Just started Adderall XR ... got some q's for yinz

[newbie73]

I'll spare all diagnosis details unless any of you would like to hear them.  Last Fri. was my first day on Aderall XR.  Started at 20mg, single dose in morning.  I noticed a difference in the first day, and the difference continued through the weekend, though it diminished a bit with each day that went by.

Today I was supposed to start at 40mg in the morning, though I am a bit worried and wanted to ask you all for some help in gauging expectations.  Is this normal for the effect to reduce over such a short time?  Is this my body getting used to the medicine?

Let's say there is some desired amount of effect.  In a month or so, let's say that we find the correct dosage to deliver this amount of effect.  Will this dosage need to be increased over time to maintain this amount of effect?  I'm really wondering if my body adjusts to the new chemicals and attempts to revert to the mental clutter that it is used to.

In general though, the effect was very good.  My mind was able to avoid clutter when I wanted to; the clarity of thought really came across in conversations with friends, especially conversations about work. I noticed not only more productivity, but I was able to  navigate social situations much better.  It felt as if I was in sync with the people around me; I knew when to chime in with conversation, when to joke etc.  Conversation just flowed without the abrupt interruptions I am used to.  I like what I experienced and would like it to continue, but I am also leery of being in a situation where I am continuously increasing the dosage of this drug.

Thoughts?

[Penny Century]

I like what I experienced and would like it to continue, but I am also leery of being in a situation where I am continuously increasing the dosage of this drug.

Thoughts?

I've been on the same adderall dosage for a year now without needing to go up.  in my experience, if you take it as directed, and don't take extra on some days, you should be able to stay at a stable dosage once you reach it.  (that dose will vay between people, i take 30xr in the am and 10 regular at 3 pm.  everyone is different.)

if you are worried about tolerance issues, ask your doctor about "drug holidays."  some people, myself included, take a few days off from stimulants to ensure that they don't build a tolerance.  how many days off and how often varies person to person in my experience.  my doctor has me only taking it on work days, other people do it differently.  also, i know plenty of people who don't take holidays who have been able to maintain the same dosage over long periods of time.  (your milage my vary and all that.)

but it's ALWAYS better to discuss concerns about meds with your doctor than to worry about them.  i'm sure he will have ideas about how to manage tolerance.

best,

penny

[Steve@3AM]

Been a long time since I used it, but I may again in near future. I didn't get as much out of it as I would have liked, but I don't think the doc back then really used high enough dosages. Though I can't remember what I took.

It is NOT supposed to diminish (much) over time once your body finds the right dose. Don't worry at this early stage. I hope it continues to work like you noted. I hope if I go back to it I can find a level that does the same thing for me.

[newbie73]

I ended up trying the higher dosage yesterday and was wired all day, in a bad way.  It seemed as if there was a disconnect between my brain and my body, which was a clear sign that the 40mg dose is way high for me.  My thoughts yesterday became so flurried that I was unable to follow any of them for any length of time.

Now that I'm back to 20mg, I find that I am still distractable, but I am able to concentrate on the individual thoughts long enough to comprehend them and work on them.  Even more importantly is that I now seem able to return to a previously started task and continue where I left off, instead of having to start over every time.  Hopefully this all evens out over the next few weeks.

Anyone had similar experiences with this med?  How long does it take before your body fully acclimates to it?

[Steve@3AM]

I seem to recall that there are 10 mg tabs. Or you can split a 20 (or probably not with extended release.) Seems like maybe you should try 30 mg when things settle down. 40 doubled the dose that seemed to have you "almost there". Seems like too big a jump to me.

Continued good luck to you.

Steve

[newbie73]

I've started keeping a Adderall Diary of sorts.  Today I tried eating breakfast before I took any pills, had milk + cereal.  I noticed that it took longer for the medication to kick in and the effect was more subtle (single dose, 20mg XR).  I'm wondering if my diet had something to do with the 40mg shock I had when I tried a double dose.

Have any of you found any such food relationships with your treatment?

[Steve@3AM]

Food slows absorbtion for almost any med. Even with an XR med. You didn't say what your "diet" was when you took the 40 mg, but yes, it could have something to do with your reaction. Previously did your edginess start right away after you took it or did it just get edgier over time? The way you described it before I would still think reflected too high a dose or at least too much of a jump at the time. If you took that on an empty stomach, then I would suggest you try it with food to get a better perspective.

Welcome to the wacky world of meds!

Keeping a diary for your med use is a great idea and good habit. Keep it up.

