Do you 'Adderall' users know that the pills are a 1960's diet pill, which was previously sold as 'Obetrol', and which a legal dope company simply repackaged as "an ADD/HD" "treatment" rebranding it as 'Adderall'???



So accounts for all the somatic affects i read about.

Dextroamphetamine@for many i read about Methylphenidate, have FAR more studies displaying the advantages in these issues.


Get wise, and don't settle for what your 15 min Doc app says, is right for you.

Dextroamphetamine@ either Methylphenidate are the meds which have 50@ 80 years experience behind them-OK!

Thanks:)

Why don't you provide us with some documentation to support your accusations...

English please

Ugh, not coned :(

Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine) has also been widely (pardon the pun?) used a a weight loss drug and approved by the FDA (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fdweight.html). They are stimulants. They make people less hungry. Its just in their nature. They also act on the part of the brain that doesn't seem to function in the way we'd like it to in those of us with AD(H)D. Some experience good results with amphetamine salts (Adderall). Some have better/worse luck with methylphenidate (ritalian/concerta), while some swear by dextroamphetamine. What helps you is what works regardless of what the studies say. Take a look at the other branches of psychiatric medication and see how much off label usage there is (esp bipolar disorder and schitzophrenia) and how much success there is. Bipolar disorder is most commonly treated with (gasp) anti-seizure medication! :) Its cool though, the understandable concern is that drug companies are large and want our money. I'm pretty sure however that if something's not working for someone, they'll know. :)

legal dope company
"an ADD/HD" "treatment"

Did you you know that Scientology and the antipsychs use such phrases to scare people. Is "coned" the new alien life form invented by Scientology? If I have been coned at least you could tell me what I have turned into, am I a conehead?

More on scientology here -> http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18118&highlight=scientology

...and two noted blowhorns for the antipsych movement. It's good to be able to cite the sources of such phrases.

Breggin -> http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20721&highlight=breggin
Baughman -> http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27237&highlight=baughman

My son has been medicated for adhd since he was in preschool. He is now 13. He has tried Homeopathic/Holistic remedies, Ritalin, Dexetrine, back to Ritalin and now is currently on Metadate, which works for him.

I finally got medicated for adhd at the age of 43 and one of the main reasons I picked Adderall for my adhd medication of choice was possible weight loss. I have been on it for a year and 2 months and wish I would have got medicated in my 20's.

My husband is also having success on Adderall for his ADD.

Alot of medications have multi purposes. My son takes Clonidine for helping his behavior and helping him sleep at night. When you read the medication information, it's used for many other things such as blood pressure, etc...

Hmm, I thought I felt different... and now I know why: I've been CONED! Thanks for the amazing insight.

But what kind of cone am I? Am I a regular cone? A sugar cone? A waffle cone?

Or perhaps you meant one of those orange construction cones...

LOL :D

And I thought I was gonna have to come in here and be a smart alec over gettin' "coned"! :D

I am very happy to thoes folk who have had their life benefited by the drug 'Adderall'.

I simply wanted to express my info on why Adderall became and was marketed as an ADD/HD remedy.

The exact same pill was used in the 1960-1970s as a diet pill named 'Obetrol'.

Shire drug company dug up this pill and renamed it ADD-erall around 1996, targeting the trend of ADD/HD issues as a selling point.


I simply wanted to state that Dextroamphetamine/Methylphenidate were used for decades before this,80 years and 50 years respectively, being the mainstays.

If you find these pills helpfull-GREAT!!


Thanks


If folks find these pills helpfull

No offense to the original poster, but when I read "you have been coned" one phrase lept to my mind:

"Consume mass quantities"

How many of you are old enough to get this one, I wonder? :)

While I appreciated the great sense of humor you fellow ADDers possess, let's go a little easy on teasing about misspelling a word. Since many of us are so prone to that particular weakness. I doubt a word about it would have been mentioned if there wasn't so much vehment disagreement with his original statement about Adderall.

