Adderall is confusing me. | ADHD Information

cheer up!!! i started january 11th on 10mgs and i didn't notice anything the first three days adderall stays in your system for up to 36 hours according to my psych. if you're taking it every day it should build up after awhile i noticed a bigger difference after i started 15's then after the second week on them they didn't last as long but it sure is better than nothing at all. i'm on 20's now and i take a day off here and there and they work pretty good, although they only work for 6 hours now. it's a process to find the right dosage and it might take a few months. maybe you expected too much too soon. give it some time.Ok.  I started adderall last thursday and friday.  Then continued the following week and now this week.  It seemed like I could focus on boring repitive tasks but still had trouble reading things I wasnt interested in and listening when beign spoken to.  But now today it was all messed up.  At my lunch dosage I got really tired after I took it and my attention got worse.  I got the foggy feeling and couldnt focus or comprehend anything.  It made it way worse.  Is this normal?

 I'm thinking about giving up med for good now and accepting my add inattentive.  It really makes me sad.  Now I will fear loosing my current job if I cant focus.  Hopefully if i get more sleep and drink coffee in the morning it will get me through.  But now I will probably need to move on to a new career.  Its very sad. But today why did i get really tired and EXTREMELY unfocused after my lunch dose.  Does it mean the dosage is to low or what.  I definatley won't be able to continue on this if it keeps up. you may be building a tolerance by drinking coffee or from meds you used to takeI never took many meds before.  I drank one mountain dew.

When I first started taking it, I got really tired.  I have the best stretch ever, when my meds kick in.  For the first couple of weeks, I also took the best naps of my entire life while medicated.  Pretty ironic that I nap on enough stimulant meds to send other people climing the walls. 

It could be that you just need time to adjust.  It could be that the dose is too low.  I felt more awake when I upped the dose, but still tired.  Then I realized, I had never actually RELAXED before.  It is the absence of knots in my shoulders and the lack of brain clamor that makes me relaxed - not sleepy.

It took a while for me to be able to concentrate and be relaxed at the same time.  I would definately give it more than a few days (more like a few weeks) before you decide how you are doing on it.  It is a complicated process to re-learn how to use your brain now that it might be working.

[QUOTE=jman05]
 I'm thinking about giving up med for good now and accepting my add inattentive.  It really makes me sad.  Now I will fear loosing my current job if I cant focus.  Hopefully if i get more sleep and drink coffee in the morning it will get me through.  But now I will probably need to move on to a new career.  Its very sad. [/QUOTE]

Even if medication doesn't work for you in the long run, you don't need to give up hope and be sad.  I have tried an alternative method and it has helped me more than any med helped before.  You should go to the alternative method thread on this board and read about other methods people are trying.  Some are having success with diet.  Others swear that supplements work for them.  I am having great success with exercises from the book Stopping ADHD.  It is the most interesting book on the subject I have found.

Anyway, don't give up hope.  A different medication might work better for you. Or maybe the one you are on will kick in.

Ask your doctor about it.  I would do that definitely.

Hello Reisa;  You said/    It is a complicated process to re-learn how to use your brain now that it might be working.    My experience was the same as yours at first...my Doc said    "Your brain hasn't relaxed for years son, give it a chance to catch up and then you can start using it again...Then you will be able to relax and concentrate(focus) at the same time"  It's difficult to explain ADHD to someone outside the box huh? expecially when they say "yea well that happens to me too"  This is when I think to myself {here take a dose of my meds>adderal xr 30mg & Ritalin 20mg< and if you feel like climbing the walls and your brain is about to explode you may not be ADHD, but if you feel relaxed and are able to concentrate welcome to our world!!

I believe we(adders)have only just begun, someday we might just rule the world