ADHD and Adderall

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would you rather live life a) completely clueless to things that are going on around you, not able to get anything accomplished, frusterated, but somewhat happy, or b) overly focused on things to the point that it causes extreem anxiety; irritable, depressed; still can't get things accomplished. or c) somewhere inbetween.

For me: a) is me before Adderall XR. C) is me when I first started taking Adderall XR 15 mg and B) is me taking 30 mg of it. I didn't like B. A was frusterating. and C is back where I am at now. Where I would like to be at is d) able to fully(more than not) concentrate, get things accomplished, feel reasonably happy, able to plan things out, feel calm and not overwhelmed. How do I get there. I want choice D.

Maybe something different than Adderall XR. Something more gentle. Adderall XR assisted me in a major nervous breakdown...But I know I still do much better with ADDmeds than without...just something not so intense...I sorta like dexadrine..it is mellower and less expensive than Adderall...I am going to a doc soon to hopefully get put back on ADD meds because I am so utterly overwhelmed without them...I wish there was a way I could nudge him to put me on Dexadrine...Adderall makes me too emotional. I have not noticed this effect with Dexadrine. I also sorta liked Concerta (ritalinXR) it seemed easier on me..had a more natural feeling...like...just me...but more able to function....

Well there's many different drugs you can try. I'd suggest Strattera to begin with, as it's a non-stimulant, but does work in treating ADHD. You might want to try dexedrine as well, since it is usually tolerated better than adderall. You have to realise that you shouldn't ever drink coffee with these drugs though.

So far, I started with Strattera, at a low dose, and I felt very drugged. I got absolutely NO REM sleep. I was a walking zombie by two weeks. I was irritable, angry etc. In the first couple days, my concentration was great. but as I was loosing quality sleep, everything got worse. I then tried the generic of Ritilin( I don't know if it was the XR), but it cause me to feel very angry and extreem rage. I was afraid that I was going to hurt my kids. I took that for only 2 days. I was going to give up on the ADHD meds, but my memory can concentration is very dibilatating. I have trouble even planning and putting toghether dinner. Or to try to do anything that takes concsentration. So I started the Adderall XR. at 15mg. I didn't really notice much difference after the first day. I found that as it wore off in the early evening, I needed to caffeine to stay awake and functionable. My dr. upped the dose to 30 mg( or said that I could split one 15 mg capsule and take half with a whole one to make about a 37mg dose). Well, early in the morning, I am not awake at all, and taking apart a capsule and dividing its contents was too much, so I took two whole ones tthat wqualed 30 mg. At first, It seemed to feel like it was working. Then I started to feel a head ache that wouldn't go away, and irritabliity. ( I also realized that I wasn't drinking as much caffeine as usual. I read that I could be going through caffeine withdrawl). I was grouching at everyone, and I didn't want to do anything. I was also feeling anxious and depressed. I dropped it down to 15 yesterday, and I had a headache, nausia, slightly pounding heart beat in my chest. I drank some caffeine( Reg. Mt. Dew) and the nausia, headache and pounding heart beat went away, until the caffeine started to wear off. Today, I am feeling more myself right now, so far.
I'm wondering if I need to do the dividing the capsule thing for a midway dose, since the lower dose is helping a little, and the higher dose seems to be too high for me.

Pardon the extremely scattered nature of this response

Firstly, I was doing a little research and I came across this article that might be a little helpful:
http://www.adhdnews.com/testforum/test1362.htm

Secondly, I totally understand feeling the need to take caffeine with stimulant meds...even though they say you aren't supposed to. A nurse friend explained to me that when you are on stimulants...including caffeine, your adrenals are taxed and that leads to a feeling of not enough energy...also there is the withdrawal factor with caffeine...

I am currently not prescribed ADD meds, but I get them when I can... (i know this means I am evil and belong in the stocks and I know that I will get disapproving responses for all of this....but I have fairly severe issues with executive dysfunction and no insurance or disposable income and I do what I can to get by
But I am currently working on going back on meds. I have an appointment for the end of the month...

What I do is...
(first I would like to reiterate that maybe Dexedrine might make you feel a bit better)

I take herbal supplements to counteract some of the negative side effects of the stimulant meds

l-theanine is one....they talk a bit about this in the link I posted above....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine
l-theanine is available in health food stores, and it has been a staple for my mental well-being...
And they also talk about magnesium supplements....
I also make sure i keep up with my omegas
and I take a few other supplements besides...

With or without ADD meds...I take handulls of supplements...including natural supplements for my IBS...
But l-theanine might help you feel better on a lower dose of adderall.

Yes, you might want to try magnesium/potassium supplements. A form of ADHD called hypokalemic sensory overstimulation is treated with potassium supplements. Also, if you have low magnesium, you usually be default have low potassium, so it's a good idea to make sure you have the right amount of magnesium as well.

I would suggest to stay away from herbal supplements in general, although having read about Theanine, it would appear to be a very wise suggestion for someone in your circumstance.

Most people when they start a stimulant as medication, for the first few weeks they will feel especailly tired when it wears off, this is to be expected, just try and take the meds at a time of day that will leave you feeling tired when you would normally sleep anyway. As for caffeine, i really can't be bothered to go into too many specifics. Basically drinking caffeine will alter the amount of adenosine receptors you have. This will constantly change with your coffee intake, causing your ADHD meds to keep changing in efficiency, going from too effective, to not effective enough. Put bluntly, don't drink coffee.

One might really need to ween ones self off of coffee...the withdrawal effects can be hellish.
I guess it might be accomplished with green tea...

I am also on Prozac 40/day.

Maybe that's why the adderall isn't working so well. Stimulants and SSRI's don't tend to mix very well.

I don't drink coffee. My addiction is with full sugar Mt. Dew( much less caffeine than brewed starbucks coffee.). I usually drink a 2 liter a day( equal to about 6- 12oz. cans), but since taking the Adderall, I drink about 2-4 cans a day. Its when I don't drink any caffeine I get the head aches, nausia etc. I started the Adderall July 4th.

I take Strattera, and I still can't get anything accomplished.

Right now I checked out Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults and Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults Workbook from the library. They say they're self-help books for people with ADHD. I skimmed through it, and it talked about having grief, how to get things accomplished and other things. Maybe it takes more than medicine to fight the symptoms--well for me that is.

My point was, you should be completely avoiding caffeine. It doesn't mix well at all with other stimulants. It's good to hear that you are drinking 2 to 4 cans a day now, 2 liters is far too much which makes it likely that you do have a potassium/magnesium defiecency of some sort. Drinking that much, leeches out the minerals from your body.

i take generic amphets 3omg only in emergencies like m,y temper bout 2 blow.it calms it down. it works but never if i wana get decent sleep i like my sleep ie dont wana wake saying BRAINS!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!.lol

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Well, as someone once said, finding the right med for ADHD is a crap shoot. Regarding ADHD, historically the single classification of meds which are known to temporarily reduce some symptoms in some users (not a cure) is the central nervous system stimulants - alerting agents. Examples are: Coffee, caffeine compounds, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Adderall and so on (none are cures). There are cases where even when a person finds a good med for ADHD that some persons can tell a big difference between a name brand and a generic (same holds true for all the medicines used to treat epilepsy). The difference can occasionally be so large that a name brand may work but a generic may not (and even vice versa due to what is in a medicine besides the active ingredient). There are good meds available but no perfect meds available. A written drug diary can slowly help sort out the above often over a period of many months, even years. Every med works a little differently because every med has a different chemical structure. In some cases, the right choice is to be med-free. That's my understanding. Good luck.