Hey everyone. I was looking for some answers to some questions I have about this med and came across the forums here. I feel like Ive been reading ADD/Adderall info all day, but it really is facinating the wide variety of results people experience with the medications.

I was recently diagnosed with ADD after a drawn out process of talking to counselors and psyciatrists. They decided Adderall would probably suit me best and now it is the end of my 4th day on it, and I have a few questions that I hoped you all could answer and I'd also like to share my experience thus far for those who are interested.

First off If people could tell me their usual daily dose routine I would like to know how it works for you. I have the generic 20mg single score tabs and its been quite a science experiment so far. I find that 10mgs per dose pretty much does nothing for me, this is what i was reccommended to initally try and increase as I see fit, then get back to my doc in 3 weeks with my results. 20mgs per dose seems to work like a charm for me. I take it right when I wake up and I am good to go for my school responsibilites. So far it has fulfilled my every expectation!

As for my additional dose for the day, I've yet to find my comfort zone with that in terms of dose/time of day. I'll be sure to post what I discover this weekend and this coming week. I'm thinkin I may need another 20 in the afternoon sometimes because 10 really just feels non existent almost to the poin of causing the effects I am experiencing in the evenings.

However! I am noticing some residual effects that are a bit annoying though not too severe yet.

1st - I am EXHAUSTED in the evening yet I cannot sleep. One of the main reasons I went in for treament in the first place was due to long term sleep problems/sleep walking ( I knew it was bad when my roommates asked me where I went when I got in my car and left at 5:30 in the morning and I had no idea what they were talking about)(long story) So, I feel like I've been awake for going on 3 days.. Minus the Nyquil coma I put myself in the first night in a desperate attempt to get a little rest at 3:30am and an hour long tylenol pm nap that helped at 5:00 am this morning. This may be contributing to a lot of my other complaints actually.

2nd concern - Aches! Head, Stomach, and Muscle - Really only bad in the evening when it feels like its sort of wearing off, and in the morning. My stomach has been the main problem. Cramps, burps, and just overall irritation in every way. Eating helps a little I think but not much.

Thats about all I can think ATM. Thought I had more questions but I guess they'll come to me later, as in tomorrow when I can think normally again (j/k sort of ).

I am very pleased with the positive effects thus far. It only took me till I was 22 years old and a senior in college to realize that talking to someone about this was a great idea. Maybe now I can finally get away from that borderline GPA mark that I have resided in my whole life! I can think clearly, I can listen without totally spacing out (both in class and in every day conversations), I remember details, I can focus when I read, I pay attention to detail in everything I do and I just feel much better about myself and confident that I can make the changes i need to make in my life and finally get done with school BECAUSE I AM OVER IT! Freshmen look so young now! I want OUT!

Also, I should note that before I decided to talk to someone about this, I really felt my self confidence slipping. I was becoming shy and reclusive and basically a nervous wreck over every day things like meeting new people, ect. The first day I was on campus and in classes after starting the meds I felt cool, confident, and friendly. All my antisocial feelings were gone and I just felt like this was how a normal person goes about their day. I even met some new people and just tried to go out of my way to be friendly. I felt SANE!

Anyway... Sorry for the marathon post, but I felt that my experience might be informative to someone considering the use of this medication for similar symptoms of this disorder. Its honestly like a breath of fresh air, and I'm excited about implementing my new state of mind in to everything I do. I am also still attending counceling and I feel the combination will really get me on track so I can shape my future up to my full potential. Thanks for the time and consideration, I look forward to your replies!

Dear UF Gator: Welcome to the Forums...:) I live in Tampa, FL myself and so am not far from UF...

Congrats on your decision to help yourself by getting started on the Adderal.....and continuing with counselling as well sounds good.....Although I am not on this particular medication and so can't help regarding this particular med -- I do relate to meds making me very sleepy - yet not being able to sleep.....

I would suggest hanging in there a little while....as it's just the fourth day.....and if your side effects don't subside, talk to your doctor....what do others think -- especially those on Adderal??

Anyway I think the changes you are making in your life sound very positive and your attitude and outlook sound very positive. The "social" improvements sound amazing.

Thanks for sharing your story with us....Continued good luck with school...yes I'm sure you can achieve whatever GPA might be your goal...:)

Please keep posting here and you will get lots of support. A lot of people in school do post while they're attending school....:)

Hi UFGator.

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the progress so far. I've not had adderall but there will be plenty of people here able to share their experiences. Also, it can take time for your body to get used to being on meds.

Another consideration. If your being a lot more active; it can be like fitness. From being someone who sat around all day and now you are running a marothon each day. Your body may have gotten used to being less active and your mind actually chews up over 20% of all energy consumed by the body. Your burnout could be body energy; but as you still have the Adderall in your body; you can't get to sleep.

If you are dual dosing; maybe take the second one earlier.

As for energy; all i can suggest is exercise. Weights build muscle; and muscles are what store a lot of energy. More muscle = more energy.

Just a few things I could think of off the top of my head.

Good luck and congratulations on the progress made.

Sleepz.

