I just started Adderall a few days ago. It is the Barr generic. I've used Ritalin and Dexedrine before - and 5 mg. Dex in the morning was perfect! It allowed me to concentrate and work better - and gave me the confidence to be more social as well...

I've been diagnosed with ADD for years and I've been on the meds off and on. But now I have a new doctor who gave me 20mg. Adderall a day and I've been getting the strangest sensations:

-Odd acidic feeling in brain, as opposed to the clarity from Dex.
-The urge to be a hermit. I haven't made a phone call or answered my phone in over 24 hours.
-Strange Depression sensation running through brain at times.

It doesn't feel like a stimulant at all. Has anyone experienced this? Granted its only been a few days - but I'm feeling strange - and I have years of Dex/Rit experience...

Is it a dosage issue?

Will it go away in a few days?

I also take a little bit of klonopin for anxiety as well, but that's it...

:(:(

Hello.

Those things sound VERY unpleasant. Have you talked to your doctor about these issues yet?

Adderall was the first stimulant I tried and I've only been taking it for a few months but I've never experienced anything like the things you've described. It makes me more alert, calm, and less chaotic and it has done this for me since I began taking it.

I hope you feel better. If you haven't talked to your doctor yet, then you should. The sooner the better.

Persephone

I don't know what 'acidity' feels like, lol.

Why in the heck are you on adderall 20 mg if dex 5mg worked great for you?

Perhaps the l-dopa found in adderall is aggravating your anxiety and causing your symptoms.

I wouldn't count on it going away, but who knows. I would try reducing your dose greatly before giving up on it entirely (if theres some reason you want to try something other than dex which worked great for you to begin with). Any more than 5mg in 5 hours gives me some of the symptoms you describe.

L-dopa is a totally different drug btw..

L-amphetamine is what you mean.

20mg of adderall is nearly 15mg of dexedrine(D-amp) + 5mg of L-amp. A much higher dose vs 5mg of dex.

most stimulants will make anxiety problems worse.

BobC

I didn't feel the way you described on Adderall, but I felt exactly that way on Focalin, while Focalin really stimulated others on these boards. Medications have different effects on different people. I've heard of people feeling this way on Adderall. I would get off of it. It's obviously not the right drug for you.

Sorry...can't relate to these side effects at all. Like others, I think you are either on the wrong medicine or have the wrong dosage.

It sounds kind of like low serotonin -- that is frequently what is at fault with social phobic and depression things. I wonder if the dose is too high or maybe that med just isn't for you. I know when I take 10 mg of Adderall XR my brain feels fuzzy and weird (very hard to explain). At 5 mg -- things clear up nicely. Better talk to your doctor!

I understand what you mean about feeling like a hermit. I've been on 45mg/day - 30 in the AM and then 15 about 5 hrs later for about a week and a half now. I don't go out and all I want to do is stay home. The other night I felt very paranoid and panicky when my boyfriend and I were on our way to a movie - we ended up leaving b/c I couldn't face going inside - WEIRD. Never experienced anything like that before....hmmmm....

Thanks all - actually - I split the pill and am taking it in half and the feeling isn't nearly as bad... 10 mg twice or once a day... Still not quite as clear as dexedrine made me - but we'll see in a few weeks...

The reason for the switch? I got a new doctor due to a move and he suggested trying it... I was off of the Dex for about a year and a half - just trying to detox...

Has it gotten better with you Kello2005?

...oh but it really makes me want to have coffee and smoke for some reason.