Does anyone else out there experience this with Adderall? Kind of hard to explain but its not a true headache, its actually a pretty mild sensation... It feels like a slight dull pressure on my temples and I feel like "okay I can't shake my head or make suddon movements because if I do, it'll give me a headache." It feels like if I were to stand up quickly or jump up and down or even scream (pretty much anything kinda forceful at all), it will definitely give me a headache. Does this make sense? I feel like I'm on the verge of a headache. It doesn't really happen on XR. It only happens when I take my Adderall IR. I always take the IR later in the day (when I have taken XR earlier that day).

Now today for example I took Adderall XR 20mg at about 8:00am. At about 8pm tonight I knew I was going to be busy (studying/cleaning/etc) so I took an Adderall IR tablet 10mg. About 30 or 45 minutes later I started feeling this "almost" headache.

Is it because I'm waiting too long between doses (I don't see why this would matter, it should actually decrease this incidence, but just wondering) or is it perhaps I don't take my second dose very often so when I do my body is reacting?? Then again I take XR everyday practically so I should be used to the drug!

Anyone ever felt this? Anyone have any insight here?



**Also FYI: these are both BRAND name Adderall. NO GENERICS HERE!

Anyone at all feel like this? Its kind of a slight dizziness too. Most of the time it happens at the PM dose and always the IR version.

I've only ever been on IR and have never had what you've described. hopefully people who take XR and IR can post and let you know.

Does this effect occur when you don't take IR? maybe it's from XR winding down and not the IR.

*shrugs* just something to consider
Sorry I can't help you out more :)

I have no idea what it's from. Just for the record, I had one of the most severe migraines of my life the next morning after that night I took the IR at 8pm and wrote in this forum. I have no idea what is going on. It doesn't happen every time. I'm almost positive the migraine was adderall related.

To see what could be causing the symptoms, you could try not taking the IR dose and see if you get the same symptoms.
That will tell you if it's the IR or the XR winding down.

If you think its adderall related, call your doc - or your pharmacist and ask if this is a common side effect of either IR or XR. You should probably talk to your doc about this anyway.

How long have you noticed these symptoms?

If the symptoms are bad, then you should ask yourself - are the symptoms bad enough to stop taking the meds?

*food for thought*

My guess would be tension - Adderall can make people clench their muscles, grind their teeth, etc. Your "almost headache" could well be due to muscle tension in your head, neck and face(?)

Thank you both very much! I haven't had any Adderall in over four days. Last one I had was Thursday night and then I'll take an XR tomorrow morning (Tuesday).

I don't know why I have been having Adderall problems. I don't like this at all.

Hello my name is Jonathan. When i started adderall i didn't have any problems except for a little insomnia until 2 weeks later when i started to get pretty substantial pressure in my sinuses in the maxima(sp) sinus. I started to take anti-histamines and this pressure quit after aboout 4-5 days so i just figure that maybe the adderall temperarey weakened my sinuses or they just got a little infected. I would recomend trying to take some medicine for sinus pressure and see if that might help you. I use vicks nose spray and it does not contain any psuedo and my doctor said it would be fine to use it if i have any short term problems

Thanks Jonathan. That may very well have been contributing to my problem. Who knows??

Update: I took my Adderall XR this morning at 7:30 AM and felt great... Only side effect was a very slight pounding heart or increased heart rate. Morning lecture was great. I began to "come down" around 2 or 3pm but was too scared to take an IR tablet because of the bad headaches I have had the past few weeks. I got a mild headache anyway around 5:30 or 6pm this evening. It's all but gone away now. It's a little after 7:30PM

I haven't taken Adderall on a consistant basis in a LONG time (almost a year). My current prescription, given to me in July, is one Adderall XR 20 mg per day. At one point I was taking 20 mg XR plus 20 mg IR per day (twice as much as I take now!!). This time last year I was taking Adderall XR 20 mg plus Adderall IR 10 mg per day with no problems at all.

What would you all do in this situation?

haha, i know exactly what you're feeling. Because I too have experienced the same thing. I am actually feeling it right now.

