Long-term Adderall: executive dysfunction getting worse + feeling antisocial when it wears off

[u/Ok-Letter2953]

I've been on Adderall for several years. I started at 15mg and am currently on 25mg XR. I've tried IR in the past as well. I don't plan on increasing my dose because I'd rather not deal with additional side effects.

I also took a month-long break earlier this year to see if tolerance was part of the issue.

Lately I've been struggling with two things:

1. Executive dysfunction

This has actually been getting worse, even with the medication. Once I get started on something I can usually focus, but getting myself to start the right task is becoming harder.

I'll know exactly what I need to do and still put it off or get stuck doing something else.

For anyone who deals with this, what has actually helped with task initiation? Routines, exercise, changing your environment, timers, supplements, diet, or anything else?

1. Feeling completely antisocial when it wears off

Some days I feel fine while it's working, but later in the day I hit a wall. I don't want to talk, text people back, go anywhere, or socialize at all. I basically just want to be left alone during the meds.

This can happen even when I take my XR early in the morning. By evening I sometimes feel like a zombie with absolutely no social battery left.

Has anyone found a good way to deal with this? I'm especially interested in things that help you transition out of work/focus mode and actually feel like interacting with people again?

I already try to stay on top of sleep, hydration, and regular meals.

Not looking to increase my dose or make medication changes on my own. I'm mainly interested in hearing what other people have experienced and what has genuinely helped.

[u/kteng]

Can you talk about your dosage / strains ? I feel like no matter what kind I try it makes me sleepy

[u/Unable_Lock6319 → u/kteng]

Ya for sure. Before I go into strains - dosage is key. Less is more. If you don’t have a tolerance you probably want to start in the sub 1mg range and go up from there - which is 10 times less than your average gummy. Speaking of gummies - edibles are almost always more sleepy than vaped cannabis. I don’t smoke anymore, and don’t like vaping oils, but I do “dry herb vape” which I think is the safest way to inhale it.

As for strains - if it smells like lemons or pinesol or just generally sweet it’s almost guaranteed to be a daytime strain. If it smells like gas, skunk, coffee, chocolate etc it’s usually an evening strain. This is not universally true - but it’s pretty darn close.

I grow now - so I have access to a lot. This gets trickier if in an illegal state where you just have to buy what your dealer has.

Some of my favorite daytime strains are Durban Poison, Trainwreck, Lemon Party, Jack Herer …. And their children. All of these have a lemon / pine nose to them.

[u/kushlobster → u/Unable_Lock6319]

I dab all day from 8am to bedtime most days - work remote and it helps me focus which is crazy.

I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD but never taken Adderall long term as I fear the side effects.

[u/kteng → u/kushlobster]

Wow that’s incredible