Headache after adderall

Curious if anyone has had the same bizarre experience with psychiatric medications that I have had coupled with HPA axis dysfunction. Been experiencing HPA axis dysfunction symptoms, fatigue, post-exertional fatigue, exercise intolerance, brain fog, and malaise for the last couple years. Most of my labs are normal except morning cortisol is low and cortisol is also low across the day on a 4-point saliva test (corresponds to phase 2 dysfunction). As is often the case with stories on this forum, an endocrinologist could not find anything wrong with me that he was capable of treating, as I respond normally to ACTH stim test and there are no abnormalities on my pituitary or hypothalamus visible via MRI. What I’m wondering about is if anyone has an opinion on how my experience with psychiatric medications might play into this.
I took Effexor (venlafaxine) for over 20 years. Over that time, the dosage I could tolerate declined. There was a period 2005 to 2008 where I was actually on 300 mg Effexor. After that I took 150 mg with 30 mg Remeron (mirtazapine) for a number of years, along with up to 60 mg Adderall XR. It was during this time that my tolerance for these substances began to decrease. First the Adderall and mirtazapine became impossible to take together. The mirtazapine made the Adderall so unpleasant, making me feel more “high” when I took it than before and then giving me a severe crash. Even reducing my Adderall dose to 5mg or less led to a similar feeling. I eventually stopped taking both mirtazapine and Adderall, but my tolerance for Effexor has followed the same path. Over the last couple years, as my adrenal fatigue symptoms have gotten worse, my tolerance for Effexor has really declined. What’s more interesting, withdrawal symptoms when I reduce my dose of Effexor have also greatly decreased. I used to get crippling headaches and nausea if I skipped a dose of Effexor or even if I reduced my dose by more than a couple of pellets. Over the last year I discovered that if I missed a dose, I actually felt great on those days with very minimal withdrawal symptoms. It’s also the case that switching between medications causes no withdrawal. About 6 weeks ago I switched to Cymbalta and was able to switch with no taper and noticed no subjective difference to mood and no withdrawal symptoms. At this point I’m weaning down off the Cymbalta because it also is the case that the less of this I take, the better I feel. So, I’m wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this within the context of their HPA axis dysfunction. Thanks for reading.

Been experiencing fatigue, post-exertional fatigue, exercise intolerance, and occasional malaise for the last couple years. Most of my labs are normal except morning cortisol is low and cortisol is also low across the day on a 4-point saliva test. An endocrinologist could not find anything wrong with me that he was capable of treating, however, as I respond normally to ACTH stim test and there are no abnormalities on my pituitary or hypothalamus visible via MRI. So, this is some kind of HPA dysfunction or signaling issue, and I’m wondering if anyone has an opinion on how my experience with psychiatric medications might play into this.
I took Effexor (venlafaxine) for over 20 years. Over that time, the dosage I could tolerate declined. There was a period 2005 to 2008 where I was actually on 300 mg Effexor. After that I took 150 mg with 30 mg Remeron (mirtazapine) for a number of years, along with up to 60 mg Adderall XR. It was during this time that my tolerance for these substances began to decrease. First the Adderall and mirtazapine became impossible to take together. The mirtazapine made the Adderall so unpleasant, making me feel more “high” when I took it than before and then giving me a severe crash. Even reducing my Adderall dose to 5mg or less led to a similar feeling. I eventually stopped taking both mirtazapine and Adderall, but my tolerance for Effexor has followed the same path. Over the last couple years, as the above symptoms have gotten worse, my tolerance for Effexor has really declined. What’s more interesting, withdrawal symptoms when I reduce my dose of Effexor have also drastically decreased. I used to get crippling headaches and nausea if I skipped a dose of Effexor or even if I reduced my dose by more than a couple of pellets. Over the last year I discovered that if I missed a dose, I actually felt great on those days with very minimal withdrawal symptoms. It’s also the case that switching between medications causes no withdrawal. About 6 weeks ago I switched to Cymbalta and was able to switch with no taper and noticed no subjective difference to mood and no withdrawal symptoms. At this point I’m weaning down off the Cymbalta because with this it also seems like the less of I take, the better I feel. So, I’m wondering if anyone has a theory for what is going on. Bonus if that theory can also account for the endocrine dysfunction I've experienced.

So for context, I’ve been diagnosed with MDD (major depressive disorder) for the last 10 years or so. I was taking adderall for my adhd during that time which was pretty good at managing my depressive symptoms… as long as the adderall was working. After a while, the dosage got higher and the efficacy got worse. The side effects were unbearable. I quit adderall nearly cold turkey. I knew my brain would be have no dopamine for essentially the next 6 months, but instead of things getting better, the longer the withdrawal went, the worse I felt (after the first month of course- which was hell). Fast forward 5 months, I’m realizing I am depressed. Depressed as hell. The kind of- can’t get out of bed, or eat, or brush my teeth or hair- depressed. My MDD was back in full force. I had been managing it for so long with the adderall I genuinely forgot what it was like. But now it was back in full force and I knew I had to do something.
I reached out to the same doctor who oversaw my adderall withdrawal and he reccomended Wellbutrin to manage mainly my depressive symptoms but also my ADHD. So the first month starts at 150. I feel absolutely nothing. I’m not better but also not really experiencing any of the really bad side effects. I had read in this forum to take electrolytes and DAMN is that true. I was taking them regularly with my pills every morning and decided to stop for a few days to see what would happen and folks- the worst splitting migraine of my life went away in about 5 minutes after drinking a liquid IV. So as long as I take some electrolytes I feel fine other than the occasional dizziness which lasts maybe 5 seconds and only when i’m laying down.
I go in for my one month checkup and tell him that i’m still not doing great and he reccomends that since I’m not experiencing any symptoms I can’t manage, we bump me up to 300mg. Im absolutely fine with that as I would gladly trade some treatable dizziness and headaches for the ability to get out of bed and go back to work (I have quit for the time being as my depression has been too bad). He told me that I would probably start experiencing some relief within the next two weeks (at the typical 6 week point).
I’ve been taking the 300mg for a few days now and it’s like a literally switch has been turned on in my head. I got up, was able to do some chores, eat. I don’t necessarily feel euphoric or anything but holy shit, I was standing there washing my dishes and just started to cry from the relief. Just having the ability to physically get up and do something so simple has not been a guarantee in my life for the last few months and to finally have it means everything to me. I just want to feel normal again. I want to have the choice to stay in bed, not be forced there by my own brain. I can’t wait to finally be able to spend time with my friends, and maybe start working again. Just this one little thing gives me hope that there is more progress coming my way. Let’s hope this continues to go well 🤞🏻.

