Hello,

I've been prescribed (to start) 10mg adderall for ADD and have been on it for 4 days now. The first few days I experienced a very peaceful mental state, able to focus, kinda slow down and not get distracted and go in 25 different directions. However by the time I take it at 8:00 - it seems like I can feel it wear off around 3:00pm

Not quite sure what is going on today, but for the live of me im reeeeaaallly distracted, taking on several projects, jumping from one thing to another, zoning out - back to the usual. Last night I drank several beers - not sure if it didnt mix well and that is the reason for what is happening today.

Anyone have any ideas?

:confused:

Did you sleep well last night? I know with me if I get little sleep, adderall does absolutely nothing (except give me anxiety).

Also, there is the whole vitamin C thing... did you drink any acidic drinks... orange juice maybe? That would cause a decrease in effectiveness.

Maybe you just need a higher dose as well?

Also, not eating properly can reduce its effectiveness.

And do you take XR or IR? Just curious, because if it'd IR it lasts a fairly long time, if XR it's about what most people would report I think... 6 hrs.

We'll its the generic form, the diamond blue/green shaped pills 10mg. The Doctor said that it may last from 4-6 hours but really didnt tell me much beyond that. He did mention that I could take 1 a day - see how I feel and if I thought I needed, to take 2, or even separate them during the day.


I didn't eat or drink anything high in vitamin C that I can think of...and I did eat.

I just found it strange that it ballanced me out in the beginning and now ( probably because of the alcohol from last night) today, its just not working. Some people that I've talked to, adderral makes them hyper and full of energy - to me it has the opposite effect, which is a calming, what I kinda call, "normal" frame of mind where taking one thing at a time with the ability to listen to you quietly is possible.

I was just concerned if anyone had this happen to them before - Im just worried and probably jumping the gun..I may need to give it some time I guess.

This was happening to my daughter, Beth. It was most effective if we split it in half and she didn't have such a headache when the meds finally wore off later in the day. She took one half before school, ate breakfast, then out the door. She took the second half, at school, during her lunch hour. It helped her with the afterschool slump she'd been having, too, of trying to get schoolwork done, if any.

Mary,

So was she taking the blue/green 10mg tabs?


thks,
j

Jclifton,

This is total speculation on my part, but I'm thinking about something that Daniel Amen says in his books. He seems to think that serotonin and dopamine work a little bit antagonistically in terms of focus (I may have misunderstood him though), in that serotonin is the lube in the gear shift that allows us overfocused types to change our focus of attention. Dopamine, on the other hand, increases attention. So you give an overfocused nut case like me (spotless house, insano task list on her computer, etc.) Adderall and I do more of same unless you also give me an SSRI.

Anyway, I think beer boosts serotonin, so maybe you ust sabatoged your focus a little with the beer?

Just a guess.

Sandy.

If I go out and have a few beers the adderall does nothing for me the next day. So I plan my nights out the day before I don't take it.

If its generic, then it is the IR. Once the med starts to wear off it is very common to get anxious, headache, scattered, tired, lose focus, etc. For the IR generally you will need to take it twice a day. I take 20mg in the morning at about 8AM and another 20mg at about 2-4PM. If I don't take the 2nd dose, anxiety comes creeping back, and I get tired, irritable, etc. Talk with your doc, but you likely should be taking it twice a day if it's the IR.