Generic adderall stopped working?

[Anonymous]

Hi all. As I understand most of you are older than 14, but I hope you still have some advice.

After months of waiting, I finally got my prescription for amphetamine salts (generic adderall). It’s a small, blue, 5mg tablet. I started taking it on Monday, and my god was it wonderful! Concentrating in school was never easier! The mental clarity was amazing. However, it only lasted roughly half of the day, leaving me incredibly frustrated and ticked off by last period when I found I couldn’t focus. My friend who has ADHD who has been taking Ritalin told me that this is likely to happen. Of course, by the time I got home I was very hungry since I didn’t eat too much during lunch.

By the second day (from what I remember), the affect felt a little less, but was, for the most part, the same. By the end of the day I at least knew what to expect and didn’t get very frustrated. I defiantly knew it wore off though.

Yesterday, the affect was very short-lived. Even before first period (which started about 40 minutes before I took my meds) it was significantly less than it was previous days. Unfortunately, by last period, I began to feel pathetic how different I am and how I need to take medication to be even less than normal people. So I was severely depressed for around an hour and got over it by playing computer games, like I do for everything.

Today, I barely felt anything at all. So, my therapist said that this generally means that I haven’t found my correct dose. It makes sense, but I’d really like to get your input! In case it matters, I’m 14, 110 lbs, about 6′, and was diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD around 3 months ago.

Thanks!

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Aye! By (40 minutes before I took my meds), I actually mean 40 minutes AFTER!

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

The effects of this drug is about 4 to 6 hours.  It is just like taking a tylenol. This drug is not time-released. Its sounds like you had good and the effective result the first day.  However, you need to plan to take dose during these time periods.  I take the same drug at 7:30 and 11:30 and then 3:30 if I have plans that I need to stay focused on for the evening…like playing basketball.  If I take my meds this way, I don’t have trouble with sleep at 10PM.  You many need your dose adjusted too but don’t expect this drug to last you through the day.  Your doctor might change you to the extended release that can last up to 12 hours and through  the day.  The downside is the extended release can stay in your system sometimes and then you can have trouble sleeping that is what happened to me.  It was a bummer…so I switched back to the standard Adderall and take it 2 or 3 times a day.

 

REPORT ABUSE

[Patte Rosebank]

Welcome, @natebot88!

You’re very lucky to have been diagnosed so young, because your future is almost limitless.  It’s very different for people who find out they have it when they’re 50 (or 70), and wonder how different their life could have been, if only they’d known.

You’re now at a stage of life where you’re going through a lot of growing.  And those stages are when ADHD symptoms can flare up more than usual.

ADHD is something that affects everyone in your family, even if you’re the only one diagnosed with it, so they need to learn all about it, too.

So please do the adult thing and share all this with your parents.  Believe it or not, they really do want to help you!

________________________________

The thing to remember about meds for mental issues is that they’re never one-size-fits-all, so what works for one person won’t necessarily work for the next person.  So the only way to find what works for YOU is for you and your doctor to carefully try the lowest dose of one med for a few weeks, then get together, assess how well it treated your symptoms, and then adjust the dose and repeat the process.

But if you had a bad reaction to that first med, your doctor would probably change you to a different med, at the lowest dose, and you’ll repeat the process.

________________________________

It’s really hard to remember what you did each day, for the several weeks between appointments, so you’ll need to keep a basic “medication tracker” journal, every day.

Write down:

The med. and the dose.

What time you took it.

Any good effects you noticed.

Any bad effects you noticed.

Any external factors that could have affected your mood & functioning that day (for example:  a big test at school, a really fun dance class, an argument with your family).

Bring this journal with you each time you see your doctor.  That way, you and your doctor will be able to see just how effectively the prescribed med & dosage have been working for you during the trial period.

________________________________

Right now, you’ve just started taking Adderall.  The effect was really dramatic on the first day, because it was totally new.  The second day, the effect wasn’t as dramatic, and on the third day, you hardly noticed it at all.   Once you get used to an ADHD med, you might think it’s stopped working, because it feels like nothing at all.

But your family, friends, and teachers might see things differently.  They might notice a big improvement in how well you’re working & playing.  We ADD’ers often have trouble seeing ourselves as others do, so we often miss things about ourselves that are very obvious to others.

