I am currently a 23 yr old college student and am taking Adderall XR. It works great but a couple of things i have noticed is that I get rather irritable, depressed or cranky in the evenings when i take it. I usually take it around 8am in the morning and by 5 or 6 in the evening, my g/f says i'm not much fun to be around, i get just plain mean sometimes. The other thing i have noticed is difficulty sleeping, sometimes it takes till 4am. My question is, are these normal side effects?? I was told that it takes between 6-8 hours for the medication to get out of my system. My Dr. said that the moodiness in the evening should not be related to the adderall, and that its just the way my temper is. Also, if its out of my system in 8 hours, why is it so hard to go to sleep? I FEEL tired, my eyes are tired, but i cannot fall asleep. Is this related or is it psychological that i have a hard time sleeping? I dont have trouble the days i don't take the medicine.

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Jason E. Duke

Texas A&M University
Class of 2002

Hey there! You posted on my board "From Adderall to Concerta". I can completely relate to those side effects from Adderall. I have experimented (through my doctor of course) with Ritalin and Adderall. The Ritilan kept me calm and my moods were ok, but I couldn't take the ups and downs of the meds since they have such a short half-life. Adderall on the other hand I believe was the cause for some pretty nasty depression and (just ask my friends and family) some very mean moods. When I was on it I would just love life and get things done but then on the come down --well everyone had just better stay away!

After taking a break from Adderall for about a year and half then going back I realized that it was Adderall doing it to me. I am on my second day of Concerta today and things seem to be going ok. I just quit the Adderall 2 days ago so I'm sure I won't get the full feeling of the Concerta for a week or so.

I hope you get everything figured out with the medicine. My doc did say that the meds can effect your mood...some are more sensitive to the methylphenidate type drugs and some are more sensitive to the amphetamine type. You just have to sort of experiment until you find what's right for you. I lost some pretty good friends while I was taking Adderall because of the uncharacteristic temper I developed. The temper tapered off after I quit the Adderall.
Take care and study hard!!!

Is the insomnia normal too? I mean, why do the side effects stick around after the medicine has quit working? Is there a way to help get sleep while im taking the medication? Do you think that if i took it regularly, the insomnia would go away? I only take it M-W right now.

Thanks for your info!

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Jason E. Duke

Texas A&M University
Class of 2002

My guess is that you are taking the second dose too late in the afternoon. If you do need a boost in the afternoon, maybe your doctor can prescribe regular Adderall for the second dose, not the Adderall XR. I believe that the regular Adderall only lasts 4 hours.
And now to the moodiness. When my son was on Adderall XR I also noticed the moodiness. My doctor told me that it can be a side effect of the Adderall. He told me the best way to find out if Adderall causes the moodiness is to see, if the moodiness is also present, after the medication weares off. Well my son had the moodiness as soon as he got up in the morning, before Adderall. So that should tell me, it's not the Adderall that made him moody. Wrong! Ever since I completely stopped giving my son Adderall, the moodiness has gone completely away. And since you notice your moodiness since you have started taking Adderall, I would say it IS caused by Adderall, not your bad temper. Especially if your girlfriend noticed it as well and if she never noticed it before, I would think it's the Adderall.

[This message has been edited by Palms (edited 09-12-2003).]

One more thing. I've read in your post that you take your Adderall around 8 am and then again around 5 or 6 pm, which is almost 12 hours. If it lasts you that long the first time without wearing off before, then it will probably also last that long for the second dose, which would explain, why it keeps you up that long.

[This message has been edited by Palms (edited 09-12-2003).]

I may have misposted. I NEVER take it more than once a day. I take it at 7:30-8:00am on M,T,and W. I never take a second dose. The insomnia is related to the dose i take in the morning somehow. It may not be related, but i know that when i take adderall that day, i have a hell of a time going to sleep at night. If I go to bed at 11pm, then i can be asleep by 1am-4am depending on other factors im sure, like other things on my mind or something.

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Jason E. Duke

Texas A&M University
Class of 2002

Sorry, I have misread your post...