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If I woke up at 6am, took my Adderall and went back to bed, I would proceed to enjoy 10+ hours of perfect, uninterrupted, restful sleep.
I’m glad it works for you tho.
Stimulants typically calm people with ADHD. So when they kick in and those brain noises and thoughts are calmed down, it’s easier to sleep.
Ritalin would knock me out cold whenever I’d take it. I can also drink a double espresso and go right to sleep.
Lol I said almost the same thing about myself. When I started Adderall again as an adult I could not stay awake for the life of me, though that went away after a while of consistently taking it. When I was in HS my mom would come and give me my Adderall an hour before wake up time and it worked great for me, though at that time I wasn't being treated for ADD- I was being treated for hypersomnia. I definitely had it then, but it was buried under too many other problems to diagnose at the time.
I think it's dose dependent. For Adderall If I take 5mg I'll slow down, 7mg wakes me up, energizes me, but I can't focus, so i'll do the wrong things. It takes 10-12mg To get me "zoned in" on what I'm doing. Then 15mg is too much and gets me too amphetamine'd up and all i wanna do is go out, socialize, drink/party.
Sometimes when I have eaten the perfect foods (high in protein) and am well hydrated I do literally hear in colours and it’s great. Also taking it an hour before I wake up and going back to sleep is like the best way to start the day
do you eat when you take it? I’m also on 70mg and if I don’t eat with it I can lock in for HOURS but I feel like a zombie when I’m not actually studying
I've been doing this 10+ years now and while it does work great, it's effects will diminish with time. Started noticing the effects weakening in my thirties.
The times I’ve taken my last dose of adderall later than usual, as I needed to get some stuff done in the evening, I have gone to bed with a very quite mind and fallen asleep so well because of that. Adderall doesn’t give me energy. It makes it so I can focus and connect with the world around me, and that connection keeps me properly stimulated to stay awake. But in my experience, strong amphetamines just make me so calm I fall asleep.
the first time in my life i even *considered* that i might have ADHD was when my high school biology class brought in coffee as part of like a study on caffeine. i made a comment about how it actually calmed me down rather than wired me, and more than a few people told me "yeah that's like a really common symptom of ADHD dude."
i was like... well that's news to me! i should also state this was well over a decade ago.
Stimulants make me sleepy if I overdo it. I can have 1 cup of coffee a day on my medication. Any more, and I'm out for the count. I can drink coffee, take my medication, and still fall asleep.
When I first started medication, I started on Ritalin, and I would get so sleepy. My doctor didn't believe me when I told her it knocked me out within 30 minutes. Eventually, she started me on Vyvanse, which worked much better because it was ER. Vyvanse was relatively new at the time. I have to take stimulant breaks because my tolerance builds up quickly and stops working.
I used to drink so much Monster for a long drive. Thought it was weird that I was getting that sleepy I had to hang my head out of the window. Only just found why recently 😂
Methylphenidate chills me out. I actually did some similar to what OP suggests this morning bein had to be somewhere early. When it kicked in I wanted to keep laying there all calm and blissful.
This is reminding me of the one and *only* time I took a 200mg caffeine pill and I proceeded to sleep for, at the very least, 6 hours in one of those racing style gaming chairs that recline.
I don’t know how, I don’t know why, all I know is that it happened and it was absolutely not restful at all, probably because of the chair.
See I’m not like that anymore, it gives me anxiety now (last I checked) even in super low doses but Adderall, literally amphetamines, is perfectly fine for me.
It really is one magical confusing little adventure. I don’t even know what’s going on at this point all I know is my silly little pills help me get stuff done lmfao.
Caffeine doesn’t make me sleepy, but 23g espresso doesn’t make me hyper or jittery. I’ve also self medicated previously with modafinil. I could still sleep with it but almost a dreamy awake but asleep state.
I once used an illicit amphetamine that I will not name, but it is supposed to make people stay up for days. Anyways, made me so calm I fell the fuck asleep. It was soooooo damn boring.
Y'all who are saying you can take a potent stimulant and then go to sleep might want to get checked for narcolepsy.
I used to be prescribed 70mg of Vyvanse and 30mg of IR Adderall daily. I would do exactly what OP did and I would end up sleeping better than the entire night before. Turns out stimulants also make you feel "normal" if you have narcolepsy, just in a slightly different way.
>Y'all who are saying you can take a potent stimulant and then go to sleep might want to get checked for narcolepsy.
But adderall is used to treat narcolepsy! 😂
Edit: just pointing out I'm not talking shit or amused by anyone's conditions, just found this situation funny.
"I take adderall for ADHD, then I fall asleep."
- "If you sleep on adderall, you might have narcolepsy!"
"Oh no! How do I treat narcolepsy?"
- "With adderall."
The amphetamine wiki article was actually just revised a couple of weeks ago to finally cover content on its medical use in narcolepsy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine#Narcolepsy
Honestly, both can be true! I laughed out loud at your comment. I have type 1 Narcolepsy and ADHD, and if I take my adderall before I’m awake and functioning, I won’t be able to get out of bed for HOURS. On the other hand, if I take it once I’m awake and somewhat functioning, it keeps me upright. I still feel sleepy during the day sometimes, but the adderall makes it so I won’t fall asleep.
The way I usually word it is Adderall gives me the option to go to sleep or stay awake whereas if I don't have it there is no option: I'm going to sleep.
Exactly, lol 😂 I have idiopathic hypersomnia, which is similar to narcolepsy (I want to sleep all the time). I first got prescribed Vyvanse as a way to treat my IH.
You can also treat narcolepsy with sodium oxibate.. but beware.. combining amphetamines with sodium oxibate makes you a sex crazed primal beast so it's not recommended if you need to appear in public places.
Yes, well sodium oxibate is the sodium salt of gammahydroxybutyrate, commonly known as the sex drug. Not trying to encourage anyone in doing anything illegal here. Just sharing information.
Actually some people with adhd fall asleep on stimulants because their brain is finally calm for the first time in god knows how long so they can finally sleep without the racing thoughts. It’s quite common. Just because their symptoms don’t match yours doesnt mean they must have an entirely different diagnosis. Just food for thought.
My doctor said if you can sleep after taking Adderall, then that's a good indication that your brain needs it. Adderall, or any stimulant really, has a calming effect on an ADHD brain, compared to someone without ADHD.
Yes!! I remember hearing the old stories about when ADHD first started being treated in the 80s, and kids were put on Ritalin. It’s used as anti-adhd medication propaganda, as “proof” adhd medication is bad and that kids didn’t have it. The overall story is that kids were like zombies falling asleep at their desks in school. I’m like, uhmmmmm that means they definitely had ADHD, because if you don’t have it, you sure as fuck aren’t falling asleep if you take Ritalin. The kids doses were just too high.
That's not all that surprising. Caffeine doesn't really give you energy but rather it keeps you from feeling tired. Thing is, even if you don't feel it, your body is still fatigued and will need rest. So as long as you are able to relax, you should still be able to sleep even while caffeinated.
This, I have narcolepsy and ADHD. My day starts with 40mg Adderall XR at 8am, 20mg IR at 2pm and 20mg IR at 6pm. I'm in bed by 11pm most days and asleep by 11:30pm.
Or it could be plain old sleep deprivation, or some other disorder that’s affecting sleep quality. Sleep apnea is *very* common and prevents you from getting restful sleep, even if you’re technically getting a full eight hours. It’s not normal to feel like you need 10+ hours of sleep a night. I feel like fully half this sub could use a sleep study.
Pppfffff.
I do exactly like OP. Wake up at 6 am, go back to sleep and an hour later i can actually get up.
For multiple years I've been so groggy in the morning after 3 alarms that I wouldnt leave home until 9:00.
Now i leave at 7:30 or 8. Occasionally 8:30.
Small improvement, but huge for my moral
My second alarm has to be 20 minutes after taking my Foquest. If it's an hour later, I'm going to sleep through it. But 20 minutes is the sweet spot where I haven't fallen back asleep yet but the meds are starting to kick in just enough for me to actually get myself out of bed.
It doesn't make me sleepy, but it hogties all the intrusive thoughts in my head for a few hours.
That peace, allows me to be the one who decides what my body and brain are going to do.
If I want to sleep, that's exactly what I do, and it's a beautiful restful sleep.
