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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by craiggetty on September 29, 2005, at 18:18:29
my usual daily dose of dexedrine sa (the capsules) is 20mg - 40mg. Today I took 80mg throughout the day b/c I had many, many deadlines and couldn't get my creative engines started with my regular dose. The 80mg worked and cleared away the brain fog. unfortunately, it also probably added (or exacerbted_ a tinge of anxiety i was feeling about the work. but 1.5mg of klonopin took care of the anxiety.
anyway, i'm not worried about building a dexedrine tolerance
b/c this increased dosage is a rare occurence. my questions deals primarily with what max daily dosage of dexedrine have people found is okay for them - that is, without suffering the next day from some tweaked out irritability. also, have you found any difference in desired dosage when you tackel creative work as opposed to busy work? oh yeah, and what about dose adjustments for when you attend social gatherings versus relaxing at home?
Posted by med_empowered on September 29, 2005, at 20:50:07
In reply to dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect?, posted by craiggetty on September 29, 2005, at 18:18:29
stimulant dosing is tricky; the ideal way to go is keep it as low as you can for as often as you can, and try to keep temporary upward adjustment to a minimum. Soooo...if you can keep it at 20-30mgs for day-to-day stuff, that's good; keeping upwards adjustments as low as possible can be done by looking at what the FDA recommends for narcolepsy--usually its a 60mgs recommended cap, but in practice it can go up to 100; above that isn't all that common. For the anxiety...if its minor, and it goes away with a **small** dose of sedative medication, then I wouldn't worry about it. But..if its intense, or you turn OCD (staring at the TV for hours, etc.), you should use a lower dose the next time around. Some people take breaks--over the summer for kids, on weekends, holidays/vacations, while they're sick (I always stopped adderall during a cold..I needed my sleep), if they've had trouble sleeping, etc. It really depends on what all you've got going on...unfortunately, its going to require a bit of trial-and-error to get things exactly right. But...for day to day use, the FDA recommnended max of 40mgs dexedrine is probably a good one; I used 60mgs/adderall for a while, and it seemed to be a bit much. For as-needed super-stimulation, I'd just recommend staying below 100mgs...other than that, I have no specific advice. The social thing really depends on you...I have social phobia, but I also can be really chatty. If its people I know well and I'm comfortable around, I either keep it at standard dose or add 10-15mgs. For high-pressure stuff with people i don't really know, its more like 5-10mgs + a bit of klonopin, maybe some propranolol. But...that's been my experience: as with anything else, your mileage may vary. Good luck!
Posted by rjlockhart98 on September 29, 2005, at 21:10:47
In reply to dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect?, posted by craiggetty on September 29, 2005, at 18:18:29
80mg Spansule? or 80mg tablet. If 80 mg tablet, you can be sure your ideas where more creative and enthusicastic, thats the maximum dose i belive for Dexedrine.
I take Dexedrine 30mg. I used to take Adderall at 60 one time.
80mg each day would wear your dopamine levels down. You wouldnt feel the same effect. Even if you took dopamine supplements like L-tyrosine, you would still feel tired, but pushed at the same time. Like wipping your back over and over.
Anyways,
First of all, at social's, i would not want to take a dexedrine, becasue first a dose like 20mg would dull you out, your ideas. Rather Klonopin, or Xanax. I have heard before that people take dexedrine to keep focused on the converstation. Sometimes i dont know what to say, i just sit there. 40mg makes me chattery. At home when there nothing to do, i take 30-40mg and start to do stuff, makes things intresting.
Low doses of stimuants calm ADHD people down, their thought process to, which limits sometimes imagination. Higher doses do the opposite, they speed up firing, and clear headedness. I hate taking a low dose such as 10-15mg because i dull out.
