KidsHappen Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 We occassionaly try to add in Adderall for my ADD because quiet frankly it is sometimes so bad that I do not accomplish more than basic housekeeping activities and schooling the 4th grader. This has been the case for an entire year now. The problem is that this med is very tricky for me to take. We have tried many times and I always have problems with it. First of all, it seems counter productive in my case. It seems to make me more spacey, almost a high feeling which I absolutely hate. It also makes me more tired. I do sleep better at night when I take it but I am also dragging butt during the day. Sometimes it makes me more depressed and other times kinda cranky. I seem to recall that if I continue to take this med, these effects eventually wear off. Do any adults on this board take this med? Does it work immediately or does it require awhile to make a difference? Does anyone else have these side effects? Do they just take awhile to go away? Do you just have to stick with it for awhile? I have tried every alternative (natural and otherwise) under the sun and my doctor is the first to recommend them if he thinks they have any chance of helping. We have tried every other ADD med and they are all worse than Adderall so my options seem to be live with the ADD which is pretty bad or deal with the side effects. I do have co-morbid mental health issues that are well managed otherwise. I take Lamictal and Trileptal. These manage my moods very well but don't do a thing for the ADD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 My husband takes adderall. He doesn't take the extended release as it didn't seem to work well for him. Adderall makes him stay away, not sleepy. He has a smaller appetite but I don't think it makes him spacey. It doesn't sound like the medicine is working correctly with your body chemistry. There was no getting used to it period. My son take Vyvanse which is supposed to be a better form of Adderall. Have you tried that one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie in VA Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I am prescribed Adderall XR (25mg) and take it 5-6 days/week. It works immediately (for me within an hour) and is out of the system the same day, I believe. It is not like an AD that takes weeks to build up to therapeutic levels. The negative side-effects that I have noticed are: dry mouth - more so in the first month or so decreased / no appetite - hasn't come back in the almost year I have been on it irritability for about 30 min. as the 2nd dose is kicking in occasional irritability in the evenings as the 2nd dose wears off If your mental health issue is BD, I would question the use of Adderall. It is not - in my limited understanding - appropriate for sufferers of BD. It can induce mania, I believe. I'm not sure, though, so please make sure a p-doc is perscribing all of it - or at leats knows that you are taking the combo! G/L to you! As a sufferer of ADD and dysthymia, I certainly feel your pain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted March 13, 2009 Author Share Posted March 13, 2009 I am prescribed Adderall XR (25mg) and take it 5-6 days/week. It works immediately (for me within an hour) and is out of the system the same day, I believe. It is not like an AD that takes weeks to build up to therapeutic levels. The negative side-effects that I have noticed are: dry mouth - more so in the first month or so decreased / no appetite - hasn't come back in the almost year I have been on it irritability for about 30 min. as the 2nd dose is kicking in occasional irritability in the evenings as the 2nd dose wears off If your mental health issue is BD, I would question the use of Adderall. It is not - in my limited understanding - appropriate for sufferers of BD. It can induce mania, I believe. I'm not sure, though, so please make sure a p-doc is perscribing all of it - or at leats knows that you are taking the combo! G/L to you! As a sufferer of ADD and dysthymia, I certainly feel your pain! Yes, my p-doc is prescribing and it aware of the meds I am taking. We tried it very cautiously at first and haven't had any issues with mania so that part is good. I am taking regular release because to tell you the truth, commiting to an entire 12 hours of UP scares me. The irritability is only after taking it for more than five days in a row so I only take it four or five days a week. It is more the transient depression and spaciness that worries me. I can't remember if I adjusted to this in the past or not so I am not sure if I should give it a little while for my body to adjust. I have taken the extended release inthe past and I do remember it being smoother without the side effects so if I continue to have problems then maybe I will try that again. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Have you tried Dexedrine? I know you said you tried all of the other ADD meds but this is an older one so I thought I would ask. It is the only one that my 13dd with bipolar can take. She also takes Tegretol (cousin to Trileptal) and Lamital. Another thought---has your doctor done any blood work for the Trileptal and Lamictal? You can get blood levels done to make sure they are at the optimum level. With the Lamictal my 12dd takes 50mg am and 37.5mg pm while my 13dd (5 pounds LIGHTER and same height as her sister) takes 300mg am and 300mg pm---just to get the same blood levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted March 14, 2009 Author Share Posted March 14, 2009 Have you tried Dexedrine? I know you said you tried all of the other ADD meds but this is an older one so I thought I would ask. It is the only one that my 13dd with bipolar can take. She also takes Tegretol (cousin to Trileptal) and Lamital. Another thought---has your doctor done any blood work for the Trileptal and Lamictal? You can get blood levels done to make sure they are at the optimum level. With the Lamictal my 12dd takes 50mg am and 37.5mg pm while my 13dd (5 pounds LIGHTER and same height as her sister) takes 300mg am and 300mg pm---just to get the same blood levels. Actually, I didn't know that you could do that, measure your blood level of Lamictal that is. We do keep track of the Trileptal because of the low blood salt issue. My doc did mention that we might need to increase the Lamictal because I am currently only taking 200 mg. So I guess I'll keep that in mind. I did much better today so I think I will take a bit of a wait and see attitude. Thanks for the info. I was hoping that you would answer because I knew that your dds took similar meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Have you tried Blue Algae. It sounds like you have tried everything but I thought I would throw that out there. I use to work for several years for a child pyschiatrist and we found that Blue Algae worked as well as Ritalin for ADD and ADHD. In SOME cases there was a trace mineral or somethingt he algae had that caused alot of symptoms. I hope you find something that helps, I hate not getting stuff done but it seems everyday that happens to me!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Not all doctors do the test but it can be done. It does take a few days to get back but it isn't a big deal. You do have to draw the blood 12 hours after the last dose and BEFORE the next one. Blood levels of 1-4 are therapeutic--but my dd's need levels of 3.5-4 for best stability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Have you tried the patches for ADD? I think one is called Focalin XR. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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