just started taking Adderall, though i am not prescribed. I went ...

Hi there,
I have a perscription for adderall xr. I think your dosage is way too high. When people take adderall xr who don't have attention disorders react very differently to it so that dosage will make you nutty. I am on 20mg and it makes me super motivated but i dont have those side effects that you do. however i do have no appetite. What time of day do you take it? That can effect your sleep because if you take it too late in the day even late morning it can keep you up all night. Another point is that in the beginning when you're not used to it, you react more sensitively to it. I wouldn't take any PM meds to help you sleep because an upper and downer mixed isn't safe.

I could not fuction, cannot function without adderall. I finally found out what was wrong with me after all these years. When the medication being effective, which is not at the moment due to the time release, I can handle life. No anxiety, no depression, no frustration, no worry, no wanting to give up. Once the determination of what exactly my condition consisted, Adderall completly changed my life from a living hell with no escape to a somewhat normal existance save the nightly crashes that just a little to early for my social schedule(no I do get home by 10pm) and leaves people wondering ok what just happened to you as it seem one minute you are functional and a short period of time later you are not. I can deal with it if I have to(I have for a great percentage of my 30+yr life) but not for days on end. I have recently just started treatment for ADD after I finally got the correct professional to diagnose me and not a family doctor who likes to give out flavor of the month precriptions( I can name names :P ) The first stimulant after getting me off of welbutrin worked ok for a 2 short parts of the day and sending me back to the living hell inbetween. Adderall CHANGED EVERYTHING I AM STILL AMAZED although I have to dig myself out of a disorganized mess of a life that took years to "build".
I can only approximate what normal people feel after crashing on adderall from related experiences, try living like with no help. Eventaully I imagine that my medication will get dialed in enough that I can wake up and function for a normal day and get to sleep by 11:00pm and be half - sentient.

To lilrosey

I NEED adderall, I feel energetic and I am able to function and many many symptoms of my ADD vaporized, how can I not feel better. 30MG of XR is not all that crazy IF you need it and if you use it properly. You are not and that is why you have insomnia and backache and other symptoms. I get none of that unless I abuse my body through lack of sleep and overstimulation(coffee is really really bad to drink for me now, primatime tablets are not usable(my poor lungs) and several others that will cause various synergistic effects)

Do me a favor and save the Adderall for those who need it so I can learn to live like a normal human being. If you really need it go see a shrink and get evaluated and do things the right way before some idiot lawmaker gets on a pedastool and wages a war against what is my chemical savior(in this life).

You should probably try concerta, which did very little to nothing most of the time and somewhat ok for 2 short periods, but you need a shrink to evaluate you. If 30mg of adderal XR once a day is overstimulating you that badly then concerta might be just right if you truly need it. Remember the intended goal is to approximate normal functionality, not a blitzkreig of officework and superhuman powers. In my initial stages of treatment I am delighted to even have the capacity to get anything done/completed/or show progress on larger tasks. It is not inability through lack of intelligence and understanding, it is not the lack of ability to communicate verbally, it is not the anxiety and depresson loop that follows from decades of frustration it is ADD and I get the feeling that due to the magnitude of change that mine might be a bit severe, but then again I do not have enough time in with the drug to have normalized fully. They did say it would take time to get me just right. Right to the point where someone who needs the drug is finally able to work at behavioral changes that will be much needed even if medication will always be a neccessary thing. I can see, more clearly at times, the amount of work I have to do in conjuntion with medication, and that is just to get my head right, it is a matter of survival.

The really really bad part about all this is I knew but was afraid to go because I knew doctors are so damn scared of people like lilrosy that the first outright refusal of treatment would mark me and I would NEVER HAVE GOTTEN HELP.

The situation does need to change, people need to get help in a reasonable guided fashion ,even lilrosie needs a little help living her life.

I need help so I can live life

I do not want to go back to the living death

Fisrt off 30mg is way too much. You should only be taking 5-10mg a day. Any more with make you feel like your on drugs. The most you should take is 20 mg, but even that is too much.

