Stimulants Taking 30mg of Adderall for ADHD

[Sophisticated Cat]

I am a college student with ADHD and I started taking 20mg of Adderall in Nov. of 2012 while being a part time student. My Dr. didn't tell me how this drug was even going to affect me and I had really no idea what to expect. The next day I took it and insistently got a huge drive. (My morning routine, by the way, is to only take the pill and not eat because I found that food slowed down the effects of it.) I was able to do all kinds of things I been putting off around the house, organizing my life and I even went back to college full time in Jan. It was amazing and I was getting my life together after years of ups and downs. My brain felt superhuman and I was even teaching myself every course and not dependent upon the teacher. I was super focused and my brain could understand everything that I was learning and what the teacher was talking about in class. I notice about less then a month ago the "drive" or "jolt", this high that kicked me into full gear and that was making me feel unstoppable and giving me this superhuman brain that could understand everything, was wearing off. I went back to my Dr. and told him the Adderall stop working and that I was now tolerating 20mg. He gave me a prescription for 30mg. The next day I was back in action, it was great.

But then last week 30mg was no longer delivering this "super drive" high (focus/understanding/concentration/determination/getting things completed) that I was getting since I first started taking it. I am really behind in my classes now because I was very dependent upon this drive to continue on with going to school full time. I have never been able to stay with college like this before, and have been in and out of college for years. I thought I finally found the answer that I always been looking for.

So after a week and a half of trying to force my brain and body into this "super drive of motivation" to get things done, in which I would take 30mg of Adderall with a red bull energy drink or Starbucks Doubleshot espresso drink (which did nothing but make me act really crazy and mad and out of it) I called my Dr. and left a message for him to call me back that day. This was about 2 days ago and he didn't call that same day. I was really desperate and took 50mg yesterday. I still had one 20mg pill left over and yesterday morning around 8 or 9 am, I took it with a 30mg pill at the same time with only water. Well nothing happened at all. I didn't get the drive that I once had and was really upset that this could cause me to end up dropping out of college again because I could not focus anymore and I could not understand anything anymore. I was always aware that I needed this artificial high to continue doing college because I never had this type of ambition installed in me to do anything. So now it was no longer working for me. Around 4:30PM the Adderall kind of kicked in and I was able to focus and do work for maybe 2-3 hours and then nothing. I was wide awake until 3-4a.m. and totally unfocused and unmotivated for the whole time after my 2-3 buzz.

But around 5P.M. that same night my Dr. finally called and I told him that I was no longer getting this drive off this pill and I don't think its working anymore. I told him that I have been trying to jolt my brain into this drive so I could focus and get my work done but nothing was really happening that was positive and I was freaking out and getting mad about things. He was pretty pissed that I did what I did for the past week and a half and was even madder that I took 50mg that day. He said that I was never supposed to get this super high that made me function like I did as a long term result, he said that the drug was supposed to even out over time and I would have a normal focus and comprehension or things. He said that I should just continue taking a 30mg pill everyday and to see how I function on that and that I shouldn't expect this super drive to happen again.

So today I took 30mg. like he said and nothing happened all day, no focus, no motivation at all, didn't even go to class today or study. If fact I'm pretty depressed about it so I don't know at this point if I'm depressed because the Adderall is no longer working like I needed it to or if the Adderall is now working against me and making me feel depressed, maybe because of everything I have been doing in the last week and a half to try and force this high and maybe because I did almost a double dose yesterday? Is my Dr. right, that I shouldn't experience this super drive anymore? Its weird becuase I really need that drive to focus and get things done. I'm at a point were I'm wondering if ADHD is my only problem. I'm wondering now if I also don't have what is called Major Depressive Disorder?

Also throughout the months of me being on Adderall (and I have talk to my Dr. about this and he seemed o.k. with it), I have also been taking over the counter supplements to try and increase my memory and focus and make the effects of the Adderall better.
I have taken the following, maybe someone on here knows more about these OTC pills and can give me an idea if any of these pills is causing the Adderall not to work like it did. My Dr. almost never goes into detail about drugs with me so I only get my research from the net.

