Posted by Katalina on April 9, 2002, at 12:35:06
In reply to Adderall Dosing, posted by Christina on April 9, 2002, at 8:09:01
> Hi. I used to post here a while ago, and now I'm back. For the past seven years, I was on various cocktails of ADs and mood stabilizers for my marked dysthymia.
> The last medication was Prozac.
> I saw a new pdoc and he diagnosed me with marked adult ADD - innattentive type.
> He took me off Prozac and started me on Adderall.
> So far it's been great. I'm more focused and have even lost a few of the 40 lbs I gained on ADs. Of course I know I still have some Prozac in my system, so I'm watching for rebound depression from a lack of ADs.
> My question is about dosing. Currently I take 10 mgs in the morning, and I'm fine until lunch. Then I take another 10 mgs, but it's less effective. I know most people take a higher dose in the morning, then a lower one at lunch. But has anyone tried a higher second dose. Currently I have NO problem sleeping. In fact by 9 pm, I'm ready for bed.
> Also, has anyone stopped taking ADs and relied soley on stimulants for dysthymia/ADD?Hi there,
I read your post and have been wondering the same thing about myself.
I take 75 mgs. of Effexor XR (for the past six months) and also 30 mgs. of Adderall a day. I stay at home with my two toddlers so I have an early start to my day. I was getting up around 5:30 and then drinking a pot of coffee and feeling miserable until my morning dosage of adderall, around 9:00 when I would take 20 mgs. A half hour later I would be happy and productive and motivated to get things done around the house and not be annoyed with my children's tantrums, etc. I would then take my second dose around 2:00. A lot of days I could even skip the afternoon dose all together, probably still running on the high I felt from getting so much accomplished earlier in the day. The afternoon dose is definitely less effective for me. Maybe you could take 15 in the a.m. and 5 in the p.m. or ask your doc for 20 and 10. I started on 10 and 10 and after a week, I accidently took 2 10 mgs in the a.m. and felt an instant difference from just taking 10 mgs. I called my doc and he raised my dosage over the phone after I told him I felt much better on the higher dose.
ANYWAY, after reading someone's post here (3 Beers?) about taking their stimulant an hour before getting up, I tried that and found it so awesome to feel fully functional when rising, rather than like the walking dead until 9:00. So of course now, my 20 mgs. (taken around 5:00) is wearing off by 11:00 and I find myself in a quandry around 4-5ish. It's not that I'm crashing hard or anything, but I just don't want to get in a situation of needing more and more. I also have been taking .5 mgs of Klonopin at night for the past month or so and have been sleeping like a rock. Not sure if I really need the Klonopin, but my neuro was willing to prescribe and I have a hard time resisting a benzo for sleep.
To my point . .. I am considering tapering/quitting the Adderall to see if I even need it, or maybe taking 10 mgs. of Prozac instead. The only reason I'm leary of doing this is because I took Ritalin a couple of years ago for two days with nothing else and felt like an angry, hostile maniac. Then, a year later, while on Effexor, I tried Ritalin and it worked well. I think I need dopamine more than anything else, but I also need a little bit of seratonin, too.
Sorry, this probably wasn't much help, but just wanted to share . . .
Katalina
poster:Katalina
thread:102495
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020408/msgs/102519.html