Hey...I've been sick with one thing or another pretty much all my life, so I have a general camaraderie with pills. The one thing I've never been on is an amphetamine.

Two days ago, my neuropsych and I figured, well, hell, we can't figure out what's causing my memory problems, and the one avenue that's never been explored (over the course of my 23 year lifespan) is ADD. We're especially starting to buckle down on this memory stuff because I'm going to be starting grad school next fall. So I thought, what about Strattera? He said he wasn't a fan of it, and that he thought I'd do better on Dexadrine.

Anyway, I got the script, got home, looked in the PDR, looked on the net, and essentially just sort of freaked. I had no idea I was going to be taking such addictive stuff. And I live in what I'm told is like the Meth capital of the Midwest (I guess nearly all of Iowa is) so my dad is telling me "It's not meth but it's a kissing cousin so lock your damn door and don't tell anyone you're on it because someone will break it down with an axe to get to that *%&@." So now I'm all scared that I'm going to get addicted to it, though I'm not terribly concerned about my door being assaulted with an axe.

I'm on the 5 mg spansules, and am supposed to take 5 mg for three days, then 10 mg (starting tomorrow) for a week, and increase it by 5 mg per week until I think it's ok. (Maximum: 30 mg.) He trusts me to figure it out myself, he says, because I'm "a pharmaceutical veteran."

All I've noticed so far is even more dry mouth than I'm used to from my seizure meds (Lamictal, Klonopin) and insomnia med (Xanax), and essentially no appetite. The doc told me to avoid caffeine until I think I've figured out a good dosage, so I've substituted Sprite for Dr. Pepper, which I have a bad habit of drinking in excessive proportions.

No beer, either. Can I have beer on Dexedrine logically? I know the drug info says no, but we all know that sometimes they write warnings on there just to avoid being sued. I only have one or two generally, but for all I know, it's one of those freaky things that really and truly isn't a good idea, like Prednisone (for an allergic reaction.)

Thanks...

Chrys

Um.....I am definetly not saying go right ahead...cause people have different reactions to Meds...but heh I had two beers tonight 2 HOURS After I took my dexadrine and I'm just peachy, but medically speaking alcohol does affect the chemicals in the medication and I think for some it worsens the effects but others it actually gives it a boost...or it has no effect at all.....it depends one de person, Sha'

As Far as amphets being addictive...research has been done on stimulants...and studies show that it's not addictive...

From this Page.....http://www.chadd.org/fs/fs3.htm It says......


Q. Are children who take psychostimulant medications more likely to have substance abuse problems later in life?

A. No. Multiple studies that have followed children with AD/HD for 10 years or more support the conclusion that the clinical use of stimulant medications does not increase the risk of later substance abuse.6 In fact, many studies have shown that individuals with AD/HD who are not effectively treated with medication during childhood and adolescence have a greatly increased — though not inevitable — risk of developing significant alcohol or drug abuse problems later in life. When treated, the risk of later drug or alcohol problems is reduced to that of non-AD/HD individuals.

Although there is potential for abuse when misused, psychostimulant medications do not cause addictions to develop in those being treated appropriately.

Unfortunately, research does show that children who demonstrate conduct disorders (delinquent behaviors) by age 10, and who are smoking cigarettes by age 12, are at higher risk for substance abuse in the teenage years, possibly persisting into mid-life. Therefore it is important to recognize this subgroup early and get them involved in an effective multimodal therapeutic program.

There is also information on dexadrine on that page as well. :) I hope that helps.

Believe me, I been on dex for quite sometime and it really works well for me......I hope it does for you too.;)

yup I'm fine there too.

Thanks...like I said, I'm completely ignorant about amphetamines. Well, not completely--but I have no personal experience to draw upon, unlike...well, nearly everything else (meds, I mean) involving the human mind. I've always been a lab rat, but they never tested this stuff on me.

Uh, one question for both of y'all (Draga & itschaotic)--what's up with the insomnia? I mean, I'm no stranger to insomnia, but for the love of God, pre-dex I could take 3/4 mg. of Xanax and eventually drift off to sleep...now, I'm only on 5 mg of dex at the moment, mind you (it'll be doubled at 9 a.m.), but damn, I took a full mg two hours ago and am just sitting awake, bored as hell, trying to lay in bed so I don't have to walk past my son's room to go to the office and log on (he's a light sleeper, and obviously, I ended up risking it, because I was just bored as hell and no amount of relaxation techniques were working. Fortunately, the kid didn't wake up.)

