Okay, I’ve kinda posted about these issues before, but I just can NOT get over this. I was diagnosed with adult ADD recently, and my doctor tried me on both Focalin and Ritalin (the patch form.) I liked Focalin except for the 3-hour dropout every day, but Ritalin was like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer. Actually, it reminded me of Demerol without the painkilling effect.
Early this morning, I started Adderall (20 mg.) Now, it can take a while to make absolutely sure you’re feeling 100% of the full effect, but…
I can’t help thinking, “THIS is supposed to be a stimulant???” If I didn’t know what it was, that is the last thing I would have guessed.
I can’t imagine having trouble falling asleep because of this. :dubious: Or even getting jittery or nervous. I mean, I may yet, but you’d think that I would at least be feeling SOME of that if it was going to happen. I just feel like… I’m in a parasympathetic state. It would be a good time to meditate, except that I have to go register for classes. I will say, though, that the relaxing effect isn’t as profound as with the others. Which I think will be good, because sometimes it was just too much, especially with Ritalin, which made me fall asleep and then just want to stare at the wall for hours. I once watched a lamp all afternoon and was perfectly entertained.
Anyway, the point is… has anyone else had this reaction? Or am I a freak, doomed to wander the earth and eventually join a traveling sideshow??
Adderall is a mix of amphetamine salts. Amphetamines, what on the street is called speed, and is often given to pilots to stay awake on long missions, are stimulants. However, stimulant doesn’t necessarily mean what you think it means, and depending on your own individual chemistry, psychiatric and psychological state you may react differently. I have heard of the sedation effect of stimulants many times, and this is not freakishly abnormal, especially for somebody diagnosed with adult ADD. Personally, while stimulants tend to make me more alert, more wakeful and less groggy they certainly make me calmer, less erratic and make it a lot easier to fall asleep. Caffeine, amphetamines, methilphenidate, etc. – they can make it easier for one to stay awake and make it easier for one to fall asleep. There is really no contradiction here – if you check your Adderall bottle it might even say “May cause drowsiness”, then again it might not. It definitely should have a warning about driving.
When I used to take it I would stay up 3 days nearly continuously with about 4 hours total sleep. And eat maybe a bowl of cereal, a sandwich and half a cracker.
Your reaction makes sense to me. In simple terms (I googled it, but my eyes crossed after seeing “serotonin” and “dopamine” too many times), in ADHD there’s a part of the brain that isn’t work as well, and that part of the brain is responsible for allowing you to calm and focus. The stimulant medication makes that part of the brain work better. Try googling “stimulant for adhd paradox” for some links.
But you should talk to your doctor before cutting the dose in half. Of course. A lesser dose of Adderral’s not likely to hurt you, but it might not help very much either.
-Lil
IIRC, the way that Adderall and other stimulants affect people with ADHD is by stimulating the pre-frontal cortex and other regions of the brain responsible for directing attention on a complex cognitive task such as listening to a lecture. So, although it’s a stimulant, it stimulates the parts of the brain that will allow people to be less hyperactive or engage in behaviors that aren’t adaptive towards completing the task they’ve set out to complete.
Between Mama Zappa’s explanation and my own, does that generally make sense?
Oh yeah, it makes sense. For it being the first day, I’m happy with it so far. It’s not the first stimulant I’ve tried, so I think it will take some time to be sure what the full effect is. I’m having some trouble staying awake, though NOT as much as I had with Ritalin.
That part of the brain you allude to is an executive center whose job it is to control the activity of other functions. By default these other functions just react to stimuli all the time so the executive function is responsible for suppressing most of these functions, thus allowing the chosen function to dominate. It is believed that in ADHD this executive center is not as active as it should be so all processes are competing for your attention all the time. By stimulating the executive function you can regain more control and concentrate better.
Hi, **Anise. ** As others have said, if you are in the ADD/ADHD spectrum, stimulants (substances that act on norepinepherine, or NE) help you concentrate but don’t tend to make you more activated. People without ADD/ADHD tend to be activated by these substances. Some people with ADD/ADHD have trouble sleeping while using these; others don’t. For myself, a person who nears but doesn’t meet ADHD criteria, amphetamines and other stimulants tend to make me sleepy.
IANAD, etc, etc. This all just my own experience. I was put on Strattera until my liver levels shot through the roof. From there it was on to Ritalin and Concerta. They were effective to a point, in that I was able to concentrate for more than 9 seconds on a single task. The problem was I was only concentrating on how to piss people off and start fights. Imagine the stereo-typical tweaker on a binge and spiraling out of control. That was me in many ways.
Now, this isn’t a recommendation, just what works for me. My doc started me on Provigil awhile ago and it’s the perfect fit for me. It’s primarily used for narcolepsy, but scheduled to be approved for ADHD soon from what I read.
It, too, is a stimulant, but it doesn’t make you feel more alert or less tired. At least not for me. Without enough rest, I’m still tired and feel run down. However, the concentration is running at full capacity and is in no less control as with any of the other drugs. So I beleive it is a stimulant to the brain and various functions, just not a “high” stimulation.
A friend of mine had experience with Adderal, he was prescribed it for adult ADD. He said for some time it caused drowsiness but that it faded over time. I don’t know if his doctor ever changed his dosage or not.
Another adult ADDer here and Ritalin user. I never have a problem with sleeping or being overly jumpy. I’ve found that on the occasions when I’ve let the prescription lapse (yeah, the meds don’t stop you from being forgetful) that I “self-medicate” with Cokes and smokes. It helps to keep me relatively focused until I can get to the doc for a new prescription.
