Like most folks with ADHD I have some spares for situations like the recent shortage.
Every so often it seems like the pill isn’t really doing it’s job. I start to wonder if I’m building up a tolerance, and need to ask for an increased dosage, and then suddenly I’m doing fine again.
Well, I was going through that recently, and I realized I just switched to my newest bottle. Now it feels just as strong, if not stronger than it used to be. As it happens, I tend to have some spares from days I forget and whatnot, so it’s been maybe 2 weeks. That also means this last bottle was over month old, too. I wish I could remember if I’d just changed to the new bottle the last time this happened too.
I’m using Walgreens, and the shape of the pill changed last month, so maybe there’s a different formulation? I just keep going through this feast and famine of medication efficacy, and Itd be nice to know if this is a problem I can actually solve without going to a higher dosage. Idk, maybe I’ll keep them in the fridge while Im not using them or something.
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I notice as a woman my body reacts different to my Adderall depending on my cycle
Do you have menstrual cycles? If so, keep track of when your meds are ineffective and compare against the dates of your cycle. I find mine much less effective in the second half of my cycle when my body has more progesterone (which, for me, seems to be the hazy-spacey-lazy hormone).
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I also take my pills with me to work to take with breakfast. They live in my backpack because of that. Would that cause the pills to degrade faster?
Taking them with food, specifically anything with ascorbic acid, isn’t a good idea. They will lose potency in your body faster.
All medications degrade eventually. It may just be head-canon but I feel like solid medications should be more stable for longer but I don’t doubt it highly depends on what you’re talking about
However, here’s 2 things I’ve learned recently. Heat can affect how drugs act in your body and can be less effective or cause different side effects. Storing medication in a hot place will make some degrade faster.
Sources: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-minute-heat-and-how-it-affects-medication/ https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-minute-heat-and-how-it-affects-medication/
Ahhh this makes sense. It’s wildly hot, and my backpack isn’t going to be and cooler. If I carry them in the heat, it might break down.
It sucks cause taking them with me to eat at breakfast has been my most reliable way to remember to medicate. I’ll have to try keeping only a week at a time or something so it doesn’t kill a whole bottle with the heat during these 100° spells.
Thanks for the source!
Anecdotally, I felt the meds that I got during the shortage 6 or so months ago weren’t as effective.
I think they do degrade, but I have no sources. I think I asked my psychiatrist at one point and he said that it usually isn’t a concern.
I’m taking concerta, not Adderall, if that makes a difference.
