Given the choice, I'm trying to decide between Ritalin and Adderral. I'm not sure if I can tell the difference. My doctor wants me to take both.....80 mg of Adderal xr and 80 mg of Ritalin LA. It just seems like way too much. I don't like being so "souped-up". Then what happens is I start taking xanax to take the edge off. I have to get off this merry-go-round and I'm not sure where or how to start. I guess I have an addiction problem that I'm trying to address in AA, but...I always have this excuse about the drugs being perscribed. Any help anyone?

Zoloft ;) works for me

I have been taking paxil for depression/anxiety for 15 years with much success but still have a little from time to time especially under stress. I have been on Ritalin LA for several weeks and it seems to have helped the anxiety even more without making me tired or nervous (aside from when I am supposed to be tired:) ). It took a few weeks to get adjusted to it but I feel great now! It definitely has not increased my anxiety. Don't know about the other medicine.

Oh also, as I always like to say, I am NO expert by any means but that does sound like too much medicine..what he recommended to you, especially to start.

Wow, yeah, that is a lot of medicine! Especially to be combining BOTH. In my experience, Adderall makes me more alert, possibly anxious. It can keep me awake. On the other hand, Ritalin made me very sleepy. But, in the end, they both helped my anxiety because a lot of my anxiety was because of my symptoms of ADHD interfering in my life and causing me distress. I would talk to you doctor about just being on one medication, and perhaps at a lower dosage. Good luck!

I mix stims with great success, however the doses your hitting would freak me out.
80 mg of either drug would put me into nearly permanant orbit; I am an old fart by the way so I can not handle as much as a youth could. Talk to your doctor tell him concerned about the ammounts and do not want to take another drug to fight the anxiety caused by the excessive stim doses.

Get comfortable with one stim before you mix another. Use the most affective stim as your base drug. Than add small ammounts of the other stim until you feel you are at the top of the bath tub curve.

Believe it or not, but too much stimulants will make your add worse and definitely create anxiety as a by product. Another good guage on dosage is, if you feel you are getting aggitate at certain dose back down the dose until you do not feel aggitated. This dose is your max dose. Now mix the other stim to make the difference. If the other stim creates side affects switch to another until you are side affect free. Trial and error plus patience are key and if you do not trust your doc find one that you can trust.

Tom

Yea! While I have admit I am on 81 mgs of Concerta now, that's only after titrating up until I got relief!

I have never heard of beginning at so high a dose...why is the doc trying that?

Just my opinion....
If anxiety is a big problem, then treat the anxiety separately, with medication used to treat anxiety. Preferably not with Xanex. While xanex is great for panic attacks and bad moments, it's a band-aid. It's not really intended to be used as a full time-long term treatment type medication. You would be better off going to something for long term anxiety (zoloft, paxil are great one's) and a low dose stimulant med for your AD/HD. Most people with a lot of anxiety find that once their anxiety is under control, they don't need nearly as much stimulant medication to get relief for their AD/HD symptoms.

I personally would be leery of such a high amount of combo stimulant meds.
Good luck!