I've been on Adderall for about a year now.

When I first started taking it, every weekend was an Adderall holiday. I felt that by not taking it on the weekends, I would slow down a tolerance buildup, and also I felt that it was good to see the difference.

After a while, I found myself taking it on Saturday, then it became the whole week. The positive effects seemed to we diminishing.

Now, for the first time in a quite a while, I've just started the weekend holiday. In some ways I hardly notice the difference. I partially make up for it by drinking a bit more coffee. Other times, I definitely do not feel as "sharp" as I am when I am on it. Life seems a bit out of focus at times.

I was wondering if there were others out there with a similar experience. While I really feel the benefits of it, I do get concerned about becoming dependant on it, and the possibility of long term tolerance.

Funny. I think I'm in about the same place, though I've only been on the med for 6 mo. For the first four mo., I had the same weekend holiday regimen as you, and then started dosing on Saturdays to "get the most" out of my time off, then Sundays to do work (I'm an attorney so I basically work 7 days a week).

Now, I find it somewhat difficult psychologically not to use the medication all of the time. However, I recently skipped an entire weekend and didn't note that much difference, save some difficulty waking up.

Unfortunately, this weekend I had much to do, and upped my dosage from 20mg XR to 30 mg XR. I did not feel more productively focused. If anything, I feel hyper-focused, which made it hard to write. I also felt more agitated more sentimental, and more impuslive than normal. In hindsight, I feel silly for breaking a protocol I've tried to follow faithfully.

What's your dosage?

Yup, same here... I've recently decided to take some time off from taking adderall. I think it was only 3 days or so. If I skip a day, its usually not a big deal. The days I'm not on it, I feel like I'm in a "fog", so to speak. It's hard to organize everything that needs to be done and I'm easily overwhelmed. After several days, its the same effect but worse. Then, I'm an emotional rollarcoaster! The stupidest thing will set me off and I'll either cry over it or become excessivly annoyed or angry over it... Its kind of hard to describe everything.

before i started using Adderall. my sense of "blockage" or "cloudiness" is very strong. i would not be able to get anything done and ended up wasting my days.

recently i have start on Adderall and it has worked wonders for me.

however, if i put in numbers level of effectiveness in levels from 0-10, i say i used to be around 1 or 2. after i take Adderall, 9-10.

now, back to the thread topic, when i do take a day or two off Adderal, i noticed that my level doesn't drop back to 1-2, but instead stays at 5 or 6. it seems that Adderall doesn't fade away completely like my doc says, there is some residual effect that hangs in my body.

John:

I'm on 20 mg.

Took a holiday this weekend, and today the medicine felt much more effective than it did before the holiday. Maybe its my imagination, but I do feel that you can slow the tolerance build up by going off.

The other part I stuggle with is the fact that I really like the feeling of it. Kind of a mild euphoria that peaks two hours after taking it. I was really afraid of becoming dependant on amphetimines before going on Adderall, and it still remains a concern of mine. What bothers me is looking forward to Monday when I can pop the pill again.

ive been on XR 30 mg for 4 months now.

i relate to most all of what yall have said.
i look forward to the feeling and the effects' products. after 4 months, i am noticing a difference in the plateau, so to speak, but i expected that.

everyday i think about vacationing, i always end up taking it the dose.
i get madly productive, or my obsessive procrastination becomes worse.
its like im playing a game with higher stakes, but when i win i win big.

a big issue with me is i often up my dose when i want that extra bit to be really on point all day. this sunday, for example, i ate over twice my 30 mg dose. over course there are all the other factors, and sunday i dont think i slept well, didnt start the day off right, and didnt wait long enough to take the first dose. (if i take ot as soon as i get up, like within 15 minutes, it never works as well as if i let my body fully wake up.)

but the point, at the end of the month i have vacation days, becuase i eat extra during the month, and then i have no choice! at that point im just waiting for "the day" when i can start the cycle again....

this is just the way i do it...cant say if it is good or bad.

id really love 4 weeks off. im sure the drug is gonna be in your system for at least 2 weeks after you stop. it makes sense that after just afew days youll still have residual effects. absolutely.
cheers.
b

I mostly feel hungry! I have to be careful not to overeat when not taking meds. I too find that when I take a day off some of the improvements are still there without meds. I think this is due to improved habits rather than residual medication. I don't feel bad without medication - I managed to get by for 39 years without it - I just feel even better with it!

Ive been on adderall for a little over 5 years now. When I'm not on it, i really dont feel like starting the cycle all over again because it just physically beats your body up. But - For me The benefits outweigh the side affects enough to go ahead and take that "cycle starter" all over again...

I think that I am going to try taking a holiday this Sunday. I have been taking it for about a week now and i already am starting to build a tolerance to it. That's not a good thing :( I really hope i will be able to do so but I don't want to feel like poop the whole day. Sunday is my only day off so i guess i can just sleep the whole day.