Ugh, I am having SUCH a hard time with the comedown blues.

I take 40 mgs of Adderall XR in the afternoon, when I need it the most. For eight hours I feel AWESOME. When I come down I feel TERRIBLE.

I am also on Effexor and the physical withdrawal symptoms of this drug are hideous. With Adderall it is entirely mental.

While on Adderall I really feel like I can just let stuff roll off my back. My husband and I get along ten thousand times better because my temper evens out quite nicely. I don't mind if I'm not consistently stimulated the way I want to be.

When it wears off I just want to scream. I feel like everyone hates me. I'm worried and I don't know why. There is this sense of doom...

Is this just plain inevitable or is there a way to prevent these feelings? Will I ever get used to it? I am having quite a hard time...

You're definitely not alone. I love the mornings but the afternoon comedown sucks.
I'm glad you're on an anti-depressant as well. I think since starting Prozac, my comedowns have been not so bad.
I don't know how long you've been on Adderall, but I used to take 30 XR and lowered it to 15 XR and feel so much better with the comedowns. It's like a night and day change.
Can you lower your dose and see how that works?
I got more done on 30 XR, but with 15 I'm much more peaceful, pleasant and less anxious in the evenings.
Also if you're drinking coffee/ green tea and other caffeinated stuff, I'd not take them with Adderall, since it makes you crash harder.
Also did you just start Effexor?
I tried it for 2 days and had to stop, prior to Prozac, it was an awful experience. I was tired but wired like crazy and couldn't sleep at all. Plus had some intense anxiety on it. Effexor is definitely not for me. But Prozac was.

http://www.medicalook.com/reviews/Effexor.html

In that link in that says that Effexor is not always appropriate for every patient. Any medical history which includes bipolar disorder may preclude a patient from taking Effexor.
Also Effexor is a selective serotonin and norephedrine reuptake inhibitor, also called an SSNRI.
And Amphetamines are thought to block the reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine into the presynaptic neuron and increase the release of these monoamines into the extraneuronal space.

http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=1362

Now I don't know if norepinephrine is spelled wrong in the above link and the author meant norephedrine. If they aren't two different neurotransmitters, then the combo of Adderall and Effexor may not be so good, since one will block the others uptake.

Maybe instead switch to anti-depressants that are just Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).
Regulating Serotonin is seen as playing a major role in the treatment of BPD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and migraines.
Effexor also regulates serotonin but also norephedrine.

Everyone's brain chemistry's different. What works for one person may not be right for another. It's important to know how everything interacts with one another when we take different meds.
Hope this was somewhat helpful.

Sorry to hear it.. I am taking 20mg XR and am in sort of the same boat. The 'sense of doom' weird worry/paranoia comedown is exactly right on. So weird! And it sucks. Though it's a step up from the horrendous Ritalin comedowns.

I figured out (inadvertently) that there is much less of all that if I haven't gotten much sleep the night before. Again, so weird.

I thought you didn't like Effexor to begin with? Any thoughts on how upping your dosage of Adderall changed things, if you didn't start out with 40mg?

From what I can tell, the anti-comedown things to do are either take an XR (which you already are) or take some other "counter-med" of sorts, like an antidepressant (which you also already are). So I guess it depends if Adderall's awesome enough that you'd want to try to work around it (maybe find someting other than Effexor?) or just switch to another med. Personally, unless I get some indication of awesomeness of my own, I'm headed for the switch.

Thanks, to both of you.

I have been on the Effexor for years, and actually the only reason I am still on it is because my body has become physically dependent on it. I doubt it really does much for me mentally. My psych is keeping me on it becuase I will be physically ill if I stop taking it, even if I taper it I get ill. We are in the process of discussing the best way for me to get off of it.

The Adderall really does not kick in for me under 40 mgs. But on 40, I feel FABULOUS. Better than I ever had. The comedown sucks, but I'm not sure if I dislike it enough to try and switch meds.

I do wish the effects of the Adderall lasted longer. I took my pill at noon today and at about five I was already feeling less thrilled with life. I think I'm also in this place where I'm dreading the comedown so much that I'm psyching myself out into thinking it's worse than it really is.

I have an appt. with my psych on Monday so we'll see what he says...

If anything, some people find that Effexor helps the adderall work better, although the effects are probably minimal. It may also help with the anxiety associated with the adderall drop off. Some people also find Vyvanse to be smoother than the adderall. This might be something to mention to your doctor.

