carlm78 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 i love it, but, i don't get adderall. i'm on the IR version. the first 4 days that i took it, i couldn't sleep. of course i was also crashing from caffeine withdrawal (i went from 36mg concerta per day and 20oz sugar free red bull to 40mg adderall and no red bull). anyway after those 4 days i finally got my klonopin prescription renewed (on account of the memorial day holiday the doctor's office was closed), but, a few days later i noticed i didn't need it anymore. taking 15, 15 then 10, at 8am, 12pm and 4pm, i fall asleep naturally around 11pm/11:30 and will sleep until 6am and am pleasantly sleepy in the morning. also i have been able to keep to the 1900 calorie diet i've been trying to follow for months, have been exercising more often, and am a lot more productive / less scattered at work. however i sleep so well that now when i take my 15 in the morning i'm noticing less of a kickstart / wakeup effect and i'm finding myself resorting to an 8oz red bull to get myself going again. also i feel like my emotions are a little bit on mute and i'm not that excited about anything anymore. i am seeing my pdoc tomorrow morning, perhaps i need to just drop the lamictal/topamax i'm on (or just the lamictal, i don't know). am i getting used to adderall now, maybe i need to keep upping the dosage? my sister is a pdoc and she told me a person of my size (i'm 6'5") could be prescribed 60mg. i am surprised that i'm already used to 40mg a day because at first i was almost manic. or maybe this is just how i'm supposed to be - getting enough sleep, productive at work, not too emotional, drinking caffeine but not an excessive amount, eating right, exercising, etc. i don't know. advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Too complex. Talk to your pdoc. Adderall is not normally prescribed by body weight/size. It is not unusual to become a bit adapted to Adderall require a bump upwards. Glad you are sleeping better and able to reduce other meds. cheers, a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarie Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 A couple comments for what they are worth. The "bump" or rush you get after taking Adderall is a side effect that often fades away with time. It is not a measure of how well the med is working. Focus and attention are. Also, head meds, including Adderall, are not typically prescribed by weight or size as a.m. said. The sleeping late and waking tired could suggest that you should take your last dose earlier? The flatness and sleepiness actually sound more like a simptom of depression than of Adderall not fully working. It could be that more Lamictal is your answer, not less. Dunno, but it's something to discuss with your psychiatrist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiserin Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 My cutoff time for my second dose of Adderall is 3pm. I have found that any later than that and I will be too wired for sleep. If this is a problem, I sometimes take Klonopin 1mg and it helps (and actually makes me stay asleep). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 You might need a higher dosage, you might need something more effective to address your depression, it's pretty much impossible to say. My only thought is that, if you're considering dropping a med, I'd think it would make a lot more sense to drop topamax, which really hasn't been shown to have much impact on mood, and often causes cognitive issues, rather than lamictal, which does often work so well against depression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurochs Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 The thing I noticed first was the caffeine. You gotta stop that shit, because it's not helping you. Caffeine fucks with sleep a lot more than any other stimulant. And it doesn't really decrease your actual need for sleep, it just makes you not feel tired. A caffeine withdrawal might explain a lot of the sleep problems, but the timeline you're giving doesn't corrobrate that idea very well. You may want to try getting into bed earlier, too. You could just be tired because you need more sleep. You're only getting 6-7 hours a night. You're complaining mainly about depressive symptoms, so I'm finding myself agreeing with everyone else that lowering or dropping the Lamictal may not be the best idea. Adderall doesn't really do that much for the "feeling like shit" side of depression, at least not on its own. I'm not certain, from your description, that you need to increase the Adderall dose, since the dose you're on seems to be treating your attentional symptoms pretty well. Higher doses come with more side effects and a harder crash. That's something you should explore with your pdoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlm78 Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 Thanks for all the feedback. I met with my pdoc Friday morning, we had a very productive discussion and I decided to stay on the Adderall IR because it's very effective and I don't want to risk screwing up by switching to the XR when I don't need to. She also said the cutoff time for the final Adderall dose is 5pm and no later than that otherwise you'll be wired. I'm adding one more 25mg Lamictal so it's now 50/50 and it's working well for the last few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarie Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Thanks for posting back how you appt went. Hopefully, this does it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanette Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I am taking 20 mg in the morning and 20 at lunch and its working butt i am still sleep! do I need to up my adderall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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