I was recently (1 month ago) diagnosed with add. I was prescribed 20 mg of adderal once or twice a day depending on need. I have not had any of the more serious side effects, but there are two minor ones that i find anoying. The first is dry mouth. this happens every time i take the Adderal. The second is a terrible taste in my mouth. this happens about 1/2 of the times that i take the adderal. eating something or chewing gum usually helps the taste. does anybody know of possible solutions for the dry mouth?

another side effect, and probably the one to be most concerned about is loss of appetite. Right now im at college and the food is not to good, so that doesn't help. when i'm at home i usually don't have trouble actually eating the food, even though i don't feel hungry because of the medicine. However, at school I can't seem to eat the food unless I'm hungry. Unfortunately we are not allowed to have any cooking appliences in our dorm rooms except for hot pots. There is a public microwave, but it is inconvenient.

Welcome to the Forums!

I am having a helluva time with the appetite thing, too. People I don't even know very well are talking to me about "how skinny I am."

I try to do the best I can with eating, but when you're not hungry, your NOT HUNGRY!

My doc wants to put me on Remeron b/c it's supposed to help counteract the loss of appetite. Maybe ask your doc about it?

smooch

For the dry mouth - the only thing that works for me is drinking water..lots and lots of water. Adderall dehydrates your body, which is why you get cotton mouth. Have you had any stomach problems since you started taking Adderall?

I've been taking Adderall since the beginning of December and then didn't take it while I was on vacation during the holidays. I felt like I only needed it for work. But after the new year, I decided that I was going to take it all the time because I actually like being on it. I feel productive and happy and motivated. Well, I've started (like the last two weeks) having a REALLY difficult time waking up in the morning. It's almost like I've become physically dependent on the meds to get me going. In the morning I can barely open my eyes. It takes me about an hour to get out of bed. I've been late to work everyday. I even put my meds and a glass of water on my nightstand so I can take them right away but I haven't even had the energy to sit up and take them. I've never been a morning person but this is different. It's almost like I can't move.

I take 25mg in the AM and 20mg in the afternoon (between 1-2 PM). I always feel like the second dose helps me more than the first. It really energizes me and I usually stay later at work because I'm "in the groove". That makes sense because in the morning, I don't really get anything done. I also don't eat breakfast in the AM because, like the other previous posts, I have no appetite. I don't eat until lunchtime and not that much either. I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Does this happen to anyone else? Any suggestions?

I'm thinking of trying the Adderall XR. Anyone else tried it?

Just started Adderal XR. My first exp. with meds for ADHD. Taking 20mgs at 8am.

Side effects.- Yet to see a night of more than 4 hours sleep. Go to bed exhausted. Wake up not refreshed but OK. Meds and coffee get me going.

Also If I have a good breakfast, I have very little interest in lunch. 2 meals and a mid day snack seem to do it.

wow no sideffects of conciquence
slight dry mouth but as was said it drys you out so drinking water is good
my appitite is fine in fact i gained some weight.
can sleep fine
could not with ritalin.

i make sure that i do not take any in the last 6-8 hours i am awake.
i take non timerelease in the afternoon
and have been working with my doctor on administration modificaitons
so it goes in faster and thus out faster for minor adjustments and afternoon dosing

I hope I can explain this in writing well.
Sometimes when I take adderall, I have a pain behind my eyes. It's as if there is a lot of pressure back there trying to push them out of my head! I'll be sitting there and suddenly feel like my eyes are way wide open and there will be a slight pain behind them that feels like pressure. I know that sounds dramatic, really it's not THAT bad, but it's definitely noticeable, and sometimes it even hurts a little. My wife has noticed me doing the 'wide eyes' thing sometimes too. she thinks it's funny, I think I look like a psycho when I'm doing it. :-)

I've looked up 'pressure in the eyes' as a symptom on the internet and found a few things... glaucoma, which I know I don't have (i'm only 25 and my eyesight is fine), or something having to do with blood pressure. I know the meds raise blood pressure a little, but it's my understanding that unless you have some pre-existing problems, the blood pressure rise should be no cause for concern.

my questions:

Anyone else feel this ever?
think I should be really concerned about it?

thanks in advance!

The first thing that came to mind, when reading your post was increased blood pressure. It could also possibly be a sinus headache (you have sinus pockets around your eyes). You probably should talk to your doctor about this.

I have been on adderall 5 years. For cotton mouth....water helps the best but if your like me you don't like water. I drink sprite when I take it ( milk makes my stomach upset if i take it with adderall) and drink juice later in the day when it can no longer affect my meds. Sometimes flavored water works well too.

