I'm trying to figure out what overstimulation means. Adderall helps me focus, avoid distraction, and it helps me do my mundane, boring job with a smile on my face. I'm calmer. I can listen (want to listen) to what people say, and I'm not as frustrated about everything all the time. It's like now I know what anxiety is, because I don't experience it anymore.

My big question is this, what does it mean to be overstimulated? Some days on adderall I move a lot. I want to clean the house, and I want to do and finish every project at work. Sometimes not. I still try to start a lot of things at once, but I'm more on task to finish all of them. So I'm not sure if this is overstimulation and my dose is too high or if maybe it's too low.

I take 10mg IR x2 daily. Sometimes I break one in half and do 15mg in am or PM
I got a hold of a 20mg XR and I felt like that was much smoother with less inconsistencies in my day.

Question:

Didn't you say you have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder of one type or another? My memory might be failing me though, so I had to ask.

ETA: OK scratch that one, I just noticed that you had a thread right by this one saying you had bipolar I and were taking Lamictal. DUH!

How well do you think that the Lamictal is containing your cycles? When you were RXed the Adderall, were you told that it might possibly trigger a manic episode in BP patients?

I ask because this:

Some days on adderall I move a lot. I want to clean the house, and I want to do and finish every project at work. Sometimes not.
happens to sound a lot like my experience of hypomania.

Of course that is just a thought I am tossing out here. :)

Sidenote question: may I ask how much Lamictal you take? Feel free to tell me to bug off if that is your first response to my nosiness. If you feel like you want to tell me but want privacy, please PM me? I am curious to know what dose works for various people, because I am still tweaking my own dose.

Yes, BP I. I leveled out of depression at 100mg of lamictal. After describing how I felt at 100 mg, he said tha hypomania is likely my normal... or how I fly by normally. That is where I'm at right now. Doc also has me on klonopin. I take both of these late in the evening since I've been on adderall, feel like I've been run over by a truck in the AMs. not sure which drug causes this.

I'm not manic, I'm sure of that. Things are going mostly great.

I see the dr on Monday, I am on 10/10 IR and want to switch to 25 XR but I'm not sure how to describe why. I feel like the XR would be smoother, I'm nervous about telling dr that I get a little cranky when it wears off and sometimes I forget second dose and take it late. I also want to go up in lamictal but dn't know how to describe why either. I'm always aprehensive about making suggestions without good reason

I want to say that I moved more when I first took the medication (like the first week) now it's more mental, but I am wondering if overstimulation is mental or pysical....

I would think that any doctor experienced in treating ADHD would not only know about the rebound issue, they would also know about the sharper rebounds from IR meds and the tendency to forget to take them until its too late to avoid rebounding. I would personally just explain that to the doc. If he doesn't get it? Then I would be worried.

As far as the Lamictal, why not simply say you'd like to see if a higher dose will provide you with better results? And if that does not happen, you will gladly bump back down to 100mgs again? I think wanting to see if more is better is a perfectly legitimate reason.

thanks, i appreciate the feedback. to be quite honest, I called the doctor a couple of days after starting to leave him a message about XR once I learned about it. I didn't catch him so I only got a message back. He said, 1.) It's more expensive, and 2.) not as flexible 3.) too early to determine correct dosage unless I've experimented with 10 and or 20 in am plus 10 and or 20 in PM. Then he wanted me to call back to dicuss. I could not get a sec to call him back (nosey people at work) so I see him Monday. Maybe he's more open than I suspect. thanks for the advice!!

Glad that I could be helpful to you :) and I hope that things go well with the doc.

Sidenote comments (I am full of them today!): Lamictal works for both of us, albeit at different doses. That's one hand.

On the other hand? I am truly happy that you found Adderal and it helps you so much...lord knows I hated that stuff!

(Babbling, C~F, babbling...please step away from the computer...)

I'm not on Aderall, I'm on Lamictal 375 mg (Bipolar II) and 5mg Ritalin (ADD inattentive).

I move a lot. I want to clean the house, and I want to do and finish every project at work. Sometimes not. I still try to start a lot of things at once, but I'm more on task to finish all of them. So I'm not sure if this is overstimulation ...

I experience those things when I am manic. I get bouncy and energetic, I talk really fast, I do all those things at once and intensely.

"Overstimulation", I usually think of the outside overwhelming me. Too many flashing lights, or noise, or people. I also think of too much caffiene, sugar or chocolate. Which, rather than making me manic, makes me more confused and my brain runs a mile a minute. I have no idea what anyone says because it's all hitting me just too much at once.

Oh, don't get me wrong, it took a crazy dose of depakote + resperidol to bring me off my last fuzzy mixed manic spin about 2 years ago. so we have to watch the cozy dose I'm on right now.

what is your magic lamictal # if I may ask?

Also, I still wonder what it means to be overstimulated?

My current dose of Lamictal is 300 mgs. for bipolar type II and I have the option to push that up a good deal higher as I see fit. Not what the doc thinks I ought to need-- whatever I feel might be beneficial, that's what we try.

I take dexedrine for PI ADHD as well, plus PRN Abilify and Atarax.

I feel the same way Chel does regarding overstimulation: too much input :faint: !! It overwhelms me and causes all manner of distressing effects. I might experience overstimulation a bit differently than some people, however, because I have another DX in my little basket: sensory integration dysfunction. What is way too much input for me to handle often amounts to something other people consider to be nothing more than a minor annoyance.

I still think that the definition is apt, however. Too much input to handle that overwhelms you sums up overstimulation pretty well, IMO.

thx for sharing.

Okay, so I was worried that adderall was causing overstimulation, but that's not the case at all, that's how I felt before I started it. It's like the overwhelming feeling of not knowing where to begin with anything is non issue for me now. so that's good. In retrospect, I now understand what anxiety was, because I don't have much of it anymore based on the fact that I don't trip out about everything, much calmer. good stuff.

Eh, I was unclear (again). When I said "too much input" I was referring to sensory input, that which can be seen, tasted, smelled, heard and felt. Sorry about that!

I think what you stated is a common response that many people have when a medication is working for them, though. Good for you! :)

I agree. Overstimulation is more of a state that an ADDer gets into than a property of medication. I can be overstimulated without any medications. If I have an overload of sensory inputs along with a demanding task that requires focus I can become overstimulated and maybe get hyper, and have problems processing things correctly, or maybe I'll get agitated, grouchy if I am feeling overwhelmed. I might just sort of overwhelm and zombify a little as my brain starts to shut off. It can make my adhd seem worse, but it is really just me having problems processing because I have too much going on.

ME :D

***Passes Speedo all her lima beans***

:D

ohh!

I LOVE lima beans.... :)

got butter ?

Me :D

Sure do! I will swap you for that wonderful hummus you have there. ;)


Sensory jokes are hilarious, sometimes.

eww.. yah go aheqad. have all the hummus ya want.... LOL< I won't be eating any of it.

Me :D

As my counselor would put it, there is good stimulation and bad stimulation. The bad kind makes you more harried, more aggressive, less focused, less productive, etc. The good kind does just the opposite. When my kids are fighting, that is stimulation -- but definately not the good kind. Upbeat music that lifts my spirits and helps me focus is good stimulation; however if I crank the volume way up on the same music, it crosses the line and becomes bad stimulation.

I think you can only judge for yourself -- how are you feelings? How are you performing? How are you interacting with others? How focused and effective is your thought process?

Scattered

thanks again for the input. I think I'm just a walking contradiction. sincerely.

thanks again for the input. I think I'm just a walking contradiction. sincerely.Welcome to the world of ADD!

Hang in there!:)
Scattered