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[seawolf10]

Well, I'd suspected it for a while, but now I'm fucking sure.

My adderall's shaving the top 20 points or so off my iq while it's in my system.
Lovely catch-22 there. I need it for work/school, but if it's making me stupid...

More later. Must sleep.

Comments

[seawolf10]

My next appointment's this Sunday, thankfully.

I'm thinking of just lowering the dose -- I'm on the extended release version of Adderall, and it was working OK up until the most recent dosage increase. Other ADD meds aren't really an option -- Ritalin doesn't do anything for me, Vyvanse makes me psychotically angry, and I don't want to try new medications right now. I'm trying to juggle ~40 hours a week of work + two upper-level classes + a serious relationship. I'm having issues with sleep deprivation as it is, so it's a bad time to take chances with possible side effects.

I really wish I didn't have to take it, but I'm working in a call center, so there's a zillion little things I have to remember. (They were willing to hire me, and by call center standards, it's actually pretty good.

Still too busy to talk much more. Are you doing okay?

[seawolf10]

Hope things worked out for you at the doc.

Did, actually. Got the dosage lowered. New dose has less effect on my creativity/intelligence, but it might be a shade low, as I'm a bit more susceptible to distraction than I like. Work relaxed the pressure a bit (the past 2 weeks were only 30-32 hours, as opposed to 40), but that'll pick back up soon. I just need to finish these 2 classes + 1 summer class, and then I have no courses until next year. (ADD + personal failures resulted in me flunking several history courses at a different campus of this university years ago. Grade forgiveness would still apply, and a course I flunked is on offer next spring. The economy in my area is shit, so it'd be another year before I could move anyway.)

Back to papers. That or do the 3 days' worth of dirty dishes that's building up in the sink.

[seawolf10]

I have ADD and I need medication in order to effectively function as part of society, especially since right now I'm working full time (at a major corporate call center, so there's a zillion little details to keep track of) and taking 2 upper-level undergraduate night classes.

Problem is...

I raised the dose a while back, and the new dosage level seems to be impairing my ability to think clearly, make connections, summarize effectively, etc. Last week, I pulled an all-nighter when I'd already been sleep-deprived. I thought more clearly and had better ideas when the adderall was out of my system, than I did when I was well-rested.

If my medication's effectively making me stupid, I really don't want to be on it, especially since I need to do well in my classes. However, I need medication to focus on my job, and to prevent me from slacking off on school assignments that I'm not interested in.