How many hours do you have Dexedrine active in your system for?

I wake up at 6AM and take some other medications, so I'm frequently up, or at least partially awake by this time. I like being a morning person so I like being up this early. However, I also don't ever sleep longer than 6 hours (if I'm lucky). i sleep sounder and more regularly, but not any longer. But now the question arises how you arrange doses during the day. It also affects how much you take in total. I really dislike having Dexedrine fade out and still being awake so all this makes my waking day about 18 hours long.

Taking it three times a day isn't going to work so I've added an extra dose. Instead of 3 times a day, I take it 4 times a day. This skews your daily total up even though the amount active in your system may not be that high.

How do you people work with this?

I generally take it either two or three times a day. 8 AM, noon, 4 PM.

i take it 3 times a day and that pretty much get me thoguh the dsay

I take it when I get up and organised at about 7.30am (10mg) and again at 3.30pm (5mg)

If I'm going to be social in the evening I might take another 5mg at 7.30pm.

If I want to play with my ADHD daughter in "wild" mode when she gets off the bus from school I skip the 3,30 5mg dose.

I was just in for a physical and wrote in my health profile review that I take Dextrostat; 5-10 mg doses, 0-4 times per day. (7am, 11am, 3pm, bedtime)

I take the fast release, generic version of Dexedrine.

I occasionally take the fourth dose (5 mg) before bedtime (something i hit upon after reading e-boy posts here at ADDF) and have found that it helps slow down the rapid-fire thoughts that visit me occasionally. I talked the bedtime dose over with my doctor and she noted the "paradoxical effect" of stimulants in ADDers.

I must be on the fast side of metabolizing this drug because I definitely note a wearing off affect if I wait longer than 4 hours between doses.

So, on the days I take Dexedrine 4x/day, it's in my system 16 - 20 hours, depending upon how fast it metabolizes i guess....

Most days I don't take any, some days I take just the morning dose. There are many days when I don't need to blend into society-at-large, so, those are my low-dose-days.

A script for 150 5 mg tablets lasts me anywhere between 2-3 months, though I'm trying to do a better job of regularly taking my meds. They make a tremendous impact on my ADD symptoms when I take them and I'm needing that right now.

katatak, how does your doctor recommend you handle your dosing schedule? (i add that question knowing we are *suppose* to discuss these things with the prescribing physician ... ;) )

I take it 5 times a day:
10mg @ 7am
10mg @ 10:30am + 1mg Xanax
5mg @ 2pm
5mg @ 5:30pm + .5mg Xanax
5mg @ 8:00pm
No Dex @ 930 - 10pm + 1mg Xanax

Im also a college student. Im finishing my senior yr so im up studying late. I also work full time. Im looking to lower the amounts after school is over. The meds only last 3.5 hours and i hate the down time so i take the meds right at 3 or 3.5 hrs and then the next pill is ready to go.

I also cant sleep unless i take the 8 pm dose. Too many people inside my head (Trying to sleep).

I also cant sleep unless i take the 8 pm dose. Too many people inside my head (Trying to sleep).

I am the same way! I have the most wonderful ideas then, and yes, little role plays going on in my head where I am both sides of a conversation or detabe. Sleep medications (tranquillizers mostly) tend not to work. I haven't met one I can't override with a good debate.

The one non-drug thing that frequently works for me is to listen to a peice of classical music like one of the late Beethoven String Quartets and follow each part analyzing it as I listen. It is complex enough that it focuses me on one thing and then I can fall asleep because it ends the disorder in my head. Some *good* jazz eg. Bill Evans recordings word for me to. Listening to the improvisation and figuring out how it relates to the original melody and chord structure as well as how it would fit under my fingers has also been successfull.

Dexedrine has also been way more successful than anything else.

Katatak

Its like the ideas wont stop. I thought i was going crazy answering myself in my head (does that make sense?). Some times sitting there for 3 hrs or more thinking of all kinds of ideas. I cant listen to music, although i do love it. I start day dreaming about all kinds of things. i just started a new brand of dex the Mallinckrodts. Damn those lil guys are speedy. I hope it tapers off. I take xanax to help with my sleep. I try to have the dex stop around the time i want to sleep. So the crash hits me when im about to get in bed.

Why do you take Xanax at night .

Member states it here:

I take xanax to help with my sleep.

I meant to ask why do you take Xanax during the day .

I meant to ask why do you take Xanax during the day .

I have anxiety

I cant listen to music, although i do love it. I start day dreaming about all kinds of things.