So I have recently been diagnosed with adhd and I have been wondering if it is my adhd that causing it, she said possibly and that my meds should help, I got diagnosed with 10mg of Adderall 2 times a day. I still feel like I could sleep like a baby.
I actually stopped taking my meds lately as I didn't like how I felt and would get really bad headaches after withdrawals and haven't had enough time to go and talk to my doctor about it
I was just wondering if there was any advice out there or things I should bring up to my doctor next time I see her that could possibly help with this because I am so sick of feeling tired constantly no matter the amount of caffeine I take even caffeine and Adderall together couldn't shake away my fatigue...

Hey all! I just took my first dose of Adderall today. I had a headache shortly after taking it this morning, so I took some Tylenol. I'm just now getting another headache. I saw it in the side effects literature and was wondering if this is common. Just checked my BP and it's not elevated currently.

I’m a 47 year old male. I started feeling weird this past February. I went in for a CT scan in March that revealed an old stroke/strokes (chronic lacunar type infarct in left basal ganglia). I live in NYC with so-so insurance, and have been passed around from my general practitioner to a cardiologist to a neurologist. I’m scheduled for more scans in June. In the meantime, no action is being taken. I feel off all day every day and am terrified that I’m suffering from early onset dementia or alzheimers.

I’m writing this for two reasons. For one, I kind of just feel like I need to write this and get it out there. Second, I’m hoping someone reads this and has some sort of relatable experience and perhaps could offer some advice. This whole thing is so scary, but also very lonely. My wife is the only person who knows what I’m going through and I don’t talk about it very much with her as, even though she’s incredibly supportive, I know the whole thing freaks her the fuck out. I don’t want to cause her any additional stress by constantly complaining about my situation.

That’s really all you need to read, but I’ll go into more detail below in case you feel like catching up on the whole thing.

I was diagnosed with high blood pressure about 15 years ago. As I was in my early 30’s then, my doctor at the time felt I could stay off medication with some lifestyle changes. I did that for several years. It wasn’t until about 6 years ago, after the birth of my son, that I decided to get checked again. I knew I wasn’t living the healthiest and wasn’t feeling great. I found out then that my blood pressure was off the charts (210/160 territory). I’ve been on medication ever since. I mention all of this, as this may very well be the period when my undetected stroke happened.

The feeling I began experiencing in mid-February was similar to the feeling I’ve come to associate with high blood pressure – a lightheadedness and disconnect that feels more like being slightly inebriated than dizzy or confused. It would come and go at first, but by early March and up to now, it had become a feeling that stays with me all day every day.

It doesn’t seem to be progressing any further than this, though I’m certainly overly sensitive to any potentially progressive symptoms. It freaks me out to no end to get a slight headache. Most recently, I’ve kinda felt slight passing dizzy spells coming on in the second half of my day, as I begin to get tired. And that’s really it.

Sometimes, the feeling sits really heavily and other times I’m able to kinda forget about it while I get on with my day, but it’s always there to some degree. I had an initial screening with the assistant of a neurologist I was meeting for the first time. She was very nice and positive and even though no real new news came from that meeting, I felt much better over the course of the following week.

I then met with the neurologist, who informed me that I had been mistakenly referring to what had happened as a “ministroke” and that it was actually a small stroke. He was a bit flippant and I didn’t get the overall best vibe from him. He ordered the next round of scans I’m awaiting in June, but I started feeling more consistently bad again following that meeting.

The positive and then negative experience of meeting with the friendly assistant and then the dismissive doctor has me wondering how much of my condition is possibly psychological.

After my meeting with the neurologist, the results of some in-office ultrasounds came back, showing no issues with arteries in my head.

I’m incredibly physically active. I walk on average between 3-5 miles every day. I try to work out additionally a few times per week. I eat leafy greens and try to lay off added salt and sugar. I read and write daily as well as work on sudoku puzzles. I don’t drink alcohol or smoke. I drink tons of water.

Around the time this all began, I had just signed up for an improv class. I’ve kept with it throughout and have been told by many folks in the class that I’m very good, one of the best in the group. While in class, though, I feel disconnected and distracted. I find it hard to focus.