Posted by jerrympls on October 2, 2005, at 2:03:19
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect?, posted by med_empowered on September 29, 2005, at 20:50:07
> stimulant dosing is tricky; the ideal way to go is keep it as low as you can for as often as you can, and try to keep temporary upward adjustment to a minimum. Soooo...if you can keep it at 20-30mgs for day-to-day stuff, that's good; keeping upwards adjustments as low as possible can be done by looking at what the FDA recommends for narcolepsy--usually its a 60mgs recommended cap, but in practice it can go up to 100; above that isn't all that common. For the anxiety...if its minor, and it goes away with a **small** dose of sedative medication, then I wouldn't worry about it. But..if its intense, or you turn OCD (staring at the TV for hours, etc.), you should use a lower dose the next time around. Some people take breaks--over the summer for kids, on weekends, holidays/vacations, while they're sick (I always stopped adderall during a cold..I needed my sleep), if they've had trouble sleeping, etc. It really depends on what all you've got going on...unfortunately, its going to require a bit of trial-and-error to get things exactly right. But...for day to day use, the FDA recommnended max of 40mgs dexedrine is probably a good one; I used 60mgs/adderall for a while, and it seemed to be a bit much. For as-needed super-stimulation, I'd just recommend staying below 100mgs...other than that, I have no specific advice. The social thing really depends on you...I have social phobia, but I also can be really chatty. If its people I know well and I'm comfortable around, I either keep it at standard dose or add 10-15mgs. For high-pressure stuff with people i don't really know, its more like 5-10mgs + a bit of klonopin, maybe some propranolol. But...that's been my experience: as with anything else, your mileage may vary. Good luck!
I agree with much of what med says. I currently take 20mg Adderall XR 3x daily it and works great for me. At one time I was on 80mg of Dexedrine spansules -which was a tad too much I think now.
And I don't think you're going to grow a tolerance to Dexedrine if you only increase the dosage slightly every so often.
Posted by craiggetty on October 6, 2005, at 19:13:30
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect?, posted by jerrympls on October 2, 2005, at 2:03:19
Thanks for your replies. it all seems to vary for me. some days 20 mg is fine to keep me going. other days i can take 60mg and still feel tired.
Posted by jerrympls on October 6, 2005, at 19:20:23
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect?, posted by craiggetty on October 6, 2005, at 19:13:30
> Thanks for your replies. it all seems to vary for me. some days 20 mg is fine to keep me going. other days i can take 60mg and still feel tired.
I've found that you've got to tweak the dosage that BEST works for you and then stick to it religiously. My thoughts are that if one day you only take 20 and then the next day you take 60 and then go back down to 20 - your neurons & transmitter stores in your brain get all out of whack. IF you stick with one dosage your body will adapt and you won't have so many ups and downs.
my 2 cents
Jerry
Posted by craiggetty on October 7, 2005, at 14:29:06
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect? » craiggetty, posted by jerrympls on October 6, 2005, at 19:20:23
Hi Jerry,
I suspect that you're right that it's best to maintain the same daily dosage. The thing for me though is that my goal is to not take any at all. I wake up and see how tired I am, and if I don't feel tired on a given day I won't take any. Then on days I feel out of it, I start with 20mg in the morning, and then continue taking more until I feel okay. I know it's probably not the best way, but in the past I've done the steady dose thing, and have just had to keep increasing as each daily dose lost it's effectiveness.
Anyway, my new strategy is to attack sleepiness from the other end. I just started Sonata, which I hope will provide me with more restful sleep, and thus allow me to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to "seize the day" (or at least feel awake enough to get some work done).
Craig
>
> I've found that you've got to tweak the dosage that BEST works for you and then stick to it religiously. My thoughts are that if one day you only take 20 and then the next day you take 60 and then go back down to 20 - your neurons & transmitter stores in your brain get all out of whack. IF you stick with one dosage your body will adapt and you won't have so many ups and downs.
>
> my 2 cents
> Jerry
>
>
Posted by Paulbwell on October 7, 2005, at 22:24:59
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect? » jerrympls, posted by craiggetty on October 7, 2005, at 14:29:06
> Hi Jerry,
>
> I suspect that you're right that it's best to maintain the same daily dosage. The thing for me though is that my goal is to not take any at all. I wake up and see how tired I am, and if I don't feel tired on a given day I won't take any. Then on days I feel out of it, I start with 20mg in the morning, and then continue taking more until I feel okay. I know it's probably not the best way, but in the past I've done the steady dose thing, and have just had to keep increasing as each daily dose lost it's effectiveness.
>
> Anyway, my new strategy is to attack sleepiness from the other end. I just started Sonata, which I hope will provide me with more restful sleep, and thus allow me to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to "seize the day" (or at least feel awake enough to get some work done).
