Laura

Hi Jane S, Well, where to begin. If you are going to take the adderall xr, you should take it as prescribed. although there is 'talk' about a lot of college/high school students abusing the medicine by purchasing it from another source and taking it when they need to cram for an exam, it will have a not so good effect on them in the long run. As with most medicines that are prescribed, your body needs a constant level maintained for the results to be consistant. i experienced much of the same symptoms that you do and the adderall has really helped me a lot. as for forming a dependency, i honestly cannot tell you how your body will react. It is a narcotic, and that is always a risk with a controlled substance. i do not have an addictive personality. i have smoked cigarettes for years and quit cold turkey where others cannot. i have had caffeine for many days on end through years and just stopped my intake without any side effects where relatives of mine have had to suffer through caffeine "detox" withdrawel migranes. whether or not you can form a dependency is completely determined by personality, or genetics. however, if you are going to take the medicine, i would take it every day. also, you should not just "stop" taking the medicine. i myself have developed deep depressions when i have forgotten to take in a new prescription to be filled before running out of the last months supply. I also have experienced migranes b/c it is recommended that the weaning be slow and the dosages be lowered the same way they were increased, 5 mg at a time under the care of your Dr. i don't have a problem with sleep, but i take my capsule detween 5:30 and 6am every morning. i take 25mg at a time along with 60 mg of Cymbalta b/c I am a type A personality and tend to expect the same high performance i exert from everyone around me. so, this helps me to be a little more patient. Well, i hope my rambling helped. If you can concentrate better , and can study longer, then it is working. your exam situation may have been from the random off and on of the medicine. Or, you may have taken your meds too close to when you took the exam. please give the meds a try following the prescribed instructions before you quit. If the possibility of depenency is weighing heavily on you, then perhaps your Dr. can prescribe something comparable that is not a narcotic. Take Care, ~Laura

Hi, I take Adderall 25mg XR combined with Cymbalta 60 mg for ADHD and Anxiety/Stress/Patience. Unfortunately, I suffer from horrible spring and fall allergies. Well, My Dr. told me I could take my Allegra with my meds, and lo and behold, I break out in major hives! Anyway, I called the Dr., and I called the pharmacy and no one can find any contraindications between the 3 medicines. I know it has to be the Allegra reacting with the Adderall and the Cymbalta but, like I said, the Dr's found nothing. Has anyone else with allergies had a reaction between one or both of these meds and an allergy medicine?? ~Laura

Hi Julie, I know your post is old, but it actually made me want to register and respond, so, I hope this helps. I am 35 years old and have known for some time that I have had ADHD for a good part of my life. I was not officially diagnosed with it until I was 32, but looking back, I now see that had Doctors known then what they know now, I would have done a lot better in school and not had to struggle so much. Anyway, I take Adderall 25mg XR and I too have always had mood swings (worse as I got older). My lack of patience for certain things has increased drastically over the years. I am also prescribed Cymbalta 60 mg for the mood swings and anxiety. I cannot even begin to tell you what a world of difference this had made for me! I have had to compensate over the years (b/c of my undiagnosed ADHD) by living with a strict regimented schedule. I still have this habit, and if anyone in my family botches my schedule, I lose it. so, the Cymbalta has helped me to slow down a bit and relax. It doesn't help that my 8 year old daughter has a textbook case of ADHD herself and is on Adderall as well. Anyway, I hope that this didn't come too late and you did not give up on hearing from anyone. Good Luck! ~Laura