At this point, it's 2 in the morning, I usually go to bed at 12, and I'm wide awake. On a mg of Xanax and a tiny one-dose spansule of dex taken at 9 yesterday morning...should've worn off by now, no? Hell, I don't know. I know it wore off a little at around 11, because I suddenly got a little of my appetite back, and had a snack, but sleep just ain't gonna happen. Is this going to wear off after I've been on this stuff for a while?

I'm going to go outside and smoke now...there's more than a foot of snow on the ground right now, but we try to avoid exposing the kiddo to secondhand, 'cause my asthma was really bad when I was little, and I don't know if it's genetic...

p.s. In case you were wondering, what with the "y'all" and what not, I'm actually from Arkansas, just migrated up here to the desolate farmland a few years ago...

Are ya Kiddin, I'm from Nawlins, Ya'll is in our dictionary :p

The dexedrine should be wearing off and allowing you to sleep, but perhaps it lasts a little longer in your body than average. Taking a regular release tablet might be better in your case, as it could also be that the second dose that is released by the spansules is doing so at a later time than average (1/2 half of the beads in the capsule dissolve when you take it and the other half around 4 hours later, but maybe it takes longer than that in your digestive system?). It could also be the anxiety of taking a new medication that's affecting your sleep(?)
You should be able to have a beer or two when taking dexedrine, but I'd get used to the effects of the drug first, before drinking any significant amount of alcohol.
And your father's advise on not telling anyone about taking dexedrine isn't a bad idea - it does sell on the street for something like $5 per pill (figure is from the internet, I would never sell my pills of course!), which makes my two month supply worth about $1500! Hopefully you don't have friends that would break down your door, but I've been diappointed by pseudo-friends on one or two occasions, so I don't advertise that I take it, and I don't take more than my daily dosage out of the house with me, just in case I lose them or my breifcase is stolen.

when i lived in the UK no one had ever tried to sell me dex, and i spent alot of time with phet deelers, meth on the other hand... i didnt know alot about it at all untill the doc told me i was going to go on it, kind of freaked me.In australia it has a street value of approx $2 a pop, wich is low by .au standards (i think). I have found that because the buz just aint that great (strong) and wares off quickly people arnt that intrested in it (what people who have used it, non ADD people, and told me). Ritalin has a higher street value and in the UK its the most stolen scrip drug out there !! I agree that only keeping the minimum with you and not shooting about it is a good idea but i wouldent go locking it in a safe and adding 8 extra security locks to your door just yet.

Actually Dexedrine is stronger (mg for mg) and lasts longer than Ritalin. Ritalin would be more popular on the street because it prescribed far more often than Dex, so availability would be higher, and users would be more familiar with it. Also, I'm not sure if Dexedrine is "snortable" like ritalin, which is often crushed and snorted to get a quick high.

that was somtihng i was wondering about. I never knew ritalin was weeker than dex, but there you go. I have done the crush and snort with rit before now, and was abble to handle more than most i know who also did it (go figure, they were non ADD). The reason i was wondering is because i somtimes get abuse from my stomach when i pop pills, even paracetamol somtimes, but for now i think i have that sorted. I was concidering snorting my meds to avoide my stomach, after concideration i decided this was a dirty habit best avoided so i stoped looking for info on it. I would have thaught that dex was snortable though, i would be semi-suprised if it wasnt.

DO NOT SNORT YOUR MEDS! It's dangerous and it's not the way the drugs were designed to be taken - and it's also the thin edge of the wedge when it comes to abuse. The rapid up and rapid down that results from snorting often leads to increased dosage and no benefit for your ADHD since you're either in a situation where there is too much in your blood stream and very quickly, too little - and we all take these drugs to treat our ADHD!

I agree with draga, Ian & Greg. I too have had health problems for a while, and the ONLY thing I had not taken was amphetamines. Since Im caffeine sensitive & an insomniac, I was scared! But Adderral at only 5mg has been a godsend to me. I am on Strattera at night and it helps me sleep, and it also keeps me steadier 24 hours since the Adderral wears off. I am not falling asleep as fast as I was just on the Strattera, but I still sleep, and I feel so good, its Ok I have less sleep. Its wise to not advertise your on a widely abused drug. It just steams me, because used responsibly WHEN NEEDED! (as in an ADD brain) ritalin, dex, adderral are all safe, one of the safest drugs there is. Abusers will find a way to abuse anything, but thats them, its not the drugs fault.

