups once without realizing it and felt weird.
Battery packs - get one or two because you’ll be out all day and your battery will die. Make sure you pack them on your carry on bag, Same w matches, if you buy any in Japan, it has to go in your carry on and not checked bag.
Kobe: make sure the beef is Kobe certified. Our tour guide told us that many of the places w lines in Kobe were American beef and tourists don’t know that.
Luggage transfer: this is a must, specially if youre going city to city. Usually need a day and half. We went Tokyo to Hakone to Kyoto to Hiroshima to Osaka. We transferred our bags from Tokyo to Kyoto and packed an overnight for Hakone (side not we were here not even a full day and regret that next time we would like to spend 2 full days here and explore it, looked cute). We transferred our bags from Kyoto to Osaka and packed an overnight bag for Hiroshima. Make sure you do all ur shopping before you transfer the bags or you’ll be hauling all those bags on the train.
Definitely bring an empty suitcase because you’ll need it. I put my medium sized suitcase in the bigger one when traveling to Japan and in Tokyo I had to put all the stuff I bought in the big bag. So glad I did that.
Cherry blossoms: I recommend forget about the cherry blossoms, or at least don’t make it the main thing because you’re dealing w Mother Nature. You never know if they will bloom while you’re here. According to everything they should been in peak bloomed during the time we were in Japan, but they were just starting so we missed the big bloom. So if youre from the USA go and see them in DC, and go to Japan at a different time than March/April. It is sooooo busy. The cherry blossoms in my neighborhood bloomed right before we came and they were beautiful, didn’t even know we had cherry blossoms.
Stamp books are a thing at all the shrines. Youll need cash it’s 300 usually for the stamps. Also 100yen coins were the most useful, really all over Japan 100yn was the most useful. **** people are pointing out that some stamps are 500-1000, must have missed those but fyi for cash purposes. In USA dollars you’re dealing with $2-6.
Motion sickness- if you have this problem get some Dramamine or have your doctor prescribe you scopalomine patches. All the trains, taxi, bus, maybe ferries will make you sick. I put the scopalomine patch on if I knew we would have major transportation days back to back because you can wear it for 3 days, I try not use them every day because youll get rebound nausea if you use it straight for one week or longer. I had the patch and Dramamine in hand ready to use. The patch I would say takes 3 hours for it to start working so plan ahead.
Lunch- try to get in before 2pm, we noticed many places close at 3 and reopen at 5 so if you get there by 230 they won’t serve you usually.
Airport- if you’re flying domestically to Tokyo to fly back home (for example we flew Osaka to Tokyo to USA) you will land in Terminal T2 in Tokyo but will have to go to international terminal T3 from Tokyo and will have to get on a shuttle bus to go to that terminal, it takes about 20 minutes. They come about every 15 minutes. You have to go through security again in Tokyo but our checked bags went all the way to our final destination. Have cash 100 or 1000Yen for the airport if you want vending machine snacks and drinks. You might want to bring snacks to the airport for your flights. Tokyo airport surprisingly lacked snack places, same with Osaka and vending machines weren’t taking cards for some reason(they weren’t working that day maybe?), and we only had large bills.
If you have a connecting flight and the airline is not the same airline you’re flying back home with make sure you don’t need new tickets (for example we bought tickets from Delta but their partner air in Japan was ANA) We flew ANA from Osaka to Tokyo then Delta from Tokyo to Atlanta but in Tokyo they made us get new tickets at the Delta gate because it didn’t say Delta. So keep all this in mind don’t waste time until you’re all settled in at your final gate. The Japanese part of the airline experience was smooth and of course once we got to the international part and USA airlines it was hectic and a hot mess. I don’t know why we are like this but anyway I hope all this helps.
