Advice needed: Side-effect or Overdose? | ADHD Information

Yeah consider Adderall XR, it might be all you need. I take it and I fart rainbows all day. And the stomach aches might be from the loss of appetite the drug gives you, and you dont notice that you havnt eaten in 9 hours and have a stomach ache. Happens to me all the time.

That sounds like the med is wearing off to me.  I metabolize really quickly, so that is my main issue.  4-5 hours is all I get from Adderall XR and I need an afternoon IR to finish my work day.

You might try taking it later in the day.  Also do a quick run down of your eating and sleeping.  Meds can cover up the effects of treating your body badly, but then they don't do much for the ADHD.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Hey there,

I have been taking adhd stimulants for about 10 years now (i am 22 years of age right now), and I have tried virtually every type of drug -- stratera, metadate, ritalin, adderall, etc.  With most of these drugs, however, I had stomach aches that led me to switch.

Now, i am on Methylin E.R. and I usually take about 40-50mg. in the morning and another comparable dose in the afternoon.  While I am not experiencing the side effect of stomach aches, I often find myself feeling cloudy-minded and sort of sleepy.  And, 3.5 to 4 hours after taking the drug, I start to feel really hazy and self-conscious -- I lose all of my sharpness and much of my confidence -- which is particurally frustrating at night because I work as a waiter and night-time hours are when the potently to make good money is better.

Am i taking too much medicine or is the cloudy-mindedness and haziness just a side-effect of the drug.

Any thoughts/advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.
Reisa,

thanks for the reply.  you mentioned that my sleeping and/or eating habits could be contributing factors, and heres the thing.  i am having a difficult time with both of those components -- i don't really think i am getting deep quality sleep and my eating is totally off as i will usually eat one big meal to start of the day and one late into the night only after i am hurting for food.

my fear is that taking the drug later might heighten the issues that already surround my sleep and eating patterns.  what do you think?

Adderall in particular, but all the stims have a component of appetite supression.  I discovered that the reason I felt like crap when the Adderall wore off was because I hadn't eaten in 12-14 hours, often not having slept well either.  Make yourself eat something or drink a protien shake -- heck, even a milkshake is better than starving your body just cause you don't notice you are hungry.

If the meds keep you up, then don't take it later.  I sleep really well on them, it is my ADHD that keeps me awake.  I would suggest you talk to your doctor about a sleep med, or search the alternatives board for something that helps.  Ambien is my friend.  I only take it about twice a week, but it keeps my sleep more regular on those days that I wish somebody would just knock me unconcious.

Take more care of yourself on stimulant meds, not less.  Physical exaustion and/or hunger make ANYBODY unable to concentrate - kinda cancels out the point of taking meds huh?