Hey guys/gals. I'm new to the forum, and thought i'd post my current situation to get some of your input from experience etc.

I'm a 20 year old male. I'm approx 5'10" and weigh ~118lbs. (I've always been thin, am a picky eater, it's not an eating disorder or anything, pretty sure it's genetic.)

Anyways, i guess i'll start from a few years ago. In my later high school years, i noticed it took a lot of work to get good grades. I never caught on easily, i always had to go the extra mile to do what my peers were doing, i never got HW right away, got B's and a few C's.... Never really thought of ADHD, just thought it was laziness and thought i'd be ok if i just tried harder.

In sept '07 i started college, and it was a disaster. I had moved away from home (from being an only child living with my parents) into a house with two other kids. I couldn't tolerate my classes. They were boring, difficult, i couldn't pay attention (and i mean COULDN'T, not just being lazy), i couldn't pass anything. I disowned my friends out of frustration, I was miserable. I was away from my girlfriend of three years, only came home for 2 days a week to see her and my family. I ended up failing all but two of my classes that first year, and i started seeing a psychologist to discuss my possible depression (which i was indeed going through).

At first my psychologist and i thought i had depression. She put me on some anti-depressant drug (don't remember the name of it). A few months after, i had dropped out of school and moved back home because i wasn't accomplishing anything, i felt like crap. Since i was back home, i started feeling better. I didn't have any stresses of school, being away from my girlfriend, so i started feeling better and stopped taking the anti-depressant thinking i was cured (which i think i was, of at least the depression).

I still kept seeing my psy. though... A few months later, i started school again (thinking i was healed) but a different school in an easier major. I lived at home and commuted daily. I started with only 3 classes vs the 5 i was taking before.

Same thing happened. I couldn't focus in class, i just got so BORED i wanted nothing to do with it, i had no motivation. I started skipping classes, would wake up and find ANY excuse not to go.

Ended up failing all three classes.

Started seeing another psychologist/psychiatrist at this point (didn't like the old one)... I explained to this new lady what i'd been going through. she thought this was an anxiety problem. She prescribed me Paxil.

I started noticing extreme agitation, irritability, it was awful (not to mention decrease in sexual, uh.. "capabilities").... So she stopped me on that drug and started me on Effexor (which she explained was in a different category of anxiety meds).

Did the same thing. Was very irritable, didn't want to deal with anything.

Started seeing another doctor. I went through a 4 hr "evaluation", part of it was an IQ test, block test, ink blot test etc.

Results came out as ADHD and Bi-polar 2. First i'd ever thought of these.

My mother (very opinionated.... ugh) immediately ruled out bi-p. She told the new doctor that it was incorrect, that i could "not possibly" have that. She just doesn't like the idea i guess. she's a 4th grade teacher, she gets something in her head and that's that.

Anyways, this new doc has prescribed me 10mg of adderall daily.

I started taking a summer course, i'm currently in my second week. The first day i didn't take the adderall, and it was horrible. I was miserable, couldn't concentrate, i just couldn't wait to get out of class. Didn't get a single thing out of it, didn't wanna be there, didn't want to socialize, just hated it.

Second day, i took 10mg that morning around 8am and had class at 6:30pm. It was amazing! I was in a good mood, could finally pay attention, interacted with the professor (asked questions etc) helped other people in the class, i just felt great and did my work no q's asked.

But when i got home that night, i couldn't fall asleep. I was awake the whole night, didn't sleep at all.

Following morning i took another adderall at 11am to keep me up. Had class 630pm that night, it was fine. I had energy, i could pay attention, it was great.
That night, didn't get much sleep, but may have gotten a few hours between 5am and 10am.

Decided not to take adderall the following day since i couldn't sleep. That night i slept ok.

Didn't take another adderall until Tuesday of this week since i had class at night. class was great, i was attentive, participated, had energy. but again, slept like crap.

I felt like my brain didn't stop. I just kept looking for things to do. I couldn't calm my brain down...

so today i decided to take a half pill, so 5mg of the adderall.

No difference whatsoever. Energy still present, no change. And also, i have no interest in sleeping. It's almost midnight and i can promise i won't be sleepy in an hour either...

So i've been doing a little research tonight. I'm reading stories of people who are taking adderall along with other medications such as "abilify" and "seroquel" to help them calm themselves down when it comes time to sleep. I'm also reading these medications, such as abilify and especially seroquel are helpful in treating bi-polar and mania (which i apparently have)!!

If you ask me, i think i do have some sort of bi-polar disorder. I've always been a moody person. One minute one mood, the next a totally different mood. I have little tolerance. I am picky. I can't have my food touching. If the food's not what i want the way i want it, i'd rather not eat. I don't care for other people in general... I have a few friends, but can't stand being with them for more than 5 hrs at a time w/o getting irritated. I do the same thing to my girlfriend, but not as badly.