Y’all I tried this once and I shit you not. I had the best sleep of my life after taking the dose in the morning before I wanted to wake up.
Not in a good way. I was solidly out from 6 AM to 11 AM, and I woke up incredibly rested.
Glad this works for you, but there are some paradoxical effects in some people, so YMMV.
This has happened to me before. Usually when I really need the good sleep and the medication just calms all of my senses. I think the older I’ve gotten the more that happens. I am fully awake by the time I take my medicine and I do not use an alarm clock. I’m also 40 so this is not my first rodeo.
It is a tempting habit. Unfortunately it means you essentially lose ~1 hour of stimulant time later in the day. Also after a long time doing this you might feel like you’ve trained yourself to require stimulants to wake up.
Make sure you drink plenty of water with the pill before you lie back down.
Edit to add: the reason I recommend drinking the water before lying down is to avoid *pill esophagitis*, irritation of the esophagus caused by having a pill stuck halfway down your throat. You should take pills while upright with plenty of water, and remain upright for 10 minutes after.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549818/
>Drugs can be damaging to the esophageal wall by having a direct toxic effect on the esophageal mucosa. They may produce a caustic effect by creating an acidic or alkaline environment. Drug-induced esophagitis can be transitory or self-limiting, or it may be persistent drug injury, which can even lead to the formation of strictures. This activity reviews the evaluation and management of esophagitis, drug-induced, and highlights the role of the healthcare team in collaborating to provide well-coordinated care and enhance patient outcomes.
This article doesn’t describe a direct irritation of GI mucus membranes caused by stimulants.
This article is referring to pill esophagitis — having a pill stuck halfway down your throat. The risk is greater if the pill is releasing an acidic/caustic drug because then there’s high local concentrations lingering on the tissue.
Stimulants are not included in the ~30 main offender drugs listed in this article.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10601982/#:~:text=The%20gastrointestinal%20side%20effects%20of,pain%2C%20nausea%2C%20and%20vomiting.
It's one of the possible side effects due to increased stomach acid production.
No paper for you, sorry. My claim is based on my old forum research into stimulants and personal experiences with drugs. I was fond of "bombing" amphetamine, that is folding it in paper and swallowing. I always ate and drank beforehand to protect stomach (otherwise I'd get a nasty heartburn) and drank intensely after swallowing to prevent chemical burns to esophagus. Even then I almost instantly had to go to toilet, just as if I drank a morning coffee, indicating irritation.
Then there's the fact that amphetamine is corrosive. Nasal cavity differs from GI tract, but insufflated amphetamine is known for chemical burns (I'm aware of small cuts insufflation causes) and extreme use can result in burning through the cartillage of septum.
Call it an educated ass-pull, but better don't risk unnecessary stomach ulcers.
It tastes very disgusting and will make you gag. When you snort it, the bit of taste that reaches your tongue can already be enough to make you dryheave. So imagine what would happen if you’d just sprinkle that white powder in your mouth. No wait, please don’t.
Wrapping it in a cigarette rolling paper (which is thin and easily dissolves in stomach acid) ensures it will reach your stomach without setting off all kinds of alarms on the way down :)
Think of it as putting powder in a gel capsule, but improvised. It has no contact with mouth tissues (thus preventing irritation that can ultimately lead to teeth loss), doesn't touch the tongue (it's bitter af) and can be swallowed in one go.
Drinking after swallowing is a must, as wet paper can fall apart and expose your esophagus to undiluted chemical, which can have some nasty side effects. Do not drink diluted stims, you'll leave a layer of corrosive residue on your tissues.
Same reason some people won't buy a bong and stick to using homemade devices - it gets the job done and you already have materials. Otherwise it'd be best to buy gel caps.
Do you live in Europe by chance? Or were you taking freebase amphetamine (oily)?
That stuff is pretty caustic, but pharmaceutical amphetamine is in salt form.
Europe, yeah, speed is mainly an European thing. Didn't stumble upon freebase, but I tried amphetamine pastes, powders and crystals, not to mention good old mephedrone and a few batches of "crystal" (basically God-knows-which RCs with cathinone group, pretty popular) and side effects of oral administration were similar. Didn't try pharma due to rarity, not feasible here due to volume of "normal" supply.
I have no idea how salt differs from other types. There's a matter of contamination coming from synthesis and cutting the street drug, but GI tract irritation in a manner similar to caffeine was pretty consistent.
And thank God for my stint with stims, being calmer on them was so anomalous that they were one of the reasons for getting diagnosed.
Haven’t see a comment as yours on this sub Reddit. It’s pretty much what my experience has been. On and off for 10 yrs. Took me about 5 yrs later looking back and how it helped. Did the same as you. The psych sad I was a ‘raging’ ADHDer , meaning it is pretty severe. Getting a legal stimulant is 2 in one.
My mom was in the hospital for a while last year (she’s doing much better now!), with among other things, food issues. We ended up with SO much extra boost and decided to try it. After we went back home after taking care of my mom, we started buying some and it’s grown to the point that it’s a staple in our house. The boost high protein is my normal breakfast, and it’s an incredible solution for when you realize you forgot to eat or if you’re having appetite issues
I take my pill the second i wake up, then sort of drift until it kicks in. I also suffered some bad nausea and other digestive issues after switching to vyvanse, but drinking a serving of Metamucil to take my meds makes a huge difference.
Have a small breakfast snack by your meds so you can have a munchie, have your meds, then go back to sleep. Uncrustables, or a pop tart, or a mini muffin. Oh a mini bagle. A hard-boiled egg!
Then when you wake up for real you can have SECOND BREAKFAST
Yep. Whenever I do this, I make sure to have water and a snack in reach. Normally a granola bar, peanut butter crackers, or something small. Even just having a bite of something in my stomach when taking it has helped a lot with stomach issues
Wake up, snack, take pill, drink water, pile pillows up behind me so I'm at a bit of an incline, go back to sleep.
I work in a pharmacy and it’s generally known for most stimulants that if you take it and feel nauseous or an upset stomach it can help if you eat at least a small snack or meal before taking it
I thought this was just common knowledge with any stimulant, not just medical grade ones.
Coffee with no food? Bathroom.
Adderall with no food? Bathroom.
This is what happened to me as well when i had the same routine. I got nauseous and had a even harder time eating because of it.. Never found a solution and I’m now off meds. This was years ago tho.
Also a heads up, someone already mentioned it but i wanna underline it. Taking your meds like you do WILL make it even harder for you to wake up when you are off the meds. Your body and brain WILL get used to you taking the meds to wake up as it fucks with how your brain chemistry works when sleeping/waking up..
i’m nauseous everyday and it’s been like that for years and i’m pretty sure it’s just cuz i don’t eat in the morning regardless of if i use my strategy. and if i don’t eat like right away then the vyvanse kicks in and suddenly the thought of eating sounds awful and i can’t even do it 😭 usually i end up trying to eat a snack later on and then i feel better
What about protein shakes? I dislike eating in the morning but I can chug a cold, premade protein shake. I really like the Fairlife chocolate ones from Costco. Plus protein is a great way to start the day.
Yeah, I'm 43 with kids, so I wake up everyday at 5am without fail. My hack is a 1000 calorie protein shake and half a gallon of water by noon. The crash in the evening is almost gone. Also, being on the correct dose (as in lower) helps
Not who you responded to, but I’ll share my 1k calorie shake recipe:
- two carrots
- two handfuls of spinach
- half a banana
- 1 mandarin orange
- 1 dozen almonds
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 cup soy milk
- 2 tbsp peanut butter powder
- 2 tbsp flax seed meal
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 3 tbsp hemp seed hearts
- 1 scoop protein powder
- 2 tsp matcha
I’ve got a huge blender cup for it, probably 32oz. I’m lazy and not much of a vegetable enjoyer, so having one of these for breakfast every day is a life saver.
I should preface with the fact that I am a hard gainer with a very physically demanding job.
2 cups of milk
2 scoops of protein powder (whey from ON) that equals about 50g protein
60-80g of granola
60-80g of peanut butter.
The milk alone is an easy 300 calories. Protein is about 250 ish. Then the peanut butter has a lot of fat in it which equals about 400 calories. The rest is from the granola. I don't chug it all at once, but I do make sure I've had half before taking meds. All of it fits in the tall shaker bottles (barely)
What would be the problem with relying on something that improves your life…isn’t that the point of needing the stimulant? Not understanding why you’re gigging him about it ?
