Adderall Tolerance | ADHD Information

I completely understand your situation.  I have been taking adderall for a few months and when I first started taking it, 10mg twice a day, I found it very helpful.  Within a couple of weeks it didn't help and my dosage kept going up.  I've tried other meds, stratera and ritalin but they didn't help.  Stratera made me really spacy and ritalin just made my entire body feel funny.  Adderall was very helpful from the get go.  I was able to concentrate on whatever I was doing and complete it.  When finished I moved on to the next project.  Multitasking also became a reality.  I could remember the details of projects I was working on and I was able to complete them. 

I'm concerned about how quickly my body adjusted to the meds.  Is this normal?  I've also lost some weight and I didn't have any weight to loose in the begining(6'1" 175 before, now 167), which is also a concern of mine.  I'm thin enough as it is, I dont need to be thinner! 

I want my meds to be helpful and not something taht will continue to grow in dosage or number.  I don't like taking pills but I can't help but like the results I see when I take adderall.   

I've been on Adderall XR 30mg for a year now. It's worked wonders for me, but at the same time, it's changed me.

I am 5'5 and weighed 145 lbs when I stared the meds. A year later I am at 123 lbs - and I DO eat - 4 times a day. It really speeds up your metabolism. If that's what you need it may be good, but if you are healthy and don't have the money to buy a new wardrobe every few months, be weary.

I also feel as though I have lost some of my personality. I used to be "silly" and energetic. Sure, that was partly the ADHD, but at the same time, it was me. Sometimes I miss the personality traits I had before the meds.

I think I have become more tired as well. Throughout the day when I am at work, I do fine. I am focused and awake. But once lunch hits I am beat. I go home every day for lunch and take a 20-30 minute nap to re-cooperate. Then when I get back home from work, I am tired again. I used to work out 3-4 times a week, now I don't work out at all. I am out of energy.

I also smoke ALOT more cigarettes now. Especially shortly after I take the meds. I'll smoke 4-5 cigarettes before I go into work, 3 on my lunch break, and about 5-6 more after work. I never used to smoke.

I have become much more organized though. I have become a morning person, where before I was useless before noon. I have become cleaner, and I work better and my grades in school were higher. So all of this good for all of that bad. Is it worth it?

My doctor started me on Vyvance today. I start tomorrow. Lets see if that does me any better! I have been hunting in this post trying to find something that applies to what I am experiencing. I was diagnosed with ADHD about 3 months ago. I started taking 5mg Adderall once in the morning, then morning and afternoon, then 2 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon, and so on. I am now at 20mg 3 times per day. I have been taking the 60mg/day dosage for about 3 weeks and it has been working great. I had some negative side effects when I first bumped it up to this but they subsided and it worked amazingly for 2 weeks. Now, I feel like I am not taking anything. I feel more or less the exact same way I did before I started taking the meds. I am fidgity, and inattentive. Many people say that if you have ADHD, you do not build up a tolerance to the meds. If this is true, then why did my doctor express concern with taking the "maximum dosage"? He says that I am taking the maximum dosage and that there is nowhere to go from here when I build up a tolerance. I just dont know what is going on. Can someone help me?

Thanks for the reply John. I hate that it took me this long to get back to the forum but I have been really busy with school just starting back up and everything. I guess what I am more worried about is the amount of time in which I built up a tolerance to the Adderall. It has gotten to the point where I can not tell any difference at all from when I do take it and when I don't. I am sure that my doctor would be willing to work with me, but I really do not want to be going through total med changes during the school semester. He acts very concerned about the dosage that I am on and I think that he works with more children than adults. I do not think that he would be willing to increase the dose at all. I just do not know the next turn to make...

 

atlguy,

Sorry to hear you are already in a quandry with yours meds--must be especially frustrating since you were experiencing all the benefits and now you're not!  I have two thoughts in response to your post:

a) one thing is certain, these doctors treating ADHD patients span the extremes on approaches and understanding of the meds.  I just came across an article online that describes a study on dosing ADHD adults which found that after a 6 week trial on mixed amphetemine salts (Adderall) 95% of all the particpants were either at the 40 mg or the 60 mg/day dosage rate.  The study concluded that it is likely that the 60 mg/day ceiling may be too low for optimum effect with many ADHD adults. 

b) your quick tolerence build up may indicate it would be worthwhile experimenting with a different ADHD med--with your doctor of course! 

and remember... the medical community is still learning about how to treat adults with adhd.  if your doctor doesn't seem to be willing to work with you, you might do well to explore other doctor options. 

