Stimulants Adderal IR vs XR?

[llbadgerll]

I was on 10mg Adderall IR for a while, and it worked a little, obviously not enough to do much. Actually couldnt even tell if I felt anything. But my doctor decided to try 10mg IR 2x a day, or if that didnt work try 2 at once. it worked okay with 1 twice a day and 2 at once was too much, so we decided 15mg of Adderall IR would be just right.

Now my Doctor didnt know if my insurance covered the Adderall XR, so he decided to give me 1 15mg IR's twice a day. But he also said to ask my insurance if they would cover the XR, which is does. So Now i can get 30mg XR once in the morning instead of 15mg IR's twice a day.

Im just wondering will there be much of a difference? The only reason i ask is because no matter what, the IR's obviously go to fast even if dosed twice a day. So will I have a better chance of being more leveled out with 1 30mg XR? or is it basically the same?

 

[alt 14]

Your post is a little confusing because it sounds like you're just starting out on the adderall in general. Is that correct? Its not as complicated as you think. basically an adderall xr will release some of its medicine right away, and the rest some hours later. time release, as you know. Because a 15mg xr once a day delievers less total medicine than a 10mg ir twice a day, it's of course not as strong. But it's not a whole lot less.. What is strange to me is him giving you a 30 mg xr when 10ir 2x was just enough. It's a third more medicine, and the same as taking 15mg ir in the morning, and another 15mg later.

If this make sense to you? I want to say you were right in your thinking, but again, if you're just starting out on the meds, beware, 30 may be just a little too strong for you

P.S. I just read you were on it for a while. So tolerance has now built up. Adderall xr is formulated to be half instant release, half timed release. So yes, exactly like taking 15mg and then another 15mg 6 hours later

 

[sekio]

Adderall xr is formulated to be half instant release, half timed release. So yes, exactly like taking 15mg and then another 15mg 6 hours later

Nope! You are thinking of Concerta XR. Adderall XR is actually 100% extended release.

Adderall XR is a continuous release formulation of amphetamine that will not result in multiple 'peaks'. If you are on 15mg twice daily, 20-30mg of XR will produce similar effects, but much smoother.

 

[TheAzo]

I was on the XR for a while, and I was very disappointed with it. A few hours after taking it, the benefits seemed to wear off... The useful focus ended. But the side-effects stayed, for the whole 12 hrs or so. It was crap, and I stopped taking it because of that. Then years later I got the IR, and I found it to be much more effective (by taking several smaller doses throughout the day)

I'm a scientific person, and I have trouble rationalizing this - 20mg of amphetamine over 12 hrs should be 20mg of amphetamine over 12 hrs, right?

More recently, my experiences with ritalin have supported the premise that time release stimulants behave very differently from what you would expect from the instant release version. I've taken ritalin IR, and the Sandoz and Mally ER ones. If I didn't know otherwise, I would never think that the two ER brands were the same drug. The sandoz ones seemed stronger, at first, but then faded to a lingering stimulation, without much improved focus. The Mallys seem much smoother, and overall much better for me. I seem to be in the minority on that, though, as I've read several posts of people complaining about the mallys.

I guess my point is - I think it could be either significantly better or significantly worse for you than the IR ones, and the only way to find out is trying it... Just make sure you have a way to go back to the old ones if you have an experience like I did on the XR.