Stimulants make me tired

So I was dx'd with inattentive ADD as a kid, and a couple years ago was re-diagnosed with it as an adult. There's been some question as to whether the ADD my whole life has simply been other issues looking like ADD. Well, I've been having some issues lately with feeling tired a lot even when sleeping too much (the assumption being from depression) So we tried a low dose of Vyvanse which helped a teeny bit, I was thinking more clearly but would crash pretty hard after 6 hours and be useless the rest of the day. so we tried modafinil. Well it was making me very, very tired. So now he's trying me on the lowest dose of Concerta. I was still feeling a bit drowsy and muddled so took two pills today to see what would happen and today feel even more tired and muddy-brained. What in the red planet is going on lol. Anyone heard of this happening or had it happen, themselves? My pdoc doesn't usually do much with ADHD patients or stimulants, he's more about PDs, depression, psychosis, that kinda thing.

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Stimulants make me tired too. I had a pdoc ask me if I can drink a cup of coffee and go right to sleep. My answer was yes. She asked about a couple more things that were full of caffine and my answer was yes again. That was when she diagnosed me with ADD. So I believe if you truly have ADD.My pdoc's solution was to give me a high dose and that worked beautifully. I was taking. 60mg of vyvanse and I never felt better.

Thanks! Good to know it's not that weird then. I talked to my pdoc on the phone today and he said it'd be ok to try Vyvanse again at 60mg (titrating). So hopefully that works.

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Actually, stimulants having the opposite effect on you that they should have is the sign of a true ADD or ADHD person.

You should probably find a pdoc that treats ADD/ADHD. You don't need them for therapy, just to manage your meds. Some General Practitioners even treat ADD/ADHD.

--Ceara1010

That's very interesting. Do you know why that is?
Maybe I should ask him about it then. He's never treated AD/HD so he might be up for that if I asked. I'm pretty sure he is unconvinced that I have ADD because he thinks the issues have simply been because of other MH things, so I might have to talk him into it

I've been on the 60mg for about a while now, and it was like giving ice water to someone out in the desert. But yesterday and today I've gone back to my brain being slow and muddled and over-tired. *le sigh* could just be the heat, idk. I hope that's what it is, but things rarely seem to be that simple for me lol

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You know, I have no idea. I'm a little embarrassed to say I never researched it. I know this is mentioned in the books on ADD/ADHD I've read. And I know that each of my ADD docs (three of them) said the same thing, and I know of other ADD people whose docs told them the same thing. I also know that Adderall calms me down rather than makes me feel like I'm on Speed (which is what I thought would happen when Adderall was first prescribed to me). And I know that other people with ADD/ADHD report feeling calmer when they start taking a stimulant.

Your doctor is right to be cautious. He's probably told you that a number of conditions can cause concentration problems which is true. (Depression, trauma, hormones, etc.) But I'm sure the two of you will figure out what's going on eventually.

--Ceara1010

For my ADHD, I take Concerta (slow release methylphenidate). Agree with others, it tends to make me feel calmer. But also tends to make a feel withdrawn, too.

I'm also on the autism spectrum, so I wonder if taking the Concerta suppresses the ADHD and reveals more of my autistic side. Just a theory.

The last time i tried Provigil and Dextroamphetamine (for depression) on seperate occasions--they both made me really tired, so i quit. I always thought it was just a myth that becoming tired after taking a stimulant means you have ADD? I find it hard to believe, but maybe someone here can explain why. Provigil isn't a conventional ADD medication, but it's often prescribed for excessive sleepiness to promote wakefulness. But yet, i got very tired from it.

I've also found that nearly no doctors even understand the physiology behind these and other psychiatric medications. They don't research. I didn't research much either, but i think stimulants can raise your blood sugar, which could make you really tired.

