Dealing with adderall side effects?

<p>The only thing I can share with you is that my son took Adderall throughout his freshman year, then went off totally during the summer. He said he felt good off of it--weight came back up, he started sleeping better, etc. When he started school this year, he cut his dose in half and that seems to have helped some with the side effects. On weekends or breaks from school, he only takes it as needed for studying/focus and stays off as much as possible.</p>

<p>Thank you for the reply i try now to stay off as much as possible, also i am not sure if this is of interest to anyone but i know a while ago that Colombia University put out an ad for patients who used to take amphetamines to partake in a trial and all they had to do was sleep while their brain activity was monitored. I think this is a good sign of hopefully some future clinical results of long term adderall usage.</p>

<p>I'm going to my doctor today to get a referral for ADD testing. I've been off Adderall for about a month now and am doing fine. I'm actually getting better grades (haven't had any tests yet, although and it may be a coincidence independent of whether or took Adderall or not) without it, but i find myself very uncomfotable when reading, it's hard for me to retain information, especially during long-ass sentences. For example:</p>

<p>"Must not a great deal of the power of performance on the part of children, depend on the nourishment and clothing which they receive?"</p>

<p>i get confused when they toss a "not" in the front of the sentence because then i have to use reverse logic to understand what the author is trying to say. It's very frustrating and i hope this problem will be fixed in the future, for if it does not, then i will be **** out of luck come graduate school. Although, it may not be an attention problem, it's probably attributable to my low i.q.</p>

<p>Someone asked about the effect of stimulants on growth for kids with AD/HD. Studies have shown that there may be a mild effect on final height for some children due to appetite suppression. They have estimated it at a centimeter loss in height- about 1/2 inch. For most people, unless they are very short, one centimeter more or less is not going to make much of a difference. </p>

<p>My daughter has always been very short through elementary school and she's been on Concerta since fourth grade. It's made a world of difference in terms of her academic functioning. She's on the regular academic track, not honors, but she's able to maintain about a 90 average in high school. (She's currently a sophomore). She's had some mild side effects-- decreased appetite and sometimes feeling "dull"-- for which we've adjusted her medication. On the other hand, my daughter definitely appreciates the positive effects-- being able to concentrate and being less hyper which allows her to fit in better with her peers. After reading some of the posts on this thread, I thank god that medication worked for her.</p>

<p>WestChesterMom, is that username based of West Chester University in PA? That's right down the road from me. </p>

<p>I have a theory about your last post. Adderall/Ritalin/Stimulants have been known to cause appetite reduction and insomnia. As we all know, growth and sleep are essential for all growing children. Without those key factors, growth can be stunted. There is "catch-up" growth, however. That's why when you read studies online, you'll see that kids catch up growth in the summer, that's normally when they take 'vacations' away from adderall. </p>

<p>There have been multiple studies that show starved children (in child abuse and 3rd world country cases) grow rapidly when properly nourished after a long absense of inadequate food-intake. </p>

<p>However, that's a theory. No one is sure. It could be that Adderall just messes with the pituitary gland and impedes growth hormone secretion.</p>

<p>That 1/2 inch loss that one alledged loses is insignificat, but that statistic could easily be misrepresented. That could be an average. There could be many extreme cases of height deficiency and those kids could have been on Adderall throughout their whole life, and could have skipped many meals and loss way too much sleep. While the other kids could have exceeded their parents in height and at the same time, could have been on an ADD medicine not too long. i never trust statistics. </p>

<p>A question for you Westchestermom, is your daughter taller than you?</p>

<p>WestChesterMom, is that username based off West Chester University in PA? That's right down the road from me. </p>

<p>I have a theory about your last post. Adderall/Ritalin/Stimulants have been known to cause appetite reduction and insomnia. As we all know, plenty of food and sleep are essential for all growing children. Without those key factors, growth can be stunted. There is "catch-up" growth, however. That's why when you read studies online, you'll see that kids catch up in growth in the summer, that's normally when they take 'vacations' away from adderall. </p>

