Hi everyone! I am new yet old;) only cuz this is my first time REALLY posting anything but I have been lurking for a while reading all of your amazing stories, history and opinions. I have learned alot but some of the information that I have read confuses me to no end. I tend to do alot of research which is funny since my brain overloads with too many options or inconsistent information and I shutdown. So, skipping my ADD story since this is the drug forum I am going straight to some questions and comments I have about ADD meds that maybe you guys could put into focus for me. Please remember that I do have ADD and that lameman terms are easier for me to comprehend then scientific pharmacology terms:D
I was started on Adderral XR about a month ago and the first 4 days were incredible, I felt like a whole new person, just amazing feeling and I loved it and then, like many of you have experienced, after the 4th day that was gone. On the 5th day I started to notice a huge slump in the early evening and it was the first sign of the irratibility by the 6th day that slump was an all day thing. I called my Dr and asked for a reason and to see if maybe my dose needed to be changed and he said I needed to give it a month. But if Adderal is not a cycled drug like antidepressants then why would I need to give it a month? It doesnt stay in my blood right? Thats why we can take it everyday or as needed?????????/ Totally confused on that one.........
Fast forward to today and my irritability as taken on a life of its on, I have 3 children ,2 of which are under the age of 2, and I just snap all day long with them. I just lose it and start yelling which only exasperates the situation. Why the irritability I thought Aderral was supposed to sooth things out? And the last 3 days I feel almost manic, if thats the right word to choose, my mind is just racing and doesnt seem enough time in the day to do everything that I need or want to do, but yet as soon as I get on the computer I am completely focused and stay on all day and all night (which is also not good for my kids) Words seem to get stuck in my mouth at times it seems very very difficult to get a sentence out and I just sound stupid to people, stumbling over words and unable to make a concise sentence. Always had difficulty in that area but now it seems much worse. I have however kept my house clean for a whole week which is a major accomplishment. Also the depression? I have had some sort of depression all my life but not like this, I just get unbelievably down in the dumps once a day. I love the fact that I have zero appetite cuz I could stand to lose my post baby fat so that is one great side effect for me.
on a side note, I have been under incredible emotional horrible stuff ever since I started this med ( my dad found out that he has untreatable kidney cancer and it has really just killed me emotionally) so I wonder if that has anything to do with my reactions to aderral.
I need to rap this up since many of you (including myself) will get bored after the second paragraph :) but I just need to know if you guys think I am on the right med? or if I should ask my Dr for something else or even if IR would work better for me?? I have lots more to ask but I will break it up into shorter posts:D
Thank you for suffering through this and please excuse my tendency to jump from one thing after the other. I am completely confused after reading what I just typed but if I go back and change it now we will all be in for a world of hurt. LOL
Thanks,
Sweetmama

the good thing about amphetamines is they clear out of your system relatively rapidly compared to some other drugs. so if you are not comfortable with what you perceive are adverse side effects, stopping the medication should let you know quite early whether it is the drug or your life situation. you should not be venting your frustrations at your children. they didn't ask to be born.

MODERATOR'S NOTE: Looks to me like she was posting because she was seeing this and it made her feel bad. Let's try to keep it supportive. I can see how you could have misinterpreted the original post a little. I'm not editing away your last couple lines just so it's clear what I'm talking about, just watch it and try and be nice, ok? :D

the good thing about amphetamines is they clear out of your system relatively rapidly compared to some other drugs. so if you are not comfortable with what you perceive are adverse side effects, stopping the medication should let you know quite early whether it is the drug or your life situation. you should not be venting your frustrations at your children. they didn't ask to be born.
Um, I think that is completely unfair of you to say. Have you ever had 2 children under the age of 2? It can be extremely overwhelming but I would never take out MY frustrations on my kids, what I was trying to say was that I seem overly agitated and seem to be snapping alot more , which I believe every mother snaps once a day. Of course they didnt asked to be born, My husband and I asked for them to be born. Thanks so much for twisting my words!!!!!!!!!!! I thought this was a forum of support and warmth for people who have the same issues, this is very dissapointing to me. Thanks alot.

hi sweet,
After you read a post from someone, take what you need from than let it go. It's not worth getting upset over! The energy it takes you to complete one day with 2 kids under 2 has got to put alot of stress on you. Have you talked to your doc about being put on an anti-depressant? You're dealing with alot of stress maybe it would help you. I am on zoloft and adderall. Take care

I see a couple of good suggestions here, and I think a member who misinterpretted your initial post, sweetmama. Why not give a short drug holiday a try? At least then you will have a basis for comparison. An antidepressant might not be a bad idea if you are open to that. Going to see a therapist would probably help some, as well. It sounds like you have an awful lot on your plate right now, and you're kind of struggling to keep it together. Anyone who can spend all day around 3 young children could probably take all my problems without even breaking a sweat.

Sweetmama - - -

I can't say that I know what you're going through at this moment, but I feel for you.
I don't have as much responsibility on my plate, as it sounds like you do, however, I know how overwhelming and stressful life can be and having ADD and depression on top of all of that.

Perhaps ADDerall XR isn't right for you. If it worked great at first, you may want to consider ADDerall immediate release (IR). Or maybe ADDerall isn't the best med for you.

