adderall issues please help

[Ms Hadderall]

Where do I begin...I have suffered from ADHD since I was 12years old now I'm in my early 30's. I have always been hyper,introvert and a huge daydreamer that stares heavily in to space. Everyone has always called me lazy and my basic needs would always go unmet such as dressing or combing my hair daily.Fast forward to adderall I decided in 2016 to get help for my ADHD because I am tired of feeling this way and I am a single mom so I was prescribed 20mgs once a day and I was able to get my GED and attend college currently making A's&B's then I was placed on 20mgs twice a day 20 in the morning and 20 in the mid afternoon but the problem is I begin to hear voices that people were talking about me 24hrs a day non stop all negative talk these voices has caused me to quit many jobs and move back in with my mom which did not help things only became worse... I begin experience the bobble head syndrome and cannot keep my head up im only aware of it because others have made fun of me.I have trouble keeping my balance and I feel like I have Parkinson's disease daily. I told my psych now I'm back down to 20Mg's a day but he told me that the benefits outweigh the side effects so keep taking the meds.I don't run out of meds and I take 3 days break normally but I feel extremely lazy on my break but even on the meds I only get my homework done and I cook and clean sometimes I am able to firmly be on top of my kid homework and talk to my kid but I'm still not there otherwise because the rest of the time I'm compulsively reading social media or surfing the web and the day flies by.Although I have always been a homebody I have an extreme fear of the outside world.I used to exercise now I don't because of my social Anxiety I feel like I'm wanted for Murder. even on 20mgs I can't keep a job or live a normal life but I am able to do slightly more than I used to. What should I do? Is there any other options?? I am extremely overweight because I only eat sweets  

[SleepyStupid]

hi Ms. Hadderall,

welcome to the forums! i'm sorry to hear about your situation- being a single mom must be tough enough without the additional difficulties you've had all your life.

none of us here are healthcare professionals, so we really can't say what would be best for you.. however, you have some symptoms there that sound like a bad reaction to adderall. it certainly sounds like medication could help your condition, but there are a lot of options other than adderall to treat ADHD. perhaps you should discuss these options with your doctor. (i'm actually surprised he didn't take you off it the moment you mentioned voices).

[EricP]

Welcome to the forum! It really doesn’t sound like Adderall is right for you. Or possibly you are very sensitive and the dose is too high. Therapeutic amounts often start around 5mg twice daily. However I am not reccomending staying on it by any means.

Maybe Wellbutrin or something that isn’t so strong. Docs unfortunately have to experiment with meds sometimes. You maybe overly sensitive to Adderall and be experiencing highs and lows of dopamine. Lows being when you have the head nods. 

I also had the head nodding thing towards the end of taking Adderall and the months following. I did a ton of research about that and other symptoms and went to multiple docs worried about Parkinson’s like symptoms. Basically you can’t be diagnosed with Parkinson’s until you have a very specific tremor or rigidity/stiffness that affects movement. With time off Adderall probably 3-4mo is when that symptom went away for me. I believe the periods where my head would nod was when my dopamine levels were very low and with time this stabilized. I am not a doctor however so cannot tell you specifically what is going on with you, I am just sharing my experience. 

Everyone including docs will promote exercise which does help, however feels near impossible when you feel horrible to begin with. 

Hope some of this helps.