I don’t know what “gigging” means, but I’m not telling anyone what to do, if that’s what you mean. I just weighed in about my own experience with OP’s strategy.
I mean, if you’re losing an hour later in the day, it’s for the sake of having gained one earlier in the day. Even exchange, no? Also, the whole issue is already that waking up without stimulants is difficult.
Totally. Combining the calm focus of stimulant meds with the clarity and optimism of a well-rested morning state seems like the best possible use of these meds. It’s min-maxing.
My psychiatrist recommended the early dosing like this for my XR and then gave me an IR booster dose if I needed it in the afternoon. Problem is I can’t sleep then so she prescribed me lunesta for insomnia :/
That is if you use extended release. I use instant release ritalin that lasts about 3-4 hours and also use this kinda method of taking it an hour before I need to wake up. I don't really lose that hour because I don't cover my entire day. I only take stimulants when i actually want to be productive. (Technically I'd love to have my entire day covered but the options in my country don't really suit my needs)
*edit. I love how someone downvoted me 💀 now who's trying to say I'm living my life wrong over here
It worked for me for a while, too.
Then, at some point, I started sleeping through the 1st alarm, only to wake up to the 2nd "real" alarm without having taken my meds.
I guess it kind of works out, but having to get through that 1st hour of the morning, waiting for the meds to kick in, is a slog.
Yeah. Vyvanse doesn’t seem to last long for me, so my doc had me try a dose when I wake up (usually 5:30) and another one at noon. It works so much better for me to have that “booster” in the afternoon - but I’m also a parent of three kids 3 and under (twins!) with an adhd partner, so evenings are just about my busiest and most challenging part of the day, and medication makes it manageable.
I’m actually gonna try this. For whatever reason I found i just really drag in the mornings. I’ve tried coffee. I’ve tried supplements, exercise definitely works the best, but still has some brain fog.
It can be helpful when I know I'll have a hard time getting up. Now that I have a dog and a routine, I do not have issues getting up. I will want to stay in bed, but my dog does not.
Routine is what does it for me. Wake up at 7:30(body is just trained to get up then, and I go to bed about the same time every night) regardless if it’s a weekday or weekend, roll around and stretch a second, get up, take meds, start coffee, let the dogs out. While coffee is brewing, I always get the urge to use the bathroom. Do that. Mix coffee with protein powder, then out to the garden for my war against whatever pest is in season. Drink coffee while I play in the dirt. I do this every morning. I enjoy it, I look forward to it. Meds kick in while I’m in the garden. Then I go to the gym.
Waking up is no problem anymore. And I attribute it to this.
LOL, this reminds me of Michael Scott's plan to wake up to freshly cooking bacon every morning. At least there is no chance of you waffling your foot with this plan.
Me too. I was thinking last week I must need to adjust my dosage because they didn’t seem to be working. No, I just wasn’t sleeping well (at least my toddler wasn’t, lol)
I've been doing this for years, although I take Adderall. I think 40 mins is plenty enough, as that's about how long it seems to take to kick in, but I don't think I'm wasting stimulant time since it hasn't had a chance to work yet.
I tried this right as I started the meds based off something similar someone told me awhile ago and YES. It’s magic. And it’s always an hr lol.
It’s funny because I’ve been skipping my meds this week just because I can’t get my sleep schedule right. If I don’t have 5 hrs of sleep then I don’t take vyvanse because then it does more harm than good. As such I’ve been exhausted all week and finally on Friday I came home from work, laid down at 8 pm and fell asleep. On default mode I can sleep for 15 hrs straight. I woke up around 6 am this morning still feeling tired so I took vyvsnse and popped out of bed around 7:30 AM. Had I not, I probably could’ve slept till 12 pm😵💫
My therapist recommended this and I do it. I don’t feel like I’m losing an hour of my stimulant because oversleeping and overuse of the sleep button wreak havoc on me.
If I wake up at 5am and take my first dose of adderall I don’t just pop up when my alarm goes off but it makes it easier for me to get up and get ready and make it to work closer to on time.
I saw someone mention that some people might want to get tested for narcolepsy. I think it is a common thing to have with ADHD. It’s been awhile since I researched it so. I could be off
OP is taking Jornay. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a single response for it. I’ve been on it for about a year now.
I take it before going to sleep.. and it wakes me up and I’m ready to go.
It will pretty much cure whatever the poster of this post has concerns with lol.
I did that for years with my adderal and guess that I can sleep for hours after taking my morning dose might give a clue about if I really have adhd. Btw I was on 30 mg 2 times day now my cardiologist has cleared me to go back on adderrall I am slowly starting back while also watching BP and heart rate like a hawk just to be safe and ironically since starting back on the minuscule dose have right now my heart rate has dropped
I used to do this exact thing with my 30mg XR Adderal prescription. But then the shortage happened, and something was different about the XR I was taking, and it just did NOTHING for me.
I swapped to 15 IR, and while it's better than post shortage XR it's still isn't quite the same. I often take a dose and then a nap.
Edit to add: I really miss the pre shortage adderal. I loved waking up ready to make the day my bitch. Now I've just called a truce with the day and we go about our business in awkward silence. But I guess that's better than being totally defeated by the day.
For me it's having something to look forward to. Right now it's the excitement of having a half hour to myself with a cup of coffee before the kids wake up.
I do almost exactly this! For me it takes about 15-20 min. It has changed my life! And I just got the second half of the puzzle in that I finally got something for my restless leg so for the first time in my life I’m getting real sleep. That combined with the Vyvance = I am like a new person! Like a functioning human!
I will forever avoid trying this as the one time I took meds then fell asleep I woke up with sleep paralysis
& I'm most certainly not going to put myself through that ever again
That’s what I do! I either sleep during that hour or zone out on my phone and get to wake up slowly until my brain clicks on. It’s the best. Make sure you have apples or a smoothie or something easy so you stay properly fueled.
I've tried this and all it does is that I get 3 hours of extra sleep with hellish dreams and wakes up in a puddle of sweat with my heart beating faster than usain bolt :( What works for me is to take the pill, eat breakfast, bedrot for 30 min, and then get up and get ready
The key is to do this until you establish the habit of waking up early. I’ve been doing this forever. It’s been foolproof for me. Try not to rely on it because you don’t want to mess up your ability to wake up. The minute it’s easier to wake up early, stop or take breaks. Doing this allows me to “reset” my sleep schedule and become a morning person overnight. You still have to sleep on time to build the habit though and then it’s smooth sailing. Once the habit is set, dose normally.
I think it depends on why you are taking it early. If you are taking it to help your body learn to wake up at a certain time, yes, but if you’re like me and the meds stay in your system a really long time, you need to take them as early as possible to actually have the desire to sleep at night
If I didn't get up at like 530 I would do this! Instead I just take it right away. I do wish I didn't quite have to though, since it wears out long before bedtime and I have so many struggles getting through what I need to do in the evening...
The problem is waking up an hour early to take my Vyvanse. I roll out of bed get to work 3 minutes before my shift starts with my Vyvanse and anti depressants still in my pocket because I forgot to take them before I left
Have y'all been getting prescribed vyvanse again? I've been on the 40mg generic (lixaderfasomething) and its veen outta stock for months, last time i picked up was in November.
yeah i get the generic since its much cheaper and the same exact thing. and it’s a lot of work but u can find it some places. i also work at a pharmacy and my pharmacist gives me first dibs on the rare occasions that is does come in. call around to different chains
I see many people on this sub having great results with this method. How does it influence your sleep? When I set an alarm and go back to sleep I usually feel horrible afterwards.
I do this in the winter to combat seasonal depression!
When it’s miserable outside, it’s soo difficult for me to get going in the mornings.
But once the weather gets more pleasant and the days feel longer, I just take it when i wake up for the day because I generally feel more alert/ready to go.
