Hi. I have some questions about my new medication. I went to psychiatrist about 6 weeeks ago with complaints of anxiety, irritability and general agitation. I was prescribed Prozac 10mg per day to start and increased over next six weeks up to 40mg per day now. The prozac did absolutely nothing for my mood or my anxiety but made me extremely tired all the time. Then two weeks ago, when researching for my son who is being tested for ADHD I started coming across all this information about how the ADHD that I had been diagnosed with at 6 yrs old may not have been "grown out of" as I thought. So, two days ago when I went back to psych, I asked her if this could be part of my problem and she prescribed Adderall IR 20mg once a day. I told her that evenings were my most frazzeled time (getting home from work, dealing with the kids, etc.) and she told me to take the Adderall around 3pm to still have effects in the evening but not hinder sleep. Well, I did this on Tuesday and I was very jittery and shaky, had a slightly faster pulse (which I know is normal) and was wide awake until 3am and I didn't even really feel more focused or attentive. So, after having researched half the night on the computer, I realized that part of the problem may be my Diet Coke habit. So yesterday I cut out the Diet Coke and split up the dose into 10mg at 8am and 10mg at 12pm because I thought maybe 20mg at once was too much. Well, I still felt shaky and jittery, although a little less than the day before, but I don't feel any more focused or calm. However, I did sleep OK last night. But I don't understand this. Today I took 10mg about an hour ago, and I don't feel anything. No shakiness or anything, but also no increase in concentration. I am just wondering if the shaky feeling will go away after a couple days and maybe I should try i higher dose to get the focus? I'm just not sure what to do. I was so happy that I may had finally figured out what my problem has been all these years and now I'm just frustrated. I know I should give it a couple days to work, but I was really hoping to see a significant change. Any help/advice a "veteran" Adderall user could give me about what it was like when you started taking it would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Kristi
My friend is on Wellbutrin for slight add and slight depression maybe that could be a possiblilty for you?? Unfortunately with those meds you have to wait so long to feel the difference with a slow introduction to increased mg.
Kristi, I don't have any direct experience with Adderall, but I might be able to offer some helpful information for you. First, if the Adderall doesn't work, there are several other ADHD medications to try before you give up. Second, two weeks ago I started to take 20mg Prozac daily to help with some of the things my ADHD medicine, Vyvanse (similar to Adderall), doesn't take care of. The Prozac makes me tired too and, at this point, seems to be reducing the concentration and energy effect of the Vyvanse. Two weeks on Prozac is not long enough to make any changes, since sometimes it takes several weeks both to achieve the desired effect and for the side effects to subside. I'll just have to wait. You may want to wait a little longer too, considering that you've increased the dosage on the Prozac recently. Of course, you might just need less of the Prozac, or none of it at all. Anyway, given the information you provide, these are some things that you can consider and discuss with your doctor. Good luck.