Yeah, Gregster, I always have an empty pill bottle labeled "Travel Meds" in my car with a couple of extra doses, which comes in handy especially in the winter in case I get stuck at a friend's house and have to spend the night or something. So I have added a few spansules to the bottle along with the Klonopin and Lamictal and a dinky dose of just-in-case Xanax and of course the Prevacid I've taken since I was, like, 9 or something. That is something I've never understood--there are always labels on meds that say "don't expose to cold or heat," and expiration dates. But it's freezing here in Iowa, and my meds are okay even if I leave them in the car, plus my husband, desperate one day, took two Tylenol Sinus capsules that he dug up in my parents' basement that expired in 1987...and they worked! It was hilarious.

A couple of friends know I'm on it, but I know they won't tell anyone. And I've avoided telling friends I have that are, as you said, sort of "pseudo-friends", one of whom I know to be in a "what substances affect me which way?" phase.

Here's hopin' everything turns out okay and no one breaks into my house to steal generic dexadrine. Hey, do you think they'd sell the Barr version for the same price as another manufacturer? :) Just kidding...I know they would. The buyer might just have to buy more, if what I'm told is true--that you have to take more of the Barr version for it to work in many cases. So I guess maybe the seller would make more of a profit? Oh, crap, that doesn't work out in my favor, does it?!?!

Chrys

Chrys

Guys, I wasn't going to post a billboard message or something! Good Lord, I know better than that, anyway... :)

For whatever reason, my doc just said he doesn't like Strattera and hasn't seen satisfactory results in his patients who take it for ADD. Dexadrine is his favorite drug to put people on. So I've got that doctor telling me to quit worrying about this medicine and that it's not a big deal, and I've got my dad on the polar opposite, making sure I don't relax about it, which makes me more nervous. Since I upped it last Friday, we've seen favorable results, so I kind of like it more now and think it might be worth the worry, but it still makes me a tad nervous.

I have until Friday to decide whether to stick with the 15 or up it to 20. So here's my question to you guys that take Dexadrine: how will I know--how do you know--what's a truly good dose to stick to and not to up it any more? It's like some sort of game show...will I stick with what I've got or go further to see if it gets better?

I've said all along (well, in the whole two weeks or so that I've been a member of this forum) that I'm totally scared of getting hooked on it.

Now I just have to figure out what my neuro meant when he said "Keep increasing it by 5 until you reach a dose that seems to be highly effective." What's highly effective? I'm improved. But the standards were so low, that my version of "improved" is still some people's version of "dysfunctional," just on a slightly less dysfunctional scale than before I hit 15 mg...

If I'm making any sense whatsoever here, reply and help me out with some advice. Thanks.

Chrys

ive found that a strict set dose isnt always the best way to go and that a round figure is more appropriate. I wouldent freak over having them on you, jusat employ that common sense [must practice what i preach] freakin over it wont make it any easyer or harder. If your real woried though you could always install a safe and store meds in that. Experimentation is the only way (i think) to sus you dose out proper, try 20 one day and then try 15 another, and try to make sure that both days are similar, test condition if you will.

moonlilly: your slating of abusers whilst tru isnt entierly fair.

Yeah, but in your experience, when you decided what the best dose was for you, how did you feel when you found that "right dose"? What made you think for certain that it was a good dose? I'm just trying to determine what, exactly, I should look for when feeling a certain way on a certain dose and decide at that point that this is an effective and good level.

It's easy with Xanax--but then, I've played with that for a while. I figured out that for me, a full-blown panic attack usually requires 1.25-1.5 mgs, insomnia can usually be eased by .5-.75 and in really crappy times a full 1 mg, and a simple case of excessive anxiety or impending overreaction to an annoying stimulus (i.e., I might b**ch someone out later and then feel like an idiot afterward for overreacting to something that was annoying but didn't merit such a dramatic reaction, like the time one of my friends said something stupid about some girl who was dressed ****ty and was "asking" to be raped--assenine? Yes. Worth screaming at him, who all our friends know can have his head up his butt at times and just be a moron, and making a scene at a friendly gathering? No. Should have just dismissed him as an idiot and walked away and taken a time out, rather than creating such drama) can be alleviated/resolved with .25-.5. If I start to get a punch-drunk/low-blood sugar feeling when I've eaten recently and not had anything to drink, that means I'm having breakthrough seizure activity and have found that an extra teeny-tiny amount of Klonopin will fix that right up. Never really play with my Lamictal--there's really no PRN nature to that drug. It's just there, stable, doesn't really "kick in" or anything in a sudden problematic situation of some sort. But these are neuroleptics and tranquilizers, not amphetamines. It's like a different world, or it seems that way to me anyway.

I'm scared to "play with" this medicine.

Chrys