help with ADD medication

[molly897]

i recently got diagnosed and i have to go back to get prescribed something. i was wondering what someone elses opinion on stimulants vs non stimulant medication

i did a search didn't find much sorry if there's similar thread or feel free to move ..

anyway, adderall worked for me. except at some point in the day i ended up feeling like shit. vyvanse worked for me, and i didn't feel like shit. however i needed more than i took (it was XR). everytime i've taken these meds i've always had trouble eating and i know that has to interfere with me feeling like shit. it is SO hard to eat on that. i end up making myself feel like shit for days after i even stop taking it just from lack of food/water. i wanted to make a food schedule and planned on doing it but i'm pretty scared to try stims again, it's just the fact that they worked and i haven't tried anything else yet i guess

my dr told me to look into concerta and strattera, but what about other stimulants like ritalin? what is everyones experience? i do like the appetite suppressant effect so if those non stims CAUSE gain then i think that might be out.

i drank a large regular coffee with two shots of espresso and gave myself a panic attack hoping it'd so something similar that adderall did.. but it was like an overdose. also, 20 mg IR of adderall was too much, but 30 XR was good. just not sure what to do hmm

thanks

 

[Help me please]

i drank a large regular coffee with two shots of espresso and gave myself a panic attack hoping it'd so something similar that adderall did.. but it was like an overdose. also, 20 mg IR of adderall was too much, but 30 XR was good. just not sure what to do hmm

thanks

Molly I normally drink triple espressos sans sugar. I used to drink that all day long and in the afternoon I would add ice to the mix. Everyone said it was so bitter they didn't understand how I drank it. The thing is it's a quick in and out feeling. The phrase "coffee break" and the reason they have more than one during an 8 hour working day is because the stimulant doesn't last long and you do "crash" afterward. I quit drinking them about a month ago when I went through WD so badly. I've just started back on teas this week.

If you thought 30 RX adderall was good for you then ask for that. Go with what you know

 

[molly897]

Molly I normally drink triple espressos sans sugar. I used to drink that all day long and in the afternoon I would add ice to the mix. Everyone said it was so bitter they didn't understand how I drank it. The thing is it's a quick in and out feeling. The phrase "coffee break" and the reason they have more than one during an 8 hour working day is because the stimulant doesn't last long and you do "crash" afterward. I quit drinking them about a month ago when I went through WD so badly. I've just started back on teas this week.

If you thought 30 RX adderall was good for you then ask for that. Go with what you know

thank you. i got no rush or stimulant even from the coffee.. just straight into panic attack. i may try just a less strong coffee. but it does make sense

and unfortunately when i tried adderall and vyvanse it was recreationally (not recreationally even just not prescribed), and they started my BF on 10mg IR, which would be too much for me. i dont want to tell them ive taken it before. i guess if that happens i'll jsut have to split them.

 

[blahman8000]

The first ADD/ADHD med that I tried was Concerta, which worked okay for me sometimes, and other times made me feel uncomfortable. After a while of being on it, though, the effect wore off, and I didn't like the idea of continually increasing my dose.

I was taking Adderall from July 09 until around April of this year, and it seemed to work well. However, I eventually made the mistake of beginning to take it recreationally, and therefore I gained a tolerance and had some problems with binges and the like. That was a bad idea. But if you can avoid any temptation of taking more than you're prescribed, then I'd say that Adderall is a decent medication.

You might also want to keep in mind that Vyvanse is supposed to be just like Adderall but with a better time-release mechanism. It is supposedly the same active ingredients but it metabolizes in your system differently and more smoothly.

 

[CuriousCub]

Has anyone had any success with Strattera long term? my pharmacy doesn't see any long term users of this med...I just started on it for ADHD...don't know what to think of it yet.
I take 0.5mg of klonopin once a day, and my prescriber doesn't feel "right" about giving me stimulants when i take a benzo...
i think that's a lame excuse...what do you think?
They also said that if my anxiety is caused by ADHD/ADD (my doctor says they're the same nowadays) then I won't need the klonopin if strattera or a stimulanant works....is it uncommon to have benzos and stimulants prescribed at the same time? i don't see the complete harm when the person has an idiopathic combo of anxiety and ADD...

