I am 21, and have always thought I've had ADD in some form. My teachers have thought so, my friends have thought so. I think my parents never really wanted to question it either way because I'm "so smart, but just too damned lazy!"
This is my third year of high education, but the first two were at community college. Now I'm at a University, and the first semester was a DISASTER! Too much fun, not enough motivation. Well, the 1.1 GPA was motivation enough for me to seek treatment over winter break.
"Treatment" turned out to be 30mg/day Adderall. Nothing more. No therepy, not even advice from my doctor. "If you lived in a hippie commune in Seattle, where you could sleep in for as long as you wanted, you'd be fine. But not in this society. So take this." I was a little dissappointed, but very happy to get the Adderall. I had tried it a few times before to work hard/clean my house and it was always amazing.
So I started using it legally the second week of January. It is now the third week of Fed, and I AM A MESS!
My school work is A MILLION times better. But who knows if that's the meds, or the fact that I am making school my first priority for the first time in my life, or that my party animal roommate moved out and I'm by myself in the dorm room...maybe it's something else. Or maybe it's a kind of combination of all these things.
So the great grades are the plus. But the minus side is pretty heafty:
-Random, persistant localized muscles twitches that last for a few days, go away, and relocate. One week it's my leg, then my shoulder, then my eye.
-Crazy hard time getting into bed, and then getting to sleep. All-nighters have become waaay too common, resulting in me getting into a real funk for the next few days, feeling like crap the whole time. I think, though, that the coffee is making it way way way worse.
-Relationship problems with my girlfriend. It's like someitmes I just have less emotion than before. I can't describe it. Who knows if that's the meds. It might just be part of growing up and growing apart...but my sex draive is for sure down, too. I only lost my virginity to her a few months ago, and I should be a typical male college sex addict, shouldn't I?
-Poor appitite. I've probably lost 5 or 10 pounds. And that's no go for a guy that barley eats enough as it is.
-I feel like my life has been reduced to school, food, sleep, repeat. I'm feeling depressed, and I find that I get very hard on myself when I don;t get enough done in the day. I've always been a planning type...lists, and such, but I find that I try to pack too much into one day. I also think that maybe I am just now getting study skills that I was supposed to have in sixth grade when we started getting homework. But also, I feel like I am taking too many notes, or reading and re-reading too much...like my focus gets so narrow on one topic, that I forget that I have four other subjects/assignments to do that night. And when I do try to take a 15 minute break, I get to involved that it always turns into a 90 minute break, and I get really upset at myself for wasting time, and I try to make up for it by working extra hard, and running out of time again, and the cycle continues.


I should also mention that I have been back and forth with marijuana for a long time. Sometimes I love it, sometime I hate myself for loving it. I think that I've decided, though, that when I'm high since I have been on Adderall, I can just zone out forever, can't focus one bit, even on doing laundry or cleaning my room. So the weed needs to stop. If not for legal reasons, just because I am making school a priority. The weed will stop. So that might help a little with staying up too late.

But anyways, I was wondering if anyone out there (if you've read this far) has any advice. I don't want to quit the Adderall, because I feel like this one of my last chances to salavage my college career. I feel so great when I am accomplishing goals, and getting important things done that I otherwise would not be doing. But it's mostly the sleepless nights/depressing days after that are killing me. I feel like a shell of a man sometimes. This is the answer to my pathetic GPA. I decided before my meds that any sacrifice will be made (just this semester) to get as close to a 4.0 as I can. No grad school is going to accept a 25 year old with a 1.1 GPA that took 5 or 6 years to get his B.A. I was just hoping for some advice to cope with the side-effects. I feel like I'm going slightly mad. Thank you thank you thank you for reading. Any reply would be absolutly treasured. :)

Adam, Welcome to the forums..I love your name. I took Adderal some time ago and It help me get through 2 years of ITT Tech. and working at the same time back to back. I still passed with a 3.4 ave. Yes adderall made me want to study all night work half the day and study some more and my house was cleaned alot.

I did notice that the Not eating and Not sleeping eventually went away after a while..and I had the problem of wanting to take more cause it only lasted 4 hours.

It's not really the drug that makes you study and clean house, you are in control of what you wanna do, the Pills just give you something you lack without it, Motivation!

Becareful with using it illegally, as well. I can also relate to shrinks just wanting to give you meds and no therapy..had quite a few of those. Eventually I found a doctor that did not have webbed feet(quack) and I can trust him and he helps me alot! As far as good therapy in between therapy sessions...then my friend, you have come to the right place..there is a lot of support here from lots of people and a lot I am proud to say that I have grown to care about alot....so Adam let me shut up now by saying again, Welcome to the forums!

Adam, I'm at a university too (turning 21 next week). I've been doing alright for the last 2 years, but still just barely scraping by... I just got diagnosed and haven't had any luck with meds yet. (havne't tried adderall yet)

I just want to tell you that a grad school WILL accept a 25 year old who HAD a 1.1 GPA - it's perfectly normal to have trouble when you transfer, and especially when you are in the middle of a mess of medications and everything. as long as your grades IMPROVE, you will be fine!! even if it's not this semester (as long as you hang on enough not to fail out), if you can get it up there in following years, you will be fine! they don't JUST look at overall GPA - they do look at trends, and they also will take things into consideration if you tell them about it. (like say a family member died and as a result you failed everything that semester)

It is very possible that a different med would work better for you - without all the side effects. the only way to know is to try it... I know it's scary because you don't want to switch right before midterms... or anything like that. but on the other hand, what if it WORKS, and everything's fantastic? I would consider trying to find a different doctor, or maybe a counselor to go to in addition to the doctor (that's what i"m doing - it's free through the school)

good luck!!!!

Melanie, thanks so much for writing to me! I wish I would have responded earlier, but I've just been letting myself put off so many 'that can wait a day' things. But you know, waiting a day can turn out to be a week. Sorry for that. But I really appreciate the advice. If you don't mind my asking, what does you doctor do other than meds to address ADD? My doctor basicly said he could tell me read this or that book, or talk to so and so, but the only thing that would make a difference would be the pill. Also, do you know much about alternative meds? Like what their side-effects may be, how they measure up to Adderall? This is a great resource!!! Keep it up.
Oh, and my room is looking pretty clean lately! It's cool to have everything so organized and clean clothes, too!

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Christiana, also, thanks so much for writing your wise words. It means a lot to see people care to write to me about their own personal experiences. What medication has worked for you? ANd as I asked Melanie, if you care to share, what does a counsilor work out with you as far as ADD? And thanks for the concern as far as grades. How are your classes? To let you know, we are at the half-way point here at WMU, and I am really really doing well. I bet right now I have a 3.5 or higher. It's cool, but all the sacrifices are getting to me. But I am really focused on my goal, so I think I can finish the year just as strong.
As far as you not trying Adderall, I can't compare to other drugs, for it's the only one I've taken for treatment, but I can say personally that it really kicks the motivation in to high gear! I do find though, that focus gets really narrow sometimes. I will be doing great one day with homework, and decide I need a 15 minute break. But I might get really into cleaning my room or finding a certain song on the internet, that I lose focus of homework in place of focus for lame stuff. That is a major problem, but with practice I am finding that I'm getting better. My emotions aren't quite as high, either, but that might be more to the very different enviroment I've made for myself, and the exteamly small amount of human interaction I've let myself have since being 'goal-driven to grades.'
Good luck with school!!!

Thanks again, both of you. Although I wasn't quick to show it, I really smiled wide when I saw that there are really people out there that care and want to listen, and have good advice.