I have recently started taking Adderall again and the only side effect that is causing me problems is insomnia. I am taking a very small dose, 5mg twice a day, and I take my last dose by 2pm. Usually I can fall asleep, but I wake up a few hours earlier than I am supposed to, and cannot fall back asleep. I also am prescribed Ativan because I occasionally have anxiety, and the only way I can relax enough to fall asleep (since I started taking Adderall), is to take my Ativan. My doctor said that is OK to do but I don't want to take Ativan every night just to fall asleep. I take it very rarely for anxiety. I also have tendonitis in my foot for which I am prescribed Vicodin and although my doctor said I could, after doing research on possible interactions I have made the decision not to take Vicodin and Ativan at the same time, so I have to make a choice each day whether I want to deal with the pain in my foot and sleep better or have my foot feel better and trouble falling asleep. Anyway my question here is does anyone with experience taking Adderall have any ideas on how I can fix my insomnia problem without popping Ativans nightly?? I don't want to stop taking Adderall, but its not healthy for me to not get 8 hours of sleep each night and this waking up at 4 am instead of 8am needs to stop!!! Any helpful feedback is greatly appreciated!! BTW I am aware that these drugs have the potential to be habit forming, before everyone tells me that!! That is why I am afraid to keep popping Ativans in order to sleep. Thanks!

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by bkms19

I have recently started taking Adderall again and the only side effect that is causing me problems is insomnia. I am taking a very small dose, 5mg twice a day, and I take my last dose by 2pm. Usually I can fall asleep, but I wake up a few hours earlier than I am supposed to, and cannot fall back asleep. I also am prescribed Ativan because I occasionally have anxiety, and the only way I can relax enough to fall asleep (since I started taking Adderall), is to take my Ativan. My doctor said that is OK to do but I don't want to take Ativan every night just to fall asleep. I take it very rarely for anxiety. I also have tendonitis in my foot for which I am prescribed Vicodin and although my doctor said I could, after doing research on possible interactions I have made the decision not to take Vicodin and Ativan at the same time, so I have to make a choice each day whether I want to deal with the pain in my foot and sleep better or have my foot feel better and trouble falling asleep. Anyway my question here is does anyone with experience taking Adderall have any ideas on how I can fix my insomnia problem without popping Ativans nightly?? I don't want to stop taking Adderall, but its not healthy for me to not get 8 hours of sleep each night and this waking up at 4 am instead of 8am needs to stop!!! Any helpful feedback is greatly appreciated!! BTW I am aware that these drugs have the potential to be habit forming, before everyone tells me that!! That is why I am afraid to keep popping Ativans in order to sleep. Thanks!

I am happy to see that you are using discretion with these medications. Lots of people know these RX meds have a tendency to be habit forming but they take too many anyway. So this is a huge credit to you.

Don't change the way that you think no matter what anyone says. We CAN take medications that are prone to be habit forming if we do it properly and ONLY when absolutely necessary. We can do this and not become addicted. It's just very tough, for me it was impossible as I wasn't strong enough to control myself. I was always too much of a pleasure seeker. Each of these medications have medicinal value when used the way they are intended to be used.

There are some obvious possibilities for interaction between all of these medications. Common sense alone tells us that mixing tranquilizers with amphetamines and also pain pills could be dangerous. But remember that the most important thing about possible interactions is that we are aware of the possibility. That alone should keep us on our toes and help us to make responsible decisions if we are mature and realistic in our thought process as you are demonstrating.

You're taking the last dose early in the day which would normally be the first thing I would suggest besides not taking too much. You are obviously not taking a large dose. The thing about adderall is that it has a relatively short duration for action. It's peak effect is 1-3 hours and the total duration of action is only about five hours. So the subsequent doses are required to maintain the desired effect. These time frames are approximate as we are all a little different from each other but they are still pretty accurate.

I can't help but wonder what the reason is for you taking the adderall. Sometimes it can be the health problem more than the medication itself that causes our insomnia. Clonidine or guanfacine will often help an individual who is taking adderall settle down for sleep. These medications do not have the negative side effects that taking too much ativan can cause. They are also not habit forming as they are primarily blood pressure medications. You might consider asking your dr about them for your situation. Also if you are experiencing pain and discomfort from from the tendonitis that could keep you up or wake you as well. You have undoubtedly already considered this I am sure. I am just trying to consider all possibilities here.

It's pretty tough to say for sure what will help here. I would be interested to know what the adderall was prescribed for as that might shed a little more light on this. I would not say that you shouldn't ever take the ativan or the vicodin at the same time as the adderall. Yes there are potential problems doing this, but as prudent as you appear I think that you would probably be safe. If you could give us a little more info as requested that would possibly help some. I will watch for your reply. Hang in there. This will work out as things always seem to do. God bless.

Thanks for the feedback! I am actually taking Adderall to boost my metabolism and curb my appetite. I know this is looked down upon but I am doing it under the supervision of my doctor. About 2 years ago I told him I thought I had ADHD, so he prescribed 10 mg twice a day of Adderall. After taking that for only 4 days, I had to stop because it was way too much for me and I felt like I was speeding all day. Anyway, over the course of the past year I have gained 50 lbs. While I know this happened because for a while I had stopped working out and was eating too much, I have changed my habits back to what they were before, and have not lost 1 pound. So, I asked my doctor if there was any type of diet pill that was safe that may help. He said of anything that may help he thinks Adderall is the safest and suggested I go back on that temporarily. He also pointed out that my recurring tendonitis (which has only been a problem since I put on weight) was probably because my body is not used to being this heavy and is putting too much of a strain on my feet, so losing weight would be beneficial for many reasons (obviously). The Adderall does help with my focus and concentration, but truthfully if it were not for the goal of trying to suppress my appetite and boost my metabolism, I would not be taking it.

