rywoo

Sometimes stimulant medication can cause mania in ADHD. Naturally, ADHDers are very quite energetic in a kind of cycle. Low-lows. High-highs. Adding and stimulant (in my own experience) makes this fluctuation more extreme as a result of the stimulant suppressing the limbic system. Sometimes you feel like dirt, and experience emotional blunting/dissociation, go into a low, then the next week you feel like a god.

The main question i’d ask is what's the dose your on? Lower the dose if you can, if you experience less ups and downs, and notice you can think more in the grey area (rather than black or white) it's probably just the medication that's too high combined with the ADHD. I'm going through this myself and have decided that the higher dose is good for now and that I just need to suck it up and deal with the side effects for the time being while I figure some major life event out.

fillycheesesteak in reply to rywoo

I’m on 20mg right now, but I have experienced this before I was ever on medication. It’s been something l’ve experienced my whole life. I haven’t noticed a huge difference being on medication yet, so I think my dose now is good. I did have a low just a few days ago, but it wasn’t any more or less intense than when I wasn’t on a stimulant.

Reply (0)Report

rywoo in reply to fillycheesesteak

Oh. Maybe you need a higher dose?

Reply (1)Report

rywoo in reply to fillycheesesteak

A psychiatrist told me I was on a “preschool” dose when I was on 20mg. He said, “adults usually should be on at least 50-60mg”

Reply (1)Report

fillycheesesteak in reply to rywoo

Yeah, probably! I suppose it'll all get figured out with time

Reply (0)Report

jonness_of_wu_wu

If you're currently feeling good on your medication and there's no risk to yourself or others then I don't see why you'd need to take anything else regardless of any diagnosis. Enjoy the feeling of fog free thinking, I've just started medication for ADHD and know exactly how joyful that can be 😀

fillycheesesteak in reply to jonness_of_wu_wu

I’m glad you’re feeling the fog free feeling too! You’re right! As long as I feel good right now that’s what matters

Reply (1)Report

IgnoranceWasNotBliss

I’m more concerned that your therapist needs to pull out the DSM for points on bipolar. Not only should they know what bipolar is but they shouldn’t be guessing at a diagnosis for you. Like a previous poster said, if the Adderall is working well for you, why rock the boat? For my emotional dysregulation, I needed a higher dose of Adderall and full day coverage. I take 15mg 3x a day and it’s perfect. But getting there took some time and frustration. When I didn’t have good coverage, it made my adhd and emotional dysregulation worse whe I was coming off the Adderall for the day. If I skipped a dose or ran out of meds, I was worse than before I started the meds. I was experiencing a rebound effect from the Adderall. It wasn’t good. But while I was on it... I was great. Crashing was the hard part. Now that I take the right dose 3 times a day, I don’t crash or rebound. Read about bipolar. When I was originally looking into “what was wrong with me”, it just didn’t fit. My “highs” and “lows” were always situational. If I changed the situation, I could change my mood. From what I’ve read about bipolar, their emotions can sometimes be less situational. They may wake up depressed for no reason and it may last a long time until it suddenly lifts for no reason. Then they may wake up feeling invincible and it may last a long time until it’s gone for no reason. Sometimes people with adhd get depressed. If you ask them why, they may say “I don’t know”. That could sound like bipolar if there isn’t a reason. However with adhd we can often say “I don’t know” for a few reasons. Perhaps we aren’t good at labeling our feelings. Perhaps there are currently 1000 reasons in our head and we can’t pick just one. Or perhaps were overwhelmed with everything and can’t even decide which feeling is most prevalent. Or maybe all the feelings happen so quickly and passed just as quickly that we don’t even know exactly what happened in a step by step way.

I hope this helps.

Gjs80 in reply to IgnoranceWasNotBliss

Adhd is infamous for the mood symptoms it can cause. You're correct diagnosis should be " mood disorder NOS". I can tell you from personal experience that us with Adhd have mood disorders at a very high rate. Don't be worried about a therapist diagnosis just make sure your psychiatrist is diagnosing you correctly and you're getting he help you need. If not just get up and leave your intuition should tell you when you have a right fit.

Reply (2)Report

fillycheesesteak in reply to Gjs80

Gjs80: Thanks! I will definitely discuss it with my psychiatrist and see what she thinks!

