Posted by lucie lu on October 24, 2008, at 17:47:57
In reply to Re: Adderall vs Ritalin, posted by B2chica on October 24, 2008, at 7:56:24
Hi b2chica!
I'm so happy for you that the depression has lifted. Did you ever get a full-spectrum lamp and if so, did it help?
I've been on both adderall and ritalin, prescribed for attentional and memory issues. Adderall is the classic dexamphetamine and ritalin is another, similar stimulant used as azalea said for ADHD. Both drugs come in a variety of forms, some longer-lasting and some shorter. In general, I find that the longer lasting ones (e.g. concerta, which is a long-acting form of ritalin) stay in my system too long; even when I take them in the morning they still disturb my sleep. That could be just my body. I like the shorter acting ones but when they wear off, you feel abnormally sleepy! This can be a dilemma if it wears off, say, early or mid afternoon. You're at work, you can't take a nap but you feel really dozy, should you take another? That sort of thing. It really is a try and see which drug and which formulation you prefer and which side effects you can tolerate (metadate made me feel crazy - hated it!). The best ones for me have been the shorter-acting adderall (good for about 6 hrs, so I take them 2x daily) or focalin, a more "purified" form of ritalin. Focalin is more expensive than the others. Just really have to try a range if your pdoc is cool with that. Sometimes generics are even better and sometimes not.
Also effectiveness does wear off but usually not on the order of weeks, maybe more like months. Like A/Ds, you can get a stronger reaction for the first couple of weeks before your body gets used to it, maybe that's what you were feeling?
One more thing - if you have to go off, do it VERY SLOWLY or you will get a nasty depressive reaction, something I know you don't need! Actually I find that true for almost all the psych meds I've been on, maybe it's just my metabolism or a susceptibility to depression. So I go off things slowly and gradually even if they tell me you can just stop. They have been wrong too many times for me.
It's great to hear your feeling better, b2c!
Take care,
Lucie
> but it might be part that my mood has shifted up as well, i think the adderall kick started that.
> Thank GOD i finally am out of my depressive state. i haven't had a suicidal thought in two weeks since i've started it.
>
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poster:lucie lu
thread:857923
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081016/msgs/859132.html