My daughter takes 5mg of Adderall XR before breakfast (around 6:45 AM) - does anyone know how long the meds should last? She seems to do OK during school (ends at 2:30 PM), but stays in a extended care program at school until her dad or I pick her up after work.  She gets so hyper and impulsive that I'm wondering if she needs something additional or a larger dose to get her through a few more hours of extended care and homework time. 

She's not a good sleeper, so I wouldn't want something that lasted more than 4-5 hours.  Once she stops wiggling and talking (which takes a while) she finally nods off.  Bedtime is 8:30, but it's usually closer to 9:15 before she goes to sleep.  Bedtime used to be at 8:00, but since she wasn't going to sleep for at least an hour, we moved it to 8:30. She thought she got a reward by getting a later bedtime, but her dad and I got the reward of an extra 30 minutes before the bedtime struggle!

[QUOTE=MafiaKiddo]A larger dose won't last any longer but an additional dose of regular adderall will. How long the meds last depends on how fast her body metabolizes them It's different with everyone. For me Adderall XR lasts 7-8 hours, regular Adderall lasts 3-4 hours.[/QUOTE]

That's not necessarily true.  A higher dose most of the time does increase the effective time of the medication.  In my experience, the higher dose increases the "peak of the concentration" curve thereby extending the time you "feel" it.

I can only speak from experience of course but a higher dose has never lasted any longer for me it just made me feel better for the time I was on it. I could still feel when it stopped and when I would look at the clock it was still only 7-8 or 3-4 hours since I first took it.

Also just a quick question does Adderall XR really last 12 hours for you Dean. I used to hope that when my metabolism slows down when I get older The meds will last longer (the promised 12 hours). Unfortunately even after all the people I've talked to on here and other message boards I've never met anyone that had Adderall XR last 12 hours. It would be nice to know if the drug's claim of 12 hour relief was true in anyone or just a marketing scheme.

About the adderall xr.....I think that the "marketing scheme" may be correct in that it's still in your system....However, I don't find that it's effective enough to keep me on track for the full twelve hours. I space my doses and take quick release when needed to carry me through the day. I tend to be more scatter-brained and hyperactive than a large number of ADHD to start with, so perhaps this is part of why I get side-tracked before the supposed 12 hrs. Also, you mentioned your metabolism slowing as you age.....this won't affect the drug's duration as it depends on your brain's metabolism and your body builds a tolerance to the drug. Therefore, as time passes, the effectiveness should tend to decrease rather than increase.