Ok...so I've been taking Adderall for the past 2 months.
I liked it at first...it seemed to keep me awake..and help me sleep at night (this is actually the original reason I was diagnosed with ADD).

A little bit about me: 25, man, ADHD since a kid but only diagnosed in grad school...

I feel kind of like I'm up and down all day right now. I get a slight euphoric rush in which i attempt to do a ton of tasks or start thinking about them but then don't do jack crap! Even writing them down can't be done b/c I end up getting distracted on something else. For example, I did laundry, cleaned my shelf, my desk, and went through some papers. I spent the first 3 hours listening to music and continually changing the station, then going to the shelf and seeing a different CD, then going and putting the cd in....listening to one song while reading the lyrics..thyen realized there was laundry taht needed to be folded so i went and folded the laundry and then my closet caught my eye so i went in there and decided that i needed to iron a shirt but before I could get the iron out I noticed that there was soap in front of the iron and that the soap in the bathroom had not been changed...so i changed the soap..then i went back to my computer and started listening to music again...

That is an average saturday morning for me....
and then about 3 hours after that..i end up feeling really tired or just get kinda down and lost in whatever is going on...

I think i should get out of the apartment and go outside...but then it doesn't happen....
I start to get tired..and then it's time for the next dose...i take the next 10mg..and the same stuff happens again.....when i'm on a semi more structured environment where i have to do papers in front of me due in 1 hour...i can do it...but i'm completely distractable, can't multitask anything because i get entertained elsewhere,

I've also:
* lost ability to really have feelings for any girls (though i'm still horny)
* lost the ability to really go outside..it's a struggle..i'm just sooo lazy....i'm not scared of goin outside...just lazy as hell now....
* list making used to save me and now it doesn't do anything!
* Felt somewhat down and depressed while on it (the euphoric pill isn't as strong)

Does this happen with adderall? I've tried others and it was never this bad. Of note, I was taking Cimetidine (for heart burn relief) recently too and that might have an interaction....

Basically,

Why the hell did my ADD symptoms come back soooo strong and worse than before I was on it.... I understand I became tolerant to the medication...but I doubt I can go any higher b/c I was already having the "euphoria" with that current dose...

I wanted to go to adderall xr but my doc doesn't wanna prescribe it cuz of the deaths and canada's crap going on....

Any suggestions? or anyone else have this happen?

well, I've been on Adderal for almost the same amount of time that you have been and I think that almost everyone goes through that "phase." I am not a doctor, nor do I have a long exp w/ adderall but my personal opinion is to not reach for that "euphoria" again. I think that that is why cocaine is where it's at right now- addictive, and dangerous. So please, do not over do this drug and "up" or "increase" your dosage routinely. I did not tell my doc when I increased mine, but then again I did it in moderation.

My point is, try to learn from the Adderall instead of "feeling" fro it. I mean, it's good to "feel" from it, but what I'm trying to say is that we form habits from all the things we do. I have only been on Adderall for two months, and yes I have "crashed," I have"come-down," and in revenge I have "self-medicated" myself with coffee and other forms of caffiene to mimic/increase its effectiveness but it only brings me "down" harder...

So try to rely on yourself and on your will. Ask yourself what is going on, and what is it deep down inside that is truely causing you to be easily distracted. We all have secrets, and we all can be easiliy labeled as "inattentive," because we get bored easily, hence..we are simply just not interested..Look at your so called disease and respect it for what it is and what it represents to your true trueself, for it has gotten you this far in life.

Why the hell did my ADD symptoms come back soooo strong and worse than before I was on it

I believe Amphetamines deplete dopamine in the brain, so that when the euphoria wears off, the user experiences intense fatigue and mental depression. When the Amphetamine is working it is quite helpful for motivation and focus but when the drug wears off it can be quite unpleasant to say the least . This is true for many people who take Amphetamines ADHD or not .