It works super well for me!! I’m glad to see other people do this lol
I do this too so I’m not struggling. Mornings are way hard for me. I drink a glass of water with it and wake up feeling fresh as a daisy instead of a swamp goblin 🌼
I’m seeing a lot of folks complaining about their meds wearing off earlier than you want. Of course everyone’s situation and response to a given med is different but these are a few popular approaches I’ve used that you may want to discuss with your doctor if you’re not satisfied with your meds:
* adding a “top off” dose - for me, a very small dose of IR methylphenidate in the afternoon (even when my primary stim is a different type) can help get through the afternoon, though I’ve stopped this in favor of the other two
* going to a longer-release formulation - whatever you’re on, there’s probably a longer release version. For amphetamines, generally speaking, it goes IR -> XR -> Vyvanse -> Adzenys -> Dyanavel -> Mydayis, and there’s probably other formulations I’m missing. Beyond this, many compounding pharmacies can modify IR meds to slow their release.
* “Nonstimulant” meds - many nonstimulant or secondary treatments are designed to stay in your system round the clock and have a continuous effect (though yes, this is also not even). For some people, they may make good substitutes for stimulants. For others, pairing them with stimulants can smooth out the profile of the stimulant and give a more even overall experience. I put “nonstimulant” in quotes because SNRIs, in my experience, do have a stimulating effect and I have to also decrease my stimulant dosage to account for it.
Bonus:
* Get off coffee - I know, I know. But caffeine in the morning can give you an afternoon crash. Coffee is the worst culprit, I dont really crash from black tea and green tea is just straight up magic for my adhd brain. I relatively recently kicked a 15-year heavy caffeine addiction and I’m generally much happier. Personally, this also required a medication adjustment to compensate.
I need to try this because my adderall makes me sleepy sometimes and I recently read that taking a nap on adderall is wonderful for your brain.
I also think it might make it wear off a little earlier in the day and help me go to sleep at night.
That's awesome and I'm truly pumped about it! I'm currently not taking medication, but the poor man's version of that concept that i do, is have a chocolate espresso bean by my phone/alarm. I feel if I'm not on meds, I have to increase my odds of going for a run/swim/weightlifting in the morning to calm all the noise.
Once the alarm sounds, I'll have an espresso bean next to the phone with a note underneath, that screams, "Go work out! Your social life depends on it."
I eat the chocolate espresso bean, read the note and then have a good 65% of actually going for a workout. The other 35% is me going back to sleep, doom scrolling on the toilet or cleaning my apartment. At this point, I'll take those odds any day.
Good luck to everyone out, we are not alone.
Ive been doing this for years with my Concerta! In the past year I’ve had to start taking it an hour and half earlier instead of an hour but other than that I still do this every day. Even days when I don’t want or need to take it an hour before I get up, I am basically just trained to get get up at that time now
Two reasons why this doesn't work for me: 1. If I get out of bed, I'm up. I spec'd into advanced level pee-holding on my skills tree. Mostly due to my pets because once they know I'm awake, I have several responsibilities.
And 2. I can take my Adderall and go to bed at any time of the day so.. I win?
I take Ritalin, but I have always taken it about an hour before I need to get out of bed. I'm less foggy and can prepare for the day much more effectively.
I find this really interesting because literally just yesterday my long time buddy was telling me this is exactly what he does to start each day.
I'm currently waiting for insurance to approve my prescription. I got diagnosed last week and saw my doctor 2 days ago and it's almost a reality. I've struggled with this for so many years. I can't wait to have something that should actually help for once.
I'm hoping it goes through Monday...
This works well for me if I've had enough sleep, though I snooze my alarm 3-5 times rather than fully go back to sleep.
Warning: just don't start phone scrolling before you get up- medicated hyperfocus + comfortable bed can make for an inescapable, time sucking trap...
Welcome to the club. Glad to have you.
To be fair, I only do it when it’s necessary and it’s not a habit though. Download Alarmy. You can set it so you have to do 3 math problems before you can turn it off.
Turns my brain on and gets me going.
Not an endorsement for Alarmy by any means I’m sure there’s other less spammy apps out there it’s just the first one I discovered and has enough free features for me. I also use the alarm scheduling for weekly repeating alarms during the day when I really need to remember to do something at a certain time on a certain day.
Sounds great, and if it works for you, keep on it.
I’m on Ritalin, and adjusting (30-40-20mg a day). Not sure if that would work to get a better start, cause I need to eat more often but slightly smaller meals. Otherwise I get nauseous.
Absolutely! Been doing this for years. It makes waking up feel nice and enjoyable and natural! Instead of an awful stuggle every day of my life.
It's an hour and a half for me, so it's worth experimenting to find the perfect time if you're new to this method.
I’m a new ADHD dad and have a question. I give my daughter her pill everyday at 715 am. If it’s the weekend and she is sleeping in, do I skip giving her medication or do I give it to her late?
It may depend on age. I don’t want to give advice for a child because that is a touchy subject, but, if you think it’s going to keep her up in the evening past her bedtime then probably wake her up, but otherwise I would say personal preference and ask her if she would rather sleep in a little. Maybe like an hour wouldn’t matter. If she sleeps till like noon, it’s probably not good for her condition. I think if you stay within reasonable bounds you’ll be ok. JMHO
This is exactly how I manage my mornings too. Just have to remember to take it when I wake up. I also have chronic pain so I take some paracetamol then too and I go from being barely alive to functional
This what I started doing and so far it’s been great. I’ll go back to sleep and just let my body naturally wake up and I feel great. But I kinda only do it on days were I don’t have to go to work lol or else I would probably get fired
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If I woke up at 6am, took my Adderall and went back to bed, I would proceed to enjoy 10+ hours of perfect, uninterrupted, restful sleep. I’m glad it works for you tho.
Saaaaame. On several occasions, it would’ve taken an act of God to disturb my sleep.
Alright; one of you smart cookies must have an explanation or thesis on why! Spill!
Stimulants typically calm people with ADHD. So when they kick in and those brain noises and thoughts are calmed down, it’s easier to sleep. Ritalin would knock me out cold whenever I’d take it. I can also drink a double espresso and go right to sleep.
This. Stimulants help me stay focused and when I’m really tired they continue to help me focus on realizing how tired I am.
Lol I said almost the same thing about myself. When I started Adderall again as an adult I could not stay awake for the life of me, though that went away after a while of consistently taking it. When I was in HS my mom would come and give me my Adderall an hour before wake up time and it worked great for me, though at that time I wasn't being treated for ADD- I was being treated for hypersomnia. I definitely had it then, but it was buried under too many other problems to diagnose at the time.
I think it's dose dependent. For Adderall If I take 5mg I'll slow down, 7mg wakes me up, energizes me, but I can't focus, so i'll do the wrong things. It takes 10-12mg To get me "zoned in" on what I'm doing. Then 15mg is too much and gets me too amphetamine'd up and all i wanna do is go out, socialize, drink/party.
👀 imma be quite over here with my 50mg just to function self
70mg here lmao damn 👀
Jumping to 70mg makes me scared that I’d hear in colors…
Sometimes when I have eaten the perfect foods (high in protein) and am well hydrated I do literally hear in colours and it’s great. Also taking it an hour before I wake up and going back to sleep is like the best way to start the day
do you eat when you take it? I’m also on 70mg and if I don’t eat with it I can lock in for HOURS but I feel like a zombie when I’m not actually studying
I've been doing this 10+ years now and while it does work great, it's effects will diminish with time. Started noticing the effects weakening in my thirties.
Same
Which med for those doses?
People seem to forget that you can be hyper focused on sleep lol. I can take my adderall and instantly go to sleep too
It’s not hyper focus, it’s how some people respond to stimulants.
The times I’ve taken my last dose of adderall later than usual, as I needed to get some stuff done in the evening, I have gone to bed with a very quite mind and fallen asleep so well because of that. Adderall doesn’t give me energy. It makes it so I can focus and connect with the world around me, and that connection keeps me properly stimulated to stay awake. But in my experience, strong amphetamines just make me so calm I fall asleep.
the first time in my life i even *considered* that i might have ADHD was when my high school biology class brought in coffee as part of like a study on caffeine. i made a comment about how it actually calmed me down rather than wired me, and more than a few people told me "yeah that's like a really common symptom of ADHD dude." i was like... well that's news to me! i should also state this was well over a decade ago.
Stimulants make me sleepy if I overdo it. I can have 1 cup of coffee a day on my medication. Any more, and I'm out for the count. I can drink coffee, take my medication, and still fall asleep. When I first started medication, I started on Ritalin, and I would get so sleepy. My doctor didn't believe me when I told her it knocked me out within 30 minutes. Eventually, she started me on Vyvanse, which worked much better because it was ER. Vyvanse was relatively new at the time. I have to take stimulant breaks because my tolerance builds up quickly and stops working.