As has already been mentioned, some medications have more than one use -- that has turned out to be a blessing. The guy who first found out that Ritalin would help ADHD gave it to the boys to help them with the severe headaches they were having. It was just a fortuitious (probably spelled wrong and I don't want to get any grief about it:p ) discovery that it happened to be extremely helpful for the symptoms of ADHD.

Scattered

I am very happy to thoes folk who have had their life benefited by the drug 'Adderall'.

I simply wanted to express my info on why Adderall became and was marketed as an ADD/HD remedy.

The exact same pill was used in the 1960-1970s as a diet pill named 'Obetrol'.

Shire drug company dug up this pill and renamed it ADD-erall around 1996, targeting the trend of ADD/HD issues as a selling point.


I simply wanted to state that Dextroamphetamine/Methylphenidate were used for decades before this,80 years and 50 years respectively, being the mainstays.

If you find these pills helpfull-GREAT!!


Thanks


If folks find these pills helpfull
Well correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't something that has been around since the 60's constitute over 40 years of use...maybe not all of them for ADD, but obviously it has been around. I find it helps me tremendously.

No offense to the original poster, but when I read "you have been coned" one phrase lept to my mind:

"Consume mass quantities"

How many of you are old enough to get this one, I wonder? :)Oh noooo! I knew this immediately! And also must admit I had loads of interesting ideas regarding what "getting coned" might mean. The fact that others beat me to it just says it all for me. It really IS an ADD thing :D.

I personally get the feeling this thread is was intended to be inflamatory and pretty much deserves a "Please Do Not Feed the Troll" sign.
But assuming the original poster is simply misinformed...
If Adderall was a "con" it wouldn't work for so many ADHD paitients, would it? I couldn't con myself into thinking SSRIs treated my depression. Naproxin doesn't work for my headaches just because I *think* it will.
I know when something makes a change (positive or negative) in my brain chemisty. Lamictal is an anti-seziure medication but I know for a fact that it regulates my moods. I know for a fact that Adderall allows me to sort through rapid thinking more easily and makes my ADHD much easier to cope with. Since I've never been able to simply convince myself to get better or be higher functioning with or without other medications, I have no reason to think these drugs are simply psychosomatic or a "placebo effect."

I previously tried Concerta. Despite my hopes that the firsdt psychostimulant treat ment I tried would be right for me, Concerta made me violently ill, nervous, and I felt much like I was on cocaine for 15hrs. So Ritalin isn't the answer for everything.
And, as mentioned above Dextroamphetamine was also a weight loss drug. That doesn't mean it doesn't control some people's ADHD symptoms.

I think that considering Adderall a complete "con" is rather narrowminded.

Most importantly, this thread suffers from an egregious error right in the beginning:

Adderall contains dextroamphetamine. In fact, the primary constituent of Adderall is dextroamphetamine. The only differences between Adderall and a dextroamphetamine-only medication such as Dexedrine are that Adderall also contains a small amount of the stereoisomer levoamphetamine, and that Adderall splits the dose up evenly among several different salts, rather than most dextroamphetamine-only meds that usually use dextroamphetamine sulfate. This is thought to lead to a slower and more even absorbtion, although the evidence for this is mixed.

The main advantage for using Adderall over a dextroamphetamine-only medication is that it may absorb more slowly, leading to fewer side effects, and that it may be slightly less sedating, for those of us who find psychostimulants sedating.

So I don't get how it's a "con," if you already accept that dextroamphetamine is a valid treatment. Adderall is only slightly different from a dextroamphetamine-only medication, and some patients may find one or the other option, or methylphenidate, to be better either at managing their symptoms or to have fewer side effects.

Incidentally, while there are numerous scientific studies showing conclusively that all three drugs are effective at treating ADHD, there is little evidence to show empirically that one drug or another is clinically significantly better than the others, at least with regards to Adderall, dextroamphetamine-only, and methylphenidate. The main differences will be on a patient-to-patient difference, as different people will have different needs, different symptom profiles, and different side-effects and secondary health issues.

