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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by dari on November 6, 2000, at 17:52:12
Hi Everyone:
I've read about 75 of the old posts regarding adderall - good and bad. I know that it can take some time to find the right dose, if this is indeed the right med for me, I have some questions, however. I have a diagnosis of ADHD - inattentive type (with a host of other diagnoses!!). I was just prescribed adderall (as a 37 y/o woman) at 20mg daily to be taken in the am. I found that this was too much. I definitely felt too speedy, like I'd had 40 cups of coffee, actually rode my bike all over town just to try to burn the edge off, and talked the ears off my cat... and couldn't sleep that night. So, the next day, I cut it in half - took 10mg and felt better. Amazing clarity, got lists of stuff done, happy not depressed, great direction, not forgetting stuff, better reading comprehension - not skipping all over the page, not mixing up letters/numbers when writing, etc. However, when 4:00pm rolled around, I really felt like shit - almost hungover, not tired enough to sleep, but tired just the same.
I then decided to skip a day to see how I felt without it... Again, I was spacey as hell, as usual, forgetful, and just flighty in general. I realized though, there is almost a comfort in my flightiness - kinda like a cocoon. My question, if you have made it this far, is how do you find the right dose? What is the average dose for a 130lb woman? Is there a dose somewhere between 10 and 20mg, so I won't crash at 4:00pm and yet won't be up all night? I definitely feel like this might be the med that I've been waiting my whole life for... it's such a change - it's almost scary, I just have to find a balance... is it attainable? Thanks in advance for your insights and experience!!!! ever hopeful, dari
Posted by Noa on November 6, 2000, at 18:00:53
In reply to ADHD and adderall - long (need help, tho...), posted by dari on November 6, 2000, at 17:52:12
I just started taking Adderall recently. I take 10 mg in the morning, and 10 mg around 1 pm. This seems to work for me. At around the time it is wearing off, my day is winding down anyway. I, too, have found adderall helps me feel alert and calm and focused.
Posted by stjames on November 6, 2000, at 21:32:09
In reply to ADHD and adderall - long (need help, tho...), posted by dari on November 6, 2000, at 17:52:12
Try an AM and PM dose. I found I need to be careful with PM dose. Too soon is too much, too late and I cannot sleep or be a couch potato, which is important to me to wind down. Sometimes I skip PM dose on slow days. Only you will know
when the dose is right so you will have to play with the dose till it is right for you.james
Posted by dove on November 7, 2000, at 13:30:53
In reply to Re: ADHD and adderall - long (need help, tho...), posted by stjames on November 6, 2000, at 21:32:09
I've been taking Adderall for awhile now, and have taken it with many different med cocktails. Out of all the meds I've taken, Adderall is, and was the easiest to modify along with being the med with the least side-effects (for me anyway...).
One obstacle I did have to work on was that afternoon crash. Currently, I'm taking 40 mgs of Adderall per day. The 40 mgs is taken in either three (3) doses (20mgs-am, 10mgs-noonish, and 10mgs about 6 pm-ish) or four (4) doses (10mgs-8am, 10mgs-12pm, 10mgs-4:30pm, and 10mgs-7pm). All this translates into a smoother afternoon and evening.
Before I had all this worked out, I was taking Adderall twice per day (morning and noon), mostly due to my doc's fear of Adderall causing difficulties with regard to sleeping. However, as he recognized the weariness of the afternoon break-downs, he decided to augment the Adderall with afternoon and evening Wellbutrin (Bupropion). Unfortunately, at that time, Wellbutrin caused significant sleep difficulties as well as tremors and increasingly worse afternoon crashes.
Gave up the Wellbutrin, and replaced the Adderall/Wellbutrin regimen with a med combo of Adderall and Serzone, each taken four times (x4) daily, or Adderall taken three times daily (20-am, 10-noon, 10-early evening) and Serzone taken four times (x4) daily (am, noon, early evening, and at bedtime). I also tend to skip 20-40 mgs of Adderall once a month, usually on weekends, I find it refreshing and think of it as mental maintenance, as it provides for a better response the following two weeks. But hey, that's just me and I can be kinda strange sometimes :-)
Best of luck to you and should anything I said be unclear just give us a holler!
dove
This is the end of the thread.
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