Information on ADD medication

This is (of course) a topic pointed only towards those who feel they have ADD and want more information before being tested, or those already diagnosed with ADD.

There are 3 forms of Adderall that most Psychiatrists reccomend. There are:
Adderall
Adderall XR
Vyvanse

They are all the same ingredients, but are all designed with a different time-release function.
Adderall normally lasts for 4-7 hours, with a very quick onset and a very quick offset. MANY people who have tried all three forms find this the least helpful for maintaining their ADD, but almost perfect for those who want it to help focus at their 9-5 job.

Adderall XR normally lasts from 8-11 hours, with a quick onset and a controlled, faster offset. Many people find this to be a comfortable medium, and is (in my opinion) the best for controlling ADD from morning until night. When I first was put on it, I had difficulty sleeping. This went away within a week of being put on it.

Vyvanse normally lasts from 10-13 hours, with a slower onset, a weaker feeling, and a slower offset. This is perfect for those who feel that Adderall is too strong, and for those that want their ADD under control from morning until night. I personally do not like this one at all, as it keeps you up from 6 AM to 3 AM for about 2 weeks (until your body adjusts to it). That's a LOT of lost sleep.

Hopefully this will help anyone on deciding which ADD medicine is correct for their own lifestyle.

I've heard that Adderal is very addictive, being amphetamine based, and its extremely hard to get prescribed here in the UK.

I personally have a concerta prescription, same ingredient as ritaline, and whilst it isn't perfect it does help a little bit to keep my ADHD in check and to get me to finish stuff off and move my ass!

Despite the addictive claim i'd love to try adderall as it sounds very effective for our sort...

As far as Ritalin is concerned, I have never tried it or been prescribed it. That's why I left it out, as I have no REAL knowledge based on my own experience.

From what i've heard, Ritalin is an ADHD medicine, whereas Adderall is an ADD medicine. That is a key factor in determining beforehand how a med will function.

I have been prescribed to both methylphenidate and amphetamine pharms. Just to clarify, doctors don't recommend different types of "adderall", adderall is simply a brand name... There are many different ADD/ADHD medications available, and listing the two types of adderall along with vyvanse is a gross under-representation of what is recommended, let alone what is available.

Adderall contains amphetamine in the form of a "racemic mixture". To put this simply, there are two types of amphetamine, they have all of the same atoms but they are mirror images of each other. These two compounds are called enantiomers, and they are denoted as L-amphetamine and D-amphetamine. A racemic mixture means that there are equal portions of both enantiomers. D-amphetamine is the stronger of the two, by a good amount, and there is a brand name pharm, Dexedrine, that contains only this compound.

Furthermore, vyvanse is not amphetamine at all. It is actually a pro-drug to D-amphetamine, or in other words, a drug that is converted into D-amphetamine in your body via enzymatic metabolism.

All of these drugs effect everyone differently depending on a wide range of exogeneous and endogeneous variables... I would recommend basing medical decisions on more than just a single anecdote in a harm-reduction forum.

No offense intended... Just thought I would shed some light on the situation.

I want to try dexedrine which is vyvanse but shorter lasting....the reason is that I cant afford vyvanse as its like 310 a pill

BTW does anyone know how ritalin and dexedrine differ? I know they are different chemicals but how do they differ in regards to their affects on the brain?

here we have only ritaline ir 10 mg and lr 10,20,30 and 40mg, no adderall, no dexedrine,nothing more, and is schedulled A, like methamphetamine, amphetamine, phenmetrazine or fenciclidine

Ahhh I've been prescribed vyvanse for about the past 3 months.
It's the only ADD/ADHD med I've ever been prescribed. But for the most part, it's worked marvelously for me.

I am going to my first phsychiatrist appt next week, I am hoping he will put me on an add med, I like how they uplift my whole life. How can I help my chances to get put on this???

nikimm said:

I am going to my first phsychiatrist appt next week, I am hoping he will put me on an add med, I like how they uplift my whole life. How can I help my chances to get put on this???

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