I have taken Dextroamphetamine in the past, and it was very helpful. The reason why it was calming for me is that it takes away the constant worry/anxiety/background noise i have from not being able to focus, day long procrastination, and helps me concentrate and complete activities. When this effect happens, it provides a sense of relief. It raises my mood-so i feel more productive, confident, and active, which lifted my depression, at least temporarily. It also helped with fatigue, and since I have daily fatigue for several years now, it zapped away my hopelessness.

I had an old script of Dextroamphetamine from 2 years ago lying around and decided to re-try it. It melted my depression-it was like it quenched a thirst in my brain for what ever hormone, neurotransmitter, or whatever, it was lacking. it really helped my mood, only a small dose twice a day.

Considering i have treatment resistant depression, i asked my doctor for this medication, telling her i have taken it in the past as prescribed by my psychiatrist. She totally ignored my request and instead prescribed me Effexor again. I've retried Effexor 4 times in the past 4 years--and stayed on it for months at a time before quitting. I told her this and she still prescribed me the Effexor. I asked another doctor for Dextroamphetamine, and they too, would not prescribe it.

I don't know what's worse-having TRD where no drugs work, or knowing that a drug works but not being allowed to take it. This drug is safer than Effexor and atypical antipsychotics that they have prescribed me in the past. I don't understand why I have to suffer day in and day out when there is a drug that helps me. I would only take this temporarily to help get my life back together. I don't understand. I don't have problems with substance abuse. And really, only a small percentage of patients have addiction issues.

It makes me suicidal that doctors want to make me take drugs that don't work, while I'm not allowed to take one that works. I have been going through this for 2 years. I just want to die.

One other thing-when i was taking stimulants that were effective, it still wasn't 100% of the time. It was more like 80%. Their effectiveness is unpredictable. Even with a small dosage, even if i hadn't taken them in months, there are times when i'd take one, and it did nothing.

I researched this a bit and read that acidic food can reduce the effectiveness of stimulants. I do think disgestive health matters a lot. I think i started drinking lemon water in the morning at the same time when the stimulants made me tired, but i'm not 100% sure.

For anyone following this thread--I checked on this issue-it is a myth. This information is available on so many credible sources, but here is Psych Central's take on it:

Surprising? Stimulants Help People Be More Focused | World of Psychology

I cannot believe doctors still think this myth is true and will use this in making diagnostic decisions. They have a responsibility to keep up with research; at least the major findings. And this is a huge change.

I know I am jaded at this point-I am just so sick of incompetence in this industry, while the same are overly focused on judging those who are greatly helped by these medications as "drug seekers" (scroll down for the comments by Joel Hassman, MD, raging that people asking for this drug are morally wrong)* . It really adversely affects peoples' lives. And yet they demand such high fees.


*I do think this condition is way over diagnosed, but I wonder how much of this is due to physician incompetence rather than the 'drug seekers' asking for stimulants. And maybe people seek these drugs because *serotonin* is not the only culprit for depression, and these drugs make them feel like a normal human being.

I know for me, except for one occasion of the onset of PTSD, drugs that target dopamine (not serotonin) are the only ones that have helped over the years. The serotonin hypothesis was founded by accident, not through the scientific method. And for years, the industry did not bother to develop novel antidepressants.

ADD drugs were actually the first antidepressants at the turn of the century. But there was little profit connected with amphetamines.

Seahorse, what those doctors are doing is completely unethical. Is there a chance you can keep looking for a dr who will listen to you? Alternatively, if you know somebody who can go with you to an appointment to be your advocate, that can really help as well.

As for the paradoxical effect, amphetamines making someone tired is a paradox. What they are talking about (feeling calmer and more focused) is not quite the same thing we are talking about here.

When an ADHD person takes Ritallin and they are now able to do cognitive tasks better, it may seem to have a paradoxical effect as they can focus better, their mind is not all over the place, and they feel calmer (perhaps because their mind is more focused?). But when someone actually gets sleepy? To the point of not functioning? And for me, it also made my thoughts more muddled, not clearer, with some of the meds. That is paradoxical. A different scenario than what they are talking about specifically.