I had the same problem with Adderall. Are you on any antidepressant? I was on a high dose of Effexor and since it stimulates norepinephrine, it and Adderall fought it out for lack of a better term in my brain for control. I lowered it and it seems fine now. But I still suffer from the 'comedown' when the Adderall wears off, and get depressed and irritable around that time. It used to be fairly bad, but it's getting better. I have several theories about it, doubt that any of them are true.

My first theory is this:

If you'll read the prescribing information, it says that Adderall has been shown to increase plasma concentration of corticosteroids, particularly in the evening (I think this is the XR PI). Cortisol, a corticosteroid or glucocorticoid, is secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress, etc. In turn, the CNS decreases serotonin excretion, while it secretly disables the cortisol's feedback inhibition mechanism for turning itself off. As amphetamines are reintroduced to the body, serotonin is secreted in fair amounts, and the cortisol recedes. This may be why you feel edgy during the comedown (you've got a stress hormone flowing with no way of turning itself off), or depressed. It may just take a lower dose so that your body doesn't rely on amphetamines to tell it when to give your brain more serotonin and cortisol. But, it sounds too simple... they would have found this out during clinical trials.

Secondly:

If you've ever seen anyone on Ecstasy (which is methyldioxymethAMPHETAMINE), they tend to get a tad suicidal following a weekend of consumption in copious amounts. Ecstasy effectively causes an immediate release of nearly all of the available serotonin in the brain (this is why you feel so close to those around you), and it takes time for your CNS to manufacture more, and it's going to be secreted in lower amounts even then. They call this "suicide Tuesdays" -- supposedly because you binge eat X through the weekend, sleep it off on Monday, and wake up Tuesday with very little serotonin. Not sure why anybody would take this drug, but there have been people who've had their Adderall Rxs taken away and went straight to this. :-\... I really actually want to test out this theory and see exactly how similar in action MDMA and Adderall are. In a laboratory setting of course, on mice. I'll have to wait until I get into some upper level Biology courses and see if I can make a lab recommendation.

Again, those are just my own personal thoughts on the depression/hostility that I, myself, get after my XR 40 wears itself off. I go on immediate release next week, going to fiddle with my dosage until I feel level.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Yea...I seem to be doing a little better this week. I lowered my dose a little to 10mg in the morning and then I either take 5 or 10 mg in the afternoon (alternating days) - I still get really tired in the afternoon around 5ish and end up wanting to take a nap.

I'm not on any antidepressant right now or any other medication (except ambien for sleeping at night...that's been steady for about 3 years now). I had tried Paxil and Lexapro in the past, but basically some of the side effects were too much for me....

Perhaps the dose is too high for me...I'm about 190pounds and fit... Can a dose of 15mg XR for an adult work? My doctor told me the max dose she woudl go was 20mg - which is fine for me I guess - now the question is, should I add on something else such as effexor? Wellbuterin? Or maybe combine strattera and Adderall?

Ive been making an effort this week to really focus and attempt to remove distractions...I can only say it's partially working. I was on a computer and wrote a note, walked away cuz something else clicked in my head - completley forgot about the note and it ended up getting erased....haha...such a pain to rewrite.

Empower= What's the reason for you going to the immediate release?

Mainly because I didn't eat throughout the day on XR. Only in the evening after it had worn off did I develop an appetite. I'm down to about 145 now, which is quite slim for me. With the immediate release I'm hoping I'll be able to eat between pills. I'm very satisfied with the Adderall now, it was bumpy start, but I just spent 5 hours in the library studying for midterms, and did the same thing yesterday. I even *thought* about researching a paper that wasn't due for another three weeks. I'm the kind of person that would put that off until the day before it was due in the past.

My doctor told me I could take as much as 40mg of the XR, twice a day... and that was when I just started the adderall. It's not a question of size or statistics with these type of meds... it's all about individual response. Brains can be vastly different between several different people of the same demographic. I would say step it down to 15 or 10 and see how you do with that. If you still find yourself down or agitated when it wears off, you should probably talk to your doctor. That is if you decide not to talk to him now, which I think would be a good idea.

