Hello everyone. I am 29 yrs old and I work a fulltime 40hr a week M-F 8-5pm job. Ok, here is my scenario. I went back to college in Jan. I have 2 classes MWF from 7am-9:15am then to work and go home at 5-5:30pm.

I was giving 36mg of concerta. I take the pill at 5:45-6am and get to school by 7am. I'm not sure if I really feel it kicking in at the 1st class. By the time I get home at 5-6pm the pill is pretty much gone and I am useless when I try to do any studying or reading. My bro gave me a handful of his adderral pills which work when I have to read stuff past 6pm. Its amazing. Here is my question. Is concerta not a good choice pill since I only need to concentrate at 7-9am and again at 5-8pm when I have to read/study. I like the ease of just 1 pill to take. I dont think the 54mg will make a difference except give me a more of a boost during the mid-day. SHould I ask and get an extra prescription of ritalin pill to take in the early am and once at 5pm with the concerta or just go with adderall so I can control when I need it. And the next semster I might have to take night classes if early am classes arent available so that would mean taking a class starting at 6pm.

I am afraid of adderral. Somone said I needed to watch my "liver" while under it? Then I heard about the ban in canada and my bro said after 2 yrs of taking adderal he had a scary heart palpitation one night. It will take me probably 5 yrs to finish school. What is more dangerous health/body-wise, adderall or concerta/ritalin? Everything I read about addiction, depression, heart problems seems to be linked more or discussed more about adderall vs ritalin? Is this true? Is adderall more of a risky drug over ritalin?

So what would you do if you were me and given these kinds of classes and work schedule.

Thanks for any responses. I need to make a decision on what to do.

Neither, lets look at a figure.

Of the 20 reports of sudden death, 12 were in the USA from 1999 to 2003, a time frame when 30 million prescriptions (http://www.healthfactor.info/002032.html) were written for the medicine, according to the FDA advisory"

With simple math, we can find the percentage of 20 out of 30 million (actualy, the acurate percentage would be much lower, as the 30 million in this statment, is in the US, not worldwide, and the deaths are worldwide.

20/3000000 by x/100, this gives us .000666. And once again, that is quite a bit higher than it actualy is.

Adderall is VERY safe, and has just about the same problems as ritalin to some degree. Diffrent, not more "unsafe" mind you.

Thats a pretty low risk. No you dont need to watch your liver under it, or will you have any heart problems. If your brother did, he needs to get checked as he probly has a condition before adderall. And no, what you read isnt true besides abuse of the substance, which can easily lead to depression and heart problems( well, maybe i should say a "general" folly of problems) . But taken as perscribed, there are VERY few risks.

Can concerta/ritalin also lead to the same addiction and depression just like adderall? I just wonder time-wise if one drug is worse for the body more than the other. The Dr. wrote me out a script for adderall now. I only was on concerta for 3 weeks. I don't know maybe I didnt give it enough of a chance? In the back of my mind I kept thinking adderall was better since that what my brother had and did excellent in college. To get concerta filled is like $20 a month vs $10 a month for adderall. Ultimately, I am not worried about money at this point but long term safety if I have to take this stuff for the next 5 yrs. I was gonna try and call my Dr. back and ask about the concerta again and taking maybe 2 ritalin boosters when needed, one in the am and one at night if I have to read and study. Not sure if all of this is even worth it and just stick with adderral and take as needed since I can control it??

Yes it can, but I think your missinformed about addiction. If you take any of the above medications as perscribed, and dont abuse them, then you will be fine. Any substance in this catigory, that can give a feeling of euphoria, can get a person phycologicaly addicted to it. But theres a big diffrence between use and abuse. Taking the medication as directed, is not abusing the substance, and there would not be a problem with addiction. Ive been on stimulants for quite a while, and everynow and then, I just take a 3 week or so break, just for me, and have no problems whatsoever (besides focus of course =p)

Dean:

To answer the other part of your questions, I am in the same boat. I have been going through the whole "buffet" of meds to find what works best for me.

I am not interested in being medicated all day. Personally my ADD problems really only affect my ability to study. So, I am looking to be medicated when I need it most. Therefore I don't think I am an extended release candidate. I would rather pop the pills when I need to read my 3 chapters or study for an exam. I like this philosophy because I don't like the idea of being medicated all day just for the sake of being medicated.

After trying all the different types of extended release Methylphenidate, I am probably going to end up on standard Ritalin.