 

[molly897]

thanks blahman, i was going to look into switching up the medication from adderall to vyvanse and maybe even something else down the road so i don't build and keep a tolerance. not sure what the conditions are on giving out other stimulants are though (ritalin). don't really want to just go in there and ask for a certain thing. he prescribed me 10mg IR which isn't enough, 20 IR is hardly enough. so he told me to come back in a week to fix the dosage before I left if there are issues. 10mg IR seriously did NOTHING. bummer he's just gonna bump me up to 20mg ir which doesn't do that much more.. i don't even get that awake. it's going to be a gradual process to get what you actually need it seems.

20 mg ir twice a day sounds good. my bf and i have the same doctor treating our ADHD, not sure of a good way to go about upping my dose without looking like i already overused it. i'm just paranoid. do doctors ask for pills back in some cases? im not using it recreationally damnit, just using the correct dose

curious cub, my moms boyfriend is on strattera and it says it helps him focus more than adderall did. but in your case (and mine) .. a non stimulant thats supposed to treat ADHD didn't work and when I take wellbutrin (also used to treat ADHD) it does jack shit. my opinion on that is if something like that's working then your brains attention isn't that hard to grasp in the first place. i WISH something other than stimulants worked. it's actually infuriatingly annoying how little it does. i would probably have to down the bottle for that shit to have any effect. but wellbutrin isn't meant for long term either, like all anti depressants anyway. my new dr doesn't even want to give anything other than amphetamine to treat add. and i have to agree with your dr somewhat, there are those people that do need to just be prescribed stims and benzos together, my bf a prime candidate i think, adhd and has insomnia for years. but why do you still need benzos? my anxiety completely goes away on adderall. i didnt tell my new dr i have anxiety though cause I didn't think he'd want to prescribe me a stimulant. but it completely kills all anxiety. i can sit completely still. have you been on anything other than strattera? and do you need to take the klonopin daily or do u just do?

anyone have any experience with dex?

 

[Soap MacTavish]

My shrink never asked for any pills back when she switched me up or upgraded me, I was left with a previous stockpile which really has helped me evolve into the psychopath I am now. Probably a bad idea. Everybody also thinks I'm on meth now even though I'm not which is also great.

 

[molly897]

got taken off adderall and put on an anti depressant. even though I told him the reason adderall was making me feel like shit an hour later was cuz i got the generics. but he said i dont think you may really be ADD, but more anxiety and depressed. which I can agree with, but the adderall worked, and stimulants worked. i got addicted to coke cause it made me feel NORMAL, not tweaked. stimulants allow me to think. but no doctor believes me. never going to get it

what am i going to have to do to get something that works? how many people do i have to see before one them actually gets it

 

[paranoid android]

got taken off adderall and put on an anti depressant. even though I told him the reason adderall was making me feel like shit an hour later was cuz i got the generics. but he said i dont think you may really be ADD, but more anxiety and depressed. which I can agree with, but the adderall worked, and stimulants worked. i got addicted to coke cause it made me feel NORMAL, not tweaked. stimulants allow me to think. but no doctor believes me. never going to get it

what am i going to have to do to get something that works? how many people do i have to see before one them actually gets it

Get the opinion of another shrink would be my advice. A second or 3rd opinion can't hurt as ive seen many people get misdiagnosed with all sorts of mental illnesses myself included.

In all fairness i think stimulants help everyone concentrate more that is just what they do really. That and get you high of course 8) . What anti-depressant are you now prescribed? Strattera is basically a anti-depressant as it is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Also wellbutrin (bupropion) is a DNRI and is used off label for the treatment of ADHD as well.

I have been diagnosed with borderline ADHD but due to the fact that i also suffer from bipolar disorder my psychiatrist won't prescribe me any stimulants. I take wellbutrin for my depression which also seems to help me concentrate as well. It also doesent wreck my appetite either which is a good thing as dextroamphetamine completely wrecks my appetite in doses of anything higher then 15mg's a day. But this is just me and everyone reacts differently.