I would stay away from Straterra, for now at least. If the side effects of Lexapro were too bad for you, you will be in a living hell with Straterra. Withdrawal from Effexor after being on it for a while is one of the worst things to have to go through. As is Paxil. Those are all SNRIs however. If you are depressed, go with a tried and true SSRI, instead of messing anymore with the norepinephrine that's already covered by the Adderall.

Calscooby....

I have been using XR for just over two months and I can relate to many of the things I am reading in this discussion.


lost ability to really have feelings for any girls (though i'm still horny)

I have been married for over 15 years and my feelings about my wife have changed. I know this sounds dorky but I feel like we are having sex instead of making love. I have not figured out what thats all about yet but I will say that the Adderall has made me very horny.

lost the ability to really go outside..it's a struggle..i'm just sooo lazy....i'm not scared of goin outside...just lazy as hell now....

I have found that I have to initiate everything that I do and if I don’t I will just sit around. Once I start I am able to really pay attention to what I am doing. Remember, we are using our brains differently on this medication so some retraining my have to happen.

list making used to save me and now it doesn't do anything!

Ah lists! At one time it was my best tool against ADHD. I also find them much less helpful now. I feel like somebody had re-arranged my toolbox and I couldn’t find anything.

Felt somewhat down and depressed while on it (the euphoric pill isn't as strong)
After about a month I stopped getting that euphoric feeling which I think means I have the found the correct dosage, because I know it’s still working. Like most people, I have always had good days and bad days from an emotional point of view. Are you saying that since using Adderall you have been feeling depressed?

I am currently taking only 10mg XR in the morning and 10mg regular in the late afternoon. Sometimes I will take an additional 10mg XR late morning and skip the afternoon dose. I have found the XR to be much more effective while the regular release makes me a little on edge.

I have a good friend that has been using Ritalin for about three years and one of the first things she said is that it takes many months to learn how to make it work.

There have been days were I fill like one foot is nailed to the floor and I'm just getting anything accomplished. What I have learned is that if I force myself to begin something and I have found that I will finish it. The key for me seems to be keeping busy.

Finding that "level" feeling took much experimentation and really paying attention to all external influences. For example, I have found that playing hoops or just exercise has had a very positive effect and almost seems to enhance the effects of the Adderall which makes sense due to the fact that exercise causes the release of dopamine.

Regarding X…I tried it many years ago when it was legal in Texas and Colorado. The up time is about eight hours and the down time is about two days. It does not compare to Adderall because X makes you feel way over the top about everything.

While this is only my opinion, it sounds like you need to find a Dr that will let you try XR. Those folks in Canada had severe heart abnormalities bu I would take some time to read about XR and it's possible effects. I am pretty sure that there is a forum in here that addresses the topic.

I really hope this works out for you!

Those folks in Canada had severe heart abnormalities bu I would take some time to read about XR and it's possible effects. I am pretty sure that there is a forum in here that addresses the topic.
ADD News -> statement from Health Canada -> posted by Gregster:

"Health Canada pulled the licence of Adderall XR, a once-a-day treatment for ADHD, on Feb. 9 after learning from the company of 20 cases of sudden death and 12 of stroke in people using the drug. None of those cases occurred in Canada."

My bad:

Meant to say that the folks in Canada pulled Adderall because of the deaths! Thanks for the correction! This is from another post....

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">The 12 deaths were in 7- to 16-year-old U.S. boys. They'd been taking Adderall products for as little as one day or as long as eight years. Five of the deaths were in kids with known heart defects. Many of the other seven children had unusual circumstances that make the link to Adderall hard to interpret, says Russell Katz, MD, director of the FDA's neurological drugs office.


