Diagnosed 5 months ago, have been taking Adderall.

When it works, it gives me a pervasive sense of calm, and I settle very easily into whatever activity I am doing without feeling like I want to jump over to something else. So, it definitely increases FOCUS.

Problem: focus is not the only problem with ADD. For me, the even bigger problem is EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. Adderall increases focus wonderfully, but it seems to diminish executive function below where it normally is. So I focus very nicely, but my ability to control, or even to care to control what I am focusing on becomes very low, even lower than usual. So say I am writing (or attempting to write) an essay for a class and I realize I need to look something up. Instead of just looking up what I need, I will continue to read calmly for an hour and a half, before I realize how much time I have just wasted.

So two questions then, I guess:
1) Can anyone relate to what I am talking about when I describe my diminished executive function and increased focus on Adderall or any other medication?

2) Has anyone found a med that rather than JUST increasing clarity, focus, alertness, and attention, ALSO increases EXECUTIVE FUNCTION??

If anyone can answer number 2, I will be oh-so-grateful!!!

Executive functions, from what I have read, are not helped so much by meds.

Use the planner and you can break it down into quarter hour chunks if you must.

Hey Flighty,
There may be hope, yet. I found this from an Australian study on PubMed.

"CONCLUSION: Improved executive function may be a marker of psychostimulant medication effect in children with ADHD-CT treated in the longer term. This improvement may not correlate with that of the ADHD-CT symptoms. Longitudinal studies are required."

Give yourself time?

I found Wellbutrin to be helpful for me in this regard. Everybody is different, of course, so it might not help you at all.

Actually Thom Brown discussed current research at last years ADDA's Keynote about how stimulant medication does improve executive functioning.





Executive functions, from what I have read, are not helped so much by meds.

Use the planner and you can break it down into quarter hour chunks if you must.

Thanks, Tara, and thank you, Flighty, for bringing up the subject.

I noticed that too especially when I am not on my meds for anxiety and only on a stimulant. I have an awful time shifting or transitioning. It was really strange since before meds I was lucky to make it through a one page before shifting my attention from one thing to another. I try to use out side cues or reminders to help me transition from one activity to another. Luckily for me my husband has learned this too and gives something like a 2 minute warning before he actually expects me to shift my attention from the computer or a book to him. If I'm really good and trying to actually manage my time I will set an alarm for 15 or 30 minutes when I start reading so I actually know how much time has gone by.







Problem: focus is not the only problem with ADD. For me, the even bigger problem is EXECUTIVE FUNCTION. Adderall increases focus wonderfully, but it seems to diminish executive function below where it normally is. So I focus very nicely, but my ability to control, or even to care to control what I am focusing on becomes very low, even lower than usual. So say I am writing (or attempting to write) an essay for a class and I realize I need to look something up. Instead of just looking up what I need, I will continue to read calmly for an hour and a half, before I realize how much time I have just wasted.

I have read that Modafinil (Narcolepsy med) has been shown to improve executive functioning WITHOUT the focus effect stimulants have.

My experience with ADD and meds has been like this. I probably was dx'd around the time you were- approx 5-6 months ago. I had already been on an antidepressant which seemed to aggravate my ADD symptoms. I began to take adderall along with the antidepressant. There was an immediate improvement but over time I was able to see that the adderall and SSRI combo would give me focus but not concentration. I would get into mindless kind of activites. My house looked better and the laundry was done but I had a hard time reading other than skimming the page. I also kind of felt like a robot. I felt mechanical. I got lots done and was very focused but leaning more toward slightly compulsive kind of behavior. I think it brought out my overfocus, motivation and energy but did not balance it eough with being able to concentrate- which might be the executive functions you mentioned. I switched to a SNRI antidepressant along with the adderall and that seemed to do what I needed. I began to have the concentration adn brain power to actually think and concentrate instead of just do mindless, repetitive chores.
On the first med combo I teased my husband and told him I felt like a 'Stepford Wife'. I never saw the new movie but saw the original version of the robotic type perfect wives who have a spotless house, dress to the nines with perfect hair, bodies and make up and are puppets for their husbands. I kind of had the Stepford Wife thing going because all I wanted to do was housework! Now everyone knows it takes no thought or upper level thinking to do laundry! :)

Now I am into more brainy things - like reading about neuroscience and brain chemistry! :o My house isn't *quite* as clean.