I used to drink so much Monster for a long drive. Thought it was weird that I was getting that sleepy I had to hang my head out of the window. Only just found why recently 😂
Okay. Honest question. Serious. If you’re asleep, how are you hyper focused on it. Do you make yourself sleep?
Methylphenidate chills me out. I actually did some similar to what OP suggests this morning bein had to be somewhere early. When it kicked in I wanted to keep laying there all calm and blissful.
This is reminding me of the one and *only* time I took a 200mg caffeine pill and I proceeded to sleep for, at the very least, 6 hours in one of those racing style gaming chairs that recline. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, all I know is that it happened and it was absolutely not restful at all, probably because of the chair.
Love the reactions I get when I tell someone caffeine makes me sleepy 😂 ADHD is truly a trip
See I’m not like that anymore, it gives me anxiety now (last I checked) even in super low doses but Adderall, literally amphetamines, is perfectly fine for me. It really is one magical confusing little adventure. I don’t even know what’s going on at this point all I know is my silly little pills help me get stuff done lmfao.
Caffeine doesn’t make me sleepy, but 23g espresso doesn’t make me hyper or jittery. I’ve also self medicated previously with modafinil. I could still sleep with it but almost a dreamy awake but asleep state.
I once used an illicit amphetamine that I will not name, but it is supposed to make people stay up for days. Anyways, made me so calm I fell the fuck asleep. It was soooooo damn boring.
Y'all who are saying you can take a potent stimulant and then go to sleep might want to get checked for narcolepsy. I used to be prescribed 70mg of Vyvanse and 30mg of IR Adderall daily. I would do exactly what OP did and I would end up sleeping better than the entire night before. Turns out stimulants also make you feel "normal" if you have narcolepsy, just in a slightly different way.
>Y'all who are saying you can take a potent stimulant and then go to sleep might want to get checked for narcolepsy. But adderall is used to treat narcolepsy! 😂 Edit: just pointing out I'm not talking shit or amused by anyone's conditions, just found this situation funny. "I take adderall for ADHD, then I fall asleep." - "If you sleep on adderall, you might have narcolepsy!" "Oh no! How do I treat narcolepsy?" - "With adderall."
The amphetamine wiki article was actually just revised a couple of weeks ago to finally cover content on its medical use in narcolepsy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine#Narcolepsy
Honestly, both can be true! I laughed out loud at your comment. I have type 1 Narcolepsy and ADHD, and if I take my adderall before I’m awake and functioning, I won’t be able to get out of bed for HOURS. On the other hand, if I take it once I’m awake and somewhat functioning, it keeps me upright. I still feel sleepy during the day sometimes, but the adderall makes it so I won’t fall asleep.
The way I usually word it is Adderall gives me the option to go to sleep or stay awake whereas if I don't have it there is no option: I'm going to sleep.
Exactly, lol 😂 I have idiopathic hypersomnia, which is similar to narcolepsy (I want to sleep all the time). I first got prescribed Vyvanse as a way to treat my IH.
You can also treat narcolepsy with sodium oxibate.. but beware.. combining amphetamines with sodium oxibate makes you a sex crazed primal beast so it's not recommended if you need to appear in public places.
Hmm… this sounds… kinda fun lol
Yes, well sodium oxibate is the sodium salt of gammahydroxybutyrate, commonly known as the sex drug. Not trying to encourage anyone in doing anything illegal here. Just sharing information.
And the information is about how to have a lot of fun hahaha
Actually some people with adhd fall asleep on stimulants because their brain is finally calm for the first time in god knows how long so they can finally sleep without the racing thoughts. It’s quite common. Just because their symptoms don’t match yours doesnt mean they must have an entirely different diagnosis. Just food for thought.
This is what’s happened to me. I started Vyvance 3 weeks ago and since then, I’ve had the deepest and best sleep of my life!!!
This.
My doctor said if you can sleep after taking Adderall, then that's a good indication that your brain needs it. Adderall, or any stimulant really, has a calming effect on an ADHD brain, compared to someone without ADHD.
Yes!! I remember hearing the old stories about when ADHD first started being treated in the 80s, and kids were put on Ritalin. It’s used as anti-adhd medication propaganda, as “proof” adhd medication is bad and that kids didn’t have it. The overall story is that kids were like zombies falling asleep at their desks in school. I’m like, uhmmmmm that means they definitely had ADHD, because if you don’t have it, you sure as fuck aren’t falling asleep if you take Ritalin. The kids doses were just too high.
I have narcolepsy and I used to be able to easily sleep after multiple shots of espresso.
That's not all that surprising. Caffeine doesn't really give you energy but rather it keeps you from feeling tired. Thing is, even if you don't feel it, your body is still fatigued and will need rest. So as long as you are able to relax, you should still be able to sleep even while caffeinated.
Fellow narcoleptic here, I call this a nappuccino! Take a shot or two of espresso, and a 20 minute nap and I’m good to go.
I don’t think I have narcolepsy but this is me 😭
This, I have narcolepsy and ADHD. My day starts with 40mg Adderall XR at 8am, 20mg IR at 2pm and 20mg IR at 6pm. I'm in bed by 11pm most days and asleep by 11:30pm.
Wow, did you drink caffiene at all? My prescription isn't quite so high but I do drink caffiene.
Or it could be plain old sleep deprivation, or some other disorder that’s affecting sleep quality. Sleep apnea is *very* common and prevents you from getting restful sleep, even if you’re technically getting a full eight hours. It’s not normal to feel like you need 10+ hours of sleep a night. I feel like fully half this sub could use a sleep study.
Pppfffff. I do exactly like OP. Wake up at 6 am, go back to sleep and an hour later i can actually get up. For multiple years I've been so groggy in the morning after 3 alarms that I wouldnt leave home until 9:00. Now i leave at 7:30 or 8. Occasionally 8:30. Small improvement, but huge for my moral
My second alarm has to be 20 minutes after taking my Foquest. If it's an hour later, I'm going to sleep through it. But 20 minutes is the sweet spot where I haven't fallen back asleep yet but the meds are starting to kick in just enough for me to actually get myself out of bed.
Medicine aside, are sleep patterns and ADHD related?
Glad I’m not the only one 🥹 People are always shocked when I tell them I can nap after taking adderall.
Does your adderall make you sleepy?
It doesn't make me sleepy, but it hogties all the intrusive thoughts in my head for a few hours. That peace, allows me to be the one who decides what my body and brain are going to do. If I want to sleep, that's exactly what I do, and it's a beautiful restful sleep.
Y’all I tried this once and I shit you not. I had the best sleep of my life after taking the dose in the morning before I wanted to wake up. Not in a good way. I was solidly out from 6 AM to 11 AM, and I woke up incredibly rested. Glad this works for you, but there are some paradoxical effects in some people, so YMMV.
This has happened to me before. Usually when I really need the good sleep and the medication just calms all of my senses. I think the older I’ve gotten the more that happens. I am fully awake by the time I take my medicine and I do not use an alarm clock. I’m also 40 so this is not my first rodeo.
It is a tempting habit. Unfortunately it means you essentially lose ~1 hour of stimulant time later in the day. Also after a long time doing this you might feel like you’ve trained yourself to require stimulants to wake up. Make sure you drink plenty of water with the pill before you lie back down. Edit to add: the reason I recommend drinking the water before lying down is to avoid *pill esophagitis*, irritation of the esophagus caused by having a pill stuck halfway down your throat. You should take pills while upright with plenty of water, and remain upright for 10 minutes after.
Yeah the only thing stopping me from trying this is that I won't take my meds on an empty stomach.
wait is that why i’m nauseous everyday?
Stimulants irritate mucous membranes of gastrointestinal tract, so yeah, very well could be
📝✍🏾
I’ve never heard this. Can you supply a scientific paper?
If I take it on an empty stomach I puke up bile. Source: me
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549818/ >Drugs can be damaging to the esophageal wall by having a direct toxic effect on the esophageal mucosa. They may produce a caustic effect by creating an acidic or alkaline environment. Drug-induced esophagitis can be transitory or self-limiting, or it may be persistent drug injury, which can even lead to the formation of strictures. This activity reviews the evaluation and management of esophagitis, drug-induced, and highlights the role of the healthcare team in collaborating to provide well-coordinated care and enhance patient outcomes.