"One child was in a boot camp and exercising in 110 degrees," Katz says. "Two others had high blood levels of the drug, possibly reflecting an overdose. They way we try to assess causality -- to ask, 'Did the drug do this?' -- it is hard to answer that by looking at an individual case. Just because a child died while on Adderall doesn't mean the drug was the cause. It could have been 50 different causes. So we look at how many deaths there were in kids exposed to Adderall, and compare that to the background rate in the population. We don't really believe this is different than background rate, although we have no good data on the actual background rate of sudden death in all kids -- or in kids with ADHD, who may have a higher background rate."
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>http://my.webmd.com/content/article/100/105791.htm

Thanks for the responses...
Hyperdad: Seems like your response has been really similar to mine. As far as the sexual feelings go, I have the desire, but then during and afterward - i just feel like it might as well be over and then I just want the girl to leave or I want to leave (like no interest in any sorta cuddling....wierd...)
I wouldn't say that before i was depressed, i would have up and down days...but now it's like the inability to really move and get going on stuff just kinda lets me dwell on things or makes it harder to get going. I guess it really is a thing to "learn" how to use and utilize it to work. I found that my vision had gotten a little worse on this med - i think because when I do focus, I tend to focus on up close objects and just avoid distance vision.

As for the other meds: i've been on paxil --> horrible come down (so iknow what you're talking about - i liked it but I gained weight and coundl't really control my appetite on it)
Strattera - was up to 40mg twice a day, worked well, but had problems feeling really tired during the day and didn't like the somewhat jittery feeling...And the fact that I had never tried "traditional" meds for ADD i wanted to try them because of the longer FDA approval etc etc...
Ritalin - headaches and no good
Concerta - made me extremely edgy and anxious
and now on Adderall - I'm gonna stick with it and talk with my dr this weekend and try to switch to XR - if not, then stick it out and try to work with it....

if all that fails, i'll head back to strattera with/without an SSRI.

Another question: U mentioned that the gym helped you. I workout pretty much 5-6X a week. I found that my lifting has gotten worse since taking adderall. It seems to zap my ability to maintain strength. I do a few reps and then burnout pretty quick. Like my mind says "just give up and sit here and relax..." ...so i've been complying...lately i've been working to really get over that and force myself to do more....i'll keep you updated..just wondering how it worked fo ryou on the bball court?

I have definitly noticed that I am losing strength or muscle endurance or something. I am assuming that it has to do with being dehyradrated. I going to have a physical next Friday and will be asking many many questions! I will share anything interesting....

Am I a thread killer :confused:

Looks like it hyperdad :) ....My doc still doesn't wanna prescribe XR...so i'm just gonna stick it out on the regular release...and see how it goes.
I've noticed my strength is getting better now when i make much more of an effort to keep it going.

That was another interesting thing...when you say you're dehydrated, is it b/c you tend not to drink as many fluids on it?
I usually drink a ton of water...just to keep everything hydrated and b/c i work out a lot so gotta keep everything flowing...on adderall, at first I could barely stomach water...i'd just not be able to drink it without feeling somewhat nauseaus. Now it's better, but in the beginning it was a little harder to make sure I got adaquate fluids..

Looks like it hyperdad :) ....My doc still doesn't wanna prescribe XR...so i'm just gonna stick it out on the regular release...and see how it goes.
I've noticed my strength is getting better now when i make much more of an effort to keep it going.

That was another interesting thing...when you say you're dehydrated, is it b/c you tend not to drink as many fluids on it?
I usually drink a ton of water...just to keep everything hydrated and b/c i work out a lot so gotta keep everything flowing...on adderall, at first I could barely stomach water...i'd just not be able to drink it without feeling somewhat nauseaus. Now it's better, but in the beginning it was a little harder to make sure I got adaquate fluids..
Good point. That happens quite a bit when people first start on a stimulant. Also, its harder to eat. People dont, or just plain forget about eating, then start feeling horrible later in the day because they simply dont have any energy to function.

I have been in the dietary thread and noticed many posts about changing eating habits to include mostly protien in the morning. The theme seems to be avoiding carbs in the AM and focusing on eggs, nuts and cheese. My wife has been the lo-carb dance for over eight months and lost much wieght and has regained much of her afternoon energy.

Calscoob, I think the strength thing is dehydration...for me at least. I also started a post with you in mind regarding XR vs regular release.

Don't want to be thread killer....I have to admit I have been losing sight of the forum's purpose by wasting time doing battle with the anti-med forces that lurk but I am back on task

My bad :o

I am jumping in here late but I wanted to say if straterra did okay with you earlier except for tiredness the combination of adderall and straterra might help with the depression.

