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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 23 of 23. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by CindyLou on January 20, 2003, at 18:25:00
I have tried Adderall on several occasions -- it works great for the first few days, the next few days it seems to stop working, and the next few days after that I seem to get worse as far as fatigue, exhaustion, dizziness, foggy-headedness goes.
I take quite a low dose -- 5 mg. I've been experimenting with taking it once, twice, or three times daily. Either way, the same thing always happens ... I feel great, alert, energetic for the first few days, then start to get progressively worse.
Any thoughts on this? I am also taking 5 mg. Lexapro at night, and 0.5 mg. Klonapin at night to sleep.
Thanks in advance for your help!
cindy
Posted by oracle on January 20, 2003, at 18:33:35
In reply to Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by CindyLou on January 20, 2003, at 18:25:00
Dosage is up to 40 mgs total a day. I get tried if I take too little. Talk to your doc about taking a little more. For me 5 mgs more makes a big difference
Posted by Phil on January 20, 2003, at 19:21:30
In reply to Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by CindyLou on January 20, 2003, at 18:25:00
You are on low doses of everything. That's good if it works.
I take 90mg Adderall..on occasion 120mg.
I'm not sure lab rats would cop a buzz on 5 mg.
: )
Posted by Festus on January 20, 2003, at 23:15:18
In reply to Re: Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by Phil on January 20, 2003, at 19:21:30
Stimulants affect a lot of folks that way.They wear on your body.Sometimes tolerance can develop rather quickly from usage,taking more of the drug to induce favorable effects.After the first 3-4 hrs. after peak levels,the drug starts it,s "downhill"period,basically meaning"What goes up,must come down".This part of the phase can make you feel tired,"pooped-out".Sustained-release forms are often used in these cases to ease the burn out effect that IR drugs can bring.You may want to ask your doc to try you on one.Festus
Posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 7:41:08
In reply to Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by CindyLou on January 20, 2003, at 18:25:00
Thanks Phil, Oracle and Festus...
I appreciate your responses.Phil and Oracle -- do you take the sustained release form, or do you take the regular Adderall several times a day? I'm just curious what works best for you.
Also, does caffeine affect the effects of Adderall? I'm wondering if my coffee consumption may be pushing me over the edge.
Just a bit of background on me -- after I had my daughter 3 years ago, I had terrible postpartum depression, and I was extremely med-sensitive, to the point where I had to take Prozac from a dropper -- I could only tolerate about 2 mg.! Anything higher knocked me out. For the past three years, I've tried about every med out there, and could usually tolerate only about 1/4 of the usual dosage. Most often, the side effects were so severe I couldn't handle anything. SO, long story short, being able to handle 5 mg. Lexapro is a feat for me! Same with the Adderall -- I used to take 2.5 mg. if you can believe that! I think my body is finally getting back to some kind of chemical/hormonal "normalcy." It's been a long ride.
Anyway, now that I'm tolerating higher doses, I think I will try to up the Adderall and see what happens. I meet with my pdoc next week and let him know the scoop.
Festus -- I did try the sustained release form, but only once. My husband takes it, and he let me try one of his. It was a 10 mg. tablet, but he dumped out half so I only took 5 mg. It didn't do anything for me, probably because it was too low of a dose.
Thanks again everyone! Sorry for the rambling message...
cindy
Posted by Phil on January 21, 2003, at 12:21:26
In reply to Re: Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 7:41:08
I take time released because it can be pretty smooth and consistant. I usually don't like TR but Adderall is good.
With the high doses of other drugs I take, if Adderall wears off, I drop like a rock mentally.
I'm not sure the dosages we take are that hard on the body.
Snorting meth-that's hard on your body.
Posted by OddipusRex on January 21, 2003, at 12:27:38
In reply to Re: Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 7:41:08
There is an excellent book by Jay Cohen "Over Dose the Case against the drug companies". It makes the case that a considerable population (about 10%) is supersensitive to drugs. He says that drug companies promote one dosage for all in an attempt to pass the FDA trials for efficacy. Obviously testing at the highest dose possible will give the maximum number of positive response. This causes some people to be overdosed. There are no considerations given to variables like body weight, age, sex and varying med sensitivity when dosage recommendations are made by the drug companies. Prozac was one of drugs he used in his book as an example.
