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Post by Douglas on Apr 18, 2004 9:38:18 GMT -5
After almost 6 months on Strattera, I'm ready to call it quits.
The side effects are severe and I could not mold my lifestyle to allow for them. In addition, while Strattera did a bang-up job of shaking off stress and giving me focus, the fact is that sleepiness cut as deeplyinto my productivity as my original concentration problems!
I'm considering Adderall. Does anyone have any specific thoughts or advice?
Thanks,
Douglas
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Post by AnneM on Apr 18, 2004 11:22:42 GMT -5
I am sorry to hear this Douglas! ... I cannot speak for Adderall ... but have you yet tried Concerta?
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Post by Douglas on Apr 18, 2004 18:54:28 GMT -5
Anne, what can you tell me about Concerta (I mean, I know all the stuff you read, but can you share any personal observations)?
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Post by geewiznit on Apr 18, 2004 23:18:05 GMT -5
Douglas, the one thng to keep in mind at this point is that trying any of the stimulant medications like Adderall or Concerta is a quick and easy process--you'll know rapidly whether they work for you and whether there are any bad side effects. It's not like the ramping up process and weeks of waiting for full effectiveness that you experienced with Straterra. You just may have to tinker with the dosage a bit, but again that's a short-term issue. So don't stress over the decision. You can try out several stimulants without a major commitment. If you don't like how you feel, you just don't take it the next day, and it's gone. If it doesn't seem to be helping, up the dosage a few times, and if that doesn't help, drop it. (I imagine the doc will want to wait till the Strat is cleared from your body before starting anything new, so that you give it a fair test.)
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Post by Douglas on Apr 19, 2004 15:27:58 GMT -5
Can anyone give personal feedback on the side effects of Concerta and/or Adderall?
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Post by HooDunnit on Apr 19, 2004 15:50:12 GMT -5
Hi Douglas. I think that aaa-alison who has just posted in the relationships forum may be able to help you. You could drop her a private message, or post on her romance topic.
Barry
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Post by jdmom on Apr 19, 2004 16:39:09 GMT -5
Douglas,
My son was on Adderall XR and I didn't really care for it. He practically quit eating entirely. Once I started asking around, it seemed that quite a few people have had the same problem with it. From what I've heard, Adderall is considered one of the stronger ADD/ADHD meds on the market.
Now we are on Concerta and I can tell you that I like it much better. He still has appetie issues, but far less extreme. He will eat a huge breakfast and eats a good dinner, if I make it late. I notice no rebound with the Concerta, which I did notice that somewhat with the Adderall. Neither has affected his sleep.
I also tried him on Strat, and after 12 weeks gave up.
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lisle
Full Member
Posts: 142
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Post by lisle on Apr 21, 2004 15:18:04 GMT -5
Hi, Douglas,
the one thing that stands out for me in your post is that you mentioned stress. Sometimes stress and stims aren't a good combo. Maybe you could mention that issue to your doctor and get his opinion. I know some people take an SSRI and a stimulant and that works for them. The Strattera worked on norepinephrine too, which is the anxiety neurotransmitter, I believe, so you might want to try to work with something on that order.
Another thought is adding the stimulant to the Strattera. It seems a lot of people on this site and the old one did that. I haven't read anything contradictory to that recently, so you might check. My son is anxious and in his case stims made him very angry and unpredictable, but the Strattera did too. So go figure. Nevertheless the pdoc said it was the anxiety that makes stims no good for him.
Good luck and I know you will find something.
lisle
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Post by sierra on Apr 23, 2004 19:23:53 GMT -5
This isn't personal experience but second hand. Both my sprouts have been on both Adderall and Concerta. The adderall side effects were immediate and nasty with Li'l Sprout. When that med started to wear off it was like stepping into "The Exorcist". With Bean Sprout the Adderall caused some very severe anxiety he felt anxious while the med was in his system and he was still anxious as it wore off.
Concerta has worked real well for both of them. And they are two totally different people as far as personality and as far as diagnoses and symptoms. On real heavy homework nights they get a late afternoon dose of regular ritalin.
Geewiznit is right about you knowing pretty quick if a stimulant is right for you. Whatever you try if it doesn't work there are other possibilities.
I think Allanque has tried just about every med and combo in the book. She could give you a lot of personal experience. But it still comes back to what works for you. Everybody is different.
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Post by AnneM on Apr 25, 2004 13:14:05 GMT -5
Hi Douglas ... re Concerta with my almost 16 year old son ....
He takes it upon waking and then goes for a shower ... I find that by the time he comes out of that shower his "head seems sorted out" ... (Does that makes sense:) ... Before the meds/shower if he had woken up easily excitable, irritable, grouchy etc ... the 10 minutes or so in the shower (where the meds kick in) seem to calm him down and he is then "ready for the day" ...
We have been lucky as there have been no side effects (my son says he 'feels' EXACTLY the same when he is on them as when he is off them!) ... BUT although in himself he "feels" the same he tells me that they make him "think" ... in fact sometimes he says he seems to do nothing BUT "think" when he is on Concerta ... and for me the outside observer watching my son there IS a difference ! ... he is calmer, he thinks things through more thoroughly ... he is not so easily harrassed ...
I hope this helps a little ... I find it quite useful now that he is older and can give me more "direct feedback" on how Concerta really makes him feel/think/react ...
GOOD LUCK DOUGLAS !
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Post by Linda on Apr 25, 2004 15:23:14 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Wow Anne..10 minutes? It takes Paul almost an hour for the concerta to kick in.[/glow]
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Post by AnneM on Apr 26, 2004 11:06:14 GMT -5
That's interesting Linda .... I have heard that the time it takes to "kick in" is based on individual metabolism ... Might start another topic on this ... to see what others say !!
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Post by rdukes on Apr 26, 2004 15:51:45 GMT -5
Howdy Douglas, So far...so good! I take 20mg up to three times daily (60mg max). I like being able to regulate my dosage depending on the requirements of the day. I was taking a similar dosage of ritalin along with Welbutrin SR (which I still take). I'm ADHD with narcolepsy (sounds bizzarre) and I had tried the stimulant Provigil which is often prescribed for narcolepsy. It was FANTASTIC ... for a day. I never felt so clear and un-fogged! But alas, it didn't work out even after tweeking the dosage. CRAP! I switched to Adderall in November 2004. It has really helped me to stay on task better than anything I've tried before. Richard "Weasel, it's the other yellow meat!"[/color] ...and driving to Carrollton still sucks[/color]  |
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Post by HooDunnit on Apr 26, 2004 22:38:32 GMT -5
Oh man, Richard, I've never heard of that. Adderall is helping in the daytime. Is there anything else that they can try for the narcolepsy?
Barry
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Post by rdukes on Apr 27, 2004 10:55:21 GMT -5
Hi HooDunnit...
Yes, it's been a real interesting road to find out the why's and what's. Sometimes I wish I didn't know all the details.
There's nothing they can do about the narcolepsy other than using stimulants. I sleep, but rarely linger in the rejuvenative stages we require to naturally "recharge our batteries". I never wake refreshed, but I do manage to make myself get out of bed. It gets harder as I age (I'm 45).
Fortunately I'm not the stereotype that ends up face down in his lasagna during a conversation.
Richard
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