5 ms·

Regarding meds, are people willing to share what kind of doses they are on? I take 27mg of Concerta, and I remember talking to someone taking like... 5x that? A

by rtpg 4y ago

Regarding meds, are people willing to share what kind of doses they are on? I take 27mg of Concerta, and I remember talking to someone taking like... 5x that? And being quite shocked, but there's always that curiosity about what dosages makes sense.

sph 4y ago
20mg lisdexamphetamine at 8:30am, and 20mg at 1:00pm. Last until 7pm, little side effects, works great, but after dinner my energy and motivation is exhausted. I guess that's the price to pay for a life I am genuinely proud about.
adamwk 4y ago
I'm also on Concerta, taking 45mg. I started at 27 which was too low for me and went up to 54 which was too high; so we came down to 45 which seems to be a Goldie locks for me (they don't make a 45mg pill so I take an 18 and a 27). I also take 150mg Wellbutrin for depression and balance it all off with a nightly 300mg of Gabapentin to help me sleep (coincidentally my cat is prescribed the same amount of gaba to take before the vet because she's a terror on her check ups). This is all is relatively new for me (got diagnosed this year after being misdiagnosed with depression for a very long time) and it's working out OK. One thing I'm still struggling with is break days. They seem to supercharge my (inattentive) ADHD, and I'm kind of dead all day long; maybe there's still room for adjustment and I go back to 36mg Concerta.
- intermerda 4y ago
  Your experience is so close to mine! I’m on 15 mg Adderall XR - Tried 20 but it was too much. I’ll sometimes take 10 mg short release as well. 500 mg Gabapentin (100 mg for cat), and 150 mg Prozac.
- rtpg 4y ago
  TBH given that part of my ADHD treatment is about social aspects, break days have never really seemed like a good idea to me. Everyone is different of course but executive function is nice to have off the clock as well IMO.
  - TeMPOraL 4y ago
    Yeah, while I get the idea of break days, I honestly prefer to take them during work week instead of weekends, because it kind of makes no sense to shortcharge yourself on the time you have for your family and for actually moving your life forward. I imagine the "weekend break", like a lot of ADHD advice, comes from treatment of children and teenagers, which - for better or worse - tends to focus on school performance, to the exclusion of all else. I mean, every now and then I see an adult ADHD article talking about med breaks and mentioning both weekend breaks and summer vacation breaks. It's kind of a tell.
brailsafe 4y ago
27mg of Concerta, just the same. I haven't tried going higher, but perhaps I'd be curious about it. Suppose I could just take 1.5 pills one day and see how that goes. Started at 15mg I think, and it's the only type I've tried.
technocratius 4y ago
I'm on 36 mg of Concerta. I've spent a lot of time trying to find the right dose in the beginning, now have settled for this dose. Tbh it has been a huge positive change in my ability to get things done professionally without having to cope by spending my nights/weekends working as well. It's also remarkable how it curbs impulsive behavior for me.
throwaway47bs6 4y ago
For any given day I have a choice of 70mg Ritalin (as three evenly spaced doses), or 70mg Vyvanse. They're differentiated by my response. Which I take depends on what working pattern I intend for that day. Vyvanse if I want to focus on a single task (especially coding or writing), or for social days; Ritalin when planning to churn through a to-do list or have a bunch of calls/meetings. Disclaimer: this is personal anecdote, not a recommendation.
fredrikholm 4y ago
18mg of methylphenidate (generic brands). I've been very lucky to have such a positive response to such a low dose, as it's helped me tremendously with only the mildest of side effects (occasional high pulse, sore jaw). Higher doses do nothing but increase my heart rate.
BatteryMountain 4y ago
40mg Atomoxetine, down from 80mg as I lost weight. It's a non-stimulant med, and it's secondary effect is being an anti-depressant. Affects appetite & sexual drive.
eigart 4y ago
I just got diagnosed this year in my mid-thirties and have ramped up to 80mg Ritalin (methylphenidate), which I take all at once in the morning. I also tried 70mg of aduvanz (lisdexamfetamine). These are the maximum doses where I live, and to be honest, I've not noticed too much of anything from either. If anyone has any experience/literature on what makes medication work/what determines the required dose for an individual, I'd appreciate it. The most helpful thing I've tried is meditation, which doesn't really alleviate any symptoms, but it has enabled me to accept and be self compassionate and grateful for the life I have.
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  Is it CR / XR or IR? I'm on total of 60mg/day IR taken in 10mg doses throughout the day. I've briefly tried CR, but it had zero effect on me until some absurd doses (like 40-50mg CR taken almost at once), when it turned into debilitating headache, so I'm back on IR now, because that works on me and is easy to adjust on demand. In general, AFAIK, there is no rule. The best type of medication and minimum effective dose seems to simply be an individual thing. Fortunately, unlike with e.g. SSRIs, it can be homed in on quite fast - the limiting factor is how quickly can you get your doctor to switch things up and write you new prescriptions.
  - eigart 4y ago
    I believe it is like XR but it’s not marketed that way in my country. Aduvanz is supposedly very slow release. I’m on the max allowed for now. Maybe I can try something different in a while. At least there aren’t any side effects either.
notrealyme123 4y ago
ADD with 25mg of Imipramine. Turns out noradrenaline was the problem in my case and my psychiatrist did try this first. Not stimulant but make a difference like day and night for me.
rtikulit 4y ago
After first diagnosis, under the care of a psychiatrist, I went though a typical escalation over a couple years to reach 80 mg Vyvanse + 15 mg of Dexedrine per day. 50 + 10 at ~5AM and 30 + 5 at ~noon. That's about 40 mg of dextroamphetamine per day. I enjoyed the euphoria but never experienced dependence except in the sense that I became attached to functioning like my neurotypical colleagues. My psychiatrist's professional opinion was that some people required fairly high doses and the therapeutic benefit at those doses would stabilize long-term. I will note that he was reasonably diligent in ongoing blood tests and monitoring my health, etc. A combination of factors made me decide to stop taking Vyvanse: a probably unrelated health issue, 40 mg of dextroamphetamine per day gave me unpleasant physical side effects, and my realization that 5 years of medication had profoundly hanged my habits and self-concept. I decided to see if I could go off meds and sustain the benefits. So I tapered off (no dependence!) and for 6 years I relied on habits, strategies, exercise, nutrition, healthy sleep and meditation. But I am now taking Vyvanse again and there is no doubt in my mind now that no amount healthy living can do what Vyvanse does. My current dosing: on a day to day basis, I take 0, 15, 30 or 45 mg of Vyvanse depending on what I need to get done, my energy level, and my habituation. I drink coffee with it because I find that caffeine helps me keep the Vyvanse dose lower. I organize my life to maximize the value of my medicated time. I experience a clear step function in executive functioning between "slightly too little" and "enough" Vyvanse and I can feel the gears shift in my head, takes about 5 seconds, as the drug concentration in my body crosses the threshold. I move the dose up and down in 15 mg steps and when reducing my dose I spend 2-3 days at each level to avoid crashing. I take Vyvanse holidays two to six weeks long, two or three times a year to reset my habituation and fix any sleep deficit. After a holiday I get the full therapeutic effect from 15 mg. My goal is to generate enough high-quality executive function hours to fulfil my responsibilities, but keep my dose as low as possible. It seems to be working so far.