This brings me to the last complication. About two years ago, I was diagnosed by an online physician as having ADHD. This diagnosis has never come from a real doctor I’ve met with. I was initially prescribed Adderall, which provided some benefits with my focus, but was never any kind of cure-all. I was then switched to Wellbutrin (strictly for adhd purposes, I’ve never been diagnosed as depressed and have fortunately never struggled with that). I took the Wellbutrin daily until around the time this whole thing started in February, at which point I stopped.

So this is where I’m at. If the small stroke happened a long time ago, why would I just start feeling the effects of it recently? No one in my life even suspects I’m dealing with any cognitive issues, which means either it feels worse to me than it actually is or I’m just great at not showing the effects. There’s nothing else for me to do while I wait for MRI’s to be taken in June. In the meantime, I have ok days and bad days, all the while worried sick that I’m slowly losing cognitive abilities while also wondering if I’m having issues stemming from untreated ADHD.

How the hell do I even pursue help for ADHD while knowing I suffered a small stroke a long time ago? I feel like any psychologist is going to tell me my issues are stroke related, and not actually ADHD.

Oh, I also wondered if this feeling was related to my BP medication. I switched medication, and even stopped taking it altogether for a week. Nothing helped. So I’ve kinda ruled reaction to medication out.

I own a small business which allows me to set my own pace most days. My focus there hasn’t been great either though, and I’m worried my wife is having to carry more of the weight there while I deal with my issues.

Yuck! Even typing this all out is just serving to remind me of what a mess the whole thing is. I don’t know what advice anyone can offer, but if you made it all the way to the end, I appreciate you more than you know. Thank you for any words you may have to offer.

I'm finally trying medication for issues that I thought were related to ADHD, but it has me questioning my ADHD diagnosis altogether. I'm currently awake at 3:00AM unable to fall asleep because I'm physically so emotional and can't stop crying off and on. I'm miserable.
I didn't really want to try stimulants because my nervous system is already really sensitive, but the doctor wanted to start with Adderall to see how my brain reacted to it. The first two days were awful at a super low dose. My heart rate went up like crazy and I just felt jittery and like I had slammed a couple of energy drinks. The third day I tried taking it with a beta blocker which solved the heart rate issue, but I noticed headaches and when it would wear off in the evening I would feel like crap. Just this wave of depression and irritation would hit me and I'd be on the verge of tears.
I had a call with the doctor today and told him what I've experienced so far and said once again that I don't know if stimulants are right for me. He was happy that the beta blocker worked to fix the heart rate symptoms and wanted me to keep playing around with the Adderall. He said the emotional crash at night suggests I might benefit from adding an SSRI (which I also don't want to take and I know my genetics make me at an increased risk of side effects from SSRIs) but that we can discuss that at our next meeting.
After hearing him sounding hopeful that I might need to just play around with the dose more and stick it out, I tried 5mg of Adderall again today. Not only did it just make me fixate even harder on my interests and not on my work (so I got nothing done that I needed to), but it made me pick my lip and skin like crazy and now I can't sleep despite taking it over 12 hours ago. I just feel awful. Ive been crying off and on for the last two hours, which never usually happens to me.
I really am starting to feel like I might be primarily autistic and going through autistic burnout (I'm diagnosed as ASD level 1). My main issues are hyperfixating on/endlessly researching things that interest me and having a very hard time pulling away or thinking about anything else in order to get things done that I need to. This leads to procrastination at work, with household chores, etc. I also have harmful stims like picking my lip that I'd like to work on being better about or replacing with something healthier. And my heart rate and anxiety are usually pretty high throughout the day, particularly if I have to rush to be on time for something or interact with people I'm not close with. Adderall straight up amplified all these things which makes my life a lot worse.
I am considering just stopping med trials all together, but feel weird because it's only been about 2 weeks. Every drug I have researched seems like it has side effects that I'm not sure are outweighed by the benefits. I was hoping to try something that might calm my nervous system and give me a slight dopamine or serotonin boost to make boring tasks just more pleasant to do and not as soul crushingly dreadful, but it doesn't seem like there's a good option. Has anyone had any luck? I have no clue what to do but I know I hate this feeling.

I'm 30 y/old female. Ht. 4'11 wt. 138 lbs. Medications: butalbital/acet/caffeine, tinzanidine, adderall 20mg.
I have been dealing with chronic neck pain and tension headaches for almost 10 years. Neck pain is a dull constant ache all day everyday, the headache feels like a balloon being blown up in the back of my skull. This includes a persistent need to "crack" my neck and shoulders to realease the pressure. This is not a forced crack. It just builds up pressure and I have to turn my head or tilt it back to "crack" and release the pressure. Occasional "whooshing" tinitus in ears. Chronic fatigue and sleep onset insomnia, I can sleep for 2 hrs or 16 and never feel fully rested. I wake up confused, disoriented,unrested, irrationally angry, and in extreme pain that eventually fades after around an hour. Sometimes I don't sleep at all for 30+ hours because of the pure anxiety I feel towards waking up. But lack of sleep also worsens my pain.
OTCs, Muscle relaxers, and Migraine medications do not touch the pain. I've been to 3 chiropractors, each told me something different and after adjustments the pain only moved or got worse. I tried an orthopedic doctor, xrays found nothing, said my neck possibly looked slightly straighter than it should but nothing else really, and neck MRI showed nothing definitive.
The butalbital worked okay for awhile. I'm also prescribed adderall for adhd that seems to help take the edge off too. That may be some kind of placebo or reduced anxiety thing... but it helps.
I've been in a slightly unhealthy hyperfocused quest to find an answer. Researching and learning how to read an MRI, reading studies and stories with symptoms similar to mine.. because I just can't live like this anymore. Im desperate. I've found 3 things that sound pretty close. Chiari Malformation, IIH, and CSF leak. I know the MRI is for the neck rather than the head, but I'm wondering if anything in these results may indicate one of those as a possibility?
Other symptoms/illnesses: - Odd movable lump about the size of a small marble in lower left back near my sciatica that is otherwise painless but causes referred pain in leg and hip discomfort and restless leg type symptoms in my hip. - ADHD - History of anxiety/depression but helped by taking my ADHD medication - History of reoccuring stomach problems (i go through periods of time when I'm constipated for weeks and periods where i have no issues) - History of ovarian cysts/uterine fribroids - Abnormal periods (can go up to 60-70 days between periods) - Prior surgeries include 2 C-sections, appendectomy, tonsil/adnoidectomy

