Been on the meds a week now. A few new problems, emotions, have arised.

[ph0t0bug]

I have now been taking my meds for a week. They do help me focus much better than I use to. Im having a few of the side effects. Some not being able to sleep, heart racing at times but the biggest issues I deal with now are the fact that one, I have times where I get real emotional thinking about the past. How people have helped me, or tried to, in the past and I just denied them. I have lost friends over this and it hurts to think about it. Secondly Im still a little overwhelmed at the amount of things that I have to get back in order in my life and how to get started and select the most important things first. I try not to take the meds if im not going to work, mostly on the weekends which are Sunday and Monday. Yes I notice a BIG difference in those days but I want to be able to try to function normally, or as normally as possible, when im not on the meds. Im not much of a med taker and never have been. Right now I am taking 3 quarters of a 30mg tablet of Adderall instant release. It stays with me for about 6 to 8 hours. I would love for the medication to work into my actual working time which is from 4pm to Midnight but dont want to loose the hours that I am awake earlier in the day from 9-4. Could I take the 3 quarters of the tablet in the morning and then the last quarter at say 2 or 3 in the afternoon to boost what I took earlier? Yes I am writing this on a Sunday night when I am not on the medication so looking back at my post Im REALLY sorry its so wordy… Any suggestions?

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[Misswho23]

hey one owl to another owl. Like your avatar. Birds of a feather…

When I first went on adderall it was a little crazy. I too got real emotional about stuff especially as the medication would wear off. I take the short release as well. and about 5 -10 megs in the morning. Maybe 5 mgs. in the afternoon if I need too.

Give yourself sometime. I wasn’t used to operating on all cylinders so to speak so I was like Wow is this what it feels like to get stuff done?

I also had to get a lot of my life in order and had a huge list of things. So take it a day at a time of just a bit at a time and soon it will start to balance out.

Have you watched Dr. Jain’s webinar on medication? I found it informative. And really funny when people sent in to stop yelling. He was trying to cover a lot of material

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[ph0t0bug]

Love your avatar as well Had an Eastern Screech Owl land in my backyard about 3 days ago… it was GREAT…..

I will have to watch that. I have just started watching the webinars so I have not watched it yet. I have watched most of the other videos and found my self crying at some point on a few, even though they were funny. It was like watching my life and knowing that someone understood what I was going through. I have been told so many times, even though I was diagnosed when I was a kid, that I didnt have ADHD. That I was able to concentrate when watching a movie or playing a video game. I started believing it myself but I would eventually fail at almost anything I tried. Now that I am on meds I see how it can be and see that I CAN get things done. I just need to sit and make my list… I have the power to do it now… I just need the confidence that I will do it. Where the meds can help me focus the previous failure in my life is not erased by them. I think that is one of the hardest things to over come is having the confidence that I can do it and come out victorious instead of failing.

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[Misswho23]

Stick with it. And if the meds bother you too much then maybe try another one since everyone reacts different. Right now I’m on an up side with some great things that have been going on in my life. I still get hit with that self doubt of oh crap can I keep this up and for how long? But I use the mantra progress not perfection and try to give myself a break. I’ve managed to do a lot and operating with what felt like half a brain. Which is more true than I realized.

Yep the meds don’t do everything and they don’t erase the past. But in the year and a half that I’ve had since being diagnosed I try to focus on the fact I’m building new memories and a better lens to reflect back on those memories with, And the other painful past memories? Well I just try not to dwell too much on them. And now I can look and and say well no wonder why such and such happened. I didn’t know what I was dealing with. It’s hard and sometimes there are just no easy answers other than knowing that others here have been there as well.

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[g.laiya]

i’ve been on meds for idk 2 months or so now, also adderall. for the most part, i’m more or less on the right dose/med, i think, though still working out the timing a bit.

from the first day that i took the adjusted dose in the morning,and for the first month or so thereafter it was a trip. for the first time in my life(diagnosed at almost 48 yo) i felt awake, alert and clearheaded in the morning, and my “default setting” through the day was no longer to take a nap. while really thrilled with the change, it took a while to really wrap my head around the change….just felt so strange to be functioning(or at least have the potential to function) in a somewhat normal way. the strangeness has worn off now as i’ve gotten used to this being my new normal, but i’ve also slipped back into some not so good habits, but i think very much stress related.

i’ve also been pretty emotional(more than usual), though this began before i started the meds, back in may(?) when i first realized that i more than likely had add, and the spectrum ranging from relief of the “aha!” moment….this sure explains a lot kind of things, to the gosh i sure wish i had this info and tools and support much earlier in life along with anger and regrets….