Appetite: I try to have at least a snack when I take it. I don't like breakfast either and it also helps me from getting an upset stomach. For lunch I am still not very hungry but will eat a sandwich at least. Try taking a lunch if you don't like the food where you are. Usually by dinner (which is later than it used to be) I eat a normal size meal for me at dinner. Sometimes I don't take it on weekends and I eat more then. I had the same problem of not taking it over the holidays once. I noticed just 2 days without it doesn't effect me as bad as a week or two. I don't get near as much done on the days I don't take it but over time that has gotten better. It took me about a year to adjust enough that I could go 2 days without it and it not bother me as long as I didn't have school or work on those days. When I was in college I always tried to have at least one day on the weekend I didn't take it so I could eat and sleep all day LOL!

Sleep: I still have trouble with sleep. However the more activity I did that day the eaiser it would be to sleep. I can't motaviate myself to exercise but something you can do to exercise and actually have fun........like in the summer go swiming. Also reading something before going to bed helps. It might take me 2 months to finish a book but at least I am sleeping better. Its hard to find books I like to read. I know some that read some of the same books I do. My father is the best for me to ask because he is like me......he likes books that don't waiste too much time with details that I am bored with it. Its got to have a bit of both detail and action from chapter one or I can't read it unless I know from my father when the book picks up the pase.

Extra tips for sleeping:
1) If you smoke try not to smoke right before bed. the nicotine keeps you up. Try to stop at least an hour before.
2) don't watch T.V. right before bed. T.V. can sometimes get you too stimulated to sleep so your mind works harder at going 90 to nothing which we all know our brains are in over load enough they don't need help.
3)Don't eat anything with sugar before bed.
4) (hard one) Keep your room clean. LOL This is hard for me but I can usually keep my room neat now but the rest of the house is another story. Was harder when I was still living with my parents it was the only room I had LOL!
5) Try to do something, anything that you know helps you relax. Some of the same tips in wanting to help stress help sleep.

Ok I know I probably left some stuff out but thats all I can think of right now. Plus this is getting long. ;) :D :cool:

Sometimes when I take adderall, I have a pain behind my eyes. It's as if there is a lot of pressure back there trying to push them out of my head! I'll be sitting there and suddenly feel like my eyes are way wide open and there will be a slight pain behind them that feels like pressure.
Man can I relate to this. I have this right now as I type this. I have been on Adderall XR 30MG i think for 5 days. I was on 20MG about a year ago and decided after 18 years of being on ADHD medicine I wanted to see if I was 'okay' without it. Well my work has really been affected so i'm back on it now. I have been on it for 5 days and I have these aches behind my eyes. I also have dry mouth and am starting to drink water more after reading these forums. I also have developed some sorta sinus thing. Could the adderall trigger a sinus infection? I had a headache behind my eyes before the sinus thing, i'm wondering which came first, the sinus problem or my eye ache...or adderall..and is this stuff related to the adderall at all. I also have a feeling of just a tingling in my body.

You know I'm just now today drinking lots of water. I wasn't drinking any water before today...I've never been much of a water drinker...I know sad. I'm thinking i'm suffering from severe dehydration and this is causing the eye/head aches and dry mouth and the dry mouth maybe triggered a sinus problem. I don't know i'm just thinking this thru as I'm typing.

I do know i can concentrate again at work and I get excited about planning on doing stuff around the house, etc.

Justified(Ken)

I am taking Adderall 15mg since monday of this week and I am never hungrey until it wares off in the evening and then I am starving LOL What I do when I wake up is get ready for work then when I leave I go to the store where I have gone every morning for years and get a 32oz Dr Pepper and I then take my Adderall with it and I might drink one more Dr Pepper during the day and that is odd for me because I always in the past drink at least 6 32oz Dr Peppers so maybe it is a good thing that I am not drinking that many now. As far as my sleep goes I have never slept very good at all and I dont see any difference now that I have started Adderell. The only thing that I have noticed is that Adderall makes me very sleepy in the afternoon to where I am scared to drive so I talked to my Doc and asked him if I should go up on my meds or if I could try taking Provigil along with my Adderall and he said yes and put me on Provigil 100mg one a day starting today and I can tell you one thing I have never felt so awake and alert as I did today and I think that the two combined really helps me alot the only thing I am worried about is how I will sleep tonight. I will let you all know how I do on it. Has there been anyone else here that has used Provigil? If so how did you do on it.

