Adderall Advice

[index.html]

Desperate1,

First, welcome to this board! Who knows? Maybe you do have ADHD and just aren't diagnosed. (Keeps this thread relative to this board).

I'm sorry for all your suffering. It's interesting to me that your doc chose Adderall for you; I would think that Provigil would be a more logical choice. I wonder what his rational was.

Here is something for you to put some thought into.

It would be a good idea for you to REALLY watch your symptoms in relation to each dose of Adderall. In fact, it would probably be useful if you kept some kind of a simple log for a little while.

The reason I suggest that is this. Adderall actually peaks at about 3 hours. It's unlikely that your dose is wearing off at that time; it's more likely that what you are experiencing at 3 to 3.5 hours is actually the peak of the medication's effect. If at 3 hours you are feeling worse rather than better, it may well be that the Adderall is actually making you more tired.

I know you are convinced that you are rapidly metabolizing the Adderall and that it is wearing off at three hours. It would be useful, I think, for you to consider that it's having the opposite effect. Keeping a log would give you a better idea of what is really going on. Especially, if you are as foggy as you say you are - it may be hard for you to keep track of dosages and symptoms without one.

Put some thought into it anyway.

Good luck and God Bless!

[addprogrammer]

Index,

That is one of the most insightful posts ever. Thank you. Also, I failed to pay you a well deserve compliment on graduating Magna "cuum" Laude (and teaching em how to spell). You may have "smarts" on your side but ADD can bring down geniuses. Sheer determinedness on your part no doubt was a player too.

To stay within post ...

Desparate1 do the journal thing.

I did not respond because your use of Adderall for CFS and Fibro Mialgia is well beyond by scope of experience - that is - for ADHD.

I hope the best for you.

Bob

[index.html]

{Sorry this is unrelated to the thread. Aww shucks, Bob, you've given me lots of compliments along the way. I'm only inattentive, I don't have the "H" so I don't really consider myself in the league with you and my eldest. But yes, sure determination had alot to do with it. Unfortunately, determination wasn't enough to carry me post-graduation: lack of self-esteem has interferred with attaining any significant career goals. That is, other than the one that I wanted most - which I got. That is, to be a mom!

How low self-esteem plays into all of this would be an interesting topic for another thread. As in, how much do we fail to achieve because of our disorder and how much is because we didn't fit in/measure up as kids.}

Desperate1, consider the notion that the Adderall makes you more tired rather than less. It does alot of people, you know: that's why it works for ADHD.

[desperate1]

Thanks so much to all of you. I truly appreciate your insight!
Index, great, great, great advice, thank you! I would never in a million years have considered that Adderall could make me more tired, because all of my research has turned up the "be careful, it's like a prescription for speed" information. Very, very interesting to know it could be affecting me in the opposite way.
I do keep a journal, although I can barely read my own handwriting late. I went from perfect penmanship to complete chicken scratch. And I can never concentrate, so the ADD thing is not so far-fetched, though I do suspect it is more a side effect of the major fatigue. Who knows? I try not to self-diagnose. It's so easy to convince yourself you have one thing and then you can miss the signs of something else.
Anyway, thanks again. I really appreciate hearing from you all!

p.s. index, i should mention that I asked all of my many docs about provigil since I have read great things, but none of them had ever heard of it being used for ms or fibro related fatigue(?!) I have been to clinics and hosptials affiliated with Ivy League Universities and have seen very highly respected docs, and I just can't believe none of them are willing to prescribe. They all tell me they only know of using for narcolepsy.

Also, after an hour or hour and a half on adderall I get a short, not very intense lift in energy and clarity. That's why I assumed it was "peaking" early, after an hour or two, and wearing off around 3 hours. Now I wonder what the heck is going on. My doctor seems convinced that we just haven't gotten to a high enough dose yet.

Well, this is very interesting food for thought (when I can actually think.)
My gratitude to you all.

[index.html]

Desperate1, you don't even have to go to the trouble of journaling.

Make yourself some kind of chart where you enter time of dose, then maybe blocks at certain time intervals (like 1,3, 5 hours post dose). Then use arrows or something- 1 arrow up means improved, 2 really improved, 1 down slightly worse, etc. Color code your arrows - 1 color for energy, and another for mental clarity.

If what you really are seeing is a slight improvement at 1 or 2 hours post-dose, but a worsening at around 3 - 3.5 hours, I'd have to guess that the dose you are taking might be too high for you.

This is all assuming that you are taking plain Adderall and not Adderall XR - there's a big difference.