I've been on adderall 40mg/day for about five months and deal with a daily downer feeling at night when the meds are wearing off. I feel great during the day and wouldn't trade that for anything but when I come home from work and it is time to interact with my wife and kids I get this bad depressing feeling. At first I tried to cope by watching funny shows like AFV with my family and the laghter deffinately helps but I can't do that every night. I have found that drinking two beers makes me feel completely better so I started drinking two beers every night. This was ok for a little while but now I feel a little like an alcoholic needing to drink every single day. Also, some of the side effects have been noticable from drinking. I feel a little bit of depression every day when I use to feel great during the day. I wake up feeling kind of grumpy. My wife is almost finished with her masters in M & F therapy and she told me that consistant alcohol use causes cronic depression. I am now on an alcohol vaccation(for about a week now) and feel like my seratonin levels are much higher. I am sleeping better too. My question is do any of you deal with this down feeling and how do you cope with it? I told my doctor and he told me I should take my second dose later in the day so I still feel ok at night until bedtime but I told him this won't work for my because I already have trouble falling asleep at a descent time. any advise would be greatly appreciated. this is my first post.

Hey andrec,

Welcome to the forums!!!!

From what I've studied your wife is right about alcohol. Did you discuss how early in the day you could take the second dose and how large it would be? If its a small enough dose to get you thru the day without interupting your sleep cycle its worth a try but I would only try it when you are on vacation, long weekend, etc so that if it does effect your sleep pattern it doesn't affect your work.

You might also try discussing an XR form of the med. My son takes an extended release form of Stratterra and we've found it very beneficial. By the time the med wears off he is already well into his bedtime ritual. Due to insomnia he has a lengthy bedtime ritual as do I. Around 8 he will pick up a book and read for an hour, then he'll take a nice hot bath using Walmarts brand Aromatherapy ZZZZzzzz therapy (I believe is what its called), he'll wander into his room and use the bed spritz on his bedding, while its drying he will rub the lotion into his skin. I know it sounds like a hoax but I'm a firm believer in aromatherapy I have not only seen it make a difference in my home life but also in the Alzheimers wing I worked in.

Regular excercise will also raise your seratonin levels and moods. If your not active I would start small and just walk a few blocks after work, maybe take your kids or wife with you a time or two. I find that if I can destress after work the better my interaction is with my husband and kids.

Good luck and keep us posted.
Cherity

I feel almost irresponsable posting this and I'm zipping up my asbestos suit, but; I really wouldn't sweat 2 beers. If it was 10 I'd worry, but not 2.

2 beers? Depends if they are American or Canadian. lol
Actually beers differ in size of containers and alcohol content. 2 small cans of lite beer might have the equivalant one regular 5% beer. One drink is actually supposed to be good for you especially near meal time. There are a lot of variables. Now if you are drinking for effect and you get a lot less bang for your buck over time, then alcohol is not the solution...especially if you have to up the "dosage" constantly.

Andrec
Welcome to the forum,great place to be with a lot of support here!!!I started adderall XR 20mg less then a week ago andI agree with what you said that it is a great feeling during the day.Im experiencing the same thing at night,i feel VERY like overwelmed and easily bothered once i am coming down from the adderall.I go to the pshy that put me on this today and im gonna talk to her about it and I will update you to see if maybe i can try to help you out as well.

I take 40mg a day also, I take them 5mg to 10mg at a night for the whole day, I take a sleeping pill before anything wears out.

Try it, I find you get much more out of the med if you take them apart, you control the time release.

T-Bass

thank you for the good suggestions. I never thought about exercising after work but I think that might do the trick. I always feel really good for a few hours after exercising. To answer scuro's question about the size of the two beers, they are 40 oz. each. Isn't that the normal size. Just kidding. no, just regular 12 oz. 5% alc beer. I do think it is very possible that the amount would increase over time if the effects decreased.

I have tried taking my second dose at 7pm and then taking over the counter sominex to help me sleep but I just don't see my self doing that every day. I felt kind of groggy the day after.

What about taking a lighter sleep agent such as Benadryl?