whentheleveebreaks
Greenlighter
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2012
- Messages
- 1
I have recently been prescribed adderall and it has helped immensely with my ADD symptoms, as I knew that it would. A friend of mine suggested I might have ADD a while back and let me try one of her pills (focalin). I know everyone is already frowning at this but it is what it is and luckily for me it actually gave me the motivation to seek help. My doctor eventually prescribed me Adderall and it has been a huge help. The only thing is, it simply is not as smooth as the Focalin that I tried. I feel the onset and the comedown of the drug too noticeably and it does not feel as 'in the background' as the Focalin did. The focus doesn't feel as clean, either. I find myself still searching for words a lot, losing my train of thought, etc. I discovered that ritalin (and focalin) are methylphenidate as opposed to the adderall, an amphetamine. The problem is, I know that I could possibly have my script revoked if I tell my doctor that I had tried a friend's medication and because of that, know that ritalin/focalin is the drug for me. I can't find any legitimate side effects to complain of in order to try Ritalin/Focalin instead of the Adderall. They both list the same side effects so I don't know how to approach this.
I'm curious as to why doctors prescribe one vs. the other in the first place. There seems to be no difference besides discovering that Adderall is linked to possible free radical damage because it is not just slowing down dopamine re-uptake (like methylphenidate) but also pumping it back into the receptors. Unfortunately, I doubt my fear about that will be enough to get me switched to the methylphenidate.
Just to add, I am feeling these unwanted effects at just 5mg twice daily... so it is not an issue about dosage, seemingly just the amphetamine vs. the methylphenidate for my particular neurochemistry. It's funny, from what I have read, most people notice less side effects with Adderall so it makes it especially awkward for me to say, "well I've heard Ritalin has less side effects" because usually this seems to not be the case, and he will probably tell me this. At the same time, I have seen a lot of people initially prescribed Ritalin over Adderall. Why?
I'm curious as to why doctors prescribe one vs. the other in the first place. There seems to be no difference besides discovering that Adderall is linked to possible free radical damage because it is not just slowing down dopamine re-uptake (like methylphenidate) but also pumping it back into the receptors. Unfortunately, I doubt my fear about that will be enough to get me switched to the methylphenidate.
Just to add, I am feeling these unwanted effects at just 5mg twice daily... so it is not an issue about dosage, seemingly just the amphetamine vs. the methylphenidate for my particular neurochemistry. It's funny, from what I have read, most people notice less side effects with Adderall so it makes it especially awkward for me to say, "well I've heard Ritalin has less side effects" because usually this seems to not be the case, and he will probably tell me this. At the same time, I have seen a lot of people initially prescribed Ritalin over Adderall. Why?
