Hmm, after having only received ONLY 9 hours of sleep in the past 2 days, it is quite surprising to see that I am still able to focus in my work today after 12 hours have passed of taking it. It's kind of strange though, throughout the entire day, I have just been partially depressed, moody, feeling hopeless, but not to the extent of suicide. This was in school by the way. Fast foward a bit, I feel a lot better now now that it is night time. What I don't understand is: Why have I been feeling pessimistic and unhappy through the day and partially spacey rather than feeling positive even after 12 hours of taking my 20 mg XR pill? I though the first 1 and a half hours of taking the medication was supposed to make you feel the peak of its powerful effect on treating ADD? If possible, could someone elaborate on how Adderall works in its release and its 2nd portion of the pill that releases after several hours - Extended Release Pill.

Factors that I am considering:
-Lack of sleep to restore enough dopamine, but this seems strange because I feel pretty well and able to concentrate with positive results

-I ate a bagel w/Cream cheese that was flavored chives and onions(Acidic?)

-High School is stressful to deal with

-Stranglely, I feel happier during the night time (both off and on meds) than I do during the day

-It was raining and seemed kind of gloomy, but then again, im constantly indoors

Hmmm.........

P.S. Do you guys end up spacing out as well when you are listening to something boring like a boring presentation? I spaced out pretty hard today during World History, but I don't know if everyone else that is medicated properly tends to space out if they were in my situation..

As I understand it, Adderall XR is a lot like taking 2 perfectly spaced doses. Since you're taking 20mg XR, that's like taking one 10mg dose followed by another 10mg dose 4 hours later. I doubt that 20mg of Adderall has much effect on your ability to focus 12 hours later, though. However, you shouldn't try to pin all of your ups and downs on Adderall. Everyone has mood variations, along with good days and bad days.

As far as not being able to concentrate when Adderall's effects should be at their peak -- just because you're on Adderall doesn't make all the external factors disappear. It's not a magic pill. That said, Adderall (or even pharmacotherapy) doesn't work for everyone. My advice is to talk to your doctor at your next appointment.

Amphetamines have been used extensively in the past and present to avoid the crash associated with lack of sleep.

Try to force yourself to get sleep, because while you might not feel it yet mentally, the damage of lack of sleep is still being done.

I haven't used Adderall, but I've used dextro-amphetamine for 6 or so years. Feelings of isolation, withdrawal, 'depression' (I think it's caused by a crash or too high a dose rather than being actual depression), loss of appetite, insomnia, were common whilst on it. I've started taking it again (5 years later, though my mind and body are more mature) in 2 * 5mg tablets per day (never taking a tablet after 1pm, spacing each tablet by 4 hours) and the side-effects of a come-down are all but non-existant. I'm not sure if it's because I am more mature, or because it's a low dose. I'm just praying I don't grow tolerant and have to increase the dose.

Spacing out: No drug will be able to prevent me from zoning out to a lecture about "and this is how you rename a file", I don't think. ;)

Dexamphetamine lasts about 4 hours at full effectiveness, after which it decreases until it is pretty much out of the brain and blood at 10 hours. Adderall is 72% dextroamphetamine and 28% laevo-amphetamine, so ignoring extended release, it's pretty similar. Using the numbers Maneki gave, Adderall should be out of your blood/brain completely by 14 to 16 hours after taking it, and start to lose effectiveness about 8 to 10 hours after taking it.

One note of interest is that Adderall is quite a bit more physically active than Dexamphetamine, due to the laevo-amphetamine. This means things like heart rate, blood pressure, muscle alertness, etc are all increased more on Adderall than on Dexamphetamine.

Oh and, while I doubt it needs to be said, MAKE SURE YOU EAT PLENTY OF FOOD. Eat more than you would off meds, because your body is more active on meds due to nervous system stimulation (both your brain and body become more active, do more stuff and hence use more nutrients and energy). If you don't eat enough, you may easily feel like you described - cranky, withdrawn, etc. In fact this is probably why meds screwed me up so much; I didn't really eat whilst on them.