Hey, so I’m not formally diagnosed right now because previous specialists didn’t take my case seriously. The first time I tried to get tested they said it was anxiety, the second time they administered a 3-minute long orthostatic blood pressure test (poor man’s tilt table) and told me there was nothing wrong with me. I’ve been dealing with daily symptoms for almost 3 years now: HR increase of 30-80bpm upon standing, headaches, blurred vision, and feeling weak when standing, general sleep issues, digestive issues, flip flopping all day between sweating and freezing, I’ve collapsed a few times after standing (never passed out), frequent brain fog, chronic fatigue, exhaustion after caffeine consumption and alcohol and more. I just started seeing a new psychiatrist and have been wanting to try a different adhd medication because concerta made me disgustingly nauseous. She wants to put me on 10mg of adderall, and I’m currently on 112.5mg of Venlafaxine XR (Effexor) for anxiety, and 15mg of Mirtazapine (Remeron) for insomnia. She wants me to decrease from 15mg to 7.5mg of the Mirtazapine (which I’m perfectly fine with, I think the lower dose has been more helpful anyway) to minimize the risk of serotonin syndrome, since all 3 medications contain it. She sent me a pamphlet on serotonin syndrome for me to see the symptoms: dilated pupils, sweating, chills, diarrhoea, tachycardia, muscle jerks/spasms, and more. The problem is, I deal with a lot of those daily lol, so I’m not super sure how to tell the difference between my normal and the syndrome. Has anyone on more than one or on high doses of drugs containing serotonin experienced this? I guess I’m looking to find how common it is, and what it feels like.

I forgot about making my phone appointment to get my next script filled and the appointment I did have which was on my last pill (last Friday) got rescheduled because my doc had an emergency. Have to wait until tomorrow to maybe get a call in, hopefully nothing comes up again. I've been without Adderall through the whole weekend and after getting over the mid-day exhaustion and headaches, I've discovered I'm even more disinterested in food than when I was actually on Adderall. I've been skipping lunches because it just doesn't seem appealing. Blegh.

I started taking zoloft at the age of of 16 from constant over stimulation that had started once i hit puberty at 11 years old. The first few months on zoloft i felt happier than i had ever felt before to a pretty extreme extent. I didnt know this was an odd reaction to ssri’s especially since up to the age of 16 i had never done any drugs. I hadn’t ever even had caffeine before besides the low amount in soda which I rarely ever had. The reason im saying this is because there were nothing in my life i had experienced that was mind altering. This is why i didnt know at the time that i was really, really high on zoloft. Apparently it was obvious to my family who have said it was very obvious something was wrong once I started. I became the most extreme extrovert anyone could ever become. This all lead to me going from a normal 3.0 gpa to graduating with a 1.8 gpa. I became a drug addict in the worst way possible. I had become so impulsive. I went from being a kid who never lies or does anything bad to the guy who lies for no reason. I became a poly addict within months of starting zoloft. I became completely disconnected from not only friends but to my parents as well. This continued for 2 years until i finally stopped taking it at 18. Once i stopped taking zoloft i did a complete 180, well sort of. The addictions i picked up on zoloft for the most part stopped, except for one drug which i still struggle with. That being adderall and vyvanse. Thank the lord i never met anyone with meth during this time. There were other drugs i was addicted too as well while on zoloft like oxycodone, hydrocodone, weed, nicotine, xanax, Klonopin, alcohol and even more. I was addicted to all of these. I couldnt stop thinking about getting high. Its all i thought about. Always thinking of ways to get drugs. My parents had to buy a safe specifically for there prescriptions to keep me from stealing them. Even my own zoloft was in there safe because i would take 4 a day when i was prescribed to take one 50mg. I even abused tylenal(acetaminophen). My parents also couldn’t keep alcohol anywhere in the house since everynight after they went to bed i would search the whole house for it.

 Like i said though once I turned 18 i stopped taking zoloft and just like that all of my hyper focused drug cravings went away, all of them except for amphetamines which i still struggle with today. Also this isnt really related but when i was 19 i tried molly(mdma) with a friend which i had only had gotten because i started abusing amphetamines again which for some reason amphetamines also make me impulsive, but not to the same level as Zoloft though. Anyways when i took the molly, guess what it felt like?! It was literally the exact same head space and just over all feeling i had during the first 6 moths on Zoloft. It felt exactly the same, just it only lasted for a few hourse and made me very umm aroused, and a bit hyped. 

