Side Effects of Adderall & Recommendations

[EdTechDad]

I have been on Adderall 10mg for about 30 days now. It has helped with attention but I feel like I could use a little more focus.

I tried 20 mg of Adderall but my heart rate increased. I've also noticed I feel a little more agitated and have some acne on my shoulders as I did in high school.

Have you experienced this?

If so, what medication did you switch to?

Thank you team!

[STEM_Dad]

Hi EdTechDad , I'm STEM_Dad!

Welcome to the Adult ADHD Support forum.

My experience with Adderall XR was much like your own. At 10mg, it helped some, but not as much as I needed. At 20mg, it didn't help any more than it did at 10mg, and introduced tachycardia (increased heart rate). I experienced irritable mood once the Adderall wore off each day (which I didn't like, because that was my time with my family, and I wanted to not be a crab around my kids).

I switched to 40mg atomoxetine (generic Strattera), a non-stimulant , almost 2 years ago. It works twice as well as Adderall did, and I only get side effects (brief nausea) if I don't take it with food...so I take it with breakfast every day.

• I was on 60mg for 6 months, but it was maybe 2% better, always gave me that nausea even if I took with food, and my copay was more. So, I thought the negatives outweighed the very slight improvement. (I think that most adults on Strattera go up to 80mg-100mg.)

It helps all my ADHD symptoms except motivation. I still lack motivation, so getting started on things is still hard. But I'm able to wrangle my attention, have a decently reliable memory for the first time in my life, and have a fairly consistent sense of time (rate at which time is passing...I still struggle to estimate how long something will take).

(I'm still running late a lot...but I chalk that up to the motivation issue.)

[CMax3001]

Sounds like a sensitivity to this one. Feeling agitated can mean this medicine is creating too much norepinepherine or seratonin for your system to manage, so wise to lower it or try something else. Ask your prescribing physician what alternatives are. Each one produces a different mix of increases of neurotransmitter. Sounds like this one might be creating too much of something, an that another kind might have a better balance.

[Phianoposis33 in reply to CMax3001]

My son did horrible on adderal. Kept tell his doctor it wasn't working and instead of trying something else he just kept raising the dosage. Up to the highest at 65mg.

Then the side effects, anxiety (add a pill for that) depression, (add a pill for that) anger (add a pill for that) until he had a manic episode, ended up on a psych floor at our hospital and felony charges for fighting.

I always trusted his doctor (no more) and never read the perscription insert for side effects. Anger /irritability is one of them. Whatever you do, if you are feeling irritable now with 20mg don't go any higher. Talk to your doctor about trying something new. Maybe not a stimulent since you get tachycardia

My son won't try any ADHD meds now

[CMax3001 in reply to Phianoposis33]

Sounds like you had some really rotten luck. 😔 Not all Dr's know all the current research and only do what guidelines tell them to do. Mine certainly didn't know what tbey were doing. ("Duloxetine raises norepinepherine as well as concerta, are you sure they wont compound each other and overdose me." "No, the manual says no interactions. " Day later " Am fucked up. Cheers for listening and thinking for yourself." Was a two week recovery from severe depression post overdose.

But...if you look around, read reviews, find one that others have gotten along well with, whose experienced in the field, have listened to their concerns and is doing the proper checks, then I would suggest trying again. Since changing physicians mines going alot more smoothly.