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 21 July 2025
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50 Answers Page 2
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.
I'm so glad I found this. My boyfriend slept on the couch last night cuz he couldn't stand it any longer. I just took some mucinex and am crossing my fingers that it works!!! So thank you to whoever suggested doing so and I am going to be so thankful if it helps. And I'm also so glad I'm not alone ♡
I've been taking Adderall for more years than I can remember. I do not have a cough but I do have constant thick, sticky mucus in my throat when taking it. I do not remember having this issue when I first started this medication ( 15 years ago?) but for the last 5 years or so I'd say it has been very noticeable. If I clear my throat into a Kleenex the substance is extremely thick - colors vary- depending on what I have had to drink. The running joke is it's like wallpaper paste. Obviously, like the rest of you, the doctor looks at me like I am nuts if I mention it and wants to change my medication. The medication works great - it treats exactly what it is suppose to so I do not want to change what I take. I can't say any one thing makes it worse or better ( ie. eating, fluids, sleep, taking your prescribed dose ... ) but I can tell you, as with a lot of medications the last year (the pandemic) , when i refill my prescription they are out of stock a lot of times.
All that to say this ... I have noticed a HUGE difference in the amount of "wall paper paste" I have in my throat depending on the different manufacturers. I take 30mg twice daily and have for alot of years - most always I have received orange "footballs" (or oval shaped pills). The mucus was getting almost unbearable. Sometimes I would receive round orange pills - the mucus wasn't as bad and to be honest- the medication seemed to work better. Recently I received round yellow pills for a few months - almost no mucus at all and again my meds worked better than either of the others. After taking the same dose for as many years, to say I could tell a difference in how the meds worked is a big deal and has me wondering if anyone else has experienced or noticed anything like this?
I was disappointed to see when I picked up my refill for this month that we were back to orange "footballs" --- by midday the very first day I started this prescription, I was MISERABLE!!
Thoughts???
That leads me to believe that it has something to do with the fillers not the actual drug. Very interesting.
Hello im 35 yrs old and have CF. I have been on adderall for about 7-8 yrs now. I do have tbe constant feeling of something deep down at the bottom of my, throat and it drives me absolutely insane and even gets me so frustrated sometimes that i just want to yell and scream as loud as i can. I dont know if this is related to CF or adderall related but sometimes its like I'm constantly clearing, coughing, hacking and huffing to try and get up something that rarely ever brings anything up but the urge to keep trying to get it up it what drives me insane. I almost can't fight/control the urge to want to keep trying to clear/ hack something up that feels like it needs to come up if that makes sense. But if I can fight the urge to do so than after a while the feeling of something in my throat/chest that needs to come up subsides or even goes away until I cough again a few times. But to answer the question of coughing up "chunks" of stuff.
Oh thank God, this is something people are talking about. I’m sure I’m freaking everyone around me out, constantly clearing my throat. They probably think I have Covid. There must be some sort of link between adderall and sinus/allergies because there is something tiny that I do feel (come up) when I do the “machine gun” sound, clearing of my throat as properly and quietly as possible. If I’m this sick of hearing it, I can only imagine what others feel about it. Mine gets worse in the evening, as I drink and occasionally smoke as well. God bless us all.
I have this issue as well and my doctor at the time called it a "tick." I was 5 when I was diagnosed with ADHD. Adderall was not yet on the market. This was the late 80's and Adderall came on the scene in the mid 90's. I was given Ritalin and the throat clearing started almost immediately. It feels as if there is constant drainage in the back of my throat and the throat clearing was so bad it was disruptive, especially in the classroom setting. The doctor took me off ritalin immediately because he didn't want the throat clearing to become permanent. I was on a few other things before Adderall came about. The throat clearing did get better but it never went away completely. It is still noticeable but not disruptive to others. I started searching this symptom because after giving birth and resuming adderall the symptoms have gotten so bad that i gag and even throw up occasionally.
I throw up often after trying to clear my throat for what seems like hours!
I also had this problem after starting Adderall. I thought it was allergies. Took Allerga, then Sudafed, then Mucinex. None worked. Realized it started after starting Adderall and found online that many people have this problem. It seems to be more due to acid reflux. I don't have much too of a cough, just really thick mucus in the back of my throat that drives me crazy, can make me cough and hack at times cause I feel like I'm choking. I have been using Apple Cider Vinegar and it's so much better!! You need to mix it with water (do not drink straight!) 1TBSP to 8 oz water. I use hot water and also put in honey and cinnamon so it doesn't taste bad. Take in morning BEFORE you eat and USE STRAW as the vinegar is not good for your teeth. I brush right after too. I still have a very slight amount of mucus in throat but it is SO MUCH better and barely notice it. NO COUGHING OR GAGGING! I would ask your doctor before using, just in case you shouldn't take it, but apple cider vinegar has lots of other benefits too.