L-Tyrosine 1000mg from the GNC store. (I really don't take this one anymore but decided to list it anyways to see if anyone know more about it. I think it was making me really tired and keeping the Adderall from working so I stopped taking it. I also read on the net that the GNC version of this drug is the worst, but at the time I bought it I didn't know and it was very hard to find because I was on vacation and not in a major city with lots of vitamin shops.

Ok now onto my normal OTC pills that I take regularly in the afternoon or at night but never at the same time I take Adderall.

Acetyl L-Carnitine 400mg. (taken once in the afternoon and if I remember once at night)

Fish Oil 1000mg - Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids 300mg (taken once of twice a day like the above)

Flaxseed Oil 1200mg -(taken the same as the above two)

Lecithin 1200mg - (taken once a day in the afternoon after eating)

I have tried to take Magnesium at night to try and not build up a tolerance to Adderall (this started last week)
The first time I took it was 2 magnesium pills that was a 400mg bundle of citrate, taurinate, malate, glycinate, and succinate with and extra 50mg. of vitamin B-6. This was all in those two pills together.
After that first night I felt good the next day but I felt that the Adderall wasn't working right so that night I took one pill that cut the dosage in half. Still not really feeling the Adderall the next morning so I just stopped taking that.

I did have a bottle of Chelated Magnesium so I took one or two tonight earlier. Can't remember how many.
Also not sure if this is the kind of Magnesium that I should have been taking before and not the other one that I listed.

Today for the first time I tried a 5-HTP pill that is L-5-Hydroxytryptophan to see if that would stimulate my brain and put me into a better mood. But nothing came of it.

So at this point I have tried all the OTC pills that I found that could in a way help the Adderall, but I don't know if its messing things up. I don't know what to do now that I'm not focused and do not have this super drive. I don't know if I have other depression problems and need to take something for that. I am not bi-polar, I have been tested for that throughout my life and always came back negative. I don't know if taking Dexedrine, Vyvanse, or Modafinil would bring the drive back or at least give my a drive that will motivate me to continue on, because at this point I don't care much anymore. I also don't know it all those supplements are hurting me more than helping me.
Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I don't have medical advice for you but if you're looking to boost your brain you may want to look into piracetam - you should tell your doctor if you start taking this, though.

Judging by your writing (amount and clarity), you seem fine. I don't know but I bet you're just disappointed that you aren't getting a buzz anymore. Be true to yourself.

 

[Sophisticated Cat]

I do not know how this drug works at all. I got a lot of sleep last night (around 8-9 hours), and then took a 30mg pill around 10:00 or 10:30am today and I am almost 100% back in action (the way I was more than 2 weeks ago), but I also have a lot of depression too (which I did not have for the first 3 months I've been on this drug, until my down hill episode started last week). So I don't know what that is about. I think the Adderall is working better because I got a great nights sleep for a change instead of staying up studying. I will see my Dr. next Tues. and talk about being put on an anti depression med as well.

The piracetim drug you talked about seems really hard to get here in the U.S. unless you buy it online. Also I'm not sure if its really that safe to use with Adderall, I'm already taking blood pressure medication to try and keep my BP down because it skyrockets while on Aderall. I'll talk to my Dr. about the piracetim, but I'm not really all that interested because I think it will run my BP up even more.

Maybe I just need to make sure that I get 8-9 hours of sleep at night.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[littlepenguin]

I am a college student with ADHD and I started taking 20mg of Adderall in Nov. of 2012 while being a part time student. My Dr. didn't tell me how this drug was even going to affect me and I had really no idea what to expect.

Why would you blindly and without knowledge just take anything that someone handed you (even a doctor)? Maybe it's just because I am fascinated with drugs and reading and learning about them, but every single time I've been prescribed something, weather it just be a measly Z-pack or lithium, I always do a few hours of reading on it because I generally like to know what's going into my body and how it may effect me.

The next day I took it and insistently got a huge drive.

...and that is what would be called "the first and last best high you'll ever experience and continue to seek."

I was able to do all kinds of things I been putting off around the house, organizing my life and I even went back to college full time in Jan. It was amazing and I was getting my life together after years of ups and downs. My brain felt superhuman and I was even teaching myself every course and not dependent upon the teacher. I was super focused and my brain could understand everything that I was learning and what the teacher was talking about in class.

if it seems too good to be true - it probably is.
if there was a drug to make everybody the most productive, best person that they could be, everyone would take it. there's a reason that everyone doesn't take this family of drugs.

