Hey I know this has been done before, but I wanted to start another for the newbies, and I had this question:

Is a serotonin drop the same as being depressed? When Adderall wears off, I get depressed as ****. But, I haven't been taking it much lately and I've been more depressed. I'm starting to think Adderall is exacerbating the problem...

Anyone depressed?

I believe Adderall affects dopamine, not serotonin. Depression is a common rebound effect when Adderall is wearing off, but I don't think it's usually long-term. If it's having a negative impact on your mood, it could definitely be doing more harm than good. Have you tried any other meds?

Is a serotonin drop the same as being depressed? When Adderall wears off, I get depressed as ****.

Why are you asking it this way? Did you have some king of test, saying your serotonin levels have dropped (I don't believe there are any such tests)? The serotonin-depression relationship is actually a very fuzzy topic. Most commonly used anti-depressants work by boosting up the serotonin concentration in the brain, and the theory is, that low serotonin causes depression, which consequently can be treated by restoring serotonin levels to "normal" amount. But this is only a theory. I don't know of any successful tests that managed to induce depression to otherwise healthy people by lowering their serotonin content.

As far as Adderall is concerned, I think your depression is more likely because of the way you feel without Adderall - brain fogged, lethargic, no drive, no passion, and not a direct result of the chemical reaction.

Actually depression - serotonin is more along the lines of: the neurotransmitter serotonin is not spending enough time in the gap between axons, so the second axon does not have enough time to take all the seratonin in to keep it passing through the brain. Anti depressents don't boost serotonin levels, they just make the serotonin stay in the gap for longer to be picked up and pass through easier.

As for dopamine and depression. Its known that an increase of dopamine causes hapiness and euphoria,and its believed that maybe a lack of dopamine can cause depression but its not well studied. Stims do pretty much the same as above, but for dopamine, causing a euphoric effect. Complete guess here but I think once the stim has worn off the brain would be lacking in dopamine as it used alot of it up, so therefore holds back more, causing depression. My theory is kinda based on cocaine come downs where the brain is quite drained and takes time to rebalance back to normal.

Sorry, back to your question. Well some ADHD meds are known to cause suicidal thoughts, so its not unlikely that you might get depressed. Perhaps talk to your doc about it.

I think it is important to understand that serotonin is only a theory to explain the causes depression, and it is not a scientificaly proven. The only way it could be proven is if you could induce depression to otherwise healthy individuals by lowering their serotonin concentration in the brain/increasing time serotonin spends between axons. Serotonin may be only a small step in a long chain of reactions or one observable effect out of many others effects that are taking place in brain, but which are not yet understood and/or observed by modern science. But the drugs work for some people.

yeah it is the lack of passion, and I feel like a *******, weirdo, etc. i have the low confidence part of depression. its like, every day now.

i'm also burnt out.

there are prbly other factors more important that serotonin or dopamine levels...such as diet, exercise, sleep quality...etc.etc
is possible a hard drop off is because dose is too high and the brain/body are coming off state that is not normal.....euphoria is NOT a normal state of mind thus it typically means an overexcited state which thus cannot be chemically sustained by the brain.....then the comes the hard drop...is pretty simple actually

You might want to look at a buffer med that makes the crash go smoother. I take Wellbutrin after the last pulse of Adderall has released. It seems to hold the Adderall effect longer, by dopamine and neuroadreneline reuptake inhibition, helps with mood, continued focus and buffers my previous crash. You can look at supplements such as 1600mgs of SAM-e, or L-Tyrosine - both of these enable the creation of the neurotransmitters that minimize depression and mood drop. I heard DLPA was also good. Adderall is known to cause depression in some people as it wears off. This is why it is second-line Antidpressant, and used when all else fails. You are not alone in experiencing this sesaw effect.

Hey I know this has been done before, but I wanted to start another for the newbies, and I had this question:

Is a serotonin drop the same as being depressed? When Adderall wears off, I get depressed as ****. But, I haven't been taking it much lately and I've been more depressed. I'm starting to think Adderall is exacerbating the problem...

Anyone depressed?

Regardless of what we call it, yes, of course. Amphetamine sends you up artificially, and, in this case, what goes up comes down in inverse proportion. That's why people refer to it as a "crash." Stimulant users all come to know this. It's the cost of the ticket.

regardless of what we call it, yes, of course. Amphetamine sends you up artificially, and, in this case, what goes up comes down in inverse proportion. That's why people refer to it as a "crash." stimulant users all come to know this. It's the cost of the ticket.

exactly!!!

While this "cost of the ticket" talk is true to a degree, I'd like to add some qualifiers...

If you are titrated to the right dosage and you are planning your dosing schedule correctly, you can often manage or avoid the crash.

For example, I take a 10mg Adderall IR as soon as I wake up and a 20mg Adderall XR when the 10 is wearing down about 3.5-4.5 hours later. Sometimes I swap the order I take them in or I'll take another XR instead of the IR if I need a long day. The point is, my doctor and I have worked out a doseage setup that often allows me to time the "crash" to my bedtime!

It's important though that you set this up with your doctor, because you don't want to alter your dosing schedule without their consent, especially since you might run out of pills. However, that being said, the IRs are phenomenal because they are indented for ease of splitment. This way you can break a 10mg into two 5mg pills and sort of micro-dose your way through the day.

In any case, you will never be able to avoid the crash entirely, but you can manage it!

Best of luck...