I was just diagnosed last month with ADHD at 40 years old. Talk about mind blowing!!!
So my meds are still being titrated. But I don’t think I understand the process.
Started with 10mg IR once a day. Felt great in the morning after 1 hour and 20 mins but INSANE by 12 o’clock.
Dr. switched me to 15mg XR once a day. No more insanity at 12 o’clock BUT it would takes 3.5 hours to feel like the fog is lifting AND it doesn’t lift the fog completely. Not even close.
My new direction starting tomorrow is 20mg of my IR once a day in the morning.
Does that really seem like the next step? Back to once a day with the short acting?
I guess the main confusion for me is the dose amounts. I read online that 10mg of IR would equal 20mg of XR for all day coverage. The 10mg I was taking once a day felt good. But only for 3 hours. I don’t know 🤷♀️
Written by
IgnoranceWasNotBliss
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Was the insanity at noon the morning dose wearing off? I’m not a doctor, but I’m not sure how increasing the morning dose of the IR would help with that. According to my ADHD doctor, increasing the dose increases the effect, not the duration. So I’m wondering why your doctor wouldn’t suggest taking a second dose of the IR at noon, rather than increasing the morning dose. Or increasing the dose of the XR. Who is prescribing—your PCP or a psychiatrist? I would suggest going back to the doctor and asking why the increase if the 10mg was sufficient and just wearing off too soon. Good luck.
Exactly my concern! The soul morning dose was a total fail. I’m doing the first day night now and if the Jakyall and Hyde comes today, I’m emailing them. This has seemed like a long process and I’m starting to get defeated.
For me, I had to build up the medicine in my system for it to start working effectively... if that makes sense. I couldn't just rely on medicine either. I had to go to bed on time, eat properly, have a routine, etc... Not to mention your body is adjusting. You may also have other meds that are adjusting to the new one too. Could be blood pressure.... there are a thousand factors here. I would still keep an open dialogue with your doctor and maybe keep a small journal about the way the medicine is making you feel. I take vyvanse and prozac but that didn't happen on the first try. It took months to find the right cocktail for my insanity.
For what it's worth, my doctor was open to feedback on how the medicine worked, and that helped get to what seems to work:
Morning: 10 mg XR
Doctor said, for early afternoon and/or as needed: add 5 mg IR
Doctor also said to split the 5 mg and try various combinations, as needed, based on what time of day I need most additional focus. I split the 5 mg, take it twice a day, and it really helps.
This is true! My dr has seemed flexible so far but I’ve also only ever ask for one thing. I’m going to see what happens today and email if anything bad happens.
You might be a poor metabolizer. If it takes 3.5 hours to feel the fog lifted, it might be an indication that your cytochrome p450 cyp2d6 gene has trouble metabolizing adderall consistently. With xr, in my experience, you should feel it within an hour and it should last at least half the day. Since this is not medical advice, just knowledge I have gathered from years of research, please do consult a professional, online or in medical websites. Ask your doctor for genetic testing, genesight, genomind, etc. It will tell you exactly what kind of metabolizer you are and you can go from there. The test costs $300-400, out of pocket. Most insurances cover at least part of it. Either way, it's totally worth it and will save you years of trial and error. If your doctor isn't up to date on the genetic testing, then time to find a new one. The test will give recommendations for optimal dose, what other meds may interfere with the adderall, etc. Feel free to message me for more information. ✌️
My psychiatrist put me.on 20 mg 2x day..Nothing happened. I tried 40 once a day Nothing. 60 mg once a day.then 70.mg once a day still nothing.medmd says 100mg is what people take to get high.i don't she will rx that.Is it time to go to vysanse ? Or Mydais with 3 separate beads amphetamine for Ir ? Er ? Ty
You might need Ritalin instead. ADHD'ers usually respond better to one or the other, so if adderall just isn't working at all, I would ask your doctor to try out Ritalin or any one of the methylphenidate variations. I reacted terribly to methylphenidate but great to amphetamine. You might be the opposite. Let me know how it goes.
Does your doctor understand ADHD? Many don't and just read the flyer that comes with the drug rep. The way he's titrating your doses sounds like he is j just testing it out. Try AmenMD website, he is probably the most knowledgeable of all doctor's on ADD/ADHD. His website is full of useful information, and you can talk to a live person about your problems.