I would like to give the benefit of the doubt that a Dr would dx ADHD based solely off of a drug interaction, but you never know. But another thing to keep in mind is that sometimes these doctors have been in practice for many years and have noticed trends that perhaps haven't specifically been studdied.

I've also been looking up some things and I'd like to do a bit more looking up because I think it might add some clarity to one possibility of this, but more importantly, I think it may help you out, seahorse. I've struggled with TRD as well. I've been having depression since I was 12 or so, 5 years after I was dx'd with inattentive ADD. There seems to be some commonalities, so when I get the time to later, I'll post more. I also want to confirm this with my pdoc I'm seeing on Wed, so I'll also post what I find out then. Hoping I remember to ><

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ADD and ADHD are definitely waaaaay over diagnosed, particularly in children. It's actually normal for many kids to be hyper and/or inattentive--most grow out of it. But teachers today are so overtaxed in their huge classrooms, that they can't cope with this and send these children to get diagnosed for ADD/ADHD so the kids will get drugged to calm them down. It's bad for the kids, but makes teacher's job easier.

I was talking to a teacher one day who joked that "half the kids in our school are on ADD/ADHD drugs."

And unfortunately, impatient, over-stressed parents who can't deal with very active kids can do the same thing.

(There was a scene on the TV show Silicon Valley where one of the characters needed something to keep him awake, so he went to what they decided was the most "logical source," a group of kids playing down the block.)

And doctors make a lot of money on their ADD/ADHD patients by making them come in regularly (usually every three months) to get refill prescriptions. Even when the prescription won't change, year after year, they still make you come in every three months.

There's also doctor incompetence. I can't believe some of the criteria I've heard doctor's using to confirm an ADD/ADHD Dx.

And some doctors are just drug dealers who will give patients whatever they want. (That's why so many people are getting addicted to prescription drugs.)

--Ceara1010

I take Adderall now. When i was a kid. Ritalin, but it turned me into a full blown zombie. I would just stare,at the wall all say. If someone,asked me to do something id be flat and compliant, but if not directed i did nothing at all. As an adult after being ofg thr meds for yrs they put me back on rit. 1st. I had forgotten. Same effect sleepy and zombified so they raised the dose sleepy zombified w/ heart pounding. So got switched to adderall ext release caps. After about 3 months the overlap in half life started producing visiual hallucinations and intense night terrors that had me jumping at everything out of the corner of my eye all day too. Swiched me to Aderrall inst realease. 2x a day and everything has been fine now for yrs. Right med right dose calm balanced brain (as much as poss for my mind neway lol) and enough focus energy and clarity for most daily tasks. Can still fall asleep at drop of dime unlesss triggered by other stressors. So i guess it really requires the right med and amount of dsg tweeking to find min. Dsg w/ best effects.

I can take a nap after taking Adderall.... I've always found that stimulants calm and center me. They don't make me drowsy unless I'm really tired when I take them.

I just got put on a low dose of Adderall and found this topic interesting. I mean, technically it's a stimulant, right? Now, my fiance gets really tired on this stuff to the point of wanting to go to bed an hour after a dose. Me, on the other hand, simply feel neutral. I'm not really more awake or anything like that, but I'm also not dead tired. I'm just focused on one thing at a time, for once. I don't know if that means that I truly have ADD or what. Now, I also suffer from PTSD, depression, anxiety etc.. So far, I finally don't feel really depressed and my anxiety is more in control. I don't know if those disorders have anything to do with the effect of this drug. Can anybody explain this?

The way it was explained to me is that individuals with ADHD have a chemical/neurotransmitter imbalance where some are too low, so stimulants raise those levels to balance them out. This is the same reason caffeine tends to have a different effect on people with ADHD. (because it's a stimulant) Also, this is why you shouldn't drink caffeine when you take your medicine, because it can increase the levels too high, which causes them to be imbalanced again. (or if your meds aren't helping, drinking caffeine could help boost them a little, but you have to be careful with this because it can cause problems for your heart)