T-Unit

I just started taking aderall for my summer classes no more than 3 weeks ago. I had taken it before when I was in 6th grade and HATED the way it made me feel. I decided to try again, now that I'm about to be a college sophomore to see if it helped me in my studies. My Dr. prescribed me a bottle of 20mg tablets with directions to take 30-40mg twice a day, but failed to tell me much more about aderall. For sake of clarity the bottle does NOT say take UP TO 30mg twice a day, only "take 1 and 1/2 to 2 pills twice a day". I've been experimenting with the dosage to find what works for me best and am just now getting the hang of it.

I started taking 20 mg at 8:30 every morning first and found that on many occasions I still was tired and unfocused through my first morning class. By my second class I was generally awake, but I assumed that it was because it starts at about the time I usually become more alert anyway. Thinking that the adderall wasn't having the effects it should, I bumped up the dosage to thirty. It usually worked pretty well, but my problem with it REALLY starts due to my lack of knowledge about the effects of adderall and the side-effects.

On days I was particularly tired I assumed it to be ok to take 40mg in the morning (but that wasn't too common). At this point I assumed that the dosage of an average kid with ADD is about 50mg. Some days I would take 2 doses a day but I haven't exceeded 60mg in a day. Usually, there were no serious side-effects other than lack of appetite and minor sleeping problems. Nothing that bothered me too bad though because I'm used to staying up to around 2am and by then the adderall was worn off most the time.


HERE IS MY CURRENT PROBLEM:
last night there was some turbulence in the home that caused me to get 3 hours of sleep AT MOST with an exam the next day. Well, I woke up today, EXTREMELY tired and not functional enough to take the exam. I got out of bed, took 40mg, and slipped 10mg more in my pocket. I sat in my first class that went from 9:10am-11:10 am and was still very groggy by 10:45. So around 10:50 I took the 10mg more and went to take my exam 20 minutes later. I got home and my body feels completely exhausted but no matter how hard I try I can't take a nap, even up to about 4:30pm. My body still feels quite jacked up due to the lack of sleep. Earlier I felt extremely anxious, twitchy, and I could feel my heart beating if I layed down and tried to relax. I have a couple questions...


1. I did some research when I got home and now feel that my prescription is MUCH too high, especially for twice a day. How is adderall ideally supposed to feel? Like drinking a cup of coffee?

2. I think I expected it to kick in within 30 minutes, and when it hadn't I thought I needed to up my dosage. How long does adderrall take to effect you generally?

3. I really would like to stop taking adderall for a while. It helps my studies but there are too many bad side-effects to it. However, I heard that immediate cessation of the medication can cause tiredness and depression. Is my dosage (we'll say 40-60mg a day) considered high? If I didnt take it for a while starting tomorrow would I experience the negative side-effects?

4. I would REALLY like to sleep tonight. I only got 2-3 hours of sleep last night and that being mixed with 50mg of aderall makes my body feel very jacked up. What do you do about your insomnia caused by adderall? Is it ok to take Nyquill or tylenol PM?

CellBioGuy

I would seriously recommend that you give your doctor a call or pay him a visit...

T-Unit

Well the good thing is that now most the symptoms have gone away and I probably could go to sleep if I had to but I'm still not as tired as I should be for my lack of sleep. I took a couple of Tylenol PM about 5 minutes ago to knock me out so we'll see...

The thing is, I've only been taking adderall for about 3 weeks and I've only been taking the high doses of 40+mg for about a week or less, so I'm hoping there won't be any bad side effects tomorrow when I quit taking it for a while. I've come to the conclusion that the medication only seems to effect me in high doses. It seems to be very little noticeable effect or the opposite extreme. I'm not taking the drug in such high doses because of an addictive personality, only because I didn't know what a high dose was until I did some research. I thought the way adderall feels at 30-40mg a dose is the way it is supposed to make you feel, because below that there is very little effect, if any, on my perception compared to how I feel while I'm not taking it. Either that or it takes a long time for smaller doses to fully kick in and I don't realize it's effecting me. When I take 20mg I can go to class and come home and take a nap 3 hours later.

emeraldkity4

It takes it a long time to kick in
I take one Adderall xr- 30 mg- at 7 am.
Have a cup of coffee- it starts to feel like it is working around 10 am
I don't need or take any more than this- I am at my most productive from 10 to 3pm- so I try and adjust my schedule to take advantage of this- because I want to be on minimum dose.

I exercise about 2 hours- for 3 or 4 days aweek
this is important to keep energy level high and I sleep well even if I don't exercise till 7 or 8 pm

YOu are on too much meds I think- you best talk to your dr and don't take more than prescribed dose.

