I havent read too many threads directly comparing these 2, although from reading several isolated posts, it suggests some of you may have some valuable personal experiences in comparing them.

My situation is this: Was on adderall for years, quit for a while, started back on it, and side effects ruined everything - too jittery, anxious, and negative body feelings. Also felt it degraded my creativity significantly and made me less social. 3 weeks ago i switched to dexedrine, which is a world of difference. With dex, i retain my desire to socialize and talk, and my creative-analytical abilities, and there are absolutely 0 side effects, apart from causing some drowsiness. However, it isnt helping me focus as much as adderall. It helps a lot with other symptoms by giving me motivation, energy, and a stable mood, but i find i'm still a lot more 'distractable' than i was when i was on adderall. Maybe i just need to increase my dose, who knows (was on 10mg twice daily adderall which i think could have been upped to 12.5, and now i'm experimenting between 7.5mg and 10mg of dex 2-3x daily).

I do have some rare moments of focus with dex, but they seem to come and go. Maybe I need to find something smoother? (Maybe a different manufacturer?? - currently using Barr).

My question is this: does anyone think desoxyn is smoother in terms of concentration and perhaps a bit more stimulating than dexedrine? Any other recommendations?

Also, could you offer your opinion on whether it's even worth looking into Desoxyn (ie: chances of it being prescribed)? I'm with a new doctor now after my old one moved away - he's really cool though - he usually tells me to experiment with dosing and timing of my meds if i need to, and when I had expressed frustration with adderall he asked *me* what i wanted to try next.

"he asked you what YOU wanted to try next"?-woo

Desoxyn, by reports of folk here who know!-say it's NOT more stimulating than Dextroamphetamine,-if you are looking at getting a 'buzz'-stick with the max dosage of Dex 5-10mg tabs your 'accomadating' Psy will give you.

Desoxyn-"My question is this: does anyone think desoxyn is smoother in terms of concentration"-Some folks here and other places i'v read, say it is the most satisfactory medicine for their condition, most CNS positive effects, Vs least PNS effects.

There are folks here who take low doses of BOTH Desoxyn and Dexedrine.

If you have a Psy who asks "what do you want to try next"-i would give the Desoxyn 5mgIR tabs a try, he will probably give you a low dose of like, 2 tabs daily, untill you build up trust with them.

'Lars'-a regular and seasoned poster here, has found a very satisfactory treatment with a combo of Dexedrine+Desoxyn.

Goog luck

I have taken Desoxyn, Dexedrine, and Adderall to name a few. Currently I am taking Dexedrine along with a one month free trial of Focalin XR (found a free trial coupon at their website) which I must say I am enjoying very much thus far.

I have taken the Barr brand dextroamphetamine, and I can say that I felt a significant difference between it and the Mallinckrodt version, or the brand name Dexedrine (both of which I believe to be the two best versions of dextroamphetamine). For me, the Barr brand essentially just had an unhealthy feeling is the best way to describe it I guess. The Barr brand was also notorious for producing an edginess in me, and an over all un-smoothness compared to the other two brands of dextroamphetamine I mentioned.

I would suggest that you consider trying another brand of dextroamphetamine before switching to a new drug since there really is such a difference between the different dextroamphetamine products out there on the market (IMO).

The Desoxyn is a very smooth acting drug, and in fact it was a little too smooth for me as it tended to cause mild sedation. I found it to be just a tad bit too sedating, and as a full time student I need the alertness that dextroamphetamine is able to provide me. That being said, if I was not a student, and did not need to be as attentive and alert as I do, I would prefer the leisurely pace of the Desoxyn for sure. I found it to be the most therapuetic of all the prescription stimulants by far, however it is the most expensive, and also the most difficult to obtain for a number of reasons.

To answer your question of "whether it's even worth looking into Desoxyn?" I would say yes it's worth looking into. However, I would like to stress that you would be wise to experiment with the other brands of the drug you are currently taking to see if you notice as much of a difference as I, and others have found there to actually be. This is just my opinion obviously, but I offer it to you based on my actual experience of taking these drugs over the years.

I feel that it has served me very well over the years to sample as many different brands/manufacturers of a particular drug as possible before ever claiming to actually know how well the active ingredient involved actually works for me.