My experience with ADD and meds has been like this. I probably was dx'd around the time you were- approx 5-6 months ago. I had already been on an antidepressant which seemed to aggravate my ADD symptoms. I began to take adderall along with the antidepressant. There was an immediate improvement but over time I was able to see that the adderall and SSRI combo would give me focus but not concentration. I would get into mindless kind of activites. My house looked better and the laundry was done but I had a hard time reading other than skimming the page. I also kind of felt like a robot. I felt mechanical. I got lots done and was very focused but leaning more toward slightly compulsive kind of behavior. I think it brought out my overfocus, motivation and energy but did not balance it eough with being able to concentrate- which might be the executive functions you mentioned. I switched to a SNRI antidepressant along with the adderall and that seemed to do what I needed. I began to have the concentration adn brain power to actually think and concentrate instead of just do mindless, repetitive chores.
On the first med combo I teased my husband and told him I felt like a 'Stepford Wife'. I never saw the new movie but saw the original version of the robotic type perfect wives who have a spotless house, dress to the nines with perfect hair, bodies and make up and are puppets for their husbands. I kind of had the Stepford Wife thing going because all I wanted to do was housework! Now everyone knows it takes no thought or upper level thinking to do laundry! :)

Now I am into more brainy things - like reading about neuroscience and brain chemistry! :o My house isn't *quite* as clean.
Oh Fly Away, it has been wonderful for me to read your post!! I know EXACTLY what you mean about the Stepford thing! That's such a great way to put it. For me, I would run around the house cleaning compulsively and with such an intensity of focus. But there was NO higher level thinking at all. I'd sit down to do school work and stare calmly into space, or just get super-absorbed in reading something without really being able to THINK about how it might be useful to me in writing my essay. But that was just on the Adderall, I am not and have never taken one of those SSRI anti-depressants. What is an SNRI antidepressant? What is an example?
Flighty

The SNRI that I take is cymbalta. It is in the same family of drugs as straterra but not really labeled for ADD. I think cymbalta is similar to effexor. I am taking it for depression but it was a bonus that it helped the ADD.

SSRI's work on serotonin. SNRI's work on neuroepinephorin (I know I spelled that wrong- I am too tired to get up!)

Medications work differently on different people. I took an SSRI and it made my ADD worse- or so it seemed. Unfortunately it seems you just have to go thru a trial and error with these kinds of meds.

The SNRI that I take is cymbalta. It is in the same family of drugs as straterra but not really labeled for ADD. I think cymbalta is similar to effexor. I am taking it for depression but it was a bonus that it helped the ADD.

SSRI's work on serotonin. SNRI's work on neuroepinephorin (I know I spelled that wrong- I am too tired to get up!)

Medications work differently on different people. I took an SSRI and it made my ADD worse- or so it seemed. Unfortunately it seems you just have to go thru a trial and error with these kinds of meds.
It's spelled "norepinephrine", I'm pretty sure. One thing I'm good at is spelling! :) I always get a picture of the spelling of the word in my head. (It will be embarassing if after stating that I find out that I spelled norepineephrine wrong!)

But that is interesting, I might look into SNRI's for ADHD, since I seem to recall that ADHD involves norepinephrine, or at least that most ADD stimulant meds affect it... I think, ugh, this is so confusing!

I am considering opting for cutting out the meds altogether, and just working with other approaches. I'm not entirely sure about that (the cutting out the meds part), but I do know I need other approaches!

