I don't know if I am still on the honeymoon period as I have heard it described here, so I wanted to get some input from people who have been taking adderall for at least a month or so. Btw, I am 21 and just started adderall 2 days ago.

I noticed about an hour or two after my last dose last night (I am taking 10mg 3x a day to start, then I might move onto the prescribed 20mg 2x) that I am a lot more social and talkative than I ever remember being. My parents noticed it too. I also talked a ton in my classes (when there wasn't lecture or quiz etc.) and at times I was actually the center of the conversation which again has never happened to me before.

My friend noticed that my reaction speeds had increased. I didn't notice this til I knocked my waterbottle over and was able to catch it before it when off the table, and actually before it even got close to the edge. I figured this might be the meds since it is basically prescribed speed.

I also feel generally happy. I forgot I had a quiz in my English class the yeterday, and I just kinda shrugged to myself and said it's all good. I went over some handouts calmly for the next few minutes before the quiz and then took the quiz.

My question: Will these symptoms last? I have finals coming up so I will probably be taking adderall for the next couple weeks straight, but I will have a week break when I go on a mini-vacation. How long of breaks do you guys take to keep these side effects alive? They make my life about 10x more enjoyable and I really don't want them to go away.
Anyway, my first dose is starting to kick in and I feel my time would better be spent on homework, so I am going to cut this short. (Hope it isn't too long!)

mike im so happy for you!! I hope things continue to go well for you...

I cant really say how long this will last or whether it will be like this for you always or not. I havent been on meds for over 12 years now but it was like that for me while on adderal..I dont think the feeling of wonderment will last forever as you become used to functioning more normally..

I am sure you will continue to benefit from changes you have found..

katts

Thanks katts! I have literally been on the meds for only 1 whole day and I can already start to see how much better my life could turn out. Not only that, but I can see myself planning for the future, which I have never done.
I hope the happy and social parts last, the reaction speed I could care less about.
Why did you get off the meds? I would like to look into possible psychotherapy so I don't have to be reliant on the meds for the rest of my life, but I guess if I have to, it wouldn't be too bad.
Grrr, back to my paper! <- Lol. Before meds, it took me at least an hour to have that thought cross my mind and if the task looked even remotely difficult, I wouldn't :)

Mike i didnt go off by choice that is for sure..

I went off them because my blood pressure went extremely high, dangerously high...

I had to kind of make a choice be alive to take care of my kids i was a single mom with two teenagers to raise at that point.. now they are grown and doing well and my blood pressure is undercontrol with medication so now I have to find a doctor who not only is willing to treat add but to do so with me despite the blood pressure problems in my past... Im still looking!!

katts

hey mike

I could have made both your posts myself, word for word... except I started it a week ago.

like you, I was wondering how long it would last. I searched posts and some people say there's a honeymoon period, some people say you gain tollerance & have to up the dossage, some people say it flat last for as long as you geet taking them, some people say you need days off from the meds too.

seems like for sure the potential is there for it to last forever, maybe with a slight increas in dossage some day to keep it going.

there's been days when I didn't get enough sleep the night before - I still felt tired even on adderall.

and when I drank too much one night, I still felt hung over the next day.

so, it's not a miracle drug :)

but I also notice that I like people more now, and I feel like working on dumb boring things, and I don't dread getting up in the mornings, and I even noticed I was using bigger words.

that was a funny thing to notice!

and today, sometimes I have to do this task at work where I have to remember a 7 digit number long enough to read it on one screen & type it onto another screen.

today, for the first time ever, I noticed I could almost always remember the whole number at once without having to alt+tab back over to the other screen!

thing is, I'm 38. imagine all the lost years.......

I am sorry johnny! I felt like I had lost a lot of years but obviously you got me beat!

Now that you mention it, I have noticed a better vocabulary on my part. Definitely wasn't expecting that, but I will gladly take it since it makes me sound like a smart a** haha!

Anyway, I will probably take breaks, but right now I can't really afford the breaks because school is almost done and I gotta make up for the work I didn't do.

@Katts, my doctor was telling me about one of the options that lowered BP, and he didn't want to put me on that because my BP was already in the low range. Maybe a google search will help you, or talk to your doc. Hope you find a doc willing to help you out with the ADD. I know how frustrating it can be, especially when you have everyone telling you that all you have to do is put your mind to it! Sometimes those Non-adders just don't get it lol.

Which is another interesting thing, I finally put my dad in his place about that. I was like you might think its just the flip of a switch to get to work, but it really doesn't work that way for me. I was raised not to talk back to adults, so this was kind of a milestone for me. Hopefully from what I have seen other people say, I can talk to adults easier too.

Quick question, I am taking 10mg 3x a day, and I notice that in the morning after my first dose, my ability to focus etc is increased, but not much. I still find it a little hard to work on the paper I am supposed to be working on that is due tomorrow night. Just one more hour and I am taking the next dose and hopefully that will hit the spot... yum (which brings up another thing, my BARR generic adderall has a sort of sickly sweet taste to it... I try and swallow it without tasting it!)

I'm on Barr too, blue pills. I think they taste salty, but maybe i'm just making that up since salt is in the name!

like I was trying to say above, you mind/body still have natural highs and lows based on sleep, diet, stress, etc.

so you won't always feel like you at your peak... but always avoid the temptation to just take enough adderall to get you to your peak no matter what your physical shape.

if you do that, you'll end up addicted & blow the whole thing - they'll never prescribe stims to you again.