[Dixie_Amazon]

I have read that a high fat breakfast can reduce Adderall's effectiveness.

http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/37/15/19-a

[Kussmaul]

hello,

  I took adderall xr 10mg when i was taking it. If i didn't eat anything in the morning and took the adderall, the stuff would tear up my stomach and give me the diarrhea. It would also hit me faster and wouldn't last as long. i would feel tired quicker and irritable. but, on the other side, if i did make the time for breakfast, the adderall would last longer and the drop off wasn't as bad. i would usually just drink a soda or something to counteract the tiredness. well, good luck. matt

[Penny Century]

adderall and food tips--

some say take it on an empty tummy, like before breakfast.  (if i do this though, b/c it supresses my appetite so much, i don't eat enough.)

but, the main thing is, DON'T take it with OJ or something acidic (like even sprite) b/c it really will interfere with it working. 

i have a friend who swears that peanut butter makes it not work for her (maybe the fat?) but she's the only person i've ever heard it from.  something about that makes me giggle.  "oh no, i can't eat peanut butter! it messes with my meds!"  i think it's cute.

but mainly, no OJ with breakfast. 

best

penny

[newbie73]

Well, it is certainly more effective when I take it before breakfast, but then the bursts of "help" are shorter and I'm spent by early afteroon.  Like you, I am nearly unable to eat when I do it this way.  I think I want to try to find out how to best combine a small breakfast with my morning dosage in order to modulate the effect of it some more.

I think I will need to add another dosage later in the day, but I will likely hold off on that until I learn how to work with the morning dosage and find the exact one that works best.

When you started, did you get headaches?  Do they go away with time?  They are not unbearable, more of a nuisance - just wondering if this is a long-term problem I should be concerned about, or if there is some way to deal with them (through food or more fluid, or maybe aspirin).

[pigsaflyin]

I've been taking it about as long as you have (short acting, so I can split pills as needed). I notice that I get very specific back-upper-rightandleft tesnsion type headaches as it is wearing off. I just wait them out, as they seem to be fairly short (an hour or so) in duration. Like you, I find them more of a nuisance, not especially debilitating.

Insomnia seems to be the biggest problem for me (and remembering to eat enough, I guess) so far, but last night Melatonin (combined with exhaustion from two days of 3-4 hours a night) seemed to work well. I thought this odd, as my klonopin didn't even touch it. We'll see tonight, as I actually got quite a lot of sleep last night, which is a better baseline.

pigs

[HaloGirl66]

Has anyone had long term nausea from Adderal XR. my current dosage is 30 mg. could not taking it consitstantly (like only 3 or 4 days a week) be a contributor?

[newbie73]

About when I took 40mg, I took it on an empty stomach, and did not have anything to eat until late in the morning, so the stuff had kicked in before any food had been ingested.

Now with regards to the headaches, what I was wondering had more to do with the impact that allowing headaches such as these to persist over the course of several years would have on my overall health.  Since you have been on this med for such a short time, it is hard to say.  Even though they are not debilitating, I do hope they subside over time, if not go away entirely.

I've been taking it about as long as you have (short acting, so I can split pills as needed). I notice that I get very specific back-upper-rightandleft tesnsion type headaches as it is wearing off. I just wait them out, as they seem to be fairly short (an hour or so) in duration. Like you, I find them more of a nuisance, not especially debilitating.

Insomnia seems to be the biggest problem for me (and remembering to eat enough, I guess) so far, but last night Melatonin (combined with exhaustion from two days of 3-4 hours a night) seemed to work well. I thought this odd, as my klonopin didn't even touch it. We'll see tonight, as I actually got quite a lot of sleep last night, which is a better baseline.

pigs

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[Penny Century]

Has anyone had long term nausea from Adderal XR. my current dosage is 30 mg. could not taking it consitstantly (like only 3 or 4 days a week) be a contributor?

not nausea exactly, but an aversion to food so strong that eating is like a chore and it makes me feel ill.  as if i was trying to eat after a thanksgiving dinner and i was already full up and suffering from indegestion kinda thing.  i find with it helps.

[Penny Century]

Well, it is certainly more effective when I take it before breakfast, but then the bursts of "help" are shorter and I'm spent by early afteroon.  Like you, I am nearly unable to eat when I do it this way.  I think I want to try to find out how to best combine a small breakfast with my morning dosage in order to modulate the effect of it some more.

also, since it flattens your appetite, it's important to make sure you eat breakfast so that your blood sugar doesn't crash.  low blood sugar doen't help anything. 

