Adult Male ADHD + Meds + Impotence | ADHD Information
Evazyn, I hear you when you talk about your "vacation". I too felt my Concerta was loosing it edge at 36mg a day. I forgot to take it on a Sunday, no big deal, didn't feel much difference. The next day was a holiday, decided not to take it again so I could possibly benefit when I restarted the meds. By day 4 I was a complete veggie!!!! 
I should of been institutionalized! I was a friggin mess, temper tantrums, no sense of time, and no control over my impulses. If I try that again I'll need to get some sort of anti anxiety drug to counter the emotional tornado. I'm seeing my psych next week to discuss further rx options. I'll be sure to talk about it if you interested. I, however don't have any ED problems like your self. Quiet possibly the drug controls your impulses, and when your focusing your mind elsewhere your little mind might be missing out. Just a thought! Good luck!
Yes, institutionalization sounds about right, when off the adderall for a few days. You isolated the progression of the madness, first day is not all that bad - maybe have some coffee to give you a little pep, second day one is completely fatigued (and ravigingly hungery if one had forgotten to eat during the wk, of course I remember to eat so not an issue), the third and fourth day one is a space-cadet.
As far as the emotional turmoil you're experiencing, I lucky and have not had the same experience - sure I'm a little 'down' when going on extened 'holiday' but this is more to do w/my physical inability to acomplish anything rather than anger, anxiety ect. Yet, when coming off a long work day on the meds I'm a bit testy and short-tempered for about 2hrs, so I just make sure I'm alone reading or working out when in this state.
So my advice to you is NEVER to go cold turkey - make you holidays 2-3 days long tops, and if you decide to go off the meds take 2-3 wks of reduced dosage and then maybe even another 2 wks of a small dose every other day. Even after these steps you will be a zombie for possibly 2-3 months, but not a killer-zombie if you know what I mean. Do not go on anti-anxiety drugs yet, this will throw you through a loop before isolating your condition (I know, I became addicted to Klonopin as a teen - not cool).
So gradually go off the meds and then if your symptoms persist after taking such an approach consider counseling and mood-disorder prescriptions for the short term. To mix anxiety pills w/adderall imediately is too risky when possibly taking reduced dosages will suffice untill you are free from it - in sum, give the non-cold-turkey approach a shot first before reaching for the valium.
PS: let me know what your Dr has to say, I see mine in 2 days, will see if he can offer me alternatives to adderall (which is not giving me ED on my 'days off' - so I have the option of spending time w/the girl I'm seeing w/confidence while being an off-adderall prick at the same time, talk about a win/lose situation!) OR a back-up prescription for when the adderall loses its effect, in say like 3 wks!
Good luck!
Wow, what a great letter.
My husband has extremely poor self-esteem. thanks to his father and others around him. his father, even to this day, cusses at him profusely with stupid, no good for nothing, never will amount to anything, mistake, dumb, idiot all interspersed with a hateful tone of voice. its horrid to hear and I'm sure it is horrid of a feeling for my husband. he has received absolutely no support from his family and never received any positive anything until me. I have 2 children, one with adhd and the other with add. my son is extremely hyper with major anger and loss of control (violence) I fought the drugs for a long time, trying other things with nothing working. my son will even hit me, or hurt me physically he is age 15, then 5 minutes later wonder why I'm angry at him. he feels he has done nothing wrong! my oldest daughter age 17 well, she's a completely different story and my head is aching even thinking about writing to her. anyway, I feel for you completely. I do know one thing. that a firm cannot fire you or NOT hire you because you are disabled. research those laws on top of what your studying already (hehe) gird your loins in a matter of speaking, so you can defend your rights. I have found in the construction industry, my husband is a framer, that it is high speed. they want the houses done in a week to week and a half. my husband was fired from 3 jobs in a months time and he has 9 years experience and is an awesome framer!! I called and talked to his boss of the last job he was fired from (knowing I couldn't do anymore harm than what was done already) and asked him why he fired my husband. he told me that he hired a lead framer and at first thats what he was, then there would be days where he wandered around and acted like he didn't know what he was doing. it HIT me right then and there that he HAD to get on medication or we would be in the poor house. SO, I set up a doctor's appt, got him in, got him diagnosed and thus started the adderall. now the job he has currently, I set up the interview, but he got the job based on his written skills test of framing, however, I spoke to the HR person and told them of my husband's disability, they work with him...and have a great understanding of it and are very tolerant. because of his skills, they wanted him badly to work for them, because of his skills they are willing to put up with his disability. he just has to go to his manager and say "i'm having a off day today, struggling" or "I've changed my medication and I don't know what type of effect it will have on me." etc etc.
