DOSE:

20 mg

oral

Amphetamines

(daily)

BODY WEIGHT:

190 lb

For people with the right symptoms, Adderall is an incredibly helpful medication. I will just list some random thoughts here after being on it for one year.

I am not hyperactive at all, but I definitely have trouble focusing on anything that isn't interesting. Whenever I have to pay attention to something boring, I have a hard time staying awake. This cost me big time at school - I would literally be asleep during almost every class period for at least a few minutes, both high school and college - no matter how hard I tried to force myself to stay awake.

This continued to be a problem at work. I am unable to stay awake during meetings if I'm not the one doing the talking. Luckily I do computer work, so I have been able to get by, but I always knew something wasn't quite right with me. Finally, during the first week of a new job, I fell asleep during a meeting with our department. I had enough and asked our family doctor to prescribe Adderall (I tried Provigil years ago but it doesn't work on me at all). I was free to experiment with dosages as long as I didn't exceed 40 mg a day.

I ended up taking a 20mg XR in the morning, with an optional 10mg instant release in the afternoon on the days when I need it. It has been helpful - I am no longer afraid to go to meetings and I am much less likely to fall asleep while I'm working. I still have ADD to deal with but I find it much easier to stay focused on what I am supposed to be doing (or to stay focused on distractions for way too long!).

It definitely helps as an anti-depressant too. I take a low dose but just getting up and getting things done is a good feeling. Coffee and energy drinks are no match for this - and with my metabolism I can drink a gallon of coffee without getting an energy boost of any kind. I ended up losing about 10 lbs without changing my diet at all. Luckily I don't have any withdrawal symptoms. I can skip days with no problems - though I go back to having my normal low-grade narcolepsy.

It is uncomfortable to take too much Adderall, I tried taking two 20mg XR's one day and hated it. After a couple of weeks of taking the 30mg XR's, I get muscle pains in my right foot for some reason, so 20mg is about right. It also freaked me out the first time I checked my blood pressure - it was very low but with a > 100 pulse rate! I wish the doctor had warned me about that.

Adderall is great for my symptoms, but I can see why it's not for everyone. I make sure that I don't interfere with my sleep cycle - I just take it to help make the most of the time that I would be awake anyway.

Exp Year: 2010	ExpID: 89059
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 40
Published: Oct 8, 2018	Views: 1,317
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Amphetamines (6) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Performance Enhancement (50), Medical Use (47), Not Applicable (38)