by rtpg 4y ago

sph 4y ago

20mg lisdexamphetamine at 8:30am, and 20mg at 1:00pm. Last until 7pm, little side effects, works great, but after dinner my energy and motivation is exhausted. I guess that's the price to pay for a life I am genuinely proud about.

adamwk 4y ago

I'm also on Concerta, taking 45mg. I started at 27 which was too low for me and went up to 54 which was too high; so we came down to 45 which seems to be a Goldie locks for me (they don't make a 45mg pill so I take an 18 and a 27). I also take 150mg Wellbutrin for depression and balance it all off with a nightly 300mg of Gabapentin to help me sleep (coincidentally my cat is prescribed the same amount of gaba to take before the vet because she's a terror on her check ups). This is all is relatively new for me (got diagnosed this year after being misdiagnosed with depression for a very long time) and it's working out OK. One thing I'm still struggling with is break days. They seem to supercharge my (inattentive) ADHD, and I'm kind of dead all day long; maybe there's still room for adjustment and I go back to 36mg Concerta.

intermerda 4y ago
Your experience is so close to mine! I’m on 15 mg Adderall XR - Tried 20 but it was too much. I’ll sometimes take 10 mg short release as well. 500 mg Gabapentin (100 mg for cat), and 150 mg Prozac.
rtpg 4y ago
TBH given that part of my ADHD treatment is about social aspects, break days have never really seemed like a good idea to me. Everyone is different of course but executive function is nice to have off the clock as well IMO.
- TeMPOraL 4y ago
  Yeah, while I get the idea of break days, I honestly prefer to take them during work week instead of weekends, because it kind of makes no sense to shortcharge yourself on the time you have for your family and for actually moving your life forward. I imagine the "weekend break", like a lot of ADHD advice, comes from treatment of children and teenagers, which - for better or worse - tends to focus on school performance, to the exclusion of all else. I mean, every now and then I see an adult ADHD article talking about med breaks and mentioning both weekend breaks and summer vacation breaks. It's kind of a tell.

brailsafe 4y ago

27mg of Concerta, just the same. I haven't tried going higher, but perhaps I'd be curious about it. Suppose I could just take 1.5 pills one day and see how that goes. Started at 15mg I think, and it's the only type I've tried.