Jay, what gets rid of the radom thought and ideas is that I am actively analyzing the music. So I am focused on something that takes enough brain power to force those random thought into the background where they belong. I am using something I'm very attracted to (the music) and adding analytical skills to it. The must increase the dopamine levels in my brain enough to assist sleep. Though as I said, it is not as reliably successfull as dexedrine.

Katatak

I never thought of analyzing the songs. very nice. will have to try

I take a 15mg spansule at 530AM

then I take a second 15mg spansule at around 11am

this lasts me until bedtime around 10pm

i've been reading this thread and am wondering when someone takes Xmg dexedrine however many times per day at various intervals, is this something arrived at with a doctor or are people just giving themselves as much and as often as they feel they need?

also when someone says they take 30 or 35mg of dexedrine does that mean per day or per dose?

i'm somewhat confused about this because my psych. who has known me since 1993 has decided to float an idea that i have ADD. so she gave me homework and i've read a number of books over the past month plus found this forum. last week she gave me a script for dexedrine 5mg. and wants me to try it out to find out what happens. so basically i'm supposed to take one per day which according to what people on this forum are doing is not the appropriate dosage schedule.

first off, the pharmacist gave me a hard time. told me he hasn't filled a prescription for 'this stuff' for years and years. furthermore he wanted to know if i'd been before a 'board'. ???? my goodness. i'm not paranoid but hey, this kind of stuff can make me talk myself down from paranoia. anyway he did fill the prescription today and since it was mid afternoon when i picked up the pills i decided to take only half of one.

subsequently i intently washed the dishes and wiped up the kitchen counters extremely accurately. :rolleyes: i spent most of the afternoon reading and did note a slight decrease in attentiveness as the drug noticeably wore off after about 4 hours. not a big impact here but i just wanted to see if a baby dose would have any perceptible effect at all.

i just want to carefully titrate the dosage because i don't want to have to cope with the sorts of side effects people here report having. also i don't want to take other meds. at this point my theory is that i'd much rather compromise on degree of efficacy rather than take benzodiazepines and anti depressants.

i've been reading this thread and am wondering when someone takes Xmg dexedrine however many times per day at various intervals, is this something arrived at with a doctor or are people just giving themselves as much and as often as they feel they need?
Well, thinking optimistically, they're working with their docs, but that doesn't always work out.
also when someone says they take 30 or 35mg of dexedrine does that mean per day or per dose?
Couldn't totally answer the 2nd one--but in reference to my posts, that would be 30 mg (two 15 mg spansules) one time per day.
i'm somewhat confused about this because my psych. who has known me since 1993 has decided to float an idea that i have ADD. so she gave me homework and i've read a number of books over the past month plus found this forum. last week she gave me a script for dexedrine 5mg. and wants me to try it out to find out what happens. so basically i'm supposed to take one per day which according to what people on this forum are doing is not the appropriate dosage schedule.
Did she give you a script for Dexedrine spansules? Those are 1x per day. I know it's confusing--I was hella confused when I first came on here--because there are tablets and spansules, but lots of the people on here do take tablets, so if you see them saying they take it several times a day, that's what they mean. The tablets are the "short acting" version of the medicine, and the Dexedrine is the "long acting."
Don't decide on an appropriate dosage schedule just by looking at what you see on the forums. That's not safe, ok?
first off, the pharmacist gave me a hard time. told me he hasn't filled a prescription for 'this stuff' for years and years. furthermore he wanted to know if i'd been before a 'board'. ???? my goodness. i'm not paranoid but hey, this kind of stuff can make me talk myself down from paranoia.
I have noooo idea what he meant by "board," maybe the others do, but I can relate to the paranoia. This stuff is a cousin of speed. So others kind of wince at the idea you're taking it, and in all honesty, I try to avoid really having people find out here, around where I live, in Meth Country, USA (even though I know it's not methamphetamine, it's entirely different) finding out I'm on it. So you're not alone on that, but try not to worry too much--I was freaking out for quite a while, check a few of the very first posts I put up, I think that should show you I was not terribly comfortable but changed my mind.
subsequently i intently washed the dishes and wiped up the kitchen counters extremely accurately. :rolleyes: i spent most of the afternoon reading and did note a slight decrease in attentiveness as the drug noticeably wore off after about 4 hours. not a big impact here but i just wanted to see if a baby dose would have any perceptible effect at all.
4 hours? Maybe the others can check on that. Ain't a doctor, but I think a 1x long-acting is generally going to act longer than 4 hours.
i just want to carefully titrate the dosage because i don't want to have to cope with the sorts of side effects people here report having. also i don't want to take other meds. at this point my theory is that i'd much rather compromise on degree of efficacy rather than take benzodiazepines and anti depressants.
Benzos and antidepressants aren't, like, horrid, if that makes you feel any better at all. I take two benzodiazepines, and they're not awful or anything, but of course, that's up to you.