Thanks for the info in any case. :)

Funny you mention this because I've been struggling with this too. I've found that while my first experience with medication gave me an incredible ability to do what needed to be done, that feeling dulled with regular use. Today it seems that while medication increases my focus, I still focus on the wrong things. I'll write huge entries on my livejournal when I should be working, for instance. Though I'm grateful I can finally get it together enough to say what I've wanted to say for weeks on LJ, I still have the problem of getting sucked into the wrong thing.

I've got a possible explanation for this. I think that, for ADD people, focus was something always out of reach, no matter what. No need to bother to even try and study, because you'll get distracted within minutes anyway. I think, as a result, the executive function lapses, and this doesn't become noticeable without medication. Once you're taking medication, you realize that now you can focus, but you're doing it all wrong. You've spent your whole life trying to make yourself "not be lazy" by "force", and it's never worked, so you've trained yourself to, well, not try.

So then you take medication. This is awesome, I can focus, you realize. I remember my first time; I was able to actually follow a plan. I played a mission in a fighter-sim game I was playing, then I went out and shoveled mulch for 20 minutes, and back and forth. I could do this; which was totally mindblowing to me. Unmedicated me would be out shoveling mulch for about 30 seconds before I decided it was pointless and I went on to something else .

But once the initial shock wears off, you go back to your normal patterns. For you this means not even trying to contain your focus, since it was pointless before. You let your mind wander just like usual. You focus on things now, but haphazardly.

This is when you have to really train yourself to use your executive function. So long it has been lapsed from being incapable and ineffective. But with medication it seems that you can will yourself to change tasks - if you try. It requires using parts of the brain that have long been unused, and so this is something that you can't just do overnight. But it is a behavior within your grasp.

This is in line with the argument that long-term medication use can improve executive function. With ADD, you never have to use it - since you can't. With medication, suddenly, the possibility is open to you. And so over time, you learn to actually control your focus.

Thats' my theory, anyway.

JimboOmega,


Your theory sounds entirely possible. It would kind of be like someone who suddenly became very strong. You wouldn't *know* you were strong until you picked something up but you wouldn't try to pick something up you never could lift before so why try now.

I am still discovering different aspects of my ADD that I never knew before. I've been on meds for maybe 4-5 months. You are right i that we have to train ourselves to make good habits. Thats hard :eyebrow: Little by little though I am doing things I've never done before- like wear a watch and use a planner. So simple but something I could never stick with. For me time was almost irrelevant. I had to make myself (still do) think about time. In my ideal world there would be no time....

It sounds like a plausible theory, but it's not consonant with my own experience on Adderall. I actually felt my executive function diminish on it. It's like my attention would be pulled and locked into something and I really couldn't make the choice, "I want to do X now." Normally, I will make decisions to do x, y, and z, but my attention will drift, wander, and jump from those things that I had meant to do to anything else that catches my eye or captures my imagination. Also, it's often like I am so much in my own world, so apart from my social and environmental context of life that I can't hold the "do x, then do y, then do z" thought in my head. It's not like I really forget, it's more like I lost track of the thought "do x". It's almost like this was the case moreso with Adderall, except that my attention wasn't drifting and wandering as much. But my focus would still simply fall on any random thing, and then get locked there. I don't know, the effect varied on the different doses, and the effect of any particular dose varied over time. And after a while, it seemed to be never really effective. I might try Sc@tterbr@in UK's suggestion and ask a doc about Modafinil.

WayTooFlighty:

Certainly it's possible that my theory is incomplete or inaccurate. The only way to know for sure would be to test it - to see if medication has a long-term benefit for executive function, and/or if ADD coaching or whatever else has synergistic benefits with medication. This isn't something I'm equipped to test. It's only a theory now - something to try. It's also possible that it is accurate for some, but not all of us.

