I am new to ADHD medication... I tried Adderall 10mg XR and the next day, I had diarrhea. After 1.5 weeks, I stopped because of diarrhea and blurred vision. Four days later, I am now on my 2nd day of Concerta 18mg. This morning I had slight diarrhea. Why does this happen?! My urine is usually clear/light yellow but I sometimes still get headaches. I drink a bottle of water and take 1 multi vitamin before sleeping.

In addition, does stimulants cause blurred vision? When I was on Adderall XR, I had troubles seeing the blackboard which I never had issues with. Now while on Concerta, I think its improved as I think I can see fine, sometimes its still a bit blurry when looking down on paper then looking up (takes like a second to focus). Is it the medication or has my vision truly worsen? Its $80 for an eye test which I had half a year ago and it was 20/20.

I usually have cold hands/feet, but when on medication, it seems worse.

Lastly, I don't even know if Concerta/Adderall is working for me. I think my concentration has slightly increased but then it might just be my mind. I still get distracted studying in a library.

have no idea about the blurred vision or GI problems but stimulants reduce blood flow to the extremeties thus causing cold hands & feet.

J

When I was taking ritalin, I experienced occasional blurryness and occasional mild diarrhea. I was urinating more often too, but then i was drinkning alot more water since stimulants dehydrate you and give you cotton mouth. I wasn't bothered to much with the vision thing because it would only seldom happen and when it did, i could just blink a few times and it would go away.

If you want more info and see these effects you mentioned included in the list for adderall and ritalin as rare side effects check the links below

For the side effects of ritalin check this site out:

http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-12114-Methylphenidate.aspx?drugid=12114&drugname=Methylphenidate&pagenumber=6


For the side effects of adderall check this one:

http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-63163-Adderall+Oral.aspx?drugid=63163&drugname=Adderall+Oral

The thing is... I do not know if my eyesight has truly worse, or its side effects from the medication. I've never really had an issue with eyesight prior to stimulant medication, and after taking it, I'm experiencing changes in vision. Although I think I blink enough, perhaps the stimulant is drying out my eyes.

I thought I was better on Concerta but when I got up from studying, I couldn't really read the overhead signs in the library. I am not sure if I could read it before either. So I am really confused and think my only resort is goto an optometrist for an eye check.

I have no problems reading a book/fine print. I am only complaining about my far sight. My psychiatrist is not too knowledgeable about these side effects.

when i was taking ritalin i also had diareha and headaches for a day or two. Also..twitching/quivering of the hands, occasional blurred vision..which continued on.
i eventually stopped taking ritalin for the above reasons and because i turned into a zombie.

I still get diarrhea every morning but the cold hands issue seems to subside.

As for blurred vision... sometimes I think I still experience it (only far distance). I post a 10ft Snell chart at home and my vision is close to 10/10 (or 20/20). However at school, I cannot read signs as good as I hoped, maybe its just me thinking I use to have super eye power and that the meds are making it worse; I think I should see an optometrist soon.

yea, that def sounds like a good idea, to see your optometrist. If the blurry vision becomes too much of a problem then perhaps a docter needs to check it out. As far as meds making it worse, i'm no doctor but i don't think they can effect ur vision like that, the blurriness with stimulants ususally happens because they comsume the water in your body too quickly, thus why you feel more thirsty, and your eyes get a more dry and therefore they get blurry - espically if u wear contacts.
Drink more water and more often, and def see a docter. :)

you get it b/c you are taking speed. if you took an opposite acting drug like a narcotic (opiate), you would have constipation.

Speed speeds everything up. Bowels included.

Sympathetic nervous system...

I just started vyvanse Saturday and it has messed up my stomach a bit too. Haven't felt right since I started it, but I hear it will go away. I'm not quiting yet.

the blurred vision could be a result of high blood pressure from the meds. Can you feel your pulse throbbing in your head?

Are you ingusting anyother stimulants like caffine or nicotine? I've noticed if I chew to much nicorete with the vyvance my blood pressure begins to sore.

My blood pressure is quite low-normal (110/70).

I think its dry eyes so I have to see an ophthalmologist. I have a 10ft home Snell chart and my vision is near 20/20. But at times in the afternoon/evening, I experience myopia (near-sightedness). I notice its more strainful when I look down (doing homework from a textbook) then look up.

As for the diarrhea, it makes sense.

Try some dry eyes/computer eye drops if you haven't seen the eye doc yet. I'm getting that with the vyvanse. Reminds me of when I wore contacts b4 I had lasik and had to use drops.

I experienced exactly the same symptoms while taking Concerta and other stimulant meds and they never went away. In fact, they only became worse. The meds may be causing you to also have dry eyes (more than likely), but DRY EYES ARE PROBABLY NOT CAUSING YOUR MYOPIA. Your myopia is more likely caused by the stimulants interfering with the normal sympathetic and parasympathetic control of the little muscles in your eyes that are responsible for keeping vision clear and in focus. Do not expect your psychiatrist to pay much attention to your complaints about vision problems or most non-life threatening side effects related to stimulants -- there is not much, if anything, he/she can do about them, so he/she will probably only express interest if they are so bad that you quit taking your meds. Personally, I have 20/20 vision when off stimulants and 20/40 to 20/60 when on them, so I have had to invest in eye glasses for distance (I've tried every drug approved for ADD and they all affect my vision the same way).

Since your SFX are (were) intolerable, I would recommend trying lower doses before abandoning Concerta -- even lower than the typical minimal dose if necessary. It may be that you are extremely sensitive to the drug and can get by on much less than your doc would expect -- and must since you can't stand to take more. If need be, abandon XR capsules, which offer limited dosing options, and use IR tablets to experiment and find out just how little you can take and still get a sufficient therapeutic effect. You may have to cut the pills to get the dose right (I have to cut my 2.5mg Focalin tabs into quarters since 2.5mg is the smallest tab they make). Using IR tabs is a pain since you have to take them throughout the day, but it may be preferable to dropping that XR bomb into your gut and being stuck with it all day long. If Concerta doesn't work for you, be sure to try Focalin XR and tabs. A lot of people, myself included, have found it to have significantly milder SFX.

In searching for your best med/dose/regimen, remember that you're mostly on your own. Your doc can write you a prescription, but he/she will never really understand all the little ways it affects you or what exactly you need the drug to do. So be proactive (and smart -- AND persistent). If you keep searching, chances are very good that you'll work your way down to the right dose for you. It's impossible to guess what that might be since everyone responds so differently. My doc originally recommended I take Focalin IR 10mg three times a day. Now I take about 0.75mg 3-4 times a day -- I can survive for a year on what my doc thought I should take in a month.

(thanks a million, longtime. I feel like a real freak sometimes reading these forums - I just tried Vyvanse and the side effects of even 30 mg were...well, one of the worst experiences of my life.

So I cut it with water. And got horrific side effects from 7 mg.

I'm not going to try anything else until I can get in to see the doc, but it's comforting to know that I'm not the only one who apparently requires microdoses. I think I'm going to see if I can get Dex IR.)