Posted by Peter on September 3, 2003, at 4:43:32
Hi all:
I finally spoke with my pdoc, who decided to start me on lexapro (for all my anticipatory, social, and general anxieties, and depressive episodes) and to have me switch from adderall to concerta.
I've been taking adderall on and off for about a year. My highest dose was 40-45mg. Now, after having me off of it for a month, my doc had me resume it at a lower 20mg dose (divided 10mgx2 daily). (BTW, I also take 3.25mg klonopin divided into 3 doses).
I've been finding, however, that my mood is 'choppy' on the adderall this time around and had been wondering about a sustained-release stimulant formulation. I had tried Adderall XR before, but found it to feel like 2 doses released 4 hours apart (which is what it is).
But I never really went the ritalin route and gave a different stim other than adderall a fair trial (I did try dex spansules for a while, but dex still exaerbated my mood swings, and I still had to always keep track of how many pills I took per day).
What I like about the Concerta is the advanced Osmosis release mechanism, which sounds to me like it maintains a steady level of ritalin in your system all day (instead of it being just 2 discrete dose releases).
Also, I found that adderall XR lasted only 6-8 hours or so, and have heard that concerta lasts 10-12.
However, I got the gist on this site that most people prefer amphetamine to ritalin. More specifically, dex to adderall.
I wouldn't only be taking the concerta for ADD, but also to help my mood and counteract SSRI-induced alcohol cravings and impulsivity; that is how I've used adderall in the past with SSRI's, and it has worked for attention, mood, and impulsivity.
Questions:
1) Because concerta/ritalin doesn't act on neuropinephrine AND dopamine (like adderall or dex), but JUST dopamine, does it still help with MOOD as well as adderall?
2) Are there any satisfied concerta takers out there?
3) I take 20mg adderall now. What would be the equivalent concerta dose? (I believe my pdoc is having me start with the smallest - 18mg- and then, after a week, take the next biggest). Does this sound right in your experiences?
4) As for the lexapro, I'd like to here opinions on it (hopefully positive). Does it really begin to act more quickly than other SSRI's? Also, is anyone taking this specific combo (lex + concerta), and, if so, what doses are you taking and how r u doing on it?
poster:Peter
thread:256583
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030902/msgs/256583.html