Medication is aimed at normalizing the brain's functions....not at making one motivated. Some people do abuse stimulants in order to achieve "motivation/productiveness" (can't think of the exact wording I want, sorry)
You mention that you're "sure some depression is at play as well." Have you mentioned this to your doctor? Many people who are depressed get mis-diagnosed with AD/HD. Some find that AD/HD meds help at first, but this is something to be cautious of. Stimulants can cause a person to have a false sense of good. Note that depression and AD/HD often have similar symptoms and if you haven't mentioned this to the doctor, definitely contact him/her about this.
Adderall XR is so smooth that maybe it's not hitting you hard enough, since you say you just started you are probably on a low dose. Now on the other hand Ritalin is like smoking pot (not the being high part) - you can work on one letter for hours, (haha) I'm so focused I have to force myself to see the big-picture.
I am also taking depression meds, but Adderall has made me extremely motivated to organize and clean. It's amazing. But that could just be how it affects me. It affects everyone differently. Talk to your Dr if the medicine isn't working for you regarding motivation. But it does sound like it's doing some good.
Becky
The Dr. is aware of my depression—
We think I’ve gone years (33+) without a Dx of ADHD which produced
self esteem ‘issues’ that created some depression.
I think I just had HUGE expectations for drugs. I’ll see the Dr Friday and discuss adjusting the dose and/or maybe adding something else.
Meanwhile—the palm pilot and beeping watches and chiming clocks are helping—at least I’m aware of how much time I spend doing what doesn’t need to be done—and now I’m a little embarrassed--maybe that will motivate me!!
Thanks addbc for letting me know that some people are sometimes motivated with the help of meds, maybe a change in meds is needed.
I was really motivated when I started taking it, then I upped my dosage and it was great, but I didn't feel like myself and I would focus so much on homework and stuff that I wasn't taking care of myself (not eating, sleeping enough) so I dropped my dose back down. I think I'm going to talk to my doctor about trying something else when I go next week.I promise it wasn't meant in spite or meanness. I just worried because I do that same thing. I know the right medication will help her worry less about perfection and more about 'happy.' Im on adderall Xr i started a few months ago. it makes me depressed and not really making me feel the way you all describe yourselves as feeling. I was on concerta for a long time. probably from January of last year up until this february. Im really thinking of switching back to concerta because i feel that made me feel a lot more stimulated than the adderall does. But my question is do you think that since i have been on these stimulants so long that my body is so used to them that they dont work like they used to? i lost 15 lbs on concerta when i first started taking it and i gained it all back this fall. i would like to maintain my weight 115lbs and i would like to maintain a good GPA in school as well. my doctor is too busy this week to see me...what should i do!I just switched from Adderall XR to Concerta and it's making a huge difference for me. The Adderall made me motivated at first, but then just made me tired. The Concerta makes my brain feel "tighter" and I can focus, but I don't have the feeling in my body like I just had 70 cups pf coffee or something and now want to sleep. This is only day two on the Concerta, but so far it seems to be good. The Concerta feels like it targets the right stuff in my brain and leaves my muscles and everything else kind of out of it. I've always had a lot of energy and motivation though, I would always get frustrated because I'd start 40 things and not finish one of them. Just my