<ol>
<li><p>There are Dr.s that specialize in sleep disorders--I know in our town, it is a neurology group that does this and runs a sleep lab.</p></li>
<li><p>My son tried the extended release and, for him, it made the sleep problem worse. He has stayed on the short-acting as he has better control of when it will wear off. He often takes short breaks from it--light class days, weekends when he doesn't have too much studying, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have never had testing, I would rec. it. We had son tested at a center that specializes in learning disability testing--was staffed with psychologists who had specialized in educational testing and treatment of learning disorders. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>So the psychiatrist who told you that you do not have ADD did not do any testing? He just made this determination from conversation with you? The testing son had done covered the scales for ADD (he filled out plus parents filled out), he also had IQ tests and a whole battery of other tests. His results showed ADHD, auditory processing disorder, plus some other more borderline diagnoses. We/he then took the test results to a psychiatrist to determine if and what medication should be used.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. Son was not tested until he was in college. Are you in college or high school? It would have been so much easier to get all this straightened out while he was still at home.</p>
<p>Hmmm, that is weird. I thought that with any type of medicine, it is advised that a person should take it daily to have your system get used to it and eventually get rid of all the side effects. Does your son still have trouble sleeping?</p>
<p>"So the psychiatrist who told you that you do not have ADD did not do any testing? He just made this determination from conversation with you? The testing son had done covered the scales for ADD (he filled out plus parents filled out), he also had IQ tests and a whole battery of other tests. His results showed ADHD, auditory processing disorder, plus some other more borderline diagnoses. We/he then took the test results to a psychiatrist to determine if and what medication should be used."</p>
<p>The pscyhiatrist told me me to tell him the what i am experiencing. I said that whenever i read books, my mind would not stay focused on what i was reading. I would always have to go back to what i just previously read to try and retain it, but it always fails. I also made the mistake of telling him that i have racing thoughts, but that was only when i was on the Adderall, and i don't really have racing thoughts. Just an active mind (but someone might see them as the same thing). When i am off the meds, i don't have an active mind, just a lazy one. I also told him that one moment i'm ambitious and ready to take on the world, then maybe the next day or the next week, i'm less motivated, significantly less. I do want to be a success, but i find it hard with my inconsistent mood pattern to stay focused.</p>
<p>"Hope this helps. Son was not tested until he was in college. Are you in college or high school? It would have been so much easier to get all this straightened out while he was still at home."</p>
<p>I am in college and i am home. Thank you for replying.</p>
<p>The way Dr. explained it to my son was that Adderall was very short acting. It is not a medication that needs to "build" in your system (unlike some of the other ones). He just takes it when he needs it in order to focus. For instance, tedious lectures, long reading assignments, writing papers, exams. He finds that he can "catch up" on his sleep if he doesn't take much on the weekends.</p>
<p>He is doing better with the sleep. The thing that has helped the most is absolutely no caffeine of any sort and the main thing is daily exercise. He tries to work-out every day for at least an hour--says that has helped more than anything.</p>
<p>He had a lot of trouble with weight loss that first few months. Now he monitors what he eats--with his work-outs and medication, he has found he needs about 4,000 calories a day to maintain. He makes himself eat whether he is hungry or not--uses power bars and between meal protein shakes to bump up his caloric intake.</p>
<p>Good luck working things out. I know how frustrated son was until he finally got the working diagnosis and adjusted himself (as much as possible) to medication.</p>
<p>Yes, there are sleep docs- they are usually neurologists- try your favorite university hospital. My nephew had been taking ADD drugs and told his dad at 16 that he thought he was bi-polar instead of depressed and ADD. They changed meds and he has been much better since. talk to someone!!!</p>
<p>4,000 calories. Damn! I am overweight and i think it was because of the Adderall. Haha. 4,000 calories is a lot. He must be tall, i think the taller you are the more weight calories you have to eat. When did he start taking the medicine, at the beginning of college?</p>
<p>Yes, he started on Adderall in Oct. of first semester freshman year. He ended up losing 30lbs that first year. It took him the summer to gain back up (was off med all summer). He also is 6'3" and now with the eating and weight lifting weighs about 215. He does work out pretty heavily--does a 2mile run and then an hour of weights most days.</p>
<p>I am also a college student and am currently taking Adderall. Recently, under physcological testing, I was given the diagnosis of Bi-polor just as you were. Durring the evaluation process I took an ADD/ADHD test and discovered I was ADHD. This was one of the defining factors for my doctor to diagnose me with Bi-Polar disorder. She said they are commenly linked and ADHD/ADD is one of the trigger components that distringuish Bi-polar disorder from depression. You should find yourself a different Dr. it sounds like, because without proper treatment it can contribute towards more intense manic/euphoria highs and the depresional lows. The mood stableizer, for me, can only do so much in controlling my drastic mood swings. I take Adderall to study and do well in school, but more so for the upholding of my health. I hope you will read this and take it into consideration.</p>
