Does Intake Of Adderall Help In Curing Anxiety?

Posted on Wed, 10 Feb 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 Answered on

Wed, 30 Mar 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : Diagnoised ADD, age 60. Experience 3am anxiety..tried .25 adderall IR. My perscription is adderall 20 XR, AM with adderall 10 IR afternoon. I tried .25 adderall IR for 3am anxiety, my wandering thoughts stopped, I was able to sleep. Is adderall ever perscribed for this type of night anxiety?

Answered by Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi (-4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Adderall is not commonly used in anxiety.

Detailed Answer:
Hi, thanks for asking from HCM

Adderall is an amphetamine drug. The drug is known to cause stimulation and excitation in brain and thus has is known to improve focus and attention. This is the reason the drug is used in ADD and some times in poor focus in patients of depression. The drug is known to result in precipitation of anxiety sometimes and is not used in treatment of anxiety. Most probably the drug reduced racing thoughts in night and thus you felt improvement in your symptoms. The drug is not prescribed for night anxiety. The drug causes insomnia thus might worsen anxiety.

Thanks, Hope this helps you. Please don't hesitate to ask again for more doubts.

Take care

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar