I take 3 Adderall a day(30,30,15). I tried the Adderall XR but it didn't work for me. The regular Adderall lasts about 5 hours, then you have to take another one. I may be misunderstanding your post but I kind of get the feeling that maybe your changing dosages and meds to quickly. I don't know what your timeline is for trying a med at a certian dosage, so I can't say for sure. Adderall, being a stimulant, does not stay active in your system for long. Although this does give you the opertunity to find the optimum dosage level fairly soon.
I am not a doctor, but I can see where too much of a stimulant could cause emotional over activity. Even with a medication that is working it may take a little time to adjust to his new found abilities.
If he feels anxiety it could be a side effect of adderall. My doctor prescribed me Wellbutrin to go along with my Adderrall. As I understand this is common. You might try asking your doctor about Wellbutrin, at least till you can get your dosage level right.
Here is what happens to me if I don't take wellbutrin with my Adderall. I have anxiety from being ADHD and feeling "mentally held back" or overwhelmed. If I take Adderall without Welbutrin then I am more productive so the overwhelmed feeling subsides, but one side effect of Adderrall is increased anxiety. So I still would have the anxiety. Which with me means "emotional rollercoaster."
The one thing that puzzles me about you post is that you say with the Adderall one minute he is productive, then the next he is unmotivated. Could this be because of the short life of a dose of Adderall (5 hours). Or is it more from minute to minute?
I am new here and need some help.
My husband has recently started on meds for his ADD. While they have greatly helped (although, he does not really see it yet). He is really struggling with the meds. Here are the results.
Adderall (30mg). He started with one pill a day. He felt like he was on an emotional rollercoaster. So, he started taking two pills a day (like the Dr. prescribed). The rollercoaster ride was the same.... One minute productive, next minute sad, unmotivated and "blah".
So, next he went on Focalin (20mgs). With one pill he felt nothing. So, Dr. suggested two (40 mgs). Some days, he feels that the mind racing is worse. At about 3:00pm he starts coming down and hates the feeling. By 7:00 or 7:30 he is ready for the bed! So... tired.
The Dr. indicated that 40mgs of Focalin was alot. But it appears that it is not lasting. He sees the Dr. this week but is very frustrated.
Anyone have some suggestions. What are some other meds that he might try? Anyone take two pills at two different times of the day? Does the emotional rollercoaster go away with time?
Thanks for the help.
Thanks for helping me out. Maybe I can make myself clearer.
The emotional rollercoaster is more about feelings. Happy, sad, blah, etc... Not about production. He also describes it as up one minute and then shortly after he is down.
The Dr. said that the meds left his system after one day. So, he is thinking that taking it for four weeks does not really change things other than the basic side effects. It sounds like you are suggesting otherwise.
He has also found that if he drinks coffee all day along with the meds (either one) he feels more "even".
Can you explain in more detail why the Wellbutrin works well with the meds
The doctor is right about when meds leave your body (sorry if I misrepresented that). I was trying to say something along the lines of, the meds may be out of your system in a few hours but it might take a few weeks to adjust to the changes. Kind of like getting used to a new pair of glasses. The situation is better, but it takes getting used to.
(I'm sorry if this comes across wrong, I just don't know how much you know about ADHD and Adderall.)
Adderall is a stimulant, its a chemical designed to stimulate a certain part of the brain. Caffene is also a stimulant. Some people believe (including myself) caffene can alter the effectivness of Adderall.
Roughly 2 months ago I was drinking 5-6 cups of coffee a day, and taking 10mg of Adderall 3 times a day. Then I went in to get tested to optimize my dosage. I am up to 30 mg, 3 times a day. During the testing sessions I stopped drinking all caffene. For a week I was in hell. I have quit smoking before and there is no way nicotene withdrawl is as bad as caffene withdrawl. I never realized how addictive caffene is. Since then, my test scores at different dosages have show consistancy. My body had become reliant on it, and once I quit it and got my meds right I feel so much better now.
My point is, its possible he is self medicating with caffene. You might ask your doctor how this may or may not change things. It wouldn't be surprised if you told me he drank Mountain Dew either.
As far as testing time, the four weeks you gave it should have been enough.
I saved the emotional rollercoaster for last. This is something that I only recently realized that was happening inside of me. I had heard the term and thought I knew what it meant. It wasn't until going though it myself that I really realized what was happening to me. Just in case I will describe it.
I recently went through a near-divorce. Everytime I let myself get to happy and excited when I was dissapointed I was sad even more than if I had not got too excited. Likewise the more down and sad I was, the more any little positive thing would make me soar into inappropriate levels of happiness.
We ADHD people are a sensitive people. Sensitive meaning anything from being more observant of our surroundings, to being more emotionally sensitive.
The medications can infact make this worse,escpecially if the dosage is to high. But for me, I had to face the fact I had really bad coping skills (not to mention my spelling sucks too). I was having a hard time with frustration, anxiety, anger, asertiveness, and so on. My wife finally got it across to me that I had bad coping skills, so I researched it and she was right.
I found a great website called (coping.org). I saw in me exactly what they were saying, and it was partially because of my ADHD that I never developed those skills.
Here are my suggestions for the Emotional rollercoaster.
Talk to your doctor about the coffee, It may be combining and overstimulating him. Which could make him more emotional. Maybe dropping caffene and adjusting his meds might help.
maybe look into his coping skills. Emotional control can be effected by it. It was in my case.
We tend to obsess and overanalyze sometimes. Which can make us read too much into something. Talk to him about keeping in mind real fears versus unrealistic fears.
Finally, the more educated you are about ADHD the more you can help him, and in turn make your life easier. LOL
P.S. Almost forgot about the Wellbutrin. For me the Wellbutrin keeps my general frustration and anxiety level from ADHD down to a managable level (Usually).
I think maybe it more precisely addresses the anxiety side-effect of Adderall more than other meds. I don't know for sure why wellbutrin and not some other drug.