I think I will need to add another dosage later in the day, but I will likely hold off on that until I learn how to work with the morning dosage and find the exact one that works best.

i ended up adding a second dosage because adderall seems to go through my system quickly (i metabolize a few meds quickly.)  i take non xr in the afternoon though, b/c the xr lasts around 6 hours for me, and if i took xr twice in a day i would have sleeping problems.  at first i was taking 40mg xr, but then switched to 30xr and 10 regular so that i had the same dosage in one day.  if you happen to be a fast metabolizer, you get an amount of meds that should be spread out over a long period into your body in a shorter amount of time.  (at least this is what i remember my doc saying, i could be wrong.)  so we cut my am dose and added an afternoon dose that would keep me at the same dose overall. 

but, like you said, wait and get used to the med and see if you can figure out how long it lasts for you, etc.  everyone is different, and meds are all about tweaking your way to the right medicine and dosage.

take care

penny

[newbie73]

This leads to another question - I was a bit bummed yesterday thinking about the sudden changes (positive) that I have noticed this past week.  If I am able to reason clearly and I am able to relate to people far better than before, what reasons are there to not want to be on this most of the day?  Why not take two doses of XR throughout the day?  If there are serious long-term side effects, this would be one reason.  Another would be the building of a tolerance, which would negate the positives.  But other than that, why not?

Second, has anyone tried a combination of Adderall and Strattera?  This would have a similar effect as having Adderall all day long without the use of stimulants all day long.

The best way I can sum up my experiences (though very brief) is that it appears as if this med will help me participate in life in the way that I choose to.  I can think about what I want when I want and how I want, this is so powerful and it is almost painful to think what I have missed out on.  Though I am far more hopeful about what the future may hold than I am wistful over what I have not had.  You could say that what I've not had will also give me things in the future that others won't have )

I guess what I am seeing is that I am about to enter a life where I have a duality and living with this duality will be something that will not go away, so how do I best deal with this?  Why not make the medicated me more prevalent than non medicated?  I know this is heading into the philosophical, but there are also very practical concerns here.  Your thoughts, as always, are appreciated.

i ended up adding a second dosage because adderall seems to go through my system quickly (i metabolize a few meds quickly.)  i take non xr in the afternoon though, b/c the xr lasts around 6 hours for me, and if i took xr twice in a day i would have sleeping problems.  at first i was taking 40mg xr, but then switched to 30xr and 10 regular so that i had the same dosage in one day.  if you happen to be a fast metabolizer, you get an amount of meds that should be spread out over a long period into your body in a shorter amount of time.  (at least this is what i remember my doc saying, i could be wrong.)  so we cut my am dose and added an afternoon dose that would keep me at the same dose overall. 

but, like you said, wait and get used to the med and see if you can figure out how long it lasts for you, etc.  everyone is different, and meds are all about tweaking your way to the right medicine and dosage.

take care

penny

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[Steve@3AM]

There are "sleep" issues to consider if you are taking stimulants in the PM - especially extended release. This was mentioned above I think.

The other thing to consider is that you have just started this med and now you're running through all kinds of what if scenarios with increasing it. The goal, I think, is not to be hyper-aware on a constant basis. It's to clear your focuse and help the ADD. Trying to achieve and maintain some kind of peak, like with any meth use - which it is - can lead to abuse.

I would suggest waiting to see how reaching a stable dose - based on previous statements made above - effects you as far as daily functioning before you plan further. Don't get too far ahead of yourself. Take it slow.

Just my thoughts as a previous Adderall - and meth - user.

[Kussmaul]

hey,

  later on, my pdoc prescribed adderall xr 10mg twice a day. when i was taking two doses, i just had to make sure i didn't take the second dose too late in the day or else i had bad insomnia. you might want to look into taking the regular kind of adderall later on in the day instead of the XR. the only side effect i had was weight loss. when i stopped taking adderall, i gained it back plus 10 pounds. be aware. i've tried strattera, but not with adderall. i didn't like strattera, thats just my opinion. good luck. matt

[newbie73]

I am certainly aware of the possibility for abuse - this is one of the things that has me most leery of having to rely on this medication for a long period of time.  Throughout my life I have avoided things that presented the potential for abuse; I don't know why, I'm just scared of lots of things that eff with the brain.

In this case, I view the next few weeks/months as a science experiment.  Unfortunately I am the only subject - I need to try different things, different doses, different timings to find what works best and stick with it.  I like structure, and I need a structured approach to learning how this med works in my body in order to come up with a structured treatment plan.  Some things are easier not to have to think about, and having this structure early on will help me trust everything later on.

To the moon!

hey,

  later on, my pdoc prescribed adderall xr 10mg twice a day. when i was taking two doses, i just had to make sure i didn't take the second dose too late in the day or else i had bad insomnia. you might want to look into taking the regular kind of adderall later on in the day instead of the XR. the only side effect i had was weight loss. when i stopped taking adderall, i gained it back plus 10 pounds. be aware. i've tried strattera, but not with adderall. i didn't like strattera, thats just my opinion. good luck. matt

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