For those of you who have taken medication and found relief -

When you started taking a medication, did you ever feel side effects (like headache or dry mouth) without feeling an improvement in your focus? As you increased your meds, did the side effects increase but so did the improvement?

I just started taking Adderall XR and am up to 20 mg. I was really hoping I would reach that place where your focus is intensified and those multitude of thoughts are quieted. I've read some people feel calmer and focused once they find the right dosage.

I'm wondering if I might find the 'ah ha' dosage if I persevere through these side effects or if I should contact the doctor in hopes of abandoning this med to try another.

What did you do?

Hoping to get some response.

If you are seeing zero improvement in focus on a 20mg dose of Adderall AND feeling side effects (headache/dry mouth/lack of appetite/sleeping problems etc) I'm guessing Adderall may not be the right med for you.

With 20mg Ritalin, I saw improvement right away. The only real side effect for me with Ritalin was the rebound and wanting to curl up and go to sleep during my afternoon Lab class. My Psychiatrist tried me on 5-10 mg doses of Dexedrine 2 weeks later and I got a better range of coverage from it. (It lasted longer) I saw improved clarity and focus, with a few mild side effects.

Some people need higher doses of course. But if you're getting side effects with Adderall and still seeing no improvement in your ADD symptoms at all, I would speak to your doctor about trying something else, or upping the dosage.. but I would imagine that if you up the dose, you'll up the side effects too, and still maybe only see a little improvement. You'll have to decide if the benefits of Adderall outweigh the side effects.

Note that the original post mentions Adderall XR 20mg, not Adderall 20mg.