I am speaking off the top of my head, so please forgive me if I sound un-PC in any way! I don't fault those choosing medications at all, but in my very limited understanding, I thought misused medications had a risk of squelching a very natural creative bent in a more visual-spatial type GT brain. Some of those more "scattered" thinkers are some of our greatest resources!
I can only speak for DH who went on meds as an adult. He says that he feels
more like himself than ever on meds. There is no difference in his creative work, in fact, I would say it is better because he is not struggling so much with feelings of being overwhelmed and anxious. I think that in retrospect he would have gone on the meds a lot sooner had he known. On the other had, he may have learned a lot of good skills managing his own ADD without meds all those years. There is also some concern that the meds may have physical side effects (blood pressure for example), so maybe exposing a person to them before they need them could cause physical side effects.
The meds act quickly and are out of the system quickly. For older children and adults a trial of meds is often very easy to do (unlike some drugs that take weeks to notice). DH and I saw positive effects immediately. His psychiatrist said the meds were equal to about 300 cups of coffee. He said people with ADD feel that the meds will "mellow them out" rather than hype them up. That is exactly what happened to DH, he calms down because he feels like he is able to process and prioritize all the information that is coming at him (much of that info comes from his own brain BTW).
DH is very open about his diagnosis and experience with ADD. He hopes that by sharing, he can help others.
