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An update...tolerance to Adderall?

Posted by Barely awake on February 10, 2003 at 18:04:53:

I have been struggling with sleepiness for several years to the point of hardly being able to function at all...or to imagine a future in which I could have a full-time job (and I'm only 22 years old). I haven't been tested for a sleep disorder because my doctors have always attributed the sleepiness to the anti-depressant I'm on (Effexor)...but when I changed to another medication, the sleepiness continued. So now I'm back on Effexor since it didn't seem to matter which anti-depressant I'm on, in terms of sleepiness!

My psychiatrist put me on Provigil, which didn't have any effect, and then Adderall. I had such a WONDERFUL response to it at first (and I was only taking 10 mg once a day)... I felt refreshed, as if I had actually slept, for the first time in years.

But now, a few weeks later, the 10 mg has seemed to stop working almost completely...and I began taking 10 mg in the morning and another 10 in the afternoon, but that didn't seem to help much either. So now I'm always exhausted again, but I can't sleep at all during the day because of the effect of the Adderall...so I don't get the temporary relief of a short nap. I guess I've built up tolerance... is that possible? Would an even higher dose work, or would I become tolerant to that as well?

Also, the Adderall has made me lose my appetite...I have lost some weight already and am now only 98 pounds at 5'3"...and at this higher dose, I have been eating even less. I wonder if the "alert" effect of the Adderall is worth it if I end up compromising my immune system by becoming too underweight.

I just don't know what to do. My therapist finally began to realize that my depression is possibly a RESULT of my sleepiness, instead of a cause of it...so she gave me an Epworth Sleepiness Scale and a sleep questionnaire last week. I'm supposed to talk about the results next week... and she has asked me if I have ever had a sleep test (which I haven't). So maybe this could be a step in the right direction.

One problem is that I used to have sleep paralysis very often (almost every night), as well as some hallucinations upon going to sleep...but now I am on an SSRI for depression, which is also the treatment for the sleep paralysis, etc...so I feel like if I have narcolepsy, it might not be diagnosed because I don't have the paralysis or hallucinations much anymore.

Also, I've heard that the SSRI might affect the results of a sleep test...is that right?

Sorry to make this so long...I'm just confused about what to do...I was so VERY happy in the first weeks, when the Adderall was working, and thought I could actually imagine a future for myself...but now I'm not so sure.

Any ideas, encouragement, etc.? I'm just glad to know that some people out there understand...though I'm sorry that anyone else has to go through this.


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  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


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