I was on lexapro due to depression. This helped the depression tremendously but aggrevated ADD symptoms- aimlessness, no motivation, procrastination, scatteredness etc. I added adderall and it made a difference but in looking back it thru me into overfocus - on all the wrong things! I had the energy and focus but used it to stay on the computer for hours on end or compulsive mindless types of activites. I also had very bad rebound effects from the adderall. I was having side effects from lexapro so I stopped that and began taking cymbalta.

Cymbalta is a new SSNRI. For some reason right away I noticed that I no longer had any rebound from the adderall. In fact I couldn't feel it wear off. I also noticed I had better reading comprehension. It kind of leveled off the compulsive effects of adderall and gave me my thinking power back again. I thought I might be able to eliminate the adderall since I couldn't feel its effects so much. I tried it but felt too tired. I did not give it much time because I am in the middle of moving and can't take naps all day! I might try to cut back on the adderall again once the weather turns since I usually spend more time outside then and get a burst of energy once the sun comes out again.

I just wanted to tell you my experience because it may be that you need a combination of different meds to kind of round things out. I know its frustrating trying to get the right doses and med combinations.

I would also recommend you tell you doctor what you are going thru. I started to keep a med journal to track how I was doing. I keep it real simple and just make note of my focus, energy level, emotions and any physical symptoms. I decided since these medications are effecting my mind and emotions that I want to get things right- otherwise it makes life very difficult!

I also in looking back could see a difference in focus vs. concentration. When I was on the lexapro/adderall combo outwardly things looked good because I was getting things done BUT it was the mindless stuff. I couldn't read because I wanted to skim and speed read thru everything. After I changed medications I had a little less focus (driveness) but more concentration. I could think instead of just being active.

Well I hope I did not ramble on too much about my experiences! I hope things have leveled off for you by now. If not take the depression seriously and get some help with that.

Calscoob, I think the strength thing is dehydration...for me at least. I also started a post with you in mind regarding XR vs regular release.
Hey...i noticed it! good thread....interesting...

Today I took 10mg morn / 10mg afternoon and I did amazing (with much less sleep than I am used to too!)

So....I think it was just that my environment was different and wasn't the normal boring day activities....I need constant stimulation and things to catch my attention or else I almost fall asleep on adderall....It's the only med so far that if I wanted to, i can sleep on 2 hours after taking it....
Strattera there was no way i was sleeping for at least 6-8 hours after taking it...

Thanks for the response flyaway...
I think right now my doc wants to keep me on just one med to see how I do for a couple months..and that will work ok with me...but i totally understand how adderall can make you focus on the wrong tasks!!! ....but the cymbalta sounds good...

I seem to have worsened patience or reading skills while taking the adderall or maybe it's just been getting worse in general... I frequently completely miss things that are read....if I read outloud - I have no comprehension of what I say - ive been that way ever since grade school.... also (i'm noticing that like my dad) I have perfected the art of "pretending to listen" by nodding and seeming cmpletely interested and even being able to repeat the last few lines of what someone may tell me, but after leaving the conversation have absolutely NO RECALL of what was said or even remember any instructions that were given...
Stumps me....i think it's gotten a little worse recently..but it may just be something long term that is happening to come out a little more b/c of the work i'm doing right now...

And I think the depression that I was having was more due to the type of work i'm doing now (which will be stopped in a week! yay!) and probably some adjusting to the med....b/c this week has been a lot better :)
I told my doc i wanna consider another SSRI or something when I get the adderall issue resolved...

I am glad to hear things are improving.

Thats smart too to stick to one thing to know what and how something is working. Its hard to factor in all the variables in determining moods,emotions. I job you hate sure doesn't help! Glad its almost over.

When a stimulant makes your focus worse than without, that's one indication that the dosage is too high, or it's the wrong drug. So if your reading comprehension goes down when you take Adderall, there is a problem, I would think. Difficult thing to measure however - how we precieve the effects of the drug are often not how others see the effects. Do others around you see an improvement from Adderall?

