Stimulants don’t work during my period.

Probably only women will be able to weigh in on this, but any discussion/advice is welcome.

I started taking 20mg XR Adderall about 6 months ago. It helps me a lot and I haven’t had any side effects. It really takes the edge off the brain fog and fatigue I have experienced every day of my life that I can remember and helps me to concentrate. The only complaint I have is that it does not help at all for a few days before and first 3-4 days of my period.

During that time I usually don’t sleep well, and have more fatigue and brain fog than usual, and the fact that I feel no effects from my meds mean that I really feel awful and have a hard time functioning compared to other days of the month. I’m about to graduate from nursing school and will be starting a full time job in an ICU working with critically ill patients while also continuing my education. The fact that for 6-7 days out of each month I am barely able to function means that I could potentially put people’s lives at risk. I will be working 12 hour shifts in an intense environment and need to be able to concentrate.

I usually drink a cup of coffee in the morning with my meds, which gives me an extra boost, but I don’t feel effects from caffeine during my period. It doesn’t matter how much I drink, I don’t feel any more awake or alert. Usually if I have more than one cup of coffee with my adderall my heart starts racing, but I can drink cup after cup all day long during my period and nothing happens.

I don’t want to ask for a dosage increase because 20mg is sufficient normally and I don’t know if it would even help anyway. Do any other women experience this? Have you found any way to increase the effectiveness of your meds during your period or feel more alert? Thanks!!

EDIT: sorry for the opening sentence, I didn’t really think that through. Trans men and other genders obviously experience this as well!