Posted by PatrckKyle on February 11, 2003, at 19:22:00
Hi, I am new to this board and have some questions regarding the use of Adderall for the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (inattentive type.) I am a 20-year-old college student who has just recently (6 months ago) been diagnosed with ADD, though I have exhibited symptoms of the disorder, as well as depression, as long as I can remember. Over a year ago I decided to seek treatment for depression at my schools student health center, to make a long story short, I wasnt getting any better on anti-depressant mono-therapy alone, so they referred me to a local psychiatrist who thought I had bipolar II. He was unsure about his diagnosis so he sent me to this psychologist for a second opinion. After being exhaustively evaluated by a psychologist who gave me several personality, mood and IQ tests, she determined (somehow) that I did not have bipolar disorder, but rather ADD. So getting to my point, I am now taking the third stimulant medication tried in the past 6 months. Initially I was on 36mg of Concerta once a day. I liked the Concerta, though it made me really tired at first, but as my body got acclimated to the medication the sleepiness wore off. It also made me quiet and introverted around my friends, and I would get horrendous headaches towards the end of the day as it was wearing off. So my doctor (psychiatrist) prescribed Adderall XR 20 mg once a day. I disliked the extended release version because it completely killed my appetite and I would become hyper-focused for hours, like tunnel vision for my brain. Because of the nervousness, increased heartbeat, anxiety and overall dissatisfaction with the medication I decided to stop taking it. I spoke with my doctor about the side effects I was experiencing and we agreed that it would be a good idea to try the IR version of Adderall, 10mg twice a day. This completely changed my life, seriously, I felt normal in school and around my friends. I was attending class regularly, productive at work, completing assignments and homework...overall I was totally satisfied with the changes. All the positive effects of Adderall far outweighed any negative aspects of taking a stimulant. (Increased heart beat, hypertension, loss of appetite, etc.) My frustration with the Adderall at 10mg was that it didn't last long enough, as my last class ends in the early evening; the medication would wear off by then. So getting to my point, sorry if this has been long. Last week my doctor increased my dosage to 20mg regular Adderall twice a day. Since then I have had a marked increase in anxiety, decrease in motivation and energy, even more appetite loss, and lingering depression. It seems that the 20mg doesnt stimulate me at all; in fact, my biggest complaint is that I feel tired, lethargic, and fuzzy throughout the majority of the day. To me, it's like I am taking a completely different medication, 10 mg was great; I was hoping that 20mg would help me tremendously. So, I am wondering if anyone has been through this before with Adderall (sleepiness, lethargy, flattened emotions, and an overall fuzzy feeling.) I have a couple of hypotheses about my situation. Are these plausible? If so what should I do? - 1) I am taking too much, that?s why I feel so lethargic and zoned out. I am 5-11 at 150 pounds. 2) My body has not had adequate time to adjust to the new dosage; it has been 7 days. Or 3) I am not eating enough so it is affecting my entire body as a whole, though I do make a conscientious effort to eat whenever I get the chance. I have lost 8 pounds since starting Adderall, and I have a feeling I may loose even more due to the latest increase in my dosage. I am beginning to get discouraged with this medication and I am hoping most of these un-wanted side effects will wear off with time. I would appreciate any advice that you guys could give me about this, or your experiences with Adderall, in general. I am living away from my family, 6 hours from home, and it?s hard to deal with this sometimes, and my friends, for the most part don?t understand what I?m going through, they say, "I just think too much." Should I divide the total 40mg throughout the entire day in different increments? Breaking the 20s in half and take 10mg (4)x a day? Maybe 10 in the morning, 20 in the afternoon, and 10 in the evening (I typically dont have any problems sleeping.) Would adjusting the time I take the medication even help in regard to the side effects I am experiencing? Would you recommend that I switch meds? Give my body time to adjust? Sorry this was so long, I am confused, frustrated, and dont want to wait 2 more months to see my doctor if I need to take a different approach, or make changes in my treatment, now. I would be extremely grateful if you would share any advice, email, support, encouragement, information?anything. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. Best wishes to all of you.
poster:PatrckKyle
thread:140638
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030208/msgs/140638.html