<p>There have been multiple studies that show starved children (in child abuse and 3rd world country cases) grow rapidly when properly nourished after a long absence of adequate food-intake. </p>

<p>However, that's a theory. No one is sure. It could be that Adderall just messes with the pituitary gland and impedes growth hormone secretion.</p>

<p>That 1/2 inch loss that one alledged loses is insignificat, but that statistic could easily be misrepresented. That could be an average. There could be many extreme cases of height deficiency and those kids could have been on Adderall throughout their whole life, and could have skipped many meals and loss way too much sleep. While the other kids could have exceeded their parents in height and at the same time, could have been on an ADD medicine not too long. i never trust statistics. </p>

<p>A question for you Westchestermom, is your daughter taller than you?</p>

<p>(i just edited the post)</p>

<p>Not Pennsylvania- I live in Westchester County, NY. I actually realized I didn't mention the point I wanted to include. Despite being on Concerta since fourth grade, and being one of the shortest in the class for much of her school life, my daughter had a growth spurt and is now 5'3". Considering that I am only 5'1 1/2 and her dad is just 5'8 1/2, she's probably exceeded her genetic expectations. And she's still growing! So in her case, Concerta has not had a negative impact on her height, and has been well worth it for her in terms of academic functioning. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, not everyone is able to tolerate the stimulants well. I wonder at times whether it was helpful for my daughter to start on them at a younger age. She's had some periods of time where she had more side effects, but it seems like now her body has adjusted to the medication and she doesn't have stomach problems any more.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience with Focalin? I didn't see it mentioned in this thread.</p>

<p>If you look at the maturation of kids with ADD/ADHD in general they tend to be less biologically mature than their peers. Measurements of their bone age shows a delay of about a year compared with age matched peers. So, they tend to be late bloomers physically, maybe the stimulants exaccerbate this for some- but only in kids who take meds 7 days/week without holidays.</p>

<p>Also, kids with ADD/ADHD often had trouble falling asleep even before they took meds. They are often 'night people.' MKM maybe your son needs to re-set his clock and take later classes, go to bed later, etc. Melatonin or warm milk or meditation also help some. </p>

<p>Focalin is a selected isomer version of methylphenidate, incrementally better in some children/teens.</p>

<p>melatonin won't work for long. </p>

<p>haha, you're right, i'm a night person. That's when i feel i can get the most stuff done.</p>

<p>melatonin helps but it won't solve it. i'm a senior in high school and went through 2 other meds before getting adderal. i maxed out concerta and it really didn't do anything, so they switched me to strattera, which helped but gave me bad heartburn (ended up in the emergency room one night before we figured out what was causing it), then finally got on adderal, and found the side effects to be bareable. i just forget to eat sometimes, and theres a few other things. get a good psychiatrist (i had bad luck with my pediatrician) and they will help you find what is right for you fast.</p>

<p>If an alternative is viable, then why force students to go through class lectures?</p>

<p>There are differences in personality and learning style between students. This follows from basic predictions from evolutionary psychology/behavioral genetics. It logically follows that students will find some environments more stimulating than other environments.</p>

<p>The problem is that the educational system assumes a one-size-fits-all curriculum for all students. This completely disregards the variation in personality types between students.</p>

<p>Those with ADD may be seen as lazy in a traditional environment. The problem is that we have not even seen how well they would do in an alternative environment. It consists of the lack of imagination among those in the educational industry.</p>

<p>Has any student been exposed to video lectures instead of in-class lectures? One may bring in the cliched argument that students learn better than someone is physically present - but that argument again betrays a lack of imagination - since these same people have not envisioned an alternative way of learning to compare it with. Of course the current learning paradigm will be the best paradigm if there is no alternative. If you compare two inefficient programs with each other, one will be better than another, even if they are both inefficient. Moreover, video lectures can be massly distributed with little cost, and can come from the best teachers in the nation. When a student's mind wanders, he falls behind in a traditional classroom. In a video lecture, he can pause it.</p>