> , and I was extremely med-sensitive, to the point where I had to take Prozac from a dropper -- I could only tolerate about 2 mg.! Anything higher knocked me out. For the past three years, I've tried about every med out there, and could usually tolerate only about 1/4 of the usual dosage. Most often, the side effects were so severe I couldn't handle anything. SO, long story short, being able to handle 5 mg. Lexapro is a feat for me! Same with the Adderall -- I used to take 2.5 mg. if you can believe that! I think my body is finally getting back to some kind of chemical/hormonal "normalcy." It's been a long ride.
>
> Anyway, now that I'm tolerating higher doses, I think I will try to up the Adderall and see what happens. I meet with my pdoc next week and let him know the scoop.
>
> Festus -- I did try the sustained release form, but only once. My husband takes it, and he let me try one of his. It was a 10 mg. tablet, but he dumped out half so I only took 5 mg. It didn't do anything for me, probably because it was too low of a dose.
>
> Thanks again everyone! Sorry for the rambling message...
>
> cindy
Posted by Hattree on January 21, 2003, at 12:50:50
In reply to Med-sensitivity, posted by OddipusRex on January 21, 2003, at 12:27:38
I WISH there was a way around this stimulant burnout...I used to last weeks before I started to get exhausted and anxious, but now only a few days, and I have taken almost every pstim there is.
If you find a way around this, let me know. I'm looking forward to taking a crack at Strattera.
Posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 13:12:08
In reply to Re: Med-sensitivity, posted by Hattree on January 21, 2003, at 12:50:50
Hi Hattree,
I remember you from when I was posting awhile ago -- you were taking Lamictal, right? How is it going for you?By the way, what is Strattera? I haven't heard of that one yet. Is it a new stimulant?
Thanks, and best to you!
cindy> I WISH there was a way around this stimulant burnout...I used to last weeks before I started to get exhausted and anxious, but now only a few days, and I have taken almost every pstim there is.
>
> If you find a way around this, let me know. I'm looking forward to taking a crack at Strattera.
Posted by sydney on January 21, 2003, at 13:13:23
In reply to Re: Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 7:41:08
I found I was VERY sensitive to Adderall XR. I couldn't take more than 5 mg at a time without becoming jittery and racy. (And I'm 240 lbs!) So even though it was slow acting, I was taking 5 mg at 8 am, 11 am and 2 pm.
Also... I found Adderall XR STRONGLY potentiated caffeine. After I had cut out the coffee, Adderall worked great for almost a year. I'm now trying Strattera... but that's another story.
Posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 17:30:18
In reply to Re: Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by sydney on January 21, 2003, at 13:13:23
I feel sick, nauseated, tired, foggy-headed, flu-like. This is what happens to me on these stims. It's heart-breaking, because they work so wonderfully for the first few days. I tried 15 mg. today, and felt increasingly worse as the hours wore on -- okay the first hour, worse the second, etc. It's been about 4 hours since I took the 15 mg. and the sick feeling has really set in. Must be the burnout??
Sigh.
I'll have to check out this Strattera I'm hearing about.
Thanks all for your help. Any more opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated!
cindy
Posted by Hattree on January 21, 2003, at 18:38:54
In reply to Re: Med-sensitivity » Hattree, posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 13:12:08
Hi Cindy
Lamictal was failing me but I think it was because I dropped my smidge of zoloft and/or because I just got too strung out on speed.
Anyway, resumed zo and it seems that's the key companion to the Lamictal.
Strattera is the new and supposedly different med for ADD, etc. Check out the thread above.
Posted by Hattree on January 21, 2003, at 18:39:51
In reply to Re: Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by sydney on January 21, 2003, at 13:13:23
Hi.
What is your strattera story?
--Hat
Posted by Hattree on January 21, 2003, at 18:41:16
In reply to Tried increasing Adderall today, and ..., posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 17:30:18
Have you ever tried taking Adderall every other day? 50% good days is better than none...never had the discipline for this strategy, myself.
Posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 20:05:12
In reply to Re: Tried increasing Adderall today, and ..., posted by Hattree on January 21, 2003, at 18:41:16
> Have you ever tried taking Adderall every other day? 50% good days is better than none...never had the discipline for this strategy, myself.
Hmmm ... that's a good idea. I'm not sure I'd have the discipline either, though, since I feel so ROTTEN the day I don't take it. It's either try it every day in some form or fashion, or just go cold turkey. I still think I'll give the SR form a try. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess!
