Adhd and numerious crys for help

[Gymini]

I have read alot of papers related to the lack of sleep and adhd, and I am taking 20mg of adderall ,I too am having issues related to sleep. So my question to y'all is this, has anyone found a real or semi succesful answer to getting a full night's rest while using adderall ? Thanx jim

[Shnookie]

I took Adderall years ago so don’t quite remember my sleep patterns but please to your therapist about this. I also take a med Clonozapem, an anxiety pill that can help U reduce your anxiety, I take mine around

10 PM. Truth be known with COVID , it

has been harder for me to sleep as well at

Night. There R things that can help U like deep breathing, listening to music U like and pleasant visualizations.

[Birdwatcher19]

I have struggled with insomnia, so I sympathize. I take Ritalin currently, but have taken Adderall in the past. Were you having problems sleeping before starting the Adderall, or did they only begin when you started taking it? Are you having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep? If it’s the former, and it started with the introduction of Adderall, you might consider speaking to your doctor about reducing the dose, taking it earlier in the day, or trying a different medication. You may also adjust to it if you’ve only been taking it for a short time. If you are falling asleep easily but waking during the night, it’s probably not the Adderall. Consider how much caffeine you are using (even a small amount can interfere with sleep, especially if you’re drinking it in the afternoon or evening), alcohol use in the evening (can cause awakenings), screen time, etc. Regular exercise helps, but not too close to bedtime. Watch sugar/carb intake before bed. Aim for consistency (hard, I know) with bedtime and wake time. These are also things to look at if your sleep was poor before taking starting a stimulant. Melatonin (small doses generally work better-3 to 5 mg) an hour before bedtime can help with sleep onset, as well. Tryptophan can be helpful, too, though it’s not to be taken with SSRI medications. Magnesium also helps with relaxation and sleep (I take magnesium glycinate, but there are different kinds). Clonidine is another (prescription) option often used in conjunction with stimulants to help with sleep. Good luck; hope you’re able to get a good night’s sleep soon.

[happyhermit]

I'm not on meds (yet?), but I can tell you some things I've learned that help me to sleep.

1. if possible, set a regular bedtime -- but I've found that even if I have to vary it, the following help

2. give yourself plenty of transition time, and a routine or ritual of some kind. Change into your PJs an hour before bed, turn the lights down, etc. I have a prayer ritual that I chant an hour or so before bed, and no matter how alert I was before I started, by the time I finish the opening hymn half the time I'm yawning. Yours might be stretching or yoga, or journaling about the day that's ending, or calling to mind the faces of people you love who are far away, or listing things you are grateful for, or taking a few minutes to write down notes on the next day's schedule. But I think it helps to do more or less the same routine or ritual every day, to signal to your brain that bedtime is coming up.

3. turn down the lights, turn off the TV and computer and pick up a book instead (or maybe switch to something peaceful like nature documentaries), play peaceful music.

4. I drink Sleepytime Extra tea, that has valerian root in it. Again, I've read that valerian works better if you take or drink it regularly. Other people take melatonin or ... ? probably other things. Wine used to make me sleepy but the sleep wouldn't last, I think it actually has a rebound effect as it wears off.

Other people might have ideas about things like how long before bed to exercise and/or take a shower, etc. I don't eat or drink (other than water and herb tea) near bedtime, and it might be that keeping from jacking my blood sugar around at that time of day makes a difference, too, but I don't actually know about that.

[happyhermit in reply to happyhermit]

Oh, one more: no matter how much of a wreck the rest of your house is, if you can keep your bedroom uncluttered, it really helps your mind to relax. Even if stuff isn't actually put away, at least try to get it out of sight.

[Crystallady18 in reply to happyhermit]

Wow these are such great tips!

[happyhermit in reply to Crystallady18]

Yeah, I think they really help me ... let me know if you try any of them, if they make a difference.