<p>Not to mention that some people don't even need lectures to learn the course material. The educational institution is structured in such a way such that people become psychologically dependent on schools in order to learn the material. School sucks? Blame the school, not yourself. Why don't they have the imagination to just self-study the material instead? Lectures may be informal, but so are many instructive books that are highly regarded. Moreover, most of one's learning is done independently of the institution. Yet, people believe that they need to take a course to learn the material. As if there wasn't an alternative, such as <em>gasp</em> checking out a library book on the subject!</p>

<p>The problem is, that within the traditional learning environment, that those with some personality types cannot focus at all unless they get medication. Research clearly demonstrates that willpower spent on one task will diminish the amount of willpower available for another task. It's known as "ego depletion," or "thought suppression produces a rebound effect". Link: <a href="http://www.psy.fsu.edu/%7Ebaumeistertice/egodepletion.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.psy.fsu.edu/~baumeistertice/egodepletion.html&lt;/a>. It's not their fault that they were biologically this way.</p>

<p>I'm going to be among the first to try this. I'm going to skip all the rest of my lecture courses, and make an arrangement to self-study the rest of my college-level material with professors (using resources like MIT OCW and Stanford EPGY). I have no other alternative than to fail courses. And I'm no idiot. I self-studied 4 APs in 10th grade, with 3 5's and 1 4, and I got 790 Chem and 800 Math IICs in the same year. Some with ADD have problems with tests, some don't. Tests, at least, are a form of active learning. And at least the Collegeboard is willing to provide accommodations.</p>

<p>Totally different frame of reference here...my D has been prescribed Adderall for hypersomnia- a can't stay awake easily issue. It's a genetic matter and prescribed from the sleep doc. Being in college, she went to a frat party and from not much alcohol, was sick and very drunk. She read that Adderall makes you drunker, but the pharmicist says it won't make you violently ill, throwing up etc. We think someone put something in her drink at the frat party as she didn't even take the med that am. Does anyone have any experience with drinking and Adderall?</p>

<p>I imagine your daughter has been to a sleep clinic and been evaluated and they already ruled out that the problem is not, her quality of sleep?</p>

<p>I take Adderall XR daily- and have had as many as two or even three drinks throughout an long evening with no ill effect. ( usually- I just have one however-I also drink a bottle of water between and make sure I have food in my stomach)</p>

<p>I think what your daughter may have read, were warnings to students who drink a lot, that a stimulant will mask how drunk they actually are, it is the alcohol that would be making you sick, not the Adderall..</p>

<p>Stimulants also don't stay in the body- if I took Ritalin yesterday, I don't have any effect from it today.
If I don't take it that morning- perhaps * because I plan to drink & I heard it might make me sick?*, it wont be in my body that night- so if I get sick- it is something else that caused it.</p>

<p>I also don't go to frat parties, where the punch or whatever they are serving may have a lot more alcohol in it than people realize. I generally drink gin and tonics, but there are other mixed drinks that are very strong without tasting so.</p>

<p>thanks- no it's not the quality of sleep, we all can get a 9 hour night sleep and take the 4 naps a day with no REM- it 's definitely genetic. My H and I think the punch was spiked. It was such a bad experience she says she'll never drink again. We told her to drink things she opens at a party and only at a bar to drink a mixed drink
thanks for sharing though</p>

<p>****, sorry, I meant to post in the other thread</p>

<p>fourkidsmom, I would vote with you on the "something added". As EK stated the stimulants for ADD don't remain in the body for long, thus the push for drug companies to develop the longer acting options like adderall XR. Also the stimulant effect should (if taken recently) should somewhat counter the depressant effect of alcohol, as above poster said, it might make one drink more because they didn't feel alcohol effect and thus "get sick" from the alcohol toxicity. What you described sounds very much like what a friend of daughter's experienced when she was given a date rape drug (not sure of name). She said she felt very sick, nauseous, wanted to lie down, felt like she was "coming down" with something. She had only had Diet Coke to drink (to her knowledge) so she knew it was not from alcohol. She went to her room to lie down, left door unlocked for roommate who didn't have her key, and awoke to a guy trying to rape her. Luckily she was not "out" enough and was able to scream for help and was in a situation where there were people in rooms close by. You are right to tell your d. never to take an open drink from anyone and don't leave any drink unattended at a party situation.</p>

