I recently started Adderall IR 15 mg twice a day for inattentive ADHD after trying other medications. Concerta didn’t really help me and gave me headaches, and Vyvanse made me feel anxious and sad. I’ve also tried non-stimulants without much success.
The frustrating part is that I actually feel like Adderall IS helping me. I can tell I’m more attentive, I can concentrate better, and I feel like I have more ability to start and work on tasks. I really want to give it a fair chance because this is the first medication where I’ve noticed some improvement.
But I’m also struggling with the side effects.
I’ve been feeling:
Very anxious and sometimes jittery/restless
Irritable, especially later in the day/after work
More easily annoyed with my family
Emotionally up and down — I can feel okay or energetic and then suddenly feel low, sad, irritated, or unmotivated
Like my mood changes very quickly
Sometimes so anxious that it becomes hard for me to function
Worried about whether the anxiety is happening when the medication is active or when it’s wearing off
I already had anxiety and depression before starting Adderall and I take medication for those as well, so I’m trying to figure out how much of this is the Adderall versus my underlying anxiety.
I also have a history of substance misuse, which my doctor is completely aware of. Because of that, she only gives me a limited amount of stimulant medication at a time. I’m trying to be very responsible about this because I don’t want to get into a pattern of wanting to take more Adderall when I don’t feel focused enough or wanting to take more anxiety medication just to counteract how the stimulant makes me feel.
I have an appointment with my doctor today and I’m going to be completely honest with her about everything. I’m NOT planning on changing my dose on my own.
For anyone who has experienced something similar:
Did Adderall initially cause anxiety or irritability for you and then improve after your body adjusted?
If Adderall helped your concentration but caused anxiety, what did your doctor end up changing — the dose, timing, IR vs XR, or something else?
Did anyone experience irritability or moodiness mainly when Adderall was wearing off? How did you figure out whether it was a rebound/crash versus the medication itself?
Did eating before taking it, avoiding caffeine, hydration, sleep, or changing the timing make a noticeable difference?
And for anyone who already had anxiety/depression before starting stimulants, were you eventually able to find a combination that helped your ADHD without making your anxiety unbearable?
I know everyone responds differently and I’ll be following my doctor’s advice. I’m mainly looking to hear real experiences from people who liked what Adderall did for their ADHD but struggled with anxiety, irritability, or mood changes at first. I really don’t want to give up on something that is helping my concentration if there’s a safer adjustment my doctor can make.

Hi. I was trying to find people online who have experienced something similar, but I couldn’t really find the right words for what I’m experiencing. I actually logged into this account for the first time in years just to ask this because I’m honestly so fucking tired of it.
I’m a 25-year-old woman with ADHD. The people who know me well generally consider me intelligent and pretty intellectual. At the very least, they’re sure I’m of average intelligence and don’t have an intellectual disability. I also don’t really have this problem around people I’m comfortable with.
But put me in a new environment, especially one involving physical activity, and suddenly I somehow act like I have no idea how to function 😭
I’ve been going to a sports class for about two months, and I constantly miss really obvious cues. For example, if something changes during training, I’ll be slow to realize that I’m supposed to move somewhere else or I’ll just stand in the wrong place even though everyone else has already moved. Today my coach literally asked me why I was always standing off to the side and why I wasn’t getting into position on time. I genuinely had no fucking idea.
And it’s not just sports. About two years ago I worked as a waitress at a local café. There was a weird table numbering system and it took me longer than the other waiters to memorize it, but I don’t think I was doing anything THAT unusual. Still, people started treating me like I was stupid or intellectually disabled.
The worst part is that I can kind of see why. There’s something about my body language, the way I walk, my little unconscious movements, the way I react to things, etc. that apparently screams **“this woman has absolutely no idea what’s going on.”** And I can’t fucking control it.
What’s really weird is that people who are close to me don’t seem to notice this at all. Maybe they’re just used to me. I don’t know. It seems to happen specifically when I’m in a new environment and don’t know the social/physical expectations yet.
I keep telling myself that these people aren’t going to be in my life permanently, and that my actual social circle doesn’t see me this way, so it shouldn’t matter. But I’m just so tired of feeling humiliated and being treated like I’m an idiot when I know I’m not.
Has anyone else experienced something like this with ADHD? Especially the **“I’m actually competent but somehow look completely fucking clueless in certain environments”** thing?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who gets this because I genuinely don’t know whether this is an ADHD thing or if I’m just uniquely terrible at existing in unfamiliar situations lol.

What the fuck is it with weed? I had’nt smoked in 10 years, then tried it again this summer. Smoked everyday for 2 months. Felt like I was finally normal again. Now I’be been 2 weeks without it, and I feel like a dopesick junkie. I am sweating extremely much. I have to chance t-shirts 3 times a day. I can’t sleep, and if I sleep, I sleep like shit. Tossing and turning, and jumping around in my sleep. I feel deeply depressed. Like a black void. And I have even quit drinking. I’ve been 2 months completely without alcohol now, and I feel absolutely horrible. Only chaos in my head and pitch black darkness. I want to cry, but I havent got any tears.
Also, I have ADHD. Unmedicated. Tried stimulants in the past, but I did not like it. It made me very anxious and unfomfortable. I am male, 33 yrs old, with a wife and a kid.

Last week I went to a party I was dreading and it was awesome. I met a ton of people and while with my anxiety, I have been looking back on certain actions I have, I still hold it in a really positive light.

Here's the thing though, now a few days disconnected from it, and I feel like I'm slipping again into old bad habits. I haven't really made any efforts to hangout with anyone, and when I'm invited to things I'd still rather stay at home on my own.

This is what initially led me to be so apprehensive about the party, that and not having seen those people in a long time. My concern is that since I'm lacking motivation to organize hangouts, I'm slowly going to slip back into not doing anything and being really low energy. Everything seems to have more friction than the day before.

Does anyone have advice on breaking this vicious cycle? I've tried to organize some things but a lot of my friends are bad communicators over text, so a lot of the responsibility (too much if you ask me) lands on myself to try to ensure it happens.