6 ms·

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especiall

what do you take now. im also an adult with adhd, i did take ritalin before but concerta is the only thing available to me right now. i dont think its especially effective to me, but i take only 36mg per day. and its better then not taking anything.

_dibly 6y ago
I take 30-MG Adderall XRs, my brothers both take IR before classes since they have more downtime, but I work from home so most days I wake up and work until 4-5PM at my desk. Also worth mentioning that we all take the doctor recommended dosages, I worked my way up from 10MG doses and I absolutely do not recommend self-medicating in any way.
- treeman79 6y ago
  For me a 10mg dose will last 20-40 hours. If I take at same time each day it “builds up” Made proper dosing Very difficult
- gremlinsinc 6y ago
  you wouldn't know anything about adhd meds and depression/anxiety? I've had panic attacks this year, I had depression years ago, went to therapy a lot better on that front. Enter: Xoloft followed by Trintellix (1 week in). I dealt w/ them pretty well, I'd go lay down, breathe and maybe take a cat nap, wake up in 30 minutes go back to work feeling like a million dollars. Now, not so much. So, I started xoloft a month ago, it screwed up me libido and made me continually 'want it' but not able to 'deliver' (or it'd take way too long). Switched to Trintellix, still have panic attacks, sex is better, but anxiety doesn't seem affected. Now, I feel I'm actually more depressed though, and just not wanting to get out of bed. Motivation is rough. I'm also taking Vyvanse for ADHD. It doesn't seem to be as effective as it was before adding anxiety meds. Should I just scrap the anxiety meds altogether and just deal with adhd? Anyone else w/ similar experience want to chime in? It's really messing me up, and I've recently lost my main client so I really need to focus and get some income (web dev/laravel), or I'm gonna be homeless (40 w/ wife and 2 kids - so not an option).
  - _dibly 6y ago
    This is absolutely something you should be working with a psychiatrist to regulate and find the dosage that works best for you. I don't take any medication for anxiety/depression but I regularly smoke pot and that does wonders for my anxiety. Of course, for some people pot can have the opposite effect which is why using it to self-medicate is a risky proposition. Honestly my best advice is that, if you aren't having a good experience with your psychologist/psychiatrist you should find a better one. I've been lucky enough to be with a therapist who worked well for me as a teenager that I recently started seeing again for my anxiety. He recommends me to a local outpatient psychiatry department for my ADHD meds so I don't have to switch, but I don't know how much use the meds would be if I wasn't able to talk to him regularly.
  - seg_lol 6y ago
    How is your sleep? Exercising enough? Biology is complex, the drugs mess with that system in direct and indirect ways. Coupled with lag and resistance, it makes accounting for outcomes hard. ADHD is interesting in that to me, our interaction and methods of coping with it need to be participatory. The drugs don't work on their own, we need to still make lists, walk around, exercise, crack jokes. Just realizing you have it pushes it off the mainline to a branch. I'd say slow down, do some science and take great notes.
  - bladegash 6y ago