<p>Hi, is there a such thing as a sleep doctor?</p>

<p>I did a little experiment with myself. I forwent the adderall for a whole month. The result was sufferable, aggravation, and dejection. A good thing was that i was able to sleep. </p>

<p>I do not know why i am such a loser, it's so horrible, i could not soak in anything the teacher was lecturing about. Everything went through one ear and out the other. I don't have the motivative spark i had when under the effects of adderall. </p>

<p>There are 3 reasons why i do not want to take adderall: 1) EXTREME difficulty in trying to get asleep, 2) racing thoughts which interfere with m ability to sleep, 3) unethical
Is it unethical? i mean, if God made me that way, then maybe i was supposed to work through the adversity and emerge triumphant! But, i forsee no triumph in my future. Haha!</p>

<p>I am trying to rationalize, in favor of adderall, my situation. I was doing some philosophizing, so if this sounds wacky, forgive me.
Okay, there is this movie i saw called, "Pursuit of Happyness" starring Will Smith. The kid, will smith's son, tells his father a story about a man stranded in empty waters. The man in this story is asking God for help. Eventually, a boat comes and asks if he needs rescuing. The in-need-of-help man declines the offer and tells him that "God will save him." So, he is left unaccompanied and stranded. Another boat comes (or maybe it was someother life-saving mode of rescue) and offers help. Again, he is told by the drowning man that he does not need help and that "God will save him." So, the boat leaves and leaves the man stranded again. The story ends with the drowning man dying. He's up in heaven and ask God "why did you not save me when i asked for help." God replies something to the effect of, "I sent you many boats, you should have hopped on one and sailed back to shore." As you can see, the man was foolish for not accepting the rescue helpers. </p>

<p>I believe the moral of the story is this (to me): that God will not reveal himself in bodily form and it requires blind faith to believe in him. I believe that God provides us with the means to overcome deficits and if we do not take advantage of them, that is our faulth. Maybe the adderall is God's remedy for my problem. Maybe it is not unethical. </p>

<p>I know, i'm crazy.</p>

<p>^^^Your post sounds so much like an ADD student. My child also wants to (IMO) over-analyze every situation. Bottom line--I agree with you--the help is there (and it does come with a price--I can't imagine anyone wanting to take it if they didn't need it) and you should avail yourself of it. If you had high blood pressure, would you refuse medication? What about diabetes--just forget the insulin and allow yourself to slip into a coma? I know those are extreme examples and ADD is not going to kill you like the diseases I mentioned---but it is a documented medical condition and when the right Rx for you is found, treatment/help is available.</p>

<p>Go with your moral and don't feel guilt.</p>

<p>Yes, i understand you, but i just feel like i am one of the many people who take advantage of Adderall, even though i know i show the symptoms of ADD.</p>

<p>I recentely went to a psychiatrist, and he told me, get this, that i do not have ADD and that i have a very mild case of bi-polar disorder. He said that the symptoms of bi-polar and ADD are very similar and that it is easy for a psychologist to make an inaccurate diagnosis. I read driven to distration and that book was me.</p>

<p>Anyway, my questions, if you would be kind enough to answer this, are: 1)Is there a such thing as a sleep doctor? I want my sleep and adderall to coexist peacefully. 2) Do you think it would be wise for me to take the extended release version of Adderall? It's hard enough for me to sleep as it, do you think it would just worsen what my problem? 3) Do i just schedule an appointment to go see a doctor and ask him for a referrall for ADD testing? I want to make sure that i have it.</p>