technocratius 4y ago

I'm on 36 mg of Concerta. I've spent a lot of time trying to find the right dose in the beginning, now have settled for this dose. Tbh it has been a huge positive change in my ability to get things done professionally without having to cope by spending my nights/weekends working as well. It's also remarkable how it curbs impulsive behavior for me.

throwaway47bs6 4y ago

For any given day I have a choice of 70mg Ritalin (as three evenly spaced doses), or 70mg Vyvanse. They're differentiated by my response. Which I take depends on what working pattern I intend for that day. Vyvanse if I want to focus on a single task (especially coding or writing), or for social days; Ritalin when planning to churn through a to-do list or have a bunch of calls/meetings. Disclaimer: this is personal anecdote, not a recommendation.

fredrikholm 4y ago

18mg of methylphenidate (generic brands). I've been very lucky to have such a positive response to such a low dose, as it's helped me tremendously with only the mildest of side effects (occasional high pulse, sore jaw). Higher doses do nothing but increase my heart rate.

BatteryMountain 4y ago

40mg Atomoxetine, down from 80mg as I lost weight. It's a non-stimulant med, and it's secondary effect is being an anti-depressant. Affects appetite & sexual drive.

eigart 4y ago

I just got diagnosed this year in my mid-thirties and have ramped up to 80mg Ritalin (methylphenidate), which I take all at once in the morning. I also tried 70mg of aduvanz (lisdexamfetamine). These are the maximum doses where I live, and to be honest, I've not noticed too much of anything from either. If anyone has any experience/literature on what makes medication work/what determines the required dose for an individual, I'd appreciate it. The most helpful thing I've tried is meditation, which doesn't really alleviate any symptoms, but it has enabled me to accept and be self compassionate and grateful for the life I have.

TeMPOraL 4y ago
Is it CR / XR or IR? I'm on total of 60mg/day IR taken in 10mg doses throughout the day. I've briefly tried CR, but it had zero effect on me until some absurd doses (like 40-50mg CR taken almost at once), when it turned into debilitating headache, so I'm back on IR now, because that works on me and is easy to adjust on demand. In general, AFAIK, there is no rule. The best type of medication and minimum effective dose seems to simply be an individual thing. Fortunately, unlike with e.g. SSRIs, it can be homed in on quite fast - the limiting factor is how quickly can you get your doctor to switch things up and write you new prescriptions.
- eigart 4y ago
  I believe it is like XR but it’s not marketed that way in my country. Aduvanz is supposedly very slow release. I’m on the max allowed for now. Maybe I can try something different in a while. At least there aren’t any side effects either.

notrealyme123 4y ago

ADD with 25mg of Imipramine. Turns out noradrenaline was the problem in my case and my psychiatrist did try this first. Not stimulant but make a difference like day and night for me.

rtikulit 4y ago

After first diagnosis, under the care of a psychiatrist, I went though a typical escalation over a couple years to reach 80 mg Vyvanse + 15 mg of Dexedrine per day. 50 + 10 at ~5AM and 30 + 5 at ~noon. That's about 40 mg of dextroamphetamine per day. I enjoyed the euphoria but never experienced dependence except in the sense that I became attached to functioning like my neurotypical colleagues. My psychiatrist's professional opinion was that some people required fairly high doses and the therapeutic benefit at those doses would stabilize long-term. I will note that he was reasonably diligent in ongoing blood tests and monitoring my health, etc. A combination of factors made me decide to stop taking Vyvanse: a probably unrelated health issue, 40 mg of dextroamphetamine per day gave me unpleasant physical side effects, and my realization that 5 years of medication had profoundly hanged my habits and self-concept. I decided to see if I could go off meds and sustain the benefits. So I tapered off (no dependence!) and for 6 years I relied on habits, strategies, exercise, nutrition, healthy sleep and meditation. But I am now taking Vyvanse again and there is no doubt in my mind now that no amount healthy living can do what Vyvanse does. My current dosing: on a day to day basis, I take 0, 15, 30 or 45 mg of Vyvanse depending on what I need to get done, my energy level, and my habituation. I drink coffee with it because I find that caffeine helps me keep the Vyvanse dose lower. I organize my life to maximize the value of my medicated time. I experience a clear step function in executive functioning between "slightly too little" and "enough" Vyvanse and I can feel the gears shift in my head, takes about 5 seconds, as the drug concentration in my body crosses the threshold. I move the dose up and down in 15 mg steps and when reducing my dose I spend 2-3 days at each level to avoid crashing. I take Vyvanse holidays two to six weeks long, two or three times a year to reset my habituation and fix any sleep deficit. After a holiday I get the full therapeutic effect from 15 mg. My goal is to generate enough high-quality executive function hours to fulfil my responsibilities, but keep my dose as low as possible. It seems to be working so far.