Since taking adderall my bf hacks, coughs, scrocks, whatever you wanna call it, CONSTANTLY. It's gross and it actually seems to be unproductive. He will do it for five minutes straight, claiming it feels like something is stuck way back in his throat but he never actually splits anything out. Ten minutes later, he starts again. Sometimes a teeny chunk of white (I'm sorry this is so gross) will come of it but not anything the warrants hours of phlegmatic coughing. He's also a smoker and def smokes more when on adderall but I'm convinced it has to do with the dry mouth effect more than cigs bc he did not used to do this. It drive me absolutely insane as I find it repulsive to hear it constantly. Anyone know of this being a dude effect and if there is anything to help stop it??
Adderall - Anyone else have a side effect of obsessively hacking up what turns out to be nothing?
Question posted by Adderall users gf on 10 Nov 2014
Last updated on 1 March 2025 by lsaccomanno
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49 Answers
Wellll honestly I just started taking Adderall for my ADHD. I actually just googled this problem becauseits driving me crazy. I noticed that I can't stop trying to clear my throat and I on the other hand am obsessed with continually trying to swallow, like a hard swallow non stop. I noticed I am always sniffing for no reason, not loud but just a quiet sniff followed by trying to swollow my tonsils i have not had for 20 + years, then of course the throat clear that i try to do quietly. Like he says, it feels like there is mucus stuck deep down in the throat. I am annoying myself but not sure that my family has noticed. They say drinking plenty of fluids helps and it does if I can remember to do so. It is a real thing just so you know. Not sure if I helped but I thought I would chime in so you know he's definitely not fibbing.
I have been taking Adderall for 10 yrs now.
I have found that this is actually coming from your stomach, basically acid reflux but instead of burning, feel like you have junk in your throat you can't swallow down. Hacking is not going to work! You have to resist hacking. All that will do is cause further irritation to your throat. (I realize this is hard, but worth it!)
I have found that the food/drink is the key to avoiding this issue.
The main triggers are:
- Eating large servings of any food;
- All carbs, especially simple carbs. I still eat carbs, just in very small amts;
- drinking acidic drinks like coffee on an empty stomach.
I keep acid reflux chewable tablets handy, they do help (tried A.R. preventing pills but did nothing) make sure you drink 8oz of water after the chewable tablets.
Exercising helps or any movement to promotes digestion.
Laying on your left side with shoulders turned upward really helps!!
I have noticed that when you start burping the lump starts to go away. I burp a lot but at least it's way better than hacking and you can keep the burping quiet for the most part. So let it rip!
Hope this helps you all!
I'm late to this party but I am so glad I've found this thread. I've had a cough since late spring? Usually a lot of "stuff" to clear out upon waking up in the morning. Occasionally a dry cough but usually productive. I chalked it up to allergies being in California and it has been DRY. We live near orchards and a development is going in a block away so a whole lot of dust and crap being kicked up. Maybe that is a psr of the problem but you know what else started last spring? I started Adderall. This has been driving me absolutely wild. I'm so glad to see other people having the same experience. I googled it and it said a cough is a more rare symptom of Adderall but apparently not!
I do this too but I actually cough gross stuff up most of the time, but it won’t stop and I hate it.
I just wanted to say thank you. You just (tonight) helped me so much you wiill never know. This was the absolute worst ongoing feeling (for months) that I have ever had and I am almost 50. Thank you thank you thank you
Omg, I thought I was going crazy the past 2 years. I take Adderall 20mg, and also XR 25mg. Have the hacking with both. My doctor also thought was happening because of my GERD issue. I had GERD (Nissan fundoplication) surgery 7 months ago, but Still having the hacking issue. So now my doctor is stumped!!
Has anyone found a similar/comparable medication to replace Adderall but still get the same help benefits without the hacking/trying to clear the throat??? I keep leaning to switch to Ritalin but haven't researched enough! TYIA☺️
For anyone reading and struggling with this -- take a look at msjones's answer from 2020. That is definitely the best explanation I've seen yet for this problem. Besides that explanation, the best I've ever been able to find out is that a lot of the problem is psychosomatic and therefore it only gets worse as you become more stressed. This checks out, at least for me, because stress-relieving activities always seem to help most.