As for you though, what you described sounds a lot more like simple, classic, unmedicated ADD symptoms than the result of medication making you focus on the wrong things. You have noticed that medication helps you retain your focus, and that's half the battle. My theory is that you have to fight the other half of the battle on your own - much like many non-ADD people did when they were much younger.

I would ask if you've ever tried to combine medication with any of the classic methods for organizing your life. Have you tried to, for instance, make a schedule and keep it? For unmedicated me, schedules were worthless since I'd be deviating from them within seconds. I'd have an hour blocked out for study, for instance, and about 30 seconds into that hour I'd be doing something else. The whole exercise was a waste. But with medication, it's a little different. With medication I know I am capable of getting to places on time, of doing what I'm supposed to be doing. It's hard not to fall into my old ways, but it's something I can do now.

Perhaps through the normal things that normal people use - things like alarms, planners, PDAs, and so on - we can train our executive function to be stronger.

And like I say it's not something that you develop overnight, and/or without effort. Take the following example (for example only, not to judge anyone):

Imagine a handicapped person whose legs are rendered functional through some new treatment. At first, the person might move their legs all around, amazed at the ability. But after the initial elation, they might find that walking is still very hard for them. Their legs have atrophied from years of never being used, and their brain doesn't have all the neural connections built. In fact, it kind of hurts to move the legs now.

They have two choices. They could still try, working on trying to walk a little bit more every day, or they could resign themselves to the wheelchair again, since that's easier for them.

The handicap, as we all know, is ADD. But simply because we've overcome the handicap medically doesn't mean that additional effort isn't required on our part. There's a temptation to not bother, since medication seems like such a magic bullet - maybe there's another one to solve the problems that remain.

But it's possible the best solution is actually training. Part of this you can do on your own. But, professional help can be valuable too. For a handicapped person, this might mean a physical therapist. Somebody who can tell you what exercises will work, what you can try to do to get stronger. For the ADDer, this might mean an ADD Coach. Somebody who can help provide strategies for you to organize your life.

Okay, you are making the same points you did before. I see your point. If I understand anything about treatment of ADD, it's that medication is only part of the answer if at all. There is nothing I understand better than the fact that I need to train myself to acquire and retain the ability to govern my own actions to get things done, with the help of a planner, an ADD coach, understanding friends, etc. etc. ADDERALL MAKES TAKING THESE STEPS AND FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH THEM HARDER FOR ME. I become more a prisoner to the thing that captures my whim than ever. This is why I have abandoned it. The last thing it does is give me some sort of new ability that I simply have to learn how to harness. For me, it is more disempowering than empowering, more crippling than my regular ADD. I am exploring other non-medication options, which I know that I need regardless of whether or not I medicate myself, and I am considering another medication, Modafinil.

Whoa-- sorry I got a little touchy there. You have made a lot of good points. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that medication is going to solve the problem for them. I sort of made that mistake at first, because I was very new to this ADD thing (or at least new to the knowing I had it part) and I didn't really know what to think or what to do. My psychiatrist did sort of indicate that there would be other ways I would have to go about this, but it was sort of on the fly, just a few off-hand comments a while she was writing out the prescription-- "Oh try exercise, and a planner is a good idea, and here's a book title." She also reassured me that I would be able to come back to school 3 weeks after our first appointment, and between Adderall and a planner I would be good-to-go, in tip-top shape, totally on top of things. But things have been pretty bad, certainly no better than before, and this is a little depressing for me. The more experience I have with this, the more I understand that medication, be it Adderall, Ritalin, Modafinil, or, heck, fish oil, is only part of the solution if at all. The more I observe my behaviors and thought processes, the more I understand and the more I marvel at the fact that I even came as far as I have academically. But also, the more I understand what is going on, the better idea I get of the kinds of things I can do to help myself, all very much like what you described, like picking myself up out of the wheelchair and exercising my brain's legs. I think I am sort of deriving my own occupational therapies for my brain, and I hope they help. I'd also like to make an appointment with a psychologist who can either help me or kind of turn me in the right direction to where I can get better help. Mostly, I think, we have to be the master's of our own multi-modal treatment plans, but it sure would be nice to get a little better professional guidance from someone who can do more than write me a prescription and then make a few other off-hand recommendations as they show me to the door.

