This post is the first in The Granular, a series which will detail my experience with drugs, medical appointments, and related incidents since becoming ill with a flu-like illness in 2014.
Please note that any information found on this site does not constitute medical advice. I can only speaks to my individual situation; there is no substitute for visiting your own healthcare professionals.
Introduction
Judging from the Netflix documentary Take Your Pills, Adderall needs no introduction. Apparently it’s everywhere on college campuses – either I’m extremely sheltered, or its usage is a facet of American culture that has yet to make its way to Canada. I was broadly aware of Adderall before being prescribed it, but I had no idea how many people without ADHD or any sort of medical diagnosis use it as a cognitive enhancer.
I had actually forgotten about my own brush with Adderall until recently. It was kind of funny listening to the multitudes of people in the documentary rave about it, meanwhile thinking, “Hah, that wasn’t my experience at all.” I wish I could say that it was the wonder drug it is largely portrayed to be, but that wasn’t the case for me.
The Backstory
It was February 2016 and by this point I had been visiting a family doctor at my university’s health clinic for the past half year. She had been very compassionate—listening to my complaints about fatigue and cognitive problems, sending me for an MRI, and arranging consultations with some specialists—however, we had made no real progress over the months and my condition was continuing to deteriorate.
This was a considerable time of desperation for me, and any spare moment I had in between my university studies was spent searching the internet trying to figure out what was happening to me. I can’t say it was the most fruitful endeavour, both because there wasn’t (and still isn’t) a ton of quality information out there, and because my ability to comprehend what I was reading was pretty atrocious.
As a side point, during this time I remember trying to read Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls at the same time as my friend, but giving up because I couldn’t get to the second page without forgetting what I had just read on the first. That is a level of disorientation I hope never to have to experience again.
Regardless, I stumbled across some anecdotal reports of people with myalgic encephamyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) finding some relief with Adderall. So I shared this discovery with my doctor, wondering if she would let me try it. She was (understandably) pretty apprehensive at first, because:
- a) ME/CFS is barely a recognized diagnosis,
- b) Adderall is not something you normally prescribe to people without ADHD, and
- c) as a doctor, are you really going to trust the words of people on an internet forum?
But to her credit, she did some investigating of her own and found a small study that cited Ritalin (a similar drug; also a central nervous system stimulant) may have reduced symptoms for people with ME/CFS. And after some more discussion, she sent me off with an Adderall XR prescription.
The Experience
My experiment with Adderall XR lasted for about 6 weeks. I had been most hopeful about the potential of shaking some of my brain fog, but I didn’t notice the drug have any effect whatsoever on my cognition (unlike the countless stories you hear from others). Where the drug did have an impact was on my sleep.
I was able to stay up longer, but I wouldn’t describe the drug as giving me extra energy. Taking it just meant being fatigued but conscious for more hours out of the day. At the time I was doing 8 hour shifts at clinical sites, with extra studying required in the evenings, so I used the increase in raw hours spent awake to my advantage. More time to cram facts I didn’t actually comprehend into my brain. Looking back at my health journal, I see on one day I had even gone so far as to state that “Adderall is pretty necessary to keeping me alert/awake enough to function.”
But the more memorable part to me is how it eventually gave me insomnia (roughly the last two weeks of taking it). Oversleeping had been a problem for me for months (12 hours of sleep per night with naps during the day was pretty normal); having the opposite problem made me really appreciate the ability to fall asleep and have an escape from the world. Eventually I stopped taking the drug altogether when I realized I was able to cope okay on the days I went without it (a story for another time), and the need to be awake diminished because the school semester was winding down. I also wanted to stop the extra sweating it caused.
One other point worth noting is that Adderall seemed to change my hunger signals. They didn’t register in my brain as readily, so I ate less. But I didn’t actually lose any weight. At the same time, I had inexplicably gained some weight in the months prior; it’s possible that without Adderall I may have gained even more.
The Granular
Why I took Adderall XR:
- To deal with extreme cognitive dysfunction and fatigue.
Duration of use/timeline:
- Week one: 10mg in the morning, three days out of seven.
- Week two: 20 mg in the morning everyday.
- Weeks three to six: 10 mg in the morning off and on, roughly 50% of the days.
I didn’t want to build up tolerance to Adderall, so I only took it the days that I thought I would really need it.
The good:
- It helped me to stay awake so I could get through my shifts and studies without needing to nap as much.