Stimulants can at first help depression and even anxiety in a odd way in some people but they almost always make either condition 1000 times worse in the end especially if you are anything like me and you develop a rapid tolerance to amphetamines. I have rarely felt so low as in the days following a heavy dextroamphetamine binge.

So seing another doctor wouldnt be a bad idea atleast in my opinion. Good luck to you as i know how frustrating it is trying to find psychiatric medications that actually work! I don't know how many years it took me to not only get the right diagnoses but also the right meds. It's enough to drive you even more insane

 

[bagochina]

I take 0.5mg of klonopin once a day, and my prescriber doesn't feel "right" about giving me stimulants when i take a benzo...
i think that's a lame excuse...what do you think?

They also said that if my anxiety is caused by ADHD/ADD (my doctor says they're the same nowadays) then I won't need the klonopin if strattera or a stimulanant works....is it uncommon to have benzos and stimulants prescribed at the same time?

I think it is a lame excuse but the doctor might not want to feel like he is a drug dealer, which he is. I was also told that my ADD [which I just decided I had mainly to get some uppers. The doctor agreed I most likely had it. ha] was causing my anxiety. More like the ADD meds were aggravating my anxiety. I dont think it is uncommon for adults with ADD to be scripted benzos in addition to speed. I was on benzos and adderall for years and when I would increase my adderall dose the benzo dose increased as well. I have known alot of people that are prescribed both.

whoops read that wrong... edit

It could be he feels uncomfortable giving you add meds when you have an anxiety issue might be because like I said above he doesnt want to aggravate the anxiety. whatever

peace.
seedless

 

[CuriousCub]

I take klonopin because the anxiety related to post traumatic stress is not similar to the anxiety I have related not being able to stay focused on single tasks, like finishing something or cleaning the house. The former anxiety puts me in a panic, worrisome state, whereas the anxiety related to not being able to pay attention puts me in an exhausted, fusterated state.

I'm curious to see if Adderall would take care of all that anxiety, because Strattera isn't...in fact I don't know what Strattera is really doing...it seems like it makes me focused, but that could be me inducing a placebo effect in myself because I want to believe I'm being focused...I'm concerned about brain damage Strattera can cause because it is such a new medicine...does anyone know?

There are very different types of anxiety....just like how social anxiety can make people be red in the face at the idea of meeting new people--my anxiety conditions are nothing like that.

How do you find a qualified psychiatrist? The ones I'm meeting tend to be extremely concerned about their reputation and would rather not work with someone at all if they aren't able to prescribe what they feel safe with, which I think is just insane....that means they aren't reaching out to people and working with the differences patients have to really help as people as they can.

 

[Soap MacTavish]

I got lucky and found one that was not afraid to scribe me out whatever I ask for. The problem is she got a call from my wife telling her not to scribe me adderall anymore cuz I was spazzing out. I can't tell you how much this sucks. How exactly am I going to find the next shrink and get put on 60mg daily of XR right in the first appointment...

 

[molly897]

Get the opinion of another shrink would be my advice. A second or 3rd opinion can't hurt as ive seen many people get misdiagnosed with all sorts of mental illnesses myself included.

In all fairness i think stimulants help everyone concentrate more that is just what they do really. That and get you high of course 8) . What anti-depressant are you now prescribed? Strattera is basically a anti-depressant as it is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Also wellbutrin (bupropion) is a DNRI and is used off label for the treatment of ADHD as well.

I have been diagnosed with borderline ADHD but due to the fact that i also suffer from bipolar disorder my psychiatrist won't prescribe me any stimulants. I take wellbutrin for my depression which also seems to help me concentrate as well. It also doesent wreck my appetite either which is a good thing as dextroamphetamine completely wrecks my appetite in doses of anything higher then 15mg's a day. But this is just me and everyone reacts differently.

Stimulants can at first help depression and even anxiety in a odd way in some people but they almost always make either condition 1000 times worse in the end especially if you are anything like me and you develop a rapid tolerance to amphetamines. I have rarely felt so low as in the days following a heavy dextroamphetamine binge.

