Have you experienced this with Adderall?

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My 14-year-old has inattentive ADD, and I've read many, many times on the internet about people who have taken adderall and that it has helped specifically with this condition. My son has been slowly using Adderall (increasing in by 5 mg., currently up to 30 mg). At first there seemed to be no impact, and even now at this higher dosage, there seems to be no positive impact.

Over the weekend I had noticed, though, that he seems particularly aimless. I have been looking for signs of depression (I've read about that as a side effect for some), but I wasn't picking up on the aimlessness as possibly being like this. I'll leave to go to the store for a couple of hours, and he will be home alone. When I come home, he is wandering aimlessly through the house, and when I ask what he's been doing, he says "nothing." Not even playing video games -- he is literally doing NOTHING unless directed to do something by a member of the family.

Have those of you who take adderall been through this type of aimlessness? Or is this an unusual sign of depression? [Those who are against meds neet not respond to this post] I'm not having him take the meds for a while, just to see if his normal attitude about life returns.

I was always on hyper speed when I took Adderall. IDK, I think it affected me differently than most. I don't have typical ADHD inattentive type traits, I had a lot of energy to begin with.

It could be a sign that he's overmedicated. Sometimes, some people are not going to be helped by certain medications, so when you titrate up, you go from a dose that is not yet effective to one that is over-medicated, and never hit an effective dose. Other individuals have a type of inattentive ADHD that is somewhat intermittent, or otherwise inconsistent, so medication doesn't work well. Since you can't medicate for only those time periods when the inattentiveness "kicks in" (since you can't predict it), medication isn't an effective course of action for those individuals (I have one of those kids - we tried meds, and that was the conclusion; he's learned other coping strategies). If your child isn't one with the intermittent type of ADHD, it may be that the particular medication is the problem, and the doctor may want to try a different one. Different meds work better for some people than for others.

jat, I think you could be right. We have tried the bulk of medications. In the past (two years ago) they worked. But for over a year, nothing works. I've seen my son when medication works, and there's a definitive difference -- he's attentive, socially improves, etc. That hasn't happened lately with any of the meds. I'm to the point where I think we may just have to forget the meds, and do as your son has done and find other coping mechanisms.

If you feel like saying what some of those coping mechanisms ARE, I'm all ears!

It's my understanding that, historically, the central nervous system stimulants - alerting agents is the single classification of medicines which is most closely associated with the temporary reduction of some ADHD symptoms for some users, not everyone. The stimulants include: Coffee, caffeine compounds, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Adderall and so on. None are cures. Each works differently do to a different molecular structure. I am ADHD Inattentive with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) and I tried all those. I found, for some reason, that the old medicine coffee/caffeine compounds (caffeine - 100 mg) works for me a little and the best (not a cure). The caffeine, for me, temporarily reduces involuntary distractibility a little and temporarily increases attention span a little (not a cure). FDA approved caffeine meds are sold as alertness aids (Tirend, NoDoz, Awake, Keep Awake, Vivarin, etc.)(not a cure). Adderall is a very strong stimulant compared to caffeine. 5 mg of Adderall kept me up for 36 hours creating sleep difficulties. You might consider keeping a drug diary to record how a particular med works/doesn't work/possible side-effects and so on.

http://www.rsna.org/rsna/media/pr2005/Coffee.cfm (Short-term memory - not a cure)
http://coffeescience.org/alert (Mental alertness - not a cure)

Good luck.

Part of the coping mechanisms were ... growing up. Sigh. Once he got older, and being responsible for various things became more important, the strategies that had been offered suddenly didn't seem so "lame" anymore. So he would make notes to himself (on his computer), if he needed them. And even more often, as things became more important to him, he started to remember them himself.

Some things were actually things that I changed in my behavior. I used to expect him to do things if I asked him to. Now, generally speaking, if I need him to do something, I email him about it, even though I might tell him about it personally as well. If he gets an email, it is more likely to get his attention at a time when he is able to attend to it; it will also remind him repeatedly, without me having to say anything.

One of the things I have tried to do with all my kids is to discuss what gets in their way of doing the things that aren't getting done. If it's forgetting, we talk about what could help them remember - an alarm set on their cell phone? an email? a post-it note on their computer desktop? etc. As they get older, they generally want their reminders to be more in their own control, so if they have a cell phone and can set their own alarm as a reminder, that can be better than me reminding them.

I've also tried, whenever possible, to take myself out of the situation. If there's an issue at school, I try to have school handle it. I'll make suggestions to teachers, but I don't think it's useful for me to be heavily involved with the day to day stuff - as kids get older, I think they need to be more self-sufficient, and the schools need to work directly with the students. I have done a LOT of advocacy on my children's behalf, and kept in very direct contact with the schools, but I don't see my role as a teacher's aide; I see it as a parent. I strategize with my kids on how to work with their teachers, and with the teachers on how to work with my kids; I try not to make it unnecessary for them to work directly with each other.