Im about to turn 21 in 7 days so it really hasnt been to long since my manic days.
Second time on ssri’s
Right around when i had turned 20 i began getting my first ever panic attacks. Most of them were the normal panic attacks, well normal probably isn’t the right word. I mean most of the attacks i had i could deal with on my own since they all happened at night when i was alone. One night though that changed. This particular night i felt that dreadful anxiety which i had been feeling for the past couple weeks already but it had never gotten to the point where it was too overwhelming for me deal with on my own. I was just laying in bed going to sleep, then it just happened in less than a second i knew i was gonna die. I knew this was it. I couldn’t breathe or i guess i could breathe but for some reason every time i would inhale it was just like i wasn’t idk. That immediate overwhelming feeling of death is the worst pain i hade ever felt. Worse than any physical pain id ever had, well i guess its the worst thing i’ve ever felt period at least at this point in my life. Because of this i went to the doctor. I refused to take ssri’s for it while also really trying to stay away from benzodiazepines for obvious reasons. So i perscribed Buspiron which is kinda in its on catargory. It’s non addictive and its not an antidepressant. So I took it for just about a month. Made me lowkey feel like shit. Constant headaches along with being really hot which is kinda problem since i work physical labor pretty much only outside all while it’s july. So unfortunately the only other option was ssri’s since im still on my parents health insurance my mom would never in a million years allow me take benzodiazepine which is obviously understandable. So i get a script for prozac cause it’s not Zoloft so maybe it’ll be a little different. Boy oh boy was it different. So basically the prozac ended up doing exactly the opposite of what the Zoloft did. I became more depressed than i had ever been by a landslide. Legit would fantasize killing myself. The first two weeks on prozac i would do nothing. Like straight up nothing but think about how amazing it would be to get relief by meeting up with my favorite tree. Eventually it went away for the most part. Then i stopped taking it 3 moths ago, so i was on it for 9 months total. I just felt normal on it for the most part. The only other thing it did that was bothersome was make me a little short tempered.
Ive just been curious if anyone else has experienced something similar to me.

I started taking zoloft at the age of of 16 from constant over stimulation that had started once i hit puberty at 11 years old. The first few months on zoloft i felt happier than i had ever felt before to a pretty extreme extent. I didnt know this was an odd reaction to ssri’s especially since up to the age of 16 i had never done any drugs. I hadn’t ever even had caffeine before besides the low amount in soda which I rarely ever had. The reason im saying this is because there were nothing in my life i had experienced that was mind altering. This is why i didnt know at the time that i was really, really high on zoloft. Apparently it was obvious to my family who have said it was very obvious something was wrong once I started. I became the most extreme extrovert anyone could ever become. This all lead to me going from a normal 3.0 gpa to graduating with a 1.8 gpa. I became a drug addict in the worst way possible. I had become so impulsive. I went from being a kid who never lies or does anything bad to the guy who lies for no reason. I became a poly addict within months of starting zoloft. I became completely disconnected from not only friends but to my parents as well. This continued for 2 years until i finally stopped taking it at 18. Once i stopped taking zoloft i did a complete 180, well sort of. The addictions i picked up on zoloft for the most part stopped, except for one drug which i still struggle with. That being adderall and vyvanse. Thank the lord i never met anyone with meth during this time. There were other drugs i was addicted too as well while on zoloft like oxycodone, hydrocodone, weed, nicotine, xanax, Klonopin, alcohol and even more. I was addicted to all of these. I couldnt stop thinking about getting high. Its all i thought about. Always thinking of ways to get drugs. My parents had to buy a safe specifically for there prescriptions to keep me from stealing them. Even my own zoloft was in there safe because i would take 4 a day when i was prescribed to take one 50mg. I even abused tylenal(acetaminophen). My parents also couldn’t keep alcohol anywhere in the house since everynight after they went to bed i would search the whole house for it.

 Like i said though once I turned 18 i stopped taking zoloft and just like that all of my hyper focused drug cravings went away, all of them except for amphetamines which i still struggle with today. Also this isnt really related but when i was 19 i tried molly(mdma) with a friend which i had only had gotten because i started abusing amphetamines again which for some reason amphetamines also make me impulsive, but not to the same level as Zoloft though. Anyways when i took the molly, guess what it felt like?! It was literally the exact same head space and just over all feeling i had during the first 6 moths on Zoloft. It felt exactly the same, just it only lasted for a few hourse and made me very umm aroused, and a bit hyped. 

Im about to turn 21 in 7 days so it really hasnt been to long since my manic days.
Second time on ssri’s
Right around when i had turned 20 i began getting my first ever panic attacks. Most of them were the normal panic attacks, well normal probably isn’t the right word. I mean most of the attacks i had i could deal with on my own since they all happened at night when i was alone. One night though that changed. This particular night i felt that dreadful anxiety which i had been feeling for the past couple weeks already but it had never gotten to the point where it was too overwhelming for me deal with on my own. I was just laying in bed going to sleep, then it just happened in less than a second i knew i was gonna die. I knew this was it. I couldn’t breathe or i guess i could breathe but for some reason every time i would inhale it was just like i wasn’t idk. That immediate overwhelming feeling of death is the worst pain i hade ever felt. Worse than any physical pain id ever had, well i guess its the worst thing i’ve ever felt period at least at this point in my life. Because of this i went to the doctor. I refused to take ssri’s for it while also really trying to stay away from benzodiazepines for obvious reasons. So i perscribed Buspiron which is kinda in its on catargory. It’s non addictive and its not an antidepressant. So I took it for just about a month. Made me lowkey feel like shit. Constant headaches along with being really hot which is kinda problem since i work physical labor pretty much only outside all while it’s july. So unfortunately the only other option was ssri’s since im still on my parents health insurance my mom would never in a million years allow me take benzodiazepine which is obviously understandable. So i get a script for prozac cause it’s not Zoloft so maybe it’ll be a little different. Boy oh boy was it different. So basically the prozac ended up doing exactly the opposite of what the Zoloft did. I became more depressed than i had ever been by a landslide. Legit would fantasize killing myself. The first two weeks on prozac i would do nothing. Like straight up nothing but think about how amazing it would be to get relief by meeting up with my favorite tree. Eventually it went away for the most part. Then i stopped taking it 3 moths ago, so i was on it for 9 months total. I just felt normal on it for the most part. The only other thing it did that was bothersome was make me a little short tempered.
Ive just been curious if anyone else has experienced something similar to me.

