Adderall XR - nightly brain overload | ADHD Information

Before I get to the meat, first an ADD "go figure" moment that happened to me last week. I went to an ADD 2 hour support group meeting for the first time. The first  40 minutes were spent on discussing how the meeting was going to be structured!... go figure! (Bob Newhart where are you?!)

I was diagnosed with ADD last summer at the tender age of 49. It started with (by fluke) a self diagnosis which was later confirmed by a medical health professional (a psychiatrist) who specializes in ADD. I was placed on generic Ritalin 30mg in the morning and 30 in the afternoon.  Things got better. I was losing weight - yes I'm active in sports and yes I experienced both highs (after each dose) and a low in between. I was then placed on Adderall XR (40mg) to see if that would avoid the (Ritalin) roller coaster by leveling things off... it did. 

I've been on Adderall XR for 3 months now. I'm more focused and productive plus it hasn't muted the positives of having ADD.  This new found focus (and energy) has enabled me to be more productive in many avenues of my life.

And  now, at long last, the problem.  Evening arrives and the Adderall wears off, which is good since a guy has to rest, but that isn't happening. I'm staying up REALLY late. When I finally make it to bed my ADD mind is on overload. The sleep I get is restless at best (I'm lucky to get 4 hours).  Note: My Dr. tells me even those with "normal" mental wiring would be stressed due to my current conditions - my 20 year old daughter is having emotional problems,  I'm still paying, emotionally and otherwise, for 49 years of undiagnosed ADD plus my father  passed away last month (my parents moved in with us, by way of an in-law suite, 18 months ago).  Sure  some nights are spent grieving, which is normal, yet other nights are filled with daily issues and none of them really important. It's ADD hyper focus time! The next day I think things out clearly and move on.

I use sleep medication every so often when my body is crying out for rest.  Is my new  ability to focus too much for my ADD brain to handle when not altered by medication? My doc is on vacation and last night was truly restless. Can anyone else relate?
slice39317.317337963This sounds silly but I keep a tape recorder next to my bed. Since I have problems with what I call"my brain shutting up" so I can sleep. I have found that if I talk them out on the tape recorder it reduced my anxiety and made me feel like I had somewhere to put all the stuff I was thinking about. Here is the best part. I will do this the nights I need to and flip over the tape and reuse. I do not go back and listen to it unless I had the "oh this is what I should say in this letter or whatever" moment. I almost think that sometimes my brian is not tired enough yet so my pther trick is to do something really mentally hard when I can't turn the brain off, for me it is wordsearchs, and my brain will get tired halfway through and I can fall alseep. This maybe is not what you are looking for but I don't like taking meds so....

 

Yeah, I can relate!  Sounds like my experience when I started on Adderall--trouble sleeping!   Didn't happen all the time, maybe couple-three times a week for the first few months.  I tried taking 1/2 mg. Melatonin before bed which seemed to help some.   Then after 3 months, my body adjusted and only very rarely was sleeping a problem.  So, maybe with a bit more time you'll be back to normal sleeping....

I took two 20 mg XR, one in a.m. one in p.m. for a year (the XR's effect in me lasts about 6 hrs.); now instead of an XR I take a regular Adderall in the afternoon.  I made this change not because of sleep issues, it just allows me more flexibility if I forget or have a late meeting.

 

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It's funny that you mention this.  I just went off of adderall for over a month, and now that I'm back on it I'm definitely getting the overload at night. 

This is the classic stimulant rebound effect that so many of us report.  It's generally believed that the primary problem is that as soon as your meds wear off, your symptoms return full-force, and you've spent a day with reduced symptoms, so it's hard to cope.  Remember, we tend to have sleep problems under normal circumstances anyway.  Additionally, it's hard to monitor eating habits during the day if you're not setting time for it, and we easily run ourselves into exhaustion, which makes our symptoms even worse at the end of the day.  (You're tired, hungry, and suddenly bombarded by your symptoms)

There are a few things you can try.  Clonidine is always an option.  It's a sedative you can take in the evening that also helps with ADHD symptoms (primarily hyperactivity/impulsivity).   You can also try setting your medication schedule so that the meds don't wear off until you're already asleep.  That has seemed to work well for me.  On meds, I'm much more able to focus myself and fall asleep.  But be careful, if the meds end up lasting through the entire night, you're probably going to wake up sleep-deprived.  Stimulant medication alters brain waves during sleep.  You just want enough to get you through an hour or so.