However, I have never taken ADDerall XR, so I cannot tell you the differences between the two.

Have you ever been treated for depression? Having someone to talk with (ie. therapist/counselor), who is unbiased, can help a lot.

I wish you all the best.

My dr told me that Welbutrin had the benefit of treating ADD and depression simultaneoulsy, and that was my first treatment regimen. It worked great for a few years, then i had to try other avenues. However, it worked terrific for years, that is the key here, and it kept me out of the depression that add often comes with..and it helped me graduate from college with less stress.

I have children, and i know how having them can be stressful, expecially for a mom. You were self diagnosing your own tension and stress level being too high and it not being good for your children, which is great that you did that. There is always a chance, when we reveal our emotions and fears, that someone else's fears and emotions will be automatically triggered by our openness. It doesn't mean you are not supported, its just a reaction; I hope that puts it in pespective.

You are doing a healthy thing, coming out with your concerns, being honest and open, looking for ideas, researching, asking, and knowing that you are diligent in finding solutions, and not just accepting whatever comes your way, you will do very well, and so will your little ones!

Take care and welcome to the active posting side of this group, with all its positive reactions and honest responses!

Jonathan

I was started on Adderral XR about a month ago and the first 4 days were incredible, I felt like a whole new person, just amazing feeling and I loved it and then, like many of you have experienced, after the 4th day that was gone.

But if Adderal is not a cycled drug like antidepressants then why would I need to give it a month? It doesnt stay in my blood right? Thats why we can take it everyday or as needed?????????/ Totally confused on that one.........

on a side note, I have been under incredible emotional horrible stuff ever since I started this med ( my dad found out that he has untreatable kidney cancer and it has really just killed me emotionally) so I wonder if that has anything to do with my reactions to aderral.

It took me two weeks to see how efective my dosage of ritalin was going to be. Up to that time it worked like adderall did for you the first 4 days. After that I experianced some of what you did only to a lesser degree. It let me know first ,that it worked for me and second I needed to be on a higher dose.That intial high point then feeling like it is no longer working is explained by each a little differently. My thinking is at first YOU and your body is super sensitive to the meds(more effective) and your brain is doing things it is not used to. Then after a period of time your body puts it all together and settles into a new normal for you( some or much of your ADD may start showing through) . And at this point you can tell what that dose is going to do for you. So a time frame for YOU AND YOUR BODY to adjust is good. Just some adjust quicker than others. A higher dose may help you (you didn't say how much you were taking).

As to the emotionial stuff efecting all this. I say YES YES andYES. So don't give up. You may ending up on somthing else in the end but I am shure something will work for you

Chris.

THank you so much for all of your advice! I have an appt. with a new psych next Thursday and I am going to discuss different meds with him. I have been on Zoloft, Lexapro and Wellbutrin for anxiety in the past. Zoloft was good but after 2 years it didnt have as much of an effect and it made me incredibly tired and lethargic, same story with Lexapro. As much as I would like to take Wellbutrin I was one of those very few that developed minor seizures from it. I just want to find the RIGHT stuff. Thanks again guys I appreciate all of your help.
By the way, I had a very bad anxiety attack today for the first time in 6 months I took 1/2 of my .25 xanax and it seemed to take the edge off the adderal and helped with the attack.

if Zoloft worked for you before, it may work for you again. I had to switch back and forth between anti-depressants for 4 years because they stopped working for me.
I only switched between 2, (1) a combo of zoloft and wellbutrin and (2) effexor. They worked just as well for me every time I switched back.

I hope your appt goes well.

best wishes!

if Zoloft worked for you before, it may work for you again. I had to switch back and forth between anti-depressants for 4 years because they stopped working for me.
I only switched between 2, (1) a combo of zoloft and wellbutrin and (2) effexor. They worked just as well for me every time I switched back.

I hope your appt goes well.

best wishes!
I dont know that much about effexor, how does it compare to the others?
THat is a very good idea to switch off, I will mention it at my appt.
Thanks!

Sweetmama,

I wonder if your dose of adderall might not be too high. I noticed with myself that the adderall when it was too high would put me into hyperfocus and I would get irritated if I had to change my focus off of what I was doing. With small children I know they like to interrupt and disrupt your chain of thought. I have kids too and I found even their nondemanding interuptions were irritating to me when I had my adderall dose too high.

I also know when I first started ADD meds things just suddenly 'lined up' in my head as far as what I needed to do. That was a good thing but since I had so much left undone I was pretty busy getting things situated!

I take an antidepressant on top of the adderall and I find it helps even me out. Sometimes it takes a combination of meds to work.

Good luck to you and I hope things go well for you.

Effexor worked the best for me for depression. It was a pain in the a$% to go off, but it helped me through very rough times.

Effexor helps the serotonin and norepinephrine chemical levels. Zoloft helps the serotonin levels and Wellbutrin helps the norepinephrine and dopamine levels.

Because Effexor worked the best for me, that was how my doc knew that zoloft and wellbutrin would work well for me - because of the chemicals each med helped.

Unfortunately, like ADD meds, anti-depressants are kind of trial and error to see which works best.

Best wishes