Flighty, I think what you are talking about is hyper-focus. And yes I definitely have noticed it being more of a problem with Adderall. I get “stuck” in a weird time warp sort of thing with silly stuff, I just can’t let go, next thing you know I have wasted an hour plus searching for something on-line, On the up side I have the same type of focus with tedious horrible stuff that pre medication would have been my worst nightmare.
I was made to understand that we suffer from an "underestimulated" executive function part of the brain; in theory our meds are stimulants that are supposed to “pump up” that area.
I picture my personal chaos as a bunch of kids running around with a pushover for a mom; whoever is the loudest is or most insistent gets its way.
When I first tried Ritalin and it was amazing. It seemed everything started going through a filter. I could "feel" my brain processing stuff, deciding what a good idea was and what was not. (I am super impulsive) I really feel as if that directly improved my executive function, finally I was in charge and not giving into the little loudmouths. It definitely slowed things down; it seemed that there was an "extra step" being taken in about everything I did that was never there before.
Of course it did not take long for the Ritalin to stop working; I guess that is pretty common in adults, funny; not so much in kids.
I started Adderall and was in awe, I was obsessed with cleaning and getting organized, I had tons of energy and was constantly searching for things to focus on.
Now, as someone said on another I have focus, but on the wrong things. Not some well thought out project, but what ever appeals to me at the time. Of course now I should be working… OOOps! Was that another ½ hour of my life?

While I do think my previous theory might be partially right, and was interesting from a humanistic point, I have another possible suggestion, more biologically rooted, related to my recent studies of ADD and biology. It's a little less empowering, though. =\. If dopamine is key to ADD - which it sure seems, then what I'm about to suggest doesn't seem such a stretch.

This paper (http://amphetamines.com/dopamine/reverse.html) suggests that ampehetamine reduces the stimulation response of dopamine release, while at once increasing overall dopamine levels.

So from my point of view, it works like this. Without medication, you don't have enough dopamine to focus properly. Only activities providing a lot of stimulation get your dopamine up enough to focus on anything. This encourages the classic unmedicated ADDer hyperfocus. If you find something stimulating enough, you stick with it. But the threshold for that stimulation is often very, very high. The activities that provide this level of stimulation are often destructive, and constructive activities rarely do it for you. You wind up doing all the classic, stupid, ADD stuff - like lating until the last minute - because you need that level of stimulation to focus.

Then, you first take a stimulant medication. Your stimulation response is high (unaffected) and your overall dopamine levels are elevated. As a result, the world is a good place. Stuff stimulates you like it used to, only now overall dopamine levels are higher, so the threshold to keep your attention is lower. This is great. Now things that were moderately intersting or rewarding are in your grasp. You might even experience a bit of euphoria (to me this would probably mean you're taking too much; because it implies that your levels are so elevated that virtually everything is rewarding)

As time goes on and you keep taking medication the stimulation response drops. As a result, while the medication means your overall dopamine levels are high (enabling you to concentrate), the stimulation-dependent portion is off, so you don't get a boost of dopamine from "rewarding" activities. You can focus but there's no impetus to focus on anything valuable. Stimulating activities don't really offer you anything, so you often find yourself doing boring, non-stimulating tasks. Switching tasks is possible but doesn't offer you anything.

Of course, if you were to maintain the state that you get when you're first medicated, you'd be in good shape. Then what would matter is developing control of that focus, as I suggested - learning to attach proper rewards to the proper activities. But if you go into the later phase, you've created a different situation, one you probably can't will yourself out of.

