Questions about adderall tolerance and concerns.

[sadcollegestudent]

So a while back, I was worried about my tolerance for my Adderall increasing and several people who gave me advice told me to not mess with my dosage, to take what I was prescribed, to take breaks on the days that I didn't need them, and to take vitamins, too. I haven't taken or gotten any vitamins, but I will soon.
But I took about a 5 day break, and then I took my usual 20mg Adderall XR and I felt the euphoria a bit, but not quite as strong as when I'd take a bit from another pill and pour it into the one I was taking (approximately 23-26mg instead of 20mg), but about half or a third of what it used to be? Still pretty good, I guess?
I think today is the 4th or 5th day that I've been taking my regular 20mg, but with each day that I take it, I feel the euphoria decrease in intensity and after the first hour (how long it takes to kick in) I'd gradually start yawning, though there usually isn't the urge to sleep or nap or anything, so it was just yawning.
Someone suggested that I switch to Vyvanse, though I haven't gone to the clinic yet, but should I be worried or anything? Is my brain just coming down from my Adderall abuse and should I be giving it more time? If so, how much more time and what else can I do? I'm worried that I won't be focused enough by the time the semester starts and I can't exactly take too many breaks from my medicine during the semester because then I'll just be dazed and sleepy in class, but what can I do? Am I just too worried?

 

[TAVOR]

Your intention is to take Adderall for study purposes rather than recreationally right?

 

[NerdSlayerXO]

I'm not really sure I understand your problem, but from what I gather you're worried your Adderall won't be effective in school if your tolerance rises.

In which case, use it minimally and only when you have classes or need to study. It can't do everything, so you need to keep a healthy diet and sleep schedule to compensate for any drowsiness you may experience with lower doses. I'm also unsure of what you mean by "euphoria" in this context, do you mean the traditional feeling of bliss and comfort, or are you referring to your level of focus?

 

[sadcollegestudent]

Your intention is to take Adderall for study purposes rather than recreationally right?

Yes, for study purposes is correct, but I didn't mention here that unless I'm able to feel the "euphoria", I'm not sure if it's working or effective on me, so I usually use that to gauge whether or not it's working, and the euphoria plays heavily in my motivation to do things while I'm focused.

 

[sadcollegestudent]

I'm not really sure I understand your problem, but from what I gather you're worried your Adderall won't be effective in school if your tolerance rises.

In which case, use it minimally and only when you have classes or need to study. It can't do everything, so you need to keep a healthy diet and sleep schedule to compensate for any drowsiness you may experience with lower doses. I'm also unsure of what you mean by "euphoria" in this context, do you mean the traditional feeling of bliss and comfort, or are you referring to your level of focus?

I guess both? I'm not entirely sure if my medication is working unless I feel the euphoria, and that also plays heavily in me getting things done while I'm on that medication. Otherwise, I usually just feel tired and slightly lethargic?

 

[NerdSlayerXO]

In that case, I definitely encourage you to talk to your doctor. It may be more useful to switch to instant release, which to my knowledge are stronger but last for shorter periods, and can be taken twice a day if necessary. That would be a best case scenario, because it would mean you get the desired effects without having to up your dose. Although in my experiences, Vyvanse is way better for focus in general. Just remember to take notes of all of your reactions while you're playing with your current dosage to give to your doctor next time you speak. It may be helpful in getting to the right dosage/medication sooner. Just be persistent, especially if this is your first prescription for ADHD. It takes some people several trips to finally find something that works for them.

 

[sadcollegestudent]

In that case, I definitely encourage you to talk to your doctor. It may be more useful to switch to instant release, which to my knowledge are stronger but last for shorter periods, and can be taken twice a day if necessary. That would be a best case scenario, because it would mean you get the desired effects without having to up your dose. Although in my experiences, Vyvanse is way better for focus in general. Just remember to take notes of all of your reactions while you're playing with your current dosage to give to your doctor next time you speak. It may be helpful in getting to the right dosage/medication sooner. Just be persistent, especially if this is your first prescription for ADHD. It takes some people several trips to finally find something that works for them.

I went from 10mg IR, 20mg IR, then 20mg XR because I have long days on campus and I don't want to take two 20mg XRs a day or anything since that'd be 40mg total, and I feel like that'd increase my tolerance a lot? I feel like.. if I did one 20mg XR in the morning and a 20mg IR in the afternoon or evening once it starts wearing off it'd be okay, but I dunno. I'm comfortable with this current dose and medication, so I don't want to change much, but I also have depression, which I'm not medicated for, so whatever euphoric feeling that comes along with my medication makes things a lot easier for me to get work done than it usually would?

And this is about my 5 month on Adderall? I'm going back to him in about two weeks. How does Vyvanse work with you, personally? My biggest concern is that I want it to work the best during the semester because I'm worried that if I'm prescribed something that doesn't do anything, I'll be spending a lot of time daydreaming or unfocused, which is why I'm sort of stressed out. Adderall 20mg XR once a day works fine for me, but it makes me slightly lethargic, which wasn't the case before, and I'm not sure what it would do if I took an anti-depressant with that, because it's been about three years.

 

[TAVOR]

but I didn't mention here that unless I'm able to feel the "euphoria", I'm not sure if it's working or effective on me, so I usually use that to gauge whether or not it's working, and the euphoria plays heavily in my motivation to do things while I'm focused.

I've never taken Adderall since its pretty much non-existent in Europe, though I'm quite sure that the "euphoria" you mentioned is just a side effect of the medicine.

Adderall itself is not required to provide euphoria since its main therapeutic use is for an increased concentration, it is not an anti-depressant. Thus if you take 20mg and you can barely feel any euphoria it doesn't mean that its not working, it simply means that your body is building up tolerance.
Tolerance to prescription drugs like pharmaceutical amphetamines / benzos etc... builds extremely rapidly, therefore if you're taking it 2-3 per week you'll soon notice that the recreational aspect of it slowly fades away.

My best advice is to take Adderall ONLY when needed and to not exceed more than ONCE a week. This won't drastically increase your tolerance and it will give enough time for your body to not get used to the substance. If Adderall starts becoming a crutch you will definitely start to notice worse concentration and lower motivation than when you're not taking it.

I know that doctors in America give out Adderall / Ritalin like candies but this doesn't mean that taking it multiple times a week is beneficial for you. There is a reason for which here in Europe amphetamines are barely even prescribed and that's because they do not solve the problem they simply temporarily mask it.

Hope this helps