I can speak for adderall, but I occasionally use Ambien and I love it. I took it for about 3 months straight last summer during a stressful period and it was a little hard to come off of, but not terrible. I'd call your dr. and tell him about the HR issues and be sure that he knows what your idea of exercise is.

Good luck

Why does he think you have ADD? If you're unsure of his opinion, I'd get a second one. These are powerful drugs to simply be casually taking. there may be other ways to deal with what ever issues you're facing.

I hope I'm not stating the obvious here, but you do know that Adderall is an amphetamine, right? Rapid heartbeat is not an unusual side effect for any stimulant medication. Also, if you are planning on do any races that might have drug testing, and probably even if you're not, you're going to need to get a TUE (therapeutic use exemption). Adderall will definitely give you a positive drug test. Justin Gatlin, the 100 meter track & field champion in the 2004 Olympics, had a positive test for amphetamines that he said came from Adderall.

i would echo what squid said about making sure that you need it. the new thing at college is kids using adderal when they don't have ADD as a way to focus for exams etc, and then they start to think that they can only focus/function with the drug. if you/your doctor thinks that adderal is right for you, i'd certainly bring up the rapid heartbeat. It might be normal, but you should still check.

---

"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong

Those who truly need Adderall don't feel "hyped up" when they take it, only more focused. Your dose may be too high, or you don't really need it.

How long have you been taking it? Sometimes it takes a while for your body to adjust. I take Strattera for ADD. I think it works quite well. It doesn't seem to jack up my heart reate, Although it makes me nauseous if I don't eat after I take it.

Three things: first, to be accurately diagnosed with ADD, see a specialist who will give you a battery of tests, including a thorough questioning of your past dating back to childhood. Almost as extensive as a CIA background check!

Secondly, the correct dosage of any medicine used to treat ADD will NOT make your heart race or make you feel wired. It will simply help you to feel more focused and less scattered. People with ADD are usually calmed by "speed" (i.e. caffeine, amphetimines) up to a certain amount.

Third, there are other options besides amphetimines to treat ADD. My doctor has me on Wellbutrin, which is not as strong or effective as Adderall, but without as many side effects as well. It also serves the dual pupose of treating depression, which is VERY common in people with ADD. It is a good compromise between no drugs and something as strong as an amphetimine.

---

"If God had wanted man to play soccer, he wouldn't have given us arms." -- Mike Ditka

Strattera is not a stimulant like Adderall, Ritilen, Concerta etc. The stimulant in the ADD drugs actually does "calm" down the ADD brain which is why people who really have it don't feel hyped up on it. Wellbutrin also can help ADD - especially in combination with a stimulant - they are sometimes prescribed together with or without depression.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I did not have an extensive evaluation, in fact all he did was ask me about ten questions. I do have attention deficit disorder though, no doubt in my mind about that. Wellbutrin does not elevate heart rate? A friend of mine also suggested that. I have heard that depression is associated with ADD but I am not depressed, just very scattered. My husband is so effective at planning and executing his training and planning for race day; he doesn't want me to do any of his "A" races because he says he can't be worried about organizing me and still stay focused on his race. If I'm that bad, I obviously need to do something!

---

Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk

Probably not my business to say, but I think your husband needs to lighten up a bit. My wife and I race together all the time, and there is no race that's so important that I can't enjoy the time together and help her out if she wants/needs it.

As a former Marine the words 'lighten up' are not in his vocabulary. He's a good guy and I admire his focus. He does very well in races and it means alot to him. I'm slow and do it just to push myself and my horizons and maybe to face down some of my fears. I am a big believer in picking battles carefully and this one really isn't worth picking.

---

Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk

The "hyped up" sensation is being mislabeled here...

Just so you know, I was diagnosed with AD/HD at a pretty young age (my brother was inattentive, then parents did a bunch of reading and were like...dear Lord...turns out we should have been worrying about the other kid!). Over the last decade or so (I'm now 22) I have been on the following battery of drugs at different times, for different reasons (I have initiated many of the changes b/c I desire to take the smallest amount of drugs with the least noticable effects). Here's my list:

Adderall (current)
Adderall XR
Concerta
Ritalin
Stratera
Wellbutrin (current)
Lexapro--for depression, obviously
Prozac
Risperidall (sp?)

There are a couple others. But here's the deal, the "click" effect that AD/HD's experience with amphetamines is a function of the dopamine receptors getting what was once an abnormal amount of the good stuff. As such, those who are accurately treated, won't feel strange. I've heard horror stories about people tweaking, pulling hair out, hallucinating while on some of these schedule I drugs.

But, these are amphetamines. While there is a DEFINITE "click" effect, where I don't feel hyped up (I didn't have it on Adderall XR, I just felt hyped and overly energetic...strange for such a similar drug, but this is a very sensitive treatment). Although, I do have a documentably higher heart rate in general. Resting HR is actually totally normal (usually a bit below 60 bpm). But when I'm cycling, I'm rarely EVER below 140, and I can't get below 155 while running (90% of my time is spent at high 160's on the run, mid 50's for the bike. Swimming is the exception b/c being horizontal results in a lower HR, so I NEVER crack the 140 bpm mark in the water). I've always been highly active, and my best friend is actually in the same scenario, and is a Div. I athlete. The "hyped" feeling portains to the mental perception, HR is still higher.

Make sure you look into ALL the FX of your drugs. I used to be on lexapro, until I did some checking and found out it causes increased sweating, so I decided to have my doc ease me off of it to help my already REALLY high sweat rate (which is common with both my brother and Dad, so it's not particularly worrisome).

Here's the other thing, AD/HD generally becomes less pronounced with age (research shows the AD/HD brain seems to have a bit of a normalizing effect). This isn't to say that organiztional skills necessarily improve, but focus will usually reins in a bit b/c dopamine stabilizes at a more 'standard' level for some reason.

And yes, college students seem to be all over the adderall. I've had offers as high as $10 PER PILL. I'm REALLY forgetful and miss a LOT of doses (despite the fact that it usually means my day goes half down the crapper...not entirely, I'm just a lot less consistent with my work/study pace). Aside from the fact that I have close family in recovery (for addiction) and I have moral issues with dealing, I could never get away with it. My parents would be ALL OVER me when a new Transition carbon with Zipp's appears when I go home for summer vacation :-P

Cheers, and have fun pharming!

---

Seriously, don't take me too seriously.