BTW, I have, in my research today, seen that for people who find their stimulant of choice ineffective after a period of use, a "medicine holiday" is often recommended. The recommended length isn't clear, but I've seen them say that those who find they are having tolerance problems and take a one month holiday found the full effectiveness restored after that much time. Also I saw that in papers discussing effects of Methamphetamine, rats showed no signs of dopamine production recovery 24 hours after administration.

hello
I have been wondering if I was theonly one who noticed the difference, and being an ADHDer, uni grad and college for the sp ed teacher assistant program, it's so awesome to see this kind of deep discussion going on here. I've felt that there weren't a lot of people to discuss "executive function" and learning pathways and noepinephrine blah blah blah.

My experience:
dex and imiprimine: severe weight loss due to anorexia (appetite loss, not the "real" anorexia, eating disorder). exec. funcion improvements: task initiation, time awareness (I was on time for the first time, I remember the feeling VERY well. I was SO EASY to leave what I was doing to get ready to leave.) so switching tasks was easy. focusing on one task not so easy

quit imiprimine b/c of weight loss.

ritalin and one antidepressant or another for about 3 years (?). focus is much better (not as much "foggy head") but the lack of time awareness has REALLY made me suffer in terms of employment. I get too focused and have a hard time switching tasks. Currently on effexor XR and ritalin.

I'd tried dex and ritalin with imiprimine before but the weight loss was too severe so I dropped to just ritalin with a diff antidepressant.

so now I'm going to slowly try adjusting the dex-rit ratio to see if I can get the time awareness/task initiation and focus benefits. only prob is Dr prescribed me w/ dex spansules... lovely.

it sounds like I'm messing w/ the meds.. and I am. but I've been consistently responsible with my meds that I was allowed to have large amounts of ritalin at one time with no problems. I think the fact that I have proven myself to be ridiculously dedicated to learning has worked in my favour. I don't have the leeway to mess up my academic career. I finished my BA, and now I'm onto college program to become a sp. ed. teacher assistant. so of course I'm going to be careful. I've measured my timing of meds really well: 3h15min, 15min overlap so I don't totally crash. lately, I've been stressed out so I think the ritalin's been less effetive (plus when I'm celebrating being a woman, it doesn't work as well).

if anyone wants to keep this thread alive, please post!!!

Yep, I am with guys-I think
However, premedication I never had much of a problem with hyper-focus, no matter what I was doing; I switched gears constantly (I believe that is how I kept myself stimulated)

It is the medication that is creating the problems with hyper-focus.

At first I got a kick out of it- before meds I never knew what being "in the zone" meant
And I found it amazing. Now I find I can't get unstuck from certain things that frankly are a waste of time, and get frustrated with the bad choices I make..
There is an old post here that says something to the effect that hyper-focus is a “manic” state, and while that sounds harsh I do believe that my brain is certainly seeking out that state and once there does not want to let go.

Many of the symptoms of ADHD are "impairments" of the Executive Functions.

I believe that meds do help in addressing those.

Hi,

to me, its very interesting to read this topic.
I was diagnosed with inattentive ADD 2 months ago.
Before I took already effexor (300mg/ day) as I was severely depressed.
So since 2 months I try to find the right dosage of Ritalin LA or Concerta.
I have now a better focus, but it is actually too good, I am kind of glued to my computer.
Executive functioning got rather worse, my mood improved a lot.
I don't have all these negative thoughts anymore, and I don't blame myself all the time. My boyfriend said that I am more stable, seem to be happier and that I am more aggressive instead of autoaggressive. I am not picking my skin anymore, which I really like, too.

So methylphenidate does a lot good things for me, but I can't really work anymore, which is bad as I am just finishing my thesis.

I was wondering now, whether it might be possible to add modafinil (provigil) to my mixture of effexor and Concerta/ Ritalin LA (Maybe I should reduce the dosage of both then).
Maybe Modafinil could improve the executive side?
Another problem I have with methylphenidate is that I am really suffering of the Ups and Downs. Sometimes I even have very nasty rebounds.