Just please be safe and work with your doctor--and if she doesn't seem to be making any sense when you look around here and get advice from people, and doesn't answer you when you ask about your confusion, maybe you could consider a doctor you're more comfortable with (?)

Let's see how others respond. Most are far more knowledgeable than I, though they've taught me a lot.

the dextroamphetamine prescribed for me are tablets not spansules. i was reading from nadeau last night (women with AD/HD) and it says doctors start with low doses and work up. so i guess that's what's going on.

as to benzodiazepines i've had considerable experience with them in the past. way past. same with various anti-depressants and stuff like Neurontin. i don't want to go back to taking multiple drugs per day. i don't have any problem with depression or anxiety at this time. to me it would feel like going backwards, not forwards.

actually i had finally got to a point in an understanding of myself that i just think differently from other people. that i do things differently and as quirky as that may be, it's great to be me. i'm curious, playful, constantly learning but could be better focused at work. could stop interrupting people and being internally impatient as in ...get to the point already.....sigh....stop being so impulsive.....yeah. all the usual stuff i read about here.

various anti-depressants and stuff like Neurontin. i don't want to go back to taking multiple drugs per day.Neurontin isn't an antidepressant or a benzodiazepine...you realize that, right? Sorry, I wasn't trying to be, like, "educational," or condescending, or anything, just mentioned it.

...i do things differently and as quirky as that may be, it's great to be me. i'm curious, playful, constantly learning but could be better focused at work. could stop interrupting people and being internally impatient as in ...get to the point already.....sigh....stop being so impulsive.....yeah. all the usual stuff i read about here.Yep. I fall into the "usual stuff" categories ;) (well, many of them, anyway.) I just have other junk wrong with me (briefly mentioned on profile.)

Chrys

yes. i know. neurontin or gabapentin is an anti-epilepsy drug which was promoted unethically as far as i'm concerned for chronic neuropathic pain syndromes. there was some mention on another thread that some doctors were/are prescribing unethically and there has been officially a big stink over gabapentin and off-label prescribing.

anyhow today was the first time i'd taken dextroamphetamine and gone to work. and wow! i feel like i've got my brain back. i was able to quote back stuff i've read even months ago. i wasn't searching for words. but i didn't blab. i talked but i worked. and i worked efficiently. i was more effective. and it wasn't all a drag.

only side effect is my stomach doesn't appreciate this stuff. hope this is temporary. ??? i noticed, chrys, that you've mentioned in other threads that your stomach is giving you trouble with this drug. are you feeling any better now? and is your weight still plummeting?

solitary bee,
As i was reading you post i thought "wow i would never start off taking dex only once a day!!", but soon changed my mind. I think you should continue to do what your once a day dose, but dont look for dramatic changes. By taking the daily dose you can get your body used to the medication. Then start taking it as needed. You may only need one dose, but as you stated, "it last only 4 hours", it sounds like you would need more. I know you have read books on ADD, but dont stop there, get books on the brain. Understand how this amazing system(brain) works. You may find that you have mutiple issues, but maybe not. Knowing the brain helped me understand why I am the way I am (make sense??). Knitting Junkie is right "Don't decide on an appropriate dosage schedule just by looking at what you see on the forums. That's not safe, ok?"

only side effect is my stomach doesn't appreciate this stuff. hope this is temporary. ??? i noticed, chrys, that you've mentioned in other threads that your stomach is giving you trouble with this drug. are you feeling any better now? and is your weight still plummeting?
Well, thing is, it's not necessarily because of the dex. Without dex, I would still have stomach problems, because I've had Acid Reflux since I was, like, 9. Ulcers and yickiness all the way. It was flaring up for a bit, but straightened out, as did some stressors that existed at the worst of it. So I'm not worried about dex and my stomach, basically.

On the weight...not plummeting, but the appetite isn't really better, though it might be a tad easier to slow down and snap out of it and remember to eat since I've done this little Xanax thing.

Added note which seems absolutely necessary:
Please please please please don't play with your drugs based on what you read here! :eek: People here have life experience, not medical licenses--am I right, guys?

Chrys

I am taking approx 6am - 20mg 4 dex / 11am - 20mg 4 dex 3.30pm - 20mg 4 dex - 60mg all up. I have been only just recently givien it about 35 days ago and its great. But sleep is still hard to work out.. somedays i have less.

Well it's been a little haphazard during the summer, and it's taught me that not taking regular doses leaves me feeling kind of cruddy.

