Hello. I have recently started to take Adderall XR for my add. It does its job well in keeping me focused in school and I feel as if it will really help me. I have alot of concerns though.. browsing around on the internet. I've read it can do permanent brain damage over time.. ect. I currently take 25 mg per day and it seems to be the right amount. My main question for now though is about my lack of sleep from taking the medication. The only side effects I seem to be experiencing are the loss of appetite, dry mouth and insomnia. I cannot sleep at all. I am severely exhausted.. and I still cannot manage to fall asleep. I haven't been able to sleep for almost 3 days now.. and I am wondering if there is anything I can do to help me sleep and still take the medication? Thank you :)
How can I manage Adderall to reduce sleepless nights?
Question posted by Valadis on 22 Feb 2008
Last updated on 20 July 2021
11 Answers
In my honest opinion, adderall xr is probably the best way to go, or stay with in your case. As mentioned above, it should be taken as early in the morning as possible. If that means waking up an hour earlier than usual, do it. With almost all types of medication your body and mind need constant and repeated routine in order for you to accurately pinpoint what the resolving issue is. If you begins a routine of waking up earlier than normal it will suck at first, but after a week or two you should be adjusted enough to reaaly know what's going on. Having jumped through hoops myself trying to balance adderall xr use and sleep (or lack there of) I know it takes some time with hit or miss throughout. If I happen to sleep late on the weekends and wake up anytime after 10am, I'll simply refrain from taking it because I know ill be up even later Saturday night, so on and so forth.
Monday rolls around and I struggle to get out of bed to go to work and all that day sucks minus the fact that I had gotten up early and taken it to grove me the jumpstart. You just need to do the early to bed early to rise thing regardless of how grumpy you get(weekends included) and you will find what works best. I've also found a way for me which helps the lack of appetite and that is to force yourself several times throughout the day to eat a small snack, rather than three complete meals or nothing at all. I noticed after having not eaten the day before that the adderall is useless if your calorie tank is on e the next morning. Just be sure to keep trying different doses until one helps during the day, but doesn't affect sleep at night. Again, it took me months to figure out a solution. Anti anxiety and depression meds also help to regulate your routines. This is my regiment: lexapro(ssri) at 8 pm @ 20 mg, bed by 10pm, wake up around 4-430 am and take adderall xr 30 mg and during the day .5-1 mg klonopin for anxiety as needed. Klonopin also overrides the adderall towards the end of the day and sets me on track for a great nights sleep. Any of this seem doable? Talk to your doc and don't be afraid to suggest ideas you are given here. Worst case they say no. Hope I can help.
thanks for sharing
zev51104 is simply giving good information. my theory is different becasue i dont have to take sleep meds due to how i found out how to manage sleep with adderall. when taking adderall XR there are four amphetamine each relased in about 4 hour intervals depending on ones body chemistery. as i learned in med school adderall actually stays in your system about 16 hours before its truly out of your system. 4x4= 16hour duration. while taking adderall make sure you wake up at least an hour to two hours early. eat a good breakfast with some good fats..pb&j sandwich with some fish oil or oatmeal with dates or if you dont like dates oatmeal with like a trailmix. an hour later take your adderall. I know its hard to wake up early but everything is hard at first and i promise your body will adjust. try to eat atleast 2-3 meals a day. samller the meals the more you will get hungry so you can get the next meal in. stay away from meals high in bad fats.
take it from the genious ben franklin "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." I really want to people to know that SLEEP IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ALL MEDS ESPECIALLY ADDERALL. try to get at least 7-8 hours of sound sleep. taking adderall later in the day will effect your sleep. example say with out adderall your body can stay up felling awake til about 12:00pm to 2Pm.. dont you think while on a stimulant it would make you wake even longer. in med school my professor talked about how many patients came in claming they had insomnia when all it really was there sleeping patterns were terrible. when the patiens started to wake up early and sleep early. they no longer needed. medications for sleep. even I tend to find it hard to sleep if I got to sleep forcefully..if your not tierd dont go to sleep. sleep when you are sleepy simple rule that always works. make sure your sleeping patterns are consistant. if you wake up at 8 am on weekdays then wakeup 8 am on weekends. perfect example my little sister wakes up for school everyday around 8 am.. now on weekends her body naturally wakes up that early. hopefully people will benifit from my discussion wish you all good luck.