And that “crash & burn” as the meds wear off is something we all go through. There are ways to minimize or postpone it, but that’s something to discuss with your doctor, later.  Right now, the most important thing is to find the med & dose that’s best for you now.

________________________________

Another important thing to remember about ADHD meds is, they’re like training wheels.  They’ll help you learn what you have to do to help yourself to function at your best, but you’ll still need to do the work yourself.

And you can’t fix all of your symptoms & struggles at once.  You need to decide which 2 are the ones that cause you the most trouble, and work on JUST those 2.   Figure out WHEN & WHY they seem to flare up.  Once you understand them, you can plan how to deal with them, so they aren’t as big a problem.  As you get used to understanding them and dealing with them, you’ll be able to control them more than they can control you.  Not all the time, but enough of the time.

Once you’ve mastered the first two symptoms this way, you can move onto the next 2, and deal with them the same way, and then the next 2, and so on.

Just keep taking little steps like that, and they’ll really add up.  You’ll still have ups and downs, but the ups will be better and the downs won’t be so bad.

You’ll be working on this for the rest of your life (Yipes!), but it’s worth it because YOU’RE worth it!

REPORT ABUSE

[Robbo]

You’re off to a great start young man. I too am very glad you’re here. I’m hoping you take your time a read all the input here. Give having a good relationship with your parents a decent shot, okay?.

Lot’s of us are very rebellious by our own inborn nature. We just rebell. Don’t ask us why. We JUST DO THAT MAN! It’s not all that important why right now. Besides, we’re not your parents here on this site.

We do in fact care about you much more than the vast variety of the Intenet because we can all see ourselves in you, and your actions.
Where the heck were you when I was 14 city Lady? I love the advice you’ve given NateBo.

decide which 2 are the ones that cause you the most trouble, and work on JUST those 2. Figure out WHEN & WHY they seem to flare up.

You know, that same advice works for just about all ages, does it not?. Seriously, correct me if I’m wrong here. We all know just how freakin reckless I can be. But it’s much more serious in this thread. We’re helping Nate. This ain’t no time to be clowning around…
But… I’m me, huh?
Oh boy, Oh Jeeze, Oh man…
Just stick with us Kid, n you’ll go far. That’s sounds sooo dang clich’e!!! uuughh…
Oh boy, oh jeeze, Oh Man!!
Stick arond kid.
You’ll
Go
Far.
Trust me.
BAW-

REPORT ABUSE

[Patte Rosebank]

Wow, thanks, @Robbo!

But I’m not really a “City Lady”.

I grew up in a fairly rural town, with lots of forests and fields to run around in.  When my brother & I decided we wanted to ramble through the fields behind our house, to our grandfather’s little produce farm, our parents just turned us loose and knew we’d be fine.

There’s still a bit of that “country” stuff in my family.

It usually comes out when we visit rural areas.  We instantly blend in, because we can talk and THINK like the locals.  Except for Mom.  She grew up in New Toronto, so sometimes she tells us that we “still have a little manure between the toes”.  (As if that’s a bad thing…)

_____________________________________
I got that advice about “choose 2 symptoms” from Dr. Jain, the original medical advisor to TotallyADD.com.  That’s him in the “Virtual Doctor” (http://totallyadd.com/virtual-doctor/).

He’s been really busy, so he hasn’t dropped by here for quite a while.  So it’s up to us to spread his wisdom around while he’s away, because it’s no good unless it’s spread around.  (Kind of like the stuff Mom says we still have between our toes…)

REPORT ABUSE

[Scattybird]

Hi natebot88 – welcome.

The advice you’ve had so far is great – I can’t really add to it but I can tell you my experience because it MIGHT be relevant.

I was diagnosed 15 months ago and it’s taken me since then  (well 12 of those months) to find the right dose (I take fast-release Ritalin) and it took that long to feel ‘comfortable’ with the medication and know how it works for me. Like you I am inattentive (but with some impulsive stuff thrown in). I now know when it wears off and plan my doses accordingly.

Also like you, the first time I took Ritalin (and it was a tiny dose back then) I saw the world like I’d never seen it before – such clarity and focus. Wonderful! But that didn’t last long. I think that’s quite a common experience and it can be frustrating when that goes away. It’s like tasting chocolate for the first time and then someone saying you can’t have any ever again.