<p>I have a feeling i have ADD after researching on the topic for a while. i am a first-year college student. i was wondering what process do you have to go through to get diagnosed with ADD? </p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is no quick answer. My quickest answer would be to say that MANY people have a feeling they may have ADD after researching on the topic for awhile.</p>
<p>lynxie, no after talking to police, she decided not to press charges. She had showered, etc--no physical evidence and by the time she went to ER (next day) no evidence of the drug. She decided that she probably wouldn't get a conviction and thus didn't want to go through the trial. IMO the mistake she made was not seeking counseling afterwards--she thought she was dealing with it, but it affected her greatly and eventually she withdrew from school.</p>
<p>mkm56, to update you on my ADD situation. They gave me an iq test, in which i scored a horrible 80. The goods news is that it was an increase of 5 from the last time i took it. They gave me reading comprehension tests and asked me to answer the standard questions that pertained to it. I scored satisfactory. They also gave me general knowledge tests, and i only scored high in the math department. </p>
<p>I give up with caring about if i have ADD. i have a good gpa and that is really all that matters, ya know? </p>
<p>I made the decision of just graduating from a two-year school and working as a typist or some other monotonous job, so that i can make money and not be overwhelmed. The test administers told me it would be in my best interests and it would be a precautious measure to tell myself not to pursue anything requiring intensive thinking. Although disappointed at first and unwilling to believe, he convinced me that in the long-run, it would be the only way i could live a normal life, with a family and be in good financial standing.</p>
<p>i am glad i went to go see a psychologist. if i did not, it might have been too late, and l would have been in over my head with grief and frustration.</p>
<p>Gista, good to hear back from you. I'm glad you feel the psychologist was helpful. Graduating from a 2 year program is an accomplishment--don't knock it. Even if you even the work force in a job which you aren't crazy about, that can lead to other positions that might excite or interest you more.</p>
<p>Your work ethic in school (based on that good gpa) has been great. That should be attractive to a future employer. </p>
<p>Good luck with finishing up your studies. When will you graduate? And pat yourself on the back for following through and getting some outside advice/help. That is never an easy thing to do for anyone. Proud of you!</p>
<p>I am 18 now and i will graduate when i am 19, if i do. Then it's pretty much me being thrusted into the world with limited possibilities. I just wish i could be something GREAT in this world. I have a feeling i won't be excited and life will be humdrum.</p>
<p>My d had those problems with a dif med, switched to adderall and did not have them. Consider trying another med this summer...see if he gets benefits without the appetite issues. There is Adderall XR or something which is time released and then the basic Adderall. Maybe try the one he isn't on or go for entirely dif one.
Like i said NOT an issue with Adderall but it was with a dif med. I wish it WOULD suppress her appetite as she has put on too much wt.</p>
<p>Atlmom, he is doing much better now, thanks. It seems it took him time to adjust and realize that he just needs to eat whether hungry or not. He really upped his physical work-outs which I think helped too (with stimulating appetite). Actually, now he is probably in the best physical shape ever--partly due to getting rid of those pesky tonsils this past fall. Anyway now he is 6'3", 210-215lbs, and solid muscle--is working out about 1-2 hours per day.</p>
<p>He also has learned through trial and error how late he can take that last dose and still sleep. Another thing he found that helped was to set his alarm for an hour before he had to get up and take first dose then--then go back to sleep for an hour. He said that that way he kinda slept through the uncomfortable morning "rush" on an empty stomach feeling and did better. IDK--some of it doesn't really make sense to me--but if he's ok with it....?</p>
<p>Okay so i am 17 years old and i have ADD.
I first found out that i had it in October 2006
even though i have had the signs of it since i was a little kid.
In November, i started taking strattera...i never had a sleeping problem with it and the loss of appetite wasn't bad at all..i lost 3 pounds, if even that. And sometimes, it made me really abnormally moody.
In February 2007, all of a sudden, i got headaches all of the time and i was so tired all of the time i went to the doctor and told her..and she decided to put me on adderall. I'm still on adderall and find that it works better than strattera except lately, i've been having insomnia with it..i'm so tired and my eyes are so tired but when i get into bed at night, i just lay there and can't seem to fall asleep. When i finally get to sleep, i only stay asleep for about 3 or 4 hours..then it all starts again. has anyone else ever experienced this with adderall?</p>
<p>My son has/had the same problem with Adderall. Are you are the long-acting or the short-acting? The problem was much worse for him with the long-acting one. He found that if he doesn't take his (short-acting) after about 5pm, he can usually get to sleep by about 1am. He does sleep much less while taking this med. His Dr. even tried him on some different sleep meds--but they had more side effects that he didn't like and were even dangerous (things like getting up and wandering around campus with no memory of having done it). He eats and drinks absolutely no caffeine which helps some too. </p>
<p>Right now he is out of school for summer and "taking a break" from his medication and is having no problem sleeping---so whatever causes it does stop when off the medication.</p>
<p>I would say evaluate when you take your doses and if you are on the XL, you might ask your Dr. if you can try the short-acting and see if you can control the length of the effect a little better. Good luck. Hope that helped a little.</p>
<p>I take one adderallxr 30 mg a day- I try to take it by 8 am.
I also try to get aerobic exercise every other day- even if I am doing other exercise- hauling stones for the garden for example- I might have trouble sleeping, but when I get aerobic in, even if it is at least 3 times a week, I sleep great.</p>