Here's a search of the forums on that:
http://www.addforums.com/forums/search.php?searchid=19420

Now why didnt I think of that LOL Thanks for waking me up there paublf:D

I think that for a lot of people who are on Adderall and experiencing appetite loss, you just have to make yourself eat. Remind yourself to eat. If you feel unbearably full or nauseous when you eat a normal-sized meal, then snack throughout the day or have "mini meals" regardless of if you are hungry at the time or not. For me, I don't really experience hunger while on Adderall (though I have been way out of touch with my hunger and fullness cues for years so that is not really caused by Adderall for me, but rather just adds to the confusion), but I do notice that if I don't eat regularly, I feel like *poo* in general. I get very dizzy, my heart races a lot (normally, if I am eating pretty well and taking my meds it doesn't cause me to feel like my heartbeat is abnormally fast), my head hurts, I'm shaky and I get nauseous. Yes, oddly enough I get nauseous if I don't eat for a long period of time. If that also happens to you, I know that the last thing you want to do is eat something, but try to force something bland down (start with saltine crackers or something and see how you feel) and see if that helps. Most likely you'll feel better and no longer nauseous, if that is even a problem for you (?). But anyway, mostly the only suggestion I can offer is to set up a meal plan for yourself and make it a priority to stick to it. Being malnourished is going to make your focus even worse, so it's important for you to be feeding your body properly.

A few more questions (for cpalm1): Do you have a mini-fridge in your dorm? If you're allowed to have one of those, then you can keep some food in there that doesn't need cooking. A staple in my diet is cottage cheese, which, if eaten in small amounts, doesn't fill you up that much while being nutritionally-dense (lots of protein and calcium :D!) Nuts are another good source of protein and not too bulky in your tummy in small quantities.

If you were to not take your Adderall in the AM, would you be hungry for breakfast? If so, then I suggest having breakfast and THEN taking your Adderall, if that's possible. Also, do you experience strong hunger when your Adderall wears off? If you haven't eaten much, if anything, and then your meds wear off, you should feel very hugnry. I'd be worried if you didn't. If you do feel hungry when it wears off, then again try to eat a bigger meal in between dosages so that you are more hungry before you take the second dosage, after the first has worn off. That's what I usually do -- eat a lot when the meds are wearing off, then take my next dosage.

It also helps to eat with others, because it reminds you that it's a meal time. Even if you can only eat a little bit, you should make it a priority to take a lunch break/dinner break. If you're still having no appetite I would talk to your doctor about an appetite stimulant. My sister who has cystic fibrosis has been on them before and they were very mild and just increased her hunger a bit and helped her eat larger meals. Also, I am on Reglan which is a medication that increases the gastric emptying rate and that helps me to not have to feel really full for a long time; if I were to eat a meal without Reglan it would sit in my stomach all day long and I would be constantly bloated. I don't know if that is an issue for you at all, but it's just another suggestion you could mention to your doc :)

I hope you feel better soon!

This medicine sounds alot like Ritiland. I was at a support group today and alot of people there were on it. I am thinking about trying it.

I was recently (1 month ago) diagnosed with add. I was prescribed 20 mg of adderal once or twice a day depending on need. I have not had any of the more serious side effects, but there are two minor ones that i find anoying. The first is dry mouth. this happens every time i take the Adderal. The second is a terrible taste in my mouth. this happens about 1/2 of the times that i take the adderal. eating something or chewing gum usually helps the taste. does anybody know of possible solutions for the dry mouth?

another side effect, and probably the one to be most concerned about is loss of appetite. Right now im at college and the food is not to good, so that doesn't help. when i'm at home i usually don't have trouble actually eating the food, even though i don't feel hungry because of the medicine. However, at school I can't seem to eat the food unless I'm hungry. Unfortunately we are not allowed to have any cooking appliences in our dorm rooms except for hot pots. There is a public microwave, but it is inconvenient.

Been on, first Ritalin, now Adderal for a few months and can share with you that most probably the headaches and appetite loss will go away within about three months of starting or changing your stimulant schedule. Headaches are most likely caused by small blood vessels expanding and should be a temporary affliction. If they don't go away, I have to agree with BIG and strongly suggest you have a serious talk with your MD.

Dry mouth, sweating -- Gatorade, Poweraid, or the like.
Nasty taste -- Brush your teeth, don't take on an empty stomach (unless your Doc said to).

Appetite -- well, I am a little chubby (although my girlfriend says it's not true) and welcomed the reduction in snacking, and was in turn dissapointed when that particular side effect went bye-bye. Take vitamins and make sure you get at least one good meal a day while you wait out the effect.