I started taking zoloft at the age of of 16 from constant over stimulation that had started once i hit puberty at 11 years old. The first few months on zoloft i felt happier than i had ever felt before to a pretty extreme extent. I didnt know this was an odd reaction to ssri’s especially since up to the age of 16 i had never done any drugs. I hadn’t ever even had caffeine before besides the low amount in soda which I rarely ever had. The reason im saying this is because there were nothing in my life i had experienced that was mind altering. This is why i didnt know at the time that i was really, really high on zoloft. Apparently it was obvious to my family who have said it was very obvious something was wrong once I started. I became the most extreme extrovert anyone could ever become. This all lead to me going from a normal 3.0 gpa to graduating with a 1.8 gpa. I became a drug addict in the worst way possible. I had become so impulsive. I went from being a kid who never lies or does anything bad to the guy who lies for no reason. I became a poly addict within months of starting zoloft. I became completely disconnected from not only friends but to my parents as well. This continued for 2 years until i finally stopped taking it at 18. Once i stopped taking zoloft i did a complete 180, well sort of. The addictions i picked up on zoloft for the most part stopped, except for one drug which i still struggle with. That being adderall and vyvanse. Thank the lord i never met anyone with meth during this time. There were other drugs i was addicted too as well while on zoloft like oxycodone, hydrocodone, weed, nicotine, xanax, Klonopin, alcohol and even more. I was addicted to all of these. I couldnt stop thinking about getting high. Its all i thought about. Always thinking of ways to get drugs. My parents had to buy a safe specifically for there prescriptions to keep me from stealing them. Even my own zoloft was in there safe because i would take 4 a day when i was prescribed to take one 50mg. I even abused tylenal(acetaminophen). My parents also couldn’t keep alcohol anywhere in the house since everynight after they went to bed i would search the whole house for it.

 Like i said though once I turned 18 i stopped taking zoloft and just like that all of my hyper focused drug cravings went away, all of them except for amphetamines which i still struggle with today. Also this isnt really related but when i was 19 i tried molly(mdma) with a friend which i had only had gotten because i started abusing amphetamines again which for some reason amphetamines also make me impulsive, but not to the same level as Zoloft though. Anyways when i took the molly, guess what it felt like?! It was literally the exact same head space and just over all feeling i had during the first 6 moths on Zoloft. It felt exactly the same, just it only lasted for a few hourse and made me very umm aroused, and a bit hyped. 

Im about to turn 21 in 7 days so it really hasnt been to long since my manic days.
Second time on ssri’s
Right around when i had turned 20 i began getting my first ever panic attacks. Most of them were the normal panic attacks, well normal probably isn’t the right word. I mean most of the attacks i had i could deal with on my own since they all happened at night when i was alone. One night though that changed. This particular night i felt that dreadful anxiety which i had been feeling for the past couple weeks already but it had never gotten to the point where it was too overwhelming for me deal with on my own. I was just laying in bed going to sleep, then it just happened in less than a second i knew i was gonna die. I knew this was it. I couldn’t breathe or i guess i could breathe but for some reason every time i would inhale it was just like i wasn’t idk. That immediate overwhelming feeling of death is the worst pain i hade ever felt. Worse than any physical pain id ever had, well i guess its the worst thing i’ve ever felt period at least at this point in my life. Because of this i went to the doctor. I refused to take ssri’s for it while also really trying to stay away from benzodiazepines for obvious reasons. So i perscribed Buspiron which is kinda in its on catargory. It’s non addictive and its not an antidepressant. So I took it for just about a month. Made me lowkey feel like shit. Constant headaches along with being really hot which is kinda problem since i work physical labor pretty much only outside all while it’s july. So unfortunately the only other option was ssri’s since im still on my parents health insurance my mom would never in a million years allow me take benzodiazepine which is obviously understandable. So i get a script for prozac cause it’s not Zoloft so maybe it’ll be a little different. Boy oh boy was it different. So basically the prozac ended up doing exactly the opposite of what the Zoloft did. I became more depressed than i had ever been by a landslide. Legit would fantasize killing myself. The first two weeks on prozac i would do nothing. Like straight up nothing but think about how amazing it would be to get relief by meeting up with my favorite tree. Eventually it went away for the most part. Then i stopped taking it 3 moths ago, so i was on it for 9 months total. I just felt normal on it for the most part. The only other thing it did that was bothersome was make me a little short tempered.
Ive just been curious if anyone else has experienced something similar to me.

hi all.
i’ve been on and off adderall forever but after a 7 year hiatus, i’m back on. i take 20 mg xr sometimes with 10 mg ir sprinkled in if i need it. i’m noticing that more often than not, i develop a throbbing headache usually behind one of my eyes once the med starts to wear off. does this happen to anyone else?
also, i find myself having to take a benzo to sleep. any other tips for sleeping while adderall is still wearing off? my ativan is running low and my doc doesn’t want to refill but sometimes i won’t sleep if i don’t have the ativan.