The bad:
- It did not help my cognitive functioning.
- I still felt extreme fatigue.
- I eventually developed insomnia.
- I found myself sweating more.
The verdict:
- It was worth a shot but it didn’t address my symptoms. I would not take it again unless I were to be back in school, desperate, and had no other way to stay awake.
- In my experience, Adderall does not live up to its hype.
Overall satisfaction:
- 1.5/5
This is great! I wish I had some documentation of the number of medications I tried for depression and anxiety before finding a combination that is both affordable and works. I know your medical story is much different, but I felt a little comfort in the process and promise of relief from a pharmaceutical not being just me.
I appreciate the feedback! Documentation is something I’ve worked hard to keep up in the past, and now it’s a matter of finally putting it together into a cohesive blog hah. I’m glad to hear that you found a combination that works for you, as I think that’s what matters most!
I’ve improved since my worst point (around the time of taking Adderall) and I’m so grateful to be able to say that. While it didn’t relieve my symptoms longterm, I still consider the fact of having tried it as making progress. I’ve ruled Adderall out as a solution and have since moved on to exploring other avenues to improve my health. Thank you for the positive thoughts <3
Yeah… Adderall can be a nasty little medicine…. You sound very responsible, like you said only taking a small amount and not every day… Unlike me. I’m glad you are working to find other soultions. As far as the fatigue, have you ever tried modinifil or provigil? My sister works nights and takes modinifil, prescribed by her Dr.
Luckily my fatigue is back to a manageable level, so I’m not currently taking anything specifically to treat that symptom. Interesting on the Provigil/Modafinil; I had heard of Modafinil and brought it up to my doctor at the same time as Adderall but for whatever reason she felt Adderall would be a better one to try.
Great post. I work in mental health and notice that this medication is over prescribed. It is often given to those who really don’t have ADHD and instead have behavioral issues and/or bad parenting and poor boundaries. I appreciate you sharing about the side effects as I will help me to be more informed as I discuss the pros and cons of medication management for my clients.
I appreciate your input! I do think that the barrier to attaining Adderall is too low, and that there are probably better interventions for a lot of the people that get prescribed it. Glad to hear my post has provided you another perspective that may help your clients 🙂
I’m glad you shared your experience, I took adderall (G.A.D. was diagnosed as A.D.D. for years) and it made my anxiety so much worse and made my brain jump from thought to thought and task to task so much worse than it normally does. I had poor reactions to all RX medication I took, actually, and I’m glad people like you are taking the time to share their experiences with different medications- first hand accounts are so much more helpful than “possible side effects”
I share your sentiment regarding the value of firsthand accounts, which is exactly why I wrote this 🙂 I’m sorry to hear that it sounds like you were wrongly diagnosed and had to go through all that. I hope you’ve found other ways to manage the challenges you face. Hugs!
First of all, your blog addressing the experiences you have with your life and mental health are great. This post specifically really illuminates the struggles some people have and why knocking patients over the head with drugs the totally backwards approach that should be taking when addressing actual health (not that your prescriber did that, but it does occur). Powerful post. Awesome blog. Happy to connect.
Hey there and thank you for your feedback on my blog! I’m happy to be able to share my experiences here. I think a lot of people are a little too wiling to put their blind trust in doctors and would benefit from educating themselves on their situation and options. Anyway I’m glad you’ve found value from your words and I’m happy to connect as well 🙂
I’ve been taking adderall on and off since I was 16 I’m 26 now it’s the only medication that does not make me sick but also help with my ADD not much else has helped but I get tht you were trying to bring awareness.
Author
It’s great to hear counterpoints and to know that Adderall does its job in certain populations. Just wasn’t for me but I’m glad that it’s been of help to you!
Thank you . And I figured more than one point of view couldn’t hurt
Author
For sure!
Seems like everyone here has been extremely lucky. I took Adderall for three days and during that time, I was extremely focused and productive… then I had a psychotic episode and almost killed myself. And my father almost killed my mother for force-feeding me the drug to begin with. I was fifteen. The point: if you suffer from clinical depression, do not take this stuff, especially if you are on anti-depressants. Otherwise, it’s great, all my musician friends swear by it.
Author
Whoa! I’m sorry to hear that that occurred with you. Thanks for sharing the warning, as I haven’t heard about that type of reaction but it’s obviously an important one to be aware of.