Thanks, cindy
P.S. I got off the Lamictal a long time ago. It really wasn't working for me. This Lexapro really seems to help my mood, but I still struggle with the fatigue. I am learning to accept the tiredness, as long as I can feel emotionally better.
Posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 20:17:10
In reply to Re: Med-sensitivity, posted by Hattree on January 21, 2003, at 18:38:54
Thanks, Hattree.
I just breezed through the above thread on Strattera, and checked out their website. I see that it is an SNRI ... does this make it similar in any way to Effexor? If so, I will have to steer clear of it. (Horrible experience with Effexor.)I didn't want to get involved in that huge thread -- hope you don't mind me asking you a Strattera question here!
Thanks and take care,
cindy
> Strattera is the new and supposedly different med for ADD, etc. Check out the thread above.
Posted by babs on January 21, 2003, at 21:23:04
In reply to Re: Why is Adderall making me tired?, posted by sydney on January 21, 2003, at 13:13:23
Sydney- I'm not sure what you mean when you say caffeine potentiated adderall. Made it more or less effective? Did it make you too jittery? I'm wondering because I'm on 15 mg adderall once a day (sometimes twice if I need it) and I drink TONS of diet Coke. I'm just wondering if it would work even better if I cut out the caffeine. Caffeine (at least in diet Coke- I cannot tolerate coffee, it makes me incredibly anxious) seems to have no effect on me. Thanks, babs
Posted by jonh kimble on January 22, 2003, at 0:33:37
In reply to Re: Med-sensitivity, posted by Hattree on January 21, 2003, at 18:38:54
There is a medication called memantine which inhibits nmda, and its used for alzhimers. It apparantly can prevent stimulant poop out very well, however, there isnt ample research.
You may want to do some internet searhes on this, but since I havent tried it I cant tell you much more.
Posted by CindyLou on January 22, 2003, at 7:37:19
In reply to Re: Med-sensitivity, posted by jonh kimble on January 22, 2003, at 0:33:37
John,
Thank you so much for passing along this information. I have heard Memantine mentioned one other time in regards to preventing stimulant poop-out. With your post, I will definitely take this to my pdoc and see what he has to say.Anyone out there have experience with memantine? I would love to hear the results.
Thanks again,
cindy> There is a medication called memantine which inhibits nmda, and its used for alzhimers. It apparantly can prevent stimulant poop out very well, however, there isnt ample research.
>
> You may want to do some internet searhes on this, but since I havent tried it I cant tell you much more.
Posted by sydney on January 22, 2003, at 9:22:18
In reply to adderall and caffeine » sydney, posted by babs on January 21, 2003, at 21:23:04
Usually caffeine just gets me going. But combined with Adderall XR, caffeine just made me jittery and anxious. Quitting coffee made all the difference in the world. I still drank Coke, but overall my caffeine intake dropped by more than 50%.
The reason I switched away from Adderall after almost a year is that I had a couple of episodes of rage as well as an increase in anxiety. My doctor and I didn't blame it directly on Adderall, but thought we'd experiment with replacing it with Strattera.
I won't go into my thoughts on Strattera because there is already a long thread on it. I will say I'd suggest a trial to anyone with ADD who wasn't happy with Adderall XR.
Posted by Hattree on January 22, 2003, at 15:56:34
In reply to Re: Med-sensitivity » Hattree, posted by CindyLou on January 21, 2003, at 20:17:10
Got the feeling there is some similarity to Effexor...might depend how it happens to be similar though.
Posted by Hattree on January 22, 2003, at 15:57:52
In reply to Re: Med-sensitivity-Memantine, posted by CindyLou on January 22, 2003, at 7:37:19
Would love to know more about this one myself. Let me know if you find anything out.
Posted by CindyLou on January 22, 2003, at 17:10:25
In reply to Re: Med-sensitivity-Memantine » CindyLou, posted by Hattree on January 22, 2003, at 15:57:52
Okay, today I am so sick I can barely function. Exhausted, upset stomach, dizzy -- like I have the flu. I pushed things too far by trying 15 mg. of Adderall yesterday, and by taking 5 mg. for over a week. Normally, I can only take it for a day or two before crashing, but I wanted SO BADLY for it to work for me that I kept increasing the dose.
Anyway, I think by tomorrow I should be better. But just for information sake, is there any kind of treatment for this? Anyting I can take to alleviate the symptoms? (Hopefully I will have learned my lesson this time and it won't happen again, but just in case ...)
Thanks,
cindy
This is the end of the thread.
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