Started lexapro in December 2022. Diagnosed with IH with long sleep in June 2023 after MSLT, at-home sleep test, blood tests, etc.
In the autumn/winter of 2022 (unfortunately exact timing for the symptoms is foggy) I began experiencing extreme fatigue. I was napping upwards of 4-5 times a day for usually 1-3 hours per nap, and able to sleep 14+ hours on weekend. After stressful events, I would need a nap. I even napped in public on occasion. If I didn’t nap, I’d get bad headaches and often get chills or experience severe brain fog.
I started pursuing an answer, which ultimately led to an MSLT. My doctor didn’t tell me to stop taking lexapro for the MSLT, so I’m anxious that maybe my diagnosis/fatigue is all just from the lexapro. I’m currently tapering off lexapro and can’t tell if I’m less tired or if the prescription just added for my IH (adderall) is just doing its job. I was on modafinil before to little effect.
Does anyone else have experiences with or like this? I don’t know if lexapro fatigue could be this severe. Should I pursue another MSLT?

Was on Zoloft+xanax for five years and hated it. Been off ssris for five years. Have been in the worst depressive ep of my life.
I’m normally just on adderall and started Prozac and klonopin 4 days ago, and i can’t tell if it’s working. I’m not actively suicidal anymore but i just don’t care about anything. Better than being actively suicidal though. They’re going to put me on Wellbutrin as well after two weeks.
Whatever appetite i had is gone too, struggling to eat anything. Had a headache the first two days. Is this normal?

Anyone else dealt with/dealing with this? After two years and many doctors, I'm still totally in the dark, and every week feels like I'm getting worse and worse. But I don't even know what's what, which makes it harder for me to try and figure it out.
My laundry list of issues, both physical and mental, includes:

• 24/7 throbbing ache in my upper back/shoulder & neck region
• 24/7 throbbing ache and constant tension in my calves, even if I've been sitting all day
• Lower back pain (and increased leg pain) from standing or walking (especially standing)
• Generally prone to a lingering muscle ache & soreness from even the slightest physical activity, in literally every/any part of my body. Including just... sitting for too long.
• Daily headaches
• Retrolisthesis of the neck (vertebrae are curved the wrong way), a few disc bulges in both cervical and lumbar regions, and scoliosis -- these might account for some of the back pain, but it feels like there's more to it
• ADHD (inattentive type, I think; I take adderall for it) and possibly(?) depression
• Brain fog, lack of motivation, avoidant tendencies
• Low energy, tired all the damn time
• Probably more that I'm forgetting :')

So it's like...am I tired all the time because of my pain, or is it a symptom of a chronic condition? Same with the brain fog; is it from the ADHD or is it a sign of something else? Are the headaches from the neck issue? Are the back and leg pain connected, or two separate issues? Whenever I talk to doctors, I tend to bring up almost all of this (in even more detail), and they often seem to be confused by it. And so am I tbh; I don't even know how to research possibilities or solutions. Any advice??

I was trying to figure out exactly how I feel. Or close enough. Thinking about the questions asked when I go in to my prescriber. Always those annoying "scale your feelings" etc. I have these waves of frustration but then they evaporate.
I have been on Zoloft for a while which has helped my anxiety in a way I didn't think was possible. I didn't think I was that anxious. I recently started generic extended release Adderall and it seems to be helping in some way. I have better focus I think. It's a low dose a d I really don't want to increase it. At some point, I want to be off these medications.
Then today I realized I have hypertension. I don't even care. The headaches are annoying. The hypertension could be due to the meds. Work is a huge stressor. People are as well. I am unhappy. I still have some memory issues. This going back to the scale questions: what do I do with myself? Nothing. I am functional enough to work. I don't communicate with people who are supposed to be my friends. I'm the problem; they reach out more than I do. At this point it feels safe to assume they aren't friends. And I feel the same about my partner. At this point, I have no partner. I will usually force myself on Reddit, tiktok and YouTube. Immediately after work I just lay down after feeding myself and or my cat. I couldn't be arsed to 😵🪦. I am though, but very slowly.
Anyway. Next month, I'm starting TMS therapy for 36 work days. I have no idea if my insurance will coverage another round of sessions if this ends up working. I don't have much positivity for much.
Question for this is: anyone have experience with TMS?
I guess that's it. I just needed to let it out.