I keep reading about ADHD and transitions, figuring out how to transition between one thing and another. Task-switching is so hard! I set bells, but I think I need something more, more brief transition rituals. I want to try something like a mini 2-5 minute meditation or something, instead of my default: solitaire ... which can drag on and on and on, while I get more and more stressed about what I'm supposed to be doing next and it just keeps getting harder and harder to move...... As in, I have assigned myself a specific housework task today (clean the ceiling fans) and I should have started an hour ago. And where am I? Now that I've finally closed the solitaire tab? Here on the forum! OK, I'm going now. *sigh*

[HadEnuf]

Honestly, I may well have slept better when taking stimulants simply because they would wear off hours earlier than I would fall asleep naturally.

My natural sleep as waking times invariably gravitate to about four hours later than fits the demands of the majority culture, regardless of medication; and this turns out to reflect a definite trend in ADHD versus neurotypical melatonin surge timing.

[Rollyfingers]

Your right it's hard to get a good night sleep on Adderall my doctor put me on vistaril it's a week sleep aid but ambium works better

[Crystalsphinx in reply to Rollyfingers]

Ambien works great but I’m concerned I’ll get hooked on it. Do you take it every night. What about CBD

[Rollyfingers]

Yea tell your doctor you need a sleep aid looks like you have insomnia that comes with ADHD your doc will prescribe you a sleep aid like vistaril or ambium works but xanex works great and ativan with Adderall you just have to wait until it wears off but you will have sleepless

[happyhermit]

One more I forgot in my getting to sleep routine: once I turn out the light, I turn on an audiobook, with a sleep timer: 15 minutes if I think I'll drop off easily, 20 or 30 if not. Nothing too stimulating, obviously ... an old favorite you've read before, recorded by someone with a pleasant voice, is perfect

[Jlynn1]

It took me a few days before I could just sleep. Doctors suggest taking first thing in the morning. I like to take it around 11am because it only lasts 6 hours for me.

Vitamin C and cranberry juice will help it get out of your system faster. L-Theanie after the Adderall starts to wear off is calming and promotes relaxation. Those 2 alone and I can sleep.

Low dose of melatonin and magnesium are supposed to help too

[IgnoranceWasNotBliss]

Jlynn1 is close to my remedy. I take 500 mg of L-tyrosine around the same tune my Adderall starts to come down. It helps restore your dopamine and can prevent the crash feeling some people get. Vit c a few hours before bed. Helps process the rest of the Adderall. Magnesium a few hours before bed as well. Either a taurate or glycinate are great for sleep. Then when I want to go to sleep I drink Natural Vitality CALM “calmful sleep” formulation. Honestly, I can slept with just this stuff! I don’t need the other things for this to knock me out!! It’s unreal! I got it for my MIL who had insomnia for 20 years and tried everything. She’s sleeping like a baby too. Only 1/2 a tsp works for me. More is not necessarily better.

5 stars!! Legit.

[75ADHDgal]

First of all can you reduce the dose of adderall to 10 mg and take fist thing in the morning as you awake. Second - discuss with your psychiatrist about giving you a prescription for Gabapentin. It is not a sleeping pill used for chronic pain and is mood stabilizer but side effect is sleepiness. I use 300-900 mg if needed at night . stop alll caffeinated drinks including coke and coffee by 11 AM or noon . Then - do the following- see your phrimary MD- to rule out things like obstructive sleep apnea - If everything OK- Go to bed same time every night - do mindfulness meditation - 30 minutes a day , exercise 1 hour vigorously a day. Bed is only for sleeping and sex. So no TV, No eating no reading even ( this one is hard for me) in bed. Make sure room is neither too cold or too hot . Try to avoid any real sleeping pill

[Duke39]

Maybe you’ll get lucky and be like but I take 30mg. XR and I wait till 1:00 pm. Other wise it wears off and then I pass out and sleep for 10 plus hours. In fact my Adderall has relived me of my restless leg syndrome and I can’t stay awake anymore. It makes me tired. I am actually falling asleep right now and i drank all kinds of caffeine today. It’s like my body and brain was screaming for some more dopamine and now that I got it I sleep too good. It took about one month before I started to pass out on my meds but it works like a tranquilizer. Weird hun. Not sure why this happens to me but I’ll take it. I don’t think this is the norm.