3 days... you poor thing! You must be so terribly exhausted :-(
I think this may be a problem because you just started. Once you are adjusted to the meds, you should be able to sleep just fine. However, you may need to switch to the non-XR form, at least temporarily. I take 20 mg at 6:30 a.m. and 20 mg at 1:00 p.m. If I'm out of the house w/o my Adderall and cannot take my second dose, I just do not take it. My absolute cut off time is 1:30 p.m. I have to say that I sleep better taking Adderall than not taking it, but I think that's because I'm not on the XR and I've been an insomniac my whole life. I am less stressed out when taking meds because I am more on top of things so I don't start that awful night time worrying. I also do believe that I have ADD, which may be over diagnosed, but in my case, I know it's an accurate diagnosis. Uppers definitely seem to affect me quite differently than they do others.
I appear to be on uppers when I'm *not* taking my Adderall. My speech slows down after I take my meds. It's very strange.
If I were you, I'd maybe skip or reduce my dose on Saturday so I could sleep! I just looked it up and Adderall XR is a capsule, right? Maybe you could ask your doc if you could open it up and dump some out and then close it back up. Getting no sleep will make you feel nuts and it's soooo hard on your poor body.
Good luck!
Cydwayz
Try adderllin.
It is a very new supplement that is out that is an all herbal alternative to adderall. It is over the counter so you don't need a prescription.
I've been taking it because i am also a student and it really keeps me focused and there is no crash.
you can google it and it will come up.
My doc said not to take it after 3pm... easier said than done though, amirite? heh. Anyways, I found milk with a little bit of honey makes me sleepy. Also, at least 2 hrs of physically demanding activity, whatever it may be (cleaning, working out, lifting stuff etc) works awesome when done consistently.
Then again... I am awake and it is 4am... >.<
FML!
<3 take care
hahahahaha!
so you made this post i guess almost a month ago so im sure you have gotton it under control by now ive been taking adderall for almost 4 years and ive tried adderall xr ritilan everything and everything there is to try ive tried. When i first get my script and havent taken it in a couple days then yea i have a hard time sleeping but you get use to it and yiukk be able to go right to sleep on it and i take 60mg of imidiate release daily and i take one when i wake up it last i think like 3 or 4 hrs then i pop another i take 3 a day and usually take my last before 6 so i will not be up and after time your body gets use to them and going and staying asleep will not be a problem, you need to tell him to take you off the time release and put you on regular also mabe ask for something to help you sleep at night im telling you get on regular adderall hugh difference its out your system quick hope this helps
also i never ate either i lost alot of weight but u have to eat then youll become use to it buy soups carnation instant breakfast was a life saver and lots of fluids
I discovered that I can take Adderall and go right to sleep. My doctor pointed out that this happens regularly to those with ADD, because our brains are wired incorrectly. Maybe you don't have ADD, and a doctor should be prescribing something other than this drug. Like provigil or something like that, for those who suffer from other sleep disorders.
I am completely agreeing with you. I see this was from 2008. I am the same way though. I actually take my adderall at night and lay down within 20 minutes, and I'm able to fall asleep within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. I know most people find this Insane because it does the opposite for them. Perhaps it's not that they are improperly diagnosed, but that health professionals should suggest taking it right before bed. I have insomnia and its actually the only thing that makes my brain focus on one thing, sleeping. Then the next morning I actually get up with my alarm, and I am not groggy when I get up. I am also prescribed the rapid release. If you have trouble sleeping you should try changing the time you take your meds, and see if that helps. Make sure you lay down after taking it so you can let your mind settle, and dont wait until you have started doing something, because then you will be focused on your daily tasks instead of sleeping. Oh yeah put your phone down... hope this helps...