I’m looking for input from people who specifically struggle/have struggled with BOTH ADHD and anxiety (but also if you have depression that “helps”). I have ADHD (combined type), generalized anxiety disorder (and possibly social anxiety), and have struggled on and off with severe depression and s*icidal ideation for years (although I’m kinda at a point where the depression is the least of my concerns and I’d argue it’s mostly caused by capitalism).
Do any of you take a medication, have a medication combo that has worked wonders for you??? What can I research into and talk to my doctor about that might actually help with both the anxiety and the ADHD?
Thank you in advance!!!
I’m inquiring because I currently don’t have access to a psychiatrist and my primary doctor is my current prescriber. Psychiatry is not his speciality and although he regularly prescribes psychiatric meds to his patients, he’s not familiar enough with all the different medications and combinations off the top of his head to be able to provide the help that I need with my combination of disorders. However, he’s always willing to hear my opinion and inquiries, and if I were to come to him with research and potential medication suggestions, he’d take them into consideration.
The medication combos I’ve been on before are: Adderall XR, Adderall IR, Prozac, and Xanax (only for panic attacks, as needed); Adderall XR and Adderall IR; Adderall XR, Ritalin, and Prozac; just Strattera
More detailed explanation of my situation below if it might help:
My biggest issue is that because I have both ADHD and terrible anxiety, stimulants make me more anxious if I’m already having a high-anxiety day, but they’re the only thing that has every actually helped my ADHD symptoms. Adderall 100% helped me get through uni (albeit I had an absolutely trash GPA), it helped me focus, get work started, got me sitting in one place finishing my work for hours, it helped me nap, helped me communicate better, and even improved my mood. But I also hated taking it every day (and often forgot to take it/pushed it off) bc it often made me more anxious, it decreased my appetite, made me feel less like myself, and gave me headaches when it was wearing off. I’ve also always had a fast metabolism and the Adderall XR only ever helped for 5 hours at a time and the IR only 2-3 hours.
I’ve been on Adderall XR (15mg and 20mg at varying times) and Adderall IR (7.5mg and 10mg at varying points) before, but since the shortage and being out of school I’ve been off of it (due to my anxiety I HATE dealing with doctors and pharmacists and fighting to have Adderall).
I recently started Strattera for my ADHD and anxiety. I’m 5-6 weeks into taking it (currently at 40mg) and I feel almost no positive benefits. It hasn’t yet at all lessened my symptoms or helped me manage the ADHD and anxiety. At first, I experienced being able to wake up earlier, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore and I’m also dealing with some insomnia. I’m also starting to feel a bit more irritable and angry, as well as constipated. I’d be willing to deal with all that if I was actually seeing benefits. I don’t know if I should ask to continue the strattera when I see my doctor next, have the dosage upped or ask to try something else.
I’ve tried Ritalin in the past as well and it made me feel awful and only increased my focus for 30 minutes or so, and I stopped taking it after a week. And for my anxiety and depression I’ve been on Zoloft and Prozac in the past. Zoloft was awful for me. And Prozac was actually okay, I didn’t experience many negative side effects, except maybe some increased s*icide ideation and headaches.
I’ve never been well medicated. And a huge reason for that is that I still have never seen a psychiatrist or psychologist. At uni, I was being prescribed meds by nurse practitioners at the school’s health services and from a big therapy/psychiatrist office where my old therapist worked. And then my primary care doctor took over and he’s been the one prescribing me meds for the past couple of years, but he’s not at all a specialist in psychiatric medicine so he’s not knowledgeable on all the medications and on how to help me. He and I want me to see a psychiatrist but a psychiatrist isn’t accessible to me at this time.
When my parents were still responsible for all my health bills, they either always rejected or were apprehensive about me seeing an actually competent prescriber bc of the cost. And I’d always beg my mom to help me research psychiatrists who specialize in ADHD and who are in-network but she never did. (I feel a lot of resentment.)
And now that I’m out of uni, they (understandably) expect me to pay, but I’m unemployed (for many reasons, main one being that my ADHD and anxiety are completely out of control to the point where they’re debilitating) and I can’t afford it. I have my parents insurance still but a lot of the psychiatrists and psychologists in my areas don’t take any insurance, some take insurance but not mine, and the rest are either completely booked, don’t specialize in ADHD, or don’t seem trustworthy. And I’ve also learned that since I haven’t met my deductible, I’d be still paying at least $100-300 for an appointment with a psychiatrist.
I feel stuck in a hole that’s only getting deeper.

Hi everyone,
A bit of context, I recently starting taking 5mg of Adderall XR and at first it was really helping me. After about 5 days, I noticed the effects were tapering off with each day. I was told after a week that I could move up to 10mg but after trying 10mg I got a lot of terrible side effects. Headache, really fast heart rate (almost 140) and the focus wasn't really there either. I moved back down to 5mg and feel almost nothing. Not sure if this means I need to switch medications or if I should stick it out with the 10mg to see if my body adjusts. I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and could lend some wisdom. Thank you!

Hi, I’m a pretty healthy teen (18 AFAB) with hypothyroidism. Daily/almost daily smoker (weed not tobacco) who should also cut back on drinking if that matters. I also take prescribed paxil and adderall. Recently ive been EXHAUSTED and also had frequent urination for whatever reason?? But today was that and even more. First I felt like I was experiencing some kind of heart palpitations and I was lightheaded and weak (for like, some hours). Then after that subsided, I got a headache. I just felt miserable and unwell today and none of this is typical for me whatsoever. Its making me anxious tbh so… could this be thyroid problems? Hopefully this isn’t bc of my stupid choices (drinking). I just want a little insight. Thanks

I was recently diagnosed with JME (tentatively) waiting on MRI and EEG. I have only had one known to myself Grand Mal but have some scattered myoclonus (convulsions without losing consciousness) I 23F was put on depacote 2 years ago after the Grand Mal and had really good results but was told by my neurologist after properly being diagnosed that I should not be on depacote due to it causing birth defects if I would have a child. I obviously don’t plan on it but it is a risk so I changed to zonisamide and I feel so awful on it after only about two weeks but I’m wondering if it could be my Adderall which I was on before diagnosis after symptoms started. I feel bad because I have a physical job but I’ve been so like disoriented during the day and has been diminishing my appetite even more. I’ve messaged both primary care and neurologist. Is there anything anyone does to help with a headache in a physical job? I’m a dog groomer so I can’t necessarily stop and work on something else easier and is a consistently loud environment. I’ve tried noise canceling headphones, loops, earplugs, etc. I find pressure usually makes the headache come on faster.