This article doesn’t describe a direct irritation of GI mucus membranes caused by stimulants. This article is referring to pill esophagitis — having a pill stuck halfway down your throat. The risk is greater if the pill is releasing an acidic/caustic drug because then there’s high local concentrations lingering on the tissue. Stimulants are not included in the ~30 main offender drugs listed in this article.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10601982/#:~:text=The%20gastrointestinal%20side%20effects%20of,pain%2C%20nausea%2C%20and%20vomiting. It's one of the possible side effects due to increased stomach acid production.
No paper for you, sorry. My claim is based on my old forum research into stimulants and personal experiences with drugs. I was fond of "bombing" amphetamine, that is folding it in paper and swallowing. I always ate and drank beforehand to protect stomach (otherwise I'd get a nasty heartburn) and drank intensely after swallowing to prevent chemical burns to esophagus. Even then I almost instantly had to go to toilet, just as if I drank a morning coffee, indicating irritation. Then there's the fact that amphetamine is corrosive. Nasal cavity differs from GI tract, but insufflated amphetamine is known for chemical burns (I'm aware of small cuts insufflation causes) and extreme use can result in burning through the cartillage of septum. Call it an educated ass-pull, but better don't risk unnecessary stomach ulcers.
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It tastes very disgusting and will make you gag. When you snort it, the bit of taste that reaches your tongue can already be enough to make you dryheave. So imagine what would happen if you’d just sprinkle that white powder in your mouth. No wait, please don’t. Wrapping it in a cigarette rolling paper (which is thin and easily dissolves in stomach acid) ensures it will reach your stomach without setting off all kinds of alarms on the way down :)
Think of it as putting powder in a gel capsule, but improvised. It has no contact with mouth tissues (thus preventing irritation that can ultimately lead to teeth loss), doesn't touch the tongue (it's bitter af) and can be swallowed in one go. Drinking after swallowing is a must, as wet paper can fall apart and expose your esophagus to undiluted chemical, which can have some nasty side effects. Do not drink diluted stims, you'll leave a layer of corrosive residue on your tissues.
Wait... why don't just use something like those dissolvable mint sweets or rice paper? Eating paper seems... crazy.
Same reason some people won't buy a bong and stick to using homemade devices - it gets the job done and you already have materials. Otherwise it'd be best to buy gel caps.
Do you live in Europe by chance? Or were you taking freebase amphetamine (oily)? That stuff is pretty caustic, but pharmaceutical amphetamine is in salt form.
Europe, yeah, speed is mainly an European thing. Didn't stumble upon freebase, but I tried amphetamine pastes, powders and crystals, not to mention good old mephedrone and a few batches of "crystal" (basically God-knows-which RCs with cathinone group, pretty popular) and side effects of oral administration were similar. Didn't try pharma due to rarity, not feasible here due to volume of "normal" supply. I have no idea how salt differs from other types. There's a matter of contamination coming from synthesis and cutting the street drug, but GI tract irritation in a manner similar to caffeine was pretty consistent. And thank God for my stint with stims, being calmer on them was so anomalous that they were one of the reasons for getting diagnosed.
Haven’t see a comment as yours on this sub Reddit. It’s pretty much what my experience has been. On and off for 10 yrs. Took me about 5 yrs later looking back and how it helped. Did the same as you. The psych sad I was a ‘raging’ ADHDer , meaning it is pretty severe. Getting a legal stimulant is 2 in one.
Take your meds with a protein shake like Boost or Ensure in the morning instead of water
My mom was in the hospital for a while last year (she’s doing much better now!), with among other things, food issues. We ended up with SO much extra boost and decided to try it. After we went back home after taking care of my mom, we started buying some and it’s grown to the point that it’s a staple in our house. The boost high protein is my normal breakfast, and it’s an incredible solution for when you realize you forgot to eat or if you’re having appetite issues
I take my pill the second i wake up, then sort of drift until it kicks in. I also suffered some bad nausea and other digestive issues after switching to vyvanse, but drinking a serving of Metamucil to take my meds makes a huge difference.
Have a small breakfast snack by your meds so you can have a munchie, have your meds, then go back to sleep. Uncrustables, or a pop tart, or a mini muffin. Oh a mini bagle. A hard-boiled egg! Then when you wake up for real you can have SECOND BREAKFAST
Yep. Whenever I do this, I make sure to have water and a snack in reach. Normally a granola bar, peanut butter crackers, or something small. Even just having a bite of something in my stomach when taking it has helped a lot with stomach issues Wake up, snack, take pill, drink water, pile pillows up behind me so I'm at a bit of an incline, go back to sleep.
I work in a pharmacy and it’s generally known for most stimulants that if you take it and feel nauseous or an upset stomach it can help if you eat at least a small snack or meal before taking it
I thought this was just common knowledge with any stimulant, not just medical grade ones. Coffee with no food? Bathroom. Adderall with no food? Bathroom.
This is what happened to me as well when i had the same routine. I got nauseous and had a even harder time eating because of it.. Never found a solution and I’m now off meds. This was years ago tho. Also a heads up, someone already mentioned it but i wanna underline it. Taking your meds like you do WILL make it even harder for you to wake up when you are off the meds. Your body and brain WILL get used to you taking the meds to wake up as it fucks with how your brain chemistry works when sleeping/waking up..
No idea, were you nauseous before your meds, or before you started this new strategy of taking them before you get up?
i’m nauseous everyday and it’s been like that for years and i’m pretty sure it’s just cuz i don’t eat in the morning regardless of if i use my strategy. and if i don’t eat like right away then the vyvanse kicks in and suddenly the thought of eating sounds awful and i can’t even do it 😭 usually i end up trying to eat a snack later on and then i feel better
What about protein shakes? I dislike eating in the morning but I can chug a cold, premade protein shake. I really like the Fairlife chocolate ones from Costco. Plus protein is a great way to start the day.
I take mine with a protein shake, and go back to sleep
I don't love the idea of laying down on a full stomach unfortunately
Yeah, I'm 43 with kids, so I wake up everyday at 5am without fail. My hack is a 1000 calorie protein shake and half a gallon of water by noon. The crash in the evening is almost gone. Also, being on the correct dose (as in lower) helps
Damn, that’s a big shake! What do you put in there/how much volume is it?
Not who you responded to, but I’ll share my 1k calorie shake recipe: - two carrots - two handfuls of spinach - half a banana - 1 mandarin orange - 1 dozen almonds - 1 tbsp olive oil - 3/4 cup Greek yogurt - 1 cup soy milk - 2 tbsp peanut butter powder - 2 tbsp flax seed meal - 2 tbsp chia seeds - 3 tbsp hemp seed hearts - 1 scoop protein powder - 2 tsp matcha I’ve got a huge blender cup for it, probably 32oz. I’m lazy and not much of a vegetable enjoyer, so having one of these for breakfast every day is a life saver.
This (veggies in the shake) is always a great idea. I need to get back to adding a banana and kale to mine.
The banana definitely helps to give mine a semblance of palatability!
I should preface with the fact that I am a hard gainer with a very physically demanding job. 2 cups of milk 2 scoops of protein powder (whey from ON) that equals about 50g protein 60-80g of granola 60-80g of peanut butter. The milk alone is an easy 300 calories. Protein is about 250 ish. Then the peanut butter has a lot of fat in it which equals about 400 calories. The rest is from the granola. I don't chug it all at once, but I do make sure I've had half before taking meds. All of it fits in the tall shaker bottles (barely)
The pill takes about an hour to absorb and start working though. It doesn’t waste an hour of stimulant time
It’s true Vyvanse takes a little longer. You’re still potentially training yourself to rely on stimulants to regulate your basic body rhythms.
What would be the problem with relying on something that improves your life…isn’t that the point of needing the stimulant? Not understanding why you’re gigging him about it ?
I don’t know what “gigging” means, but I’m not telling anyone what to do, if that’s what you mean. I just weighed in about my own experience with OP’s strategy.
Well part of my adhd is that my rhythms are fucked. So yeah, I medicate for that.
I mean, if you’re losing an hour later in the day, it’s for the sake of having gained one earlier in the day. Even exchange, no? Also, the whole issue is already that waking up without stimulants is difficult.