Over the months I increased my dose  but also played around with timings of it to maximise the benefit – it takes a long time because you have to give each dose a fair chance and discuss with your doctor and get a new prescription ……and just get to know how you react to it.

Now I am settled on a dose and to be honest I wonder if it does anything at all sometimes. I take it and live my life. I don’t experience that deep clarity and focus with it anymore. BUT, I am able to do my work better and I am MUCH less likely to fly off the handle about something – it’s been great for my emotional regulation. But I am still me and I still have all the ADHD “issues” related to being inattentive , but I am able to bring myself back into the moment now and …well, make a choice about whether I need/want to focus on something or not. Before I didn’t even know I wasn’t focusing until I messed up – there was no choice, or so it seemed. I still need to use other methods – like a 30 minute bleeper if I am especially tired and that just reminds me I should be in the moment, or doodling in a really boring meeting but mostly I can manage.

If I have a medication ‘holiday’ I most certainly DO know the Ritalin is working when I take it. I revert back to my old inattentive and emotionally unregulated self. So in a work meeting the tiny doodle in the corner of a page (when on meds) becomes pages of doodles – in fact my boss commented once on my doodling (pre-meds), particularly as I wasn’t even listening to him!

There is a quote on another thread about knowing your meds are working when you stop thinking about them. That pretty much sums it up brilliantly.

I also discover that I need to eat regularly – don’t skip meals and if you do, then eat a cereal bar or something. It’s really important to eat and sleep well.

Basically, stay patient – work with your doctor and you’ll find the right dose. You might need to modify that as you get older .

Good luck with it and let us know how you get on.

REPORT ABUSE

[Robbo]

Thanks for sharing about that Scattybird, lot’s of good info there. I was taking Ritalin myself last year for a while. Got impatient and also didn’t have much contact with the doctor about it. If I would have had better supervision I probably would have kept taking it. It’s a hard lesson to learn. It’s also not always a good idea to talk about medications on the Internet. I recently had some experiences that made me think twice about just how anonymous I can actually be here.

The bottom line, I’m gonna have to choose between a certain amount of risk taking in the spirit of helping out people who lack understanding about our dilemma. And also the risk of showing up at church and feeling like “people are talking” Well that just sucks, but the bottom line is that this web site is the best deal I got! Many millions of folks come cruising through this forum looking for information. Literally thousands per day.

It’s not unreasonable to imagine that we’re helping much more people than we realize. We’re not here for any kind of reward either. I know that the only way I can really get help here is for me to tell the whole truth. Well. As much of it that I can stand to tell. My truth also involves many other people who don’ t want me talking about them on the Internet. So I’ll need to slow myself down some.

Really think before I write n stuff like that.

Sure pal. YOU TRY THAT!!!

R-

REPORT ABUSE

[Robbo]

Seriously?

You want me to think first?

wellcrap.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Thank you all very much for your help! I’ve decided to continue on my 5mg dose after taking a few days off. I’ve noticed that I do feel generally more cluttered and forgetful when not on it. If, after a while I find I’m still too forgetful and such I’ll talk to my doc about it.

That’s not all though. What I previously thought was only accomplishable with meds I’ve found I can do nearly as well off them! All of this is so revolutionary, am I right?

Anyway, feel free to keep conversing about your stories and advice! They’re all interesting and very helpful!

REPORT ABUSE

[Patte Rosebank]

@natebot88, You learn fast!

That’s not all though. What I previously thought was only accomplishable with meds I’ve found I can do nearly as well off them! All of this is so revolutionary, am I right?

It took me almost 3 years, before I discovered that fact.  And someone else had to point it out to me!