Dextroamphetamine/Methylphenidate were used for decades before this,80 years and 50 years respectively, being the mainstays.When I was a teenager in the 60's - dextroamphetamine was prescribed as a diet pill. My mother used to get it and we would swipe it from the medicine cabinet.

Also when I was a teenager in the 60's - very few people had ADD - it seems like everyone started getting it 10 or 20 years later.

I'm just being facetious .... but the bottom line is that times change, diseases change, and meds get used for differerent things.

I am very happy to thoes folk who have had their life benefited by the drug 'Adderall'.

I simply wanted to express my info on why Adderall became and was marketed as an ADD/HD remedy.

The exact same pill was used in the 1960-1970s as a diet pill named 'Obetrol'.

What is your point? Bupropion is sold as an antidepressant and a smoking cessation aid. Diphenhydramine is sold as an antihistamine and a sleep aid. And as you pointed out, amphetamines are sold for weight loss and ADHD. Some drugs are indeed effective with more than one thing. I don't see how that makes anybody "coned", whatever that is.

They didn't just slap an AD/HD treatment label on it. Extensive research was done first.



I am very happy to thoes folk who have had their life benefited by the drug 'Adderall'.

I simply wanted to express my info on why Adderall became and was marketed as an ADD/HD remedy.

The exact same pill was used in the 1960-1970s as a diet pill named 'Obetrol'.

Shire drug company dug up this pill and renamed it ADD-erall around 1996, targeting the trend of ADD/HD issues as a selling point.


I simply wanted to state that Dextroamphetamine/Methylphenidate were used for decades before this,80 years and 50 years respectively, being the mainstays.

If you find these pills helpfull-GREAT!!


Thanks


If folks find these pills helpfull

"Consume mass quantities"
LOL, Uminchu... I have a great Conehead mask if you ever want to borrow it for Halloween.

Am I a regular cone? A sugar cone? A waffle cone? Or perhaps you meant one of those orange construction cones...
Definitely a "Sugar Cone" Galaxy Girl! :)

Peace,
*~ §EEK ~*

Aww, thanks, SEEK. I guess you can tell how "sweet" I am. :)

Gigi

While I appreciated the great sense of humor you fellow ADDers possess, let's go a little easy on teasing about misspelling a word. Since many of us are so prone to that particular weakness. I doubt a word about it would have been mentioned if there wasn't so much vehment disagreement with his original statement about Adderall.
You're right, Scattered. I wouldn't normally tease someone for misspelling a word.

In this case I felt justified in having a little fun with the misspelling because, well, because it was funny ;) but also because of the insulting and condescending attitude behind the original post.

If you read some of the OP's previous posts, you'll find a definite "anti-Adderall" slant. Not anti-meds or anti-stimulants, but for some reason against Adderall in particular.

Now there are meds that I, personally, do not care for because I had bad experiences with them. These include Zoloft and Effexor. But just because they did not work for me does not mean that they aren't wonderfully appropriate and life-changing meds for someone else. So I wouldn't presume to go on a depression board and insinuate that people are idiots for taking these particular meds, or try to scare people away from taking them. That's just rude.

"So I don't get how it's a "con," if you already accept that dextroamphetamine is a valid treatment. Adderall is only slightly different from a dextroamphetamine-only medication, and some patients may find one or the other option, or methylphenidate, to be better either at managing their symptoms or to have fewer side effects.

Incidentally, while there are numerous scientific studies showing conclusively that all three drugs are effective at treating ADHD, there is little evidence to show empirically that one drug or another is clinically significantly better than the others, at least with regards to Adderall, dextroamphetamine-only, and methylphenidate. The main differences will be on a patient-to-patient difference, as different people will have different needs, different symptom profiles, and different side-effects and secondary health issues."

Good point 'Hyperion'<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->


I did not intend to dump on ADD-erall as a valid treatment for ADD/HD issues.

I was after diagnosed with this issue myself!.

I correspond with a women who has taken 4, 30mg IR ADD-eralls for many years-apparently they help her-great, she previously took Ritalin, at a high dose before this.