OK WELL I DONT HAVE A PRESCRIPTION FOR IT EITHER AND I STARTED TAKING ADDERRALL FOR MY STUDYING PURPOSES... BUT SINCE MY BODYS NOT USED TO IT... THE FIRST TIME I TOOK 10 MG AND I JUST HAD THE WORSEE SIDE EFFECTS... AFTERWARDS I STARTED TAKING JUST 5 MG... I CHEW IT W/ MY FRONT TEETH FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... AND I START STUDYING RIGHT AWAY... BUT EVERYTIME BEFOREEE I TAKE ADDERALL.. I ALWAYSS EAT!! SO ALWAYS EAT BEFORE YOU TAKE ADDERALL BECAUSE IT REALLY DOES CUT YOUR CRAVING AND YOU GO ON THE WHOLE DAY W/OUT EATING... BUT JUST EAT BEFORE YOU TAKE ADDERALL AND SERIOUSLY... START OFF W/ LIKE 5MG IF THAT DOESNT DO ANYTHING SWITCH TO 10.. BUT DONT START W/ 30 MG ... YOU NEVER START AT A HIGHER DOSE.... CUZ THEN YOU GET OTHER SIDE EFFECTS THAT I DONT THINK YOU WANT TO HAVE... I MEAN SOME SERIOUS CARDIOVASCULAR PROBLEMS... SO JUST BE CAREFUL WHEN TAKING IT ALWAYS... DONT TAKE ANY VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS W/ IT... NOTHING W/ MAGNESIUM OXIDE... NO CITRIC ACIDS/FRUITS.... N THERES A SPECIAL SPRAY FOR DRY MOUTH (OASIS)... WORKS GREAT!! DONT TAKE IT TOWARDS THE EVENING BECAUSE REMEMBER XR IS SUPPOSED TO BE IN YOUR SYSTEM FOR 24 HOURS... BUT MOST LAST 10-12 HOURS... SOME LAST 6... BUT HEY EVERYONES DIFFERENT REMEMBER THAT... N YES THERE IS A CRASH AFTER ALL OF IT... I TAKE ADDERALL AND AFTER THE EFFECTS ARE GONE I JUST WANNA SLEEP... THE BEST THING TO DO AT THOSE TIMES IS TO REALLY SLEEP BECAUSE YOUR BODY NEEDS IT AND ITS WANTING IT SO DONT TRY TO STAY UP WHEN YOUR BODY WANTS SLEEP... AND DONT "REFUEL" W/ ANOTHER PILL... YOU GOTTA REMEMBER MORNINGS IS THE ONLY TIME TO TAKE IT... AFTERNOON MAYBE ...BUT EVENING NO WAY!! HOPE I HELPED =)

i have been taking adderrall for 5 years now and i am in a very similar situation as sync. its works great and i also cannot function without it unfortunatley. the only thing i can say bad about it is a few side effects i get...like i HAVE to get at least 10 hours of sleep a day and i take it everyday but i still need 10 hours or i am crabby and tired that whole day. and also my heart has started palpatating alot. and i get chest pains and my heart beats real fast. i even told my psych who prescribed it AND my family dr and they both say im fine i have nothin to worry about. but of course i do still worry. anyone been on it for as long as i have? and anyone have the chest pains and palpatations?

You are taking uppers, have bought them illegally, and on your way to becoming drug abuser!

If you are overcome at work, ask the doctor about taking Prozac- many new moms take it because the new life as a mom is overwhelming. Others take it for depression, anger and even OCD. It's not just for postal workers anymore!

Adderall should be used at the smallest doses, then work your way up if needed. You should not be having heart palpitations! That's a sign to try something else. Adderall can also cause high blood pressure, your doctor should know what you are ttaking and monitor these things. Ive taken adderall on and off for years. I didn't use to have side effects, now I do. Remember different manufacturers have different formulas. 1 Generic didn't work for my son, but another one does. Name brand XR didn't work at all. I now have severe backaches on adderall. My eyes also become very drya and I get cotton mouth. I can only take a few days then I need a day off. i will be checking with my Dr. next visit to try something else. If you really need help focusing, talk to another Dr. who will really listen to what you are saying. Be honest and tell them you tried it and the effects you had. There are so many different meds out there, but they need to find the one that is right for you.

I love these people that get their hands on ADD/ADHD drugs and take them "Just so they can work and study better!". Yeah - I feel so freakin sorry for them. I actually HAVE ADHD, unlike this person who "Just want's to work better". Personally, she deserves the freakin side effects cause she should not be on the drugs she is buying illegally anyway!!

