I've been taking Adderall XR, 20 mg daily, for about two months now. It's working well for me, but there's one side effect that drives me nuts: I constantly bite/chew the inside of my mouth/lips. Like a nervous habit.

It's annoying and I'm aware that it looks very stupid when I'm doing it. I have to work really hard to make myself not do it in public.

I drink lots of water all day long... I chew gum frequently... neither of these seem to help. If I chew gum too much, then my jaw hurts.

I took Adderall for two years, several years ago, and had the same problem.
I also take Wellbutrin but I think this is an Adderall side effect because when I take a day off from the Adderall, it doesn't happen.

Anyone else have this side effect? Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

Thanks,
Gigi

I do that when stressed at all. With or without Adderall. I have to be really relaxed to not be doing that chewing and biting lips & inside of mouth thing. Just a quirk.

I do that REALLY bad on Adderall. When I'm studying for a test, for example, I'll often take XR along with IR... so the night or two before the test, the insides of my mouth and lips are CONSTANTLY being chewed on. After the test is over and I'm taking a break from Adderall, the insides of my mouth have sores on them and they are very sensitive from all the biting. I've never found anything to help really. Its just something I've learned to deal with. :eyebrow:

FYI: I've noticed that the more Adderall I take the worse it gets. Meaning that the higher the dose at one time, the more I'll bite for the day. So that might be something to just be aware of in the future.

If you're taking it intermittently, the teeth grinding/mouth chewing will probably remain a predictable side effect unfortunately :(. Its pretty common with any stimulant, and usually comes from either too high of a dose or from new introduction into your system (or, in the case of the break from it being in your system). I usually just chewed gum... I recall a time prior to being put on adderall, years and years ago before concerta even came out, my doc and I were trying to find an optimal dose of ritalin, and I would grind my jaw so hard it would cause severe jaw pain. Perhaps asking your doc if you could take a smaller dose regularly and up it when you have the need to buckle down harder.