Adderall is great! And I have to have it!

by Megan
(Seattle)

I ave been taking adderall for 4 months. I started taking 20mg of the XR however it was much to expensive at $160 a month. So I went to the generic tablet form the second month.

The only draw back is having to remember to take the second dose in the afternoon. I haven't had a big problem doing this as I can feel when the first dose starts to wear off.

I get a bit tired and hungry so my body lets me know when it is time. I was diagnosed with combination ADHD at 16 yet refused treatment. At 25 it seems to have gotten worse with the added stress and responsibility of life and education. I used to be EXTREMELY forgetful, to the point I would miss place my car keys almost daily.

I would forget what people said a few minutes or even seconds after they said it. I could not retain information with out repeated exposure. I would at times have to read a single sentence in a book sometimes five times just to receive it. Now I remember more than anyone I know.

I can process information immediately and quickly. I can get things done and do them in a very organized manner. I suffered with extreme fatigue for several years prior to starting the medication and now I never do. I would become exhausted at 1:00pm in the afternoon and have to take naps a lot.

I ate impulsively and lacked motivation to do the simplest things such as take a shower, or do laundry. Now my life has changed and so have I dramatically. I feel as though I can reach my full potential and accomplish anything and everything.

I can get more done in one day than I used to do in a week. I do have insomnia at times if I drink coffee or take my second dose late in the day, however I can now take a dose and go back to sleep for a few hours if I want to sleep in.

If I miss a day of taking it by choice I do crash a bit, sleeping most of the day and eating a lot. Some people say they don't take it on the weekends which I do not recommend. I can't function well if I don't take it and get irritable as well.

I also take zoloft which seems to help with the nervousness or anxiety adderall causes some people. The only major draw backs that I have experienced are extremely dry skin, picking obsessively at the dry skin sometimes until it bleeds.

I have always been a picker though. Always picking and biting my nails and dry skin even as a kid so I think the picking isn't necessarily due to the drugs, however I become so focused on it when I do it it becomes hard to stop. I'm sure if I drank tons of water that would help however it's hard to do this because adderall makes you urinate a lot.

That's the second drawback I have had. I have to pee ALL THE TIME! Sometimes I have to sit on the toilet for a few minutes and just wait for more to come out otherwise I will just be back in the bathroom ten min later. Other than those two things I have had no other real negative side affects.

I can work harder and longer, I am SO MUCH more productive and happy. I still drink my morning coffee and have my wine when I want. My house is cleaner and I make more money. My family is in denial and thinks that adderall is some devil drug but that's the ignorant for you, always fearing the unknown.

I have not lost any weight, in fact I have put on a little weight due to my being layed off and eating mostly fast food and sitting around the house on the computer job hunting. I recommend adderall to anyone that truly needs it. I never abuse it and do not have the desire to. I do not feel addicted to the drug nor crave it. I simply need it to be "normal." Good luck and God bless.