I've just started Adderall, again, after several years going without it. What's the first thing that starts happening as soon as I'm back on it? Mucus. Mucus everywhere. Msjones left some good tips on how to cope with feeling like there's entirely too much slime in your face and I agree those all have worked for me in the past. I particularly like to make sure that I have gum and drinking water pretty much at all times, and gargling mouthwash/using saline nasal sprays helps a bit.
Also, taking a minute to breathe and kind of meditate will help you to at least reduce stress and stop focusing on it too much. I'm not saying we're all imagining our pet globuses, but let's be real. We're on stimulant medications. We're all gonna end up hyper-focusing on it and get all anxious which I promise just makes it worse. Good luck everyone
I'm having these exact symptoms but I'm Taking Vyvanse and not Adderall. Rubbery mucus plugs form up in my sinus daily that only becomes dislodged, after great effort, when it is large enough or dried out enough. I'm pretty sure that the build-up at the back of my sinus has caused my chronic neck pain as well since my spine is directly next to where that mucus ball forms. I go through my local VA for the medication because it is 1/4 the cost of what I paid through my civilian doctor and CVS pharmacy. Not sure if it is a generic version of Vyvanse that might be different somehow. Been to ENTs, Neurosurgeons, Orthopedic surgeons, Physical therapists, chiropractors. I've had swollen lymph nodes cut out of my neck that I assume was swollen because it was constantly dealing with this buildup.
A "Thornwald Cyst" in my sinus to be scraped down to not give it a pocket for mucus to pool in and allow it to more easily drain down my throat (that had very little impact ultimately). I've ended up purchasing my own endoscope from Amazon, fog-free dental mirrors, and a tonsil stone vacuum and just turning the vacuum nozzle upwards and going into my sinus through my mouth and sucking the mass out myself, to a surprising degree of success. I'm not suggesting anyone do this. I DO NOT want to do that! But no doctor I've spoken to about this for over 7 years has even suggested something close. I've felt like I've been gaslit by all the doctors I've seen because none has even suggested just vacuuming or flushing the area themselves. All the nasal rinses have done is flow over the mass and make a mess. Knowing the consistency of the mass; it would probably require one of those gentle water jets that dentists use for rinsing, to dislodge it and clean the area. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this. I'll try to update if I learn more. Thanks everyone!
I've been taking Adderall XR 30mg for years and have never had this problem. But for about 6mths now I've been having this thick mucus that builds in my throat and sinuses and I have to constantly spit it out. Just last sat&sun I had an empty 8oz apple juice bottle and filled that bottle (to 4oz)halfway in 2 days taking only 1/2 of the tab a day. So I decided to stop taking multivitamins, and Adderall to do a 7day detox. I didn't realize it was the Adderall until l took it about an 1hr ago and began spitting the mucus back up again. Which lead me here. The only thing I can think of is that what ever change was made recently to the tab may be the cause of the mucus.The tab use to look like a dark orange football and now it it's like a light orange flat antacid tab.
YES! Like many other comments, I am so glad I found this post. I too have been taking adderall for many years but only the past few months have I been coughing almost non-stop and always white foamy phlegm. I thought it was lung or heart disease related but my physician has ruled that out. I couldn’t think of what it possibly could be, until now! I exercise frequently and don’t have SOB . I just have a constant nagging, hacking, phlegm filled cough. People look at me in horror if I have an episode in public and it keeps my house up most nights. I guess now I will have to make a choice between the cough or the medication. I appreciate all the feedback.
I have experienced this issue with Amphetamine myself. Occasionally coughing up a hard rubbery like mucus.
I believe this may be due to the over stimulation of the oesophagus muscle. The oesophagus is designed to open to allow food and liquids to pass through into the stomach, then to close itself to prevent food, liquids and stomach acid from making it's way back up into the throat.
The medication may be stimulating the opening of the oesophagus muscle tube when it's not supposed to be opened, causing some of the stomach contents to make their way back up through the throat, triggering the symptoms.
