Once you start ADHD medication, are you stuck taking it forever?

Not locked in for life, no, though it's also not something you want to just start and stop casually without your provider involved. Plenty of people use ADHD medication in ways that flex with their life circumstances, some stay on it consistently for years because it's clearly helping, some take planned breaks during lower-demand periods, some stop entirely after a period of using medication alongside building non-medication coping systems and find they don't need it as consistently anymore. What actually matters clinically is that stopping should be a conversation with your provider rather than a unilateral decision, partly because some ADHD medications have withdrawal-type effects if stopped abruptly after a long period, and partly because your provider can help you figure out honestly whether stopping is because things have genuinely improved versus because of a temporary rough patch that medication was actually helping you get through. I'd push back gently on the framing of 'stuck forever' too, since it implies medication as some kind of trap rather than a tool you're actively choosing to use because it's working. If it ever stops working, or your life changes enough that you don't need it the same way, that's a legitimate conversation to have, not a wall you've locked yourself behind.

Been on and off mine twice now honestly, once during a slower work period where I didn't feel like I needed it as much, went back on when things got busier again. Provider was completely fine with both changes, wasn't a big dramatic thing at all.