So happy to find this site! I'm 48 and just was diagnosed with ADD. I was put on Adderal XR 10mg at first and Dr. had me to 'play' with dose. 10 did not seem to do anything but give me a dry mouth and less appetite for about 3 days. Then took 2 10mg in the a.m ...excessive dry mouth but would find that I had completed the work stacked on my desk and actually filed things correctly.....but by 2pm was agitated, irritable, unable to concentrate. I returned to Dr. and he decided to try the Daytrana patch( Ritalin patch) hoping it will last longer and less rebound. Gave me 20mg patch....cut in half 1st day...did not seem to notice anything one way or another But no dry mouth and normal 'lack of concentration'. I am now using 1 20mg patch every morning.....I feel 'calm'(which is good) but also like I could just go to sleepand I can not tell it is helping me to focus . Well maybe(???) am focusing more than w/o med but still seem 'scattered' while trying to do my work???? Why would I feel tired? Is this too much medicine? not enough? The adderal 2 x 10 mg xr seemed to greatly help my focus and concentration and mood but it wore off too quickly and I would get really moody(irritable, cry very easy, and feel sad) when it wore off( after approx 6 or 7 hours). The adderall also caused me to have a dry mouth. Is there a 'best of both' medicine or is this all dose related. I want to focus and be able to complete tasks but I need it to last longer and don't want to feel so grumpy and sad when it is wearing off. If I should have posted this in a different forum, please let me know....I could not seem to decide if I should post here or in medication forum......
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions anyone has.

Welcome rescueme!

I was about the same age when dx'd. Click on my member name-it will take you to my threads and posts so you can find info about me. Any name you click on will do the same.

There is a search menu on the blue bar above-advanced is very nice-type in a keyword and it will pull up related posts. The big plus? Everyone here is very supportive and will help you find the info and share their experiences. This is also a safe place. Glad to have you with us!

I had to try "behavioral modifications" first. Glad you are working on finding the right meds from the start. The mantra for psychiatric drugs is to start low, end high. The goal is to find the lowest dose that gives you the best therapeutic effect with the fewest side-effects. If you are not tolerating a drug well, or it is not working, ask them to adjust the dose or change the med. It will take time to find what works best for you. Stay here for support-it really helps.

Do you have a good doc to work with?

We throw lifesavers-consider yourself rescued! Welcome aboard. This is not a 3 hour tour. We are here when the weather starts getting rough. So depend on the courage of this fearless crew when your tiny ship gets tossed.

Sometimes it's fun to be ADD http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/36.gif

RADDmom
Introduce yourself in the new member intro thread so everyone gets to know you!

Tired can be pretty natural in the beginning weeks of medication. Sometimes just the calm of it can make us tired. Sometimes it is from the dose being to low, and sometimes from it being to high. I would guess that if you are still scattered, that the dose is to low. I would talk to your doctor about it and see what he says.

Where you did so well on Adderall, but were just crashing, you might want to talk to your doctor about the possibility of staying on the Adderall XR, and adding in an short acting afternoon dose, or even another long acting in the afternoon. Some doctors will do this, others will not. Most doctors will adjust a bit though if the medication is working really well, but you are just having rebound issues.

There are other meds, like Dexedrine and Focalin that have some of the same components of Adderall but not all the same things, so you might get the benefits from them, without the side effects.

Just keep in contact with your doctor. Your goal should be....a lot of relief, with little to no side effects. That can take a lot of trial and error to reach, but is generally attainable for most people. Just hang in there, and again, keep in close contact with your doctor.

Good luck!

RaddMom and Ladym,
Thank you for the welcome. I spent some time last night reading post form the site and there is so much wonderful information. It is such a relief to know thee is finally hope that I will one day become a little better focused and possibly be able to complete at least some of the things I begin. I have a call in to my doctor now to discuss current meds.......I wonder if I can focus long enough to even explain to him that med does not seem right?????? Thanks again for your nice replies to my first message. Deb

I'm not on Adderall but I take Concerta which is also long acting (supposedly 12 hours but more like 6 - 8 for me). My doctor put me on two a day which has helped the rebound problem. Perhaps your doctor would consider an additional dose for you. If emotional dysregulation continues to be a problem sometimes a anti depressant added to your stimulent is helpful. My doctor recently started me on 10 mg of Prozac along with my Concerta and I'm having the best results ever. Give it some time though -- adjusting to your medication does take a while -- the tiredness usually goes away after a bit, if it doesn't you probably need a med adjustment. Good luck in getting it all figured out.

Scattered

rescueme,

If adderall was working well for you, ladym has a good suggestion to talk w/ your doc about. Many members take XR and get a IR boost in the late afternoon.

The dry mouth side effect of adderall will go away if you can wait it out.
Although the meds work immediately it still takes your body time to adjust. I think it took me about 2 weeks for side effects to subside (dry mouth, headaches).

Best wishes!

Courtney