>
> Craig
>
>
You are on the right track in getting a good nights sleep-if you take too much Amphetamine and only sleep for a couple hours, then you are chasing your tail.I agree in that PsyDocs or PcDocs WILL script a schedule of a stimulant at say 10mgs 20mgs 2-4X daily as a rule, i take this as a grain of salt. I am scripted 20mgs 4x daily, but i know myself better than a Doc, and vary the dose, sometimes none during the day then 40mgs in the evening for composure, sleep warmth (yes). The good thing about the IR stimulants (as opposed to SR, 8-12 hours) is that they are in action for 3-5 hours so you can tailour your dose to your schedule. YOU know yourself best, and as long as you are not "chasing a high with Amphetamine" with Amphetamines, but using the medication to life-ehancement, then you take control and use to your work, social benefit.
Cheers
Posted by RBC on February 27, 2012, at 12:26:04
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect?, posted by med_empowered on September 29, 2005, at 20:50:07
I really think it varies from person to person. I really am not concerned what the FDA says. I have been on Dexedrine for over 4 years now. I take 3 15mg spansulas and 2 5mg ir tabs a day. Some days I will take less, like 2 15mg, I dont really seem to take the 2 5mg everyday. But usually I do. I also am prescribed Xanax as well. I do know people that take over 100mg a day as well. it really just depends, I think it also depends on your day as well at least it does for me.
Posted by RBC on February 27, 2012, at 12:38:55
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect?, posted by med_empowered on September 29, 2005, at 20:50:07
I really think it varies from person to person. I really am not concerned what the FDA says. I have been on Dexedrine for over 4 years now. I take 3 15mg spansulas and 2 5mg ir tabs a day. Some days I will take less, like 2 15mg, I dont really seem to take the 2 5mg everyday. But usually I do. I also am prescribed Xanax as well. I do know people that take over 100mg a day as well. it really just depends, I think it also depends on your day as well at least it does for me.
Posted by novelagent on February 27, 2012, at 14:10:25
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect? » med_empowered, posted by RBC on February 27, 2012, at 12:26:04
isn't Vyvanse better than Spansules, since Spansules are just 12 hours tops, and Vyvanse is approx. 15 hours or so?
I'm on Spansules, after being on 10mg x 3/day of tablets, and find they don't seem as equivocal as the tablets-- with each 10mg dose, I found great pep, yet the effect is more muted at 30mg on Spansules each morning.
I can't sleep if I take them at 10 AM or after, but if I take them at 7 AM, it ends to early in the day. I want Vyvanse, because I feel Vyvanse lasts all day long when I've tried it.
I'm only on Spansules because the drug shortage has made tablets impossible to find, but Spansules aren't affected, per the FDA's drug shortage people.
However, I alerted the FDA to the fact there's a company producing 2.5mg, 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, 20, 25mg, 30mg, 7.5mg dexedrine IR tablets, coming online I believe in March (initially with just 5mg and 10mg). yup, they didn't know.
Anyhow, I'm on 30mg of Spanules-- 30mg of Adderall XR is equal to 70mg of Vyvanse, according to Shire. Yet this seems off-- Vyvanse's prescribing range is, I believe, 20-70mg-- yet Adderall is like 5mg-60mg, not 5mg-30mg.
Still, it seems accurate- 60mg seemed to be enough when I took it from a friend once, but another day, I took 90mg, and talked my ear off to a taxi driver an hour after taking it. Felt bad, the taxi driver really didn't like me talking so much, and I felt forcred speech- like I couldn't stop. I read somewhere on here that someone's taking 2 70mg Vyvanse/day. That's a prescription for schizophrenia down the line.
any advice on vyvanse dosing?
> I really think it varies from person to person. I really am not concerned what the FDA says. I have been on Dexedrine for over 4 years now. I take 3 15mg spansulas and 2 5mg ir tabs a day. Some days I will take less, like 2 15mg, I dont really seem to take the 2 5mg everyday. But usually I do. I also am prescribed Xanax as well. I do know people that take over 100mg a day as well. it really just depends, I think it also depends on your day as well at least it does for me.
Posted by RBC on February 27, 2012, at 16:21:30
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect?, posted by novelagent on February 27, 2012, at 14:10:25
> isn't Vyvanse better than Spansules, since Spansules are just 12 hours tops, and Vyvanse is approx. 15 hours or so?
