adderall/insomnia | ADHD Information

Hi,
I was wondering how long the insomnia related to adderall lasts?  I'm taking 10 mg between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m., and another 5 mg at noon or 1:00 pm.  I'm having a really hard time with my sleep.  I've been on it for 8 days now and am hoping that it's just a matter of getting used to it.  Will things get better?  I've tried to exercise, deep breath, etc but still wake during the night for up to 4 hours at a time.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Thanks.

My worst night was the first night, ever since it has been better. The first night I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Now I have a little trouble falling asleep because I just don't feel tried. But when I have to get up for school the next morning I make myself get into bed by 12, whether I am tired or not. eventenally I fall asleep. 

When you wake up in the middle of the night what do you do?  Do you just lay in bed close your eyes and try to go back to sleep? Sometimes when I wake up I turn the tv on with volume pretty low, put the sleeptimer on my television close, mny eyes and fall asleep.  I think having dead silience is harder for me to fall asleep. But that is just me.

Try taking magnesium at night...It is a natural muscle relaxer, and most alot of people with add are defficient in it anyway....There is also a theory it helps maximize the effectivemenss of your meds....I take adderall 20mg at a7am,11am and 3pm...and I actually sleep better...I take about 300 mg of the magnesium..My muscles get a bit tense from the adderall...so it helps with that too...I started the magnesium about a week ago...so I guess it is a bit early to really tell....but I feel better.

Emily,

I go to sleep just fine because I have my Trazedone to knock me out, but then I end up waking about 1 or 2 a.m. and just laying there.  I'm really happy about one thing, for the most part, my mind no longer races.  I think but not the really bad racing stuff, which is a huge blessing.  I have been trying to not turn on the TV but usually break down because you're right, it's the only thing that really helps distract me enough to fall back to sleep. I sure hope the insomnia quits.  I don't know how people could continue with it if it was a continuous symptom.  I'm happy to hear yours is getting better because I believe we started the meds on the same day.  It'd be interesting to hear from people who've been on it for months/years.  I'm just praying to hear that it gets better after a couple of weeks!

Are you a coffee drinker?

I can't see why the Adderall would be keeping you up if you are taking it at 1pm, I know very little about the druf but that tells me it must be VERY potent.
Maybe you should switch meds, or cut back to a smaller does in the afternoon.

If you are already taking something to sleep then you shoud probably talk to your doctor. You're right, you can't live like that for long.
I don't drink coffee at all but I do have an occasional diet cola, although I still wake up, even when I haven't had anything.  I think I might be overly sensitive to medications.  I'm kicking myself because I took my 2nd dose at 1:45 today, so I bet it'll be another long night!  I am considering upping my Trazedone dosage by a 1/2 pill to see what happens though.  It's the weekend, so a good time to experiment.  I will also have to check into the magnesium suppliment.  It sounds like an easy thing to try. 

I have been taking 30 mg of AdderallXR for 7 months now.

I had insomnia for the first month or two.

I started taking my dose before 7:00 am and I had to cut out ALL caffeine.

I also discovered that daily exercise made a HUGE difference. Between cutting caffeine and exercising, I was able to sleep much better.

However, after about 30 days, the insomnia went away. But if i take my dose too late in the morning, or if I have too much caffeine, I do experience insomnia.