why is my adderall xr not working? | ADHD Information

i was diagnosed with adhd last year. my doc perscribed me adderall xr
30mg. i took it for about a week but it made me feel terrible (i remember
it made me really drowsy). i went back and asked him to move me to a
lower dose. he then perscribed me to xr 20mg. it was great- i finally
thought i had the answer. everything improved especially in my classes.
anyways around february i stopped using it because i was taking the
semester off and thought i didnt need it. now that i am starting classes
up again i got a refill of my perscription. ive been on it for a week now
and its not working how i remembered. its making me feel like crap and
not helping with concentration.

why did it work so great up until the day i stopped and now after a
couple months taking a break from it, its terrible!?

but what i wonder if other factors play a role in this:
1) am i not taking it properly? should i take it before or after food/and
with what food? i know people have said to avoid certain food.

2)is my body still taking time to get used to the adderall again? (its only
been a week since ive been back on it) how long does it usually take?

3)when i stopped taking my adderall i went through almost a depression
stage i would say. i didnt want to do anything, i was tired all the time, and
my diet went downhill. i hardly ate any fruits or veggies and hardly
exercised. ive just started to eat healthier and go to the gym more but
maybe my lack of a nutritious diet and exericise is the real reason i feel
so crappy and depressed almost. and if i dont see the benefits of my
meds because of this.

thanks and sorry for the long post!I have taken a lot of medications one of which was Adderal xr 20mg. One
thing I noticed when taking breaks from medication that when you look
back on it you think it helped more than it did. Also sometimes it takes
time to find the right medication. If you have a lot of side effects when
starting maybe you should try another. I personally had a lot of success
with Vyvanse. Also, medications work really well for a kinda short period
of time then you start to get used to them and they don't work as well.
Then you eventually you will change the dose of the medication. That is
why people who have taken medication for a long time have usually
switched around a lot. Like I have taken about 10 medications and
changed the doses more times that I can count over the 8 years I was
medicated.

Also, after breaks the side effects are worse and you have not been taking
it that long so don't jump to conclusions yet. I'd wait a bit and see. If it
continues or is not helping you enough then maybe you should talk about
new medications. But also ask yourself, even if it is not helping as much
as it used to, is it helping enough. When i first start taking a medication it
is amazing but after a little while that honey moon period ends. It still
helps but not as much as it did in the begining.

to answer your questions...

1) i don't think it is how you are taking it or the foods you are taking

2)it depends on the person. how long did it take when you started?

3)this can happen for some people. sometimes it helps to build up to your
dose so say you might take 10mgs for a while and then. i never thought
medication was worth it but i had mostly negative experiences. if you
need any advice on other medications I have taken most of them. hope
this helps and good luck