hello, my name is simon. i just discovered this site and so far so good. i am 22 years old and was finally diagnosed with ADD innatentive (sp?) last friday. my phyciatrist started me on adderal the next day. i went with the generic since i dont have insurance. its amphetamine salts 10mg tabs, i guess they are IR since they kind of melt in your mouth. the first day he started me on 5mg 1 time daily. i took it at 6am when i woke up on an epty stomach, went to work, didnt notice anything, the next day was my day off but i took it anyways 5mg AM. didnt notice anything until about noon when i got wicked tired and crashed. called him that night he told me to up my dose to 15Am and 15pm did it the first day was okay, didnt notice much besides a backkache (posture i guess?) and increased HR. also sometimes i get really hot, and i feel like maybe im not breathing enough? not enough oxygen? and i also get an occasional headache, my BP is normal But my HR is about 110. 1 more thing i also get the occasional tingle in my scalp?. the first few night i slept like a baby to. but now i just kind of am sleeping like i normally did. i also still feel restless and not very attentive. its almost like its making my syptoms of the add even more pronounced. my question is, IS this normal?
am i taking to much? should i just keep up with this dose and see if the syptoms subside?
May try going with they Name brand not the generic? i was so hopefull that the meds would help me but they just seem like they are making my problems worse.
any advice would be great
thanks
simon
i would ask my phychiatrist but he charges 300/hour and phonecalls are billed in 15min increments.
any advice would be great.

i also forgot to mention, yesterday it seemed the 15/15 dose was good because i didnt eat anything just drank water all day, does eating/drinking, taking it on a full/empty stomach make a diff, my doc said no but it seems like it does?
as i am writing this i am getting cold sweats also.
simon

Welcome to the place! We like multiple, small paragraphs here a lot btw =)

(Disclaimer: tell everything you said to your doc, etc.)


"i get really hot, and i feel like maybe im not breathing enough? not enough oxygen?"

-that sounds like anxiety. Where are you when it happens? What's on mind?
..-Relax your shoulders and muscles and just lean back. Some times I'm trying to breath quiet even though my body says I should be panting... my poor body...

Anyway, when breathing, really go at it; lift your cheast, give your belly room and broaden your chest. Slightly lower and extend your jaw (pulling the tung away from your breathing hole).


"headache"
-This hurts. It can be caused by muscles in your face being tightened for too long. Maybe it's the breathing too. Massage your face, your jaw, your scalp a bit. I think I have some literature somewhere on the relaxation procedure... Any jaw pain yet? It may set in after a while. Slightly lower and extend. (I think the upper jaw and lower jaw are coded on different chromosomes if you're into biology btw.)

It's also possible that it's related to blood pressure? If you're curious, drive to a walmart and get your BP taken be the old person machine (disinfect it with a rag of alcohol, imo). I think you can just use those.. i don't really know.. bring quarters or something. If your curious I mean.. prolly can wait till you see the doc (but i'm not entirely sure that's necessary).



"cold sweats"
Yeah, same here, you mean your hands and feet are clammy and your underarms are acting like athletes? That happens. If it is warm and fairly dry, you should remove your socks while you're working (over 70 F or so if they're away from drafts). This will prevent athlete's foot and fungus. Also concider some powder called "Anti Monkey Butt Powder" but I haven't gotten around to ordering any so idk if it's helpful.


"full/empty stomach make a diff"
Yes, the forums seem to know a lot more than your doc about this stuff, I think psychs know it a little better.

Recently I've been skipping breakfast until ~4:00PM (waking at 10:00AM), and that yields a productive day. A couple weeks before I was doing things different, I don't think it's bad to take it before cerial and milk (but who knows).

Citrus makes the pills do nothing. It prevents absorption. I think after the pill is digested you're free to enjoy citrus, but not before you take the pills, and not while you take them. I'd avoid fruit drinks and such until it's late at night when it doesn't matter anymore.


"ADD innatentive (sp?)"
Good point, wtf are all the crazy ADD classifications? If anyone has a link to a complete page of them plz post.


Additional note: Make a folder somewhere safe and secret on your hard drive (named "journals"). Make a .txt / .doc named "My drug history." Firmilurize yourself with timestamps (hit F5 in notepad, or click "insert date and time" on the Quick Access Bar for word '07). Concider placing a shortcut to it on your desktop / start menu / etc for convienience. Now you have a place to put all your notes so you can keep track of things. Write down how good you think you are at reading / listening to lectures to establish a base line. You may find that pills can make you forget and loose track of the oddest things. Oh, also put down how shy you think you are.

"Am I taking too much?"
Probably not, I'm taking 40mg, I think 60mg is considered to be a "high dose." Definatly don't titrate up until you get a hold on the headaches.

"backkache"
This may be linked to caffine. It may be linked to Magnesium deficiency. Regardless, you should cut caffine from your diet because it changes how stims work; Then put it back in, and see which way is best for you.



...on headaches

To make your head ache go away massage your face, jaw, scalp, and neck. Pay close attention to your jaw and getting it relaxed. Use gentle circular motions or figure eights. Try to relax your whole body as you do this. Try to act sleepy as you massage. Slacken your facial expression and ‘dim your eyes’. The jaw’s relaxation is most critical; there’s an important nerve or something that gets cut off from over tension.

Bah, I forgot to mention fish oil. http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Made-Maximum-Strength-Omega-3/dp/B000CCY9OE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1233361493&sr=8-4
after a month of taking that (no sooner =/) and Vitamin C you may notice drastic improvements in your ability to think clearly. There's some threads around the forum about it search: omega-3 OR fish oil. It's got something like 0 side effects and is way cheaper; it's not quite as strong as stims though.

Just my opinion here, but if it's that unpleasant for you, especially if it's not helping your symtpoms, then Adderall may not be the drug for you.

I take the generic, and I have almost no unpleasant side effects, while at the same time seeing a lot of benefit.

However, before I started Adderall, my doc made me try Concerta. It was horrific - absolutely awful side effects while at the same time not helping at all. I quit after one day. It seemed to me then, and still does now, that if a drug gives you bad side effects AND does not help, then there really is no point.