Hey guys. I’ve been lurking this thread for well over a year given my comparable symptoms. I got prescribed vyvanse in high school but never took it regularly until like 3 years ago when I went back to college. I soon switched to Adderall IR, and very shortly after that I developed a hacking-phlegm type cough. It constantly feels like there’s something caught in my throat and I have to hack to try and get it out. I’ve talked to several doctors (waste of time) but after observing my symptoms for well over a year and doing ample research, I’ve concluded that FOR ME (not saying all of you have this), it is a condition called Laryngopharyngal Reflux (LPR). It’s closely related to GERD but has a different mechanism of action and, although the 2 conditions are often linked, it is very common for those with LPR to lack any sort of heartburn.
I find it interesting yet crazy that this is not listed as a side effect. I have never smoked and just started taking Adderall and within about a week I had this horrible cough and feeling something was stuck in my throat. I went to the doctor and was given steroid shots not once but twice for this issue. But I started realizing on the days I did not take the Adderall I did not have the issue so after experimenting I concluded Adderall was definitely the issue. I have tried a saline rinse which does help some but not fully. Adderall is the only adhd med I have tried and works great on helping me concentrate and in addition it has helped my hypoglycemia. I am completely bummed I have such a horrible side effect. Has anyone had success with another adhd med not causing this issue?
It has been a very long journey to find this answer. 7 years I have been in Adderall I take a high dose 5 ×20mg tablets a day. I constantly have phlem in the back of my throat. And dry mouth. I spit out different colored Yuk all day. If I eat sugar ,citrus,coffee, etc. It gets worse by far. Chocolate is terrible. I have been to many dr. Thinking it was sinus infection , mold etc. Put antibiotics etc. X-ray etc .stomach dr. No dairy no meat no alcohol. Nothing helps. And now realise it's the medication. No where else ha e I seen this answer. I'm so grateful. First time I have signed up and responded to anything. But I needed to be part of spreading the answer. Longjourney
This has literally been the best and most helpful thread to find on this. Sometimes it’s really hard to talk about being on this medicine, even to health care professionals because it has a negative connotation about it. I have this compulsion with with clenching the throat, I started when the side effect was making me have shortness of breath. I know I’m taking a deep breath and getting enough oxygen but there’s that lack of having a satisfied full breath, so I started clenching my throat or something I guess to soothe that feeling or make up for it. When I’m sitting it seems to be okay, but the compulsion of hacking or pre-hacking has continued weeks after. I consider myself pretty healthy, I did sports as a teen and after high school, stay active outdoors and have gotten my oxygen levels checked many times over the years just to make sure. Things like this become fixations and hinder the purpose of the medicine sometimes.
mouth, this time around it’s the throat thing.
Does anyone know any information on this new thing I saw called “Recoop”? Because everything is connected to AI, ads have popped up for this because it’s supposed to be a vitamin or supplement to control these side effects from stimulants. If anyone has any information on this let me know.
The part where you said “ I know I’m taking a deep breath and getting enough oxygen but there’s that lack of having a satisfied full breath…” this is the same for me!!! It’s driving me nuts! I wish I knew how to make that stop!
The part where you said “ I know I’m taking a deep breath and getting enough oxygen but there’s that lack of having a satisfied full breath…” this is the same for me!!! It’s driving me nuts! I wish I knew how to make that stop!
I'm glad I found this thread! I've had a 'nose cough' since I was 10 because of Adderall and my family thought it was a cry for attention until it got accepted as a nervous tick. I'm going to try some of the recommendations. Thanks!
Oh boy. No not a dude thing at all. Well maybe the hacking is, but me and my daughter take Adderall and after years I finally asked her and she gets this too: over salivating! When we lay down at night and we've been on Adderall that day, we begin to swallow and swallow. We were just at a retreat, and she says to me : mom you just laid down and you swallowed four times in a row, and then for the most part of the night. But this only happens to us if we've taken way more than our prescribed amount! Ur boyfriend may be taking more than he should at one time, or maybe he's on too strong of a prescriprion. If it bothers him too, he could ask his doctor. But watch out cause doctor's pride themselves on snatching Adderall away from people. Just ask him to take a little less esp at the end of the day if it's keeping him up at night. Good wishes, Nancy
Is it possible the piece of white material is a tonsil stone?
Omg ... I'm suffering with this same Exact side effect almost exactly the same only mine is a constant dry hack Never producing anything at all hardly but constantly feeling like there is something stuck in the back of my throat... ots awful and so embarrassing Please let me know if you have found anything at all medical wise that relieves this in any way at all if even just a little bit... I to am a smoker also and I'm sure I smoke more when taking them... But any advice would be so greatly appreciated thanks in advance
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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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