Hi all,

I've been taking Adderall since June 2010 for my depression. Normally, with the depression, I am not able to get out of bed and function for anything except work (because I have nobody to support me). If I can atleast get myself to take my Adderall, I can go back to bed and within half an hour to an hour not only feel ready and able to get up, but feel motivated to shower, eat, brush my teeth, comb my hair, do whatever it is I need to do. This effect usually lasts 8-10 hours.

This month however, I take my Adderall and nothing happens. I'm still extremely tired and not functioning very well at all. I've started sleeping in my car on my breaks at work again. I want to go back to the pharmacy and ask them to test the Adderall they gave me because it doesn't make sense to me to go from one day it working very well, and the next day it having no effect. But I don't want to come off as a medication seeker, or worse. The 7-8 months I have been on it I have not asked for an increase, but actually asked for a decrease.

Any ideas?

Love and Hugs,
Tara

[venusss]

The exhaustion sounds like it could possibly be some physical illness behind it....

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

The exhaustion sounds like it could possibly be some physical illness behind it....

Thanks for the reply Venus! Is there any illness you have in mind that could cause that level of exhaustion? I've had my thyroid checked recently and it's functioning normally. I'm not really sure where to go with this. Sigh

Love and Hugs,
Tara

[AniManiac]

Another possibility is that you have a different formulation than before. Do you take brand name or generics? The proportion of active ingredients for generics is 80% - 120% of the brand name, so lots of variability.

It's possible that you've been given the same med but made by a different manufacturer that uses a lower concentration of the amphetamine salts. One clue is that the pills might look different, and sometimes there's a slight difference in labeling (e.g. for 150mg Wellbutrin generics, you might get budeprion or bupropion). Your pharmacist should be able to look that up for you, so it would be an easy thing to rule out or confirm.

[dragonfly2]

It could be any number of things: anemia, pregnancy, nutrient deficiency (even if your eating habits haven't changed, your body's ability to absorb the nutrients may have), and many others. You may have also just gotten a bad lot of Adderall.

My daughter is lactose intolerant and one time we got a bad box of her lactase pills. Poor kid would take her pill and eat like she normally did, but then within an hour she was miserable. This went on for two or three meals before I finally got a pill out of a different box (different lot #) and her next meal with that lot was fine. Although I'm sure the quality control processes for Adderall are probably more stringent than her lactase pills, it could be a possibility. I would call the pharmacy and ask them to trace the lot # of pills they have given you over the last few prescription fills. This is information they have to keep on file. Let them know that you don't feel like it's working and ask if it could be a bad lot of pills. I'm not sure how they would get you more - you might be able to exchange them? - pharmacies don't usually take medicine back, but if it's a matter of the meds being defective, I think they may need to. My husband got a bad vial of testosterone once - it was visually cloudy - they exchanged it for me. Both testosterone and Adderall are controlled substances, so you may be able to exchange yours too.

If the pharmacy says it's the same lot they gave you last time, then I would get checked out by your doctor.

You could have a bad batch, or it could simply be that the med has stopped working for you.

Are you having any other symptoms though? If I remember correctly, you have had hallucinations and delusions in the past (I hope you don't mind me bringing that up - but I once had a delusion that my pdoc was 'testing' me by giving me a placebo because she didn't think my depression was 'real'. Even though I knew on one level that the med looked legit, it existed as a real med, I'd checked that the pharmacy had dispensed what she had prescribed etc etc, I couldn't shake the deep-seated knowledge that it was a placebo).

Hope you get to the bottom of this!

*Willow*

[rockymtngal]

It wouldn't hurt to ask if you could switch them out...no sense being miserable. And they couldn't see it as drug seeking if you turned the original rx in. Hope this all works out quickly for you. You haven't added any OTC meds recently, right?

Hi All,

I appreciate your responses so much! I talked with my pdoc today and told him how I have been agitated and pissy for the last two weeks over the smallest things. I told him the Adderall isn't working like it used to and I'm sleeping in my car on my breaks at work. I laid everything out on the table for him and he said that he doesn't believe its the Adderall not working, but rather, it is my stress level from the impending move to Phoenix. He said with my stress level as high as it is, the Adderall doesn't have the strength to overcome that at the same dose I have been taking. But, he doesn't want to increase the dose as he feels I only need something to get me through the stress of the move. He prescribed Klonopin to help me relax and sleep more as I haven't been sleeping much at all at home. I'm going to try this and see how things work. I'm actually going to the pharmacy to fill it in about half an hour.

Thanks again!

Oh yeah, I did used to have hallucinations, paranoia and delusions, but those have passed and have not returned for some time. Thanks for bringing that up though, it helps me to look at every angle and possibility.

Love and Hugs,
Tara

I'm glad that you seem to have gotten to the bottom of this and that your pdoc has given you something that will hopefully help. Moving is incredibly stressful!

Originally Posted by tara_922

Oh yeah, I did used to have hallucinations, paranoia and delusions, but those have passed and have not returned for some time. Thanks for bringing that up though, it helps me to look at every angle and possibility.

I'm also glad that you didn't take any offence at what I wrote. I didn't want it to come across as me saying that it was all in your head because you have had problems before (I hate it when people do that to me!), but at the same time it's another avenue to explore. For me, I don't mind if someone says that they believe my experience, but had I considered if it might not be real/accurate, rather than just completely dismiss me.

I'm pleased that hallucinations, paranoia & delusions are behind you, because they totally suck!

All the best with the move and everything!

*Willow*