ritalin/focalin giving me horrible anxiety: how to get it switched???!

[m00nlight]

So, I looked everywhere and couldn't find the answer to what I was looking for. Anyways.

My psychiatrist prescribed me focalin and ritalin (Xr and Ir for homework) and I absolutely hate it. It works for literally 45 minutes (even the XR) and then I'm left with AWFUL anxiety. Seriously the worst I have ever had to the point where I want to rip my hair out. The thing is that, I have taken both adderall and vyvanse in the past and they worked great for school (didn't abuse them, but did get them from friends) and they left me with little to no anxiety. Now, my problem is that I actually want these prescribed because I HATE what I have now with a burning passion. I don't know what to tell my psychiatrist. I have had issues in the past with drug abuse, but that was with benzos and alcohol. I don't care for abusing stimulants, and my psychiatrist knows this. She gave me the ritalin and focalin with knowing this, but I'm still afraid to suggest what medication I would prefer. She did tell me that if i told like ritalin that we could try something else. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that, what should I tell her?? And what medication will she be likely to prescribe me next? I dont want her to think I'm abusing these drugs because I am not. I just realllly want what I know will help me and not leave me with my heart and mind racing out of my body. thanks

 

[nau5ea]

tell her they give you anxiety

 

[deadendgame]

adderall is amphetamine!! You can ask her for that but I think the reason why she is giving you ritalin because it is not amphetamine. It doesn't do what amphetamine does. She knows perfectly well which stimulant is similar to ritalin and does not provoke anxiety. There is a reason why she is not giving it to you! It is so much more addictive! I thought this was against the forum rules. You can't ask us how to get adderall from your doctor. You have go ask your doctor yourself

 

[m00nlight]

yeah i know what it is, and it isn't pure amphetamine. I also have ADD so it wont get me high in the first place anyway. I want it because it works for me and it doesn't leave me with side effects that make me want to hurt myself (which I have a looooong history of). And no, they all generally do the same thing but in different ways. But I can't deal with the side effects of whatever the fuck is in this drug. And all drugs are addictive when abused.. My question was more geared toward, what other meds will she likely prescribe me? I want to do research and take precautions because of the side effects, I was looking for answers from people who are experienced with these medications but thanks. My drug of choice is downers (which I can never get and dont want anymore), I never found stimulants to be very fun recreationally anyway.

 

[deadendgame]

Do you really have ADD? Sorry for being rude before. I was under the assumption you wanted to get high. Well all ADD meds are stimulants with the exception of strattera and wellbutrin. Strattera is a nonstim ADD med. However not only does it not work, it gives you GI side effects. I know because well, i took it. Then you have wellbutrin and it is an antidepressant and is also an ADD med. It is said to have stimulant qualities due to its DRI capacity. But it only does it so weakly. You do not want wellbutrin or strattera. They are literally side effects in a pill. Now i will talk about the stimulants. The weakest one is ritalin. Ritalin works by inhibiting dopamine reuptake at neurons but because it only affects dopamine reuptake it is the weakest. Ritalin comes in instant release, sustained release, and focalin. Focalin is the pure form of ritalin while sustained release ritalin is branded concerta. Next strongest is amphetamine. Amphetamine does what ritalin does. It is also a MAO inhibitor and increases release of synaptic vesicles. These mechanisms increase dopamine orders of magnitude greater than ritalin. That is the generic name which has several brands. Adderall is 75% dex 25% lev. It has an instant and sustained release. Dexedrine is 100% d. Vyvanse is an amphetamine precursor and must be metabolized before it can become amphetamine in the body. Methamphetamine is God of all stimulants. It is branded as desoxyn. No doctor will ever give this to you because it is so strong. So you see, no one can answer your question because there are many things your doctor can give you. I think if you dont say anything, she will give you strattera or wellbutrin because well, those arent controlled substances

 

[deadendgame]

If you dont want any side effects, then go with dexedrine/dexostrat because it contains 100% of the dex isomer of amphetamine

 

[m00nlight]

yeah I'm not looking to get high haha. And hm...I hope she doesn't give me those, the last thing I need are side effects! I feel like she'll go with vyvanse since it is known to be so long acting.

 

[Intense]

Vyvanse is the worst for me.. Hate that stuff.

 

[deadendgame]

Not looking to get high? All of these will make you high with the exception of strattera. And yeah, vyvanse sucks. It has to be metabolized to amphetamine before it works and that can take 5 hours

 

[opiatekrzy]

Just explain to your doctor that those meds that you are on right now are giving you extreme anxiety most likely you will get switched over to Adderall or an amphetamine closely related in my experience or you can just say that you were looking online at negative side and it was recommended to take Adderall or Vyvanse etc...in my personal experience myself I just told my doctor ritalin doesn't work well for me and said adderall etc worked better in the past ...most doctors oddly don't really view ADHD meds as abusive (which we know are very) and will likely switch you st your discretion...

 

[Ilove2nod]

Don't be afraid to tell your doc the truth.. there is absolutely no sense in continuing to suffer with anxiety, if you know for a fact Adderall works for you. You don't have to say " A friend gave them to me before and they worked much better." Just say, that you would like to try a different medication, and have heard from others that Adderall and Dexedrine work very well. Which they do, I have ADHD and suffered with it my whole life, until one day I finally said screw it and saw a psychiatrist, who was against prescribing stims, so she evaluated me to have ADHD, which I already knew, just wanted to have proof and gave me Strattera.. it was completely USELESS, like a placebo pill! Did nothing at all, after trying it for a month.. So I told my sub doctor whom I see monthly that I was diagnosed with ADHD, and bam, as soon as I told her I was and Strattera didn't work for me, she prescribed me Adderall! Ironic, how the psychistrist wanted nothing to do with scripting me Adderall or any stim, yet my addiction specialist, sub doc had no problem giving me Adderall. And I can honestly say it works so well! I have heard lots of negative things about Ritalin, having some of the worst comedowns, anxiety, and other side effects, but IME I get no comedown from Adderall taking 20mg a day, and it lasts sooo long, like more than half the day in the IR tablet form too! Cant imagine how long the XR form would last, if the IRs last me like 8 hours! But just be honest, and if she already has you on not one, but 2 stimulant meds, Focalin and Ritalin in both XR and IR form, I have no idea why she would have a problem giving you Adderall, that would make no sense to me... In fact, Ritalin/focalin are way more abusable than Adderall is. You cant get high from shooting Adderall but you can from shooting methylphenidate/dextromethylphenidate! Adderall can be snorted, but so can Ritalin and focalin.. So I would just be honest and ask! Good luck, Hope it works out for you!

 

[Cliffy78]

I have a bunch of focalin 10mg and 20mg xr and don't know much about it and am looking for info since it seems to have some value. I'm a downer guy so these just aren't my cup of tea. Where does focalin stand in comparison to Ritalin and adderall? Stregnth wise and how is the buzz? I enjoy adderall because it relaxes me for some reason, Ritalin not so much. Just looking for info from my fellow bluelighters experienced with this drug because our community is very wise when it comes to these matters. I've learned more about meds on bl than I have from my own drs and have mad respect for my fellow members.
Not trying to derail thread op, very sry to intrude but I only have the mobile version and can't tag so I can't create my own thread afaik

 

[Keif' Richards]

We really don't give any advice regarding bedside chats with prescribers aside from, "tell them the truth". Anything outside or in between is going to be on you.