I have been taking 20mg XR for about 3 months consistently, but have taken Adderall in many other forms for over a year. My life has been a mess lately, especially mentally. I decided yesterday to try and take one 20mg capsule and half of another 20mg capsule. I also did this today. I have had consistent levels of attention and organization doing this, and I can really see my life as a college student becoming much easier to manage, as well as my mental health, if this continues to work. I had great success with 30mg XR when I first began college education but after a while I was taking two capsules a day, the medicine stopped giving me consistent effects throughout the day, and I began feeling exhausted and nauseas to the point of missing class.

Questions:

*Is the half pill addition really responsible for such improvement? I thought a higher dose would just increase the effects, yet still follow the inconsistent level of effect which I feel all day. But is it possible for higher doses to fix the problem of inconsistent focus all day?

*One last thing, I have noticed many of you talk about opening many tabs at once in your internet browsers. I tend to do this MORE often while I am on Adderall...and you guys make it sound like opening a buncha tabs is classic ADD, so if that is the case...does that mean the Adderall is not working for me or is not right for me?

I rarely do this when I am not on Adderall, but I did frequently around the time I was diagnosed close to two years ago, I was even into computer glitches and hacking etc... staying up for days glued to the screen. That all ended when I started missing highschool classes, I think I was just so stressed being undiagnosed and having to deal with school staff and parents on my case 24/7 calling me lazy etc. I ended up dropping out... blah, I am describing my demise here. The Adderall, I feel, motivates me to open those tabs and search for that information. Without Adderall I just don't have any intentions of opening a bunch of tabs. While on Adderall I am also more likely to check email, post on forums, join new forums, etc.. I just get so involved with things. I mean, is this normal for an inattentive ADD person taking this drug to experience this? (probably is)


Sorry to add on more (lol), just disregard this or tell me if I should post it in another thread. Anyways,... you know how we all say everybody has symptoms of ADD or does ADD things but not as bad as people who actually have it? Well, I have noticed lately I am always ******* messing with something in my hands, or kicking my feet, shaking my arm, tapping my fingers, ......I am beginning to think I might be developing hyperactivity or am just now really noticing it, but how do I know if it is your average hyperactivity or if its related to my ADD-I?

I have never even considered myself to be hyperactive at all, but after noticing how much I was really moving in class I began paying more attention at home like when I am just on my computer, and I notice I do similar stuff here too. It only gets 'kind of' annoying in class, and it might annoy or adgitate others around me outside of class but it doesn't really bother me. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to fix anything that isn't broken, though if hyperactivity is responsible for my constant desire for relaxation, (mentally-racing thoughts/brain chatter and physically-stressed muscles, strains, overall discomfort) then maybe I could finally relieve myself of this desire through alternate/additional treatment. I know it is unlikely hyperactivity is responsible for my constant desire for relaxation, even if it was I think I would have already noticed relief from taking Adderall all this time. I just want to know as much as I can so I can help myself as much as I can....ya diggggg.


Thanks for reading all of that, and thank you even more in advance for any responses. :)

I'm going to be honest here, I didn't actually fully read your whole post. It sounds, from the gist of things, like you need to ask your doctor about upping your dose. Just explain to him/her exactly what you've explained here, and they will (hopefully) make a good decision.


*One last thing, I have noticed many of you talk about opening many tabs at once in your internet browsers. I tend to do this MORE often while I am on Adderall...and you guys make it sound like opening a buncha tabs is classic ADD, so if that is the case...does that mean the Adderall is not working for me or is not right for me?

I've noticed this happening too sometimes, but what makes such a big difference between when I was unmedicated and now is that I actually follow up on these tabs, and close them at almost the same rate as I opened them. After finishing "The Lost Symbol", the latest Dan Brown novel, I went on a crazy wiki/google rampage, and had a dozen tabs open, but I actually went through them instead of reading one or two and getting sidetracked or closing the browser. Not really that important of a subject, but I thought I'd comment on it.

PS: After reading a little closer into your first question, I'd say it sounds like you need an IR booster, which is pretty common. I'm not sure if splitting XR is commonplace, I had the impression it was usually discouraged. Look up "IR Booster" in the search bar and read up on it.

IR is too edgy for me, I would get headaches and feel speedy and manic.

I am afraid to up dose to 30mg because of how sick it makes me feel, and how much it destroys my appetite.

Are you inattentive or combined type? This is Important.

i was diagnosed inattentive....... but who knows anymore

i was diagnosed inattentive. im always jitteringaround in my seat but it might be made worse by adderall in general and since im on it daily now i can only say its annoying and a small small issue while medicated. so they cud of missed hyperactiveness or i may not have it since i usually just lay around in thought all day until i take my adderall

Maybe adderall isn't for you. Ask your doctor about some of the other stimulant medications, like Dexedrine, Vyvanse, Ritalin/Concerta...

I took Ritalin before Adderall and it was ok at first, but I realized that it gave me more physical energy than focus, and it would make me wicked irritable. Too bad though, I was kickin' *** at Call of Duty when I was on it. And an animal in the sack ;)

Dexedrine and Vyvanse are really similar to Adderall chemically though, just without the l-amphetamine. Look it up :)

i have tried concerta and stratterra and both i had to quit because of side effects. im starting to think i might have been misdaignosed or i have other problems. unless its the adderall making something worse. idk.

Adderall makes me want to stay on the internet more too unfortunately, I can be on the computer for several hours and not even realize how much time has passed.

As far as the multiple tabs thing, I don't identify with most ADDer's when it comes to that. I hate clutter, and for me multiple tabs = clutter (too much for my brain to handle). I seldom have more than two tabs open at one time, and if I open a third one I will close one of my first ones.