Posted by micro on February 13, 2004, at 15:23:29
In reply to NewToTheBoard .. Adderall edginess My story, posted by Cee6 on February 10, 2004, at 20:43:42
> Hi all, I'm new here but I've been reading posts for a while. Now seems a good time to jump in so I'll tell you a little about my situation while I respond to this post. This may be lenghty.......
>
>
>
> Wow.. This thread describes exactly what I've been experiencing with adderall as well. I've been taking it for about 7 months. I'm prescribed 20mg 3x daily but rarely take that much, usually 20mg x 2 is enough. It has really made a tremendous difference in my life. Lots of benefits, but also has introduced some emotional instability which I had never before experienced. I pretty much know the routine with my dosing now but my ability to anticipate the transient side effects doesnt seem to be very consistent. During the day I am pretty happy with the overall experience. The ability to focus is a wonderful thing, especially when it took 22 years and the majority of my academically subaverage college experience to figure it out. My only complaints are these gradually intensifying anxious/self concious thoughts and feelings that seem to come and go. I think those have always been there to some extent but seem to be slightly more apparent now. I dont mind dealing with this, as its not constant or extremely intense. I also notice transient shakyness/jitteryness. Ive always had shaky hands and have told my physican about it but it was found not to be serious. Stimulants do seem to make it more prevalent, but again this is something I can accept.
> The night time is another story. When its time to relax at night, when the adderall is fading away, thats when the irritability and nervous/anxious feelings set in. This is also accompanied by lingering muscle tension, slightly irregular heartbeat (as in mild palpatations, increased rate), and transient insomnia which was part of my inital reason for going to see a Pdoc in the first place (sleepwalking being the main issue).
>
> I brought these issues to my PDocs attention last session and he asked if I would mind taking something that he felt could be benficial. I of course agreed after he told me how this would help me sleep along with calming the anxiety a bit so he gives me a script for Amyltriptyline of which I knew nothing about. I filled it, went home and did a lot of research. While it sounded like this might be something that would work for me there was also a lot of negative aspects. I have no desire to be on a AntiDep of any kind, much less a TCA. I dont even care to take the adderall very much and wish there was no need for it having importance in my life. So I wrote my doc a letter and explained my position. He responded with all of the meds benefits again and commented on the low dose situation, as I knew he would, but of course it was up to me. So I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and give it a try. Bad Idea All Round. I wont go in to detail but Emotionally Unstable sums up that week of my life. The 10mg/night dose also served to completely negate any beneficial aspect to the adderall in the daytime as well, which is reason enough to throw that horrible stuff in the garbage. It did MAKE me fall asleep and sleep well but falling asleep was a STRANGE and somewhat uncomfortable experience (body temp regulation, drifting in and out, and worse of all either much more prevalent irrythmias or just greater anxiety over their occurances). So, I stopped it all at once and wont take it again. I know these things are supposed to go away over time, but Im not willing to find out how long it'll take especially since this was just 10mg.
> So now we've come to my present situation. I am learning to deal with my irritability (without alcohol, which was my inital solution at first as well) Everything else still remains though. Sleep issues are probably the worst of all the negative aspects. OTC sleep aids and me DO NOT AGREE! .25mg melatonin puts be down for a LOOOONG time and makes me very groggy. This holds true for most other things too. When its really bad I go have a swig of nyquil which seems to be the best of all the evil OTC's yet still isnt a very attractive option. I've also been using 5HTP as of late, and that has been a mixed experience. At its worst it sedates me but makes me "daydream" to the point where I cant sleep because my mind is so consumed with the story, if that makes any sense. Its like sleeping with your eyes wide open... Not restful at all...
>
> Its getting to the point where I am considering asking about switching Pstim meds in hopes of beneficial reduction of these side effects. In any case I am probably going to give the XR a try in hopes that my body will be able to get used to its consistent method of administration in a more favorable manner, thus providing additional stability. After researching them quite a bit I think I could probably find a place for a benzo in my routine, perhaps not as a daily additive but there for when I feel its appropriate. I am not comfortable bringing this to my docs attention mainly due to my age (22) and the fact that I live in a university college town and negative stigmas are all too prevalent concerning such substances. I feel I have a good, trusting relationship with my doc but have a hard time going in to Benzo territory with him if it wasnt his inital recommendation even though substance responsibility is not at all an issue in my case. Perhaps I'm just being over analyitical about the whole thing, but who has that ever hurt? I dont want to create any questionable situations that could make him not trust me. This experience has been far too beneficial thus far for me to want to go out on a limb only to have him see me as college kid lookin to score some benzos even though everything indicates that I could probably experience specific benefits. So, I sorta feel like I am stuck, at least until my next appointment over a month from now.
>
> I'm not disappointed with the adderall at all. Its been beneficial in many aspects of my life. I'm in good shape and live a healthy lifestyle, so I know thats not an issue concerning my problems. This drug has certainly added some complication to my personal life while smoothing out and clarifying other aspects of my daily life. Balancing the trade off is the problem.
>
> I appreciate the advice you all offer! Just searching through the topics youve covered I've had many questions answered. Its SOOO important to be informed!
> Thanks...Hello, Would you consider your alcohol problem [a problem or an addiction]? Alcoholism? If so, the drug of choice for alcohol related anxiety is Librium that is not to say Ativan won't work. However, shorter acting benzo's are more difficult to discontinue.
You should also be closely monitored by your pdoc if you have had an issue with alcohol/
Best of wishes, Micro
poster:micro
thread:301581
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040210/msgs/312913.html