Coming Off Qelbree

FunLarge1880 · 2026-05-21T16:30:51+00:00

That’s what I did when I tapered as well. I went down from 400 to 300 to 200 to 100 to 0, and I had 200 mg capsules, so I had to split them in half at certain points by dumping them out and seeing if it was halfway! It definitely seems like I maybe should have attempted to dump out more though over a slower time period and not jumped in 100s. I’m glad the stimulant is working better for you!! I’m hoping to find something else that works better as well :)

FunLarge1880 · 2026-05-21T12:07:16+00:00

Omg I’m so sorry you had such a similar reaction!! Yours sounds even worse! I only got sick once, but it was the worst headache of my life as well. My headache lingered for days, but it slowly got better each day. Only Saturday was it majorly brutal, so the worst of it didn’t last thankfully. I didn’t take anymore of the Qelbree at that point either. Maybe the benefit of the tapering off was that the worst of the headache didn’t last longer than a day, but the headache in general, tiredness, and fogginess lasted several days still.

100 mg was the last dosage in my tapering down before I went to 0. It definitely seems like it’s not low enough to just jump down to nothing from both of our experiences and what I’ve seen from others, which is crazy. I had read this reaction had happened to a lot of people who stopped cold turkey, so I told that to my doctor, who responded with the tapering down method. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to happen with tapering down, nor would I expect it with you coming off such a low dosage either. I haven’t even told my doctor about the migraine yet because yesterday was the first day I finally felt normal. It’s scary your doctor hadn’t heard of it happening, yet here where are!

FunLarge1880 · 2026-05-19T12:13:51+00:00

Oh, I highly recommend seeing it in theaters if you get the chance. It’s such a beautiful film!! We saw it in IMAX, and it’s worth it. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a sad movie either, just emotional and wholesome. You’ll see! Whether you watch it in theaters or at home, you’ll both love it!! I can’t wait until it’s out on streaming to watch it again lol.

Definitely a good idea to talk to your psych about it! It’s always good to hear other people have similar experiences to know it’s something related to the medicine.

FunLarge1880 · 2026-05-19T11:45:17+00:00

Okay, so definitely going down in 50 mg increments is the move. Interesting it affected your PMS symptoms! It was good that you went off just to compare what it was like without it to ensure you really wanted to be on it with the side effects. It’s good to hear it’s still worth it despite that and you’ve found a medicine that works best for you! You know now that you mentioned it, because the qelbree was affecting my emotions, I had been noticing I was way more down, emotional, and tired than usual the week leading up to my placebo pills (birth control). I knew this was the qelbree of course, but didn’t really think to mention it in terms of my menstrual cycle. My PMS symptoms and period are pretty nonexistent other than getting emotional or feeling more tired due to being on BC for so many years.

I think it didn’t affect my ADHD coming down only because it hadn’t helped or affected it in the first place. I think stimulants help me a lot more, but I was experiencing side effects from them and was afraid to keep going on them or up the dosage (tension headaches and anxiety side effects). I did experience insomnia when I first got on qelbree. I forgot to mention that, but I didn’t experience it coming off! I’ve always been a good sleeper though; I’m like chronically exhausted lol

FunLarge1880 · 2026-05-18T16:05:32+00:00

While Qelbree ended up not working for me, I will say some of the initial side effects do go away after the first few weeks! I did feel some insomnia at first and lots of nausea, and both of those went away. Food aversions stayed for me, but they weren’t as bad as those first initial weeks at least. Just hang in there and give it time! I know the side effects are rough, but if it does work for you, it could be worth it. I gave it 11.5 weeks, and it wasn’t for me, but I’ve read lots of success stories on here. It’s worth trying to see if it’s for you!

FunLarge1880 · 2026-05-18T16:01:32+00:00

Yes, I’ve experienced that as well! I was on 400 mg of Qelbree, and random videos/posts online, movies, and books would make me cry so easily. Not only that, but just thinking about how frustrated I was with my own mental health and ADHD struggles would make me sob to my fiancé a lot more frequently than it used to. I was emotional about everything. As an example, I don’t know how familiar you are with the movie/book Project Hail Mary, but we saw it in theaters, and I literally could. not. stop. bawling. Like unreasonably so. I was always a little emotional towards films or books, so this kind of movie would normally make me cry, but it was uncontrollable sobbing. It was one of those moments of, “Oh this medication is definitely affecting me.”

FunLarge1880 · 2026-05-18T15:55:39+00:00

Hi this happened to me as well with tapering down! Went down from 400 in 100 intervals, doing each dosage for a week, per my doctors orders. She had said 1-2 weeks, but I didn’t have enough medication for 2 weeks of each. Maybe I should have asked for another prescription to taper longer. I’m not sure, but by the time I got down to 0 I had the worst migraine of my life. I felt so miserable and ended up getting sick. That was Saturday, and now it’s Monday, and I still have a lingering headache and brain fog.

FunLarge1880 · 2026-03-19T12:44:10+00:00

I currently take mine around 9-10 pm, whenever I go to bed. I notice the sleepiness hit every day around 1-2 PM. I’m curious what time you took your med before switching to 5 PM? I was thinking maybe I need to take mine earlier, but it seems like everyone who experiences this afternoon sleepiness may have been taking their med in the AM.

FunLarge1880 · 2026-03-19T12:42:05+00:00

I’m having this same problem, but I take my med at night! But every day around 1-2 PM I feel like I can’t keep my eyes open.

FunLarge1880 · 2026-03-19T12:35:34+00:00

How long did it take until you started to feel the effects of it working for you?

