9 replies to this topic

[Neuronic]

Adderall does a great job for me but has some nasty side effects. Such as: tingling in hands and feet, lower back/lumbar stiffness, leg/foot cramps, very painful intestinal cramps, painful urination.

These problems come and go, with tingling feet being nearly everyday and stay even if I have been off of Adderall for a few days.
I have supplemented B vits, mag, calcium, potassium, with limited success.

So my next idea is that it's causing dehydration, vasoconstriction, possibly both. I must note I take in a lot of caffeine daily, about 320mg+.

I have read many places that amphetamines cause dehydration. Is this action diuretic or do you lose water another way?
I normally drink more bottled water than average (3-4 liters). Interestingly, while taking Adderall I have found I only need to urinate about half as often or less. As far as I know I am not sweating it off, it's been really cold these months. So I originally excused this cause.

Adderall is a strong vasoconstrictor and caffeine would no doubt make this worse.
I had noticed how much GHB and phenibut would relieve the pain almost completely. GHB lasting 2-3 hours and phenibut about 2 days. I know GHB is vasodilator but what about phenibut?
Gabapentin, however, did very little.

I imagine if it's causing reduced bloodflow to my gut and peripherals, it's likely harming my brain too.
Any comments or ideas on what I can do to combat these ill effects?

[Lufega]

I did a little research for this since my sister takes it to study. It can induce aging by increasing oxidative stress and decreasing glutathione. NAC and riboflavin (needed by gluthatione reductase) is a good idea. Also, magnesium is supposed to help avoid tolerance. Aside from that, your guess is mine.

[NOLADoc]

In regards to your post, as long as you take amphetamine within a reasonable daily dose as prescribed by your physician, then it should be pointed out that amphetamines are a class of drugs about which much is known within the medical literature, and that they are relatively safe. A few points: first I would not worry about reduced blood flow to the brain as the brain is exceptionally well-tuned to always receive the amount of blood it needs (except in rare cases). Also, a sympathetic response (such as that caused by amphetamines) acts to shunt blood away from less important towards the brain anyway. Blood flow is most likely not a concern. In terms of hydration level, this is more difficult to categorize. There are multiple things going on here (amphetamines reduce urine formation via lowered filtration by kidneys and cause increased urine acidity due to aldosterone's effect on K/H antiporters) while caffeine inhibits ADH's affect on water reabsorption thus causing diuresis. Without knowing any clinical data about your urine, my guess would be that your hydration status is fine because the kidneys are amazing regulators in almost all conditions. My suggestion is to maybe switch to the straight dextroamphetamine which has more activity in the CNS and less activity in the periphery. Aderall is notoriously bad for causing peripheral side effects like sweating, decreased gut motility, tremor, and repetitive movements.

[Moddy2012]

Adderall does a great job for me but has some nasty side effects. Such as: tingling in hands and feet, lower back/lumbar stiffness, leg/foot cramps, very painful intestinal cramps, painful urination.

These problems come and go, with tingling feet being nearly everyday and stay even if I have been off of Adderall for a few days.
I have supplemented B vits, mag, calcium, potassium, with limited success.

So my next idea is that it's causing dehydration, vasoconstriction, possibly both. I must note I take in a lot of caffeine daily, about 320mg+.

I have read many places that amphetamines cause dehydration. Is this action diuretic or do you lose water another way?
I normally drink more bottled water than average (3-4 liters). Interestingly, while taking Adderall I have found I only need to urinate about half as often or less. As far as I know I am not sweating it off, it's been really cold these months. So I originally excused this cause.

Adderall is a strong vasoconstrictor and caffeine would no doubt make this worse.
I had noticed how much GHB and phenibut would relieve the pain almost completely. GHB lasting 2-3 hours and phenibut about 2 days. I know GHB is vasodilator but what about phenibut?
Gabapentin, however, did very little.

I imagine if it's causing reduced bloodflow to my gut and peripherals, it's likely harming my brain too.
Any comments or ideas on what I can do to combat these ill effects?

Cut down the on the caffeine, caffeine and adderall combined can be nasty. Also there are non stimulant ADD meds, Strattera and Modafinil. My doctor was about to put me on Adderall, but he wrote a script for Modafinil, works very well.

[Neuronic]

In regards to your post, as long as you take amphetamine within a reasonable daily dose as prescribed by your physician, then it should be pointed out that amphetamines are a class of drugs about which much is known within the medical literature, and that they are relatively safe. A few points: first I would not worry about reduced blood flow to the brain as the brain is exceptionally well-tuned to always receive the amount of blood it needs (except in rare cases). Also, a sympathetic response (such as that caused by amphetamines) acts to shunt blood away from less important towards the brain anyway. Blood flow is most likely not a concern. In terms of hydration level, this is more difficult to categorize. There are multiple things going on here (amphetamines reduce urine formation via lowered filtration by kidneys and cause increased urine acidity due to aldosterone's effect on K/H antiporters) while caffeine inhibits ADH's affect on water reabsorption thus causing diuresis. Without knowing any clinical data about your urine, my guess would be that your hydration status is fine because the kidneys are amazing regulators in almost all conditions. My suggestion is to maybe switch to the straight dextroamphetamine which has more activity in the CNS and less activity in the periphery. Aderall is notoriously bad for causing peripheral side effects like sweating, decreased gut motility, tremor, and repetitive movements.

