Help! My brain wont stop! Cant sleep | ADHD Information

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I have been on adderall for about 8 years, and on ritalin for about 7 years before that. I have always had trouble sleeping, but lately it has been getting really bad. My brain just does not seem to slow down, it is always thinking about something but in such a fast-pased way. It really scares me, b/c I dont sleep anymore. (yeah, its 5 in the morning here and I have not gone to sleep yet) I take about 60mg a day, but I have been for years and years. I have a really hard time relaxing, and my heart rate is always way above normal (I check it through out the day to make sure it doesnt get too bad)Even when I am lying in bed trying to sleep, my heart is racing like I just worked out. The thing is, it never was this bad before. It started happening about 2 years ago. I am just looking for some advice...thanks & sorry for the long post I sure hope you told your doc about this. If not, do so! He may also be able to recommend something to help you sleep or make an adjustment to your meds but the heart racing is something that he should know about ASAP.

My Doctor told me to take Benadryl,  before going to bed...It really works...I take the "Severe Allergy"! My Son's Ped. also said the same thing for him...So it must be safe!

Ask your Doc. about this

 

I've been getting that problem every so often, but not as near as bad as you.

However, If I take an Adderall XR 30mg, I CAN'T sleep if I took it too close to bedtime. I can only sleep on Adderall after its been over 12 hrs, and even that's hard.

Try not taking the Adderall for a while to see if you sleep better, or maybe take it only once every two or three days.If you need to sleep, try a bit of alcohol, not enough to get you wasted, but enough to make you mildly drunk, it works for me every time. heheheApart from seeing a quack I would recommend trying meditation to see if that helps at all?

Sounds like you might be anxious or stressed - YES - talk to the doc and monitor your blood pressure.  Maybe it is time to adjust your dose of medication also. 

When I used to get very anxious - my heart rate would go up and it was not comfortable. 

I had the same problem and it was due to the fact that i developed an anxiety disorder, so the doc perscribed zoloft, helped a lotAll I'm saying is, once you start with drugs to sleep, you can't figure out what causes the sleep problems. ADHD is not an excuse for not looking in to causes of things. If I eat a chocolate bar and have som tea at 11 pm plus having a mid-term - there's no way I'm going to sleep. Start by looking at that. If that doesn't work, ask the doctor for advice. 

I love how people recommend meditation for someone with full-blown ADHD! LOL!! It's like hypnosis - you have to be able to focus your mind - good luck!

Lindzi - sounds like your meds aren't working.  Are you taking Vitamin C (ascorbic acid or acetic acid) very close to your doses?  Are you taking your dose every day at the same time?  Are you taking it close to when you sleep?  Are there more than 8 hours before sleep?

Some cannot tolerate it near sleep.  Others need it to focus to sleep.  It must be looked at.  As was mentioned anxiety disorders often come with ADHD so that may need looking at.  There are several anti-anxiety meds that don't affect our meds that can be used.

Also check into the new generation of low/non-addictive sleeping pills.  They are considered safe to take short term and some of them even long-term.  A sleep specialist may be helpful to change things in your life making sleep easier.  Some people try to get away with 4 hours a night then wonder why they cannot sleep.  Some have noise, light and other things going on.

I have had sleep troubles but now work hard to arrange life so sleep is an important part - as important as getting to work on time and eating enough every day.

Talk to your doctor for sure!  There are so many tools that can help.

 

Look for mindfulness online (wikipedia aso). Its a good meditation that, if you have the patience plus gives it a try, works for relaxing. You train to see thoughts/anxiety, accept them and drop them. It has worked very well for me. Even when meeting people. Usually I would start talking a lot not realizing that nobody understands what I'm talking about. Instead of having people listening to me behaving like an asshole I meditate going in to the situation. I remind myself to listen to the other people and stop myself to look in their eyes to see if I should stop and listen instead.

Medication never worked well for me. Try to go to bed at 10-11 pm. I usually get tired then but I always want to do so much more and I almost get pissed off when my girlfriend tells me to go to bed. I guess I'm hyper focused on the computer (bad habit). If I stay up a bit longer or especially eat, I can stay up forever. Try to figure out when you get that barrier of tireness in the evening and go to bed then. Don't eat after 8 pm and no sodas, coffee or tea.