New here...any advice? | ADHD Information

I just discovered message board and aal of the sudden don't feel alone on so many issues! I'm 30 years old ADD and have been on adderall xr for about a year and a half. My dosage has been tweaked several times and I've been taking 20mga.m and 5mg at noon for about 7 months. Worked wonders at first but now I have short waves of focus,poor memory,and feel way sleepy and unmotivated most of the time. I've also gained weight since starting the meds-I don't have much of an appetite until the evening and still don't eat much but have still gained. I'm afraid of new med and adjusting to them but am going back to graduate school soon(as well as mother of 2 and social worker) and definatly need to do something to help w/focus/energy level and my "forgetting to remember" issues. Sorry for the long post...any advice appreciated!!!

Hi,
(this is coming from the master of long quotes, me,
but I'll try to keep it short...er)
Talk to your doctor (and/or a specialist: herbalist,
naturopath, etc.) about trying some supplements
before switching meds.
Check out the "natural remedies for ADD" section,
there are some very knowledgable people there.
As mentioned in this board, ginko biloba is a good
one for memory (used to use it, and it really is
helpful). And lack of certain nutrients can very much
impact everyone's focus - which is pretty well
disastrous for an ADDer.
I'm a vegetarian, and as is common for us veggie
girls, I was low in iron (level 8, out of an ideal 40) for
a while. Getting a proper level of iron helped
immensly with energy levels and
memory/concentration. (Too much is really bad,
though, so of course get a test for this one) This
happeneda few months before I got tested for ADHD,
and I got up to a good iron level before it, or I would
have fallen asleep in the office, for sure!)
I hope this helps as a start.

Yes this is a good post.... not negative about the drug, but helpful on the negative effects. ALL DRUGS HAVE SIDE EFFECTS! you just have to work around the problem!

Advice for the sleep problem------ set an alarm clock an hour before you want to get up. have your med by your bedstand and take it. Now, if its available set another alarm clock or the same one for the time you are supposed to be up. Your med will be kicking in and you should have a nice day. this also helps with sleep troubles at night.

bman3038536.4814814815

Thank you for the insight!!! I agree with you on the points you made and have went through them myself! My dose was too high so it was decreased and now I'm back on 25(20 morning and 5 at noon). I started doing yoga right before I got back on the adderall and when I consistently do it I notice a huge difference-it truly does quiet my mind and if only for awhile it helps!! I also try to use a timer when I'm doing things to allow myself time to break. I seem to have waves of concentration/focus-usually better in the morning. I eat healthy for the most part but have to force myself to eat breakfast(not a breakfast person). The weight issue still bothers me but like you said exercise will hopefully help with that! The one thing I still don't know how to "fix" is how difficult it is for me to get out of bed-once I'm up I'm okay but when I hear the alarm I feel like I'm been run over by a truck-and it's very hard to get up. I usually get decent sleep -minus occasional distractions from my 2 year old-but I'm so exhausted I usually sleep well. Any advice on the getting out of bed issue?

Thanks again for the perspective-it is so nice to have people that can relate!!

This is my take on Adderall....

1.  At first you will feel an awakening and a clarity that you havent felt in a very long time. 

2.  You become more attentive to your wife, more productive at work and feel that you can multi-task like you never have before.

3.  If you can't lose those few extra pounds, well get ready to bring out the old clothes from the back of the closet because you will lose weight (initially) which is a nice boost to your self esteem.

Unfortunately, the body will build a tolerance and the first effects will no longer be as prominent.  You then increase your dosage and then increase again and again until you are so wired that putting together a few hours of sleep at night becomes a challenge (I mean REM sleep.... you'll feel the difference).

What's the solution???   Well, I am trying to figure this one out.  But here is what I have come up with:

1.  Keeping your dosage at a minimum (10 - 20 mg).

2.  Excersise regularly (those endorphans need to be kicking in high gear).

3.  Eat healthly.  Especially in the early stages of being on medication (force yourself to eat small high protein low carb meals).

4.  Counceling, Counceling, Counceling!!!! 

5.  Find your higher power, spirituality and meditate.  Find a balance between your mind and soul.

Well, these are my conclusions from a short self exploration (less than a year).  I struggle with finding the descipline to follow everything that I listed... but when I do, I achieve the balance that provides a foundation for a happy and healthly life. 

Thank you for the reply!! I actually had my blood work done last month and everything came back alright-although I agree with the supplements-don't think it could hurt! I was a vegetarian for about 9 years and had low iron pregnant w/my daughter and started eating a small amount of meat -but still not much. Anyway,any thoughts on adderall vs. ritalin? I'm thinking about talking to my Dr. about the switch but am not sure what to suggest-and he usually askes me for my opinion.

I've read so many posts from people about all the different medications, I don't know what to tell you.  Hopefully someone else can help you there.

I'm going tomorrow for my first talk about getting diagnosed.  I don't know if she's going to refer me to someone else, if she'll write something up for me to give to my primary doctor to get me checked out, etc.  I don't think she's covered under my regular insurance (she's referred to me for 1 free consultation from my work) so I don't know what will happen after tomorrow.

I've been in a real ADD funk today.  Horrible ADHD and Hormones... 

Lynbow7,

Welcome, I hope you enjoy your time here.  And you certainly didn't have a 'long post' - check out some of mine.    I'm sure I have people stop reading mine all the time because of how long they are.

Autumnstar