    Sorry to hear you’re going through such a tough time right now. Was there myself back a couple of years ago, down to the two kids. I have also played the merry go round of trying different medications and even different diagnoses. Took 3 years of trial and error to find the right meds and the right diagnosis. First, I will echo what the other poster said - work with your doctor. Everyone is different and reacts differently to medication. I can only speak from personal experience, but be very careful with Vyvanse. In the beginning, the effects were wonderful. Increased motivation, focus, etc. however, after about a year the effects began to wear off and my dosage was titrated really high (120 mg per day). Even at that dosage, I could barely get out of bed sometimes. I also began having panic attacks and severe paranoia. As another poster described, when it wore off, I had some of the most sad periods to where I’d sit there and cry for no reason. It was like staring up a deep dark well with little to no light. I had life stuff going on, so reactions weren't completely unwarranted, but they were unnecessarily amplified. I’m not a doctor, but I felt like covers up depression and kicks the can down the road. Sometimes it gives people the motivation to change their circumstances, thus improving their depression. But, in many cases, it drives people to chase the high in order to keep staving off the lows. I don’t mean the euphoric high, I mean the motivation/focus high. Listening to your post, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you are chasing the high without addressing the low. If you are taking a benzodiazepine for anxiety, it may be worth trying a different medication since those can make anyone groggy (with or without stimulants). For me, it didn’t end well and I had to stop taking Vyvanse cold turkey (whew that sucked). It took a couple of years, but life turned out so much better for me once I addressed the anxiety and depression (or in my case, bipolar depression). I also take stimulants again, without any issues.
anonymoushn 6y ago
That's just ritalin. If you think it would be more effective to take a straight dose of 10mg than to use the time release mechanism, I think you could achieve this by getting the drug out of the pills you already have. I am also using concerta because it is the only form of ritalin legal in my country. I don't really notice a difference compared to taking ritalin the other way.
- disiplus 6y ago
  yeah i started doing that. it's not especially hard. i just wished i would have more options.
- JackMcMack 6y ago
  Extended work from home finally pushed me to get diagnosed (ASS + ADHD). I'm now on 2x 10mg methylphenidate (ritalin). It has definitely helped, but after a few weeks I now feel habituated (is that the right word?). Unless something is on fire or past deadline I'm back to getting no work done. I do notice positive effects when combined with (too much) caffeine, but ideally I want to quit soft drinks (and I don't like coffee). I think I will ask my gp to switch to extended release. I hope he's willing to help me find something that works best for me. As a sidenote, I do with people could be clearer when describing their medication. Just say the active ingredient, dosage, and frequency. Brand names can differ in different countries. For reference: - Ritalin, Concerta = Methylphenidate - Adderall = Amphetamine - Dexedrine = Dextroamphetamine - Vyvanse = Lisdexamfetamine
  - dx87 6y ago
    I'm on 6x10 mg of ritalin, and one thing that helped me with it losing its effectiveness is taking a reduced or no dose on weekends, and making a concerted effort to get plenty of sleep. I noticed that I'd be sleeping less when I took it, and eventually the ritalin was just counteracting how tired I was, but not providing any benefit beyond that.
    - seattledev 6y ago
      Unfortunately this didn't work for me because it meant I would just sleep 20 hours a day of weekends and essentially didn't have a weekend

