Adult with ADD on Adderall

[trblnfla]

My best friend was diagnosed by her primary care physician as being ADD a few months ago.  She is 46 yrs old.  He put her on a low dosage of Straterra at first but after 2 weeks the side effects required a change in medication.  He put her on a low dosage of Adderall (18mgs per day).  She also takes 450 mgs of Wellbutrin a day for depression and 100 mgs of Topamax for migraines.  Add to that the fact that she drinks a few glasses of wine every night and you have quite a cocktail.  Since being put on Adderall her behavior has really changed.  Yes - she is more focused at work - but she is also quick to take offense and anger now too.  If any of us dares to say that she may be overmedicated - she gets angry and defensive.  She said the Adderall has killed her appetite and her libido but because she likes how it makes her feel and how much she is able to accomplish - she will live with those side effects.  She has lost weight in the 2 months that she has been taking Adderall.  She is 5'3" and has gone from 125 lbs to 119 lbs.  
She has also broken up with her significant other of one year which was a shock to all her friends and family and especially to him, since things had been going very well.  She's behaving like a 20 yr old.  She stays up til all hours during the week and stays out till the wee hours on the weekends.
She swears that the addition of Adderall to her daily regimen has been a godsend....I'm not so sure.  She was a different person 2 months ago.  Is this a common reaction for an adult on Adderall?  She has an appt with her doctor next week to evaluate how she is doing on the Adderall.  She is going to make it sound like it's the best thing that has happened to her.  Are we wrong to be worried?

[compnet]

Have you tried to get him to talk to a councellor or psychiatrist?  He sounds very unstable and it sounds like it could lead to a need for a brief stay in the psych ward or rehab.

[compnet]

I went through all the psychological testing with psychologists and psychiatrists as a child to get my diagnosis.  Is this pretty uncommon nowadays -- getting diagnosed without lots of testing?

[allmymarbles]

I sounds to me like your friend just likes drugs. And since when is a family doctor competent to make the diagnosis of ADD? In any case she doesn't have it, judging by her reaction to Adderall. She is on speed (Adderall) for its own sake. She will probably be able to con her doctor, since she already has.

[candibahr]

My spouse is on Adderral and our marriage has been in turmoil for three years.  He filed for divorce in August.  During our marriage, he would work all hours of the night and not sleep for 2-3 days and then crash on the weekend.  He became increasingly angry and avoidant at the slightest of triggers.  He would leave for several hours and that eventually became nights and then weekends.  I was extremely lonely and walking on eggshells around him.  I started to have anxiety because I just didn't know what to expect when I would spend time with him. He nearly lost his business too.  His partner at could not tolerate his frequent absenteeism.  He would even say he was going to work and his partner would tell me he only worked one day out of 5.  I would spend hours looking for him, expected and assumed he was having an affair.  He would hide out in hotel rooms constantly to avoid any activities that we would plan as a family.  He would get engrossed in a book and stay up all night.  Or engrossed in his work to the avoidance of all other things.

I have urged him to try different medications but he says they do not help his ADHD.  He likes how the adderral makes him feel.  We are trying to mend our relationship now and he is acting like a college kid all over again.  He bought a convertible and totaled it the next day.  He has had 5-6 car accidents in the last year.  He started drinking a lot and is now addicted to singing kareoke and obsessed with his friend the DJ.  He says he is buying a motorcycle next.  He is on this big exercise kick too.  He runs 3 miles a day!  He acts like he has Bipolar fluctuating madly between manic/depression.  

I even called the drug company to report my concerns about the medication.  Shire denies any problems with the medication and says its the abuse of it that is the problem.  I have a feeling that my husband is taking more than he should and running out of it before he can get a script.  He crashes and sleeps and is so vulgar and rude when he doesnt have it; which is now once a month!!!

[choo_choo]

Hi,

I have epilepsy and I take quite a few medications...antipsychotics, antidepressant, stimulant and broncodilators...that lower my seizure threshold and I'm hanging in there.  I see an epilepsy specialist who is very good at keeping things at bay.  I go to my appointments, get routine EEGs and tell him about new medications or changes in my medication doses.  Just because I have epilepsy doesn't mean I can't take Vyvanse or whatever, it just means I have to be careful, keep an eye out for changes and keep in contact with my doctor.  I assume the same holds true for other people.      

[dollyn]

Hi  I would tell your friend  that adderall is just like speed. And it has very bad side effects ,one of the side effects is Seizures and she is also on wellbutrin and that has a warning all of it that it can cause Seizures also. So she shouldn't be on Adderall .

Have they ever done a EEG on your friend .is see she is on topomax  and that is used for seizures also.  she should get an EEG done on her. It may be that she is having Seizures  and not ADD because  ADD can look like Seizures.