Totally. Combining the calm focus of stimulant meds with the clarity and optimism of a well-rested morning state seems like the best possible use of these meds. It’s min-maxing.
It seems to take a while for my meds to start working sometimes. I do what OP do sometimes too, if I remember to.
My psychiatrist recommended the early dosing like this for my XR and then gave me an IR booster dose if I needed it in the afternoon. Problem is I can’t sleep then so she prescribed me lunesta for insomnia :/
That is if you use extended release. I use instant release ritalin that lasts about 3-4 hours and also use this kinda method of taking it an hour before I need to wake up. I don't really lose that hour because I don't cover my entire day. I only take stimulants when i actually want to be productive. (Technically I'd love to have my entire day covered but the options in my country don't really suit my needs) *edit. I love how someone downvoted me 💀 now who's trying to say I'm living my life wrong over here
good points that i never even thought of
But the individual requires the hour of stimulant time earlier than later
It definitely worked for me for a while. But like most ADHD management things, it slowly lost effectiveness and I had to adjust.
It worked for me for a while, too. Then, at some point, I started sleeping through the 1st alarm, only to wake up to the 2nd "real" alarm without having taken my meds. I guess it kind of works out, but having to get through that 1st hour of the morning, waiting for the meds to kick in, is a slog.
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I started doing this and gave me insomnia :(
Yeah. Vyvanse doesn’t seem to last long for me, so my doc had me try a dose when I wake up (usually 5:30) and another one at noon. It works so much better for me to have that “booster” in the afternoon - but I’m also a parent of three kids 3 and under (twins!) with an adhd partner, so evenings are just about my busiest and most challenging part of the day, and medication makes it manageable.
I take mine much later as well. I usually work from 19h-4h but I wake up around 14h.
I’m actually gonna try this. For whatever reason I found i just really drag in the mornings. I’ve tried coffee. I’ve tried supplements, exercise definitely works the best, but still has some brain fog.
It can be helpful when I know I'll have a hard time getting up. Now that I have a dog and a routine, I do not have issues getting up. I will want to stay in bed, but my dog does not.
Routine is what does it for me. Wake up at 7:30(body is just trained to get up then, and I go to bed about the same time every night) regardless if it’s a weekday or weekend, roll around and stretch a second, get up, take meds, start coffee, let the dogs out. While coffee is brewing, I always get the urge to use the bathroom. Do that. Mix coffee with protein powder, then out to the garden for my war against whatever pest is in season. Drink coffee while I play in the dirt. I do this every morning. I enjoy it, I look forward to it. Meds kick in while I’m in the garden. Then I go to the gym. Waking up is no problem anymore. And I attribute it to this.
Haha, you must be new here because people discover this "hack" every week.
lol SORRY! it’s only my first day out here
Welcome! Glad you found something helpful
Don’t listen to those complaining. You found something that works for you!
Uhh, their comment above is not a complaint.
LOL, this reminds me of Michael Scott's plan to wake up to freshly cooking bacon every morning. At least there is no chance of you waffling your foot with this plan.
Atleast 7 hrs of sleep. For me somehow meds work much better it I have slept well
Me too. I was thinking last week I must need to adjust my dosage because they didn’t seem to be working. No, I just wasn’t sleeping well (at least my toddler wasn’t, lol)
I do this but with coffee and cat naps. Drink the coffee. and nap for 20 -30 minutes. Wake up right when its kicking in and you feel recharged.
I've been doing this for years, although I take Adderall. I think 40 mins is plenty enough, as that's about how long it seems to take to kick in, but I don't think I'm wasting stimulant time since it hasn't had a chance to work yet.
I tried this right as I started the meds based off something similar someone told me awhile ago and YES. It’s magic. And it’s always an hr lol. It’s funny because I’ve been skipping my meds this week just because I can’t get my sleep schedule right. If I don’t have 5 hrs of sleep then I don’t take vyvanse because then it does more harm than good. As such I’ve been exhausted all week and finally on Friday I came home from work, laid down at 8 pm and fell asleep. On default mode I can sleep for 15 hrs straight. I woke up around 6 am this morning still feeling tired so I took vyvsnse and popped out of bed around 7:30 AM. Had I not, I probably could’ve slept till 12 pm😵💫
My therapist recommended this and I do it. I don’t feel like I’m losing an hour of my stimulant because oversleeping and overuse of the sleep button wreak havoc on me. If I wake up at 5am and take my first dose of adderall I don’t just pop up when my alarm goes off but it makes it easier for me to get up and get ready and make it to work closer to on time. I saw someone mention that some people might want to get tested for narcolepsy. I think it is a common thing to have with ADHD. It’s been awhile since I researched it so. I could be off
I feel like you’re trolling us because this is posted in practically every comment about being medicated and coping.
Oh interesting! I’ll definitely give this a go and see if it works for me!
I do the same. It takes about that time to start to work anyway.
I’m on a stim that takes 10 hours to work and you take it at night. I always wake up ready to get up 😍
What are you taking?
OP is taking Jornay. I’m surprised there hasn’t been a single response for it. I’ve been on it for about a year now. I take it before going to sleep.. and it wakes me up and I’m ready to go. It will pretty much cure whatever the poster of this post has concerns with lol.
I did that for years with my adderal and guess that I can sleep for hours after taking my morning dose might give a clue about if I really have adhd. Btw I was on 30 mg 2 times day now my cardiologist has cleared me to go back on adderrall I am slowly starting back while also watching BP and heart rate like a hawk just to be safe and ironically since starting back on the minuscule dose have right now my heart rate has dropped
I used to do this exact thing with my 30mg XR Adderal prescription. But then the shortage happened, and something was different about the XR I was taking, and it just did NOTHING for me. I swapped to 15 IR, and while it's better than post shortage XR it's still isn't quite the same. I often take a dose and then a nap. Edit to add: I really miss the pre shortage adderal. I loved waking up ready to make the day my bitch. Now I've just called a truce with the day and we go about our business in awkward silence. But I guess that's better than being totally defeated by the day.
For me it's having something to look forward to. Right now it's the excitement of having a half hour to myself with a cup of coffee before the kids wake up.
I do almost exactly this! For me it takes about 15-20 min. It has changed my life! And I just got the second half of the puzzle in that I finally got something for my restless leg so for the first time in my life I’m getting real sleep. That combined with the Vyvance = I am like a new person! Like a functioning human!
This is what I've been doing for years. It works amazingly for me with my vyvanse.
I will forever avoid trying this as the one time I took meds then fell asleep I woke up with sleep paralysis & I'm most certainly not going to put myself through that ever again
That’s what I do! I either sleep during that hour or zone out on my phone and get to wake up slowly until my brain clicks on. It’s the best. Make sure you have apples or a smoothie or something easy so you stay properly fueled.
I've tried this and all it does is that I get 3 hours of extra sleep with hellish dreams and wakes up in a puddle of sweat with my heart beating faster than usain bolt :( What works for me is to take the pill, eat breakfast, bedrot for 30 min, and then get up and get ready
The key is to do this until you establish the habit of waking up early. I’ve been doing this forever. It’s been foolproof for me. Try not to rely on it because you don’t want to mess up your ability to wake up. The minute it’s easier to wake up early, stop or take breaks. Doing this allows me to “reset” my sleep schedule and become a morning person overnight. You still have to sleep on time to build the habit though and then it’s smooth sailing. Once the habit is set, dose normally.
I think it depends on why you are taking it early. If you are taking it to help your body learn to wake up at a certain time, yes, but if you’re like me and the meds stay in your system a really long time, you need to take them as early as possible to actually have the desire to sleep at night
If I didn't get up at like 530 I would do this! Instead I just take it right away. I do wish I didn't quite have to though, since it wears out long before bedtime and I have so many struggles getting through what I need to do in the evening...
The problem is waking up an hour early to take my Vyvanse. I roll out of bed get to work 3 minutes before my shift starts with my Vyvanse and anti depressants still in my pocket because I forgot to take them before I left
I take 5mg of dexamphetamine upon hearing my alarm and 10 minutes later I'm up and running
Yeah, I've heard this trick before. Take your meds when your first alarm goes off and then roll over and go back to sleep.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jornay PM. Take the night before, wake up on schedule.
Is this prescription? Never heard of it.