Well that's good news I suppose. I have not abused this stuff at all, I am prescribed 20mg XR twice a day and half the time I don't take the 2nd dose.
If it's neither of those, perhaps it's just worse for me. Long before and stimulants, I have always had trouble with tense muscles. Subconsciously I keep tightening up muscles and have trouble making them relax without conscious effort. Perhaps Adderall makes it far worse?

I would like to exercise more to see if it would help but I am a little worried about stress on the heart while taking an amphetamine. Should I be? I am 27 and in somewhat fair shape.

[owls]

dude, you'll be fine exercising on your daily dose of amphetamines... lol

[NOLADoc]

You have nothing to worry about with exercise and amph. Make sure you follow your thirst reflex and drink when thirsty. Other than that, your problem is in finding the correct amph that reduces your side-effects. Seriously, you may want to give dexedrine a try for less peripheral side-effects. There is also some evidence of taurine reducing facial and muscle ticks.

[owls]

i agree with the above poster and was going to add, dexedrine provides a much cleaner effect with less peripheral stimulation

[J. Galt]

As a long time adderal user, here are some random thoughts on reducing/controlling side effects:


To combat adderall's vasocontrictive effects, I take low doses of gotu kola, horse chestnut (standardized for hesperidin), butcher's broom, and cayenne at night to improve circulation. I take two of them nightly and cycle throughput the week. Also, I take Ginko phytosome and vinpocetine (both vasodilators) on days when I don't take adderall. You can get all of these for less than $30 at Swanson Vitamins.

A good athersclerosis prevention regimen is essential, as Adderall rapidly accelerates development of this condition. Start with a good homocystine-lowerimg regimen: P5P or vitamin B6, Methylcobalamin B12, L-Methylfolate or megafolinic or folic acid, and trimethylglycine (TMG). Then add a good vitamin K2 complex (ideally w/both the M4 and M7 forms), gamma tocopherol vitamin e, and ideally a good Tocotrienol complex like Jarrow's TocoSorb if you can afford it. Vitacost has most of these at very reasonable prices. The P5P will also reduce repetitive or compulsive behavior, both common side effects of adderall.

The vasoconstrictive effects can also cause erectile dysfunction in men, but Arginine and Cnidum are effective in counteracting this.

If Adderall is interfering with your sleep, a high dose of vitamin C, cranberry juice, or apple cider vinegar will help your kidneys eliminate any remaining adderall in your system at about twice the normal rate, allowing you to fall asleep sooner. A little bit of GABA also helps with this.

Adderall tends to accelerate skin aging as well, ESPECIALLY if you smoke (which is common among adderall users). This can be largely mitigated with a good protective moisturizer. I buy a fantastic one made by Reviva labs for about $15 that lasts me about 2 months. It contains DMAE (keeps skin firm), ester-c (protects skin from oxidative stress, stress (which adderall promotes), coq10 (revitalizes tired-looking skin), and alpha lipoic acid (works ad both an antioxidant and helps recycle the ester-c, vitamin e, and coq10 for longer protection. I buy it from Vitacost or Swanson depending on who has the best promotions at the time, but lately they have been out of stock and ive had to order on amazon.

[Dancid]

As a long time adderal user, here are some random thoughts on reducing/controlling side effects:


To combat adderall's vasocontrictive effects, I take low doses of gotu kola, horse chestnut (standardized for hesperidin), butcher's broom, and cayenne at night to improve circulation. I take two of them nightly and cycle throughput the week. Also, I take Ginko phytosome and vinpocetine (both vasodilators) on days when I don't take adderall. You can get all of these for less than $30 at Swanson Vitamins.

A good athersclerosis prevention regimen is essential, as Adderall rapidly accelerates development of this condition. Start with a good homocystine-lowerimg regimen: P5P or vitamin B6, Methylcobalamin B12, L-Methylfolate or megafolinic or folic acid, and trimethylglycine (TMG). Then add a good vitamin K2 complex (ideally w/both the M4 and M7 forms), gamma tocopherol vitamin e, and ideally a good Tocotrienol complex like Jarrow's TocoSorb if you can afford it. Vitacost has most of these at very reasonable prices. The P5P will also reduce repetitive or compulsive behavior, both common side effects of adderall.

The vasoconstrictive effects can also cause erectile dysfunction in men, but Arginine and Cnidum are effective in counteracting this.

If Adderall is interfering with your sleep, a high dose of vitamin C, cranberry juice, or apple cider vinegar will help your kidneys eliminate any remaining adderall in your system at about twice the normal rate, allowing you to fall asleep sooner. A little bit of GABA also helps with this.

Adderall tends to accelerate skin aging as well, ESPECIALLY if you smoke (which is common among adderall users). This can be largely mitigated with a good protective moisturizer. I buy a fantastic one made by Reviva labs for about $15 that lasts me about 2 months. It contains DMAE (keeps skin firm), ester-c (protects skin from oxidative stress, stress (which adderall promotes), coq10 (revitalizes tired-looking skin), and alpha lipoic acid (works ad both an antioxidant and helps recycle the ester-c, vitamin e, and coq10 for longer protection. I buy it from Vitacost or Swanson depending on who has the best promotions at the time, but lately they have been out of stock and ive had to order on amazon.

Thanks for that, I've been searching for this exact information for hours! (obsessive-compusively, i might add) Who is John Galt? Ask J. Galt, he probably knows.