Thank you for your replies. I know that the drug doesnt do it all for me but starting this new medication is making it hard to differentiate things. I also have bi-polar disorder, and am taking risperdal and zoloft, and since I've started taking the adderall this week my mood has gone into the depressed direction. I was feeling pretty stable before and then really good, a little manic for a day on adderall and then since then,still on adderall, not too good. I just dont want it to get bad again (as it often has, severely) and I dont want to keep taking the adderall if that is what is going to happen. Balancing my moods is hard to get so maybe this is a poor addition to the mix. But it is also quite a possibility that the adderall is just not working very well because I was already due for a low period.

All this can be very frustrating  and overwhelming.

But I am giving it a few days, waiting it out, and doing my best.everything changes when you add the bipolar diagnosis and medications for it in combination with the Adderall. You should contact your doctor. The balnace of treating bipolar is tricky, but can be done succesfully.

I have experienced the same problem but it seems way too soon. I only started taking adderall three weeks ago and last week I only took it one day because I ran out because I was upping my dosage. I got a new prescription on Tuesday and so this is the fourth day since almost a week off and I am on 20mg three times a day. On Tuesday I felt great and focused and well concentrated but every day since then it doesnt seem to be working. I am unfocused, I think I'm feeling depressed and I have none of the positive effects I felt when I started or on Tuesday.

       Could it be possible that I raised the dosage too soon? My doctor approved it but she seems to trust my judgement when I really dont have experience with this type of drug. Could to high of a dosage of adderall make it last effective or does that not make any sense?

[QUOTE=Nattyzfishbowl]

Could to high of a dosage of adderall make it last effective or does that not make any sense?

[/QUOTE]

  i meant less effective 

 

Here's my two cents on this...  it's difficult, but very important to try not to equate the "lift" or buzz you may get from taking Adderall with its "effect".  Just 'cause you don't "feel" it coming on doesn't mean it isn't helping you maintain focus and help you to mange better your ADHD traits.   And remember, it ain't a panacea!  While taking it, even at optimum dose for you at the time, you still have to work at managing the traits. 

I've not read (as another has posted here) that acidic foods increase the drug's effect.  For ascorbic acid (as in orange juice) all the literature says just the opposite.  You want to increase effect--take a stomach neutralizer.

I like the Adderall XR way more than the regular, generic stuff.  I too take breaks from the medication--not once a week, but whenever my body tells me it's time for a break.  Then, I wean myself back on, and may take 5 or 6 days to get up to full prescribed dose (40 mg/day).  These little breaks (maybe once every month or two) of a few to five days, do seem to knock down my body's tolerance and kept me at the same dosage for 2 years.   Yeah, some days it really does feel like I'm not getting any relief of my adhd traits from taking Adderall.  When that happens, upping the dose usually doesn't help...instead I've found that lowering the dose can help.  And sometimes I just figure, all right, time for a med break!

I dont have anything specific to add directly to Adderall tolerance. The only thing I want to "throw in to this thread" is that my daughter has been meds for years. EVERY med she takes we have days , sometimes several in a row, where I think "whoa this isnt working we should call the doc", and 9 times out of 10 if you give it a few days (and do nothing different) things settle down. John D is right the purpose of meds is to help you be able to manage or control your symptoms, it doesnt really do it for you. I think so many other factors figure into effectiveness, like increase stress or anxiety, maybe you are coming down with something and your body's fighting it off, maybe you didn't get enough sleep......etc., etc. I think it's always best to give things several days and then decide if time for a dose increase or med change.I agree wholeheartedly with Diane...of all the options I've considered and taken when meds don't seem to work well, the best I've found is "wait and see" (easy for me to do, it's the motto I live by!).   What Diane notes about other factors like stress certainly is true for me... If I'm anxious or feeling low, Adderall's effect is much diminished.I don't understand your doctor approving that. Adderall is a controlled
substance and the dosage should never just be left up to the patient to
increase at will... I had a doctor like that at first and he would always ask
me what I thought we should do. I finally told him that I am not THE
DOCTOR. I told him that he knew about the medicine and not me. He
increased me to the 60mg per day over a course of a couple of months.
When I got a new doctor that actually cared, he almost jumped out of his
chair when I told him how much I was taking. He expressed great concern
because of the side effects and he said that he wanted to monitor me
closely. I think that adderall is just not the med for me because while it
has stopped helping me concentrate and not be fidgety, it has also made
me start obsessing over things and has made me become 10 times more
OCD than I used to be. I have talked with friends that have been taking
ADHD meds for longer times than I and they said that Adderall is not for
everyone and maybe it is just not right for me. I am going to my doctor at
the end of the month and I plan on trying something different. I have to
say that the one thing that has lingered about the adderall is the decrease
in appetite which I must say that I am not upset about. It has been really
helpful in me trying to lose some weight.