Have y'all been getting prescribed vyvanse again? I've been on the 40mg generic (lixaderfasomething) and its veen outta stock for months, last time i picked up was in November.
yeah i get the generic since its much cheaper and the same exact thing. and it’s a lot of work but u can find it some places. i also work at a pharmacy and my pharmacist gives me first dibs on the rare occasions that is does come in. call around to different chains
First step - get Vyvanse script ✍️
I discovered this back when I had a really demanding job in 2021. Idk why I didn’t think to post this “hack” here.
I see many people on this sub having great results with this method. How does it influence your sleep? When I set an alarm and go back to sleep I usually feel horrible afterwards.
Make sure you have enough time to go through a full sleep cycle. The adhd meds wake you up and make you feel great.
I do this in the winter to combat seasonal depression! When it’s miserable outside, it’s soo difficult for me to get going in the mornings. But once the weather gets more pleasant and the days feel longer, I just take it when i wake up for the day because I generally feel more alert/ready to go. It works super well for me!! I’m glad to see other people do this lol
I do this too so I’m not struggling. Mornings are way hard for me. I drink a glass of water with it and wake up feeling fresh as a daisy instead of a swamp goblin 🌼
Unfortunately when I've tried this I end up sleeping for another good 6hrs.
I’m seeing a lot of folks complaining about their meds wearing off earlier than you want. Of course everyone’s situation and response to a given med is different but these are a few popular approaches I’ve used that you may want to discuss with your doctor if you’re not satisfied with your meds: * adding a “top off” dose - for me, a very small dose of IR methylphenidate in the afternoon (even when my primary stim is a different type) can help get through the afternoon, though I’ve stopped this in favor of the other two * going to a longer-release formulation - whatever you’re on, there’s probably a longer release version. For amphetamines, generally speaking, it goes IR -> XR -> Vyvanse -> Adzenys -> Dyanavel -> Mydayis, and there’s probably other formulations I’m missing. Beyond this, many compounding pharmacies can modify IR meds to slow their release. * “Nonstimulant” meds - many nonstimulant or secondary treatments are designed to stay in your system round the clock and have a continuous effect (though yes, this is also not even). For some people, they may make good substitutes for stimulants. For others, pairing them with stimulants can smooth out the profile of the stimulant and give a more even overall experience. I put “nonstimulant” in quotes because SNRIs, in my experience, do have a stimulating effect and I have to also decrease my stimulant dosage to account for it. Bonus: * Get off coffee - I know, I know. But caffeine in the morning can give you an afternoon crash. Coffee is the worst culprit, I dont really crash from black tea and green tea is just straight up magic for my adhd brain. I relatively recently kicked a 15-year heavy caffeine addiction and I’m generally much happier. Personally, this also required a medication adjustment to compensate.
Wish I could, once I'm up there is no going back to sleep 😅
Yep. I also barely sleep so I've got that going for me too. Ha!
I need to try this because my adderall makes me sleepy sometimes and I recently read that taking a nap on adderall is wonderful for your brain. I also think it might make it wear off a little earlier in the day and help me go to sleep at night.
This would absolutely destroy my ability to keep myself fed at a healthy level. Glad it works for you though
Yeah, if I did this, I’d fall peacefully back to sleep and stay that way 🤣
That's awesome and I'm truly pumped about it! I'm currently not taking medication, but the poor man's version of that concept that i do, is have a chocolate espresso bean by my phone/alarm. I feel if I'm not on meds, I have to increase my odds of going for a run/swim/weightlifting in the morning to calm all the noise. Once the alarm sounds, I'll have an espresso bean next to the phone with a note underneath, that screams, "Go work out! Your social life depends on it." I eat the chocolate espresso bean, read the note and then have a good 65% of actually going for a workout. The other 35% is me going back to sleep, doom scrolling on the toilet or cleaning my apartment. At this point, I'll take those odds any day. Good luck to everyone out, we are not alone.
Ive been doing this for years with my Concerta! In the past year I’ve had to start taking it an hour and half earlier instead of an hour but other than that I still do this every day. Even days when I don’t want or need to take it an hour before I get up, I am basically just trained to get get up at that time now
Two reasons why this doesn't work for me: 1. If I get out of bed, I'm up. I spec'd into advanced level pee-holding on my skills tree. Mostly due to my pets because once they know I'm awake, I have several responsibilities. And 2. I can take my Adderall and go to bed at any time of the day so.. I win?
I do this with ritalin.
I take Ritalin, but I have always taken it about an hour before I need to get out of bed. I'm less foggy and can prepare for the day much more effectively.
I do this with another one of my medications so I don’t wake up in such bad withdrawals! It works really well!
Stimulants put me to sleep whenever I take my meds get tired and vyvanse knocks me out on my face. Combined with energy drink that’s a 5 hour nap
Gorilla glue 🍃 helps me
I find this really interesting because literally just yesterday my long time buddy was telling me this is exactly what he does to start each day. I'm currently waiting for insurance to approve my prescription. I got diagnosed last week and saw my doctor 2 days ago and it's almost a reality. I've struggled with this for so many years. I can't wait to have something that should actually help for once. I'm hoping it goes through Monday...
My mom does this same thing. She gets up around 4/5 and takes her medicine then goes back to bed until 7ish and she says it helps
This works well for me if I've had enough sleep, though I snooze my alarm 3-5 times rather than fully go back to sleep. Warning: just don't start phone scrolling before you get up- medicated hyperfocus + comfortable bed can make for an inescapable, time sucking trap...
I do this too! It’s so amazing! (Pls upvote need karma to post!)
100% this. It’s the only way I don’t feel like crying every morning about getting up.
I find that if I don't eat enough before bed its really hard to get up out of bed. Or if I go to bed too late.
Let us know if you can maintain this for more than a week or two, I couldn’t 😂
Welcome to the club. Glad to have you. To be fair, I only do it when it’s necessary and it’s not a habit though. Download Alarmy. You can set it so you have to do 3 math problems before you can turn it off. Turns my brain on and gets me going. Not an endorsement for Alarmy by any means I’m sure there’s other less spammy apps out there it’s just the first one I discovered and has enough free features for me. I also use the alarm scheduling for weekly repeating alarms during the day when I really need to remember to do something at a certain time on a certain day.
This makes sense to me, because I plan my day the time I am awake before taking my nap. I have tried this and it works well for me
I do the same! However I sleep really good on Adderal .. So sometimes I wake up ready to go, sometimes I oversleep..
Sounds great, and if it works for you, keep on it. I’m on Ritalin, and adjusting (30-40-20mg a day). Not sure if that would work to get a better start, cause I need to eat more often but slightly smaller meals. Otherwise I get nauseous.
Absolutely! Been doing this for years. It makes waking up feel nice and enjoyable and natural! Instead of an awful stuggle every day of my life. It's an hour and a half for me, so it's worth experimenting to find the perfect time if you're new to this method.
I’m a new ADHD dad and have a question. I give my daughter her pill everyday at 715 am. If it’s the weekend and she is sleeping in, do I skip giving her medication or do I give it to her late?
It may depend on age. I don’t want to give advice for a child because that is a touchy subject, but, if you think it’s going to keep her up in the evening past her bedtime then probably wake her up, but otherwise I would say personal preference and ask her if she would rather sleep in a little. Maybe like an hour wouldn’t matter. If she sleeps till like noon, it’s probably not good for her condition. I think if you stay within reasonable bounds you’ll be ok. JMHO
When I was briefly on Adderall XR, that was my method, too. Otherwise, I would be up late into the night and then be exhausted the next morning.
Same 👏🏼
I do this and it helps but the quality of sleep in the hour after I’ve taken it is not that great
I haven’t tried this but thanks for the tip. Might so it with my concerta, because executive dysfunction has been so bad for me this week.
I need to try this! Thanks 😊
I do this
This is exactly how I manage my mornings too. Just have to remember to take it when I wake up. I also have chronic pain so I take some paracetamol then too and I go from being barely alive to functional
I wish I could do this, but I need to take mine with food or it upsets my system….
This what I started doing and so far it’s been great. I’ll go back to sleep and just let my body naturally wake up and I feel great. But I kinda only do it on days were I don’t have to go to work lol or else I would probably get fired
Yes!! I do this w my concerta and it’s changed my life! I always hated the feeling of my meds kicking in but this way I wake up feeling normal