I am sure the insomnia is caused by Adderall because it was not a problem before I began taking it. I know the dose I am taking is small but I think I am sensitive to this medication because I still notice a difference even which such a small amount. Today I have decided to only take the morning dose and see if that helps. That is only 5mg once a day but I am hoping that is still enough to help without interfering with my sleep. I know Adderall has a short half-life, but it also stays in your system for 3 days. Its just strange to me that my problem is not falling asleep, but staying asleep all night. So I am thinking maybe just taking less will help... I hope so anyway!

So the 5mg of Adderall once daily seems to be working out better than twice a day for me... Robert I am wondering what are your suggestions for preventing an addiction to either ativan or vicodin? truthfully my foot is healed enough that the vicodin is not really necessary, but i like how it makes me feel! i am also the biggest wimp when it comes to pain and being that where i work i am walking all the time i feel i need to take one the minute i feel the slightest twinge of pain. I have noticed that as soon as the effects of the Adderall begin to wear off I crave something that will relax me. I am more concerned about Ativan though... I want to start taking it at night (only if I have not taken Vicodin that day), so that I can hopefully sleep better at night... I am just concerned that I could become addicted. Any ideas how I can prevent this while taking it?

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by bkms19

So the 5mg of Adderall once daily seems to be working out better than twice a day for me... Robert I am wondering what are your suggestions for preventing an addiction to either ativan or vicodin? truthfully my foot is healed enough that the vicodin is not really necessary, but i like how it makes me feel! i am also the biggest wimp when it comes to pain and being that where i work i am walking all the time i feel i need to take one the minute i feel the slightest twinge of pain. I have noticed that as soon as the effects of the Adderall begin to wear off I crave something that will relax me. I am more concerned about Ativan though... I want to start taking it at night (only if I have not taken Vicodin that day), so that I can hopefully sleep better at night... I am just concerned that I could become addicted. Any ideas how I can prevent this while taking it?

First you have to get the pleasure seeking person out of your body. I know all about liking the way the vicodin make me feel. It sends a shiver down my back when I think about them that way. It isn't healthy for me and it isn't healthy for you. Stop it. You have to take some responsibility in this for yourself. I mean that with all respect, not judging. Believe me I am so much worse than you. I just don't use today. But we have to stop thinking about how good the pills make us feel and focus on the reality of ruining our lives if we don't stop doing crazy things.

Pain meds are not supposed to make the pain go away. Benzos are not supposed to make us feel like we are floating in bliss. Pain meds ONLY take the edge off, the same with the ativan. I was so addicted to both meds, probably as bad as anyone I know. While we are not responsible for our addiction, we are responsible for our recovery.

To answer your question now that I have finished lecturing ...... you can take either medication if you really have self control. I never had it. But if you ONLY take a pill when you absolutely need it you won't get addicted. But you already said the pain is not bad anymore, so you don't need it. Face it, you love the pills. I do too. We can't keep them around or we will get into them. So you shouldn't keep them around.

All benzos are so addicting, they are the worst. You need to knock it off with them. If you need an occasional ativan to sleep that is okay. That won't hurt anything if you can keep it to only when you really need it. If you take the meds the way I have described you won't become addicted. The key is to NEVER take them daily. When you notice that you are starting to take them more and more often you have a problem brewing by this point. God bless.

Thanks Robert, you are right, i do love pills but, i am also so concerned with becoming addicted, as i know how devastating that can be, that at least with the Vicodin I am not concerned. The Ativan is another story though... I have been told by my doctor it is okay to take every night to help unwind for sleep... However I am trying not to do that. Unfortunately I am already a pretty high strung/ anxious person and the Adderall seems to be increasing that. Also my Rx is 1mg Ativan, but it takes more like 2mg to actually get me ready for bed. 1mg works better for if I am out and very nervious or anxious about something, which is pretty rare that it is severe enough to take the medication. I have had an Rx for Ativan for the past year but havent taken it enough to be of concern. The only reason I worry is that now with this Adderall in my system I feel like I need it more often. Thanks for responding and for the advice though, it really helps me.

[Robert_325]

You might consider trying valerian root or gaba. Both help with anxiety and are also used for helping us get to sleep. I started using the valerian root not long ago and it actually helps some. It isn't as good as a benzo obviously but it isn't supposed to be. Just something you might want to try. Good luck.

What is valerian root and gaba? And how do I get it? Have you noticed any side effects from using it? And how does it work? Sorry so many questions! Thanks!

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by bkms19

What is valerian root and gaba? And how do I get it? Have you noticed any side effects from using it? And how does it work? Sorry so many questions! Thanks!

They are both natural supplements. You can buy them at any health food store, vitamin store, or even most pharmacies. I buy the valerian root at the walmart pharmacy over the counter and 100 caps are about $5.00. It's certainly worth a try. I have ZERO side effects. Give it a little time to start working for you. I had to take it for 4-5 days before I could notice anything. I take four of the caps. You should do a google search on both and read up on them so you see exactly what you are taking. Hope this helps.