Adderall & My Eyes!!!!!?????

[Miss_Christine]

Hi there - to whomever stumbles upon this lil query of mine.  Any thoughtful responses back would be wonderfully appreciated:)

My question is this:  Why is it that my pupils become so extremely dilated after just a few hours of taking my daily morning dosage of one 20MG Adderall XR and one or two 5MG Adderall (Immediate Release) tablets???!!!!

It is terribly embarrassing to look anyone in the eye now.  I never used to feel so self-conscious about my appearance & social acceptance/perception, etc..  It's like this drug is has turned me into walking & talking oxymoron of a person.  

On the one hand, Adderall gives me this great sense of happiness & well-being.  I want to take on everything.  I get to the gym, I keep my apartment clean & tidy, I have this inner strength of confidence & motivation/drive, all of which, I never really had before starting this medication.  

Then on the flip-side, after people started commenting to me about how huge my pupils were, I began to take notice myself.  Every day, as I put make-up on, washed my face, brushed my teeth - there in the mirror was this beautiful young woman but her once green & lively, bright eyes were simply gone.  I looked exactly as a friend once described - 'lost, sad, empty - that deer in the headlights' appearance.  

It breaks my heart that inside I feel alive again, more like the true me but now because of these damn dilated pupils - people seem more weary of me and possibly, almost frightened of me?  

I dunno, I just don't know what to do.  I'm here.  I feel that I am here and alive and doing my best to overcome life's challenges with a sunny disposition.  My eyes though, they have always given me away; just now it seems as if  they're giving away somebody else.... someone I feel completely stranger to.  

I know this may seem ludicrous & narcissistic to many of you, but truly, eyes are important in life! ... So somebody help me out here please, why do they dilate so much, why doesn't this happen to anyone else I've ever known who has been prescribed an ADHD medication, why does it also happen when I take a medication like Xanax.... is my only option to go off the Adderall or start wearing a pair of colored contact lenses?  ugh.... enough, said.  It just *****.

Thanks for any help or kind words of advice:)
MC;)

P.S.  Granted I am also taking one Cymbalta 60mg capsule daily, as well as one Xanax 2MG in the late afternoon if needed, and, at bedtime, two Ambien CR - or there's no way I will fall asleep until at the earliest: 5am.

[roadie1978]

Hey I work at a diamond mine and I feel exactly the same. I feel normal or better yet better then normal I feel lie I'm focus of my job..BUT I notice it in my eyes a lot some days more then others ..now talking to people u can tell the way the can't look at u the same as normal or even the way they act act is different like if I'm scary looking or agrressive ..I am a bigger muscular 39 year old male. But do not wanna be known as scary or I would hurt someone,but I feel like that's what a lot of people are thinking. Not only that I do not think , we'll I am almost 100000% positive that what is supposed to be confidential isn't here at ALL. AND that's such ********.and not right at with the medic .boss .and who ever else.it's not my first rodeo.and I'm not dumb.. I love my new job and need this for financial problems ..but it's almost way to tough to go threw and deal with.. so imagine being ata fly away camp. with a lot of people knowing.or walking on a bus at start or end of day to get back to camp.knowING everyone knows u r on somethING. u r not alone. .I feel the same way if not worse...I'm not going to eat bc I do not want to have anyone yap.or look at me different.  JPR 1978

[Sandman2]

   Nice post - thank you.

[Take_my_hand]

old post, but here we go. I've been dx'd with ADHD and well i take adderall xr too. i've never noticed my pupils getting big...i'm sure they do. but no one can tell no one is staring at how big you pupils are every time they see you unless they know about the whole "she's taking adderall which is a drug that makes you high and pupils big." I take it, and it just relaxes me and helps me focus on one thing at a time. it really helps with the anxiety i used to constantly have because now my thoughts arent racing with multiple different themes. I can focus on one thing and complete a task without getting all confused and frustrated because i'm working on too manythings at once. I think maybe you are taking too high of a dose if you feel high. you should be taking just enough that you feel focused and relaxed.

[somnolenctinseattle]

@quagg, just want to correct a few things, since other folks might take what you wrote as gospel. Vyvance (or as you spelled it Vivance) is the same drug as Adderall. Vyvance is slightly different in that it has to be digested to become chemically active (thought to keep it from being abused).  
And Adderall is not Meth + Salt.  Adderall is comprised of four different salts (salts meaning ionic compounds, not table salt, aka sodium chloride).  Adderall works by keeping the dopamine and norepinephrine _transporters_ from reabsorbing these vital neurotransmitters. BTW, Ritalin is comprised of one salt. Adderall, Vyvance, Ritalin, Concerta, Daytrana and Focalin, contrary to popular belief, do NOT "make" more dopamine.  The brain is constantly making and reabsorbing neurotransmitters all day and night.  What the Rx does is just like SSRI's and SNRI's--keep the brain from reabsorbing its own dopamine.  Wellbutrin also does this, but not as well.  

[Sandman2]

        Glad to hear that the Adderall is working for you.  Although, both Wellbutrin and Adderall can cause weight loss.   So make sure you get a good protein rich, hardy breakfast.  And don't be afraid to eat at 11 at night if you get hungry.   The Adderall should not cause any sexual side effects.  Although, if you were taking Wellbutrin for treating SSRI/SNRI-induced sexual dysfunction (the adderall should do the same thing), and you are still on any SSRI's etc. - hopefully since things like anxiety and depression come with ADD - as you get a handle on your ADD, you can lower other meds.
     Let me know if you need any more info.