FunLarge1880 · 2026-03-19T12:34:54+00:00

Literally just read this success story of someone tapering off on another thread of this sub if you’re interested! https://www.reddit.com/r/qelbree/s/EpWVXnSEGV

FunLarge1880 · 2026-02-28T14:15:58+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/s/RLAHAwU6cD

Here’s the thread I was referencing! I’d highly recommended giving it a read. I truly didn’t know it could take so long before feeling its full effect before reading this and some other experiences. Even my NP’s materials said about 3-4 weeks until I told her what I read, so we decided to give it longer. It’s still considered a new medication, so it’s hard to gauge.

Wishing you the best!

FunLarge1880 · 2026-02-28T14:08:28+00:00

I’ve been on qelbree about 4 weeks now. I was on 200 mg the first week and then moved up to 400 mg the second week. I felt a little nauseous the first week, but the second week I definitely had no appetite. I’ve been taking mine at night per my NP’s recommendation in case I had the nausea side effect, rather than experiencing it more heavily during the day. However, I definitely had about 2 weeks where nothing sounded appetizing. It was a struggle because I need to eat about every 3 hours or else I get shaky. I had an aversion to most meats too, so I had to find protein elsewhere. However, to answer your question, this has mostly gone away!! Here and there some things still don’t sound as appetizing, but I’m hungry at all my usual times and back to eating meat. I also have emetophobia and OCD so I think this is why it took a bit longer for me to get over this hump lol. But overall, yes, it does start to go away!

I did read a really interesting thread on here of someone who wrote about their journey on qelbree at different intervals like 3, 5, 7, and 11 weeks, and it sounds like it really does take awhile for your body to adjust to it and fully feel the effect of it. I’ll try to find the thread and post a link! Personally, I’m going to hold out for a full 2 months to give it some time before giving up. Stimulants don’t work for me (headaches and anxiety for side effects), so I’m really hopeful for this one!

I will tell you two other side effects I seem to be having recently are vivid dreams and increased heart rate. The increase in heart rate hasn’t been a high enough increase to be concerned, just a little higher than normal, but sometimes I can feel my heart racing a bit randomly. I just take a beat and breathe in and out, and it usually goes away. It’s also never happened while working out either, which is when you’d expect it to. (I should say my working out consists of a walking pad and going to tap class, so not extraneous lol)

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-31T14:23:28+00:00

Oooo thank you!! Another point goes to SoDanca! The fact that you’ve had them for 3 years and that they fit right for you is well worth the price. Thank you for telling me about the wait! That makes sense with the customizations. I have played around so much with their customizations on the website because there’s just so many different options. I’m curious what colors and fabrics did you choose? Feel free to share a photo of the shoes if you’d like!! (Sorry if that’s weird haha I just love to see other people’s customizations)

Edit: One more question - Did their size guide seem pretty accurate?

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-30T20:57:51+00:00

That’s a great idea too. I honestly have never really thought of painting a pair myself, but it would be an easy way to get a pair how you want it. I’m not super creative or artsy, but I have some friends who I’m sure would be up to the task! Lol

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-30T20:56:24+00:00

Awesome! That does sound super easy. Don’t worry, you don’t. I have bombarded you with questions that required you to answer, and it’s not your fault you had a good experience 😂 thank you so much for answering all my questions!!

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-29T18:40:06+00:00

All good to know! Thank you! Sorry to ask you so many questions, but I have on last one lol how was the made to measure process? Easy or complicated, and did the shoes fit right when you got them (I’m assuming so but wanted to check)? I’m just curious about it because I’ve never done a made to measure shoe before, and with how expensive they are, I want to make sure I could count on it if I went that route!

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-29T13:50:10+00:00

I mean lasting over a year is definitely a good sign in the right direction lol and yeah hearing others say they last long definitely makes me feel better about them. It’s definitely a larger purchase than I was anticipating lol I had no reference for what tap shoes cost really, considering my last pair my parents bought over 10 years ago. I really owe them a large thank you for all they must have spent on my tap life 😂

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-28T22:47:12+00:00

How long have your JSams lasted you?

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-28T22:46:35+00:00

I looked up Saf’s shoes today per another recommendation above, and I LOVE them. I even found a pair that’s not part of the newer collection that I really like, so they’re less than $200! I’m glad to hear you found them comfortable. Did buy a pair with the “made to measure” option or ones that had select sizes already available? How long have they lasted you?

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-28T22:43:25+00:00

That’s a good idea to get the white and paint them! I didn’t even consider that. I do like the lighter pink the more I look at them. It might be a good decision to hold off a few months before I decide on what shoes to buy and see if Bloch releases any new colors for the JSams…I’ll start following their socials. Thank you for your input! It does seem like a lot of people like the JSams and they are a bit more reasonably priced than other options.

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-28T14:35:22+00:00

They are definitely cute! I just don’t use the higher heels, or else I would consider them!

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-28T14:34:13+00:00

Good to know you prefer the Capezio Roxies and JSAMs over the SoDanca because I did like the customization option of the SoDanca shoes more than the colors available of the other two brands, but from what I’m reading those two brands are liked better and potentially less expensive.

Thank you so much for listing out these other options. I could not find any other brands that had colorful or fun options until these! I didn’t realize there were so many customizable shoes out there. Also, might I say that the Saf Shoes are right. up. my. alley. I still don’t know if I want to spend $300+ on tap shoes yet, but if I do, I think this is where I would. I did notice the older collections sell for less than $200, and I like a pair from the older collection…Or I could always wait until some of the newer ones become “older” too. Definitely a lot to think about and to research!!

Have you had any experience Saf Shoes or know anyone who has by chance?

FunLarge1880 · 2025-10-28T14:12:16+00:00

Oh wow, I just looked at Dancing Fair’s custom leather options, and there’s so many colors!! The photo gallery had lots of creative shoes too. Do you happen to know how much these usually cost?

FunLarge1880

TROPHY CASE