Coming down from Adderall

[domo-kun]

Blah. Right now I'm at the end of the evening and the end of my dosage. One of the annoyances of this med is the "drain" when it wears out. You're tired but a little wired. I'm pretty drained out but there's still some meds left in me to keep me going for a little bit more.

[Echo]

Yea, as Tom Petty says "coming down is the hardest part". And he should know!

I was on 30 mg of adderal a day and really disliked the way it made me feel in the evenings (as it wore off). I would feel slightly depressed, withdrawn, tired and yet slightly wired. The transition from work to home sucked. The period between 5pm and bed in my home is dominated by two very "spirited " preschoolers!

I asked my doc. to drop the dose to 10 mg a day. This certainly has reduced the negative effects. I also go straight to the gym from work and workout before going home. This gives me time to transition.

[domo-kun]

I may switch to Strattera but I'm waiting to hear more on its effectiveness on adult non-hyperactive ADD.

[Andrew]

Admin's note: Head over to the Strattera discussion string

http://www.addforums.com/forums/foru...php?forumid=91

[PrettyPerfect]

hey hey guess what adhd people can get seriously addicted to adderall
and stratera made me insane

[joanrdtobe]

Hi PrettyPerfect: I LOVE your avatar...anyway, in what way did Strattera make you insane? Just curious as to how you mean....

[Barbette]

I need to know too ! I go to the VA Hospital and they don't carry Strattera and she is currently going through channels to get a special order for me. If approved I will be the first patient there to receive it. The board of psychiatrists there all agreed I was a perfect candidate to try this new medication on. I have been doing all the reading up I can find, but not alot out there yet.

[wadew]

Hey there I would love to know more about straterra and how its been working with everyone. I just got off adderol cause it made me wanna climb the wall but yet i had energy. Now im off of it and now i cant seem to get up!

[Wheel1975]

Originally posted by domo-kun
Blah. Right now I'm at the end of the evening and the end of my dosage. One of the annoyances of this med is the "drain" when it wears out. You're tired but a little wired. I'm pretty drained out but there's still some meds left in me to keep me going for a little bit more.

The Dexidrine in it can keep me from getting to sleep well. it last onger than the methylphenidate also in Adderall.


good luck timing your doses, and shaping the quantity you take at the time you take it.

[xdxcx]

Come down off these medications is similar to the street version... It really sucks... and this is probably the worst thing about it. Depression can really kick in by the end of the day... I've had great results with Adderall in the short time that I took it... but the come down was hell. I'm thinking some sort of Anti-D with Adderall might do the trick.

The come down can be SO bad at times.... that I can Honestly tell myself... "Ok, looks like that time of day is coming up, and that I'm going to get a little depressed... So lets hang tight through the next few hours".

Doesn't matter how much I coach myself... the drop point is so bad, that I'm telling myself this is all due to drug wearing off, but I'm still down in the dumps.

Im 27 yrs old. Imagine what your child has to go through... he/she doesn't know what depression is... so to have a child go through a come down must really suck. And it would be hard for your child to explain that they feel like hell.... It would just be a part of them feeling miserable and not wanting to talk to you or just agreeing with you to be left alone.

[see7towers]

Wow , I haven't expierienced a come down off adderall Xr like that at all ..
I come off it pretty smoothly except for certain times of the month I may get a little irratible ..
I fall asleep around 12 am which is usual for me , At first when I started taking the drug it was hard to fall asleep , then my body adjusted and sleeping and eating went back to normal about 2 months into treatment ..
Everybodys chemistry is different it seems ..

[spindle]

I HATE IT. I had to go off of it because it drove me insane.

[Flamin Mo]

Today was my first day on Adderall XR (25mg). I kinda felt like it wore off in stages. Around 1pm, I didn't feel as 'wired' as I did in the morning. Around 2.30pm, I started to get a slight headache (not sure if this was the Adderall, or the fact that I hadn't drunk coffee or smoked all day) Around 3.30, I started to get that 'tired but wired' feeling that a few people have mentioned. It's now 7.30pm, and I'm still feeling a little tired but wired, but really not too bad. No signs of depression as yet (I did expreience this big time when I did illegal amphetamines (once and only once, many years ago)).

How does this compare with other peoples experiences?

I don't feel the drug's all the way out of my system yet, so I guess I may have a couple more stages to go. I've been sleeping pretty well lately (unusual for me) so it'll be interesting to see how I do tonight.

One more question - does anyone take a regular Adderall either before or after the XR? I'm doing some college courses part time, so along with my full time job, I need a good 12-14 hours of 'brain power' which I don't think the XR by itself is going to give me.

[Gregster]

Theres' no reason you couldn't take a regular adderall - or half of one - as the XR starts to wear off, in order to extend your "thinking" hours or even to smooth out the bump at the end of the day. I've even heard that for some people, taking just a little before bed helps them fall asleep - this seems to work for those that have trouble falling asleep due to racing thoughts.

[FlakeyGirl]

I normally take 40 mg of XR when I wake up. It seems like the medication is starting to wear off earlier and earlier as the weeks go by. Last month, my doc suggested I try taking 20 mg when I wake up and the other 20 around lunchtime to make it last longer, I guess. This is not working at all. I don't "clear out" until well past noon and the majority of my activities take place before then. Also I am not sleeping well.

I stopped doing the 20am/20pm thing and went back to my usual way. If I know that the irritability is going to set in around 4pm, I can prepare myself (and others ) for what's coming. Hopefully, I can make this work, but this is already a pretty tough time of day for me with the homework, cooking, suprise calls from school, etc.

He said if that didn't work out, then he would go up to 40 in the am and 20 at noon. If I understand correctly, 60 is pretty much the ceiling on Adderall XR. I really don't want to do that. I'd like to have some room to raise it when I go back to work in a couple of years. Plus, I am still pretty young and I'll probably be needing the medication for a good amount of time.

I think I will ask my doctor about adding the dose of short acting in the evening. That sounds like what I need. My husband says I get mean as a snake when the XR starts to wear off. His words, not mine; I'll only admit to feeling a little irritable.