_dibly 6y ago

I take 30-MG Adderall XRs, my brothers both take IR before classes since they have more downtime, but I work from home so most days I wake up and work until 4-5PM at my desk. Also worth mentioning that we all take the doctor recommended dosages, I worked my way up from 10MG doses and I absolutely do not recommend self-medicating in any way.

treeman79 6y ago
For me a 10mg dose will last 20-40 hours. If I take at same time each day it “builds up” Made proper dosing Very difficult
gremlinsinc 6y ago
you wouldn't know anything about adhd meds and depression/anxiety? I've had panic attacks this year, I had depression years ago, went to therapy a lot better on that front. Enter: Xoloft followed by Trintellix (1 week in). I dealt w/ them pretty well, I'd go lay down, breathe and maybe take a cat nap, wake up in 30 minutes go back to work feeling like a million dollars. Now, not so much. So, I started xoloft a month ago, it screwed up me libido and made me continually 'want it' but not able to 'deliver' (or it'd take way too long). Switched to Trintellix, still have panic attacks, sex is better, but anxiety doesn't seem affected. Now, I feel I'm actually more depressed though, and just not wanting to get out of bed. Motivation is rough. I'm also taking Vyvanse for ADHD. It doesn't seem to be as effective as it was before adding anxiety meds. Should I just scrap the anxiety meds altogether and just deal with adhd? Anyone else w/ similar experience want to chime in? It's really messing me up, and I've recently lost my main client so I really need to focus and get some income (web dev/laravel), or I'm gonna be homeless (40 w/ wife and 2 kids - so not an option).
- _dibly 6y ago
  This is absolutely something you should be working with a psychiatrist to regulate and find the dosage that works best for you. I don't take any medication for anxiety/depression but I regularly smoke pot and that does wonders for my anxiety. Of course, for some people pot can have the opposite effect which is why using it to self-medicate is a risky proposition. Honestly my best advice is that, if you aren't having a good experience with your psychologist/psychiatrist you should find a better one. I've been lucky enough to be with a therapist who worked well for me as a teenager that I recently started seeing again for my anxiety. He recommends me to a local outpatient psychiatry department for my ADHD meds so I don't have to switch, but I don't know how much use the meds would be if I wasn't able to talk to him regularly.
- seg_lol 6y ago
  How is your sleep? Exercising enough? Biology is complex, the drugs mess with that system in direct and indirect ways. Coupled with lag and resistance, it makes accounting for outcomes hard. ADHD is interesting in that to me, our interaction and methods of coping with it need to be participatory. The drugs don't work on their own, we need to still make lists, walk around, exercise, crack jokes. Just realizing you have it pushes it off the mainline to a branch. I'd say slow down, do some science and take great notes.
- bladegash 6y ago
  Sorry to hear you’re going through such a tough time right now. Was there myself back a couple of years ago, down to the two kids. I have also played the merry go round of trying different medications and even different diagnoses. Took 3 years of trial and error to find the right meds and the right diagnosis. First, I will echo what the other poster said - work with your doctor. Everyone is different and reacts differently to medication. I can only speak from personal experience, but be very careful with Vyvanse. In the beginning, the effects were wonderful. Increased motivation, focus, etc. however, after about a year the effects began to wear off and my dosage was titrated really high (120 mg per day). Even at that dosage, I could barely get out of bed sometimes. I also began having panic attacks and severe paranoia. As another poster described, when it wore off, I had some of the most sad periods to where I’d sit there and cry for no reason. It was like staring up a deep dark well with little to no light. I had life stuff going on, so reactions weren't completely unwarranted, but they were unnecessarily amplified. I’m not a doctor, but I felt like covers up depression and kicks the can down the road. Sometimes it gives people the motivation to change their circumstances, thus improving their depression. But, in many cases, it drives people to chase the high in order to keep staving off the lows. I don’t mean the euphoric high, I mean the motivation/focus high. Listening to your post, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you are chasing the high without addressing the low. If you are taking a benzodiazepine for anxiety, it may be worth trying a different medication since those can make anyone groggy (with or without stimulants). For me, it didn’t end well and I had to stop taking Vyvanse cold turkey (whew that sucked). It took a couple of years, but life turned out so much better for me once I addressed the anxiety and depression (or in my case, bipolar depression). I also take stimulants again, without any issues.

anonymoushn 6y ago

That's just ritalin. If you think it would be more effective to take a straight dose of 10mg than to use the time release mechanism, I think you could achieve this by getting the drug out of the pills you already have. I am also using concerta because it is the only form of ritalin legal in my country. I don't really notice a difference compared to taking ritalin the other way.

disiplus 6y ago
yeah i started doing that. it's not especially hard. i just wished i would have more options.
JackMcMack 6y ago
Extended work from home finally pushed me to get diagnosed (ASS + ADHD). I'm now on 2x 10mg methylphenidate (ritalin). It has definitely helped, but after a few weeks I now feel habituated (is that the right word?). Unless something is on fire or past deadline I'm back to getting no work done. I do notice positive effects when combined with (too much) caffeine, but ideally I want to quit soft drinks (and I don't like coffee). I think I will ask my gp to switch to extended release. I hope he's willing to help me find something that works best for me. As a sidenote, I do with people could be clearer when describing their medication. Just say the active ingredient, dosage, and frequency. Brand names can differ in different countries. For reference: - Ritalin, Concerta = Methylphenidate - Adderall = Amphetamine - Dexedrine = Dextroamphetamine - Vyvanse = Lisdexamfetamine
- dx87 6y ago
  I'm on 6x10 mg of ritalin, and one thing that helped me with it losing its effectiveness is taking a reduced or no dose on weekends, and making a concerted effort to get plenty of sleep. I noticed that I'd be sleeping less when I took it, and eventually the ritalin was just counteracting how tired I was, but not providing any benefit beyond that.
  - seattledev 6y ago
    Unfortunately this didn't work for me because it meant I would just sleep 20 hours a day of weekends and essentially didn't have a weekend