YES, ADD-erall is composed of 4, different salts, with Dextroamphetamine being half of the pill:

-Dextroamphetamine sulphate
-Dextroamphetamine succarate
-Amphetamine sulphate
-Amphetamine aspartate

See a pattern here? that perhaps the Dex is responsible for the 'ADD/HD' effects and the Amphetamine perhaps? helps some, but also causes significant somatic SEs in many folk.

I have never taken ADD-erall,but it seems to me that the Dextroamphetamine compound in the pills are? responsible for the benefits?.


I'm a jaded bugger, and was just stating that Shire drug company reintroduced this pill-(1996) when ADD/HD was 'the disease of the moment', and jumped on the bandwagon seeing an oppatunity to sell the stuff.

If you find ADD-erall is helpfull-and have trialed the mainstays, Dex Methylphenidate-cool.

We all do what works

Thanks

Paint yourself bright orange and you can be road cone!

ME :D


Hmm, I thought I felt different... and now I know why: I've been CONED! Thanks for the amazing insight.

But what kind of cone am I? Am I a regular cone? A sugar cone? A waffle cone?

Or perhaps you meant one of those orange construction cones...

YES, ADD-erall is composed of 4, different salts, with Dextroamphetamine being half of the pill:

-Dextroamphetamine sulphate
-Dextroamphetamine succarate
-Amphetamine sulphate
-Amphetamine aspartate
Incorrect. I understand that organic chemistry is a complicated subject, but this is a perfect example of why you should double check your conclusions when dealing with a subject that is unfamiliar. In this case, Adderall is actually roughly 3/4 dextroamphetamine.

The issue we're dealing with here is something called stereoisomers. Many organic chemicals fit together in such a way that they can essentially take a "right-handed" or "left-handed" form. Amphetamine is one of these chemicals. An individual amphetamine molecule can either have its alpha-methyl group facing left or facing right. It cannot be amidextrous, unfortunately. "dextroamphetamine" is the name of the right-handed isomer, and "levoamphetamine" is the name of the left-handed isomer. A preparation of amphetamine could contain only righthanded molecules, in which case we call the entire preparation dextroamphetamine. Likewise, if it contained only left-handed molecules, we'd call it levoamphetamine. However, if a preparation contains both types in equal amounts, we call it "racemic."

Most listings of Adderall's contents refer to the final two salts as "racemic amphetamine sulfate" and "racemic amphetamine aspartate." Sometimes a person might simply omit the "racemic" part, assuming that it is implied because the specific isomer isn't stated.

Since a racemic mixture is 50-50, Adderall contains roughly 3 parts dextroamphetamine to 1 part levoamphetamine, although the slightly different molecular masses of the different salts might alter this slightly.

You are correct that dextroamphetamine is more effective than levoamphetamine in treating ADHD. This is because dextroamphetamine is more active in the brain, while levoamphetamine is more active as a peripheral stimulant, more like coffee. The amount in Adderall is unlikely to cause serious somatic side-effects, but if it does, then clearly one should switch to a dextroamphetamine-only preparation. However, whether an individual does better on one med or the other is irrelevent. Some people do better on one, and some do better on the other.



I'm a jaded bugger, and was just stating that Shire drug company reintroduced this pill-(1996) when ADD/HD was 'the disease of the moment', and jumped on the bandwagon seeing an oppatunity to sell the stuff.
Uh-huh. Actually, a recent study has shown that there was no significant rise in prescription rates etween 1996-2002, which is the most recent period for which there is data.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/press/adhdmedsuse.cfm

I guess I don't understand your concerns regarding Adderall. While I admire your skepticism, you may wish to read a little more before jumping to unfounded conclusions. Sometimes when you think that you've found some hidden "truth" that has eluded others, it turns out that further reading shows why no-one else takes this "truth" seriously. You didn't really think that thousands of researchers, doctors, and patients across this country could really have been "conned" with regards to such an important health matter, did you?

