It has been about 8 or 9 weeks since I have begun the journey into the long and winding road of the Adderall. It started with a few sharp turns, and I am afraid it has driven right off the shoulder into an imbankment.

Today, I was scheduled for a conference call with several coworkers..the topic(really not too interesting, but it will help you see) HIP Hardware..ok, not too glorious to anyone with two good limbs, but important none the less..

I was up late..for me..about 11p, and I wake up about 4:30a, so that is in fact one issue,
I go in...read some CT's(cat scans) from the prior day..it's going well..I'm in what I call my mode...very routine..very "gotta get it done",
I take my pill at 10a..like always..
Conference to begin at 12 noon..
I start to bounce around..tap my fingers...plug in the IPOD..search the WEB..look at this site...text message my daughter..go talk to the techs..eat an apple..take off my coat..put it back on..go get a snack..feel guilty for buying it..give it away..go through my purse..pay a couple bills..look through some text books...wander into space..you get the point...

I cannot focus..at all...
I have always been able to make myself focus..not like you think..it takes a lot of work...I have to go inside my mind and convince myself I have to prove something..sounds so weird..but it was how I coped with a very bad childhood.
But when I started the Adderall, it was soooo much better..my focus was so instant..I still had to check, and be sure I was on task, but in half the time...

Well today...my life flashed before me, and it was not pretty, like I was pretending..oh lord, I sound so "out there"...
I could not get myself straight...if I turned in that chair in that board room one more time, I think someone would have smacked me...
What is wrong with me?
Why was I so high on life and now it is crashing?
Is is sleep deprivation? how could it be, I am so use to not sleeping...Is this med just done?
Of course my doc is in Alsaka..how convenient?
My concern is..if this was so good for such a short time, and they increase dose, will it also last only eight to nine weeks...
Please, know..my area of knowledge is not myself..I know nothing about the formulations of this med, and how it will interact with me..

Am I looking to hard for an answer, was this an off day?
I know tomorrow will bring new light but for now, I am rally worried..I performed better in the past weeks, with such a relief..over doing my whole like has worn me out..and noone knows..I wear the happy mask..its who I am..if my daughter had not been diagnosed, I would never even begun the treatment..

I am looking for a light..but will take a suggestion...is this what I should expect?

Ok... what time do you get up in the morning? Why aren't you taking it earlier than 10 a.m.? What dosage are you on? (I can't remember)

Did you do anything else different? Drink enough water.. stay away from citrus?

I cannot function on five and a half hours of sleep, with or without meds.

1. Tolerance - you'll build it up over time if you don't take breaks.

2. Rest, food, WATER. It's easy for me to not drink water now, and I seem to need more sleep. Since it makes you have less appetite it's also easy to go all day without eating, and it seems I feel the effects much more if I get behind in any of these areas.

If you're careful in these areas, you should be fine.

Yup, Same here. If I don't sleep enough hours (at least 6 for me) The meds are like sugar pills or do not work as usual. Lower your dose of DIACOM files a day :p (LOL)

I would say, hang in there. there will be good days and bad days.

Hugs.

I've been through something similar over the last few days, sometimes changing your life in a major way can lead to an increase in anxiety and a feeling that you deluded yourself, a fear apparently coming true just leads to more anxiety and worsens the inattention, but this should pass once you calmed down.

It might also be the stress of the last couple of days, when we chatted you seemed quite distraught about the patients that you had and this can mess with you.

Eventhough the medication helps, it's still up to you in the end, so stuff that increases inattention such as anxiety and lack of sleep (which also increases anxiety) can make the medication ineffective, get a good nights sleep, spend some quality time with your daughter and wake up full of positivity to a new day. :)

Ps. If you have to don't worry about having to increase the dosage by a bit, it's quite common in the beggining and is usually a one time thing.