As I read in "Driven to Distraction", Hallowell and Ratey use modafinil to smoothe the effects of other stimulants.

I know as well that one can combine venlafaxine with modafinil.
All three drugs are metabolized differently.
But I have never found anything about combining these drugs.
The huge problem is that I live in Germany, where we have only methylphenidate as a treatment of ADD.
The doctors do not know much about ADD either, plus they are offended when you try to talk about what you have read.
Modafinil is available here (for narcolepsy) and maybe I could talk a doctor into prescribing it.

I really need some help!

What are you defining as "EF?"

Executive functions, from what I have read, are not helped so much by meds.

Use the planner and you can break it down into quarter hour chunks if you must.Wow, is this true? I hadn't heard that before. I know my Concerta definately improves my focus and my stick-to-it-ness and helps me start in the first place but doesn't help my EF much. I was thinking of switching to Adderall to see if that would help my EF more. Is this just not an attainable goal with meds?

Scattered

Yeah, this has been my problem on both meds I've tried so far (Adderall XR & Concerta). What I really need help with is activating. The procrastinating piece or working on something that's not a priority when I really should work on a priority, etc. Neither has seemed to make much of a dent in this area that I've noticed so far. Both seemed to work fine for focus and staying on task, actually sometimes too well, along the hyperfocus edge of the continuum.

So I've been wondering if I need to try something else for ADD, or if maybe I need to add something for anxiety or something. I'll be talking to doctors soon about refill so I guess I'll see what they say.

~~bythesea

I'm glad this thread was bumped, it's fascinating.

My experience has been SO different.

I find that, so far, Adderall has done wonders for EF (my working memory is 1000% improved, I seem to have more control over my attention, I can concentrate), but I'm more impulsive and more hyperactive.

I believe, from some posts on the board, that the difference may be one of dosage. Perhaps there is a trade-off between these two (EF & inhibition) that needs an ideal dosage to maximize both.

OR, it could be that other neurotransmitters are involved either directly or indirectly (maybe dopamine availability affects the performance of serotonin and norepinephrine). I've been taking Prozac for a dozen years.

OR, it could have something to do with the fact that EF was my main problem. I'm a pretty well-oranized person who has managed to control my impulsive behavior fairly well through learned skills; I had to, I'm bipolar and not taking a mood stabilizer.

Any way you look at it, it's interesting how complicated this issue is and how differently we each respond to treatments.

For the past 3 weeks or so I have cut back on my dosage of Adderall. I was taking 10 mg or regular release Adderall every 4-6 hours. I have cut it back to 5 mg every 3-4 hours.
I feel more me (which is mostly good) Of course I struggle more with my symptoms but I have the clarity to realize I am struggling and often times I can push myself, that little whiff of Adderall seems to help me get through.

I now very rarely get stuck in that creepy over focused time warp!

I have to confess, I am back to having the ability to create a trail of chaos wherever I go, but as I said in an earlier post, all of the switching gears energizes me.

I think I was getting depressed, either directly from the drug or as a result of my new found habit/need/ability to shut out the world when I was sucked into the “dark side”

I now very rarely get stuck in that creepy over focused time warp!
Great observation. That's exactly how I know when I take too high a dose of meds!

I don't like that feeling at all. It seems a loss of control over selective attention, for me.

So, would a combination of Provigil and say, Concerta, be a great combo for inattentive ADD? I also have anxiety, what about adding something like Xanax XR?

Hi, I just wanted to bump this thread for jealibeanz, perhaps someone will be able to give our fellow adder an answer.

I tried Provigil briefly and the only effect I remember was that it made me feel the fogginess of a bad head cold and the chest-burning of an upper respiratory infection. Sorry, that's all I can tell you about Provigil!

My best advice-- ask a doc or other ADD professional whose expertise you have confidence in!