hi planotexas,
i don't have any advice about the medication as i'm not adhd and my son uses homeopathy instead of the stim meds. yet i can tell you need some help.
there is a kids and young adults section on this bulletin board. it's on the home page. check it out and see if there are other young adults there that have some advice or at the very least, a shoulder.
your doctor can't tell you about why the meds are causing you to be irritable? sounds like you may need another doc. that can.
have you ever considered homeopathy as an alternative to the meds?
hang in there.
kppy
Hummn, cut back would be my suggestion, or go back to fast acting adderall. If the meds are helping you, then you are way ahead of most people. You just need to refine your usage.
When I'm on adderall (I don't take it everyday, just when I need it) hardly anything can piss me off. So I wonder why you are irritable, maybe you are overstimulated. Remember to avoid caffeine when on adderall, it tends to make the side effects of adderall more pronounced (the jitters, irritability, etc)
You're only a kid :-) so you are still learning to watch what you say and learning to deal with other people. Maybe you are functioning as a normal 20 year old. :-)
Stay the course.
Sounds like you need to see a psycologist, or some sort of therapist if you want someone to talk to. Thats what they are there for.I am a 20 year old female that was diagnosed with ADHD my junior year of High School. I started off with Adderall 10mg, then up to 20mg 2 times a day. I recently went to XR (30mg) last month, and everyone around me is very worried. I am HIGHLY irritated easily, and i am just a total "B" to be around. (So i am told) I have noticed the irritability, but i dont know what i should do about it. I am thinking i should just go back on the Adderall 20mg 2 times a day but i really do not want to have to be taking so many medications on a daily basis. I have tried taking myself off the medication about a year and a half ago, and within 6 months i had gained 65 pounds. Now that i went back on the 20mg about 8 months ago i have lost about 40 pounds. So i just dont know what to do about it. If i do not take it i am very hyper, and i do not get any work done anywhere. I have a commission based career, so the more i work the more i get paid. So i do not want to go back to just letting myself be hyper. I just have so many questions, and dont really know what to do about it. I can only go to my doctor for so much, and all she can do is tell me the clinical answers. I want to talk to someone who is actually in my shoes, and has an idea of what i am going through. If anyone has ANY input about this, PLEASE let me know!!! Thanks sooo much.
I am just the reverse. When I am on Adderal, I am very hyper, cry all the time, and very nervous with no caffeine. I like Stratera, works great for me. You need to try all medication to find out what works best for your body and mind. Keep searching.Adderall XR seems to be stronger or work better then plain Adderall maybe just lowering your dose on XR will help.
I guess i really should have also talked about my ADHD in general.
These are my issues/symptoms when im not on adderall:
I'm a tapper... i tap everything and dont even realize it.
I had never read a full book in my life until i was on adderall. I would TRY and read one page and would either have to read it 4 times or i would just skip around through the book... or just give up and move on to the next thing.
I would attempt to tell a story.. the story would somehow trigger another thought so i would go off telling another story... in the end would forget what in the hell i was talking about to begin with. That one always made the friends laugh.
haha... school... riiiight.. I would go to school... and draw on my books.. or write notes, or go to the "bathroom" and roam around. Dont get me wrong.. i would actually TRY and do school work and stay focused.. it just never lasted more than 1 class. My grades went from c-d to A when i got on adderall.
Sitting through something never happend, rather it be a movie, or dinner, or whatever. It just never happened. Something would be said and it would make me think about something else.. so then i would wonder off to doing something else... so on and so on..
After this all said.. ive been on adderall for about 4 1/2 years now. I was taking adderall 20mg and then my doc decided to put me on the XR. Either way, the regular adderall gives me a burst of workable time... then go down from there. The XR is ok.. but it makes me REALLY moody. Thats just the story to that, im moody. BAD. SO i guess with all this said and done, if anyone knows of a med that would work well.. let me know.
I was a lot like you plano when I was a kid I was (well Still am) extremely hyperactive. Adderall has been the only thing that has ever helped me so unfortunately I can't offer any other suggestions. I have a pretty severe case of adhd so no meds make me completely "normal" but on Adderall I'm closer to normal then I have ever been