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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by suelizabeth on June 3, 2002, at 11:22:13
Hi. Two weeks ago I found out I have ADD. I just came across this site and found it to be helpful. For 30 years I have struggled with this and never knew there was help. My doctor put me on adderall xr 5 mg and I have taken it for over a week now. One day I tryed 10 mg and I could not sleep that night. (I am very sensitive to drugs) I seem to do great during the day. But, when it gets closer to bed time I get really wierd. I start having anxiety and fear. Last night was the first night I did not wake up in the middle of the night scared. I was wondering if this is a common thing till I have been on this med for a longer period of time and my body gets used to it. I love the days ~ My life is so different. Before my brain was going 100 miles an hour and now I can focus well. But, the nights are tough. Thanks! Suelizabeth
Posted by Bill L on June 3, 2002, at 12:36:12
In reply to adderall xr, posted by suelizabeth on June 3, 2002, at 11:22:13
I have never been on it. Hopefully someone else will respond. But my thought is that maybe the side effect will wear off. If it does not, perhaps you could switch to a preparation that releases quicker so that it is out of your system by bed time.
Posted by JonW on June 3, 2002, at 14:16:11
In reply to adderall xr, posted by suelizabeth on June 3, 2002, at 11:22:13
Hi suelizabeth,
It's common to experience things like this when the amphetamines leave the system -- dexedrine was the worst in this regard for me. I wonder if this "rebound" effect is what's keeping you from falling asleep... maybe you should try taking a small dose of regular adderall at night as well just to see what happens -- on the weekend and with your docs permission, of course. Maybe this would allow you to fall asleep and sleep through it. If not there are prescription sleep aids like ambien or sonata you could try.
Good Luck,
Jon> Hi. Two weeks ago I found out I have ADD. I just came across this site and found it to be helpful. For 30 years I have struggled with this and never knew there was help. My doctor put me on adderall xr 5 mg and I have taken it for over a week now. One day I tryed 10 mg and I could not sleep that night. (I am very sensitive to drugs) I seem to do great during the day. But, when it gets closer to bed time I get really wierd. I start having anxiety and fear. Last night was the first night I did not wake up in the middle of the night scared. I was wondering if this is a common thing till I have been on this med for a longer period of time and my body gets used to it. I love the days ~ My life is so different. Before my brain was going 100 miles an hour and now I can focus well. But, the nights are tough. Thanks! Suelizabeth
Posted by katekite on June 3, 2002, at 18:15:27
In reply to Re: adderall xr » suelizabeth, posted by JonW on June 3, 2002, at 14:16:11
Hi I agree with JonW that it sounds like rebound. In addition, my own ADD experience is very similar: sometimes I can not unwind to go to sleep and will take a small dose of ritalin, fall soundly asleep... then 6 hrs later after its completely worn off can wake up irritable and panicked feeling almost paranoid in the middle of the night.
Rebound is said to occur between one and 8 hrs after a dose of stimulant medication has worn off. It is thought to be a decrease (past normal) in dopamine transmission or effectiveness.
So, ways to combat this would be:
1. Let the med wear off while you are awake. This would mean taking regular adderall perhaps twice a day and letting yourself get through the difficult rebound period before bedtime. Regular
Adderall lasts about 4-6 hrs and wears off more quickly than Adderall xr. That would allow you to sleep soundly.2. Consider taking a tiny dose of adderall or adderall xr right before bed. Some people can sleep fine with the drug in their system.
3. If you can get through ok with it, try a lower dose of adderall xr during the day so your system has less rebound overall. People are very individual and do not always necessarily need what is normally considered the average dose.
4. Try concerta or dexedrine spansules, which may affect you differently.
5. Get used to it, knowing it is a normal reaction, or use another med as jonw suggested such as ambien to get a full night's sleep.
Take care,
kate
Posted by Hattree on June 4, 2002, at 8:39:53
In reply to Re: adderall xr, posted by katekite on June 3, 2002, at 18:15:27
This issue is the real bear about stimulants--I have struggled with it for a long time without finding a reliable solution, so if anyone has one please let me know.
The night stimulant dose trick that works for some guarantees that I will be up all night, and sleeping pills leave me with an icky sleepiness the next day even after taking a stimulant.
Letting the drug wear off a couple of hours before bed is a good idea...you may be able to get through the anxious period before you lie down. A glass of wine is helpful in my experience. Of course if you happen to be cranking through family life (or something) until the second you rest your head this may be impractical.
I gather there are plenty of people out there who can take their Pstims daily with no ill effect and never need to increase their dosage, but for many of us they are kind of a devil's bargain.
I struggle with feeling like a drug addict, and with the recognition that I spend a lot of mental energy on stimulant management, but on balance I usually feel it beats the alternative.
Does anyone else struggle with stimulant guilt?
Posted by reese1 on June 4, 2002, at 20:24:06
In reply to Re: adderall xr, posted by Hattree on June 4, 2002, at 8:39:53
don't kill yourself with guilt, life can and will take care of that all by itself.
it was nice reading your words. i didn't find out about add till i went to the hospital for the one of many times, because of being bi-polar. so when i walked out of the mayo clinic i not only had a degree in bi-polar but i double majored with add
i felt greatanywya i started on ritalin. felt crazy. stopped. started on adderall. maybe 5 or 10, don't remember.
then i moved up to 40-60mg a day. stayed at that for a long time. then i would sometimes take 40 in the morning and nothing for the remainder of the day, somtimes another one later on. it would always be changing cause the effect of adderall is always changing.
last year it stopped having any effect at all on me. i was taking 60mg in the morning. nothing. tried concerta. sucked. even gave some to my brother. he thought it sucked.
then went up to 30mg tablet of adderall
took up to 90mg but not all the time
then lost my doctor found new doctor another new doctor
and i currently take 40mg of adderall a day. usually 40 when i wake up and that's it.
BUT WHAT I HAVE DISCOVERED
is that adderall is strange in the sense that i think you can bottom out on it. what i mean is after a certain dose, i just don't think the more you take effect you as much. i don't think there is any difference, once your body adjusts, between 40mg or 30mg at once. just like sometimes i might take a 20mg tablet and have no idea that i took it. can't tell. another day i can feel it.
so i don't think taking over 60 is necessary. i think that is the dosage one should not go over. at least that's what they tell you, i think.so please don't feel guilty about needing something to feel better, safer, more secure, anything. it's all fucked anyway. if a two pills of adderall truly help you, then you have every fucking right to take them. i can find absolutly nothing wrong in that
say you are taking, eating and snorting ten to twelve pills a day, well then things could be seen as getting out of hand. and let's say you do this one time a year. well i don't care and neither should you. but say this happens every day, i think you would care and i think you would feel really fucking awful as well.
and from what you wrote i don't get the feeling that the adderall makes you feel worse but seems to help a lot. so if it's guilt that's fucking with you, just remember it's not your guilt. it's the guilt of the others around you. who don't know. who don't understand. who prefer to judge. categorize. then try to really understand what it's like to wake up every day, within each and every second, in every minute, waiting for it to stop, change, leave, whatever it might be. but please. people are dumb enough. don't let them make you dumb.
reese
sorry for the bad spelling and grammer
Posted by Hattree on June 5, 2002, at 8:32:20
In reply to Re: adderall xr and don't feel guilty please, posted by reese1 on June 4, 2002, at 20:24:06
This is the end of the thread.
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