Unfortunately there's no real solution for this. I seen one commenter suggest the use of Proton Pump Inhibitors to reduce the acid reflux. But I would strongly urge against this when using Amphetamine based stimulants, as PPI's are highly alkaline and are known to greatly increase amphetamine concentration levels in the blood, which can lead to a potentially dangerous overdose. So it's strongly advised to completely avoid PPI's when taking Amphetamine based stimulants.
This is great I have had this issue for years. Didn't even consider it being Adderall but now it makes so much sense. I like to sing and I just can't anyone because of this. Vyvanse does not have this effect. I stopped taking Adderall and got Vyvanse but before taking the Vyvanse I waited for the phlegm to stop (about two weeks) then I took the Vyvanse and now nothing. I'm so happy now. If you don't want to switch then I recommend this, gargle warm saltwater, take a few antacids, nasal spray, hot shower. This helped alot but not completely. Easiest thing is to just get Vyvanse
I can’t even begin to tell you all how grateful I am to have finally unlocked the impossible puzzle that is the combination of things needed in a precise order to Google to have found this thread.
For the last 16 - 18 months I have dealt with “hocking” and clearing mucus and a sticky nose with crap that won’t ever come out and I’m CONSTANTLY miserable and it’s embarrassing and humiliating I’m always spitting and I have spent hundreds on nasal crap and throat junk and pills and potions and lotions and GI meds and solutions.
I want to THREE ENTs and a Specialist at OSU Wexner Medical ENT, where I saw who was supposedly one of the premier ENT Doctors in the country. Only to be told by the last ENT, as I sat in his chair sobbing uncontrollably, that I “needed to see a psychologist and that it was mental like a nervous tic”. Because he. Also could find nothing wrong with me physically. I even had a ct scan of my head and face done.
For many, many agonizing months I’ve cried myself to sleep and cried in the shower and cried in my car at work. Unfortunately for me I was taking 30mg twice a day and my situation got SEVERE. I was ready to end it all. That’s how bad my nose and throat and the mucus and plegm and hocking was. I couldn’t even eat anything!! Forget about ice cream or chocolate and no way to the creamer for coffee or anything with sugar. Yep changed my diet, changed my cologne, you name it I tried to change it. But can’t change ADHD sadly.
I was lost, out of options and ready to relieve my family and friends of my horrible bodily noises and I’m not exaggerating or kidding. I knew I wasn’t crazy but after almost 2 years and 3 ENTs and a Specialist and trying anything I could to get better I was mentally done. I even had to take time off work. So impossible to explain this issue to someone who has never dealt with it. This thread will save my life. I have had a feeling for about 4-5 months it was the amphetamine salts and I just couldn’t “google the right combo” of words and symptoms. I even told one of the ENTs and the Allergy Doctor that I thought it was related to the medication. They literally blew me off. I even put it in writing on my chart.
So today is a special day I get to tell my wife and kids I have identified the root cause. Now I wonder how long my body will take to correct the damage. I literally feel like I need to find a support group like AA or NA now to get support and share stories. Blessed and grateful for all of you for sharing.
Okay... hear me out! For the post nasal drip, I use heat. Like a hot rag OR lay/tilt my head back (on my back) and have a heater blow on my face for awhile and sometimes do it multiple times in intervals if it's really bad. Sounds weird but it works for me... If your desperate you try anything lol. It gives some relief but doesn't always go away fast. It seems to break it up for some reason. Now everyone is different so don't come at me sideways if it doesnt work
I have struggled with the feeling of something in my throat and excessive saliva which makes me clear my throat or cough. There are a couple of things I have found helpful. One is I take the regular adderall not the XR and have slowly increased my dose letting my body getting used to it. The other thing is I take a peppermint gel pill every night. I have read some people say this reaction is allergies and others acid reflux, Peppermint is good for both of these. I hope this helps some of you. Would love to know if anyone else has found something that helps. Allymarie33 Let us know how mucinex works for you and how often you are taking it. Thanks everyone.
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- Adderall uses and safety info
- Adderall prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Adderall (detailed)
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