is 10 yrs old and takes Generic Ritalin during the school year, 15 mgs in the morning and 10mgs at lunch time. Behavioral Mods have helped her enough that she doesnt need to take the Ritalin on weekends or school breaks.

I have tried several meds, but have found that Ritalin works best for me. I have been on Ritalin for the past 11 years.

My dh and ds take welbutrin. It seems to help with them.
dh tried to take adderall xr that was a mistake for him.
Maureen

I've tried a number of meds but Ritalin also works best for me..
I do not take a "fixed" amount though. I always get 20mg brand tablets and then break them up. Sometimes I take 5mg's and other I take upwards of 15mg's. It all depends on how I am feeling and what tasks I have ahead of me.

I chose "other". My 7 yo daughter has not been on meds yet. She is going to start next Tuesday. (I had been trying alternative methods to no avail) Her Dr. has prescribed Zoloft because my daughter also has anxiety. (worries a lot, doesn't sleep at night) We are not sure yet if the anxiety is part of her ADHD, or a separate condition. The Dr. feels that a typical ADHD med would likely increase her anxiety, and she said it is going to be a trial and error situation until we find what works for my daughter. Does this sound appropriate to anyone else?

I should tell you my daughter was given a very low dose of Ritalin by her reg. pediatrician (2.5 mg) last year, for several days and she couldn't go to sleep.

Then he tried the same small dosage of Adderal, and she became unconsolable and was banging her head on the floor.

I hear success stories regarding adderal and ritalin all of the time and feel a bit disapointed.

thanks,
laurie

I have 3 sons, 2 of which are ADD and on Adderall XR. We just switched to the time release because it will be easier for school. It took about a week for them to adjust to it. My oldest son (15yr old) takes it all year. He says he feels anxious when not on it. My 10 yr old comes off of it in the summer. This helps him to gain some weight. They both have improved greatly in school. My 15yo started on Ritalin when he was in 2nd grade. We saw some improvement but much more from the Adderall. We changed to Adderall around the 4th grade.

I was started on Ritalin at age 53 (four years ago) and it made a big difference immediately in my ability to organize myself and follow through. I think it even increased my visual perception abilities. The main problem was...I couldn't remember to take the second noon-time dose, or else by then I was tired and wanted to take a nap and it didn't make sense to take a stimulant and a nap simultaneously! This year I switched to Metadate ER and that is working well because I don't have the "second dose" problem. I have never had any bad side effects.

Peace,
Kathy E.
Kathleen_E@usa.net

My son who is 4 years old takes dexadrim its seems to work okay I have to give it to him every other day cause his behaviour seems to get worse if he takes it every day. but it dosent hit him hard coming off the meds after it wears off like ritlin did. ritlein work great but when it wore off he was to cranky crying for no reason,tantroms,he was 10 kids in one so we tried dexadrim and it dosent make cranky when it wheres off.and it helps him focus good in school.

Well...now I need to change my vote :P Am on Strattera after having been on Ritalin for years and years.

Hubby takes concerta along with celexa, daughter takes strattera.

I clicked on Concerta, but......

I'm on Rit. 20 mg 3-4 times a day. The only problem I had with it was the first week, I had terrible nightmares. Doc prescribed imprimine to help me sleep better... used it for two weeks then was able to stop.

My son has been on several...Adderral, Metadate, Rit.. ( the Rit. has worked best ) and we are fixing to switch him to Strattera.

My daughter was on Adderral for three years... constantly battling her weight loss and not eating. She got down to 54 pounds at one point (She been petite all of her life anyway).... that's when we switched to the Concerta. She's now at a healthier 76 pounds and holding. The Concerta doesn't seem to affect her appetite as bad. She also takes holidays from it during school holidays and summertime.

Ky

What medications do you and/or your loved ones take for AD/HD?

Please note that if you voted in the original poll, you will now need to vote again. That poll has been closed and removed, to make room for a new and improved meds poll :)

(You can now vote for multiple meds!!)