I have also started having some scary OCD effects. The focus is being chanelled to the wrong things. Yeah I'm definitely going to talk to my doctor about different treatments. Adderall just feels unhealthy, and I'm pretty scared of it now. I think I have a pretty addictive personality as well. Today I decided I wasnt going to take it but then I did. I guess I should throw it all away cause I feel afraid of really messing up my head and body.

After reading your post, I think I might have some good suggestions for you.

I've been taking Adderall for about 7 years now off and on. There are a few things you need to understand about Adderall.... For one, it's a pretty hardcore drug. It's basically prescription speed. Upping the dosage without consulting your doctor is just irresponsible to yourself and to your loved ones. Adderall isn't like a pleasant breeze, it's more like crack.

That being said, Adderall is my miracle drug, however, I stopped taking the normal Adderall and moved on to the time-released XR formula many years ago. If you feel that you work well on Adderall, but are afraid of the huge list of annoying side effects, please do yourself a favor and try Adderall XR.

One more thing you should understand about Adderall, as well as any drug in this classification, is that Adderall is immensely affected by what you eat and when you eat. After 7 years I have finally figured out what works best for me and that's taking Adderall XR (which lasts for about 12-14 full hours) and NOT eating right away. The worst thing you could possibly do is to take Adderall and immediately eat. The food you ingest will more or less absorb the medication.

I generally wait about 15-20 minutes before I eat. In addition to when I eat, I must also be wary of what I eat. If you read the instructions and warnings pamphlet that your pharmacist gives you, you will notice it says something about "eating or drinking acidic foods will increase the effect." This is absolutely true. If you are a coffee drinker I suggest ceasing the consumption of coffee altogether. Most coffee has a pH balance of 4 which makes it one of the most acidic beverages out there. One more thing to keep in mind that while acidic foods will increase the effect, dairy products and the like will often nullify the drug's effects if eaten in large quantities.

Oh and one more thing. You must take a break from Adderall once a week. If you don't your tolerance will build up lightning fast. I highly recommend not taking Adderall on the days you do not work/study.

I apologize for the long-winded response, but I feel compelled to share my experiences with this drug. Hope it helps.
A couple of things I forgot to mention.

You have to force yourself to eat a healthy diet most of the time. I generally only "feel" like eating extremely sweet and extremely salty foods on Adderall. Something your doctor might not have told you is that Adderall was first put on the market as a weight loss aid. Makes more sense now, doesn't it?

Another thing, don't trust your doctors! Seriously! Next time they say you should up the dosage, ask them if they've ever tried the drug. They do NOT know how you feel. Only you know how the drug is making you feel. I'm in my early twenties and I've been through a long list of psychiatrists, most of them would rather up my dosage than give me alternative choices.

Hi Mauvaise, I think you were responding to me. Thank you so much for the advice. I am taking the xr already. I think I really was just taking way too much. I'm not going to take it for a few days to get balanced and start again with a low dosage because I only took 10mg yesterday and none today and am feeling much better. That was irresponsible to up the dosage, I should be more careful, but the doctor kind of left it up to me and didnt give me much warning.

 You are right. I would imagine how i was feeling is similar to crack! THis drug just has immediate effects which I am not used to since I have taken antidepressents in the past which sort of build up and increasing the dosage really didnt do anything radical.

I also wasnt really eating much at all and I didnt really realize this until you said it. I was really not eating a healthy amount, very little. I need to pay attention to everything more I just didnt expect such a change

Thanks so much again!