Yes, I think we are being oversold. Obetrol worked on ADD _much_ better than the current watered down variety. The price was under $9.00 if memory serves correctly. The 1996 up to 2003 variety was less tweaked and worked on ADD (inactive type) much better as well.
Cheers to all of you it does work on; You must have the hyper type. Currently it works almost as a sleeping aid with me. Not exactly what an individual with my problem need.

[QUOTE=2d2]Cheers to all of you it does work on; You must have the hyper type.[QUOTE]

Not me. Inattentive type here. I am absolutely the LAST person in the world anyone would consider hyper.

One of the best things Adderall does for me is helps me stay awake during the day. I don't feel buzzed or high, just awake, normal and functional. If I take a day off from Adderall, I usually feel very sleepy throughout that day... and then get a "second wind" which keeps me awake at night, and can easily mess up my sleep patterns for a few days.

It is always fascinating to me how these meds can affect people so differently.

[QUOTE=2d2]Cheers to all of you it does work on; You must have the hyper type.[QUOTE]

Not me. Inattentive type here. I am absolutely the LAST person in the world anyone would consider hyper.

One of the best things Adderall does for me is helps me stay awake during the day. I don't feel buzzed or high, just awake, normal and functional. If I take a day off from Adderall, I usually feel very sleepy throughout that day... and then get a "second wind" which keeps me awake at night, and can easily mess up my sleep patterns for a few days.

It is always fascinating to me how these meds can affect people so differently.Me too Galaxy Girl, I'm the same way, inattentive and Adderall just perks my brain up so I can function.

A bit OT but this thread has now become an ADD watchword in my house...we are obsessing on that typo, we have been "coned" at least once daily!

I wish this symptom would stop some days, before the men in white coats come to question us about cones....

Adderall was USA allowed 4 treatment 4 add/hd in 1996.

The same pills were used util 1965 for weight loss-called (Obetrol)


PLEASE TELL ME WHY THE ****, ADDERALL IS SO POPULAR/effictive?-over Ritalin, Dexedrine?

Thanks:)

I have no experience with other stim meds for ADD, so I am not qualified to really answer your question. All I know is that, I tried Wellbutrin up to the highest suggested dosage, and it did not touch my ADD symptons and saw minimal effects overall. Adderall was my first stim, and I was hesitant because I saw a lot of discussions of stim side-effects (ups/downs and "euphoria") that made me hesitant to try the stim route.

After starting Adderall, I have yet to experience any of these symptoms, and find Adderall's effects to be subtle with a much slower onset and offset of the med than I expected (45 - 1:15 hr onset before I can catch the effects - approx. 8 hour length before subtly wearing off). Maybe they found the the salt mixture and release of Adderall (IR in my case) had these properties as an ADD med and lessened their potential for abuse? Maybe there is also $$ incentives to increase marketing this med as an ADD alternative?? I honestly have know clue, because I am not knowledgable about other ADD meds.

It seems the ADD symptoms and effective treatments are so variable from case to case. If you had a med in your company's vault (Obetrol) that suddenly appeared to be very effective for treatment in an incresasingly diagnosed disorder (ADD), it would seem like a typical sound business move to change the name and milk more money out of an old less prescribed med.

All I know is that I am thankful that it is an option for me (and it would be worthless as a weight loss med for me - I eat much healthier while medicated). I wonder if I will ever use the other stims available. If this one works, do I bother messing with a good thing just to see if the others work better or differently? I'd hate to switch to a shorter acting stim with a greater chance of "ups and downs."

Bottom line - they found that the Obetrol formulation was effective for treating ADD and revived an old product to milk some more cash out of it? Makes many ADDers happy and makes good business $en$e. I think there are many other unrelated meds that have probably gone through this same cycle. Remember when it was discovered that taking an aspirin everday may be healthy for you (regardless of pain symptoms)? All of the sudden, the aspirin companies had a new marketing campaign. Maybe they could have remarketed aspirin under a new name (Bayerall :rolleyes: ?) to spark sales for this type of use.

Doesn't seem like a big deal or odd to me...

