I was wondering if anyone else had noticed that the first few days of taking Adderall XR, they felt marvelously like themselves again, then as the days passed, the med. seemed to have a diminishing effect?

Could this possibly be because it is a stimulant- could I already be building a tolerance for it.

Or could it be that my body needed this soooo badly that when it got its first taste, it was enough?

My son has taken Concerta and Adderall XR. When he was on the Concerta he needed to have his dosage increased about every 2 months. He began to lose too much weight and get headaches, so over Christmas Break from school one year, we tried Stratterra. It was like he wasn't taking anything at all. After break we went back to Concerta- but at about 1/3 the last dosage. It worked beautifully, but needed to be increased again after about 2 months. Repeating the cycle. MD says no scientific explaination for that to happen. He also tells me that FDA approval for a patch is on its way.

I wish my meds were not 12 hour. I can sooo tell when they wear off.

I am a newly diagnosed ADDer, but my son's been diagnosed for about 5 years.

I am learning so much from this group. Thank you all!!!

.I can sooo tell when they wear off.

God do I remember that feeling :eek: this is the trade off .. what goes up must come down ..................... My question to everyone if you need to keep increasing dosages to get the same effect where does that put you in 5 or 10 years , anyone here have over 5 or 6 years on ADD meds that can chime in here .

I haven't been on it for anywhere close to 5 years but my Doc has told me that he has many patients who have been on it for that long, at the same dose. My nephew has been on the same dose of Concerta for at least 6 years. I think we do tend to be so relieved at first that we definitely notice the med at first. But the fact that you aren't feeling what is sometimes referred to as a sort of "euphoria" isn't cause for alarm. It's good that your body is getting used to being able to function. As for the crash...you'll find a ton of posts about that. It seems to be a real problem for many. I don't have an issue with it at all and to tell you the truth, I'm so grateful because I can imagine it would really difficult to deal with. One more thing, just in case it helps, my dose of xr was extremely high...worked great for me. Lately as sort of an experiment, my Doc and I have been lowering it. Still working great. So, the idea that you have to keep going up and up and up is, I think, something we fear moreso than an actual reality. Good luck.

THanks to everyone so far who has answered. I'll take all the friends and advice I can get! Keep the replies coming!

I've been on the immediate release ADDerall for over 6 years, only recently upped my dose - only by 10mg. Otherwise, for 5 1/2 years - my dose has remained the same.

Tolerance has been noted in some people. Not the majority, but not uncommon. Some will take the same dose for years while others find that they have to switch drugs after a few months because their brains "adjust" and the drug becomes less effective. This happens with other psychoactive drugs too. Because the drugs in Concerta (methyphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine salts) work in different ways in the brain, you should be able to switch from Concerta to Adderall if and when tolerance for Concerta builds, and vise-versa, without losing effectiveness (at least in theory).