Posted by psycho-explorer on May 31, 2002, at 10:59:07
Hi. This is my first post on this board. I´m argentinian, so my english may not be accurate.
I was recently diagnosed ADD. However, previous to that confirmation, I had already made a highly extensive trial of meds. Good attentional response was fully achieved only with amphetamine-type stimulants. Despite their great efficacy, therapeutic effectiveness was systematically shadowed by increased anxiety on social interactions. So was forced to deal also with this fact.
I have been on the following meds (I mention if they worked or not for the ADD symptoms):
* venlafaxine (slight response)
* selegiline + phenylalanine (fairly good response)
* bupropion (good response, but made me manic)
* fluoxetine (null response)
* pemoline (fairly good response)
* desipramine (null response)
* aniracetam (useless against ADD symptoms, though appeared to increase memory/recall/creativity)
* DMAE (slight response; though, its effect seem as ephemeral as that of coffee. therefore, therapeutic use of this supplement is unfeasible.)also tried street metamphetamine and cocaine, several times. the latter being a great mental brightener but clearly inconvivient for long-term use, due to the short half-life, current legal status and side effects profile of this substance, which purity may be, furthermore, umpredictable.
on the other hand, meth allowed myself to perform much better than usual, but led to marked tolerance and dependence, and was hardly impossible for me to dosify it correctly. Decided to leave meth but had to pay the price of an onerous withdrawal syndrome.
I clearly find my current combo more effective than speed. Also cheaper and healthier, and free of the pavorous tolerance developement inherent to meth, which forces dose-escalation and worsens side effects profile.Nowadays, I take the following combo (4 weeks on it):
* sertraline (100 mg; started with 50 mg).
* methylphenidate (45 mg, divided in 4 doses).I honestly suggest giving this combo a try, specially to those whose problem is similar. I would describe results as: I feel my CNS optimized in its functioning: fully operating, both in cognitive and emotional performance.
I must add that I also take:
* 130 mg of caffeine, 3 times a day.
And don´t have insomnia, but get net beneffit from
* 0,5-1 mg clonazepam before bed (no more than 3 or 4 times a week).
The search is over and I could find the KEY. No tolerance symptoms yet. Finally, some additional notes. Can´t smoke tobacco on this combo, because it strangely shoots anxiety and nervousness; the same for marihuana, which actually impairs cognition more than usual. Alcohol also shares this ansiogenic potential while you are running on this combo. Of course, further details should be taken into account: eg. hydration is a basic task. Also, an adequate nutrition is a relevant factor: try to reach the optimal amounts of vitamins/minerals/aminoacids, which are active precursors of our neurochemistry.
poster:psycho-explorer
thread:108164
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020525/msgs/108164.html