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ChapotraphouseI usually take 20 mg adderall in the morning anytime from 8-9:30 am. The therapeutic effects for the 4 hours that it’s sold as lasting. The problem is that I have difficulty falling asleep 1-2 hours past my bed time.
And I’m going to have to start taking it in the afternoon. I’ve heard eating citrus helps counteract the effects. I’ve tried melatonin, which has helped to a degree
I've been taking adderall for about 20 years and my sleep is pretty excellent even with a newborn. Here's what I do.
Lower your dose to 10-15mg twice a day. I take mine around 8am and 12pm. Go easy on the caffeine throughout the day. Try to get some exercise. This next part is key: create a bedtime wind-down routine. I shower every night, floss, brush my teeth, and put on a moisturizer. I can still get to bed without the next two meds most of the time. I've been doing this routine the same way for a long time and it is the main contributor for why I sleep so well. Then I take .25 mg clonazepam and 10 mg dissolvable melatonin. Get into bed in a cool environment, don't fiddle with your phone, and just settle in. It helps even more if you have roughly the same bedtime every night.
One downside: long-term use of even low dose clonazepam can affect your memory. I've only needed clonazepam for about 5 years because I started having panic attacks at some point and then insomnia. I do take weekly breaks from both adderall and clonazepam for as many days as my productivity can handle. That's usually 2-3 "crash" days. I eventually plan to cut back on the clonazepam entirely.
Also, I forgot to mention, I take low dose Zoloft to help balance out the irritability of the adderall. That helps make me a much more patient person. I highly recommend it, but your brain chemistry may vary.
I've found that hydroxyzine can help if you're feeling too anxious to sleep. Melatonin can help, but usually only when you take it at a consistent time.
Ahhh it’s not over the counter
For anyone reading, it is the acidity in your stomach from something like orange juice that alters the uptake of amphetamines. Adderall, for example, is a weak base which becomes more ionized in a highly acidic environment and cannot pass through membranes as well.
My question is does Vitamin C only have its effect on the drug during uptake and not after several hours of the drug having passed through your body?
Only during uptake. Once it’s in your bloodstream, the acidity of your stomach and small intestine will no longer play a factor.
No no no and no.
Vitamin C doesn't do shit.
Citric acid, when in contact with the physical pill, will break it down.
Once there is no more pill, cause its been metabolized, the citric acid in your stomach doesn't affect it any more.
Once you've metabolized it, you've metabolized it.
This is only half right, vitamin C does increase the acidity of your stomach. And it is not the physical breakdown of the pill, but how the increased hydrogen ions (H+) bind with the amphetamine molecules and prevent them from crossing your lipophilic GI membranes.
If you're on ADHD meds, then there is a decent chance that you have to stop all cognitive activity by 7pm.
No social media. No work.
Reading a book or going for some exercise is fine.
But if you get your brain running past 7pm, you will have a hard time shutting it back off for sleep.
Also, citrus right before or after brushing your teeth is terrible for them.
You get used to it, it just takes time. You can also ask your prescriber for something to help with sleep. I take trazadone. There's also nothing stopping you from taking it earlier either, like at 7.
You might try to switch up meds too. ~~Adderall~~ Ritalin felt very "speedy" for me, even the extended release. It releases in 2 waves 4 hours apart.
I much prefer concerta which is the same med just with a better release mechanism (steady all day). In my experience ADHD meds are like antidepressants you might have to cycle through a few to find the right fit
Concerta isn't the same medicine (amphetamine), it's the other one (methylphenidate). Adderall is actually a non-racemic mixture of amphetamine enantiomers (25% levoamphetamine/75% dexamphetamine), whereas the drug that is the "same" drug is Vyvanse and that's actually a pure prodrug of dexamphetamine (they call it lisdexamfetamine [with a fucking f!]). Your body turns that into dexamphetamine over time.
My recommendation with Adderall is basically not to get used to taking extended release. The active ingredient is identical between different manufacturers but the time release component can be different. That means that the release profile that you've gotten used to over the last six months can dramatically change if you get a different source one month. IR can be a little annoying to remember but I prefer the control it gives you.
If you're feeling like 20 xr is too much you can switch to 15 xr, but you're still getting the same delivery profile and also giving up 25% of those sweet sweet drugs. If you get two IR 10s a day, you can take a 10 in the morning and then cut the other in half and titer down your second dose. That way you get the same morning hit as before while reducing the amount you get later in the day. Or you can cut them all in half and do 5/5/5 in closer succession if you feel too amped up off a full 10 in the morning. You also get spare 5mg tablets to stockpile for when there's a two week delay in getting a refill for no good God damned reason. You can't do any of that with xr.
Or maybe try a different medication, idk.
Thanks for the correction, I was thinking of Ritalin
Right, Concerta is the slow release form of Ritalin. Some people tolerate that base stimulant better than Adderall for whatever reason. I don't have any experience with methylphenidate simulants so I can't speak on them with any authority.
For melatonin make sure you are taking a supplement that only gives you .25-.5mg, more than that can be detrimental. Most supplements do more and there's some stupid reason why (the correct dose was trademarked or something after an MIT study). Life Science (I think is the brand) makes a vanilla flavored liquid vial, I buy that and do 3-4 drops and the vial last a very long time since the dose is small. I would also consider taking magnesium glycinate at the same time as the melatonin, stuff is very relaxing.
Smoke weed?
I smoke a lot, it doesnt make a dent on the adderall
Damn that fucking blows. It's the only thing (other than xanax which I refuse to take at any regular interval) that works for me.
I remember reading the abstract to some studies (which I think I initially saw here) about the effects of Vitamin C on certain ADHD stimulants, in that Vitamin C can reduce the effectiveness of meds and/or counteract compounds in the body. Though I'm not sure exactly which meds are affected and am unsure if it only reduces absorption or actively helps counteract the compounds.
So with that said and taking the above with a grain of salt because i'm a dumbass - maybe some citrus juices or Vitamin C tablets late in the afternoon will assist with winding down?
some more anecdotal statements: I used to struggle with some level of insomnia before i was medicated. I now take 50mg of standard ritalin daily (2 and a half 10mg tabs, twice daily) and I sleep like a rock these days. There are numerous other factors that go into that, but i'll concur with anyone else who comments that "you eventually get used to it". I used to lie awake for hours, now I lie down, put on CPAP mask, turn lights off and i swear i drift off within 20 mins
I’d concur—OP might find that the afternoon medication might actually help with settling down and sleeping.
Also if new to the medication, there just might be some acclimation—I had a lot of trouble back in the day when I was starting meds.
Everyone has different reactions/needs from meds, but I’d also recommend looking at extended release versions, I’ve found them a lot less intense and disruptive than when I had regular adderall.
And I’m going to have to start taking it in the afternoon.
Are you taking them in the afternoon because that's when you need the effect, or to try to get sleep? If it's the latter then that seems counter productive and would probably make it significantly worse. The half life is apparently about 9-10 hours so you want to make sure you're taking it like 10 hours before you want to fall asleep. Are you on the IR "regular" Adderall or the ER? You might get more bang for your sleepless buck on ER, or just a different drug all together. My friend has better luck on Vyvanse.
I'm ADHD but I've never been prescribed meds for it. (although I do drink a lot of caffeine to compensate) The only way for me to get good sleep is to be RIGID with my sleep schedule. I'll take a melatonin about 1 hour before I want to get in bed. Then I get in bed about 30 minutes to an hour before I want to fall asleep. Staying in bed awake too long can be counter productive. I also need background noise to fall asleep so I'll play a long video that I don't really care about/I've already seen and isn't too interesting.