Hello, it’s possible that you may need both IR and XR. I know exactly what you r going through. I had the same symptoms and it took some time for the fogginess to go away. Adderall immediate release is supposed to last about 4hours depending on your metabolism. XR is supposed to last about 8hours since the drug slowly is released throughout the day. It can take a handful of times to get it right. If you have any other medical/mental health conditions it can take much longer (months or years)to figure out what works well for you. Always continue to consult with ur psychiatrist to see if any other options may be available for you.
Thank you all so much for your input. It glad to know I wasn’t misunderstanding the situation and the dose change was a little off. I tried the 20mgIR as they suggested but by 2pm that day I was a mess. I emailed my dr but it was the weekend so I changed my Sunday dose anyway. I didn’t increase it but took 15IR and then 5IR at noon to try and keep the crazy away. By 5 I was a crazy but it wasn’t as bad.
I heard from the dr Monday and they were very willing to hear my concerns. You guys gave me the confidence to “negotiate” my dose with them and I feel like we’re going to be on the right track very soon. I’m up to 25mg a day now and they have me trying 2 different methods of achieving it to see which way feels better. Then my next prescription will reflect our changes, which is this week.
The 10 mg IR probably wears off around 12pm and then things start going downhill. Usually as soon as my meds start wearing off I feel like crap and my brain literally doesn’t work at all. I was on 30mg Adderall IR two times a day, and that was nice because I got two full doses of focus time. But I didn’t like having to schedule my day around when I took my meds... So I switched to 60mg XR and I don’t think it really does the trick for me. It’s supposed to be a more steady focus, but less intense. So less extreme come ups/come downs, but for longer amount of time.
Honestly I don’t know why your doctor hasn’t tried prescribing 10mg IR twice a day? So you have more time on it? Even then though, you would probably have two cycles of meds kicking in and meds wearing off... So that would be something you would have to consider too. Increasing to 20mg IR should make it last a little longer I believe tho. Maybe another option is a higher dose of XR than just 15mg?
Idk how I can handle, or why I need such high doses of Adderall, I am only 120lbs xD. Maybe I just have a high tolerance or something lol. Who knows. But 10mg IR seems like it would do nothing for me, and would only last like an hour. So weird how meds can affect people so differently.
Thank you so much for your help. Yeah the dr was receptive to working with me and I tried 2 news ways. I ended up having a better day with 5mg IR and 15mg XR in the morning and 5IR at noon. It worked out. I do think I’ll need a little more in the morning but they said they would rather me try this for 30 days before we change it again. Hopefully since it’s an extra 10mg per day it will be much better than the first attempts.
I will say the XR helps keep the IR’s from “swinging the day” like a rollar coaster. Maybe you should try a 30XR with a morning and afternoon 15IR? Still your 60mg’s but the XR makes it not feel swingy and the IR’s to help you feel that boost! I’m certainly no expert at this though. Hahaha.
The dr decided on 15mg XR with 5mg IR in the morning and afternoon. Even though I think I needed more in the morning.
HOWEVER, I just refilled my prescription and they’re both from different companies than my first prescription. ITS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. I FEEL 100% different on the same dose, just different manufacturers.
For me, there is something to this. I don’t know if anyone has ever had problems with this but it’s something to watch and think about.
When I was on IR I took 10mg a day and would take 1/4th in the morning 7am, 1/2 at 12:00 sharp, and 1/4th at 4pm. I got off it because I was too irritable while on it. I now take Vyvanse but like you recommend I may ask for 10mg IR and cut it into 1/4 for evening. Anyway! What this does is slowly but surely wake you up in the morning, cuts out that insane drive feeling in the afternoon, and lowers you down in the evening so you don’t get cranky or feel dead in the water once it wears off. I’d talk to your dr and see if they recommend this or even 2 10mg a day spaced out.
Depending on your metabolism you will consume it more or less quickly but for me IR lasted only 5.5hrs so I had to make sure to take it at the 5th hr or I found myself going nutty at work.
Also when you first start any adderall generic or not you will definitely feel like your flying a bit high for the first week. Once your body becomes dependent on it you will feel more level as long as the dose isn’t too high.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
new adhd diagnosis sos
I only lasted on Adderall 6 days, it made my depression worse
Mydayis effective for Adderall tolerant individuals?
First day on meds - jittery?
Adderall & Adderall XR