My adhd son takes 54mg of concerta a day i find it really helps him so much more than ritalin did, and he has more of an appiette(sorry for the spelling) with concerta, I myself and my other kids are not medicated at this moment
irish_lady4

I have taken Welbutrin for 6 years since being diagnosed with ADD and dysthymia (slight but chronic depression disporder).I was lucky and Welbutrin worked great, and concurrently solved the depression disorder as well. That allowed me to go back to finish my BA. Welbutrin is suppose to be effective with about 50% of the ADD population.

I also started taking Adderal reg or XR form, and like the xr form better. I took the Adderal for about 5 years probably. It helped very much with concentration, but I still felt that something was missing in the organization area.

5 weeks ago I started on Strattera and stopped taking the Adderal. The Straterra reached that missing area of "organization" for the first time, and I feel it is a very calming and effective drug. I have great concentration on it, and I feel much more appropriate in my social interractions. That nagging self-consciousness feeling after or during a social interraction has all but left completely. I feel so happy that a drug has finally been able to locate the organized side of my personality. I have managed to do more cleaning in the house and organizing of important papers in the last 3 weeks than I have done in the last several years, calmly, not hyper. I have also been handling my job responsibilities much better. I'm self employed, so when I work better, or work smarter, I get paid more and work less hours, so I like the job pereformance improvement.

For everyone, the right medication is going to be different. It takes some time and some experimenting, which may sound scary, but remain optomistic and persistent in the idea that you will find the best medication or combination of medications, if you work at it. And I think the best news is that the pharmeceutical industry has noticed there are a lot of adults with ADD, so there will probably be new and improved drugs available every few years now.

Glad the voting was changed so that we could pick more than one med. My first med was Wellbutrin and it was like a miracle. I had some side effects, such as headaches and blurry vission, but the fact that I could focus for the first time in 36 years was amazing to me. However, most of you know that as a result of Wellbutrin, my Tourettes Syndrome became more noticeable than ever. I was then placed on Adderall and had luck with it and it helped with the focusing, but it made me anxious in the afternoon and did effect my tics. But I still found it an excellent drug for the treatment of ADHD. I was taking 40 mgs. Well, my doctor switched me over to Metadate CD because they had found out that this was not as bad on people with TS. I was taking 40 mgs and I really had no problems with the medication. The anxiety had decreased and I was focusing great in the morning. Well, along came Strattera and here I am. This will be my 3rd day on it. Other than an upset stomach, I love it. I will find out more when I go to work today and the true test comes in. My doctor is starting me on 40 mgs and after a week, he is letting me judge if I feel I need to up my dosage, I can up it to 80 mgs. Great doctor, wouldn't you say?

my son takes Concerta and Clonidine

Do I dare respond here? lol I wrote out my answer to this here the other day and submitted it (as I do with all other questions)and it wouldn't go through..!!...and then for a few days I coudn't even get into Forums...and then after that Forums didn't have me on their list...oh no!!...and...so then I applied for a whole new membership and here I am again...and so I guess I'll try again now here!!...lol....maybe it's because of the recent Montel Williams show???? and it's not so great portrayal of ADD?? anyway...I saw my doctor exactly one week ago from yesterday...a busy Friday afternoon....complaining (what else is new?) of total inability to focus on my tons of schoolwork...depression is fair -- just can't sit down and do work that requires sustained effort, thought and concentration. He refused to do the adderal route...which I was going to suggest....he said adderal was "speed"..(ok!!)...so he gave me some strattera samples and sent me on my way...said to see him again in one week...well I haven't seen him again...I need to see him again! The Strattera seems ok...a little early to tell....my mouth feels a bit strange...like I've been shot with novacaine or something...! but I do feel abit calmer...as if I MIGHT be able to get something done this weekend!!..and I will make appointment to see him this week...but I think Strattera so far so good....thank God cuz I'm tired of running around in circles, here and there, looking busy, exhausted, accomplishing nothing....