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Paying attention, concentration, focus, and memory is a big area which can range from ADHD Inattentive to some of the many subtle epilepsies (such as petit mal/absence/complex partial/TLE and so on).

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodmi ... ntion.html

ADHD including Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)

http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-5/auditory.htm

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http://www.rsna.org/rsna/media/pr2005/Coffee.cfm (Short-term memory - not a cure)
http://coffeescience.org/alert (Mental alertness - not a cure)

I'm on it, but it has the opposite effect for me. I am able to start and complete tasks much better with it than without, and I'm very rarely feeling aimless. I would venture to guess that if I were to feel aimless, it would be the result of too many thoughts of what to do next, and too little focus to choose which one to do. I think I've read that Adderall has very different effects on children & adolescents than it has for adults (I'm 43). Based on my own experience, 30mg is a HUGE dose, unless it's the XR capsules, which deliver the 30mg over many hours. 30mg regular Adderall pills, would get me stoned. I'm not sure how much, or whether or not, body mass has to do with Adderall dosage. But if it is dependent on mass, I'm a bodybuilder, and have a high tolerance for caffeine or other stimulants. I'm on 5mg tablets and 30mg XR capsules. I take the capsule at 6:30 in the morning, and then if it's a long day, I take a 5mg tablet around mid-afternoon as needed. Basically that's supposed to mimic taking a 5-mg tablet every couple hours through the day. It's possible that a person of half my weight would be overdosing on the same amount I'm prescribed. (I'm not suggesting that I presume your son is a skinny kid; he might be a high school football player... Just making a general statement about dosage vs. body size).

My suggestion is to talk it over with the doctor, and also continue to do your own research as you are, by asking here and looking elsewhere online as well. While most doctors are reasonably well-studied in their specialties, they are human, and above that, they operate based on opinion with prescribing certain medications.

One final thought: Stopping Adderall suddenly, causes a crash. My doctor says never go on & off it, but rather slack off over a week if for any reason I need to be off it for a few days. I'd strongly suggest asking the doctor about this, as your son might fall into a depression the next day after the Adderall hiatus begins. And then he may get high when you resume, if you resume at the same dose he cut off at.

Charles

Last edited by kx250rider on 02 Aug 2010, 10:35 am, edited 2 times in total.

I miss a couple of doses of Concerta, and it's like any couch/sofa/bed is fair game. Part of the reason why I'm aiming to ease off of it eventually.

My son's dosage is 30 XR. He is usually the type of kid who has little to no side effects. He usually ends up going to the highest dosage of a med, and it STILL won't work. Metadate worked for him for two years, and then it just stopped working in 8th grade. He's going into high school, and I'm very nervous for him because 8th grade was such a rough year.

Wow, you guys, you have all been extremely helpful. I can't thank you enough.

I have a prescription for ritalin. I don't feel depressed and probably wouldn't describe myself as feeling 'aimless', but I feel the need to always be doing something. It's common for me to walk around, stand around, etc until I find something to do. I usually clean or organize, even if it's something already organized.

Adult, recently diagnosed NAT, with ADD. Just tried Adderall for the first time two weeks ago. While I was able to stay more focused in some conversations, I experienced EXACTLY the zoning you expressed. I was walking with a group of my co-workers, people I normally have no difficulty engaging, and my mind was just so "slowed." It was like I was aware of everything, and processed each piece of conversation distinctly, without jumping into my normal daydreams or long mental digressions. However, I literally could NOT speak up at times. It was NOT pleasant. I doubled my own dosage as a trial, and the effect increased. This was NOT depression, and I am certain it was linked specifically to the medication.

I did not experience the type of "world changing" cognitive focus that others have proclaimed. So yes, I can say that at least one other individual has experienced the same sort of disconnect as a result of adderall.

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Some of the stimulants - alerting agents are known to lower the seizure threshold for some with epilepsy. The effect you describe - a kind of zoning out - aimlessness - even a difficulty trying to speak - can be a symptom of complex partial seizures; it can also be a side-effect of the stimulants - alerting agents too for some users. The stimulants - alerting agents work a little for some and not for others. That's why some persons use a drug diary to try to slowly figure out over time what a med does/doesn't do/possible side-effects and so on.

What you are reporting appears to be a side-effect of the medicine which some persons experience (not everyone).

There's an area between ADHD Inattentive and petit mal/absence/complex partial/TLE which can take a while to sort out.

In some cases, a person in that area will respond to a med for ADHD Inattentive (a stimulant/alerting agent) but not a med for epilepsy (an anti-seizure med) or just the opposite - respond to a med for epilepsy (an anti-seizure med) but not a med for ADHD Inattentive (a stimulant/alerting agent).

In some cases, a person will not respond well to any med and the right choice is to be med-free.

None of the meds for epilepsy and none of the meds for ADHD are cures.

The right med can temporarily reduce some symptoms for some users.

That's my understanding.