Hi, i've been diagnosed for almost 2yrs and i started out the first year w/adderall xr peaking @ 30mg BID,which was great initially, my grades in nursing school drastically improved, as did my concentration and motivation and i lost 45lbs i had been packing on. after awhile i started building a tolerance so i was switched to adderall tablets 30mg TID for the past 6mo. Built a tolerance again, to where im sleepy, irritable, packed those 45lbs right back on, and depressed, so doc tried switching me to ritalin tabs 20mg 4x a day, after the first day i had such a horrible headache, stomach pains nausea and irritability that i stopped it and went back to my adderall until i could be prescribed something else.

now i just picked up an rx for focalin 10mg tabs, 2 tabs 4x day, = 80mg a day, i havent tried it yet but im curious if anyone has any experience w/the same meds and if its comparable to the adderall or ritalin, and if the former... will i instantly feel the same tolerance to it? schools starting up again soon and i can't afford to be this drowsy, unmotivated, and lack of concentration. any info would be great, thx. :eek: :confused:

My sons doctor said that most of his patience that do well on Adderall, but have to many side effects, do great on Focalin. Focalin contains Dexmethylphenidate which is one of the ingredients in Adderall. Adderall is unlike other stimulants in the way it is made. I won't try to repeat all the scientific stuff doc. said, because I will most definitely screw it all up:p . Basically Adderall has more stuff added into it then other stimulants do. For some people this works great, for others it doesn't. The focalin is just the opposite, in that they tried to strip it of all the extra's, in hopes of reducing side effects. For some people this works, for others it does not.

So hopefully you will do well on it, as it's not completely the same as Adderall, there should not be an instant tolerance issue.
Good luck!

Cyz...

So sorry you developed a tolerance to Adderall. Same is happening to me but I'm only on 15mg twice per day. Adderall makes me hungry and I have gainedweight too!

Please report back to let everyone here know how you are doing on Focalin. We are rooting for you and wish you the best results possible! Don't give up!

Addeline

thank u all, i will be sure to keep u updated... im not going to start taking it until tomorrow though, i don't want to risk that same effect as the ritalin when i have to do homecare today.... i need what little energy adderall still gives me lol:D

Focalin is usually prescribed at half the dose of Ritalin. Perhaps your doc prescribed the same dosage on purpose. You might want to start with half and work up from there. In my case, Ritalin was more calming - I got sleepy at first- but that went away. Everyone is different though.

Do keep us posted.

well today is the first day on the focalin... so far im not nauseas, irritable, nor do i have a headache, but i do keep getting that dizzy feeling if i turn my head too quick.. like my mind isn't catching up w/my eyes.. if that makes any sense??? also i don't have the "uppity feeling" that i used to get when i started adderall, which in one aspect is good because im not drenched in sweat, but i don't have hypermotivation to accomplish everything i want to and i miss that :(

so, as for the first day im rating focalin as better than ritalin but not as good as adderall (before the tolerance to it). they need to make a new wonder drug that is just like adderall but has different ingredients so i don't have an instant tolerance to it <crossing fingers>

also.. taking two 10mg pills 4 x a day is a pain in the butt... carrying around 240 pills wherever i go eek!

Thanks for the update, Christy...hoping the best for you. That sure is a lot of pills--but worth it if it keeps you focused :). Keep us posted

well yesterday was the first full day of focalin... i kinda felt like a zombie in the twilight zone, i mean if i turned my head too quick i'd get dizzy and orientation to where i was. i ended up feeling pretty lethargic :faint: w/no motivation, and a bit emotional (cranky) as well but still no headache or nausea. from reading others posts i understand sometimes it takes a while to get the full affects of a drug, but i went back to the adderall today because i have a lot of stuff to do tonight and i plan to try the focalin again when i have enough time to be a zombie. :eek:

Cyz19,

The excessive "relaxation" of ritalin/focalin tends to go away.

I agree with you: I'd like to have adderall and ritalin to use according to specific needs. I can study better on adderall.

I've just started with meds myself yesterday, but it sounds to me you might try a lower dose. I'm saying this because of the zombie feeling, and perhaps the reason your mind doesn't catch up with your eyes is because the dose you're taking makes you too focused on what you were looking at previously?
Good luck.

WOW, 80mg of Focalin!!! That is roughly equal to 160mg of Ritalin since Focalin is *supposed* to be about twice as potent as Ritalin on a mg per mg comparison. I've only tried Focalin XR 20mg. I would rate it a little better than Adderall XR 25mg I'd say. Pretty decent med.

J

Your dosage is way too high... sounds like an error.
Why four times a day?
Is this XR?
20 mg Focalin XR is the largest XR pill they make.... 1 a day would be typical. It lasts about 14 hours for me... I start to very slowly fade about 9 pm if I take it in the AM.
I am 48 and have been medicated 20 years... Drs make errors occassionally.
You can, and should question your Doctor. If your MD doesn't think they can make an error, and / or doesn't respect the questions of a well informed patient, then get another Doctor.
Seriously-I would highly recommend the XR version. You will not have the ups and downs... and that will make a world of difference in how you are seen by others in your career.