So seing another doctor wouldnt be a bad idea atleast in my opinion. Good luck to you as i know how frustrating it is trying to find psychiatric medications that actually work! I don't know how many years it took me to not only get the right diagnoses but also the right meds. It's enough to drive you even more insane

this is the second dr i've seen. i was on pristiq one day (yesterday). couldn't orgasm, had the shakes, sweats, shortness of breath, woke up 5 times during the night, woke up at 6:30 (completely abnormal) and stayed awake, having to take a librium cause i had such horrible anxiety and shajkes from this shit. he gave me the total opposite of what worked. a stimulant killed my anxiety and he gave me an anti depressant

I've tried wellbutrin it did nothing, same with lexapro. except horrible side effects, the lexapro anyway. i dont want anti depressants. my arms were fucking zapping this morning.

i got diagnosed bipolar before too and thats why i was put on lexapro/wellbutrin. ive paid 1000+ in cash cuz of no insurance with no luck .. got an adderall prescript to get it taken away when I said it made me shitty cuz i got the generic type .. (chlor instead of barR) im more suicidal now that I feel helpless. nothings working so it is driving me insane. was going to call the dr this morning but don't want the usual 'just try it for a few more days', even tho he said call if shit got worse

i believe you though adderall would make it worse for me later, my anxiety would get worse when icame down. are you definitely bipolar? i got diagnosed but id like to hear your input on yourself

 

[lowlow345]

I take vyvanse and i like it, but it DOES suppress my appetite, which is annoying. I have built a tolerance to it, and I now think I need 40 or 50mgs instead of my 30, which doesnt seem to be working as well as it used to. I used to take them recreationally, but now I dont because I am trying to stop abusing drugs, and it sucks. =(


anyways ive tryed adderal as well and i love it, but i cant tell much of a difference between the two.

havnt tryed ritalin or concerta, etc. so i woulnt know about those but ive heard horror stories about ritalin.

 

[InlandTaipan]

If you are given the choice to start with adderall, that would be the wise thing to do. Some pdocs prescribe concerta almost always as for a first time stimulant. For adults amphetamines are probably better than methylphenidate, the latter should really be reserved for kids that can't stop picking fights or having random outbursts during quite time; I found that it cripples your ability to interact effectively with others, a benefit if they were a hyperactive kid's social interactions consist of "bad behavior".

It does afford better eating habits though, which is I guess a tradeoff in your case. Most people view that as another negative for concerta. Food is palatable even when your dose peaks during the day.

I would still try to work with your appetite on amphetamines though. Having been on both sides of the fence of ADHD Stimulants, the anorectic nature of amphetamines are a small problem to deal with compared to the effect that higher or even average doses of Ritalin can have on some adults.

 

[Soap MacTavish]

Ritalin even at 10mg was a disgusting spine shivering freak show for me. I will never go near that shit again and I can't believe people find that substance recreational. It's like, pure panic in a little pill. Adderall is no problem for me though. Well pretty much no problem.

 

[TheFDA]

I think you might be better off just dealing with your ADD without ANY medications. If you actually have ADHD, then that's a different story, but most people with diagnosed ADD who refuse to be treated by medications function just fine. Also, most of the people I know diagnosed with ADD are diagnosed with it because they can't pay attention to shit that totally bores them, & I don't even see how that's a "disorder". I think people who can pay attention to shit that bores them to death for hours are the ones who have a disorder.

I'd definitely suggest you try Strattera, since that's not a stimulant or any shit like that... However, I've heard WAYYY to many Strattera horror stories to ever recommend it [& I lived through one of those horror stories]. It DOES work really well for like one in every 20 or 25 or so people for their ADD/ADHD, but for most people it doesn't even do shit, & then the withdrawal sucks horribly.

Wellbutrin's the other medication that's not a stimulant that treats ADHD, but it's not nearly as effective as the stimulants are.