Welcome to the ADD Forums, UFGator!

Thanks for the kind words and advice everyone. I am getting a little more acclimated to the medication and the side effects seem to be subsiding a little. Though at the ned of the day when I'm burnt out, I kinda wish that I didnt have to be doing this in the first place and question wether its right for me. But it has proven itself to me. I know that its the best thing right now and as soon as I can fall in to a regular dose schedule it'll smooth out the experience a little. The ups and downs have notably settled a bit so I'm happy for that. As for sleep, 2 nights of good sleep in a row! I know that doesnt sound like much but I am excited and feel pretty good when I wake up. I'll wright more next week when I can see how I feel about my work now that I'm done with that inital shock to the system.

One question though, hwo do you all feel about taking weekend days off the meds when I dont have a real need for it? Can I have a spacy day? or does that throw off the regularity?

Thanks!

I think it all depends on the meds, regarding whether to skip or not.

I have personally forgotten meds for a day, and ran out over a weekend once, and survived. But I would check with your doc first.

Agree with Andrew on that one....check with the doctor....he may have had a certain reg

Welcome UFGator! I just started Addereral XR a week ago after being on antidepressants for the last 6 years. I am extremely happy with the results so far. The "XR" is the extended release version that lasts for me so far around 12 hours. It wears off very slowly at around 6 or 7 pm, and I sleep pretty normally starting a few hours later. (I know about sleep problems from trying Stratterra for the prior 5 weeks so the improvement from Adderall is great for me! Of course, everyone handles different meds very differently.)

You might ask your doctor about the XR version if you'd rather take it once a day and don't want to hassle with timing a second dose. I started with 10mg for the first week. This is the first day of week 2 and I'm on 20mg per day until my next doc appt in 3 weeks.

My only concern about the XR version is not having the extra push for those rare but necessary late nights at work. I'm not sure if my doc will prescribe a non-XR version for my to have on stand-by if needed. I'll see what she says. I suppose there's always caffeine.

Hey Gator. Welcome :). When I was younger I was on adderall. I didn't find it very helpful. Im now on natural treatments and its working great for me.

When on adderall I usually took 2 doses per day. 20mg each. The first dose was 20mg in the morning. Then 4- 6 hours later I would take another 20mg dose. The adderall only lasted in my system for a couple of hours though. For most people it lasts 4-8 hours.....

Something you could try is take your regular dose in the morning, then in the afternoon (before the medication has worn off) just take a booster dose of 10mg. You mentioned 10mg doesnt really do much for you, but if you take it while you still have some medicine from your first dose left over in your system it might do some good. Then in the evening or late afternoon when you get that kind of crash from the meds wearing off..... well a little before that happens (45min b4) try taking a tiny dose.... not enough that you can notice better concentration and releif of ADD symptoms, just enough that you dont have such a bad crash when it wears off. I would say about 5mg would work for that. And hopefully such a small evening dose wouldnt interfere with your sleep. Some people feel very tired and kinda wiped out when their adderall wears off. For me it was the opposite. I was mildly tired while the adderall was in my system then when it wore off I would be bouncing off the walls. Sometimes I took an evening dose and it would actually help me fall asleep.

I really think the tapered dosing schedule (3 times daily) would help you with the come down and also help the meds effects last longer Im just worried that it might interfere with your sleep. Well hey you can always try it and find out.

Example tapered dosing schedule

8am - 20mg (main dose - enough to get through school)
12:30pm - 10mg (booster - to add to the earlier dose and keep the med working for a few more hours)
5:30pm - 5mg(to help with the medicine drop off)

Oh about the taking med free days.... thats a good thing to do with most stimulants. Gives your body a break and that way youre less likely to have a need to continuously increase your dose. When I was on adderall I took it for school/work. I took breaks on weekends and days I had off. My doc supported the weekend medication breaks. Adderall is one of those meds that works the first day you take it (usually it works within the first hour) so skipping doesnt really make a difference in how effective it is.

Hallo and welcome!

I've been taking Adderall since diagnosis (2001). Currently I take 40 of XR in the mornings, but for a while there I took an extra ten of the generic/fast-acting to get my mornings under control. (I've been on an Rx merry-go-round!)

I've had sleep problems, but I think they're more anxiety-related than AdderallXR-related. I take generic Klonopin for the anxiety, and that's been a blessing for both the freakin' out and the snooze issues {assonance!}.

I admit I've "just not felt like" taking my XR on some w/e days; sometimes I'll only take 20. I agree with the folks above about checking with your doc about stim holidays. Safer is better!

Adderrall is a combination. The Dexidrine keeps me awake, even when tired.

i'm trying to sleep when tired (now 46) but i am still sneaking 10 mgs some mornings to help over the 9:30 10:30 wall without keeping me awake later.

Check with your doctor, but as stimulants go, you "skip them" everytime 4 to 6 hours go by without taking another. (The Dexidrine in Adderall sticks around longer in me. go figure.) Some drugs actually build up.

Get sleep, eat, get exercise, and keep to a schedule as best you can for a while to see what is really going on for you.

David