Normally it would be: 15 mg first thing in the morning at 7:30 am

15 mg at 1:30 pm

that seems to work pretty good for me, I'm not really sure how long the Dex effects actually last in my body until MANY hours after my last dose.

been now on it 120 days and i find the pattern to be sleep 20hrs.. then the day is 48hrs.. and this just continues.. i find it very good actually.. get alot done.

I take my first dose at 5:30 am and then another dose at 12:00 pm. I'm on spansules, so only have to take them twice/day. I don't feel any comedown at all, for whatever reason.

Thanks for the info all, will actually pay attention to how I take it and get back to you.

I take 120mg now daily... 40mg x 3 doses a day and have for a few months now and feel that i have now hit my celing so to speak of tolerance and find this is a good level for me.. seems alot though.. just wish i could take higher dosage tabs but the max is 5mg.. ;(

24/7, because my doc said we have ADD 24/7 and if a patient can tolerate medicating it that long, they should. I take 5 mg dex every 3.5 hrs (4 pills) and then 10 mg dex spansules for sleep. (This is 30 mg dex total)

I tried to increase to 7.5 mg every 3.5 hrs but I felt groggier, less alert, more depressed, some suicidal ideation, more "heavy" in my body, just miserable. (This was 40 mg dex total)

So, today my doctor said I could go back to 5 mg instead.

By the way,( to clarify) neurontin was promoted off-label for bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, etc. It has a labeled use for neuralgia. That is why I take it. The only two "on-label" uses are nerve pain (neuralgia) and support for seizure treatment.

i get the spansules and tabs I take 2 5 mg tabs in the am and two 15 mg spansules and at noo or one I take 2 5 mg tabs and one 15 mg spansule but this month I'll be adding another 15 spansule in the later part of the day because it wears off too early and i get hyper and cannot sleep

Its been now been about 1 year since the last post to this thread.. but my dose is constant. 120mg a day approx. This is 5mg tablet x 24 tablets. This has served me very well mentally. I can definately associate with he other members of the group here about work and focus in particular.

My week though is very strange. I sleep for approx 36hours and work / stay up for 48hrs ... give or take 10 hours. This is a problem for my partner of 10 years and she can't handle it as I am not going to bed at a predictable time. Its so bad that I think she will seperate for a while to suss out our lives seperately. If their is one thing that I hate.. is being told when to go to bed. Typical authoritive rebellious response or ADD patient .. type 3 & 4... But i love her so much that im not sure really how we will deal with this sleep problem. I wish women where not so women like sometimes when it comes to emotional things.

For some reason I just love staying up ... and i love sleepin also.. but not going to sleep. I feel i don't have enough time in a day to complete all the things going around in my head.. tasks etc. work. Typical ADD behaviour also.. creating to much work for oneself.

Anyway I just got this projector so i have taken over the lounge room with my pc. It gives me 120" HDTV screen for my pc etc. Its just fantastic. Gave away my 19" LCD .. once you go projector you will never go back.. Again I don't think she likes that idea.. But i love working.. just finished a 24hr none stop job. With hardly a break.. and did it without breaking out a sweat.. over time i find I have conditioned myself like a thorobread (can't spell ) horse.. and i love to be nocturnal.. another problem for her.. its amazing really...

Such little things... make such huge impact on peoples lives..

We met online also 9 and 1/2 years ago.. I love her deeply .. We think i may have a self esteem problem thats not been addressed.. i hope i can satisfy her needs and mine and have little ADD kiddies ! :) haha :eek:

2 times/day

I take 70 mg of dexedrine each days.

70 mg of dexadrine every day? Wow. I take 2, maybe 3 doses of dexadrine at 2.5mg per dosage. 70mg would... I don't know what 70 mg would do to me... lol. It just goes to show you though what a HUGE difference in dosage exists for people and their ADD symptoms. Best to start really small, work up gradually, and keep in constant communication with your doctor. IMHO.

"Best to start really small, work up gradually"I agree about starting small and working up gradually. I was taking 60 mg a day in three doses of 20 mg up until a couple of weeks ago when I switched over to Desoxyn for the month of July.

Speaking of starting really small, I was reading at another online ADD forum where there were some people claiming to actually benefit from taking a micro dose of Dexedrine. In fact they claim to take 1.25 mg (a quarter of a 5 mg tab) once a day. I do not think that there would be much benefit for myself from a dose that small, but I guess if the shoe fits wear it as they say.

Rhapsody that is really amazing that you take 120 mg a day. That is the highest dose I have ever heard of anyone ever taking for this dissorder. Glad to hear that it is working good for you.