I am taking the 20mg a.m 20 mg p.m one-a-day capsule. I have been on it for about a week now.

well, i hope that helps. I don't know what else to say, b/c I don't have enough experience with this feeling, I'll get back to you in a week or so. To tell you about the mild tension sensations. Maybe it's just the brain getting used to it. You know?

I agree bosipheus. Let me know how you are doing with that.

I've had an issue with that, although it is random, I think in my case it was related to caffeine, do you drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks throughout the day?

I've had an issue with that, although it is random, I think in my case it was related to caffeine, do you drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks throughout the day?

Yeah I drink caffeinated drinks but take in a fairly constant amount from day to day... are you suggesting caffeine + Adderall (stimulant) is impounding this? Or simply caffeine alone?

On a side note, sometimes if I KNOW that a headache is NOT Adderall related, if I drink a caffeinated beverage and/or take a painkiller with added caffiene (ie. Excedrine or Anacin) the headache will subside.

I'm just still trying to figure out why I get like this with that second dose of Adderall. I've been studying a LOT more than normal lately so I'm trying to be consistent with my caffeine and adderall intakes. I think after tomorrow (my last test for a while), I'm going to take an Adderall holiday for a few days. I can function okay without Adderall, it's just that I do so much BETTER with Adderall. For studying, it is a MUST... For sitting through a relatively short class or going to the grocery store... ehh... that's negotiable.;)

Would it be smart to take an Adderall AND Caffeine holiday? Or will this just bring on "hugely unnecessary headaches" for lack of a better term?:D

Suggestions? :)

For me at least, over the years I've built my caffeine tolerance pretty high, and so if I don't drink at least some form of caffeine at least every other day I can get headaches.

I noticed that when I took Adderall that it seemed to decrease the amount of time that I can "function" without a caffeine related headache. For example, last week I didn't drink any caffeine on Wednesday, which normally would mean that I would start having a slight headache beginning Thursday if I continued to not drink it. I noticed that when I took my prescribed dose on Wednesday I started having caffeine related headaches during the late afternoon.

It's hard to point exactly at the reason, as the times that it has happened to me have been under difference circumstances. I feel pretty confident that it is related to caffeine though (at least for me)

As for taking a holiday, I've had decent success with Adderall (weekend vacations) but I wouldn't recommend stopping your normal routine of caffeine intake. Some people don't seem to have withdrawal problems with caffeine, but I definitely do and it's almost hell on earth.. haha

I have been drinking pop and tea like CRAZY:eek: the past few days, so I'm probably building up a nice tolerance to caffeine. Yesterday, for example, I had at least 2 Cokes, a Pibb X-tra, and ~5 cups of strong tea. That's a LOT (for me anyways!!):eek:

And when it comes to Adderall, I notice that if I take an Adderall after coming off of a drug holiday (meaning my system is totally clean), I feel more *stimulated* by it and I just feel the effects of it more (could be totally psychological, but that's another story). Same thing with caffeine... if I go a while without having any, then a single cup of tea with give me a nice "pick me up"!

I think the double holiday here would be a very interesting experiment... The only thing I worry about is having headaches during the holiday (due to lack of caffeine) and then having headaches after the holiday (due to starting Adderall again)... since I blame a lot of my *almost* headaches and migraines on having too much Adderall in my system and/or my body trying to adjust.

I don't have another exam or anything big for that matter coming up in school for a while so I think I may try this. :D It might be good to give my body a break. I'll definitely keep everyone posted.;)

why don't you just stop. the headaches will be a problem. But you have to weigh aderall---no caffeine. Headaches will happen, but they won't last forever. You shouldn't have to take caffeine with aderall(speed) lol. Make sense?

why don't you just stop. the headaches will be a problem. But you have to weigh aderall---no caffeine. Headaches will happen, but they won't last forever. You shouldn't have to take caffeine with aderall(speed) lol. Make sense?
Nope. That made no sense to me whatsoever.:p

I don't *take* caffeine. I just happen to enjoy beverages such as tea and Coke while I'm studying, which I have been doing a LOT of the past few days. (We're talking like 10 hours a day for the past 3-4 days).