Lucky for me, I don't have an addictive personality, I don't do drugs (unless it grows of the ground :) or my doc prescribes it), and I want to keep my tolerance down so I will take the minimum possible to get me to work.
I am keeping on my schedule I made myself since I figured the 20mg 2x a day would be harsh, so I am not gonna take my next 10 til noon. 1 more hour :)
But thanks for the headsup, everyone on here has been freaking awesome!
I do hope my doc doesn't try and put me on straterra this summer. Any recommendations on how to convince him not to if he says he wants to? I was thinking of saying something like I know adderall is working, I have shown I don't abuse it, I would rather stay with tried and true than switching to something that may not work. Sounds good to me lol.

mike remember you are new to this and your meds will most likely require titrating up a bit.. Your doctor knows this if he has experience with treating adhd.. Dont be afraid to tell your doctor how it is working for you honestly and forthrightly!!

Its important that you get the right dose for you..

katts

I'd just tell them you feel like you always thought a person was supposed to feel; like you've always wanted to feel.

That you're kicking butt at school, you don't have social anxiety issues anymore, etc.

basically exactly what you've told us!

if it's working, I don't see the docs trying to switch you.

Well I guess I should have prefaced that (SEE! big word! haha!) with:
I told my doc I only had 3 weeks left of school, so he said not to straterra because it takes to long to start working and months of regulation to get it right.
So it seems like he prefers straterra vs. amphetamines.
But now I am armed with reasons to support these bad boys :)
Thanks again my fellow ADDers!

What you are feeling is all 8 cylinders firing in your brain......(you were on 6) LOL

Don't know much about stratera, my psyco Doctor's first suggestion was Stratera, but I indicated that I prefer medications that have been around a while and have a track record, so she prescribed the Adderall.

As for speaking back to adults goes......now that you are 21 (18-20 doesn't count in my book...sorry) you ARE AN ADULT!!!! Don't "speak back" but "speak your mind" with your dad in a meaningfull conversational tone. He should respect you for it.
Bieng medicated should give you the power to listen to him, without interrupting, and respond to what he said with something relavent.

Ya, thats about what I meant MBD, just couldn't spit it out lol (with the adult thing).

As far as 6 cylinders, if that was the case then 2 of were busted, cause I feel like I jumped to at least twice the power I had before. I guess I could have gone from a 200hp V6 to a big block 320+hp V8 (lol @ keeping the metaphor alive).

Anyway, I had another question, but I can't for the life of me seem to remember it, and it popped in my head as the first dose was starting to wear off, actually a sign to me that it was wearing off and to take the next dose. And what do you know, it was about 11:30 haha. I know I'm weird, and proud of it!

Anyway, one question that did pop in my head, is if anyone with decent experience and at least a year or two on adderall has AIM so I can chat. Its easier for me to quickly jot questions that come to mind in AIM than trying to navigate here. Plus I need to get working on a paper and I can multitask AIM no problem.

If this is against forum rules, then my bad but here is my AIM:
pilotsoftomorrow
And no I am not a pilot in training, but I wanted to be one when I was a kid, had that username for forever!

yeah, and the V6 has some lame cams that wouldn't even let the engine run decently above about 4000 RPM but the V8 is a quad cam high reving monster

Lol, I have a passion for cars, but have never taken the time or focus to try and learn about them, what makes them work, what makes them work even better and faster and more powerful. So I honestly don't know what a cam is, but I really really want to learn!!!!
I have a list of stuff I want to learn/do this summer lol. Now I actually have a better chance of getting some of them done.
Although do you college aged people take you meds during the summer when you don't have class?
If I have a decent job that requires a lot of attention I think I can warrant staying on the meds, otherwise I might not continue them for the summer, but I would like to that's for sure!

When I read the title of your post, my first thought was "Ha, it's your first day, isn't it?"

Not to bring you down, but this is classic euphoria and it won't last. Enjoy it for now, but be prepared for it to fade over the next few weeks. You should still feel a benefit from your medication, but it won't feel like a miracle forever.

Well that's a bummer. Hope the excess sweating goes away too!
That is a side effect I will be happy to see go haha!

Have you asked your Dr. about Adderall XR? I have been on different ADD meds for about 10 years. Mostly Adderall though. I am taking 30 mg of the XR now and have to go up to about 50mg or not take it for a couple of days to resume my "superwoman" mentality. It is a drug that you can develop a tolerance to, so use it wisely. At first, I only took the ADD meds when I had to study, but now it is a daily thing. Like...I am a complete idiot without them.

I also remember taking the generic non extended Adderall...very sweet tasting. It was wierd. About your doc. Just be yourself and tell him/her what is up. You are the patient and it is your body. Be your own advocate.

I don't care what Ruby85 says, I'm maintaining hope that this feeling will last forever. :)

Not everyone experiences the newbie euphoria.

Yes, they will last if you eat healthy, sleep well, and workout. That is my experience.

I barely had the Euphoric phase (maybe 2 days when I first hit 30mg XR) which is fine by me. Never had increased speeds, or anything like that.. lol.

But the Social aspects you have described have been there since day one for me. I'm more confident, and enjoy interaction and discussion in many of my labs at school.

Normally, I spent most of the time counting the minutes left until I could go home and do nothing productive. So for me this is a most welcome effect.