>
> I'm on Spansules, after being on 10mg x 3/day of tablets, and find they don't seem as equivocal as the tablets-- with each 10mg dose, I found great pep, yet the effect is more muted at 30mg on Spansules each morning.
>
> I can't sleep if I take them at 10 AM or after, but if I take them at 7 AM, it ends to early in the day. I want Vyvanse, because I feel Vyvanse lasts all day long when I've tried it.
>
> I'm only on Spansules because the drug shortage has made tablets impossible to find, but Spansules aren't affected, per the FDA's drug shortage people.
>
> However, I alerted the FDA to the fact there's a company producing 2.5mg, 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, 20, 25mg, 30mg, 7.5mg dexedrine IR tablets, coming online I believe in March (initially with just 5mg and 10mg). yup, they didn't know.
>
> Anyhow, I'm on 30mg of Spanules-- 30mg of Adderall XR is equal to 70mg of Vyvanse, according to Shire. Yet this seems off-- Vyvanse's prescribing range is, I believe, 20-70mg-- yet Adderall is like 5mg-60mg, not 5mg-30mg.
>
> Still, it seems accurate- 60mg seemed to be enough when I took it from a friend once, but another day, I took 90mg, and talked my ear off to a taxi driver an hour after taking it. Felt bad, the taxi driver really didn't like me talking so much, and I felt forcred speech- like I couldn't stop. I read somewhere on here that someone's taking 2 70mg Vyvanse/day. That's a prescription for schizophrenia down the line.
>
> any advice on vyvanse dosing?
>
> > I really think it varies from person to person. I really am not concerned what the FDA says. I have been on Dexedrine for over 4 years now. I take 3 15mg spansulas and 2 5mg ir tabs a day. Some days I will take less, like 2 15mg, I dont really seem to take the 2 5mg everyday. But usually I do. I also am prescribed Xanax as well. I do know people that take over 100mg a day as well. it really just depends, I think it also depends on your day as well at least it does for me.
>
>I have also been on Vyvance. I first was given the 50mg and then the 70mg. Dont get me wrong Vyvance wasnt bad but it gave me horrible cotton mouth and also bothered my stomach. I would suggest IMO Take the 2 15mg Spansulas in the morning say 7am then in the afternoon take a 5mg IR tab or maybe 2. The 10mg IR dex tabs are not as good as the 5mg tabs, they wont last as long and keep you up all night. I take 3 15mg spansulas of Dex in the morning then sometimes I take my 2 5mg Ir Tabs but not always. If you really want to go with vyvance for you I would try it at 1 70mg in the morning. I just feel Dex is a lot better and cleaner..Hope this helps..I also dont have problems sleeping, however I do have tolerance and I also take Xanax everyday. Vyvance actually seemed to linger longer for me. I found myself Taking more Xanax just to sleep, I also could not handle the side effects. Insane Cotton mouth all day and stomach cramps were very bad. I was on vyvance for a few months. Adderall for me I dont like at all, its not even close to being as clean as Dex or Vyvance. IMO Dex is the best! If you have any other thoughts or questions feel free to post. Do you take any other meds? Also the range of vyvance is 25 50 and 70mg I was taking a 50mg and a 70mg towards the end. i didnt even want to try vyvance but pdocs seem to want you to try it before Dex so I felt I had no choice. I have tried almost all ADHD meds and the best for me is DEX however it seems to be a bit harder to get from docs.
Posted by novelagent on March 1, 2012, at 10:26:12
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect? » novelagent, posted by RBC on February 27, 2012, at 16:21:30
It sounds like you might have benefitted from a lower dose of Vyvanse, but I'm not sure if you also had cotton mouth at 50mg... Vyvanse can take some getting use to.
I initially vomitted from it the first few times I took it, but it seems my stomach learned to deal with the prodrug after that, because that abided. I also remember I use to get cotton mouth on higher doses of Ritalin years back, and perhaps that was the dose-- or maybe just me adjusting to the medication. At any rate, it sounds like Spansules work for you...
although I'm not so sure about 10mg working less than 5mg, as they are made identically in the same factory by the same company, so I'm not sure it would make any sense how the same company couldn't produce 10mg as potently as it produces 5mg... I've taken both 5mg and 10mg at different times for quite a bit and find no difference.
