Long term effects of Adderall for Narcolepsy

I do have narcolepsy pretty severe. I have been on Dexedrine, Ritalin, Concerta, Provigil, Nuvigil. All of which did absolutely  nothing for me. This week my doc put me on adderall 60mg 3 times a day. And yes I do have a pretty severe case of narcolepsy with cataplexy. Im on a strong antidepressant seeing how your emotions are tied into the cataplexy. So the less you feel the less you fall out. Its the worst thing ever to deal with. I am a 32 yr old mother of 4. They are 11 2-8 yr olds and a very very active 6 yr old. I am praying that adderall will help me function. Because eight now I am non functional.

I am 47 and suffer from narcolepsey. I had a stroke 7 years ago so my dr was uneasy with prescribing me adderral but so far my bp has been fine and i feel good

u said it all, oh yeah

OMG th u so much 4 posting. My family (and DYFS!) thought I must be on Coke (when I've never done a drug in my life!) But now I'm facing other probs when I don't have my adderall on time due to doc-canceled appointments, etc. Your experiences since your post?

I am 25 years old and was diagnosed with Narcolepsy about 4 years ago. I started off seeing my neurologist every month and was initially prescribed a low dose of adderall xr. It was trial and error for me and Every month I went for a check up my dosage was increased, as to where I am now taking 40mg XR in the morning, and 20mg IR in the afternoon = 60mg/daily total (which is the recommended maximum daily dosage). My tolerance has built up quickly, and I now still feel fairly fatigued throughout the day. It's tough for me to make it through work and school, which is really frustrating most of the time. I've taken Provigil, and Ritalin, and Adderall is the only one that does help at least a little bit. I've been trying to research the long term effects of taking such a high dose, and am worried about what the next step will be for me, if I become completely tolerant to this dose as well. I don't like the way it makes me feel most of the time, I am not the same person I used to be. I'm irritable, impulsive, my thoughts are jumbled, my memory is terrible, and sometimes I feel like I'm just losing my mind. My mom has noticed this change in me and constantly tells me how she is worried about my health and how I am now. But going a day without taking my medication makes me feel a million times worse than when I am taking it. I feel like I'm in a lose/lose situation. Which is hard to take in sometimes considering I am young, and I'm not sure what else the doctors will be able to do for me to make things better from this point on.

Also as a side note; if I had the option of going back and never begin taking adderall, I would do it in a heartbeat. It's almost hard for me to remember who/ how I was before being on it, but it was definitely better than how I feel now.

i am 20 yrs old and was just diagnosed with nacolepsy bc i could never stay awake when i was driving and it was getting so bad i had to go to the doctor.He diagnosed me with mild sleep apnia and narcolepsy which explains why i could never stay awake in school and always got bad grades. i was wondering if anybody knew what would happen to me bc i am in the army reserves. my packet was just sent in and i think most cases of narcolepsy they discharge you from the military. Any information would be appreciated thanks!

They have me taking aderall once a day in the morning and it has made me lose 15lbs which isnt bad but not eating isnt the way to do it.

Hi, I'm Bev.  I was just diagnosed with ideopathic hypersomnia- excessive daytime sleepiness.  I've been complaining of unbearable exhaustion for over a year now to my family dr, but I had just been diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease and fibromyalgia in 2012, on top of the hypothyroidism I've been getting treated for since I was 22 and I'm now 40.  So, she dismissed my constant exhaustion as symptoms of those illnesses and depression and the medications themselves.  Recently though I almost fell asleep while driving and did fall asleep at work a few times that day while talking on the phone.  Then she sent me to my neuro for the sleep study.  I've already tried nuvigil, ritalin, dexodrine, and am on adderall now.  Nothing seems to be effective after taking it one or two days though.  It's like I build an immediate tolerance up to it.  My neuro said the adderall is the last thing there is to try so now I'm stuck.  I've been on cymbalta for the depression and my pain and lyrica too for a year now.  I also take vitamin b12 and d3 supplements to help, along with caffeine pills which I was hoping to be done with.  Does anyone else not respond to these stimulants?  I'm want to start cooking healthier meals, but I'm always so tired when I get home that I don't feel up to it.

