I had my doctors appointment yesterday and my doctor wanted to try adderall on me. I told her I would like to start on a low dose. Although she wanted me to start at 20mg, she listened to me and prescribed 10mg for the next 30 days.

After I got out of my doctors appointment yesterday, I went straight to the pharmacy and got my script. I was so excited there was no way I was waiting until tommorrow to try this out. So it was about 11am and took down my first pill.

I was not sure how quick this stuff would kick in or if I was experiencing a placebo effect, but wow, about 45 minutes later my head was starting to really clear up. I went to a job interview at 1:30pm and they gave me a tour of all the machines in the plant and I was actually able to really focus in and comprehend what he was saying to me. I was even asking him questions, which is a little unusual. I was also able to argue with my bank teller to get a checked cashed and I ended up suceeding, which is very unusual as I tend to always just walk away from stuff.

Instead of sitting in my house all night like I always do with not much of a life. I instead took off in my truck and went to my cousins and sat there talking to them until about 11:30pm, It was weird because I was actually enjoying there company instead of being inpatient and bored.

It was kind of a light sleep last night but it worked out alot better than the strattera did. Most of the time I wake up at about 10am, well today I woke up at 7am and felt great.... :D

Hi,

Enjoyed your post.
I started on 10mgs and was bumped up to 15mgs.

I am still having trouble with brain fog.

I have noticed that I don't feel as detached from people as I did before.
My legs stopped being in constant motion.
I sleep at least 5 hours straight at nite, which I haven't done for years.
I keep my house picked up and straightened, instead of cleaning like a crazy woman.(which is how "I worked off my nerves" for years)

I just can't seem to get to where I want to be as far as picking up a book and staying with it. I want to go back to college.

hippie

Jeremy, sounds like you got a good match to start with, good for you! What an awesome day!

Another thing I have noticed about the adderall is that it has boosted my confidence level as far as dealing with my breakup with my girlfriend. Now that I am having a clear head I am now realizing that if she aint even willing to try relationship counseling to save our relationship and she aint gonna stick by my side through my tough times like I did for her when she was going through cancer. Then she dont deserve me , is how I see it....

Well I am now onto day 3, lastnight my sleep was pretty light again, I think after tossing and turning for a few hours, I finally went out at about 2am, I woke up at about 6:45 this morning and was feeling pretty awake, could no longer lay in bed any longer, just felt to restless. I noticed I felt a little laggish though too, could have been that darn meletonin 3mg I took at about 1:30 lastnight. Well I took my Zoloft and Adderall now at about 7am and put on a pot of coffee, I have to say though, the adderall does it job, but boy does the coffee kick it in good. Its almost like they are a good combination, adderall gives me the motivation and focus and coffee makes me more alert. From what I can tell so far anyway.

Thanks for reading my med diary :)

It's raising your dopamine levels, and you're feeling more euphoric and confident. This is normal...it is also normal for it to go away once everything is balanced out - so if those feelings do go away, don't think that the Adderall has 'stopped working'.

Caffeine (the coffee) is a low level, 'blunt force' stimulant, Adderall (amphetamine) is a high level, 'designer' stimulant. You're just combining stimulants basically; you'd probably get the same feeling if you took a higher dosage of Adderall (i.e. 20mg XR) and would avoid the pitfalls of too much caffeine buzz (i.e. headache, jitteryness, etc.).

Glad to hear everything is working out for you though - keep us posted on how things are going.

Day 5: Still have a ton of motivation, energy and my eyes still no longer feel heavy.

The bad part. I have noticed it has made my social anxiety worse. I just went to the gas station and as I was walking in the door, I felt like I was about to have a pannick attack. I am also having alot of heart pulpations and it just seems like I can always feel my heart pounding in my chest. This worries me as both my dad and grandpa died of heart attacks. I know nothing will happen now but what about the long term effects?

I did some research and I found alot of doctors will sometimes prescribe a combo such as adderall+guanfacine. I have heard guanfacine is used to control blood pressure and I have also heard from DR. Jones that it has helped some of his patients with social anxiety and directly counteracts the effects of Adderall. http://www.askdrjones.com/2006/11/13/how-to-take-adderall/

I contacted my family doc today about this and as ussual it is like talking to a brick wall. She wants me to wait a month and see if the heart issues go away. She said said she also wanted to wait because Tenex is really expensive. Well if she would have done a some research, she would know that there is a generic available from the company MYLAN for about 85% cheaper.

You probably need to get some exercise if you aren't doing so.

People with heart problems are supposed to stay away from stimulants as well; since you have a family history and you're showing symptoms - you may really want to reconsider taking Adderall.

Jeremy....

Adderall can cause some anxiety...Sounds like some might be caused by adding that extra walup of coffee ...and um not sleeping well.

I would cut out the coffee pronto. If you are a coffee addict like me...try cutting down by filling 1/2 with reg 1/2 with decaf and slowing wean off..this is not helping , and you are early in the game to get past some of the side effects...also there are some all natural things taht can help with that "rebound" effect you are having at night.

It's normal....you need to wathc the times you are taknig your meds. The later in the day the more likely you are to have the rebound. Especially when you get to the higher doses....the more likely it will cause problems.

You can check wiht the doctor on the all natural sleeping thing....although if they want to put on you a beta-blocker/alpha blocker..that might take care of your sleeping....issue...:faint:

When I was first on meds.., and for my kids, we took Melatonin , which is the natural chemical your brain uses to sleep.You can pick it up at most drug stores OTC...or places like GNC etc.

Taking it about an hour before bed, and then actualy getting in the bed and turning off the lights...will help. It doesn't knock you out...it just helps ebb itno it. So you can easily override it..but it doesn't have the "groggy" side effect in the morning.

I had more issues, pre-bipolar dx...sleeping. and I took Valerian Root (stinky) but effective. This one was a little harder for me to override...and I had to take it and know I was getting at least 6 hours of sleep or it did have a sedating factor....

Another thing that has worked well for me and the boys..are sound machines..yes I know sounds dumb...but it works well. In lieu of the TV, radio/ fan....it isn't as distracting...and I use it when I do my bills too...helps me focus...they are pretty cheap unless you want a fancy one. I got mine for 16.99 on sale at a Walgreens in Ohio..so it's affordable.

Just a few ideas....if you do these things...try some walking or light exercise and are still having issues...I would call the doc again........

Hope :)