[amanda930]

I just started Adderall a few weeks go due to being in nursing school I had trouble concentrating, I was distracted by anything a chair moving in class, other classmates talking in class while I was concentrating on the teacher it was awful. now that im on Adderall I can concentrate I don't even hear the other people talking in class. im not doodling on my paper making art pictures lol. im organized now and teachers in my class can see a difference. my scores were 70s to 80s. and now I get 100, 90, 96. doing much better. but I used to take wellbutrin for my libido because I couldn't be sexually satisfied. it made me very hyper and I lost too much weight I was down to 112 just on wellbutrin. no Adderall. I hope Adderall does not cause any sexual side affects. but the adderalll is a god send.

[Quagg]

I've been diagnosed with ADHD myself, and I can tell you, if you're older than 5, DO NOT TAKE ADDERRALL, it's the equivalent of meth and salt. I'm on Vivance, 40mg. Oh, and @specialmom, I've had ADHD for 14 years, and not one thing in your comment is true. It's an amphetamine, pretty much methamphetamine, not speed. They don't give you a boost of energy, they slow down how fast your brain works, so you can focus. Without it, I can't stay on task for more than 30 seconds unless it's a video game or something I enjoy. And I would know, I have first hand experience.

[Quagg]

I've been diagnosed with ADHD myself, and I can tell you, if you're older than 5, DO NOT TAKE ADDERRALL, it's the equivalent of meth and salt. I'm on Vivance, 40mg. Oh, and @specialmom, I've had ADHD for 14 years, and not one thing in your comment is true. It's an amphetamine, pretty much methamphetamine, not speed. They don't give you a boost of energy, they slow down how fast your brain works, so you can focus. Without it, I can't stay on task for more than 30 seconds unless it's a video game or something I enjoy. And I would know, I have first hand experience.

[Sandman2]

   Pretty old post, always curious how people come across them?  Anyway, Specialmom's  burst of energy point probably came from - " I want to take on everything"  part of the post.   And the poster was also on, " Cymbalta 60mg capsule daily, as well as one Xanax 2MG in the late afternoon if needed, and, at bedtime, two Ambien CR.   So, its hard to say what was causing her problem.
    What I am very curious about though is the dilation of pupils as I had another poster ask the same question.  
     When did your pupils dilate after taking the med?  Much later in the day or within the first hour or two?   Also did the effect soon go away?

[alygirl4point0]

Um do you know anything about adhd? It can make even simple task very hard to finish. The inability to focus, the distractabily, along with the trouble organizing. And those are just a few of the symptoms. I am also confused where you got the burst of energy bit from. No where in her post does it mention that. When you have untreated ADHD and begin treatment its like walking out of a dense fog bank. If you have never experienced what it is like to have ADHD I don't think it is ok to make such an uninformed and downright condescending comment. As far as I'm concerned I have experienced the same phenomena with regards to my eyes, and I was told it was perfectly normal especially for someone with light colored eyes like blue or green when you first start taking it or your doctor increases the dosage.

[Miss_Christine]

I have asked my pychiatrist- she says any type of amphetamine drug can have this affect  due to the effect on the central nervous system.  My boyfriend is a surgeon he thinks I've  been completely misdiagnosed & the drug is making my body go into over-drive- causing me to get 'high' from an over production of dopamine, rather than an increase in focus & attention. He's prob correct; but I am a writer & I get so much more work completed when I take the Adderall.  I suppose it's not worth the side effects & the anxiety it utimatey causes me.  I was a great writer before the Adderall.  Screw it.

[Sandman2]

Another thought is that you said the eye dilation happens after, "just a few hours of taking my daily morning dosage."  The medication effect is very rapid.  Its a little weird that after taking either your extended release or rapid release meds that you would get the same effect several hours later.  Really makes me wonder if it is adderall causing the problem.  Anyway, this is really something you need to talk over with your doctor.

[specialmom]

I didn't mean to come across as saying you are addicted to speed.  I, of course, don't know you or your medical history.  I had thought that it wasn't suppose to rev you up when you took it for adhd.  I do not have adhd---------  I've not experienced the medication myself.  If you are under physician care and they think it is appropriate for you, then so be it.  So, I hope you don't think I was criticizing you.  But it is a class of drugs that could cause the eye issues you describe.  You have to decide if the benefit is worth that.  I'd talk to your doctor about it and see if they have any thoughts.
good luck

[Miss_Christine]

I have a psychiatrist and psychotherapy with her every week 4 two hrs. I did all the tests and was diagnosed with moderate-severe ADHD. If you have ADHD these things aren't common?  So basically u r telling me I am addicted to speed.  Great.

[Miss_Christine]

I have a psychiatrist and psychotherapy with her every week 4 two hrs. I did all the tests and was diagnosed with moderate-severe ADHD. If you have ADHD these things aren't common?  So basically u r telling me I am addicted to speed.  Great.

[specialmom]

I'm curious if you have diagnosed with adhd?  When used properly, adhd medications are not suppose to give you this burst of energy to clean or anything like that.  When that happens, it is being used as speed.  Then you are taking sleep aides and Xanax to come back down?   Anyway, your pupils are dialated because it is an amphetamine and your body is reacting to it.  You'll have to judge whether that is worth it.  Every medication has an up side and a down side.  Only you can judge if it is worth it.  good luck