So what meds am I on???? Okay, I'm on Wellbutrin, 400 mg and Strattera 80 mg -- 40 mg in a.m. and 40 mg at bedtime......

ME:

Adderall: 5mg...occasionally 10mg. Once, and occasionally twice a day.

It's strange how little medication I need, despite how bad my ADD is. :confused:

my doctor prescribed dexedrine, and i hated it, i have so much anxiety already and of course that made it worse, now im taking effexor for anxiety and my dr. is states that its for add as well...she also states that effexor and strattera act the same way...i need a new doctor...

The most common medication for Aussie ADD is dexamphetamine sulfate (like dexedrine). They also use Ritalin and Attenta. Some kids use tofranil if stimulants don't agree with them.

I'm not on any meds, so I guess I can't vote :( :( :(

Yes good point Paul.

Tara and Andrew: I tried to change the poll to include a "not on any medication at this time" option but it wouldn't let me......I think this would be a good idea to have this option....The "other" option implies other meds, not "no meds".....Do either one of you think this change could be made?

Unfortunately, there is a limitation to the number of option you can have in a poll (20). That's the reason you could not add another category.

Okay, cool:)

I take dexadrine for my adhd..cheaper and works good for me, but i found ritalin and adderal worked just as well...but everybody's body chemistry is different.

Nothing as of recently. Can you tell? :D

I would be interested in hearing more about what meds everyone takes and how they work for them! Anyone?

i was just prescribed concerta and wellbutrin, I hope they work!

well been on ritalin since 3/25/04 having trouble because I was taking it every 4 hours but the drug kept wearing off before the 4 hours.and I was getting alot side effects between doses, now 3/30/04-decided to take my times down roughly when it felt it was wearing off.1st dose 2-1/2 hrs, 2nd dose- 3hrs, 3rd dose-3 hrs. so I figured I wasnt getting enough for all day since I am up more than 12 hours-so I figured i needed another dose a 4th one because the doses were wearing off before 4 hours and trying to keep myself from feeling side effects from it wearing off.so I called my docter after 5 days of not getting a hold of him he finally gets a hold of me after repeated left messages. I told him what was happining and I ask him for a forth dose, he says ok, cause I am on a trial and error right now to find that right dose for me, and he asked me hows it was working? I said awesome, I can concentrate and think better{I am the adhd hyper type} now but the doses were wearing off fast.this was my first day trying this and it worked, no side effects all day.at first I was taking 15mg per dose 3 times a day, thats what he started me on, and I figured it wasnt enough for my day.so now I have a forth dose 15mg- 4 times a day. I would like to know how concerta,adderall,dexedrine,ritalin compare in side effects? I dont know what the longer acting capsules will cost of each. I have to check them out to see.any insights which one might be better?strattera is way to expensive for me so that ones out.do they all have the same effects? is ritalin less toxic than dexedrine? I have taken dexedrine for 10 years before, but that was when I was 4 til 14 and I dont remember what it was like? thanks

I know how you feel "outlaw", I take generic methyphenidate 4 times a day because it doesn't last much longer than 2 or maybe 3 hours. My Dr mentioned Concerta because it's mode of delivery gives longer coverage, but it also costs mucho $$$'s - even at the reduced Canadian prices it's too much for me (high technology has it's price!). When my current script runs out I am going to ask for a trial of generic dextroamphetamine - I'm hoping it's longer lasting effects will mean I only have to take it 2 or 3 times a day.
The side effects for these drugs will be roughly the same - but different people react differently, so it's really a matter of trial and error til you find something that works best for you.
Good luck,
Greg

Just Got a prescription for adderall (it's much cheaper than strattera) and start tomorrow. Had tried others years ago to no avail (maybe the doses were too low). Cannot multi-task at work, I procrastinate and have no follow-through. Hope it helps or I may lose my new position in management, where I have many responsibilities.