worse on adderall but not 'hyperactive'?

i was prescribed to take 10mg of adderall for one week, then told to increase to 20 for a week, then 30mg, and then im meeting with psych to discuss it. so this whole post is mostly out of curiosity (and a little is just venting)

the first week of 10mg i felt nothing. looking at my accomplishments, there may have been a small improvement, noticing people were upset and asking whats wrong, noticing the laundry and actually folding it. but this was a very small improvement.. like, twice a day, instead of before where it was once a day.
so now ive been on 20mg for five days and ive hyperfocused on pointless activities every day, (like, seven hours on a small avatar-making game), very 'locked in') staying up until late hours of the morning even though i'm tired, going to sleep when other people woke up and ask why im still up (embarrassing) it even feels like my usual anxiety is 'processing' slower. figuring out what i want to say is difficult too. typing posts takes me a long time. maybe i could have timed this one but i didnt think to, oh well. i also feel a stronger need to talk to people for some reason, which makes not able to pay attention to people, extra annoying

its not worse than i have experienced before, its not my most usual state but its not unusual either. also, i cannot tell a point that it kicks in or wears off (it is XR), i am like this from the moment i wake up until sleeping in the morning. so it could be a coincidence with my regular problems, i guess..

i read that a dose that is too high can cause problems but with like , feeling more awake, not sleeping , hyperactivity, anxiety, hypomania, basically everything on the side effects list. i am not getting anything on this 'high energy' end of the scale, so to speak
because the 10mg did so little and i was still tired, the 20mg nothing/worse and i am still tired, what if 15mg is the 'right' amount for me and helps me pay attention, but i will still be tired? i dont want that. im not sure if 'tired' is the right word btw, i wouldnt describe it as wanting to sleep. unsure

my actual question is, has anyone else experienced worsening of 'inattentive' symptoms, with same or lessened 'hyperactive' symptoms? does anyone know how stimulants might do this? this seems like a strange response, to me. the worst reaction i expected was high anxiety and panic attacks

ok, this is long and hard to read i think. i'm sorry about that. also i think this took four hours. i'm not sure of that tho

Hi, stages. I am not in the know about this drug, but I do know that doctors tend to start people off on a low level of a drug and then work them up to a "therapeutic dose." (what is known to be the dose that works) I suggest you talk to your doctor about your symptoms.

Maybe someone will be along soon who has experience with Adderall.

I started out on Adderall 10mg in the morning and at noon, he hasn't increased the dose yet.

I noticed a tiny bit of increased motion, such as finger or toe tapping while sitting still, but it did not make me antsy or jittery. I also had a motormouth for the first couple of weeks. The crushing fatigue I used to feel all day long is gone. Chasing a thought through the mists of my brain (like trying to catch a helium balloon by the string) is gone.

Hyper focus is a symptom of ADD and not necessarily a side effect of the med, but the not sleeping and the slowed mental response time are indicators that this is the wrong dose for you. This med should be making you sharp, not dull.

By the way, my Pdoc stated that XR doesn't work as well as standard, as well as being more expensive. Have you tried the standard release, like me, 10 mg am and 10 mg pm? Might make a difference.

Thanks for responding both of you I will talk to my doctor about this, I don't have an appointment for a couple more weeks is all. She did say to stop at an effective dose, but my reaction to the 20 not seeming to resemble anyone elses experiences made me want to keep going to make sure it was really the meds, i also figured there may be side effect issues or something.

Today I took 30. Got sleepier, didn't even open my daily planner until four hours after i woke up, and a lot of muscle fatigue despite not doing any strenuous exercise recently. I don't think I'm going to bother waiting a week of 30 out, instead im going to go back to 10. I would test 15 or 5 in the weeks i have before psych, but today I remembered you can't split XR pills...

On the other hand, my aunt said she's surprised that i was disappointed in the 10mg, because she thought i seemed much happier first week, in particular i was chattier. Maybe theres benefit that I just can't notice from my PoV. For example I noticed myself rambling and getting blocked a ton in that week, but if this medication successfully increases attention, I could notice 'more' when it's actually less.

My brother used to take Ritalin as a kid. He said it made him feel like a zombie and he couldn't always tell whether or not he had taken a dose, but our parents could always tell if he forgot from observing his behavior. maybe theres a family predisposition to reacting to stimulants with 'low' effects like this. So if im on too high a dose i get the 'opposite' effect than other people on too high a dose. a right dose should feel better regardless (i hope)

My concern about the slowing / low energy effect is if I want to try a different med to see if it works better, the one everyone recommends for low-energy folks is adderall. so which should i try? maybe one that usually gives the lowest energy and ill get an opposite effect?