I dunno,
ChaoticOrder

There was a rather long thread here regarding this about 2 weeks ago. A stimulant administered to a non-ADD patient would induce loss of appetite, resulting in weight loss, yes.

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28617&highlight=coned

There are too many medications to name that were intended for one thing and discovered to be better for something else. My daughter used to take a medication that used to be an anti-depressant but it knocked people on their butts. So they changed it to a sleeping aid and that is what it was prescribed to her for.

As for being used for a diet pill, you need to put it in context with that time in society. Doctors were pretty free with the prescriptions for dieting and nerves, ect. You were always hearing about housewives being addicted to this thing or that and often they were taking them with alcohol.

Now even if you are prescribed it without an evaluation they don't make it easy. You can't get refills called in. A year or so ago my doc could write me three prescriptions at a time, three different peices of paper dated for later months but now even that has changed. Unfortunately criminals always find ways around things and the rest of us just have to deal with their garbage.

Viagra was originally being studied as a possible heart medication, intended to treat hypertension. It wasn't until one of the later phases of clinical trials that male patients started reporting an unusual and consistent side-effect that was, ummm, showing up...

This is once again showing the fallacy of trying to view some sort of purpose in biology and organic chemistry. There is no purpose to a drug, it has a set of effects in people who take it, and sometimes these effects will also help with certain sets of symptoms. It is interesting to point out that many other diet aides, such as ephedrine or caffeine, have very little effect on ADHD symptoms. This just happened to be a lucky coincidence.

Many medications are used for multiple purposes. Who says ADDerall is more effective and/or popular than other AD/HD medications?

in my personal experience, methylphenidate (ritalin/concerta/focalin) was extremely effective when i first started using it and it quickly became useless. in fact the last few times i tried it i felt absolutely gross, even at relatively low doses (18-36mg).

i have no idea what changed in my body ...

but adderall/dexedrine has been wonderful ly effective for years now.

I took dextrostat for years with great results but more speedy.
Ritalin was ok but it would zone me out and cause feeding frenzies - kinda like white crosses used to do.
Adderal RX is calming to me. I am inattentive type.

In my old neighborhood the 'fat' doctor would hand out thyroid pills for diets, which was ok, but the shot in the butt of speed was what we went there for.

When I was a teenager in the 60's - dextroamphetamine was prescribed as a diet pill. My mother used to get it and we would swipe it from the medicine cabinet.

Also when I was a teenager in the 60's - very few people had ADD - it seems like everyone started getting it 10 or 20 years later.

I'm just being facetious .... but the bottom line is that times change, diseases change, and meds get used for differerent things.Whatever.

Very few that were diagnosed? Very few that you knew about? Very few according to what?

I was born in 61. That means I had it then but because I wasn't a trouble maker it didn't concern anyone. Could it possibly be? That maybe the doctors learned a thing or two about how people learn and don't learn since then? Kind of like they learned not to bleed people out in order to cure all kinds of things.

Coned????

I was born in '53 and I went to Catholic school in Chicago. There were all kinds of 'dirty shirt kids', (thanks, tammy), some were girls, most were boys. They were hyperactive and acted out everywhere. I don't remember ANY labels or comments about them besides like wild or rowdy. Not teachers, not parents, not the news.

It's fairly well documented that lots of girls had inattentive ADD and fell through the cracks because they didn't make noise. I went to an all-girls high school as well and have a brother that is bigger and older than me so I learned how to handle myself with guys. Half the girls were CP, as was I, the other half did home economics, typing, etc. The public schools were worse - but it could've been the times. hippies, etc.

We moved back to the old neighborhood to raise the boys (3) and they went to the same grammar school I did. That was trip...some of the same teachers even. Son #2 always stood in class looking at anything besides what he was supposed to. They never mentioned this until the end of 3rd grade, during his parent/teacher conference and only in passing. When called on for an answer, he had it correct and kept up in class so why make a fuss. I said something was wrong because he wouldn't let anyone read him a story without flipping the book around and asking a million questions. This was in the late '80s, early '90s.
The private school system just didn't acknowledge AD/HD, no testing, no counceling. "They grow out of it, we all did." NOT.

