I take 20 mg xr + 20mg IR daily almost 4 months now. Now I feel like before taking it. can't concentrate, very forgetful and with the attention span of a gnat. what do I do?:confused:

I would recommend talking to your doctor. It sometimes takes a while to find the correct dose to help with your ADHD. In the initial stage of taking a medication, your body will respond to small amounts; however, it adapts and you might need to increase your dose to obtain the desired results. The sticky in general medication discussion explains the titrate up process very well. It's encouraging that adderall was working, so it's my guess that it's simply a matter of adjusting the dose to help with your ADHD on an ongoing basis.

My experience with finding the correct dosage:

I started taking Adderall in April of last year and began taking 10 mg. 2X/day. This worked for approx. 3 weeks at which point my dr. increased me to 20mg. 2x/day. This dose was only effective for a very short time. I explained this to my dr., he added Strattera (total disaster, long story). I ended up switching drs. after the Strattera incident and now see a psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD and bipolar. It took about 2 months for us to find the correct dosage. Since November, I have been taking 60mg. XR in the am and am prescribed an additional 40 mg. IR. Sometimes I take IR during the day as a booster or I take it about 8 hrs. after my XR dose. I generally take 90mg. a day, but take all 100mg. if I have a day which demands extra focus and organization or if I'm manic (for me, adderall helps quell the agitation/restlessness/speedtalking of mania & mixed episodes for a short while and does not exacerbate my cycling).

Good Luck! I hope you find the best solution to managing your ADHD soon-- I know it can be frustrating as my psychiatrist and I have been trying since November to find a med combo that works for my ADHD & bipolar (ADHD part is okay-- it's just the bipolar. I'm on 5 meds & have been manic since the end of march).

so it may be as simple as a dosage increase?

so it may be as simple as a dosage increase?

Thats the last thing you want to do. Only do it if needed.. Chasing that euphoria will make you dig a deeper hole. When taking meds "I Have been taking over 100mg/day of dex for 2 years" you think its not working but it really is, you just get use to your new personality and way of life. If people dont think its true, go off meds for a month...

so it may be as simple as a dosage increase?

From my experience there is no such thing.:eek: With a seemigly simple increase from 15mg to 20mg IR Adderall I felt a significant increase in my heart rate and literally felt worn-out as if I had ran a marathon.

Same thing with the XR. 30mg was ok but at 35mg I didn't feel particularly productive because of a nagging headache!:(

I've come to the realization that medication is not going to work miracles! It simply gives me a push in the right direction. I still have to remind myself to keep on task with what I'm doing.

As for the memory issues, I've found that Adderall doesn't help. A personal planner helps me keep track and remember important things. Adderall helps me with the motivation to keep track of things I need to remember. Even when I'm leisurely reading a novel I still have trouble remembering who's who, and who did what. I sometimes have to backtrack a few paragraphs or pages.

For a while I thought my medication was of no help at all. I don't usually take it everyday. And when I'm not taking it, that's when I notice how much (or little) it does help when I do take it.;)

I'm really envious of those who experience phenomenal improvements or complete resolution of their symptoms with the help of medication.:p

I agree with Pauligirl, the meds do help push you in the right direction and you need to help yourself too. I'm one of the unlucky types of people build up tolerances to medicines relatively quickly. I've always been this way with everything from caffeine to aspirin. What this ends up meaning is that I usually have to have my dosages adjusted a couple of times a year and when I hit the caps I switch meds and then we rinse and repeat. I can eventually come back to the original med after some time has passed but in the interim it's difficult to find whats working again.

Learning what the meds do for you and how you react is your best indicator and having your dosage tweaked might be what you need. I know long before my wife does that my dosages are stopping working because I start feeling the 'old' me coming back, depression, anxiety, boredom, etc.

Steve