I'm on adderall xr 20mg for one month now and have been on zoloft for years. I can't wake up in the morning, I even set up alarm took the adderall 5.00am in the morning hoping it will help me getup when the med kicks in. But it is not happening. Take zoloft 50mg at night. I'm so tired. Losing hope! Feeling lousy! I have a new therapist and working on my problems. But I just can't function during the days. I feel the medication (adderall xr) a little around early evening. Force myself to sleep. I know nothing is rosey, and medications play a little role. But I would love to hear your experiences with adhd medications. What helped for those of you who couldn't finish school or task before your treatments. Or Anyone from North California know an ADHD expert outside, kaiser. My doctor just doesn't care. I'm willing to pay out of pocket.
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Hopefullymoon
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You are a night owl apparently. Many folks with ADHD are night owls and I am not sure that anyone quite knows why. Winter is the worst time for night owls to get up early. It's hard even when they go to bed "on time."
The meds don't have anything to do with this in my experience. You want to google "bright light therapy" and you probably need to check out sunrise simulators also called dawn simulators. These simulators gradually turn on a light starting 30 to 45 minutes before you need to get up. That light is taken in through your eyes (even with eyes closed) and sends a signal to your body that it will soon need to wake up.
Many people these days are using wifi bulbs to help wake up early. And then once you're awake, you are probably still going to be sluggish. You need to sit in front of a specialized bright light with 10,000 lux. There are also some light visors that offer bright light therapy. The visors allow you to move around and say get coffee. Or you can just go outside and walk for 20 minutes in natural light. Also leaving the blinds open at night (if you can--some people can't do that and get to sleep) is helpful for getting light in the morning.
The technical name for what you're experiencing is called "Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome." Literally we night owls have harmone issues that get out of whack.
Oh a few more tips ... you will need to think in terms of multiple alarms and yets alarms place far across the room, that make you get up and walk ... no nearby alarms ... program multiple loud alarms on a phone ... and/or get an additional alarm clock and place that also on the other side of the room.
At night you have to turn down the lights ... we night owls come alive at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. no matter how exhausted we are previous to that. You have to turn down the brightness on computers and phones at night ... There are a whole host of steps ... cut out caffeine past 12 noon ... even possibly earlier ... This is a process. No quick fix.
The night owl body runs in families ... you probably have family members who stay up late ... even as they say, "i'm tired."
I got this product for my son many years ago "Sonic Bomb Dual Extra Loud Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker".
The bed shaker part is really helpful. It's hard to ignore your bed vibrating under you. The dual alarm is also helpful, not to mention you can turn it up pretty loud.
I have found using a wake up light (sunrise simulator) to be helpful. Decide what time you want (or need) to wake up and keep that consistent every day.
I have a psychiatrist and a therapist—both in Berkekey— I can recommend. Send me a message if you want their contact info.
Regarding medication, I take Adderall and Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin has been very helpful with motivation. There is an extended release (XL) and a sustained release (SR). The XL interfered with my sleep, but the SR does not.
I had tried Zoloft ( for depression and anxiety) but it may be too tired.
I have also tried guanfacine and clonidine for adhd. Guanfacine seemed to help somewhat as an add on to the Adderall. I didn’t find clonidine to be helpful and it made me tired and dizzy. My son, who also has adhd and takes concerta, also takes clonidine at bed time and it does seem to help him with self control.
Your story sounds very similar to mine. My morning routine takes me nearly 3 hours to wake up and get out of the house. I take 30 mg Adderall IR right when I wake up and have a cup or two of coffee and within 30 minutes I’m usually awake enough to start getting ready. I take another 30 mg at lunch time or a little after and that gets me through my afternoon. I tried the XR version of Adderall and no matter how early I took it, 6 am or 12 pm, sleep didn’t come until 2 am, and I’m up at 6 for work. Switched back to the IR for better dose control. I take a natural supplement when I take an Adderall break, but it’s very noticeable when I’m not taking my Adderall, my sense of urgency doesn’t exist.
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