There are real people, such as myself, who really have ADD/ADHD that have suffered and continue to suffer daily with this disorder that medicine only helps to a point which is completely frustrating let alone dealing with this Learning Disability that can cause mental distress such as depression and anxiety. Our life occurs to be way more overwhelming than anyone who DOES NOT have ADD/ADHD, like this freak that "Just want's to work better", could ever imagine. Only ADD/ADHD people can sympathize with what I am saying here because we truly understand the struggles of this disorder. It is quite unreal when you actually have it and it goes far past simply "Not being able to concentrate." I am so over hearing that. I don't care if you can't concentrate, trying living in the brain of a true ADD/ADHD person for a while and you will find out want the definition of that word means to us!! ADD/ADHD, it is a complex information processing issue where our noticibable symtom as in "on the surface to us when we jus try to sit down to perhaps read let's see - freakin ANYTHING, is concentration." and then we go "Hey you know I think I just read this paragraph umm twenty times!!" Issues with concentration and you can't stay awake at work??? Yeah - I feel so freakin sorry for you!! These people have just a concentration issue and not all the other issues of this Learning Disability and then they think it gives them the right to take our drugs by either buying them illegally or lying that they have symptoms of ADD/ADHD base on "I can't concentrate or I can't get enough done at work, I need medicine so I can perform better". or the classic, "I'm in school and it's really hard so I need drugs to help me so I go get some of those drugs intended for the ADD/ADHD people who really have a learning issue but I don't care cause I want what I want...." Whay!! I feel so sorry for you - I hope you have Cardiac Arrest from a drug that you were not supposed to be taken in the first place. Stop trying to be an Over Achiever and get to the root of your problem which is not ADD/ADHD. Belive me, if you really had it - you would know it. Nothing irritates me more than this mentality of let's steal ADD/ADHD drugs so "I can perform better or I eat to much and I want to curb my appetitie." Unreal.

So here is my advice to you: You want to go to college and "Study Better or Have more Energy at Work?", freakin motivate yourself!! Your worried now that you are loosing weight? Freakin eat and get the hell off the drugs that you are not supposed to be on in the first place! Stop stealing the drugs that are designed for people who actually truly have ADD/ADHD. You want to be Super Human, have some of that Legal Drug called "Coffee" and drink that at 3:00 pm like the rest of America does and get your hand out of our cookie jar. These are our drugs that are designed for the people that actually suffer with this information processing dis-order.

If you do not have ADD/ADHD then you are a Drug Addict.

hey sowhat,
You say you have trouble concentrating but i think your problem is that you spend all your time concentrating on writing pages of meaningless nonsense that no one even cares to read.

I care and agree!

I have ADD and was diagnosed two years ago. I have been on strattera for two year and just switched to Adderall 20mg two months ago and just had it raised to 30mg xr. (I start taking the new dose tomorrow) So far it has helped me greatly with my ADD and I wish I had this when I was in School. I agree that this pill should be for the people who REALLY NEED IT!!!!

I have had ADHD for many years and a DR just actully gave me something for it at the age of 25. I suffer from alot of disorders... but adderall seems to have a hard fall and I dont think thats a good thing. I am taking 30mg of reg adderall and through the day I am doing okay... but in the afternoon I want to fight someone. I hate this feeling. I am also starting litham tonight... and I hope and pray I get what I need out of the medication. And I agree and have been reading about people just taking the drug to better in class. ADHD is so much more than that. There are so many more problems that people have ADHD other than not being able to do things during the day or scoring bad on a test. I am so lucky to have found the DR I went to the other day... and he is willing to hang in there with me to try out what I need to try out. This is the first day of me taking adderall.... and it seems to be playing more emotional games with me... so I'm not sure this is the drug for me. Maybe if I take it for a couple of days it will work out the kinks and all will be well. I am also hoping it will take me away from a LARGE addiction to pain killers. I have been suffering from this for a long time and I am just waiting on a rainbow to come from behond the clouds. I also know that adderall has a LARGE addiction rate... so I am being VERY careful and will be taking this drug just as it was giving to me. I have been reading that adderall is a wonderful drug and after a few days... it works very well. I am just scared it is going to cause an addition .... to another addiction that I don't need. I just wish there was ways of getting brain chemicals to change other than medication. If there is anyone else out there going through what I am ... email me. I would love to find a support group to talk about my problems. (Maddieg3105@aol.com)