Okay I just read your post again... I think you misinterpreted what I was saying. I'm not trying to *take* caffeine with "speed" so you say. I was simply saying that I haven't had an Adderall holiday in a couple of weeks now (and I used to take a holiday every weekend). At the same time but completely UNRELATED to this, I have built up a tolerance for caffeine since I have been consuming large amounts of caffeinated beverages lately. To give my body a break from BOTH stimulants, I thought I would take a "caffeine holiday" along with my planned "Adderall holiday," even though some withdrawl symptoms may show up, which I mentioned as headaches. In doing this, I was simply going to give my body a break from the stimulants, allow myself to have a few nights of completely stimulant-free sleep and to rid myself of any tolerance that had built up.

heh..well be sure not to stop everything at the same time then..

I would guess that you would either implode. Or your heart might stop..then explode.

I dunno though...you, what...nevermind. Well!

I have heard that it is actually better not to take a break from stimulants. Completely at least. It must be hell, inside of you.

no really though, I don't think it's that big of a deal. I am actually curious about how you'll feel afterwards.

I don't know what I'm talking about. I think you should just trust your own judgement.

It must be hell, inside of you.
Why would you say something like this??? :confused:

I would guess that you would either implode. Or your heart might stop..then explode.
Wow, all this from temporarily discontinuing Adderall and tea?:rolleyes:




(ROTFLMAO!!!! :D )

hey love the cat and dog

Ive been getting migranes myself.Im just taking it easy.I usually get them when I go work outside in the heat and over do it.Migrane med works though so I cant complain.Hope your doing well Princess.

Thanks brandilyn. Yeah I take Relpax as needed for my migraines and it works wonders.

I've been super sluggish today, very very sleepy though I slept 9 hours last night. I had an essay due at 3pm so I waited until 2pm to start it even though I had been awake since about 9am with nothing else to do. No Adderall but had a Coke around 3:30pm.

I'm going to take a nap now. This sucks. :(

If I dont keep hydrated enough, I sometimes experience similar symptoms, more noticeably when I used to drink caffeinated drinks as they de-hydrate ya more... just me and my $.002 though

snicker....wait, maybe you should try candy, for the sugar rush. Ya and maybe after that you could swallow some bubble gum.

If I dont keep hydrated enough, I sometimes experience similar symptoms, more noticeably when I used to drink caffeinated drinks as they de-hydrate ya more... just me and my $.002 though
Absolutely. This is something I need to watch as well. Thank you! :)

Absolutely. This is something I need to watch as well. Thank you! :) Also, I took adderall a few times this past summer while working in the GA summer heat for 9 or so hrs.. If I didn't drink almost twice as much water (as when I didn't take AD) I would have a really uncomfortable (not really bad or disabling) headache when I was done working. The odd thing is that I didn't sweat more or lose any more fluids than usual... I really cant explain it.

I know what you mean.:)

:bump: :)

I just started my XR and have had this as the only real side effect - the first two days I felt a sensation that was like a small pressure, but not really a full headache. It was really weird and is being noted in my med journal.

I expirience light headaches the first two days...I'm ok now.. headaches gone until I have to refill Why ? Cause I will have to pay full price for a monthly supply of $130, I got the 30 days free supply from my Doc..(I have no insurance) I might consider generic brand xr 15 mg about $4.30 a pill Vs Generic IR about $1.30.... Big difference..

My headache feeling also passed on the third day.

I’ve been on XR for a couple of weeks now and I have the same sensation. It almost feels like poorly used pathways in the front of my mind are being expanded. Its not quit a headache but its definitely something.

I was driving home today and figured out what to compare this too. For me it feels exactly like getting use to a new pair of glasses. It’s a slight to moderate pressure between my temples and toward the top, front part of my head.

I have read where meds are called “glasses for the mind” but I don’t think this is what they were talking about :)

onetrack- What you described is pretty much how it felt. Weird thing is- I don't get that feeling anymore. I guess it went away (?) Though I still take frequent drug holidays.

Right now my script is for 15mg XR, twice daily (30mg XR total daily).