I was just recently put on 20 mg Adderall XR a couple of weeks ago. It wouldn't last all day so I was taking 1 in the am and 1 in the early pm. My doctor bumped me up to 30 mg XR hoping I'd only need 1 per day.

My question is, I can't tell if it's really helping. I definently feel the effects, but I don't know if it's helping my biggest problem - starting to work on things I don't want to work on.

It helps me focus, but only on what I enjoy doing. For instance, at work, I can surf the web for 2, 3, 4 hours straight. I have a pile of work on my desk. To break away from the fun of web surfing and start doing my actual work work is impossible.

Is this something Adderall is supposed to help me do? Do I need a new medication or is self-starting just something I need to work on myself?

I've just been diagnosed within the past month and I'm so confused. What am I supposed to do myself and what is the medication supposed to help me do? I just want to be "normal".

perhaps it's making you hyperfocus... like where you can't stop with what you have in front of you? I had that with adderall 2...
(but I'm now on Dexedrine)
Do u feel zombied while hyperfocusing?:confused:

Are you able to do your important tasks if your not surfing the net?

I have the same problem with the Adderall - I can sit on the internet all day and it's hard to stop - I didn't really have this problem before. I'm on 30 too, and it doesn't last all day. When it wears off, I'm really sleepy and feel kind depressed- does this happen to you?

Well, I think that the meds make you more able to focus but you have to make the choice of what to do with that focus. It won't make your work any more appealing but if you can get yourself to start it, it should half you stay on task better than before.

That being said, Adderall made me jump on any task I could get my hands on just to be *doing* something. I couldn't really sit still and surf the web or anything though. (Odd, because I do that all the time.)
Now with Dexedrine, I do have to make myself start things but I have more focus when doing them.

Kat,

I experience the EXACT same effects with the Adderall. I think meriellyn is right that you have to make the choice of what you want to focus on. It's tough.

I'm actually switching from Adderall to Focalin though because while I do tend to hyperfocus and get things done on the Adderall I still can't focus WELL. I continue to make silly mistakes at work, misplace things, not hear things quite right, etc.

It's definitely possible that Adderall is not the right drug for you. Just talk to your doctor about it.

Well, I think that the meds make you more able to focus but you have to make the choice of what to do with that focus. It won't make your work any more appealing but if you can get yourself to start it, it should half you stay on task better than before.


agreed. i was able to get by without medication for so many years by being -both- motivated and an extreme task master, to make sure i stayed on track while i did things.

your medication should help you stay on task (one of the harder aspects of adhd, in my opinion), but you'll have to find a lot of the motivation on your own. it's really not hard, it just takes some practice and a tad of introspection.

hope this helps a little.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Even when I do try to start my actual "work" work, I constantly think of what I missed when I was doing my usual website checking. Oh, I need to find the number to this place...or did I check this news site...or I need to email this person, and that person, and...it never ends.

This was a big problem for me before the diagnosis (I'm 29 and discovered I was Inattentive Adult ADD a month or so ago) and I was hoping medication would help fix this.

Do I need another medication or am I just hoping for too much from the one I'm currently on?

this is sort of a hasty response from myself, but i would suggest concerta if adderall doesn't seem to be keeping you focused. i'm only on day 2 of an equal strength adderall medication (vyvanse) after having taken concerta for 2 years. i *am* noticing that my focus and concentration is not as up to par on this medication as on ritalin. my first trip to the grocery store greatly reminded me of the difference i'm feeling (noticing way to many things/thinking too many things/getting off track/forgetting what i was there to buy).

just my personal experience so far. i'd take my time and not worry too much; you've made it this far already :).

Well, I think that the meds make you more able to focus but you have to make the choice of what to do with that focus. It won't make your work any more appealing but if you can get yourself to start it, it should half you stay on task better than before.(bold lettering is my doing)

So true. Well said meriellyn.

also, you shouldn't feel the med working. you should be able to focus to get more things done. If you think it's helping you focus, then the med is doing its job.

I understand wanting to be normal, however, it's never going to happen. Meds don't cure ADHD/ADD. Meds help to control the traits we have due to ADHD. We have to do the best we can to control those traits that inhibit our functioning well on a daily basis - through our meds, our coping skills and anything else that helps keep up functioning better.

The greatest change I've noticed with medication is that I actually have a choice now about doing stuff. Work, Study, Homework, Bills, etc...

Before medication I was a slave to procrastination, not paying attention to anything (finances, grad school, work, wife). Now I have a choice (and of course I make myself do the boring stuff we all hate to do) so if there is something I don't want to do I simply choose not to do it. But now I can always remember to come back to do it instead of forgetting about it.

My opinion is that life would truly suck to take a pill that *forced* you to do stuff.

This is why adults probably have the hardest time with ADD and where a coach or therapist may come into play. We as adults have lived a lifetime of running on the edge of disaster and our bad habits have become the norm. A good coach or therapist can help an adult relearn and undo our bad stuff. Medication is but a single piece of the puzzle for successful treatment.

J

We as adults have lived a lifetime of running on the edge of disaster and our bad habits have become the norm.


you're exactly right. even though i never meant to be a bad person or a person of bad habits, i began to think it was simply written in my genetic code. i was just a person who was always living on the edge, no matter what. and that's that.

it's about 2 years since i've been on medication, and after the first 4-6 months of relearning habits, i felt a whole new world has opened up with my ability to "choose" what i wanted to do. no more brooding over the fact that the *one* thing i need to get done will not get until some unexpected moment during the day. no more worrying that i won't get something done, despite giving myself 4x the amount of time to actually do it. i now know that i *will* get it done, and a few other things on my list too. i actually revel in the fact that i'm so normal now. it's absolutely amazing how balanced and easy things are.

I have the same issues as Kat in the Outerspace and I am not sure if I completely agree with the "you have to make the choice of what to do with that focus." Sometimes there is the paralysis of will - when you know that things need to get done, you recognize the negative consequences of not doing it, but your mind doesn't want to do them.
I have been struggling with this for about 10 years now. Eons ago, I started with Effexor and then with Xyprexa - they were wonder drugs. I had the motivation to do all the things I needed to have done. I wanted to do all the "boring" things, I wanted to be in control of my life. Xyprexa stopped working for me and then I tried Adderall. It has given me a lot energy and I have been able to do a lot of things but I still have the issue of "paralysis of will".

I think these are two different issues and both of them might need different solution. Adderall can mask one of the problem, as it has for me. I recently added Welbutrin to my Adderall regiment, and lets see how it works.

If you are continuing to have problems, and you recognize it as a problem, then what this is telling you is that that the Adderall is not a complete solution for you. Consider adding other medications to it.