And i'm REALLY noticing an increase in irritability etc now that i'm on the adderall, but only when it wears off. Late at night, my mood changes considerably when the adderall looses some effect. I get easily agitated, irritable, i snap at people for little things. I have HORRIBLE road rage. I've always been a little irritable, but now i REALLY notice it. I notice a SUDDEN increase in heart rate when i get "agitated", it's a very quick transition. I can be perfectly fine one second, then the next heart racing ANGRY.

So do you think a combination of adderall and seroquel (or equiv) might be a good idea for me?

I have an apt with my doc this Friday, but my parents are supposed to come too (we got a 45min session...). I HATE when my mom's there because she always voices her opinion (even though she has NO medical education) and probably scares the doctor! I know if i bring this up, about the bi-p thing, my mom will interrupt and say, "No, no, no he does not have that." Sometimes i seriously want to choke her.

Feeling the irritability? lol

Ahh ok, so that's that. Please share your opinions!! Sorry for the long post, there's just so much!

Things i want to add:

-I do not smoke cigarettes.
-I do not drink alcohol, not even a little (honestly don't like the taste, and i don't socialize)...
-I do not drink coffee (again, hate the taste)...neither soda, gross.
-I've had all the bloodwork to test for mal-nutrition etc, all normal surprisingly.
-No history of bad heart or illnesses in family, but father does have anxiety...

Thanks guys!! Please opinions, help!

-Chris

okay if you ruled out drugs and alcohol, you are just probably VERY sensitive to stimulants.


you are 5'10" male @ 118 pounds. you are very light weight for your size... i think you might even be underweight.

i have a really skinny friend that if he even takes a 5mg adderall he'll be up for 2 days, undoubtedly metabolism related.

so you have two options i think.

--take the adderall DAILY. first few days you might not sleep a wink, but eventually your body will catch on and you'll start sleeping, probably a lot harder than you think. it will be rough to go without sleep the first few days but you'll make it.

--the second would be to switch to Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine) some dr's do not like prescribing it, why? i'm not 100% sure, it was abused a lot during the 50's and 60's when it was one of the most commonly written prescriptions (it was kind of a panacea drug for any mental disorder, or anyone who just needed an extra kick during the day) so it has a "stigma" attached to it, many dr.s aren't even aware that adderall is 75% dexedrine anyways. (a psychiatrist however should be) the 25% addition of levo-amphetamine is highly activating to your body's adrenaline system, while the dextro-amphetamine portion acts primarily on dopamine receptors in the prefrontal cortex of your brain.

dexedrine is far less "energizing" than adderall in fact i can take a 5mg tablet and go right to sleep. that being said the first few days you might still have a little trouble sleeping but it won't be nearly as pronounced as the adderall.


in my opinion, if you can get your dr. to give you a trial with dexedrine you will sleep a lot better.

oh and the third option is always ritalin (methylphenidate) or focalin (dexmethylphenidate). if you can afford it i'd say give focalin a try.

ritalin and focalin have a much shorter half-life (2-4 hours vs. 12+ hours for amphetamines) and is therefore out of your system much quicker. amphetamines linger in your system for a very long time, 12 hours after your last dose you still have half of that dose in your blood stream and 1/4 of your first dose.

this is usually beneficial because it doesn't cause the dramatic ups and downs that methylphenidate does, but in your case it may be problematic since you can't sleep at night...

Hey guys/gals. I'm new to the forum, and thought i'd post my current situation to get some of your input from experience etc.

I'm a 20 year old male. I'm approx 5'10" and weigh ~118lbs. (I've always been thin, am a picky eater, it's not an eating disorder or anything, pretty sure it's genetic.)

Anyways, i guess i'll start from a few years ago. In my later high school years, i noticed it took a lot of work to get good grades. I never caught on easily, i always had to go the extra mile to do what my peers were doing, i never got HW right away, got B's and a few C's.... Never really thought of ADHD, just thought it was laziness and thought i'd be ok if i just tried harder.

In sept '07 i started college, and it was a disaster. I had moved away from home (from being an only child living with my parents) into a house with two other kids. I couldn't tolerate my classes. They were boring, difficult, i couldn't pay attention (and i mean COULDN'T, not just being lazy), i couldn't pass anything. I disowned my friends out of frustration, I was miserable. I was away from my girlfriend of three years, only came home for 2 days a week to see her and my family. I ended up failing all but two of my classes that first year, and i started seeing a psychologist to discuss my possible depression (which i was indeed going through).

At first my psychologist and i thought i had depression. She put me on some anti-depressant drug (don't remember the name of it). A few months after, i had dropped out of school and moved back home because i wasn't accomplishing anything, i felt like crap. Since i was back home, i started feeling better. I didn't have any stresses of school, being away from my girlfriend, so i started feeling better and stopped taking the anti-depressant thinking i was cured (which i think i was, of at least the depression).