I'm not sure how much experience your doctor has with effexor, but some people have had success with decreasing and discontinuing Effexor by using very small dose reductions over a long period of time. It is sometimes necessary to use the immediate release (IR) formulation, as it is available in low dosage tablets which can be split. As long as one doesn't forget to take the medicine, most people cannot distinguish the immediate release from XR. With this method, decreasing the effexor as little as 12.5mg per week is possible. For example, if someone is taking 150mg/day, they might switch to one 100mg IR tablet and one and a half tablets of 25mg IR.

Of course, talk to your Dr. before making any changes. Good luck.

I'll second that...

Vyvanse may be just what you need

Ugh, I am having SUCH a hard time with the comedown blues.

I take 40 mgs of Adderall XR in the afternoon, when I need it the most. For eight hours I feel AWESOME. When I come down I feel TERRIBLE.

I am also on Effexor and the physical withdrawal symptoms of this drug are hideous. With Adderall it is entirely mental.

While on Adderall I really feel like I can just let stuff roll off my back. My husband and I get along ten thousand times better because my temper evens out quite nicely. I don't mind if I'm not consistently stimulated the way I want to be.

When it wears off I just want to scream. I feel like everyone hates me. I'm worried and I don't know why. There is this sense of doom...

Is this just plain inevitable or is there a way to prevent these feelings? Will I ever get used to it? I am having quite a hard time...Hey. I go through the same thing on Ritalin. Awful. I try to think that what I'm like on meds, is making up for it.

In the evening when I can't take another dose, and have to ride it out completely, my doc gave me muscle relaxants, that would also help me sleep. A lower dose could still control muscle spasms (I get those). Half the dose evens out my mood without making me sleepy too. Maybe you could try some (mild - non addictive) relaxant to try to make the prosess smoother?

Perhaps a smaller dose afterwards, of [adhd med], to step it down? It could add 3 hrs of coverage to your day too.

Thanks, everyone. I have an appt. with my doctor tomorrow so I will ask him if there's something I can take in the evenings to help me out. I really, really like the way Adderall is affecting me before it wears off, so I am reluctant to try anything new. Before I was on Adderall I had HUGE temper problems. On it everything just rolls off my back. I am scared that if I switch to another medication I'll turn into a meanie again.

My doctor actually did take me off Effexor XR and put me on IR so that we could start removing the little pills from the capsule. I am nervous, though...I've tried this in the past and I still had terrible withdrawal symptoms.

I do want to get off the Effexor because I don't think it has had any positive effect on me and if I want to have children (this won't be for quite some time!) I can't be on it and I don't want to end up pregant and trying to go off Effexor one day! Better now than then.

Good luck getting off the Effexor. I had to go through that a couple years ago. Luckily I was able to just stay home and ride it out. The brain zaps and weird eye tricks in low light made me completely incapable of going anywhere. I wasn't drive for a long time.

It's definitely better to go ahead and do it though. That stuff is terrifying. I was only on it for a few months and had terrible withdrawals. Actually, I'd only been on it a couple months and ran out of pills. I had to have a friend bring me some more because all I could do was curl up and whine. And that was on a low dose! I couldn't beleve that doc gave me that without warning me at all. Especially after I told him my insurance might be gone soon and I might have trouble getting my meds for a bit!
It helped a little with my anxiety but didn't do jack for my depression and might have been a factor in a pretty severe hypomanic episode I had around that time. :P But I had to keep paying $100 a month to stay on it just to keep from feeling horrible. Lovely. I've never been physically addicted to anything before and was soooo mad that some stupid doc did that to me without warning.

It won't be easy but you can ride it out. Just remember it *will* end if you stick with it. And then you'll feel better about not having to take a med that's not doing you any good but does horrible weird things to you. Plus there's a sense of accomplishment from getting through it.

Good luck with your doctors appt tomorrow. :)

Thanks, meriellyn. It makes me feel better to know I'm not alone here. Of course, I've run into a lot of people that have had these problems with Effexor, but it helps to hear it from someone else every time.

I also cannot believe that a doctor prescribed this drug to me without telling me about the side effects. That really makes me angry!

It sounds like the Effexor had the same effect on you as it did on me--a little help with anxiety, nothing substantial, and absolute zero help in all other areas.

Everytime someone mentions Effexor XR I shiver. I was on that stuff for about 6 months. Never ever again. Nausea so bad it would put me on the floor curled up, sweating, zoning out, walking into walls. Plus withdrawals kick in if you miss a day's dose.

Best way to get off of it is to switch to Prozac. Prozac has a ridiculously long half-life so it's easier to wean yourself off Effexor.

I stayed on Prozac for about 3 years, zero side effects but switched over to Lexapro recently due to anxiety issues. Love it so far.

J