Strattera or one of the other non stimulant meds might work better for you

T-Unit

Ya, I've come to the conclusiont hat it was way too much. I slept great last night and didn't take any adderall this morning and I feel excellent. So bad effects or anything so far and I still feel alert. I agree about trying something else. I don't think adderall is right for me. I only take it to help with classes and make them a little more tolerable and I've decided I can make myself work to take care of class without any medication.

ahoo2u

T-Unit
My D also started Adderall in college and it has been VERY helpful for her, Dean's list and able to pay attention for even the 1 1/2 and 2 hr classes. HOWEVER...you must treat the medication with great respect.
Until they got it right She contacted her doc freqently and adjusted the dose. She has had great success with Adderall XR, 10mg the long-acting form taken before 10 am...talk to your doc. She had BAD problems with the shorter acting med later in the day. ..and once forgot she took it and took an extra which made 30 mg for the day - it was way too much..she felt terrible...I won't describe it here but it 'freaked' her out.
Never the less, It can be a good med and contribute to success for some students...But with these kinds of meds, teamwork with your Doctor is essential....Good luck

ClaySoul

There are alternatives to adderall, like ritalin, or non-stimulant versions with less of those side effects like straterra or dexedrine. Talk to your doctor about side effects and see what they can do

qubain

ive had the same problem,i dont worry about insomia or getting tired, all i worry about is my heart beat, i guess i have high blood pressure i take a 30mg not everyday, i only take it on exam weeks which basically i would say i take 15 pills every 3 months, but please tell me what to do with the heart beat.

toledo

You need to talk to your doctor about this.

libragrl1814

ok honestly I moved to a new school and transferred into a lot larger of a school with a lot more demands than my previous university...I guess because of this I heard a lot more about how many kids were trying to get ahold of it which makes it hard to talk about without hearing the ol' "have any left over?" which is really frustrating...
I've been taking this for quite some time and it has been trial and error for me, as well. sometimes I have good days and sometimes bad it really all depends on the day and the way my body responds (it's quite stubborn) but with moving from doctor to doctor I finally found one that works with me without the accusations or anything like that because it is really frustrating when you tell a doctor it's not working right or you don't feel right on it and they dismiss it or accuse you of something else....
my guess is to find another doctor...you may like the one you have, but maybe shop around a bit until you find one that you can actually talk to that listens to every detail...WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN ...keep a little journal of everything for at least 2-3 weeks about how your feeling when you take it or what's going on...that's helped a lot with pinpointing how to get my body to respond correctly to the medicine...it's good to figure out that this is what I needed all these years of being all over the place but it's not good when the medicine that's supposed to work ...well, isn't working...
I'm guessing that the mgs are way too high for your body...my doc tried putting me on vyvanse at 30 mg after I told her that the 20 mg of adderall xr (from another doctor) isn't lasting as long...about 5 hours tops...the vyvanse is supposed to be a more steady type of medicine instead of the up and down effect that adderall/adderall xr has...my body basically rejected it and I was all over the place even more so...we switched to adderall xr 30 mg and through more trial and error (and keeping a journal) my doc was able to tell me that if there are too many mg for your body it can have the opposite effect and you'll get sleepy (I couldn't wake up for anything and would fall asleep in class which is never like me) so you being sleepy may mean it's too strong for you...I had to switch from the xr in order to better manage how my body would react...I now take 15 mg of adderall 2 times a day and then 10 mg of it at the end of the day and it seems to be working...
another thing....get enough sleep the night before...I have a problem with insomnia too...It's because of the medicine and I'd rather not take anything else to help me fall asleep but I'm at my wits end lately...but my doc told me if you don't get enough sleep then your body cannot absorb the medicine the way it should and it will not have the same effect....
these could all be the same reasons you're having a problem...first-either talk to your current doctor about being a little more open to discussion and more hands-on or find a new doctor that will (I've been through a few before I found a good one so hang in there) but it's important because this is a serious medication...DONT mix anything with it without checking labels first I've had two VERY serious reactions because I didn't check what was in midol and benadryl 2 things I never would have thought to check....BE CAREFUL! and do some research yourself-knowledge is power and it doesn't hurt to know what you're putting into your body especially when the professionals don't know what they're doing (I was told by my pharmacist last night to take benadryl to help me fall asleep--smart guy)
don't be afraid to tell your doctor if it is or is not working and if they accuse you of anything like mine did then it's time to find a new doctor (or if they don't listen at all) you're paying them remember that so don't put up with anything the right doctor will help you and understand that it is a trial and error medicine and when it starts working then you'll know ok sorry for the novel it's like my past 2 year experience with the up and down of finding the right dosage and stuff...I hope this helps...keep me updated