Showing posts with label Adderall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adderall. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

I bought a juicer! Happy New Year's Day to Me!

Autism Adderall and Juicing

A long time ago (years), I used to exercise, and juice—a lot.  I can recall feeling very good in general, and good about myself and my health.  I’ve gotten so far away from those days in recent years, and after reading a few health blogs I’ve decided to give juicing another go. 

Today, I bought myself a juicer (Happy New Year’s Day to Me) and I am sitting here typing and drinking my first juice from my “gift” to myself—apple, orange, grapefruit, lemon, carrot juice. It is tart, kind of sweet and sour, but not bad for my first time dropping fruits and veggies  indiscriminately into a juicer in—oh, about ten years.

I have had an issue recently, which I wrote about here: The Adderal Experiment, about how I am increasingly cranky on Adderall.  I was unable to ascertain if it was the Adderall itself making me irritable and giving me headaches, or if it is that that I simply do not eat while taking the medication.  A combination of laziness and stubbornness lead me to forego my Adderall intake for the past few weeks because I was running out and dreaded picking up the phone to make a doctor’s appointment for a refill.

I have not really been less irritable, but I have definitely been less productive and focused.  Another downside—I’ve put on fifteen pounds in the past month and a half, not good. Fifteen pounds represents about 12 % of my total body weight so it is a huge amount of weight for me to gain so quickly.  I can feel it in my legs, knees, and my incredibly painful back.

Unfortunately, I have a pretty bad case of degenerative disk disease and osteoarthritis throughout my spine—not fun, and it begins to hurt if I carry around any extra weight (which is most of the time). Out of sheer vainness, I decided I would start taking my Adderall again, lose the pounds, and be able to focus better.  The problem is I will likely not eat well, or at all most days except for maybe my morning coffee (ya, I know real healthy!).

My solutions: juice!! I will definitely drink when I take my meds because they make me insanely thirsty. My new experiment is to drink vegetable (green) juices, and fruit juices to ensure that I get the nourishment my body needs.  Let’s see then if I am super cranky and flying around the house on my broom stick…I hope not, but only time will tell.

Today is Day 1 of my juicing madness.  I didn’t take my Adderall, but I will begin to take it again tomorrow (I have a small supply leftover in the back of the cabinet) and make an appointment for a check-up and refill.  Alright, I’ll have hubby make the appointment.  I hate picking up that telephone and talking to anyone including the receptionist who makes appointments. So stay tuned, and we will see what happens...if I don't give you all an update someone, please, remind me!

Have a Happy and HEALTHY New Year!

~Aspie Writer

Oh by the way, my kids bought me Wii Fit for Christmas (think they were trying to tell Mom something), so I’ve been playing with my new “toy” too—and everything hurts! 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Adderall Experiment: Irritation and Headaches


Is Adderall causing my irritation and headaches—or is it hunger?

Adderall Asperger's Headaches and Irritation

 

ADD is one of the only diagnoses that had stood after my Asperger’s Diagnosis. 

It was originally among the host of other “disorders” that doctor’s labeled me with before figuring out that I had autism. It only took thirty-eight years!

The arrays of diagnoses, all wrong, have been thrown by the waste side where they belong, but still the ADD lingers. I wonder though if this too may not be entirely accurate because the problems I experience can also, once again, be explained by my Asperger’s.

I’ve been on Adderall for many years, since 2006. Lately, I’ve noticed that I am calmer on days that I do not take the medication. I am less irritable, get less headaches, and am less angry when interrupted a million times by the kids. Granted—I may be more scatter brained those days, but I am beginning to wonder if the Adderall is literally getting on my nerves.

Adderall or Hunger?

“I have two theories”, I told my doctor. I am either more irritable because of the Adderall, OR because when I am on Adderall, I forget to eat more often.

Forgetting to eat has always been an issue for me, especially if I am engrossed in an activity or project.  If you do not interrupt me and remind me to eat, I simply forget. I hardly ever feel hunger, so I don’t have that innate warning system to remind me that I need food.  When I am increasingly irritable, easily overloaded, and my senses are super-charged and approaching meltdown, I usually realize that I haven’t eaten anything for a while!

I am not sure exactly what the overload—lack of food connection is, maybe it is a blood sugar issue.  I am borderline diabetic, and I am very sensitive to the changes in my blood sugar levels.

So those are my two theories.  Adderall curbs my hunger, and then I never feel hungry. It helps me to hyper-focus on my tasks, again, making it easy for me to forget to eat. That could be causing my ridiculous moodiness.  Or, it is simply that the Adderall, being a stimulant, is irritating my nervous system.

The good thing is this is a theory I can test.  My task now is to take my Adderall for the next week or so, and MAKE SURE that I eat regularly (that is going to be a challenge), five small meals per day to see if my irritation is calmed down when I get a sufficient amount of food.

I have already tried not taking the medication for a week, and was significantly calmer—BUT I ate more as well, so no conclusions there.

Does anyone else take Adderall, and have difficulty with irritation? Or, have overloads triggered by hunger? Headaches?


I’m frustrated, but determined to find the culprit. I hate being irritated all the time, and I am getting on my own nerves!

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