Mental Health ADHD and Depression

jfresh10

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Jan 19, 2015
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okay, so I went through therapy for three years and I ended up on 100mg of Zoloft.

Before that I was diagnosed 3 times with ADHD. So I got put on Effexor and vyvanse. Insurance didn't cover the vyvanse so we switched up to adderall rx and ir. After a while I felt like the adderall was making it difficult to get erection. So they switched to me Ritalin. Ritalin made me feel like a zombie. So they switched me back to adderall and switched me off of Effexor to Luvox. Luvox was rough because I was in college so it was a struggle to take it at night and get up college. So I asked to go back on Zoloft. So right now I'm on 100mg of Zoloft and 25mg xr and 20mg ir.

Issues:
I feel like I'm constantly tired. Months ago I was wired all of the time and now that the adderall is finally taking effect. It's generic stuff and I've been on it long enough that the high is wearing off. Now that I have new insurance I can pop back onto the vyvanse which was the Bomb back in the day. But I feel like it's depression that's cause me to want to sleep 24/7.

Any thoughts?
 
I suppose my question for you is have you always been on a combo of anti-depressants and ADHD meds like adderall and such? Effexor is an anti-depressant, and when I was diagnosed with ADHD I was only given adderall, not any sort of anti-depressant with it.

Also did you have issues with being tired all the time before your adhd diagnosis and therapy?

I have been taking generic adderall ever since my diagnosis years ago, and I find them to be plenty effective. Though also keep in mind adderall XR does not come in generic form so that must be name brand. Vyvansse is differnt than adderall slighty because it is just d-amphetamine where as adderall is an amphetamine and d-amphetamine combo. d-amphetamine is thought to have a lot less side effects and have the most effect on cognative function, and amphetamine has more physical effects on the nervous system.

But honestly if you were feeling very tired all the time before you stared the meds than it could be the depression, if not than maybe one of the medications.
 
To be honest, Prozac didn't make me feel much more tired than when I was on no ADs at all, but did make me feel like a fucking miserable zombie so I wouldn't recommend it as an option to anyone as a general rule - Zoloft (particularly at 100mg) definitely exhausted me - like I was so tired I could sleep 12+ hours a day, easily. Now that I'm on Mirtazipine & Concerta I definitely still feel exhausted 24/7, can still easily sleep whole days away, so I would be inclined to think that it was the depression causing the exhaustion. That's the way it feels for me anyway.

One thing that did help slightly was dropping my dose of Zoloft to 50mg, but like I said, I would be inclined to think it was the depression causing the exhaustion. Still might be worth considering though.

As crazy as it sounds, that advice docs give you about exercising to combat your depression & exhaustion that sounds like total bullshit, actually does help. Even just yknow trying to get out of the house and go for a walk, or lift some weights in your house or something. Whenever you wake up, do the shit you've gotta do for the day (if you can), get in some gentle exercise, tire yourself out. Then you might be able to get to sleep easier in the evening, bearing in mind that in theory any hours of sleep you get before midnight (within reason, we're not talking 4 in the afternoon here) are worth "more" than the hours you get after.

Sorry I can't help more this is just all from personal experience.
 
okay, so I went through therapy for three years and I ended up on 100mg of Zoloft.

Before that I was diagnosed 3 times with ADHD. So I got put on Effexor and vyvanse. Insurance didn't cover the vyvanse so we switched up to adderall rx and ir. After a while I felt like the adderall was making it difficult to get erection. So they switched to me Ritalin. Ritalin made me feel like a zombie. So they switched me back to adderall and switched me off of Effexor to Luvox. Luvox was rough because I was in college so it was a struggle to take it at night and get up college. So I asked to go back on Zoloft. So right now I'm on 100mg of Zoloft and 25mg xr and 20mg ir.

Issues:
I feel like I'm constantly tired. Months ago I was wired all of the time and now that the adderall is finally taking effect. It's generic stuff and I've been on it long enough that the high is wearing off. Now that I have new insurance I can pop back onto the vyvanse which was the Bomb back in the day. But I feel like it's depression that's cause me to want to sleep 24/7.

Any thoughts?

have you considered getting blood work to see if there is any underlying medical condition that may be causing the tiredness? it may be related to the medication, or it may be related to another physiological cause that is going on in your body. when i was diagnosed with mono, absolutely NOTHING could get me up-- i was depressed, had zero motivation, and certainly did not feel like moving. my body didn't respond to stimulants, when in the past it would have me wired.

so try seeing if there is another cause besides the medication that you are on that is causing the constant fatigue.
 
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