I've been on adderrall xr 60 mg for about a year now. Truthfully I can't function w/o it! Although sometimes staying up late is beneficial if you have alot of cleaning or things you have to finish that you just can't manage to get done during the day- especially if you have children or work late... but everyone needs their beauty sleep at some point! I take a small dose of Klonopin that my physc. prescribed me for moments that I feel like I'm about to flip out! It works great, within a couple minutes of laying down I'm out like a light & it always helps me get a good solid night's sleep! I deffinately reccomend you ask your doc to write you a Rx for a low dose benzo. If not maybe an over-the-counter sleeping aid like tylenol pm will work- although I've never tried it but its worth a shot!
HI! I too currently take Adderall however, I started off taking the XR like you are now then switched to the rapid release. I feel with the rapid release ones it's easier to manage how much you need & when. They usually last from anywhere from 3-4 hrs. per pill therefore, you can take your last one 3-4 hrs. before you want to go to sleep. If that doesn't work for you, ask your doctor for xanax or something along those lines to help you fall asleep at night. I hope I helped you out at least a little! :0)
Yeah, Xanax does work for sleep with Adderall. I take Xanax for my anxiety, and insomia. And whenever im having troble sleeping from the Adderall, ill take it and i go right to sleep after that. But im pretty sure your docter will not prescribe you Xanax for sleep trobles with Adderall. But I wouldnt know...
ambien is what I take to sleep
DO not take ambien. This drug causes people to do things like sleepwalk and my friend shot himself while on this drug.
Just found these... the first six defiently apply to "abuse." Ones below that make sense though.
What are the long-term effects of the condition?
Amphetamine abuse causes long-term changes in the brain that interfere with memory and coordination. People who abuse amphetamines increase their risk of stroke. Other long-term effects of amphetamine abuse include:
� being out of touch with reality
� depression, leading to a high risk for suicide
� exposure to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS
� heart problems
� hepatitis B and C from contaminated equipment
� lead poisoning, from contaminants in the drug
� malnutrition as a result of low food intake
� paranoia
� psychotic disorders
� violent behavior
I had a lot of trouble with Adderall XR when I took it, too. I was prescribed about 65mg or higher, per day, though. I call it the super model's pill because I never slept and never ate. I ended up fainting on it. However, I should stress that that was MY experience. A lot of people have dosages that are more compatable and are finding that it's very effective for them. In general, the stimulant drugs (like Adderall) will affect your sleep. The idea is to take it as early in the morning as possible so that when the 2nd round kicks in it will be early enough in the day/afternoon to not affect your sleep at night, hopefully. I've never heard about the brain damage, though. Have you asked your prescribing doctor about other possible A.D.D. medications? Good luck, and I hope it all works out for you and that you finally get some good sleep.
It doesn’t even go up to 65mg??? 60mg and higher is overdose on adderall
The highest dose of adderall xr per day is 30mg. No doctor will prescribe higher than that. I wish they would though. I've been on 30mg for 10 years and have a tolerance.
My prescription is for 60mg XR a day (I know this dose is not made I take two 30 mg capsules). My doctor states that this is safe for me because my resting heart rate and blood pressure are still normal and if either of them went into an unsafe range my dose would be adjusted accordingly. I'm not sure where someone got that 60mg and over is an overdose. If this were the case then I am overdosing everyday (which I'm obviously not). My only negative side effects are dry mouth and a little bit of trouble sleeping. I have easily fixed both of these things by drinking more water throughout the day and chewing gum. For trouble sleeping I started having to wake up earlier to take it and I also take 5-10mg of melatonin at night.
60mg is overdose? People with severe Narcolepsy can be prescribed 120mg/day..
you could ask the doc for the tablets which you could only take during the AM for work/school. they are not extented release (XR) and might fade out before bedtime.
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adderall, adderall xr, insomnia
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