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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by juanantoniod on July 2, 2003, at 6:57:22
Hello all,
I am taking Adderall and Concerta to augment my antidepressant regimen. However, I am concerned that these may interfere with my sleep if taken too late in the day. Does anyone know the time of action for these 2 medications (how long they work in the system)?
Thanks for your assistance.
Antonio
Posted by Ritch on July 2, 2003, at 13:21:02
In reply to Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help!, posted by juanantoniod on July 2, 2003, at 6:57:22
> Hello all,
>
> I am taking Adderall and Concerta to augment my antidepressant regimen. However, I am concerned that these may interfere with my sleep if taken too late in the day. Does anyone know the time of action for these 2 medications (how long they work in the system)?
>
> Thanks for your assistance.
>
> AntonioYou are taking Adderall AND Concerta? Why not just one of them? Just curious.. Anyhow, the best way to find out about how late to take them in the day is to... take them first thing in the morning (both) and see if it causes a problem. If you crash in the early evening take it later in the morning or add a noontime dose. If you have trouble sleeping from taking it first thing in the AM. Eliminate the longer-acting stim (the Adderall-xr?) and just try the Concerta (or vice-versa), and then see what happens.
Posted by Juanantoniod on July 2, 2003, at 19:09:21
In reply to Re: Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help! » juanantoniod, posted by Ritch on July 2, 2003, at 13:21:02
Thanks for the reply. I was hoping someone would know the time activity profile from the package inserts. I believe Concerta is 8-12 hours and Adderall is 6-8, but I'm not sure.
I take both of them because the overlap in stimulants seems to work better for me than either of them alone.
Antonio
Posted by Ritch on July 3, 2003, at 0:07:38
In reply to Re: Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help!, posted by Juanantoniod on July 2, 2003, at 19:09:21
That's different from what I have heard. From what I understand either regular Adderall or Concerta has a duration of action of about 12 hrs more or less. I would still experiment empirically to find out how *you* react to the meds with regard to sleep and fine tune yourself into the right dosage/timing.
> Thanks for the reply. I was hoping someone would know the time activity profile from the package inserts. I believe Concerta is 8-12 hours and Adderall is 6-8, but I'm not sure.
>
> I take both of them because the overlap in stimulants seems to work better for me than either of them alone.
>
> Antonio
>
Posted by Juanantoniod on July 3, 2003, at 12:12:13
In reply to Re: Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help! » Juanantoniod, posted by Ritch on July 3, 2003, at 0:07:38
Hi Ritch,
I went to the Concerta Website and discovered that it may remain active in the system for up to 24-26 hours! So it definitely could be interfering with my sleep.
Thanks for your input; you're right about seeing how the meds work in my system as well.
Take good care,
Antonio
Posted by Henryo on July 4, 2003, at 2:43:25
In reply to Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help!, posted by juanantoniod on July 2, 2003, at 6:57:22
I'm with Ritch why take both? I took Concerta for years. For me I don't think it lasted much more than eight hours, if that. I would take a 20mg Ritalin with it in the morning to get the dose sort of launched. By six or seven in the evening I was starting to have a bit of rebound, slightly irritable and tired comming down. Concerta is Ritalin just in a smoother delivery package. No ups and downs throughout the day. I tried Adderal for a bit but I preferred Ritalin. It's cleaner somehow. Concerta worked pretty darn well for ADD and as an AD augmentation. Watch out for the rebound phase, you can find yourself being pretty grumpy without realizing it as it wears off .
Posted by noa on July 4, 2003, at 9:31:27
In reply to Re: Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help!, posted by Juanantoniod on July 2, 2003, at 19:09:21
Ask your pdoc to give you the time charts. They get all that kind of stuff from the drug reps.
Posted by noa on July 4, 2003, at 9:33:25
In reply to Re: Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help! » Juanantoniod, posted by Ritch on July 3, 2003, at 0:07:38
> I would still experiment empirically to find out how *you* react to the meds
I agree. When I took Ritalin and then Ritalin SR, I found my timelines very different--much shorter--than the manufacturer's.
I'm not even sure what Adderall's timeline is but I find it long lasting enough. Probably not as long as the charts claim, though.
Posted by Juanantoniod on July 4, 2003, at 12:41:33
In reply to Re: Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help!, posted by noa on July 4, 2003, at 9:33:25
Thank you both for the very helpful information. I will keep it in mind.
Posted by jay beck on July 4, 2003, at 18:09:29
In reply to Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help!, posted by juanantoniod on July 2, 2003, at 6:57:22
ritalin is a dopamine reputake inhibitor and amphetimines will trigger the rapid release of dopamine. if you take both at the same time, dopamine floods the synaps then is restricted from being removed. so you basicly have more dopimine for an extended period of time activated. a very good combination if one was getting high. as a perminant solution for deppresion its not the best because amphetimines will easaly deplete the amount of stored dopamine you have. i don't know any health contridictions on this combo, but i would take the precurser to dopamine to keep your neurotransmitter levels on the good side.
Posted by Juanantoniod on July 5, 2003, at 14:15:10
In reply to Re: Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help!, posted by jay beck on July 4, 2003, at 18:09:29
Thanks for this information! Does Ritalin deplete dopamine as well?
> ritalin is a dopamine reputake inhibitor and amphetimines will trigger the rapid release of dopamine. if you take both at the same time, dopamine floods the synaps then is restricted from being removed. so you basicly have more dopimine for an extended period of time activated. a very good combination if one was getting high. as a perminant solution for deppresion its not the best because amphetimines will easaly deplete the amount of stored dopamine you have. i don't know any health contridictions on this combo, but i would take the precurser to dopamine to keep your neurotransmitter levels on the good side.
Posted by jay beck on July 5, 2003, at 16:36:50
In reply to Re: Need Time of Action for Adderall, Concerta - Help! » jay beck, posted by Juanantoniod on July 5, 2003, at 14:15:10
if your on a somewhat normal theraputic dose, only very slightly. ritalin acts more as a dopamine reputake, but remember the combo could enhance both aspects of dopamine release and reputake inhibitation.
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