I still kept seeing my psy. though... A few months later, i started school again (thinking i was healed) but a different school in an easier major. I lived at home and commuted daily. I started with only 3 classes vs the 5 i was taking before.

Same thing happened. I couldn't focus in class, i just got so BORED i wanted nothing to do with it, i had no motivation. I started skipping classes, would wake up and find ANY excuse not to go.

Ended up failing all three classes.

Started seeing another psychologist/psychiatrist at this point (didn't like the old one)... I explained to this new lady what i'd been going through. she thought this was an anxiety problem. She prescribed me Paxil.

I started noticing extreme agitation, irritability, it was awful (not to mention decrease in sexual, uh.. "capabilities").... So she stopped me on that drug and started me on Effexor (which she explained was in a different category of anxiety meds).

Did the same thing. Was very irritable, didn't want to deal with anything.

Started seeing another doctor. I went through a 4 hr "evaluation", part of it was an IQ test, block test, ink blot test etc.

Results came out as ADHD and Bi-polar 2. First i'd ever thought of these.

My mother (very opinionated.... ugh) immediately ruled out bi-p. She told the new doctor that it was incorrect, that i could "not possibly" have that. She just doesn't like the idea i guess. she's a 4th grade teacher, she gets something in her head and that's that.

Anyways, this new doc has prescribed me 10mg of adderall daily.

I started taking a summer course, i'm currently in my second week. The first day i didn't take the adderall, and it was horrible. I was miserable, couldn't concentrate, i just couldn't wait to get out of class. Didn't get a single thing out of it, didn't wanna be there, didn't want to socialize, just hated it.

Second day, i took 10mg that morning around 8am and had class at 6:30pm. It was amazing! I was in a good mood, could finally pay attention, interacted with the professor (asked questions etc) helped other people in the class, i just felt great and did my work no q's asked.

But when i got home that night, i couldn't fall asleep. I was awake the whole night, didn't sleep at all.

Following morning i took another adderall at 11am to keep me up. Had class 630pm that night, it was fine. I had energy, i could pay attention, it was great.
That night, didn't get much sleep, but may have gotten a few hours between 5am and 10am.

Decided not to take adderall the following day since i couldn't sleep. That night i slept ok.

Didn't take another adderall until Tuesday of this week since i had class at night. class was great, i was attentive, participated, had energy. but again, slept like crap.

I felt like my brain didn't stop. I just kept looking for things to do. I couldn't calm my brain down...

so today i decided to take a half pill, so 5mg of the adderall.

No difference whatsoever. Energy still present, no change. And also, i have no interest in sleeping. It's almost midnight and i can promise i won't be sleepy in an hour either...

So i've been doing a little research tonight. I'm reading stories of people who are taking adderall along with other medications such as "abilify" and "seroquel" to help them calm themselves down when it comes time to sleep. I'm also reading these medications, such as abilify and especially seroquel are helpful in treating bi-polar and mania (which i apparently have)!!

If you ask me, i think i do have some sort of bi-polar disorder. I've always been a moody person. One minute one mood, the next a totally different mood. I have little tolerance. I am picky. I can't have my food touching. If the food's not what i want the way i want it, i'd rather not eat. I don't care for other people in general... I have a few friends, but can't stand being with them for more than 5 hrs at a time w/o getting irritated. I do the same thing to my girlfriend, but not as badly.

And i'm REALLY noticing an increase in irritability etc now that i'm on the adderall, but only when it wears off. Late at night, my mood changes considerably when the adderall looses some effect. I get easily agitated, irritable, i snap at people for little things. I have HORRIBLE road rage. I've always been a little irritable, but now i REALLY notice it. I notice a SUDDEN increase in heart rate when i get "agitated", it's a very quick transition. I can be perfectly fine one second, then the next heart racing ANGRY.

So do you think a combination of adderall and seroquel (or equiv) might be a good idea for me?

I have an apt with my doc this Friday, but my parents are supposed to come too (we got a 45min session...). I HATE when my mom's there because she always voices her opinion (even though she has NO medical education) and probably scares the doctor! I know if i bring this up, about the bi-p thing, my mom will interrupt and say, "No, no, no he does not have that." Sometimes i seriously want to choke her.

Feeling the irritability? lol

Ahh ok, so that's that. Please share your opinions!! Sorry for the long post, there's just so much!

Things i want to add:

-I do not smoke cigarettes.
-I do not drink alcohol, not even a little (honestly don't like the taste, and i don't socialize)...
-I do not drink coffee (again, hate the taste)...neither soda, gross.
-I've had all the bloodwork to test for mal-nutrition etc, all normal surprisingly.
-No history of bad heart or illnesses in family, but father does have anxiety...

Thanks guys!! Please opinions, help!

-Chris

welcome aboard...enjoy your stay

yes:) it is a long post...its great that you jump right in...

please ask your doc for advice...he knows you best