and since starting meds, the reality of all i have to deal with…my current situation in the broadest sense,.all the mistakes i need to correct, changes i need to make….has become much more clear, somehow more real(if that makes sense)…..and makes me feel very sad and overwhelmed. thankfully not all the time, but i do get weepy from time to time. and on top of it all, feeling a lot of shame for having this “leg up” to help me, but still haven’t made any radical changes in the way i do things. disappointed that i still need alarms to remember many things, still lose track of time, still procrastinate, still stay up way too late sometimes doing fun but not important/productive stuff, house and car still a mess…..improvements here and there, but overall disappointed in myself….

on a more positive note though, most of the time (at least while med is active) i have much better emotional regulation. i have taken steps to create a better life including working with a coach and sending my cv to places that seem to be possibilities as a good fit for work. i’m planning to return to school in january(will have to do school in the morning and work in the evenings, which will be challenging but i think i can manage). have another work avenue somewhat on the backburner until i have an idea of what locations i will likely be working from. i finally got an organizer for myself that includes a daily scheduler as well as a section for writing notes/ideas/things to get back to at a more appropriate time,etc.

so that’s pretty much where i’m at these days….ups and downs….pressing forward, but not as much as i would have liked by now.

grateful to have this site and all the great people here to help me feel i’m not alone in this.

as far as advice, i’d say just play around with the timing/dosage of med (with yours dr’s consent and knowledge) to see what works best for you. and i think a good coach can also be really helpful, in many ways.

gotta go – ttfn!

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[ph0t0bug]

So I watched Dr. J talk about Meds and that was very informative. Ii wish I could have been watching during the cast to ask the question about my med and working at night. I have not found a lot of information on the Adderall instant release but there is a bunch about the XR. I am sure there are lots of people like myself who work in the evening who need this information as well as people who are taking the generic Adderall that is not XR. I wish there were more post about this.

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[shutterbug55]

Hey Photo!

In addition to my post Just Started Adderall IR (generic). Got questions… cant find straight answers

Are you working with a counselor? They can help with the emotional part. With any journey of self-discovery, you are going to have to navigate mine fields of emotions. I think that is a given.

I had been feeling shame for 55 years because I couldn’t succeed at anything I tried. I had people telling me I was a looser, and at best an “under-performer”. When I was diagnosed, and started treatment, and started bending the world to fit me, that all turned around and all these emotions came out. I was mad. Mad at the wold for beating me up, mad at my friends, mad at my co-workers. Mad at everyone. Mad at myself.

Moral of the story: Are going to go through periods of high emotions? Yes. Are they the result of your drug therapy? I don’t know. Who would know? Your doctors.

The treatment of this thing we now call ADD is 1) Counseling, 2) Self discovery and education, and 3) if needed, drug therapy. You have doctors and shrinks (can’t spell Psychxxxxxxtrists) to help you through the process. Use them.

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[Geoduck]

Can’t read all the posts…not enough time, so I’m commenting on one or two chunks that I saw while skimming. Read the first post completely, though.

I take the generic! Amphetamine salts/D-Amphetamine salts, depending on the pharmacy. Usually, I take the ER (XR). But I take the IR, when I’ve missed my morning ER. I took the IR at first, to see how I did on the meds. Nothing like having to deal with something that doesn’t work for 12 hours, instead of 6, at least that was the reasoning at the time.

I’m extremely sensitive to medications. I did find that my heart raced, at first, and so I adjusted the IR dose down to 15mg per dose, vs. 20. That helped a bit. However, I also lost a ton of weight during that time (NOT related to the meds, related more to diet), and that was another reason to cut back.

If I take the ER (15mg/day) after 9 am, I am up all night , ideal dosing time being 8am for me. I have issues with insomnia, anyway, but the meds make that worse, if taken too late. For the IR, if it’s past 3:00pm, I don’t bother taking the second dose. The ideal dosage time for the IR is 8am and 2pm for me.

I still can’t drink coffee when I’m on the meds, it really makes my heart unhappy for about an hour or two after drinking it. Doc said up to 2 cups was okay, but I’m just that sensitive.

The biggest side effect for me is thirst. I need to have water near me at all times while on the meds.

About the IR- I thought I was supposed to take 10mg 2x a day, but I wasn’t. The pharmacist just labeled it wrong. To get the same effect as a 20mg ER pill (which is what I was taking at first), I was supposed to be taking 20mg in the am, and 20 in the afternoon. It only stays in the system for about 6 hours, which sounds like you are describing.

Talk with your doc and make sure you are taking the pills as you are supposed to be taking them. Also, talk with him about the possibility of taking them so it more conforms with your schedule. I’d say go nuts, and do what works, but then I could be setting you up for huge health problems, which is why I’m not a doctor. Too much responsibility. LOL.

Also, yeah, you’re gonna feel like crap when you start some big thing like working with your ADHD. You’re learning a ton about it, and how it has effected you and everyone around you for years. I don’t think it’s the meds, but again, ask a doc. Still, yeah, I can see why you feel emotional about it. It’s a very emotional thing. For myself, I felt angry that nobody helped me and denied my experience. Having ADHD has such a big impact on us. Expect emotions.

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