anyway, its really nice talking to you. keep your chin up. for you to be in law school it sounds as if you've had a great support system. my husband thinks he is completely stupid and ignorant. it breaks my heart, because I feel he is extremely intelligent, but shuts down most of the time.
talk to you soon...
Cher
Cher,Your husband's experiences totally mirror mine, Adderall works like a dream for a week, works well for a month or so and then you need to up the dosage. When the dosage it upped the drug works well for another 3 months or so but then the side-effects begin to really rear their ugly head.
I never had the headache, but certainly had the dizzy feeling once and a while when coming off the drug, and even mild depression every evening when coming off the drug when my doasge was at or over 30mg a day.
In my view adderall is a short-term solution, a med that's really only good to keep kids in their seats (not saying the drug's good for kids, far from it, but it's good for teachers peace of mind) and kids need less of it. For adults, you really need to take 2 days off per week and then about a week or two off every 2 or 3 months to retain at least some of the drugs effectiveness - this is hard when one has work & family (I know, studying for the bar does not make it easy to just take 2 days off per week, and how is a law firm partner going to understand my inability to focus when I'm off the med for a week - can you say solo practice is my only route?). The major issue with these 'holidays' from Adderall is that, at least in my experience, you feel totally useless - can't focus, need to sleep half the day, eat a ton, staring off into space all the time... hell I fell that I shouldn't even be driving on my 2nd day off the Adderall I'm so out of it!
As for myself, went back on the Adderall this week to get work done but will push for Concerta from my Dr next week. I'll only use Adderall as supplement to whatever medication is my main choice - albeit Con, Strat ect. So your husband should probably stear clear of Adderall and only use it when says he needs to take a break from his new medication (prob Concerta) but still needs to get work done. I know you will not look forward to those weeks, for a variety of reasons, but hopefully they will not be common.
My hope is that Con. will work for me, w/less side-effects, for longer periods, and then I'll only have to rely on Adderall or Rit. once every year or so when my system starts to become too used to the Concerta.
I know this all sounds crazy, and it is - having ADHD in a hyper-competitive society w/an unstable economy where we're asked to work between 40 and 60 hrs per wk (where often in the EU they work only 37.5 hours per wk w/double vacation time) isn't easy. Your husband is trying hard and like me, inside he is full of pain and struggle b/c for a ADHDer to function every day is a task, so he is always working double-time. I feel for him b/c I will not even date seriously b/c how can I tell a women I'm certain I can provide for her if I'm not yet certain I can complete my tasks on the job. For a man, ADHD, in a way, takes away his confidence as being a protector and provider, to get a bit poetic - it makes him feel not only impotent in the traditional sense (if he's on Adderall of course) but also impotent in spirit and mind.
There's a great book out offering a theory as to where the ADHD condition comes from, it's fascinating but not a topic for this thread. I can tell you a few things about it if you want, maybe find the title. It will not solve much but will restore some of the value your husband has in the way his mind works. It did for me. Bascially having ADHD is a great asset to have in human history, but it's a major liability in the modern world. Best of luck to you. Feel free to write anytime.