Gregster,

I don't know if your question was directed to me or not but I'll write of my experience in the hopes it may help someone.

When I was on adderall and an antidepressant I noticed (as well as others noticing) that my focus improved. I was able to focus on activities, projects but my concentration dropped. The activites I could focus on where more mindless, repetitive kinds of things. I agree this is an indication the dose was too high. I dropped the dose down and things got somewhat better. The change in concentration came when I changed antidepressants. I noticed then that my reading comprehension improved. I felt like I had better thinking power which to me goes along with concentration rather than just better focus.

My point in writing this is that sometimes it takes time to judge how medications are working and in what way. I found it very helpful to keep a daily log of my energy level, focus etc. These medications worked differently for different people so the more feedback you can give your doctor the better.

Another lesson I learned is that I am the best judge of what a medication is doing to me but I need to be able to communicate that to the doctors. In all honesty I did not see the real impact of the different medications until I changed and looked back at the difference.

Unfortunately it takes time and fiddling around to get things right. Its frustrating for me because these medications effect our mind and emotions which can be a little scary. Best of luck to you!

I frequently completely miss things that are read....if I read outloud - I have no comprehension of what I say - ive been that way ever since grade school.... also (i'm noticing that like my dad) I have perfected the art of "pretending to listen" by nodding and seeming cmpletely interested and even being able to repeat the last few lines of what someone may tell me, but after leaving the conversation have absolutely NO RECALL of what was said or even remember any instructions that were given...


wow i'm not alone! that happens to me when i'm NOT on an ADHD treatment, and happened a little while on an ADHD treatment in school. i've said the same thing to friends and english and speech teachers and i just think it is the worst thing, no one else i have told seems to understand, not even the psychiatrist. but what may be different than you, with me, the same thing happens but down the road (sometimes 2 hours later) i will remember every word i said, read, or heard in a conversation regardless of being on ADHD treatment or not, sometimes the words get to the right place in my memory faster while on ADHD treatment. i think this is a good subject.

what about blurting out silly noises or sentences that don't make sense and kind of "talking to yourself in your head"

wow i'm not alone! that happens to me when i'm NOT on an ADHD treatment, and happened a little while on an ADHD treatment in school. i've said the same thing to friends and english and speech teachers and i just think it is the worst thing, no one else i have told seems to understand, not even the psychiatrist. but what may be different than you, with me, the same thing happens but down the road (sometimes 2 hours later) i will remember every word i said, read, or heard in a conversation regardless of being on ADHD treatment or not, sometimes the words get to the right place in my memory faster while on ADHD treatment. i think this is a good subject.

what about blurting out silly noises or sentences that don't make sense and kind of "talking to yourself in your head"
For me it's a little different. I just basically become a blank slate after reading...I have no clue what was read. That's why I have always hated reading things outloud. The only way I would possibly understand it or to better would be if I was able to memorize it and then say it....When I would read silently, I would get it half the time if I was focused....but I think it's kinda like driving, how you just forget that you were driving for the past 20 minutes and have no real recollection of the signs you passed or what happened...that's how reading outloud is to me...I can tell you i was reading...and prolly paying attention during that time, but I sure as hell can't remember anything about the "drive"....
but yea...it is frustrating but nice to find someone else that has that issue :)

* Blurting out sentences or noises sounds a little like a comorbidity with ADHD simliar to a form of Tourette's...or like a tic.... not sure..you'd have to explain it a little more..when I was younger I had a "vocal tic" which I didn't realize until I was in medical school and learned about it...then I realized i had it in the past... but it was self limited and stopped after 12 months when i was around 13 or so..

Gregster: I probably wouldn't say the comprehension is down on adderall...but not as good as when I was on strattera....I would say that on adderall the DESIRE and ability to maintain what I'm reading is harder. I become a little more impulsive and scatterbrained on it.... but then I can focus really well for a minute or so..then jump off to something else...

it's improved a lot in the past week.... might have been just adjusting time....

