Hi Everyone, I'm new here! I am 18 years old and just diagnosed with ADHD today, and prescribed Adderall XR 20mg. I am not currently in school, and go to work at 1 which is where I have had the most problems with ADHD. My dr told me to take it just before I leave for work, so I did. My day at work was fine, I seemed more relaxed, like my brain didnt have as much going on which was great, but I was also very wired. After work at around 11 I was at home watching a movie and got very tired, I went to lay down, but as soon as I close my eyes, they "shake". It's hard to explain, kinda of like twitches but just all over the place and constant and doesn't stop. Has anyone else experienced this? Will this go away? I still feel wired, and its 2:30 in the morning. Is that normal too?

One other thing, my doctor told me not to take it on the days I dont work, which would be 3 days out of the week. Would that make my transition to getting used to the drug harder?

Thank you everyone!

I experienced that the first week or two as well. It should go away.
I think it will be a good thing if you can just take it on those work days, but you will probably find yourself wanting to take it on those off days.

thank you for replying! im glad im not having some time of severe symptoms or anything. its now the next morning, and i slept for a grand total of 4 hours, yet i just woke up no problem and have tons of energy. this is some weird stuff huh?

yeah, its weird. I'm not saying that eye thing isn't a sign of something bad, but its probably common. I have always had sensative eyes. I get headaches behind my eyes sometimes; When I push slightly on my eyelids its sore, like there is pressure.

Yeah, sometimes I'll get to sleep and in the morning the meds resume where they left off. I try not to wait as long as possible to take my dose in the morning, cause once I take it, I just think about when I can take my next dose. Then, if it wears off, I feel like I can't do my schoolwork without it. Thats an illusion though. I hate feeling dependent.

I was on adderall XR a while back, if you are still really awake when you go to sleep at night maybe it's lasting a lot longer than normal.

What I'm trying to say is, after you take it for a few times, you will learn about how long it takes to kick in, how long it last, when you know it wears off, etc. Like for me, it kicks in pretty quickly and i feel its mostly out of my system 8 hours later. Maybe if it lasts longer for you, take it a few hours before work, it should still be effective when you're at work and probably be mostly out of your system by time you want to go to bed.

Once you learn more how it affects your body you will be able to tweak it a little to a point where it will allow you to sleep. If all else fails he could possibly prescribe something for sleep, im on ambien and its amazing. goodluck bro, u can feel free to email me with any questions or whatever, ive been on everything.

The "shaking" eyes might be a sign that your eyes are dry, which can be caused by the adderall, just like dry mouth. Your eyes are probably just trying to make more tears, hence the shaking feeling.

I don't know why your doc told you to take the meds in the afternoon, unless you like to be up until the sun rises! I took mine once at 2pm and I was up all night! Try taking them earlier, like 10am, and see if that doesn't help.

Also, no problem with taking days off, even at first - my doc told me to do it. There's no waiting period like there is with antidepressants or other medications because adderall's so quick acting.

Good luck, friend! :)

the eye thing makes sense! and yeah, it confused me that he told me to take it so late, so when i take it tommorow im gonna try taking it an hour or so earlier..hopefully that will help. i litterally got about 3 and a half hours of sleep last night, and couldnt sleep AT ALL today for a nap or anything, and i didnt even take more today! thanks for your help =)

thank you so much for your help! yeah, im gonna try taking it earlier tommorow and see if that helps. the other thing i thought is maybe the dose is too high? isnt it kinda weird for a doctor to start someone out on 20 mg, or is that normal? i guess only time will tell!

They gave me 20, too, but I decided to start with 10, then increase by 5's until I got a good enough effect with little side effects. I find that 15mg first thing in the morning is working pretty good for me, but, no - 20's not too much. Just try easing up to it. :)

Best wishes!

i cant ease up to it because it is just the 20 mg XR, so its only one pill. but i took it today, a little earlier than i did the other day, and i could tell at work when it was wearing off, and right now i dont feel wired like i did the first day. I think I will sleep fine tonight!

yeah from the first post I feel like either the dose was too high or it was taken too late in the day, which would def explain it keeping you awake, when I first started I was taking 15mg XR in the morning which would last a good 6-7 hours for me at the time, then 10mg IR in the afternoon/evening, I found if I took the 10mg IR anytime past 4 o'clockish it would probably interfere with my sleep

If I were you I would time how many hours it has an effect on you then make sure to never take it past that time where it'll affect your sleep, which I do now

thanks for your help! i took it earlier today and yesterday, and it seems better. i can tell when it wears off while i am at work, about 7-8 hours after i take it. I think the first day was just worse cuz my body didn't really know how to react to it or something. But I am definitely gonna play around with the timing until i find one that works great!