Where to start...Don't like writting too long of post cause I kniw how easy it can be too lose ppls interest LOL:)...Anyways I have been off of meds up til this last yr. I am 29. Started meds beginning of last winter. I was on adderall for about 6months. The 1st 3mos. I was on 10mg. Then up to 20mg for a month. Then 30mg for a cpl weeks. Then 40mg for a week. Seemed to have to keep upping it. I have sinus problems as well and will be having surgery for that. When I started the Adderall I already had the sinus problems but they seemed to have gottem worse. 1 day I missed a dose and realized my sinus blockage started getting a bit better. So, I stopped the Adderall all together and my sinus problems are back to where they were before I started. Another chatter has recently told me her son is on Adderall and has sinus blockage from it. He takes a prescription sinus nasal spray for it. My reg DR. is unfortunately on maternity leave and I am not comfortable w/ the fill in DR. i keep getting placed with. The fill in DR. put me on ritalin and I took that prescription for mow cause i was on ritalin as a child and it did help me. Also was on it for a yr in college. The only other med I have tried is Straterra. That helped me but made me tired and I couldn't get past the tiredness after a month. Ritalin is helping me I guess. I have found I like Adderall over all. I have started myself back on 20mg of adderall leftover meds I had. I will not be raising the dose beyond 20mg til after I have had my surgery on my nose and have made an APT w/ my reg DR. I guess my biggest questions right now are....

1. What is the average dose adults are on?

2. Does or has anybody experienced sinus blockage cause of Adderall?

3. If so what have they done for it?

well, i don't know about that whole thing for the average person but i do know that i also have sinus blockage but i thought it was my allergies. I am on concerta have you tried taht.

Adderall shouldn't have any effect on the sinuses. If anything, they will tend to act as a decongestant - they were originally investigated for that purpose and they share basic chemical stucture and shape with decongestants (for example, psuedo-ephedrine and methamphetamine differ from each other by one hydroxy molecule (OH)).

okay cool cuz speaking of sinus mine are acting up right now .

No I have thought about trying that. Was going to talk to DR. next time I go in about the effects I had on adderall. The pros and cons. Many pros. A few cons like sinus worse, les patience well that is actualy a pro once i adjust to it LOL!!!, dizzyness if I don't rem to eat or drink enough, kidney infections if I don't drink enough but somebody told me how to prevent or cure them(drink lemon water helps). So many pros though. TY I am mamking an apt. for DR. after I have my sinus surgery. I go for a consultation on surgery thurs. so surgery shouldn't be too much longer.

good luck cindy with everything okay. concerta and adderall xr is not for everyone. just poke around and see what you like there is not thing is rushing it.

HMMM OK will keep that in mind too Greg cause i mentioned it to somebody and she said her son had sinus blockage as well and he was put on a nasal spray for it. Sinus are better and adderall works gr8 for him. I know I have to talk to DR. and will as soon as she is back from maternity leave. I do not feel comfortable w/ this DR. I keep getting placed w/ and niether do a cpl other ppl I have talked too. TY for the info.

TY crybaby yeah no med is the same for everybody and I will just keep playing. Have decided the med route is the way for me to go after all these yrs. Now just deciding which is the best med. TY

Adderall actually helps my sinus problems (for the reason Gregster mentioned), but I also use a steroidal nasel spray.

Amphetamine can dehydrate you and dry out your sinuses, which can cause problems and blockages if you have a sinus infection to begin with. You want your sinuses to clear and drain.

The design of sinuses are an unfortunate evolutionary throwback to a time when we walked on all fours. The nose was lower than the rest of the head and below the sinuses, permitting good clearing.


If you have a slight allergy to a component of the adderall compounding matrix (all that supposedly inert chaulky stuff), that could affect your sinuses, especially if they are sensitive, just by eating the stuff. This would cause inflamation in the blood vessels of the sinus.

You could try a different brand (if you're taking the IR). Each brand seems to have its own unique matrix.


Good luck with the surgery.

