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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Racer on March 15, 2006, at 19:40:39
My trial of Adderall, so far, is pretty much underwhelming me. It helps a bit, but not as well as Ritalin did. But Ritalin had some pretty significant drawbacks for me: headaches, which lasted long after the dose had worn off, and it made me feel high. It stopped the intrusive thoughts, and it boosted my mood, but even if the headaches had gone away, I just didn't like feeling high.
The Adderall is helping a bit, but there's not the strong boost to my mood, nor the significant increase in focus, nor the reduction in those intrusive thoughts of how fat and how shameful I am. (Those are my big intrusive thought subjects. The fat is slightly more constant than the shame, but it also triggers shame about being so fat...) I'm only taking 5mg, though, so I'm thinking of asking my doctor if we can try increasing it, since I'm not experiencing any adverse effects, and I am reluctant to risk that "high" feeling from methylphenidate.
So, any thoughts? Any ideas about the relative benefits of increasing the Adderall to 7.5 or even 10mg? Is it worth trying dexedrine, if the doctor is willing to try it? She did give me a scrip for Concerta, but I really am quite reluctant to try it. While the Ritalin helped, between the headaches and the high feeling -- I'm just not comfortable trying that until I've exhausted the alternatives...
Thanks!
Posted by med_empowered on March 15, 2006, at 19:47:08
In reply to Adderall is underwhelming, any point in dexedrine?, posted by Racer on March 15, 2006, at 19:40:39
I think you might want to boost the dose before you give up. 10mgs is pretty minimal; lots of people take 30-60mgs/day, some people take more.
Concerta might be helpful, at least in terms of reducing headaches and what not. The "high" feeling may or may not go away.
Dexedrine might be useful...you can take a bit less than with Adderall, for pretty comparable results. Also, there's Desoxyn, but that's probably not a good option for you (its best used for ADD and some cases of depression).
Good luck!
Posted by theo on March 15, 2006, at 21:40:14
In reply to Adderall is underwhelming, any point in dexedrine?, posted by Racer on March 15, 2006, at 19:40:39
She did give me a scrip for Concerta, but I really am quite reluctant to try it. While the Ritalin helped, between the headaches and the high feeling -- I'm just not comfortable trying that until I've exhausted the alternatives...
>
> Thanks!I couldn't take Ritalin, it made me feel slightly paranoid/scared. Concerta is like taking a different med because of the release. I restarted Concerta and had a mild headache the first 3 days, but after that no headaches so far. It is so much smoother than plain Ritalin. I'm taking 18mg and it makes me feel more confident and helps with my anxiety, which shocked me. I thought it would produce anxiety!
Posted by Maxime on March 16, 2006, at 20:08:13
In reply to Adderall is underwhelming, any point in dexedrine?, posted by Racer on March 15, 2006, at 19:40:39
I think you should try the XR version and take 30 mg. That's what I was on and it did help.
Good luck to you. :-)Maxime
> My trial of Adderall, so far, is pretty much underwhelming me. It helps a bit, but not as well as Ritalin did. But Ritalin had some pretty significant drawbacks for me: headaches, which lasted long after the dose had worn off, and it made me feel high. It stopped the intrusive thoughts, and it boosted my mood, but even if the headaches had gone away, I just didn't like feeling high.
>
> The Adderall is helping a bit, but there's not the strong boost to my mood, nor the significant increase in focus, nor the reduction in those intrusive thoughts of how fat and how shameful I am. (Those are my big intrusive thought subjects. The fat is slightly more constant than the shame, but it also triggers shame about being so fat...) I'm only taking 5mg, though, so I'm thinking of asking my doctor if we can try increasing it, since I'm not experiencing any adverse effects, and I am reluctant to risk that "high" feeling from methylphenidate.
>
> So, any thoughts? Any ideas about the relative benefits of increasing the Adderall to 7.5 or even 10mg? Is it worth trying dexedrine, if the doctor is willing to try it? She did give me a scrip for Concerta, but I really am quite reluctant to try it. While the Ritalin helped, between the headaches and the high feeling -- I'm just not comfortable trying that until I've exhausted the alternatives...
>
> Thanks!
Posted by Racer on March 17, 2006, at 0:43:06
In reply to Re: Adderall is underwhelming, any point in dexedr, posted by Maxime on March 16, 2006, at 20:08:13
> I think you should try the XR version and take 30 mg. That's what I was on and it did help.
> Good luck to you. :-)
>
> Maxime
>
>
I'm going to talk to her about doing something like that -- at least increasing the dose to see if that helps. Today, I was falling asleep in class, an hour after taking a dose... That's not, as I understand it, the way it's supposed to work...What I'm noticing, though, is that I'm not as removed from my feelings, so therapy is working better. Tonight was the ED group therapy, and I could cry again, instead of just bouncing through the way I did on Ritalin. (Have I mentioned, I really don't like feeling high? lol) That just strengthens my reluctance to try the Concerta.
What this isn't doing at all, or maybe it's something else, is to reduce my awareness of the fat on my belly. The Ritalin did, I could go for hours without being aware of it. Now that constant awareness is back. Tonight, first thing I did in the group was to untuck my shirt, so that no one else would see it. {sigh} While I truly wish it wasn't there, if it's there I really wish I wasn't so aware of it.
(Better than it was, though. Now I think, "liposuction," rather than the sorts of things I was thinking before.)
Thanks, Maxie.
Posted by fairywings on March 17, 2006, at 13:15:35
In reply to Adderall is underwhelming, any point in dexedrine?, posted by Racer on March 15, 2006, at 19:40:39
Hi Racer,
5 mg is really low, I understand the reluctance to go too high, but 15 or 20 mg is still a pretty reasonable dose. I get the sleepy feeling too - it slows down impulsiveness, which is a good thing. Hope it works for you.
fw
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