Adderall IR…

[Anonymous]

Hi there! I’m 22, diagnosed with ADD at 20. Before I was diagnosed I was dealing with depression. The depression seems to be caused by the ADD symptoms. So starts the long trial with meds. I’ve tried Strattera and Wellbutrin though both did basically nothing. Adderall has been the only thing that worked for me. My current prescribed dosage is 12.5mg 3x daily. For a while I was being prescribed 10mg 2x daily but that didn’t help. I was taking both together at some point to be able to function at work. Talked to my doctor and we went to 15mg twice daily–still wasn’t enough, and they were giving me these orange tablets that seemed to break down different than the blue.

Lately I’ve noticed a definite return of the depression symptoms. I want to ask my doctor to try 15mg 3x daily but I’m afraid he’ll say no. From the get-go, I’ve met nothing but resistance from psychiatrists regarding Adderall. It took forever before I could even find someone to prescribe it. I really have to resort to strategy to even get them to consider raising the dosage. I’ve started seeing a therapist who offices in the same clinic for anxiety I think comes from symptoms, so I’m hoping I might be able to get him to talk to my doctor if it comes to that.

What I’m wondering is: is 15mg 3x a day too much? I’d especially love a doctor’s opinion here. The ADD is affecting work and school pretty dramatically–getting me in lots of trouble, and nearly cost me my job. I support myself and I don’t have a safety net. It’s scary, you know? I think I have this tendency I developed as a coping mechanism for ADD: telling myself I’ll live no matter how bad it gets rather than think about the problem. But there ARE limits, as we ADDers know. The pre-diagnosis mood swings are back, too.

On ~15-20mg, this post took me about fifteen minutes to write. At 10mg, it may have taken hours if it even got finished. I’m a CSR at a payday loan office–my job is SIMPLE and yet I’m making mistakes that could easily get me fired at this rate.

Please, help me out! <3

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[nellie]

I’m not a Dr. but for what it’s worth I noticed that with Adderal XR at only 5mg/day I experienced anxiety and couldn’t sleep. Those are not symptoms normal for me so switched back to generic Ritalin.

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[Anonymous]

I am having the same problem. I currently take regular adderall 30mg twice daily (no insurance) It’s not enough. I have asked my Dr if I could take 30mg in the morning and 45mg in the afternoon and he very against it. I don’t have trouble sleeping at night LOL nor do I during the day, I am still taking naps on a daily basis. I also feel like the adderall is more of a band aid to the ADD like it’s giving a shinny outside but still the same inside. Vyvanse (way too expensive without insurance) seemed to help the ADD at the root like it was actually correcting it. Then again the Vyvanse 60mg once daily wasn’t enough either, I needed to take it twice daily. I feel like a junkie that I need such high doses.

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[Anonymous]

Tammy, I hear you! my problem is that while I found 30 – 40mg daily of Adderall XR very helpful, I can easily take 60mg of the Adderall IR and not only is it less helpful while I can feel it working, 30mg wears off in about two hours and I’m left wandering around my house in a daze, accomplishing nothing. between school, housekeeping, and work, it’s just not doing the job. my doc was able to find a rebate program for the Vyvanse, but it made me *very* sick to my stomach, dizzy, headache – which is something that never ever happened to me when taking Adderall XR.

anyway… has anyone else had a similar experience of such drastic difference between the effectiveness of XR vs IR?

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[billd]

I’ve got a chart showing the different drugs, release rates, and effective times. Interesting to note – XR is only good for about 8 to 12 hours. My own experience supports that. I’m on 20mg, I suspect they will up that. My body seems to build tolerances for drugs, even antibiotics have little impact any more.

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[Anonymous]

I’m also on the 20 mg XR Adderall. I’m thinking my dosage should be upped a little as I missed my dr apt with the dr that prescribed the meds last week. It’s helping with some of the symptoms, but maybe a little more would help more. Who knows? When I called to reschedule I told the apt clerk that I’m being treated for ADD and missed my ADD appointment, we both laughed. I’ll have to pay for the missed appointment too because my insurance won’t pay. Damn ADD sucks sometimes.

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[billd]

I’m sorry, I had to chuckle – it’s not funny, really – but in a way it is – it’s SO classic ADD!

At least you are ok with yourself.

I had a nice long chat with my sleep doctor yesterday. The ADD person put me on that 20mg Adderall XR, then yesterday I found out that the papers I signed releasing them to share any and all information between each other worked. The sleep doc and the ADD person chatted, and came up with a plan. The sleep doc suggested to the ADD one that “psycho-stimulants” be used, and Adderall is often used to treat some of the sleep issues I have. She said “you realize that 20 is a really low dose, don’t you” and I said, no, I thought it was medium, I’ve only ever seen 30 used on ADD. She replied, no, for treatment of sleep issues, they often go as much as 60mg. She was hopeful that in treating the sleep issues (which the Adderall IS starting to help a little) that it might help with the ADD, too – but she thinks I’ll need a higher dose.

Then she said “remember, this is for life”…………(meaning it’s forever)

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