Adderall and dizzy?

[coolwoman]

I take 10mg of Adderall 2x day. I have had some problems with dizziness and feeling like I have on a tight headband. On another forum I read that someone else was having dizziness from long-acting Adderall.
I am eating well so not due to low blood sugar.
Anyone else having these symptoms?

[paulbf]

I had the tight headband effect from ritalin & adderall. Neither was much help for me and made me more obsessive. If you are similar to me, you might think about an antidepressant in combination.

[kimo]

I've had only slight dizziness from 10 mg XR (once a day). I also take Lexapro and Wellbutrin. But I don't think I've had that tight headband feeling you speak of. But Wellbutrin can give you a headache as a side effect so I assume that is what causes my on and off headaches.

[coolwoman]

Paul, I also take Zoloft, Anafranil, and small dose of Desyrel (to help me sleep). I think the Adderall is helping me get things done. Since I've taken these other meds for almost 5 years, I'm assuming it's the addition of the Adderall that is contributing to dizziness.

[coolwoman]

I posted about Adderall and dizziness a while back. For the past few months I've been on Adderall XR 15 mg. The dizziness seems to happen more so when I'm working, especially standing up in front of a class teaching. I wasn't aware of any dizziness when I was on the break between semesters or on weekends. I almost feel like my blood pressure gets too low when I'm standing and causes dizziness. It actually may not be related to the Adderall at all. I have had periods of dizziness many times over the years and I usually attribute it to various things, including whether I've eaten recently, stress, etc.
Today I started on 10mg of XR instead of 15mg. I also take 75 mg of Trazodone (Desyrel) to help me sleep. A while back my doctor suggested that I may want to try to cut that out. Last night I didn't take it, and couldn't sleep, so I got up 3+ after going to bed, took the Trazodone, and slept this morning until 11:30 which is late for even me (I usually get up about 9am on weekends). My 2 dogs usually wake me up, but if they had tried, they must have given up and gone back to sleep. I was almost 2 hrs. late giving my dog his insulin.

[Gregster]

That effect - dizziness when standing - is called orthostatic hypo-tension. I don't think that Adderall causes that at all - it increases BP. People have reported dizziness from Adderall, but not that type. Some of the other drugs you take could have caused orthostatic hypotension - Zoloft did that to me. Your doctor or pharmacist may be able to shed some light on the side effects seen with people taking your combination of drugs.

[coolwoman]

Greg, I looked at side effects of Zoloft and Adderall, and only Adderall indicates dizziness as a side effect. Zoloft indicates dizziness only as a sign of an allergic reaction. I also take Anafranil which also has dizziness as a side effect, as does Trazodone. So, 3 out of my 4 meds do indicate dizziness and taking more than 1 med with a specific side effect does increase the chance of having that side effect. So, I guess I'm beat, since those 3 meds are helping me a whole lot. Maybe the 10mg of Adderall, rather than 15mg, will decrease the dizziness.

[Gregster]

From the product monographs/physician info sheets - Adderall had a 2% incidence of dizziness vs 0% for the placebo, and Zoloft had a 11.7% incidence of Dizziness vs 6.7% for the placebo. Neither listed any kind of allergic reaction, which would be very rare for either kind of medication. It could be that the dizziness isn't related to any of the medications you take, particularly if it's the "standing up quickly" kind of dizziness which is more the result of low blood pressure and a temporary shortage of blood to the brain than it is to a drug reaction (I think) - have you ever been know to "faint"?
Hopefully you and your doctor will be able to figure this problem out and make any changes (if necessary) to your meds, the dose or the time you take them.
Good luck,
Greg

[coolwoman]

Greg, I'm surprised that the info I received from the pharmacy did not indicate that dizziness was a side effect of Zoloft.
I am also on Lipitor and dizziness is listed as the first side effect. Last weekend, I decided to take only half of the prescribed dosage of Lipitor and I've decreased the Adderall XR from 15 mg to 10 mg and am feeling better. I'm not concerned about taking less Lipitor because it seems to be very effective in reducing my cholesterol which dropped from 293 to 193 in about 3 months. Also, my good cholesterol has always been at a good level.

[MindResearcher]

Thanks greg you hit it on the spot. But isnt this caused more by the Norepinpephrine resease causing the high HR. I Know adderall is about even in Da release and NE release. When I was on Desipramine, A pure NE agonist, about the strongest IV noticed in the PSYCh book, along with reboxitine, My Pulse was at lease 20 BPM higher and when id work out, it shot up so high, i had to catch a breath and my head fealt like pins and needles, i guess the "head band" effect.

Ya i notice this alot, when i go up to the book store, when your bending up and down for books, i must have had 20 headrushes, once or twice almost falling over!!. IMagine if you held your breathe! NOT RECOMMENDED!
geno

[gingagirl]

My younger sister, my mother, my maternal grandmother and I all have occasional dizzy spells --we're just a bunch of dizzy broads.

I'm not frequently dizzy, but have bouts a 3 - 4 times per year. I'm more likely to have dizzy spells when I haven't gotten enough sleep for a few days in a row. You mentioned that you usually don't feel sleepy on the weekends ...is it possible that you don't get enough sleep during the work week? Since you take several meds that have dizziness as a side effect, I'm sure sleep deprivation isn't "the" cause, but it might be contributing.

[coolwoman]

I saw my psychiatrist today. She said she has a few adult relatives who couldn't tolerate the Adderall XR because of dizziness. It seems that this is often a side effect of XR and apparently not the short-acting Adderall. I am now going to try 5mg of the XR and 5mg of the short-acting. Hopefully, this will work.
As for whether I get enough sleep during the week, I think I do, I get about 8 hours. For the past 5 1/2 yrs. I've taken Trazodone to help me sleep. My doctor has suggested that this may cause a tired feeling in the morning. I tried not taking it at all a few weeks ago and couldn't sleep. Doc suggested that since I've been on it for so long, I may need to decrease it gradually so I'm going to try to do that.
Often the dizziness occurs after I've been really pushing myself to get ready for classes I teach and then I get dizzy during class. I need to work on pacing myself better and remember to breathe.