Evazyn,
We went to the DR. today and told him of these symptoms. other symptoms my husband has had with adderal is terrible headaches and some dizziness... he has been on it for 3 months now. the DR. has changed his rx to concerta 36 mg he told us there is one other dosage which is 50 or 54... something like that, anyway, we are hoping and praying that it will work well, my husband stated to the DR today that the adderall is not working as effectively as it did at first. he is finding himself wondering off of his tasks. let me know how things are going for you.
Cher
Thanks Evazyn for sharing that very personal experience. And congratulations on achieving what you have on your own without medication also what you achieved when you were on it.
Being a woman I guess I cant really appreciate the monk in the pants problem.
But I am glad that things are looking up (pardon the pun) for you again.
RAE,THANKS FOR THE KIND WORDS - THE LACK OF
RESPONSES IS A GREAT SIGN, IT MEANS THAT MY
'PROBLEM' ISN'T A COMMON ONE SO THE CHANCES THAT
I'LL EXPERIENCE IT AGAIN W/ANOTHER PRESCRIPTION IS
LOW... WHEW!
from what I understand about impotence though, stress can induce it also. Considering it a possible coincidence should not be ruled out. Personally I would give the meds another go, if I felt like I needed to and see if it happened again. It may not.
I remember having a severe reaction to pethedine once and have never tried it since and have since suffered incredible pain in child birth and medical procedures because I was too scared to try a pain releiver again.
Recently I had to use Morphine for back pain, and found no adverse reactions, whereas Morphine once gave me terrible reactions.
My point is - as our personaly biological makeup changes with age, I think meds have different impacts upon us.
HI Evazyn,
I am the wife of a 29 year old that has ADD that was finally diagnosed after we were married which was July 21st, 2004. he has been on Adderall 30 MG (time released capsule) since the day after our wedding. anyway, I have been prone to tears and feelings of low self-esteem, thinking my husband didn't desire me. we finally had a discussion because he didn't understand why I was being so 'ornery' ALL the time. he told me he can't help it, he has absolutely no sexual desires. well, knowing him prior to when he took this medication, this statement was definitely NOT the man I married. So, we decided to test the theory that it could be the medication causing this problem. well, it is definite!!!!! he wouldn't take it on the weekends, and by saturday evening he was ready to go (thank GOD) we have even missed church on sunday mornings, because of his sexual desires coming back. now, my husband is handsome again and I feel very loved. it is a definite side affect of Adderal
I decided I'd post this after you not hearing from anyone else, besides the lady who had not experienced it.
I will say, that without the adderal my husband would lose his job. so it is something that I get to deal with. I will admit that it is very easy to deal with now that I KNOW its not me :-)
Cher,
Thank you for your honest reply. Your words rang very ture, the adderall, as in the case of your husband and myself, decreased 'desire' just as much as actual 'ability'. I was doing the weekday only technique for a while, and while I'm happy to hear it has worked for your husband it took me about 2wks to get my full capabilities (mentally and physically) back.
Adderall helped my focus and get work done, and I understand not being able to fathom working in any office-related and/or professional field without it. My hope is that Con. or Rid. works for me, and once and a while I can go back on Adderall for a mth or so when my primary meds have lost their effect - of course if I'm married at the time my future wife would not enjoy that mth. Hope everything continues to work out for you both. Male, 27, diagnosed w/ADHD this yr while in my final yr of law school - shocked the Doc that I was able to make it this far using all my 'tricks' to circumvent the demands of school for all these yrs. Anyway, if I'm to have any chance of passing the NY Bar next Feb, let alone opening my own practice, I need to be medicated. I was on Adderall for over 6 mths (about 30mg/day, anything less would not work, anything more was too much) and though I got my studying completed I was impotent
- both physcially and mentally (no ability to perform + no desire to date or spend time with women at all). I was a drone - sound familiar?I'd like to know if there are any men who could share thoughts on a) what meds also made them experience the same thing (so I don't make such pills the first choice for my new treatment if the Doc suggests them) b) what meds seem to not cause this effect in men.