TY...I am taking the XR...don't like meds you take 2 times a day LOL!!! Hopefully tgings will be better after my surgery cause at this point other than the sinus stuff i really like the med.

Adderall actually helps my sinus problems (for the reason Gregster mentioned)
Me too, er, three.

I've never had problems with Adderall drying out my sinuses, but I have a nose that was clearly developed/evolved for a dry, desert climate, and I live on the East Coast in what can charitably be called a "temperate rainforest," or less romantically, a "swamp." Even taking my Adderall, with my window air conditioner set to dehumidify, with my room dryer than the Negev, I don't get dehydrated or dried out.

I feel bad for Wolfette, because I have had serious sinus problems and many surgeries as well. The worst is after surgery, when your nose is practically menstruating for several days. It's too bad the Adderall doesn't help your sinuses the way it does for me. I feel your pain.

Sorry to hear about your probs but wow am I glad you posted. Ever since I started adderall I get massive sinus issues. I can't really describe it and not be gross. I get a ton of phlem that gets trapped in the back of my throat and when I finally force cough it out it is thick/solid and large. I have searched this board for anyone with mucous,sinus,phlem probs and have yet to find one until your post. I don't know what is causing it but it's so annoying. I believe that it must have to do with dehydration and thickening of the mucous since I don't drink as much as I should. Nasal spray makes ir worse and gives me horrid post nasil drip. Being female makes it harder. Guys seem to always hack up stuff and spit in public but I feel like a cat with a hairball and no where to get it out. I would see what your doc says about the surgery helping and do a trial and error after to see if the problem wasn't the Adderall. If anyone else can figure out what the heck is going on with this nose please let me know. Thanks, Jacaboon

I have always had sinus issues. When I was younger, I would sit in the back of class because I would cough alot due to the phlem in my throat. My folder at the doctor always read "sinusitus". Usually seasonal.

As I grew older, the sinus issues continued. Usually 3 to 4 times a year I would loose my voice completely due to post nasal drip. (This was inherited from my mothers side of the family.)

Instead of the stuff coming out my nose, it would go down my throat to my vocal chords and I'd loose my voice.

If I don't get an antibiotic at that time, my throat gets very sore due to the drainage and my ears eventually close up. This has been going on forever.

When I was in my 20's, I had nose surgery to correct my deviated septum (and to also take away the "family bump" that also came from my mother's side of the family.)

I still had sinus issues after surgery. A few years later I had surgery again because I need my voice for work and loosing it several times a year wasn't good. Even after the second surgery, I still have sinus issues.

I have tried every sinus medicine around, including prescription meds. I usually take the Walmart brand. Price doesn't matter as long as it works and the Walmart one works the best for me plus it's the cheapest too. The bad thing is that where I live, they put a law in during the summer that when buying sinus medicine, you have to show your id, give your ss number, dob and phone number due to all the meth labs around. Walmart limits you to 3 boxes per month. I usually take sinus medicine in the morning when I wake up and also in the afternoon.

Instead of waiting in the pharmacy line with the other million people just to get my sinus medicine, I think I will go back to prescription medication for sinus.

Anyway, I started Adderall XR and Adderall IR in March.

After all my reading, it seems that my taking the sinus medicine for all these years has been medicating not only my sinus' but also my adhd. (Hmmmm). I definitely feel more clear headed when I take it.

I have not noticed that the Adderall makes my sinus worse....until this week.

I currently have a sinus infection and besides taking my daily sinus medicine, for the past 2 days I also used some neosonephrine (sp?) nose spray. OH MY GOSH. Talk about being dried up. My face, nose, and head were so horribly dry and now I see that it was the Adderall making me even more dry. YUK.

Yesterday I got an antiobiotic and also switched to a non-drying sinus medicine that Walmart has, that doesn't require an id.

Hopefully this will kick it.

I notice a lot of sinus pressure when taking the adderall (25mg)

If I take 4 advil (doc approved) I am good.
This is how I know its not a true sinus condition but a side effect of the adderall.

Every morning about an hour after taking the adderall is when I get the sinus pain. I don't get it on the weekends when I skip the adderall.