I notice about less then a month ago the "drive" or "jolt", this high that kicked me into full gear and that was making me feel unstoppable and giving me this superhuman brain that could understand everything, was wearing off. I went back to my Dr. and told him the Adderall stop working and that I was now tolerating 20mg. He gave me a prescription for 30mg. The next day I was back in action, it was great.

sophisticatedcat, meet tolerance. she's a cunt. tolerance says "nice to meet you, perhaps I'll be seeing you around..."

So after a week and a half of trying to force my brain and body into this "super drive of motivation" to get things done, in which I would take 30mg of Adderall with a red bull energy drink or Starbucks Doubleshot espresso drink (which did nothing but make me act really crazy and mad and out of it) I called my Dr. and left a message for him to call me back that day. This was about 2 days ago and he didn't call that same day. I was really desperate and took 50mg yesterday. I still had one 20mg pill left over and yesterday morning around 8 or 9 am, I took it with a 30mg pill at the same time with only water. Well nothing happened at all.

there's a good way to get your doc to permanently take away your Rx all together....

I didn't get the drive that I once had and was really upset that this could cause me to end up dropping out of college again because I could not focus anymore and I could not understand anything anymore. I was always aware that I needed this artificial high to continue doing college because I never had this type of ambition installed in me to do anything.

nononono. this drug would not and could not CAUSE you to drop out of college, YOU choose to drop out of college.

So maybe you're a lazy person. So be it. I'm pretty sure most people on the earth would rather be doing {insert favourite lazy activity here} than anything like working, cleaning, studying {insert any semi or totally undesireable activity one should complete to maintain a normality in life or to complete a long term or short term goal that will further you as a useful and or functional person to society}. Do you think anybody really WANTS to get up and do the dishes everyday, clean the toilette, write that stupid paper on bohemian monkey's mating habits in the third week of june? Probably not. But guess what - that's a part of life, er...a part of life to those who want to be productive and better themselves for the long run.
Your motivation shouldn't be artificial, gathered by a pill that is obviously waving the red flag in front of you like a bull to a matador, "come on, come and get me!" that red flag should be a giant red STOP sign. It's obvious that this drug is NOT for you, and you really need to seek motivation from somewhere inside yourself.

... like he said and nothing happened all day, no focus, no motivation at all, didn't even go to class today or study. If fact I'm pretty depressed about it so I don't know at this point if I'm depressed because the Adderall is no longer working like I needed it to or if the Adderall is now working against me and making me feel depressed, maybe because of everything I have been doing in the last week and a half to try and force this high and maybe because I did almost a double dose yesterday? Is my Dr. right, that I shouldn't experience this super drive anymore? Its weird becuase I really need that drive to focus and get things done. I'm at a point were I'm wondering if ADHD is my only problem. I'm wondering now if I also don't have what is called Major Depressive Disorder?

first of all, drugs don't just "stop working." it's a good way to look at it, but it's not correct. it's your brain that changes it's chemistry and reaction to the drug that makes it feel as if it isn't working. This is like the keystone of addiction - needing more of the substance to achieve the same high that you once felt (see my first comment I made on your post in reference to your first high). This is why drugs are addicting, and why anybody uses them in the first place. You want to feel the way you felt the first time you took that drug because it was perfect, unbelieveable and incredible. Each time used, your brain conforms more and more to it, resulting in the brain needing more of it to create the desired emotion or reaction. eventually, one "accidentally" jumps the fence over the line - the line being the point where one used the chemical recreactionally or socially before, and now they need it to get by. it's easy to cross, and usually unintentional...but it's hard to get back over that fence one you've crossed it.

your doc is right - nobody is supposed to be that high all the time! think about it - your heart rate is increased, your blood pressure rises, etc etc etc...which is all okay temporarily - this is our bodies "fight or flight" response - the way your body reacts to a situation to heighten your reaction so you can defend yourself against negative situations (animalistically, that's what it's purpose is). when your body tries to maintain the "fight or flight" response 24/7, it can't - it will burn out, exhaust itself...your body can not physically maintain that heightened sense of being all the time, it wasn't built to do that.

