I just took my first dose of Dex 20 mg and I don't seem to feel the "Kick" I do with Adderall, it seems to be working but just not as well, not as focused or as alert, has this happened to anyone else ?

i've never taken adderall. so, i can't compare the two.

question, what type of dexedrine are you taking? slow release? generic? brand name?

Hello,
thank you for responding to my post, I am currenty taking the quick release brand name, I tried the Adderall XR but it kept me awake at night so I figured the Dexedrine XR would do the same. Also I'm feeling really edgy now and I don't like it. I guess I'll let me doctor know and ask to be put back on Adderall.

The differences between Adderall and Dexedrine are subtle - Adderall contains dextroamphetamine (25%) as well as other amphetamine salts. Dexedrine is stronger than Adderall, on a mg for mg basis, by perhaps 15% because dextroamphetamine is stonger than the other salts used in Adderall.
But if the Adderall works better for you, you may want to stick to it. Have you thought about taking the regular release Adderall, as opposed to the XR (extended release)? You may be able to time your dose so that it doesn't have the negative effect on your sleep.

My sister talked about a rush or surge from Adderall, but I have not experienced any such condition from Adderall, Concerta or Ritalin.

Does your sister take Adderall for ADHD? Due to differences in brain chemistry people with ADHD often do not feel the same "rush" when taking these drugs that people without the condition feel - the drug often has a calming effect instead.

Hi,

I've read several posts that describe the effect of stimulants on ADDers to be calming, whereas in nonADDers, for the effect to be the complete opposite.

I recently took Dex for my ADD after a 7 month absence, and posted somewhere on this site, the effects I felt following a 10 mg dose...calming as you say....in fact so calming, that I wanted to sleep...really......

My wife also tried the drug (5mg) -- she doesn't have ADD -- but wanted to see if she could feel its effects. I posted the result of this experiment elsewhere on this site -- but the jist was that she experienced feelings of fatigue.....quite the opposite to the way I was expecting her to feel.

I wonder whether there is an individual dose dependent relationship or threshold for Dexedrine, regardless of ADD status that separates feelings of calmness, from feelings of excitation/stimulation.

I'm pretty sure I've read posts from ADDers which describe more 'speed'-like symptoms at higher doses. Often these posts are accompanied by advice urging a reduction in dosage.

I have asked elsewhere whether it might be possible to use the effective dose of stimulant medication and effects seen, as confirmatory of a diagnosis of ADD. Since the current methods for diagnosing the condition are open to subjectivity, this might help provide a harder test of ADD status.

It'd be great if we could show that all ADDers initially respond to doses of stimulant < eg 20 mg with feelings of calmness, and then > 20 mg with feelings of 'stimulation', whereas nonADDers experience feelings of stimulation at doses > eg 1mg.

If there's enough clear water between the 2 groups, then any individual variability in these 2 groups might not destroy this test eg if ADDers normal distribution +/- 2 SDs were calmness to 20 +/- eg4 mg, and non ADDers 1 +/- eg2 mg...then the test could still be valid.

I know it's an overly simplistic suggestion ...but surely it should be possible given the widely held opinion that ADDers are calmed by Dex and nonADDers stimulated by Dex, to turn this idea into a (very necessary) 'hard' diagnostic test for ADD.

SB.

I'm afraid that everyone if different and so will their response to stimulants. I myself find that they are stimulating rather than calming. I am ADHD, but not particularly hyper-kinetic. I'm a fairly big guy (240lbs) and take 15mg of dexedrine 3 times a day.
There aren't really any hard and fast rules about how much stimulant to take - you might find a large person who gets great results taking 5 or 10mg at a dose and a smaller person who might take 2 or 3 times as much to get the same improvements. Dosage is somewhat weight dependant - on average heavier people will take larger doses - but individually there is no way to know the "right" amount other than trail and error. I suspect the 5mg your wife took was not enough to get a "rush". Is it possible that the calming she felt was due to a slight improvement in focus? You don't actually have to feel stimulated for the drug to be effective.