Experience with Strattera or Concerta?

[TJ5]

I am ADD, have been all my life, except as an adult without the hyperactivity. I've had problems with not being able to focus, & chronic fatigue big time. I've had all sorts of tests by my MD, can't afford anymore tests, but online MD suggested I ask my doc to give me Rx for Adderrall, ritalin, or whatever...instead of doing meth illegally. Although I enjoy getting high, doing
meth long ago ceased to be merely a matter of getting high or avoiding withdrawals. I DO notice I can concentrate, focus, & I DON"T have to get up out of my damn seat every 5 fucking minutes like I do off meth...& this all started while I had been 18 months clean & made the terrible mistake of taking Tramadol.

Ever since I quit, I've felt all wrong, especially with the chronic fatigue, but I've always had the ADD going on sober. I told the online MD that I didn't dare ask my doc for Rx speed because she's had me on migraine headache pain meds a number of years now. I get a steady amount per week, no more, no less, & don't Dr. shop. Still, as I explained to the online doc regarding my symptoms...& the fact that meth is the only drug that seems to offer any relief. I did not want to push my luck & be labeled as a drug seeker, & ask my doc for Rx speed, so his response was to ask for Straterra or Concerta. I know that Stratterra is not speed & that Concerta is, apparently.

I don't care what damn drug I take, as long as it works. I need help with both the chronic fatigue, and ADD & am willing to stop getting meth from the black market in favor of taking medicine so I can FINALLY put an end to this hell for the fatigue and ADD...& legally to boot! A friend of mine takes Strattera & he says it helps his ADD, but he's not tired 24/7 like me. Has anyone had any luck with either of these 2 meds? And if it's Strattera you've tried, did it help with energy levels?

 

[SynAmnesia]

Strattera is an SNRI type thing. It does increase norepenephrine levels, which may help increase your energy, but probably won't be that effective. Tramadol is also an SNRI/SSRI with slight opioid agonist/antagonist activity. If tramadol didn't help your ADD and you were starting to get bad side effects from it, strattera is probably the wrong choice.

Concerta is ritalin aka methylphenidate. It has the same mechanism as cocaine, but a lot slower. It increases dopamine levels so it may help you with your exhaustion. However, it doesn't elevate norephephrine levels as much. It is definitely "weaker" than amphetamines, but it may help. The reason that they give concerta as opposed to other versions of ritalin as it is time released, which is better for ADD management, and not as good for getting high. It is hard to get the hard coating off of it, which further reduces abuse potential.

What you probably want is adderall, which is a mixture of 4 amphetamine salts. However, considering you have abused speed in the past, the probability of you getting a script for adderall is slim to none. However, what you might be able to get is vyvanse. It is the prodrug of dexedrine, which means that it is converted to dexedrine in the liver. It is inactive in its natural state, so it is not effective if not taken orally. Therefore, it has less potential for abuse and may help you in the same way meth did.

So my recommendation is to ask for vyvanse. However, your doctor may be confused as to how you got this information. However, you might actually get it and it might actually help.

 

[deaf eye]

stratera is horrible, the only good thing its good for is if you are not a morning person, it'll have you wake up at 4 am , it also gave me weird sexual side effects i couldnt feel an orgasm, it just kinda oozed out with no feeling, i was like 25 at the time and had my first wet dreams, it made me real sensitive to criticism ,\

i then moved on to concerta, that was all right , gave me focus but i began eating them more and more when i wanted to be productive, i soon switched to adderall, i was super productive and focused, but how i overindulged with the concerta , i was even worse with adderall , i also had some ritalin as well, this went on for some time

after loosing my health insurance, i figured it best to stop the speed and just use my brain, the way it is, i was in a deep uninspirational funk and got nothing done for a few months, but then i just shrugged it off, i wouldnt mind a few adderals to have for extra emergency focus when i need it, shit even our troops use it

 

[User Name Here]

Strattera didn't do much for me at all. Within one month my doctor began raising the dose and even then it didn't do a whole lot for me. The only thing I really noticed was that I became more lax concerning life in general. I was more laid back and therefore more inclined to get my work done. It also made me feel a bit emotionless and even though I was depressed at the time, I decided I would rather be able to feel something versus feeling nothing at all and this is when I stopped taking it. Also, it did nothing as far as fatigue goes, probably because it isn't a stimulant. That's just my own experience with the drug though.

Anyway, I just got prescribed a "trial month" of Vyvanse and it has been really awesome. I told my doctor that I didn't like the way I was on Adderall (I am not a fan of the side effects, especially the part where I felt like I was fucking cracked out... If I can't eat, sleep and fuck, I don't want any part in it) and she prescribed this for me after reviewing my medical records (she is really strict about handing out drugs like this for obvious reasons). She knows that I have had problems with opiates and that lends to her being very cautious, even when I've never been into stimulants that much (save the brief affair with Adderall during my first year in college). With that being said, she told me that so far it does not seem to run the same risk as Adderall does when it comes to addiction issues. Even though I never really liked Adderall, I found myself getting pissed off when I didn't have any because I began thinking that I had to have it to to get anything done. With Vyvanse I don't experience the same issue so far. I haven't even taken it every day thus far and I am really liking the fact that I don't feel obligated to. I don't feel an addiction coming on like I did with Adderall (despite the never having liked stimulants I still began to struggle with Adderall), if that makes sense.

I have been sober for two years now so it is very important for me to stay away from anything that might trigger me to use again. My doctor and I both feel like Vyvanse is a safe option. I love the fact that it helps with my super-frazzled mind but doesn't keep me from sleeping or eating like Adderall did, and I don't end up in a pissy mood with some kind of come down (I haven't experienced anything close to a come-down with this drug). It also helps with fatigue but doesn't make me feel fucking geeked to the gills.

I guess what I'm saying is I'd ask your doctor about Vyvanse

 

[Waffle_Kid]

Concerta made me Verrrrryyyyy aggressive for the first month or so. Also I agree with Username, I feel really no comedown from vyvanse.

 

[tee aich see]

Vyvanse is the shit, basically adderall without the side effects. It depends on the individual but for me I can actually eat on vyvanse, fall asleep easily when it wears off, and still feel focused and attentive without feeling tweaked out unlike adderall.

 

[rant*N*rave]

I've never taken Vyvanse, but I will tell you I had the best success with Dexedrine (dexamphetamine), so it seems logical that Vyvanse would be a good option for you to try since you probably won't be able to get a doc to write you a script for straight amphetamines - if meth works, dexamphetamine would be the first logical step in my book. I had no luck with Strattera, but it's different for everyone.

 

[PendulumAM]

I don't have ADHD but my younger sister does and she has been perscribed Concerta, Adderall and Strattera (in that order). Concerta didn't really help her so she got switched to Adderall. The adderall worked great for the first 2 weeks but stopped working after that. Now she is on Strattera but still doesn't have any real improvement. I've tried all her meds myself, and didn't feel much of anything from Concerta and Strattera, but Adderall was great for finals week.

 

[drscience]

Straterra. I was on that stuff for a whole month. (something like 160 dollars!!!30 pills!)

Must say it fucked me up, not in a good or productive way either. I just felt sick all the time. was weird.

Only think I have had success with is D-Amp.