We moved to the suburbs and utilized the 'excellent' public school system. HA. They just wanted him drugged right away. We fought it for some years, then buckled during 7th grade, he hated it from the beginning and it never really helped him because nothing was reinforced at school and he had no therapy or counceling until he brought a joint to school in 8th grade to show off and got nailed within 15 minutes.
And then all the effort revolved around drug abuse. He hadn't ever smoked any pot when this happened.

Back to the point, this ADD thing is still rather new. Plus the stigma of psychiatric care and meds committed to a person's record is still regarded suspiciously.



<TABLE height=379 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=8><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=center width="30%" bgColor=#ffff00 height=342>http://www.katbkay.com/kdj/images/coneheads.jpg

</TD><TD width="70%" height=342>One of the successful skits from *Saturday Night Live*, stretched, not always successfully, to feature length. Aykroyd and Curtin play extra-terrestrials from the planet Remulak whose spacecraft is forced into a crash-landing in New York's East River. They hide in suburban New York society - successfully, despite their pointed bald heads - find they like it and even produce a delightful little Conehead daughter (Burke). Hounded by the immigration authorities, the Coneheads continue to pursue the American dream, raising their teenaged daughter 'Connie' in their suburban home and on weekends barbecuing mass quantities of animal protein in the back yard. Inspired by the early 'Saturday Night Live' skit.

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%" bgColor=#000000 colSpan=2 height=21>More Conehead stuff... <DL><DT>The funniest thing about the old Conehead sketches on "Saturday Night Live" wasn't what they said, or what they did, but that they were. They stood around with their big bald pointy heads and almost anything they did seemed funny, because they looked funny doing it.
<DT>Now we have "Coneheads," the movie, which proves that if you're going to stretch a sketch to feature length (even if only to barely 90 minutes) it's going to take more than pointy heads to make it funny. This is a dismal, dreary and fairly desperate movie, in which the actors try very hard but are unable to overcome an uninspired screenplay.
<DT>The movie stars Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin, further developing the roles they created on "SNL" during the 1976-77 season. It surrounds them with more than a dozen other "SNL" veterans, some in supporting roles, some in cameos.

The special effects are ambitious, especially after the Coneheads return to their native planet. But the movie never really works.
<DT>The story begins with a Conehead ship approaching earth and outrunning pursuit planes before making a wrong turn and ditching Aykroyd and Curtin in the East River. They swim ashore and eventually set up housekeeping in Pyramus, N.J., even producing another little Conehead. The film follows their adventures as they are accepted by their neighbors and settle into middle-class life.

Nobody makes much of a fuss over the peculiar configuration of their craniums, except for a neighborhood boy named Ronnie (Chris Farley) who falls in love with the Conehead daughter, Connie (Michelle Burke). His story is a poignant one. He has a fetish for pointy-headed bald girls, but never realized it until he saw Connie. Now he wants to kiss and caress her head, somewhat to her annoyance, although she does like the guy, and treats him to a vacuum-cleaner kiss.

There are lots of sight gags involving the Coneheads' peculiar eating habits (one shot behind with a vacuum cleaner at work, and then reveals that the hose leads directly to a Conehead mouth). Their diet tends toward very basic carbohydrates, such as rolls of toilet paper. And so on.

All very odd, and well-acted, as Aykroyd and Curtin talk like voice synthesizers and walk like robots. But the movie is basically just a curious series of events on the screen, recording the behavior of these strange characters and their bizarre ways. Events don't build into comedy. Not much is really funny. The story is without purpose; there's nothing for us to care about, even in a comedic way. Not all sketches are destined for feature length; "Coneheads" has essentially taken nine minutes of material and multiplied the running time by 10 while adding nothing to the inspiration. </DT></DL>

Coneheads (STAR) 1/2 Beldar Dan Aykroyd Prymaat Jane Curtin Seedling Michael McKean Connie Michelle Burke Laarta Laraine Newman</PRE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>