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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by minimal on March 19, 2006, at 20:33:36
I take btw. 5 & 10 mg Adderall a day. This is for ADD and depression. Rather than increase the dosage, I would like to take a break from this medicine for a week. Yet, I have a lot of work to do. Work is dificult without a stimulant. Would switching for one week to leftover Ritalin from an old prescription be a way to avoid resistance to Adderall? I know that it is still a stimulant (so it wouldn't be a break for blood pressure, which isn't a problem anyway). But after a week, would it be like I was off of Adderall? Or are the chemical actions similar enough that switching for this short period would be like not really stopping Adderall at all? Also, is there a period I should wait in between stopping one and starting the other? Any advice welcome.
Posted by alohashirt on March 25, 2006, at 6:18:42
In reply to Taking an adderall break with ritalin?, posted by minimal on March 19, 2006, at 20:33:36
Aside from the "talk to your pdoc" advice, I can tell you from my experience - which may or may not relate to you:
1) stimulants are fast acting and fast departing. There is no problem with taking Aderall Monday and Ritalin Tuesday. For me the difference between the stimulants is much less than no stimulant.
Resistance appears to have both a chemical and psychological component and sometimes its hard to distinguish between change in effectiveness and change in subjective feel. Even a two day break can make a difference. You may get more sleep with
Ritalin which can make the meds feel more effective.
> I take btw. 5 & 10 mg Adderall a day. This is for ADD and depression. Rather than increase the dosage, I would like to take a break from this medicine for a week. Yet, I have a lot of work to do. Work is dificult without a stimulant. Would switching for one week to leftover Ritalin from an old prescription be a way to avoid resistance to Adderall? I know that it is still a stimulant (so it wouldn't be a break for blood pressure, which isn't a problem anyway). But after a week, would it be like I was off of Adderall? Or are the chemical actions similar enough that switching for this short period would be like not really stopping Adderall at all? Also, is there a period I should wait in between stopping one and starting the other? Any advice welcome.
This is the end of the thread.
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