I know all meds effect people differently, while in my teen yrs I was on Prozac for a little while (weren't we all) and this med also made me impotent - so I feel I've got a propensity of being affected by prescriptions that are known to cause this probelm. Any thoughts, stories, suggestions would be great - I can deal w/a med reducing my personality if the med propells me past the bar, but I can't accept being a monk-in-the-pants either.
BTW, I've been off of Adderall for about 2wks (seeing the Doc nxt wk) and all my 'problems' are completely gone - my vigor has returned. Clearly this isn't a traditional impotence problem, I've never had such a problem. Besides, if the impotence actually was a probelm outside of the adderall then, though my ability would not be normal, my desire at the age of 27 would still have been normal. The loss of function and desire coincided with the taking of adderall about a wk or so into the treatment.
MY husband has a ton of support now and once we have insurance we will be acquiring a counselor as well. yes, his dad has been informed by none only than myself. I told him he should be ashamed of himself, along with some other things. My husband's mom is completely supportive of her son, yet was not knowledgeable enough to 'fix' the problem. however, she has come between father and son all of son's life which has made father extremely jealous and bitter of son. anyway, it is all coming around. I am here now :-)
thanx for your support... (btw, I think mom may possibly have some of the same symptoms)
Cher
cher005, Does your husbands father know about his diagnosis of ADHD? If not maybe you should share tht information it may change the way he thinks/treats his son. The situation you describe is painful to even think about. If his father isn't willing to accept him I would think about cutting off relations with him. That kind of verbal abuse is only going to keep damaging your husband. I would suggest your husband also seek counseling by someone trained to work with Adults with ADHD to help repair his self esteem. I wish you both all the best. -Gettingagrip- [QUOTE=Evazyn]Male, 27, diagnosed w/ADHD this yr while in my final yr of law school - shocked the Doc that I was able to make it this far using all my 'tricks' to circumvent the demands of school for all these yrs. Anyway, if I'm to have any chance of passing the NY Bar next Feb, let alone opening my own practice, I need to be medicated. I was on Adderall for over 6 mths (about 30mg/day, anything less would not work, anything more was too much) and though I got my studying completed I was impotent - both physcially and mentally (no ability to perform + no desire to date or spend time with women at all). I was a drone - sound familiar?I'd like to know if there are any men who could share thoughts on a) what meds also made them experience the same thing (so I don't make such pills the first choice for my new treatment if the Doc suggests them) b) what meds seem to not cause this effect in men.
I know all meds effect people differently, while in my teen yrs I was on Prozac for a little while (weren't we all) and this med also made me impotent - so I feel I've got a propensity of being affected by prescriptions that are known to cause this probelm. Any thoughts, stories, suggestions would be great - I can deal w/a med reducing my personality if the med propells me past the bar, but I can't accept being a monk-in-the-pants either.
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I'm with ya' buddy. I too am a male 3L and have recently been diagnosed with ADD. The doctor prescribed adderrall and I have experienced the exact same side effects that you describe. The "vigor" isn't there and neither is the rigidity of the actual erection - my wife can tell immediately if I took the pill that day.
That said, I'm anxious to hear if you had any success with your other drugs. Let me know if you find a solution that is more conducive to a productive professional and private life.
amphetamines change blood flow to the whole body. That includes the sex organs (men and women). This passes usually and it did with me. I was totally freaked out when impotence hit for the first time about a month and a half into treatment. I stuck it out though and it went back to better than normal (yes BETTER) about 2 weeks after that. I had an Rx for viagra just in case - but it just returned with a newfound vigor.
Along with blood flow changes is the brain's new focus. We no longer are getting random fantasies that hit the non-medicated so we simply don't get those urges spontaneously. I found after I stopped worrying about it things began to return.
To stop the ADHD meds for sex - I have to wonder if that's the right choice? Which is more important - a life where you're in control or sex? I want both of course but if my sex life stopped but my normal life stayed as excellent as it is - I'd take that as a blessing.
12 pack, concerta and a viagra
careful u may be charged w/ attempted murder lol