I'd try going with immediate release Ritalin if I were you. Or Dexedrine. Stick with Immediate Release though. Believe it or not, XR is more likely to cause weird panic attacks, & also, it lasts for longer [duh], which means the unwanted effects of it last for longer. & you can always redose if you need more.

 

[amber_dawn]

I think you might be better off just dealing with your ADD without ANY medications. If you actually have ADHD, then that's a different story, but most people with diagnosed ADD who refuse to be treated by medications function just fine. Also, most of the people I know diagnosed with ADD are diagnosed with it because they can't pay attention to shit that totally bores them, & I don't even see how that's a "disorder". I think people who can pay attention to shit that bores them to death for hours are the ones who have a disorder.

So true, probably only about 1 in 10 people diagnosed with ADD/ADHD actually have it. And it causes so many problems for those of us who actually suffer from ADD. Because then people just say it's a scam or we're just lazy. Do you know how much it sucks to realize you've stopped paying attention to a friend when s/he's talking to you? Or your mind wanders during sex...or when you're driving, or watching a movie? Or when you can't get anything done because you have about 6 different thoughts in your head at once and your brain can't decide which one you should focus on. And don't even get me started on the impulse control....or well, the complete lack of. Real ADD sucks.

That said, I know nothing about you, and you may actually have it. It seems like adderall worked for you, you were just having trouble managing the side effects. I'm not sure why you were complaining about not being able to eat, but then said you liked the appetite suppression.....but you should at least be able to drink water, if you can't, you should NOT take stimulants. You will just end up horribly dehydrated and feel like shit.

Also, Strattera was HORRIBLE for me. It made me sleep about 20 hours a day. It did nothing to improve my ADD..... I would never recommend anyone with ADD take a medication that one of the side effects is "excessive tiredness". like we dont have a hard enough time getting shit done!

 

[CuriousCub]

so far I don't have strong side effects with Strattera....im really surprised too...i wouldn't say it makes me tired at all...im only on 20 mgs right now though....is the worst yet to come? I can't handle the waiting around that these SNRI/SSRI's require to fully work.

I kinda feel like it suppresses my appetite a bit...

Does anyone know how it interacts with Soma or oxycodone? where did the name Strattera come from anyway? it sounds like Saturn or some other galaxy/spacey name.

 

[molly897]

I think you might be better off just dealing with your ADD without ANY medications. If you actually have ADHD, then that's a different story, but most people with diagnosed ADD who refuse to be treated by medications function just fine. Also, most of the people I know diagnosed with ADD are diagnosed with it because they can't pay attention to shit that totally bores them, & I don't even see how that's a "disorder". I think people who can pay attention to shit that bores them to death for hours are the ones who have a disorder.

I'd definitely suggest you try Strattera, since that's not a stimulant or any shit like that... However, I've heard WAYYY to many Strattera horror stories to ever recommend it [& I lived through one of those horror stories]. It DOES work really well for like one in every 20 or 25 or so people for their ADD/ADHD, but for most people it doesn't even do shit, & then the withdrawal sucks horribly.

Wellbutrin's the other medication that's not a stimulant that treats ADHD, but it's not nearly as effective as the stimulants are.

I'd try going with immediate release Ritalin if I were you. Or Dexedrine. Stick with Immediate Release though. Believe it or not, XR is more likely to cause weird panic attacks, & also, it lasts for longer [duh], which means the unwanted effects of it last for longer. & you can always redose if you need more.

i agree, i CAN function, it just sucks. i can't sit and listen to something i enjoy or don't enjoy it just doesn't matter. my mind has a 5 second grace period before it gets bored

my moms bf is on strattera, has the same effects such as mood swings i was experiencing. but i did consider it. if adderall didn't completely kill my anxiety and allow me to 'breathe' and sit for a second i wouldn't be so grrrrrr why won't anyone help me. cause i got a taste of what works. i startt school and i'm scared shitless. i can't even sit at a movie theatre

i'm beginning to yeah just say fuck it though and deal with it but i'm crying everyday when i think of how better my life was when i could fucking think straight and remember my points, arguments and ideas and not look like an idiot wghen i forget them mid sentence