Irritable on Adderall XR

[Totoro101]

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and started on 10mg Adderall xr and everything was going well for about a month. Then I started to feel very irritated by everyone. I would snap at my husband and daughter for every little thing. It got so bad I just stopped taking my meds but now I’m back to my old ways of starting a million things and not finishing them, forgetting everything and feeling like I’m in a brain fog. Any recommendations please

[Phianoposis33]

Talk to your doctor and try another med. Please don't have him/her continue on the 10mg of adderal and give you something also for the irritability.

My son started adderal just like you at a low dose 7 years ago. Then it stopped working. So his doctor just kept raising it. The anger issues started so doc added abilify- anxiety started add guafacine and hydroxyzine. He was up to 60mg adderal XR a day, 30 mg abilify, 3mg gaufacine and 150mg hydroxyzine. At work one day things were piling up and no one was answering his radio. He went to find a manager and passed a file cabinet and smacked it with his hand. Got written up for a year- considered workplace violence. Something else happened 3 months later in June and he swore and threw a strap in a corner- fired. 2 years at this job with alot of notes from his boss saying what a great worker he was. Done.

He had a manic episode end of June. We called the police to 302 him to the hospital. Told 911 to tell cops he was highly agitated/suicidal and to watch their guns. In the ER they locked him in a room. He had no idea why and nurses told him to sit down and shut up. So he got the bed frame and rammed it against the door. Security and a cop came took him down in a choke hold. He tried to grab the cops gun..now he has felony charges, Aggravated assult,a $25,000 bail bond, and so far $7,000 in attorney fees. And we wait to see if he'll spend time in jail. He'll probably have these charges on his record and good luck finding another job. Holy shit right? Even after I warned them.

The first thing the doctor did on the psych floor was take him off all his meds..cold turkey. He told me they get alot of patients on their floor on adderal with anger issues. My son is just on depakote and that's helping him "wean" off all the other meds. He's like a different person now.

Adderal is great for alot of people, don't get me wrong. But if you are noticing some irritability from it on just 10mg, I would caution you to talk to your doctor and maybe a stimulent med isn't for you. Not everyone is going to have anger issues on adderal. But if you google "adderal and anger"...there it is. Wish I didn't trust my sons psychiatrist so much...lesson learned the hard way.

[Totoro101 in reply to Phianoposis33]

Wow I’m so sorry your son went through all of that. Thank you for letting me know. Yeah I think I will try a different path. It was like I couldn’t control myself lashing out at everyone. I felt like a different person, it was so strange. Just the smallest thing would piss me off. I took myself off the Adderall and made an appointment with my Dr.

[Phianoposis33 in reply to Totoro101]

Thanks..we'll get through this.There's so many other meds you can try if one is giving you negative side effects- good luck!

[Catth in reply to Phianoposis33]

So sorry to hear this story of your son. Hope everything get well soon for all the family 🙏I was taking Adderall and had so many bad side effects too.

[Phianoposis33 in reply to Catth]

Thanks..It's a bit rough now but he's only 22 and can turn this around. Doing so much better now that he's been off all his meds for 2 months now.

[Gettingittogether]

Report it to your provider.

I remain being a bit confrontational on various meds, but it passed and I chalked it up to the med over-correcting me out of my previous passivity. All of a sudden I was speaking bluntly to people. Well, I was way too too tentative before, so I didn't quite mind some of the new bluntness. But this all passed without a medication adjustment.

[BlessedLady]

How long after taking it does the irritability appear ? If it is in the afternoon or evening. Perhaps a immediate release Adderall around noon might help. Have you discussed this with your doctor?

[Laxsitter]

Are you eating before taking it? Especially protein. If I don’t eat good before it makes me irritable. Also might want to skip the coffee, if you drink it. Also, I don’t take it everyday. Weekends or when I don’t really need to do focused work. Hope this will help!

[Catth]

I was taking Adderall and had terrible side effects specially trouble with mood like crying a lot for no reason, very angry for no reason too. I was so irritated that I couldn’t even listen my sister’s voice (she is the person that I love the most in this world). The doctor stopped immediately the medication. You should talk to your doctor and change the med. Adderall is not good for everyone and can be very dangerous to your health.

[Nicolai41]

I too had problems with this drug. On lowest dose I felt slightly anxious and then on day 1 of increasing it I had my first anxiety attack and felt complexity helpless. Everyone’s body is different so some react differently than others. Returned to xenidate with afternoon too up of instant and feel much better.

[Sunshinegrl25]

Hey. Im just spitballing here but maybe when you take your meds, you should allot some time alone. Take your meds and do something relaxing for an hour. Watch a youtube video, read, meditate, etc. And then move on with your day. Thats what I do and I dont feel poopie at all

[Totoro101]

Thank you for all your comments. I contacted my doctor and she is having me try Azstarys which is a newer drug for ADHD. Hope this helps!

[TheBusyBee]

I had the same experience on Adderall extended 10mg...For about a month things were great but then I would start getting so irritable I would just snap at my partner or at people at work for minor things. It was like my brain was in fight mode and reading criticism or personal attacks into what people were saying where there was nothing. I would have to reread emails several times before sending them to make sure I didn't sound super aggressive. I would become so anxious and stressed on it that I had to stop taking it. It had a very straight forward intense adrenaline response in me, along with the good and negative that brings about. By about 4 or 5 pm I would crash so hard I would get a headache, get very tired, brain fogged, and my mood would dip so much that I would often cry for no reason...And this was all while being well rested. I was alienating people with my micro aggressions.

I switched to Vyvanse 20mg which at first gave me insufficient response, especially compared to the Adderall. I went up one dose on Vyvanse to 30 mg and have stayed there for 2 years. It can make me a little irritable especially when I'm under time pressure or stressed, but it is very manageable, and similar to irritability I would have being overcaffeinated. However, it's much more helpful keeping me focused. It has been night and day in regards to the irritability side effects for me. Most days I am able to get done what I need to get through at work and am calmer than I would otherwise be without the medication.

[Totoro101 in reply to TheBusyBee]

thank you for reaching out and telling me about your experience. Yeah I just think Adderall was not for me. I’m tryin Azstarys and it already seems a lot better but we will see. It’s only been two weeks