"I am taking Dexedrine along with a one month free trial of Focalin XR (found a free trial coupon at their website) "
---FREE FOCALIN?-where do i sign up:)

You can sign up for a free trial coupon here:

http://www.focalinxr.com/info/tools/focalin_trial.jsp?creative=100002&site=100005&source=01030&campaign=FCL-AD-0145-A

Then just print the coupon, and take it to your Dr. for his/her approval.

For how long have you been taking Focalin XR? How good has it been?

You can sign up for a free trial coupon here:

http://www.focalinxr.com/info/tools/focalin_trial.jsp?creative=100002&site=100005&source=01030&campaign=FCL-AD-0145-A

Then just print the coupon, and take it to your Dr. for his/her approval.

Focalin is the Dextro isomer of ritalin. Some people seem to really like it and it has less side effects than the racemic mixture of normal old ritalin.

I started taking it on Friday (10/20/06), and it has been quite impressive. I am hesitant to say too many good things about it at this point as I am quite familiar with how well some of these drugs work in initially. How good this really is will be determined in due time. That being said, I will tell you that the effect of mixing it with dextroamphetamine appears to be significantly better than the initial effect of the Ritalin/Dex mix that I have experimented with in the past.

Both my Dr. and me would have preferred that I take the regular Focalin IR for this experiment since I am on the IR dex, but considering that I could not find a free trial coupon for Focalin IR, and due to the fact that I do not have any insurance & there is no generic available yet, I opted to try and go for it with the XR. My Dr. was very excited about this little experiment, and I was surprised at how interested he was in hearing the results with this when I see him next month.

His only request was that I try the Focalin XR for two or three days on its own initially to get a feel for how well I like it, or don't like. To be honest, I was amazed with how well I responded to such a small dose of this stuff (20mg) all by itself. I had read like most people have that the dexmethylphenidate (Focalin) was more potent than the racemic methylphenidate (Ritalin), but I was shocked to actually feel the difference between the two. If I had to describe the difference at this point I would have to say that the dexmethylphenidate is much more therapeutic than methylphenidate. To say the least, I have been very surprised by the extent of how much more therapeutic it actually is thus far.

It reminds me of how so many of the negative side effects of amphetamine can be avoided for some by using just the dextroamphetamine half of the amphetamine molecule instead of the racemic amphetamine molecule which incorporates the levoamphetamine half along with the dextro half. The dexmethylphenidate is a very good drug for treating this condition (IMO), and I only wish I had tried it years ago when it first came out when my Dr initially suggested giving it a try. It's still early on in the experiement, and I probably should not make it sound so great, but I am just being honest with how well it has been working thus far. Experience has taught me that these drugs tend to lose some of their "panacea effect" with time/tolerance, so I promise to keep you all posted here at this site on how well this little experiment works out.

I was impressed with the Focalin XR too. The only issue I had was the second (afternoon) release seemed a bit 'strong'.

I just read about "Thora-Dex" today. Thats a frightening concept....thorazine and dexadrine in the same pill...

Apparently it was a semi popular antidepressant back in the 60s.

ugh thorazine????

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Attention is right in that desoxyn is the most ‘efficient’ in treating ADHD. Everyzig… Dexedrine is smoother then adderall I find, which seems to have more peripheral effects, and I also found it to be slightly sedating. My doctor also asked me, “what would you like to try” from a list of medicines he showed me available for ADHD. I played safe, and said whatever you think is best, so he gave me adderall. I really didn’t care if he gave me amphetamine or Ritalin to be honest, just something that would help. Its interesting how desoxyn isn’t listed as a potential medicine of this board, its almost like it’s the dirty little secret of ADHD, although it shouldn’t be. <o:p></o:p>

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There are folks here who take low doses of BOTH Desoxyn and Dexedrine.<o:p></o:p>

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Although I’m sure there are, most doctors are against this. Even something like Dexedrine/Ritalin combo is frowned upon by most doctors, which is quite understandable due to side effects. If one has the choice of taking desoxyn, the other amphetamine’s should be dropped, except for in special cases, where nothing else works. The fact that desoxyn only comes in 5mg and the extended release have been discontinued, is what might cause the dosing problem with just using desoxyn on its own. <o:p></o:p>

just wanted to clarify the above post so it isn't taken the wrong way. I'm def not trying to knock anyone who combines stimulants. I myself take zoloft and adderall, and since less is known about zoloft, its very probable that a stimulant/anti-de combo is worse in side effects then a stimulant/stimulant combo. I guess what i'm trying to say is one should keep the drug cocktail as simple as possible. But if that's the only thing that works, then there really isn't much choice i guess.