it is very unlikely you have MAJOR depressive disorder, and in fact, it's almost offending to hear somebody say that...major depressive disorder is crippling, horrid and ugly and terrible and lasts for long nasty periods of time and is NOT caused by the miniscule withdrawal symptoms you are experiencing. (unfortunately I know what major depressive disorder feels like, and frankly, IMHO it's nothing to take lightly or joke about.)
however, it is possible and by what you've said, you may be experiencing depression - shown by your complete lack of motivation to do anything [without a drug.] when one lacks motivation, it's related to self esteem - one gains motivation to complete tasks for themselves because they deem themselves worth it. "I need to study for these tests because I want to get a good grade in class which in turn will help me pass college which in turn will help me get a great job and earn more money because I deserve it and gosh darn it people like me." That, is essentially where motivation comes from. NOT from a few receptors in your brain barfing out too much dopamine, making you tweak because it seems pleasurable to your brains at the time.

L-Tyrosine 1000mg from the GNC store. (I really don't take this one anymore but decided to list it anyways to see if anyone know more about it. I think it was making me really tired and keeping the Adderall from working so I stopped taking it. I also read on the net that the GNC version of this drug is the worst, but at the time I bought it I didn't know and it was very hard to find because I was on vacation and not in a major city with lots of vitamin shops.

it's making you tired because that's what it's supposed to do....lol
think of thanksgiving dinner and turkey - ever heard how "turkey makes you tired" because of they tryptophan? well yeah...that's basically what's going on here.
This is a GREAT drug to take when you are going through withdrawals or going to sleep...not to take with your amps.

Ok now onto my normal OTC pills that I take regularly in the afternoon or at night but never at the same time I take Adderall.

Acetyl L-Carnitine 400mg. (taken once in the afternoon and if I remember once at night)

Fish Oil 1000mg - Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids 300mg (taken once of twice a day like the above)

Flaxseed Oil 1200mg -(taken the same as the above two)

Lecithin 1200mg - (taken once a day in the afternoon after eating)

I have tried to take Magnesium at night to try and not build up a tolerance to Adderall (this started last week)
The first time I took it was 2 magnesium pills that was a 400mg bundle of citrate, taurinate, malate, glycinate, and succinate with and extra 50mg. of vitamin B-6. This was all in those two pills together.
After that first night I felt good the next day but I felt that the Adderall wasn't working right so that night I took one pill that cut the dosage in half. Still not really feeling the Adderall the next morning so I just stopped taking that.

I did have a bottle of Chelated Magnesium so I took one or two tonight earlier. Can't remember how many.
Also not sure if this is the kind of Magnesium that I should have been taking before and not the other one that I listed.

CHELATED MAGNESIUM. the one and only kind you should be taking. you should be taking this as if it was more important than taking your addies. seriously.

Today for the first time I tried a 5-HTP pill that is L-5-Hydroxytryptophan to see if that would stimulate my brain and put me into a better mood. But nothing came of it.

do ya see the root of that word there, tryptophan...? lol...take this stuff when you're coming OFF of amps...not while you're on it.

not only that, it is silly to expect that one little pill of that tryptophan stuff is going to like, flick a switch or something and BAM! you're happy and everythings unicorns and dasies...nonono.

So at this point I have tried all the OTC pills that I found that could in a way help the Adderall, but I don't know if its messing things up. I don't know what to do now that I'm not focused and do not have this super drive. I don't know if I have other depression problems and need to take something for that. I am not bi-polar, I have been tested for that throughout my life and always came back negative. I don't know if taking Dexedrine, Vyvanse, or Modafinil would bring the drive back or at least give my a drive that will motivate me to continue on, because at this point I don't care much anymore. I also don't know it all those supplements are hurting me more than helping me.
Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks

stop taking anything except your amps SPECIFICALLY AT THE DOSAGE YOUR DOCTOR TELLS YOU, NO MORE AND NO LESS!!!!
and religiously take your chelated mag.
get sleep.
eat food.
do some $&^#@)&$ research before you put things in your body!!!!!!!!

and btw...there's no "test" for bipolar - there is a list of DSM criteria that one must meet to be considered as someone who may have bipolar, but there's no blood test, or a "choose a, b, or c" test...

anyhoo - good luck. be smart. be realistic.