Taking Adderall, seems to help, but have questions

[Anonymous]

I’m currently taking Adderall, which is working better than any of the other meds I’ve been on, but I thought, or heard, there was a companion drug to take with it. Is this true? If true what’s the other drug?

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[g.laiya]

so far have only tried adderall- and only on my third day at that- so far from an expert, but my guess would be that the companion drug is referring to one of the antidepressant meds that are known to be particularly helpful for some of us such as wellbutrin(a stimulating antidepressant) and strattera( not sure about the absolute classification but know it’s related to antidepressant meds and i think it is a norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor).

maybe there is something else i just haven’t heard about – hopefully you’ll get some more responses from those with more med knowledge/experience. you can also explore the forums in the med section for more info on a variety of med treatment options. did you try doing a search using adderall and companion drugs as key words yet?

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[Wgreen]

This’ll make your day:

http://www.businessinsider.com/effects-of-adderall-on-the-human-body-2012-9

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[Geoduck]

Sure, it can be a problem IF YOU DON’T need it. If you DON’T have ADHD, it can put your system into overdrive. Why? Because, if you don’t have ADHD your body is already full of all those good things like adrenaline. Making it produce more of something you don’t need, especially adrenaline, just would be bad.

Never heard of anything being prescribed with it. But then, it worked well enough on it’s own, and I’ve had very bad experiences with anti-depressants, so doc may have just not told me.

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[kc5jck]

The writer or the article does a disservice to those needing the medicine, implies side effects are a given, and does not understand how neurotransmitters work.

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[Anonymous]

My doctor has prescribed Adderall, twice-daily. I don’t like to take the second dose (or sometimes, none-at-all) on the weekends, because I want to sleep. I don’t interact with too many people on the weekends, and my doctor leaves it up to me. Does anyone else feel this way?

Thank you,

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[Geoduck]

When I took the IR, I took it 2x a day, 6hours apart…so one at say 8am, and the next at 2:00pm. If I took it after 3:00, it kept me up.

I take the XR now, so it’s one pill 1x day. If I take it after 10am, I’m up all night. Usually, that’s when I’ve forgotten to take it at 8am. If I do that, I switch back to the IR, and then just only take one.

If I know I’m not going to be around people (rare, since I have kids that seem to be involved in waaay too many things- Mom’s a bad role model for over commitment), I won’t necessarily take it. If I’m sick, and in bed all day, I don’t bother at all, either.

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[shutterbug55]

As I have stated in previous posts, Adderall seems to have been tailor made for my brain. Life is so much better with it than with out it. Everyone who knows me, will say the same thing.

My psychiatrist prescribed a number of different medications, before we found the one that worked. This took patience, which is not something ADD people are known for. There were several “traits” I needed to work around. Any medication I took, was successful if it reduced these symptoms to a level where I could recognize them for what they were and take steps to correct.

Impulse control: I constantly interrupted people in conversation, because I had the answer and had moved on to the next 5 problems, nobody was looking at. Very frustrating to all of us because most of the time nobody had a clue what I was talking about.

Hyperfocus: I would work on one thing to the exclusion of everything else, and resurface wondering where the last 3 days went. Sometimes my work would wonder where **I** went the last 3 days.

Lack of focus: I would start projects both at work and at home and not complete them. frustrating my wife, but causing real performance problems in the workplace.

Inattentiveness: I would “zone” out after getting bored to tears in meetings and conversations, and miss key information that would help me later on in the workday or carry on a coherent conversation in a social situation.

Forgetfullness: Working memory is what we use like a computer uses RAM. If a computer runs out of RAM, it pages out inactive memory to cache. When we run out of “RAM”, things go missing, things get forgotten, and things have to be repeated until they sink in. I have a hard time remembering small things and things people have told me in conversation. It is nice, when I am watching a movie, because I enjoy it now, and in a couple weeks, I can see the movie again and enjoy it all over again, because I don’t remember seeing Large portions of the movie. This drives myself and those around me crazy, when the missing bits of information are the bits I need to complete a task.

When I was trying medications, I looked at these symptoms as being the worst of the worst. Each drug and each formulation, I took, I compared against the symptoms, and how well the drug would help me work through them. I would take detailed notes and have my wife do the same. Each medication would work on some of the symptoms to varying degrees. Adderall worked on the most with the smallest dosage and experienced side effects.

We were very scientific about it and blew the Psycaitrist away when we would present our findings. How does this fit your situation?

GET SPECIFIC WITH YOUR DOCTOR. Take notes. Discuss what you want to accomplish with the meds and show the doc how they are or are not working for your situation. Talk to the doc and let them know what is going on with you.

I fired two doctors, before finding one that was willing to listen to me and how I wanted to be treated for ADD. We went through 7 different drugs and many different dosages and formulations.

Hope this helps

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[shutterbug55]

I just had another thought (and another, and another…) I use all the appointments I have with the doc as something more than just a way to get refills for my meds. If something is working, I let him know. If something is not working, I let him know. I always take my notes with me to the appointments.

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[Geoduck]

Good point, shutterbug55. On the same note, no matter what kind of doc you see, make sure the doc spends more than 5 minutes with you. Mine’s an FP, but he spends a good 1/2hr or more checking in with me at my refill appointments. I’ve also been referred to a counselor, for other issues, but she checks in with the ADHD, as well. Having health care providers who take the time to listen is HUGE. Can’t be emphasized enough. Any idiot with an MD can prescribe drugs, but docs who will actually spend time with you and listen are incredibly valuable.

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