I am currently prescribed Adderall 10mg twice a day. I've been on it about a week.

Here are my issues: #1 The first dose does little or nothing

#2 I am lucky if the doses last 4 hours. The second dose actually does best if 4 hours from the first dose. If I wait to long, I start to get a pressure headache The pressure takes a while to go away even after the 2nd dose.

My doctor doesn't want to give me a third dose in the evening, but if I take a dose at 8 then 12, that leaves me a mess from 4 on. If I stretch out the doses and suffer the head pressure, I am a mess from 6 on.
Here are a couple of things I did this week after 6 Lost my wallet, threw. the chicken I just wrapped into the trash. I am unable to get work done after dinner and frankly don't want to continue a life of cruisning the Internet each evening while my husband watches TV.

This was my third visit with my doctor. When I mentioned the issue of the Adderall IR not working in the mornings, he said that this is not common and that it meant my body was proably not processing the drug very quickly thus he didn't want to up my dose for that reason.

I did finally convince him to let me split one of the 10s and try 15 in the morning then 5 in the afternoon, but I am pretty frustrated as I worry that 5mg ain't going to do much and that I now will have ADD relief from only 8-12 am.

Are my frustrations unfounded?

No your frustrations are not unfounded, when I took Adderall tabs I had to take 2 30 mg tablets twice a day and 1 30 mg tablet in the afternoon, if the dose doesn't work your doctor shouldn't have any problem raising it if you are on a dose that low. Nor should you feel ashamed or afraid to ask for a higher one.

To me, it seems like the fact that the medications wear off fairly quickly would indicate that I DON"T process the medications slowly. Am I thinking wrong?
What are reasons Adderall would not affect one much during the first dose of the day, but affect one well the second dose of the day, particularly if the doses were close together?

Not at all, my amount is an amount that isn't prescribed that high very often but I have to take high doses to get more than two hours out of it and the point I was trying to make is that you are being undermedicated. You should be able to get more medicine to meet you time needs.

There's no reason for you to not have coverage ALL DAY. Your doctor is being unreasonable and unfair. Taking Adderall or any other IR med 3-4 times a day is often necessary and certainly not unheard of.

You may want to take his attitude as a sign of how he's going to approach you and your future med trials/dose increases. Can you see someone else? Finding the right med and then the right dose is a frustrating process even when the most talented doctor is overseeing your care. He's got to be willing to treat you as an individual as well as be creative and flexible w/ your dosing. This process is more of an art than a science.

Thanks guys. I am feeling really frustrated. My doctor doesn't seem to believe in full-coverage. In fact, he said that it is important to have part of the day unmedicated. When I asked, "Isn't that what happens when I sleep?" His response was that I need waking time unmedicated.

I tried the extra 5mg 45 minutes after the intial 10 mg this morning and it did make a difference, but not much. My brain still feels foggy, but my energy and focus did pick up. Of course now it is almost 3.5 hours after the first dose so it is wearing off anyway. (I was hoping that by taking the extra 5 mg later it might prevent the shoulder tension I seem to get when the Adderal is wearing off.)

I slept great last night, so I have ruled out lack of sleep as why mornings are so damn foggy.

I think I am going to try coffee and see if that helps. I never drank much coffee before the medications, but since I have heard Adderall and caffine don't mix, I have moved my morning coffee later in the day.

Since the doctor did say I could split half of my 2nd 10 mg of Adderall and take it with my morning dose to see if that helped, I did yesterday.
In other words I tried 15mg morning and 5mg in the early afternoon.
Results. A bit more focused in the morning. A bit less fog. Little effect in the early afternoon. A total mess in the afternoon and evening.
I was irritable, forgetting words again, clumsy and my disorgainzed self at its worst.

Then, to rub in the agony, I couldn't sleep. My damn brain wouldn't shut off. You would think that having half the afternoon dose (at 1pm, mind you) would make me even more likely to sleep well. But come night, nothing.

He also did give me the option of trying 5 mg of Ritalin with the 10 mg of Adderall in the morning. While I probably should give the 15/5 a couple of days, I can't bear another afternoon like that. I took the 10mg Adderall 45 minutes ago (with some coffee this time. Nothing like coffee to give fog a chance of clearing) I am going to go do one errand to see how things go, and if I am not getting the focus and clarity, I am going to add the Ritalin.
(One thing I do like about the Ritialin is that it does make me more relaxed. Of course the day I took the two Adderall doeses closer together (4 hrs), the second one was calming.... so maybe dosage has something to do with it)

Commets are welcome. I am about to become non-compliant and just give up on the darn medications. I would rather be a mess all day, then focused for a few hours and a double mess +irritable.

One question first, the Ritalin makes you more focused and more relaxed? Honey, you must be on the wrong meds... :eyebrow:

I take Ritalin, not Adderall, but I had the same issue with not enough coverage. My doc thought I didn't need it after school time. I told him I didn't need the meds to just "make it through school". I was still alive and breathing in the afternoon and evening, and I still needed to function.

He added a dose, and I take it between 5.30 and 6.30 pm, depending on my schedule. Lasts about 3 hrs, so after that it needs time to wear off. It's important that it's not too close to bedtime. That last bit of the evening I have to accept, along with the peaks and valleys. I don't think you should accept to go without for half the day, though.

I am an adult with strong ADHD, hence meds and good coverage are important. It sounds a bit like you. Hope it works out and you find a good solution. :)

To answer your question: No, Ritalin doesn't make me more focused. It made me more relaxed than the Adderal does (except for the time I took the two Adderall doses 4 hours apart instead of 5 hours apart. That time the Adderall made me quiet relaxed) Where the Ritalin helped was that it made me calmer than my non-medicated self and I believe it did well at helping me not interrupt and listen.

However, Ritalin didn't last and between doses made me even more irritable than the Adderall. In fact, I found myself hypersenstive and depressed between doses with the generic version as well as getting headaches. (With the brand Ritalin I just had some sinus pressure as the dose wore off increasing when it was totally worn off.)

The regular Ritalin was better than the generic, but frankly, I can't afford it and my insurance will not pay the extra for it.

I think they seem about the same for focus, but, when it works, the Adderall seems better for motivation and helps my procrastination. I need to take it longer to be sure and get the doses right. Today isn't going to be a good indicator as I am tired and don't think my brain is going to make it out of the fog. Maybe a nap after lunch.