Last month at the sweet age of 45, I was diagnoised with add. Start off the day with 20mg of adderall, and around mid-day I take 10mg or if I am having a serious meeting I'll take the 20mg. A number of years ago I was diagnoised with social anxiety. I have taken zoloft, wellbutrin, effexor and paxil. I was taken off paxil when diagnoised with add, it made it worse. Going off paxil was an experience I don't want to threw again. I am now on zoloft again and it seems to be working.
? When I am coming off of adderall I feel so tired, is this normal? Also, no appetite at all will this ever go away?
Thanks for the info
Johna

Aderrall is like a rollercoaster there are so many ups and downs. I read your post and it seems to me that the reason for this behavior is that you are gettin some anxiety from the adderall which is completely normal. Yea gotta keep in mind they are amphetamines. Your best bet would be to either cut back on your dose or maybe even ask your doctor for dexadrine. Dexadrine tends to cause less anxiety. Another option is to ask him for a mild benzo like a klonopin or a low mg xzanax. I wouldnt so much recomend the benzos becuase they tend to be addictive and you can get bad withdrwals from them. I had the same problem as you and the only thing i did was cut back my dose a lil bit becuase i dont want benzos becuase i have a drug past. Good luck though and remember theres millions of other people who are going through the same thing. your not alone bro. good luck again

Aderrall is like a rollercoaster there are so many ups and downs. I read your post and it seems to me that the reason for this behavior is that you are gettin some anxiety from the adderall which is completely normal. Yea gotta keep in mind they are amphetamines. Your best bet would be to either cut back on your dose or maybe even ask your doctor for dexadrine. Dexadrine tends to cause less anxiety. Another option is to ask him for a mild benzo like a klonopin or a low mg xzanax. I wouldnt so much recomend the benzos becuase they tend to be addictive and you can get bad withdrwals from them. I had the same problem as you and the only thing i did was cut back my dose a lil bit becuase i dont want benzos becuase i have a drug past. Good luck though and remember theres millions of other people who are going through the same thing. your not alone bro. good luck again
Thanks for the advice!

I actually take 1mg ativan and 10mg ambien when i go to bed at night....I'd say that only some of the time it would be actual "anxiety" that I feel while on the adderall...sometimes I feel it when it's coming down...
I'm actually hoping to cut out the ativan soon. As soon as I feel the adderall is more stable with me...i'm gonna try to cut it off again. I feel that sometimes the benzo carries over to the next day and it takes a while to get trhough the morning...
but i hear you on the addiction potential of all the meds...

My start with Adderall was two months ago. At the time I was taking 37.5 mg of Effexor which mostly helped with irritability and impulsiveness (my flying off the handle). I saw a Psychiatris for the first time and he said I've been treated for depression but that this was probably all ADD. I still don't know for sure. I do know that I was at first taking 25mgXR a day. After a few days my crashes (SAD DEPRESSION) got earlier and earlier and also worse. I really wasn't sure what the cause was. I had weaned off the Effexor so I thought it might have been that. I ended up stopping everything to figure it out. The first few days I felt like I was so sad and so alone. I cried a lot. I guess in week two the irritability started really getting to me. My doctor did want me to come and try cymbalta which I probably will. I just felt like I had to wait things out for a little while to be sure all of this wasn't because of some withdrawal. The irritability got too bad so I tried some adderall which does really help. At 5mg, 3 times a day, I seem to do okay. Sometimes I even take my last dose and try to cut it to 2.5mg, to kind of taper it off. Yesterday and today have been fine. I still feel sure that I will need an antidepressant but I guess I will wait it out for a little while longer. I just know from taking Effexor, it will most likely make me more tired which usually adds to low motivation. I think tiredness is better than wanting to throw things through the wall. It may also be (as someone mentioned) that I take the cymbalta and also a low dose of my adderall so that I won't get so overcome by the tiredness.

when i came down off the adderall i was in complete despair, the doc said it was because i was overstimulated. i took 5 HTP and felt completely back to normal. Not that it will help with motivation, but it will help with all the yucky feelings, like depression. I will only use the Natrol brand, it's the only one that really works for me.