I was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago (35F). I found that stimulants, as with coffee, put me to sleep … and I don’t mean, they make me calm which I confused for sleepiness, I mean fatigued beyond functional. I tried a low dose Ritalin, it was amazing for my mental function but I was very tired. I took a higher dose and became so fatigued that I couldn’t carry on a conversation, I had to lay down and nap. I have the same response form caffeine. I also tried low dose Adderall and Dexedrine... all make me too tired to functional. - also it’s not a “come down” effect because the fatigue kicks in as soon as the meds do, it’s immediate.
I currently take a low dose Concerta with 50mg Strattera but the Concerta isn’t doing much to help me.
The only time a stimulant that didn’t make me exhausted was, once when switching meds, I took Adderall the day after a mid-dose of Concerta (presumably, the Concerta was still very much in my system by the next day).
Strattera is good but I need more and I can’t live a normal life if all the stimulants make me too sleepy to function.
Does anyone else have these paradoxical effect? Have you found a stimulant that does work for you? Do you have insight?
