AIBU for wanting to try Adderall for age-related fatigue?

[aquamaryne]

I don't have caffeine all the time, only when I'm going out with my boyfriend or with friends, but even at 400 mg of caffeine I don't feel buzzed or hyper, I feel about 70% to what I felt like at 20. I'm 31, I've had every single blood test under the sun, and they are all normal.

I am slurring my words and messing up my grammar constantly, and feel so tired I don't want to do anything, even my oldest hobbies. I'm sleeping 10 hours a day and wake up feeling just how I did when I was going to bed. I feel the constant urge to nap and people think I'm getting annoyed with them talking to me when really I'm trying to save my energy. I find it very difficult to explain simple things.

I have not had kids, and my BMI is 21, so I'm not overweight.

The 400 mg of caffeine is good (I got pills) but I feel like I need something stronger. I've heard Adderall is much more effective than caffeine is, but my friend told me I should just take more than 400 mg of caffeine instead. AIBU?

Sidenote: Ageing is so normal, yet sucks so much, I miss the old me that had so much energy! And why is it that men seem to age differently to women and still have so much energy at my age? Bleh! My point is, even though it's normal given my age, why suffer when there are things you can take to alleviate it, even if it's temporary?

Adderall isn't even licenced in the UK, so if you live there, you've practically no chance of getting it without spending a fortune. There are also very serious potential side effects, so it's not something to start on lightly.

Have you had a sleep study?
This is not normal for a 31 year old. You're still young and should be in peak health. It could be sleep apnea.

It’s not normal to be so fatigued at 31 - that’s still very young. Frustrating the blood tests gleaned nothing.

I had post viral fatigue for months at one point, I found acupuncture helped plus crazy high doses of vitamin C.

How is 31 linked to age related fatigue?!

Sleep study is a great suggestion by pp. You could have sleep apnoea. Vitamin deficiencies can make you very tired. Thyroid dysfunction. Do you sleep well at night after all of the caffeine? Maybe you think you're sleeping but the caffeine is preventing you from restorative sleep.

That isn't age related fatigue. I'm 50 and I'm not tired like that and neither are any of my friends.

Your sidenote makes me suspicious you're actually about to try and direct us to some dodgy site selling these pills, which are basically amphetamines

You don’t sound very well. Maybe go and get some blood tests done.

edited to add: oh crap, you’ve had the tests! Still doesn’t sound normal for 31, though. Can you go back to the doctor?

Don't be so fucking ridiculous. Doing speed because you're a bit tired is a really, really shit idea - and not just because you'd be getting it illegally, but because of the very real risks of taking a medication/drug that isn't appropriate outside specific medical diagnoses.

there are probably lots of suggestions that people could make, but I think we're probably a bit suspicious of your post so we'll wait and see.... 👀

I don’t think it’s normal to have ‘age related fatigue’ at 31. I would consider fatigue to be age-related if it was hormonal due to menopause (peri and post), or if you were actually old.

Forget taking in more caffeine - you are probably getting a bounce-back from what you are already taking. And people are unlikely to say taking unlicensed
medication is a good idea. Give up the caffeine and go back to your GP.

No, but I don't even snore. My boyfriend has watched me sleep.

I've had loads of blood tests this year and I do not have any vitamin deficiencies. I sleep very well! And my thryroid hormones and oestrogen have been checked too and are all normal!

That's not right at all. You don't get age related fatigue at 31. That should be your peak in terms of energy.

If your tests are all clear it could be long-covid, chronic fatigue/ME or possibly Lyme disease.

It could also be a caffeine addiction if you are using large doses. Causes rebound fatigue & poor sleep.

You need to go back to your GP & cut out the caffeine.

But you might think you're sleeping well but not getting REM etc due to not breathing correctly or being so caffeinated you can't get enough restorative sleep. It's worth asking before going down the route of Adderall at such a young age.

Hi! It's very normal! All my blood tests, hormone tests, etc have come back normal. I'm not overweight as my BMI is 20. I also do not snore/have sleep apnea as my boyfriend has watched me sleep.

Since all your blood tests are normal, you need to ask your doctor if you might have ME/CFS or some other condition that causes fatigue and doesn’t show up in blood tests. Being that fatigued in your 30s in not age-related.

You’ll find info about ME/CFS here:

https://meassociation.org.uk/

31 isn't young. After 35, if a woman tries to get pregnant, it is known as a geriatric pregnancy

ummmmmmm ok well good luck with everything!

thanks for this - thought it was just me!

This feels a bit like a wind up.
You don't need to spend long on MN to know the main demographic are over 35 and pregnancy around and over that age is the ideal here.

are you of Irish or Scottish descent by any chance? You could consider getting your ferritin levels checked. I was like this and it turned out to be haemochromatosis which is relatively prevalent among us Celts!

Who told you that?

where does your mate expect you can get Adderall from?

I'm 37, have a toddler, and have a BMI that is probably close to 40 (dunno, wildly don't care so haven't weighed myself for a long time, but I fill some space so probably around there). I don't feel like you describe, and I only ever have when I am really tortuously sleep deprived (babies!). It's not normal, there's something wrong.

Or you're on the wind up. 🤷‍♀️

I’m going to guess that OP is from the US, because aside from the fact that it’s not even available in the UK, who says so flippantly ‘I feel fatigued, shall I just give this drug a try?’. It’s just not very British culturally to be so lax about amphetamines. That’s like someone saying I feel depressed AIBU to give ket a try? Odd

If you have any questions about ME/CFS, please feel free to ask. I have it.