What I would do different. I would spend at least 5 days in Tokyo, if it wasn’t so far I would stay a whole week in Tokyo, and do Tokyo to hakone 2 days to Osaka 4 days minimum, would do day trips from Osaka to Hiroshima, Kyoto then fly out of Osaka. Kobe is definitely a day trip, you can skip it if you need to. 14 days was good but if you don’t want to miss things you need more than 14 days. Tokyo has so many districts to explore. Hiroshima surprised me you have to go and Itsukushima island is a must. Hakone just looked so unique and we didn’t get to explore it which we regret. Kyoto- although it wasn’t my favorite city it did have some of the best food I had. We went to Nara while in Kyoto because it was my friends bday and that’s what she wanted to do that day. Nara is where all the deer are that you usually see. Nara is a day trip I’d say from Osaka and Kyoto. I saw somewhere that said the deer looked abused and sickly, in certain part of the park some of them did look raggedy but by the temple they all looked healthy. There were deer in Itsukushima but those ones you don’t approach or feed.
Mt. Fuji- we saw it when we were flying in from the plane, it was pretty cool. We also saw it when we were leaving Hakone from the train. Great view on the right side of the train. It was raining the one day we were in Hakone but the next day when we left it was clear skies.
I would put my favorite places in this order Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, Nara, Hakone, Kyoto, Kobe. Having an all day guide in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto was very helpful. They explain everything and you kind of learn the train/subway situation from them. Again this was my personal experience I’m not saying this is the best, we all had different favorite in our group. We had two food tours, one in Tokyo and one in Osaka. The Osaka one was great because she took us to super local places, there were no tourists there at all. The Tokyo one was ok. I’m gonna get some major crap for this but overall the food was ok not the most amazing like everyone on social media makes it out to be, don’t get me wrong we had good food, and I recommend you eat everything and as much as you can because there is so much food. The tuna in Japan is a must however, you haven’t had tuna sushi until you have it here. I do feel that sushi is ruined for me forever, because the fish was very fresh and I won’t get that in the USA. The desserts were really good too. Under the department stores they had some of the prettiest foods and desserts. The Hiroshima station had some good desserts too.
We went to a place called ace in Kyoto that was very good, recommended by a local. I would say that was one of the best meals I had in Japan. Also went to Vel Rosier, it was good and interesting and the staff was amazing.
The ramen was ok I tried so many kinds but I think our taste buds are just different. I feel some of the food was muted in flavor. Again my opinion not facts 😮‍💨. You have to try Okonomiyaki in Osaka and Hiroshima, interesting food.
One day we did Uber eats and ordered sushi because we were so tired and not all sushi is made the same, it was not good.
Don Quijote is a gigantic store, I’m guessing like a Walmart or Target, with all the Japanese goods a tourist would want. The one we went to was like 8 floors of just Japanese items (skin care, makeup, sweets, gadget, I think clothes), we didn’t make it all the way up because we were overwhelmed and were done w it, you can easily spend hours in here. If you’re doing duty free make sure you know what floor it’s on before you leave the first floor. We came all the way down to first floor from 6/7th floor to find out duty free is on 7th floor and we were like no way are we going back so we didn’t do duty free. They charge you for bags in Japan. Someone pointed out that not all of them are this big but the point is find out where duty free is before you start shopping.
Try not to have FOMO, because you can’t possibly do everything and eat everything.
Definitely bring a small backpack with you. I bought an antitheft one with the zipper in the back it was the perfect size and waterproof.
You don’t necessarily need a converter (maybe for some things read about that on google) if you’re from the USA but I brought one anyway because i needed all the plugs and USB ports on it. Between the phone, watch, sound machine, headphones, portable batteries and WiFi I needed all the plugs I could find.
I would recommend you bring some melatonin w you to adjust yourself. I’d say jet lag was an issue for maybe two days for my 14 hour difference. I think it’ll be worse when I’m back home.
Overall I would say the Japanese like rules and order and like to follow them strictly so respect that, it’s the whole reason they are a cool culture. Most of the time just watch what they are doing and follow that. I noticed they don’t do well when you try to change things around, much confusion, so try not make too many changes to things. Everyone was nice and helpful.
:)