Anyone here on Adderall?

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I've been taking Adderall lately and I hate it...it doesn't help my focus at all (I still find myself re-reading the same paragraph over and over, etc) and it actually makes me act more "autistic". When I take it I find myself flapping, avoiding eye contact, and some other things that I don't normally do (but are common autistic traits). What are you guys' experiences with Adderall?

Throw it in the trash. Get rid of it, horrible horrible horrible stuff, stay off all stimulents, you are having a bad reaction to it, as is typical of AS.

The stuff made my son "way way way" more autistic. (although that is the first time I ever heard of it said that way). He got so bad, I remember once picking him up at a Y program, and while the other kids played a game, he sat on a bench not looking at anyone screeching "eee eee" and making this odd finger movement, like he was squishing your head! ) We thought he had tourettes!

Basically though, he was right out of it. the school liked it though, because he withdrew into himself, and became easier to manage.

ADHD and AS can have a lot of similar symptoms. Sometimes they a Co morbid. Sometimes they are not.

Do you not pay attention because you have an attention deficiet, (sp?) or because you are constantly over stimulated with your environment and are "attracted" away from what you "should" be doing? If it is the latter, you are unlikely to find your "cure" in a bottle of ritalin. (Addreall is the same S*** different pile)

I had to pull my son out of school and HS him for 4 years due to the school wanting to drug him, but my knowing it made him sick.

There is another drug though, called Strattera. It is expensive so you need a drug plan, but it is very new for Attention problems, (2 years) and is NOT a stimulent.

I find it made my son go from ADHD from HELL to just regular ADHD! But better yet, it really helped with his anxiety. If you have trouble with Anxiety, this may be a good thing to try, as it kills two birds with one stone.

Best wishes.

I do not think ADHD drugs can treat any of the core features of autism. And like you say may even make some autism features more pronounced.

Increasing the dose might aid focus but you might have more side effects also. Its possible you could do better on non-stimulants drugs.

Wellbutrin is off patent and it has metabolites that are also noradrenaline re uptake inhibitors like Strattera. Its should be your first choice in the non-stimulant class of meds if your on a budget.

I have a bottle of it, but I've only used about 3 pills. In fact, I just tried one a couple of days ago.

I completely agree with this. When I take Adderall, all it does it make my distractions more intense, instead of helping me shut them out. And since anxiety is one of my main distractions, it ends up being really destabilizing. The only thing Adderall is good for is making it easier to stay working on one activity for a long period of time, but it takes you alot longer to finish that activity, because your brain is doing all kinds of somersualts.

I think it important to make the distinction that this is based on your on observation
from your own usage of the drug. Which may or may not apply to everyone. Its certainly make sense though your statement that it ...keeps you focus on a task but it takes longer to finish... The mechanism of that would be it suppressing your normal theta wave creativity.

I think its the major catch-22 in treating ADHD. I theorise a short acting stimulant say a few minutes that was micro inject in ones blood via a small device inserted in the body could solve the problem. When you have to focus you would hit a button on your watch and get a few minutes of focus then you could "sober" up and get your creative ideas. Plus the device logic would prevent/reduce abuse risks.

Well, I've talked to several people about it, and that seems to be the main constant with Adderall (besides anxiety).

Yeah, I'm on Ritalin and it really helps me calm down and focus. But I agree that stimulants will make the AS more apparent, simply because it's controlling the ADHD piece and taking it out of the picture. I don't personally mind it, because I was too snappy and scattered without it and anxiety isn't a problem for me. But oh boy, I can really see the AS now. So I guess it's pick your poison - it just depends on the individual situation.

BURN IT IN EFFIGY.

aderall and ritalin are just crack with a different name

Adderall is actually methamphetamine with a slightly different name: deamphetamine.

that's some f'cked up s**t right there

Adderall is a mixture of 75% dextroamphetamine and 25% levoamphetamine.

Methamphetamine is n-methyl- (dextro and/or levo)-amphetamine. Methamphetamine has a longer high life and is more potent than d or l amphetamine.

d-methamphetamine > d-amphetamine > l-methamphetamine > l-amphetamine

relative potency 3 ? 1 ?

I have been on it...it messed with my brain chemistry...long story...does not help with core problms of anything....

I'm worried because I really do think I have ADD or something and I really want a treatment to work. If one treatment doesn't work it would be like a kick in the face. I find it hard every time something doesn't work. Then if I manage to get a second med that could be a kick in the face too. I really hope they are good at homing the right ones.

I know what you mean - I hate to feel let down by a treatment plan that's supposed to work. But I think all the stimulants are going to perform the same way. I do hear of people trying one type, having a bad reaction, and then switching to another one with good results. But they're still all going to operate basically alike. I've heard that Adderall is a little stronger than Ritalin and maybe more effective for adult ADHD. But if you don't like how they make you feel, it would probably be better to try another approach to handling your ADD symptoms.