Again, if any side effects that disturb or worry you do not go away, or if they seem severe, talk to the guy that wrote you the Rx!

Although we are all different, it might make some of you who are taking these meds feel better to know that I currently take 100mg Adderall/day with no side effects (other than the dry mouth), and I'm not dead and sleep like a baby an hour after a 20mg tablet (It cured my snoring). This is to reassure in regards to toxicity, NOT to suggest more is better. I am classified "severely impaired" -- the stuff actually lowers my blood pressure which always ran high before meds. ALWAYS do exactly what your Doc says, because without compliance you can never know where you stand or what works.

In regards to Ritalin, I was 240mg/day before switching to Adderall because of insuficient response -- my experience with the side effects of both are similar.

The worst side effect I have now is the damnable time I have to spend finding a pharmacy with the needed quantity on hand and then waiting for them to get over their shock and just dispense the stuff. I'd have given it up if not for the fact that there are such things as red lights, you are required to notice them and stop, and I have to drive :) Oh, yeah, and that annoying thing called a job and the need for food and shelter.

I just got a script for Adderall 20 mg. I will start it tomorrow, I hope it helps. She also put me on Effexor. I am in such a slump on Concerta and Ritalin. I could sleep for days.

If Ritalin made you sleepy, don't be suprised if Adderall does, too, as they are similar in effect. Adderall only makes me sleepy if I am lying down and trying to sleep, which is convienient (so far). If I was tired or bored lower doses of Ritalin would make my eyes go crossed, and sleep would ensue, although it was resistable. Adderall is a bit stronger that Ritalin supposedly, but it's side effects and onset/wearing-off are more gradual due to a formulation of different amphetamines that have varying duration of effect.

I actually think that Ritalin worked better for me than Adderal, but the I.V.A. testing says different.

unbalanced, I really enjoyed your post. You tell it like it is. The 20 mg Adderal is helping a little but I do not think it will be enough for a whole day. My mind is really scattering already but I dont have the bad mood that Concerta left me in. Concerta made my moods so up and down, now I am just kind of mellow. I think it is so strange that our Blood pressures go down on these meds ( I noticed that too). I still have my appetite as long as I have breath in my body and chocolate I will be fat. lol

I have been on both the Adderall XR and Adderall non time release for over 2 years now.

I too experianced the cottonmouth, lack of apetite, stomach ache's, headache's, insomnia etc. that many people are discussing in this forums.
Please read all I have to say as this has really helped me with my adderrall experiance.

Through my experiance I have found certain combinations that now have me experiancing very few side effects. It is all about finding out what works for you but there seems to be a pattern with food, water, electronic stimulants which works for many people in these forums. My advice... this is what I have found.

WATER. It often will feel "odd" going down, but you'll be happier once you have done it. This alone will make your experiance much better. I have found that if I don't drink enough I get headache's. I have found that they feel identical to the headache's I get when I am dehydrated. I have read that most poeple do not drink enough water and are perpetually dehydrated. It is my feelings that not only does adderall (which stimulates your nervous system and thus your necesity for water) but I also think that it highten's your perceptivity to chemical blances in your body. This will make more sense when I talk about food.

EAT ANYTHING before you take your meds. It seems to help the medecine absorbe into your system in a more balanced way. It also seems to be a combination of your blood sugar rising and adderall which when combined, makes a huge difference. This will also help stomach issues.

Eat during the day too! You may not "feel" hungry, but this medecine is not food, you have been living for "x" years and now suddenly you don't need lunch? no. Along with just being better for your body, the natural blood sugar seems to make the effects of adderrall of better quality. I have also found that hearty foods will feel better than soemthing like a bag of chips.

TV / COMPUTERS will be even MORE of a time sink and will only fuel insomnia. Light reading by soft light really helped me. There seems to be soemthing about computers and TV that stimulates my brain so that I find it hard to sleep afterwards.

This is all I have for now, but I am more than happy to talk to anyone seeking a more in depth and candid conversation, just shoot me an email.

TV / COMPUTERS will be even MORE of a time sink and will only fuel insomnia. Light reading by soft light really helped me. There seems to be soemthing about computers and TV that stimulates my brain so that I find it hard to sleep afterwards. +1; The brightness from the screen (notice how when the lights are off and you're staring at a computer screen at night - look behind you and see how lit up everything is). Your brain is fooled into thinking it's daytime due to all of the unnaturally bright light and thus your circadian rhythm gets thrown off.

I love what adderall does for my add, but god.. the worse side would be the lack of the ability to fall asleep.. and the extreme coton mouth.