I am not sure about the adderall but I took Ritalin for daytime sleepiness. Maybe that will work for you? It helped me quite a bit! Good luck!

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I forgot to answer, we chose the extended because i can be particularly forgetful. But probably I'll try the instant release at some point, it seems like itd be more convenient if i can manage to remember it. I could always set an alarm on my phone, I never forget to keep that with me. (Ok, well. Not as much as my other things.)

Also as I understand it Adderall XR still has a patent but Adderall IR has run out so there is a generic form that is even cheaper .. tho people warn about differences between them, and apparently pharmacies sometimes dont tell you if they fill your prescription with a different generic than your usual generic (frankly, that sounds horribly irresponsible)

@ChangingMyMind I think this is what id like to try next, not necessarily Ritalin but one of the methylphenidates, cause if after that i test another then i want to know which side to try swinging on, so to speak. thank you!

My sister has narcolepsy. She takes Adderall 30mg three times a day. She has worked up to this dose over years, as the lower dose loses its effectiveness.

My nephew gets extremely sleepy on Adderall, it's like giving him a sleeping pill. Ritalin works better for his ADD.

Stick with the lower dose for a while before increasing, and if you don't find a marked improvement then tell pdoc to keep her in the loop, and try a different med.

Good luck!

update on this
As it turns out it was actually adderall that my brother took & didn't like, so i'm more convinced my family just doesnt respond well to it

I got severely depressed & suicidal the second day of 30mg, so i stopped taking it. the day i was off it was mostly fatigue. then i started 10 again, and it was helpful & didnt cause depressive symptoms. however because that reaction was so strange and frightening we decided to try concerta. i haven't had an increase of depressive symptoms at all on concerta. a week of 18 and then a week of 36 were both fine and helping my ADHD symptoms.

However, I started getting pupil dilation, with mismatched sizes too. I thought it was kind of funny actually but then I started getting horrific headaches. It took a while to realize it was eye strain and a while after that to realize my sunglasses were not UVA/UVB protected and thus not preventing eye strain. a good pair of sunglasses helped. but it's extremely inconvenient. people treat you waaay different if you wear sunglasses indoors...

it happened on 4 occasions - once on adderall 10, so it's stimulants in general that do this-, but the last time it happened, it lasted three days without taking any more Concerta. so my psychiatrist wants me to stop and try Strattera instead.

I understand prolonged pupil dilation can cause long-term damage if you aren't careful with eye strain, but I'm seriously not looking forward to going off Concerta. Like, I finally find a drug that helps my symptoms, and I was doing so well... and now i have to get off because of an uncommon side effect. It's disappointing to say the least.. And, of course, withdrawal from concerta is not helping my mood right now either. It's like someone took all my motivation, and then processed it into fear :x i suppose it has to pass at some point.. and maybe strattera really will help without any unacceptable side effects..

anyways, to sum up thread: adderall XR can cause severe depressive symptoms in high doses; stimulants can cause eye dilation (with different sized pupils) which will result in light sensitivity and eye strain (headache, stabbing pain 'behind' one eye, hot face); and, not all sunglasses actually make a difference

Hi stages,

I hope the Strattera works for you...that's my last resort option (just because my pdoc said it will take awhile before we know if it works or not.) I was just catching up on your thread...have you talked to your dr. about trying Ritalin or Adderall, the non-extended release versions as a possible option?
I have had totally different reactions/side effects to Ritalin, Ritalin XR (or was it ER?), Metadate, Adderall, Vyvanse, and now I am just trying Concerta! I have found the non-extended release versions to be less "stimulating" for me, but unfortunately over time I experienced I huge, painful drop-off when the Ritalin would start wearing off. The Adderall dried out my sinuses way too much (I had surgery on my sinuses about a year ago and they are really sensitive). I just tried Vyvanse and am very familiar with the urge to talk and becoming hyperfocused (something simple would take me forever...than I would forget that I even did it, sigh)...all things I found very annoying! (Esp. the urge to talk...I am very happily introverted, so this was not my personality at all!!)
Re: the Concerta, today was 36 mgs...the other day I started at 18 which was too LOW a dose...enough to be extremely irritating. 36 is better so far.
At least I don't feel like crying/screaming at every little thing like I did on 18 mg.