Hi,

I posted a thread a couple weeks ago regarding "doctor shopping" in order to get more adderall. I've since changed my mind and instead decided to try and get my prescription increased from my doc. Now, here's the deal. I was never diagnosed with ADD as a child. I never saw a psychiatrist in my life until a few months ago, when I made the appointment in regards to possibly being ADD. Initially, I just explained my symptoms to the doctor, took a small written test, and we both came to a loose agreement that I may in fact have ADD. From what I've read, many doctors agree that it's difficult to properly diagnose an adult with ADD, and given the notorious amount of abuse associated with Adderall, I don't want to give my doctor the wrong impression by asking him to up my dosage.

I've only been taking adderall since December of 2005. I was given 30 of the 20mg XR tabs and told to take one daily. Since then, my doc's written the same prescription for me during each mothly follow-up visit to his office. But here's the crux of my dilemma: I feel like I am better and more productive when I take more than one capsule daily. I have been taking two of them every morning instead of one, and managing to stretch out my supply by skipping doses on weekends (or just days where I know I can relax).

But I still run out of them every month, and it's quite a hassle when I'm swamped with work and I don't have my medication.

So, I come to you all for help. How can I request my prescription be doubled (or, at the very least, increased) without setting off alarms or giving off the wrong impression? Honesty, of course, but can you think of anything in particular I should avoid saying or doing? Or, on the flipside, something I *should* say or do?

All advice is appreciated. Thanks!

The best idea is to just be honest with your doctor. He/she may be perfectly willing to increase your dosage, but may just be assuming that you are on the right dosage since you haven't discussed increasing it with him/her.

I agree with Outsider .... just ask for an increase. Tell your Dr. you tried it and it made you perform a lot better. Medication increases in the beginning are common. If your Dr. isn't responsive to that for any good reason - then it might be time to find another - to replace him/her. There should be no need to go to more than one Dr. A good Dr. (though they are at times few and far between) should know how to work with you. Good luck.

Just ask for the increase.
My advice to first would be to
be formally tested. I had the same small test.

Second, never I mean never go off your
medication with out the doctors permission.
I did that once with another perscription and boy oh boy
I felt like I was going thru a drug withdrawl.

Just ask your doctor about the increase in meds.
Too most doctors will increase is slowly, so dont get
frustrated. Good luck

I would not take more then prescribed by your doctor. Is functioning at a higher capacity worth your health? Every med has a risk that is why doctor's monitor the dosages so closely.

Perhaps ask your doctor about a PRN for later in the day on days you just can't seem to get thru.

You can request anything, but the question is, "Will you get it ?", or "Should you get it?"

You need to talk to your doctor about the way you have been using adderal. You may be setting yourself up for amphetamine addiction by just taking more.....

It is not that difficult to diagnose ADHD in an adult, but most GP's don't have the time or the tooling to do it. My advice is to get to a psycologist or a psychiatrist and get a full evaluation before you jump off the ADHD cliff with amphetamines.

You need to be really careful with amphetamines... if you take them as prescribed, you can benefit from them, if you have ADHD. If you misuse them you can have problems worse than ADHD very quickly. Problems like addiction, and amphetamine psycosis can be serious, and far worse than ADHD.

ME :D


Hi,

I posted a thread a couple weeks ago regarding "doctor shopping" in order to get more adderall. I've since changed my mind and instead decided to try and get my prescription increased from my doc. Now, here's the deal. I was never diagnosed with ADD as a child. I never saw a psychiatrist in my life until a few months ago, when I made the appointment in regards to possibly being ADD. Initially, I just explained my symptoms to the doctor, took a small written test, and we both came to a loose agreement that I may in fact have ADD. From what I've read, many doctors agree that it's difficult to properly diagnose an adult with ADD, and given the notorious amount of abuse associated with Adderall, I don't want to give my doctor the wrong impression by asking him to up my dosage.

I've only been taking adderall since December of 2005. I was given 30 of the 20mg XR tabs and told to take one daily. Since then, my doc's written the same prescription for me during each mothly follow-up visit to his office. But here's the crux of my dilemma: I feel like I am better and more productive when I take more than one capsule daily. I have been taking two of them every morning instead of one, and managing to stretch out my supply by skipping doses on weekends (or just days where I know I can relax).

But I still run out of them every month, and it's quite a hassle when I'm swamped with work and I don't have my medication.

So, I come to you all for help. How can I request my prescription be doubled (or, at the very least, increased) without setting off alarms or giving off the wrong impression? Honesty, of course, but can you think of anything in particular I should avoid saying or doing? Or, on the flipside, something I *should* say or do?

All advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I can personally vouche for the fact that using Adderall when you don't need it will help your 'symptoms', but you will eventually have to take more and more to get the effect. When my psychiatrist learned that I was experiencing side effects typical of taking it when you don't need it (Increased energy, Workaholism, etc.) she stopped giving me the prescriptions.

You need to communicate the way you're using this medication with your psychiatrist, and she may, in fact, switch the medicine you're on. Your doubling up Adderall is a dangerous method of getting help, and remember they're not wonder pills they're tools to help you.

Adderall is a performance enhancing drug...whether you have ADHD or not. The difference as described by my doctor is that in an individual with ADHD, the drug has a calming affect. In the non-ADHD person you have a hyper-alertness and many times problems sleeping. You come down from the medicine and you feel like you need more.
I've had mine increased twice and the difference is amazing. I hope you get yours straightened out and that you can get more mileage for your productivity.
The bottom line..like others have said is be honest with your doc.

I am sure that you feel great when you double up on your Adderall, but that does not mean that taking it a higher dose is safe, just because it feels good. As ADDers, we are more inclined, once on medications, to look to the medication to change our lives. In reality, the medication should be just one of many tools that we should be using to maintain a functional, happy existence. It has been my experience that a doctor is less inclined to alter a medication regime, if no other behavioral or environmental changes have been explored.

I have discovered that I have improved tremendously at home, simply by making environmental changes such as throwing out things that I would normally place in a "junk drawer", or packing my son's lunch the night before and gathering up school clothes, so that morning time does not feel like torture (as my son has ADHD, as well). In addition to the envornmental changes, I had to make some behavioral changes, as well. In regards to work, the last thing that I do every day before I leave my desk is make a "to-do" list with all of my responsiblities for the following day, and leave it on my desk. This way, as soon as I sit down in the morning, I can see what is expected of me, versus avoiding or lementing over trying to find my appointment book (in which case, I usually give up and start a new project).

I guess my point is to look around at other modifications before assuming that more medication will do anything other than make you want more medication.

~Good Luck~