Im almost 24. I was diagnosed with narcolepsy at 19. I didnt start showing sever signs until 8th grade. I was a straight a student until then. I started sleeping my life away. Even after family and teachers begged my father to have my tested he refused. He was convinced in his head that I was only lazy and stayed up too late on the phone. I failed high school from sleeping through every class but gym. My teachers gave up on waking me up eventually. I never have social issues I actually had the complete opposite. Then I started gaining weight kids pushed tampons in my mouth while I fell alseep on the bus. Teachers made me read to the class about narcolepsy. Then finally after failing high school I got hired into my first job at 19. I was immediately fired after falling asleep during orientation. My dad finally told me to go ask my doctor about a study. My heart stopped for over 5 seconds while I was in my over night study. I was told I had to be on a heart monitor for a month which prolonged my diagnoses even longer. My nap study was in a room with a tv and a bed. I forewarned the nurse there was no way I could lay on a bed alone and stay awake. She said try. Everytime she came to check on me she had to wake me up. Finally I had been told I had narcolepsy along with restless leg syndrome, and minor slep apnea. A week after i started my medication after finally feeling alive for the first time in years found out I was pregnant with my first son. Immediately I stopped taking it. I gained 90 ibs while I was pregnant due to me pretty much eating and sleeping my whole pregnancy. I had no energy to do anything. I had him 6 weeks premature. He was the size of a full term baby but was in the nicu for 11 days. It took 3 months of prior authorizations and fighting my doctors and insurance to get my meds back. I was on 10 mgs of dextroanphenomine then. I lost my marriage due to losing sexual appetite and aruging and fighting because he could not understand my disease and the effects those pills caused. A year later my second pregnancy surprised us all. Stopped my medicine again. I almost had him 16 weeks early and had to be on shots for the remander of my pregnancy. He will be 2 in march. In a year ive went from 5 mgs of adderall a day to 60 mgs. I hated provigil I felt pregnant and wanted to eat everything I saw. It says all over narcolepsy doesnt usually progress, but I wake up in pain everyday. It continues to get worse. Im immuning to the medicine so fast its horrible. My doctor has no answers but is more then happy to write me a script and send me off every month. I have loss control of my entire body when I laugh to hard and sometimes wake up paralyzed at night. Unable to move or breath or scream. I can only move my eyes. It stops when I fall back asleep. Ive also been having mini seizures in my sleep. My jaw shakes and as hard as I try to squeeze my fiancees arm to help me I cant. Its freakin scary. Even on adderall I still feel like a rock. Im exsausted all the time. Im being tested for rheumatoid arthritis at 23. And no one can help me. I was judged and told I was lazy and worthless and treated like c**p for 19 years. No one and i literally mean no one to this day understands how hard it is dealing with narcolepsy. I wake up and feel like I never slept. Now im suffering from insomia at night and all of the sudden im having issues with clenching my jaw everytime im suffering from anxiety. And I feel like eventually my sons are going to be like everyone else and judge me from it. I dont even like getting out bed anymore. I work 40+ hrs and I havent woke up happy in months. Its starting to effect my relationship because after no answers im ready to give up. I hate taking drugs to live my life. During my divorce my ex husband claimed I was a hazard to my son because Im narcoleptic. And when I showed my medication then turned it into I was on an extremely powerful narcotic and I could be a danger to him. After that didnt work for him in court except complete embarrassment for me, he then called cps and they came to house to make sure neither my narcolepsy nor my medication was dangerous for my son to be around. They also ended up opening a case because I had him in my car to go get my medicine that I had ran out of because it was on back order. I was going to pick up the medication that apparently im required to take to be a good enough mother for them and I got a case for endangerment to my sons life for having him in the car without taking my medicine.

The acid in orange juice will eliminate / break down adderall dosage completely. . I drink 8 oz of oj before bed & within 20 mins I become very sleepy.

Yes, I have narcolepsy and add/adhd, I take adderall to treat both, prescribed by my doctor. Ask your doctor first but you may be able to just take adderall. Since I was diagnosed with add first and was already taking adderall, my dr hasn't ever put me on anything else. However, I have recently gone from 40 mg's a day to 30 mg's a day due to a switch in doctors, I do still tend to fall asleep if I am sitting really still or if I have been working hard, even with a full nights sleep. Not sure if this helps but maybe it will give you something to go by when talking to your doc.

I was prescribed Adderall by my psychiatrist for execessive sleepiness as well, after we tried Vyvanse, Nuvigil; finally, Adderall worked. I was sent to see a psychiatrist, after my internist had labs, sleep disorder tests, and blood worked done with no real answers. She did, however, put me on thyroid medication (not sure if I needed it, but she thought it might help). I can clearly remember the day this malaise began... two years ago around the month of March. I just felt like I never had enough sleep, no matter how much I slept or how early I went to bed. Granted I am 50, to your 25, but I maintain a healthy weight, exercise, and take plenty vitamins. As a matter of fact, I had read that if your adrenal glands are lacking in production of the essential hormones (cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, adrenalin, etc.) you will undoubtedly be fatigued. However, if you start discussing adrenal gland with you family doctor, obgyn, or internist, they will definitely suggest you go see a psychiatrist, hence that is where they suggested I go.

I take 20mg IR adderall and 100mg nuvigil two times a day for narcolepsy and adhd!! My doc suggested I up my nuvigil so I started taking 1.5 tabs in the am or two and 1.5 in the afternoon but my heart felt like it was beating in my throat and I felt like it was hard to catch my breath so I how to lower it. I need to go back to my sleep doc again. Glad to know I'm not alone!

It will be different for everyone, of course, but Adderall work really well for my Narcolepsy symptoms and has decreased ADD-like behavior (was never officially diagnosed). Adderall also has long term and wuick release forms which can be taken together to help tacklemultiple symptoms.