I also take Invega Sustenna, which is a form of Risperdal, basically, taken once per month by injection. I also take Prilosec, memantine (from India-- doc's not on board with it yet) and Aleve (I have schiziphreniform, and it's thought that inflammation causes much of the problem-- I get headaches, so it makes sense)..
I plan on taking galantamine + CDP Choline soon, along with glycine down the road (assuming glycine + a cognitive enhancer like galantamine is safe, which I have yet to confirm thanks to glycine being absent from medscape's interaction checker).
> > isn't Vyvanse better than Spansules, since Spansules are just 12 hours tops, and Vyvanse is approx. 15 hours or so?
> >
> > I'm on Spansules, after being on 10mg x 3/day of tablets, and find they don't seem as equivocal as the tablets-- with each 10mg dose, I found great pep, yet the effect is more muted at 30mg on Spansules each morning.
> >
> > I can't sleep if I take them at 10 AM or after, but if I take them at 7 AM, it ends to early in the day. I want Vyvanse, because I feel Vyvanse lasts all day long when I've tried it.
> >
> > I'm only on Spansules because the drug shortage has made tablets impossible to find, but Spansules aren't affected, per the FDA's drug shortage people.
> >
> > However, I alerted the FDA to the fact there's a company producing 2.5mg, 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, 20, 25mg, 30mg, 7.5mg dexedrine IR tablets, coming online I believe in March (initially with just 5mg and 10mg). yup, they didn't know.
> >
> > Anyhow, I'm on 30mg of Spanules-- 30mg of Adderall XR is equal to 70mg of Vyvanse, according to Shire. Yet this seems off-- Vyvanse's prescribing range is, I believe, 20-70mg-- yet Adderall is like 5mg-60mg, not 5mg-30mg.
> >
> > Still, it seems accurate- 60mg seemed to be enough when I took it from a friend once, but another day, I took 90mg, and talked my ear off to a taxi driver an hour after taking it. Felt bad, the taxi driver really didn't like me talking so much, and I felt forcred speech- like I couldn't stop. I read somewhere on here that someone's taking 2 70mg Vyvanse/day. That's a prescription for schizophrenia down the line.
> >
> > any advice on vyvanse dosing?
> >
> > > I really think it varies from person to person. I really am not concerned what the FDA says. I have been on Dexedrine for over 4 years now. I take 3 15mg spansulas and 2 5mg ir tabs a day. Some days I will take less, like 2 15mg, I dont really seem to take the 2 5mg everyday. But usually I do. I also am prescribed Xanax as well. I do know people that take over 100mg a day as well. it really just depends, I think it also depends on your day as well at least it does for me.
> >
> >
>
> I have also been on Vyvance. I first was given the 50mg and then the 70mg. Dont get me wrong Vyvance wasnt bad but it gave me horrible cotton mouth and also bothered my stomach. I would suggest IMO Take the 2 15mg Spansulas in the morning say 7am then in the afternoon take a 5mg IR tab or maybe 2. The 10mg IR dex tabs are not as good as the 5mg tabs, they wont last as long and keep you up all night. I take 3 15mg spansulas of Dex in the morning then sometimes I take my 2 5mg Ir Tabs but not always. If you really want to go with vyvance for you I would try it at 1 70mg in the morning. I just feel Dex is a lot better and cleaner..Hope this helps..I also dont have problems sleeping, however I do have tolerance and I also take Xanax everyday. Vyvance actually seemed to linger longer for me. I found myself Taking more Xanax just to sleep, I also could not handle the side effects. Insane Cotton mouth all day and stomach cramps were very bad. I was on vyvance for a few months. Adderall for me I dont like at all, its not even close to being as clean as Dex or Vyvance. IMO Dex is the best! If you have any other thoughts or questions feel free to post. Do you take any other meds? Also the range of vyvance is 25 50 and 70mg I was taking a 50mg and a 70mg towards the end. i didnt even want to try vyvance but pdocs seem to want you to try it before Dex so I felt I had no choice. I have tried almost all ADHD meds and the best for me is DEX however it seems to be a bit harder to get from docs.
Posted by phidippus on March 3, 2012, at 17:06:27
In reply to Re: dexedrine dosage - what's correct/incorrect? » med_empowered, posted by RBC on February 27, 2012, at 12:26:04
I used to take 200 mg max of dexedrine when I needded the focus.
eric
This is the end of the thread.
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