Desoxyn is very smooth, however when taking in too high a quantity which could be as little as 5mgs extra per dose it is too stimulating. So to tame the beast, I mix dex with it to moderate its power. Desoxyn and focalin by far are the best concentration combo's out there; I have been on the combo for almost 4 weeks. Focalin helps take the harshness out of its amphetamine when used together. However if you take too much focalin with amphetamin, watch out its a potent ride i rather not travel on. Too much foaclin could be as little as 5 mgs over your regular dose. Just like LARS I am all to aware of the honeymoon affect of new drugs on the mind, however I remain confidently hopefull this is a lasting combo.

Tom

Here's an update on my experiment with the Dexedrine/Focalin XR combo. Initially it seemed like a match made in heaven. However, after a very short time I have come to realize that it is not the best combo for me. For some reason after about the first week and a half or so the combination started to produce extreme sedation in me. This was a stark contrast to what I experienced initially from this combo.

That being said, when taken by themselves both the Dexedrine, and Focalin allow me to focus quite well, but when I combine them it is as if I have been hit with a tranqualizer dart. The only other times I have experienced sedation from stimulants was with the drugs Desoxyn (albeit mild sedation), and Adderall (which caused pronounced sedation).

I wish I knew more specifics about why this sedation effect was occuring to me with certain stimulants and not others, but I really do not have a good explanation for it. I am very confused by my reaction to this combo after being on it for such a short time.

I do enjoy the way the Focalin XR works all by itself, and I also really enjoy the way the Dexedrine works by itself. However, between these two I prefer the Dexedrine based on the fact that it seems slightly more therapeutic for me.

I do know someone else here at this forum who is currently experimenting with a mixture of Focalin and another stimulant (under their Dr's supervision just like myself), and from what I have gathered the combo is working much better for this person than it did for me. I am hopeful that it continues to work for them. I think there is much that can be gained by mixing stimulants together, but I feel strongly that this is only justified for those people who have explored every other possible option concerning stimulant therapy for this condition.

The good thing that came out of this experiment for me was the introduction to Focalin, and I am grateful for that. I can say from having taken methylphenidate for several years in the past all by itself that the dexmethylphenidate (Focalin) is really novel in its effect compared to methylphenidate. I would recommend it to anyone I know who is suffering from this condition almost as much as I would recommend Dexedrine or Desoxyn. I truly believe that Focalin is a wonderful drug, and I feel that it will help many people with this condition.

Update unlike Lars I am still happy with my Desoxyn + Focalin combo, however I had to cut the Focalin dose a little since I first started. I was getting a little aggitated and my hands were cramping and I had small pains in my large muscle groups. For me these signs are always a signal to cut my ritalin base drug dose or increase the dose at a much smaller rate. I find if I take more than 3 doses of Focaline per day of the IR formula it is too stimulating so I finish my day with Dex and the left over desoxyn from my last dose. To cut my dose of Focalin I basically cut the pill in half, after about three days at a reduced dose I noticed I needed a little more Focalin so I cut the other half in half. So now I am taking 3.75 mg's of focalin per dose 3 times a day and I am taking 5 mg's of Desoxyn 2 times a day 7 hours apart. If I feel I need a boast at any particular part of the day I cut a 5 mg tablet of bar dex in half. I find I never need more than 5 mg's of dex in a 16 hour day. Like I said so far I am happy, but it seems like I have to micro-tune my dose according to my stress levels encountered for the week. I don't know maybe micro tuning according to need is the secret to success in the treatment of add. It is a shame more people can not have the mutual trust I find in my doctor patient relationship that I am now enjoying.

I still have a hard time believing I am successfully being treated by such a low dose of drugs.

Tom