Reply (0)Report

fillycheesesteak in reply to IgnoranceWasNotBliss

Yes, thank you so much for the detailed reply! I think I'm currently (since posting the original post, this wasn't something I had noticed prior to my therapy appointment) experiencing the crash with the prescription that I have now. I am usually content in the morning, then once the adderall is kicking in I'm feeling generally upbeat and ready to take on the day, and then once the late afternoon comes around I'm sad lol. It's kind of freaking me out actually, so I'll definitely bring it up with the psychiatrist at my next appointment. I think you definitely hit the nail on the head! I think there is definitely usually some actual reason why I end up feeling easily irritable, but there are usually either too many causes or I just can't pinpoint the exact cause. It definitely doesn't usually seem like it's happening for no reason.

Reply (0)Report

IgnoranceWasNotBliss in reply to fillycheesesteak

That’s the tough part of Adderall. Some people can find the crash too hard. When I wasn’t on the right dose yet, it REALLY helped to take L-tyrosine 500mg when the crash started. It didn’t stop the meds from wearing off but it softened the blow a little. My poor nephew would crash so hard off Adderall he would have melt downs at night that more than once required my sister to call the police! He just got switch to Concerta (Ritalin based) and doesn’t crash at all!! I call it the Jeklly and Hyde effect. It is most definitely not unheard of with Adderall. I’m glad you got some insight.

Reply (1)Report

fillycheesesteak in reply to IgnoranceWasNotBliss

Good to know it's not uncommon (well, not good for those who experience crashes)! I will likely need a dose increase again as I feel like the good and bad effects of the Adderall are already leveling out. I'm not quite feeling the high highs or the low lows anymore (and I'm quite happy about the latter). It makes me nervous about increasing my dose, I don't want to feel a worse crash than what I have already (it wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best either) but I will look into L-tyrosine! Thank you!!!

Reply (0)Report

JW621 in reply to fillycheesesteak

Yeah I hear ya. I take vyvanse 70mg and a 20mg adderall. I don’t feel anything anymore either

Reply (1)Report

IgnoranceWasNotBliss in reply to fillycheesesteak

That’s exactly how it progressed for me. I eventually got to this point as well. The medication felt effective and I wasn’t having too high highs or too low lows but was still feeling the crash. As I adjusted more and more to that dose, it started to wear off sooner and I would get the crash symptoms mixed with a deep disappointment and frustration that the meds were wearing off. I found that the longer I was on the medication, the harder it was to deal with the unmedicated me. At first, I was grateful for any “break” the medication gave me from my stressful self. But I could still handle myself. I was still very used to dealing with myself. But the longer I took the meds, the more I forgot how to “deal” with all the stress that the unmedicated me produces. All of that added to my crash.

For me personally, the key was full day coverage. My day is 6am to 8pm. My dr kept wanting to give me 2 doses a day (I can’t take the XR). They wanted to keep upping the 2 doses. For me, upping a dose didn’t make it last longer. What ended up working MUCH better for me was 3 doses a day. Now I have no crash! Zero! I go to bed and watch tv at the end of my last dose. So I can have everything for the day done and don’t have to worry about anything. It was a lifesaver. I don’t know how much you’re taking or how much more titrating you have to do but keep a booster in mind. People who take the XR can still have a booster. If you find yourself starting to crash around 3-4 in the afternoon and you still have to finish work, pick up the kids, make dinner, clean the house, get kids to bed, finish some work, talk to your husband or wife about important issues, you may need a booster to help handle the work load and help deal with everything in stride. . People often think adhd medication is for going to work but honestly, for some people, work is the easy part of the day. Being home and juggling home life can be extremely difficult. I take my 3rd dose at 3pm and that gets me to 7:30 (when my son goes to bed). Then I just have to finish some housework and relax. But I burn through my meds quickly.

I hope something here helps.

Side note: when I was on the XR, which we realize now doesn’t work well for me, upping the XR also didn’t make it last longer. I would crash by 2pm (but again, I think I burn through my meds. Your time maybe different).

Reply (1)Report

fillycheesesteak in reply to IgnoranceWasNotBliss

(Sorry about the late reply! I forgot I posted here!! 😅) Yes thank you so much! I'll keep a booster in mind!! Thank you for all of the amazing advice

Reply (0)Report

JW621

Don’t assumed until you get a brain scan. I recently have diagnosed and am on bipolar meds as well. I’m on vyvanse and adderal. For my bipolar I’m. On olanzepine and fluoxetine