REPORT ABUSE

[Robbo]

woops, sorry gang. I wish they would bring back the ability to edit our posts. I got a “server error” message the first time I clicked on submit post.. oh well…

REPORT ABUSE

[Robbo]

I don’t get it… can you explain it to me a lil better? only kidding. You give good explanations. It’s likely you understand a lot about what I’ve been dealing with. I wonder why?… lol, only kidding about that “wonder” too. Of course you can relate…

It was a bummer that the times didn’t follow up and tell the whole darn truth about “us ADDers”. But fortunately we’ve got a huge community started here. Lot’s of the folks that have come and gone here, and are still here. It’s just that the visibility and transparency of the Internet makes it really scary for all but the most bold and daring. Or like in my case, those who are in need of a sufficient substitute for the poor health care they receive. The real truth in my case is a lil bit of both. I’m not all that satisfied with my health care. How I see the quality of my health care drastically changed when my life was in danger again only about 4 years ago. I’ll save that story for some other time. But I can tell you this. I’m still alive because of good decisions my G.P. doctor made. Along with many other doctors and the crew here too. Lot’s of Christians helped me tons. I’m sure faith made a huge difference.

There’s a way to break off into smaller support group like settings here. Later on in the future I’m sure we’ll have lot’s of opportunities to have much more private, and/or confidential forums where lot’s of us will be able to talk much more in detail without the entire Internet being able to see what’s going on inside our minds n hearts, we won’t have to worry about folks in our life reading half what we said and jumping to the wrong conclusions. For now. Heck if I cared that much I would never have even posted here the first time. Huh?.

This community did tons to now only keep me alive and hopeful. But the quality of my life has been improved very drastically. Not by any single one of you cats in this Zoo. But the collective effort of more than a hundred folks with ADD/ADHD. Even at a few other places on the net where they have good ADHD support networks.

Heck, tomorrow and wed. I’ll have a couple groups to go to where we all talk about anxiety and depression. Peer support groups of all different kinds help us because IMHO ADHD resides as part of the root cause of many of the human problems we face. Working on the ADHD has made things like depression become a fact of my past, not my future.

In my case. Behind the ADHD was a spiritual malady. What has worked best for me is simple prayer and meditation every morning. Both are good habits that I keep on practicing all throughout the day. I meditate lightly, even as I type. I’ll actually pause, take a deep breath and think a lil bit before I click on the Submit button.

I’ll be much more comfortable hitting that “submit” button when they give us back the edit feature. Guess we haven’t complained enough. I’m not all that bothered by it these days. Part of having ADHD is the ability to accept things that seem impossible. Some stuff is impossible. Other things are just not all that much worth putting that much work into. I guess that’s the case with our long lost edit feature. No bid deal… then whey do I keep talking about it?. Well a big deal will usually turn back into it’s right size when I talk about it honestly and more importantly, try to listen to other viewpoints about the prospective problem. Heck, it may not even be a solvable problem.

I might just be writing all this in hopes of just accepting the loss of our dear friend The Edit Feature.

I hope I didn’t abuse the The Edit Feature. I have a strange tendency to play with thing. I’m a clown. What’s the problem with that?. I bet lot’s of ADDers are natural born clowns. Like Jimi Hendrix. I’ve been watching him on interviews and of course on stage for years. I’m sure he’s a natural born clown. It’s probably part of the ADHD DNA.

If you get frustrated with the fact that they still don’t have an edit feature. Might I suggest listening to Jimi Hendrix in concert at the Stockholm show. 1969

Jimi has a great sense of humor. Listen to his white dude accent at the beginning of the show where he says “I hope you don’t mind”

He’s a natural clown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeZ9OOAe1Ho

If you click on this link many months after the day I posted it. Just try running a search at youtube, or a site like youtube for the

Jimi Hendrix at Stockholm Sweden 1969 I’m sure you’ll find it.

REPORT ABUSE

[elle99]

hello all,

I was on 20 mg of adderall xr, it worked well for me.  Then the dose was increased to 30 mg, and i feel tired, i have headaches every day and i get dizzy easily.  I am not sure if this will subside?  thoughts?

REPORT ABUSE

[Scattybird]

Hello elle99 – I am not sure about Adderall because I have never taken it.

However, I had a similar thing with Ritalin when my dose was increased. I am used to the higher dose but it took a while.

I use two doses depending on what I am doing. I use the lower dose for daily regulation of my impulsiveness and generally to keep grounded and the higher dose less frequently but if I need to really focus on something.

How I react to the high dose now depends a little bit on how tired I am.  If I am tired then it makes me feel slow and even more tired. But if I am feeling OK then it does what I want it to do.

 

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts