hi there,ive noticed alot of people have experience with taking different stimulants before finding what works.maybe someone can offer some input? ive been taking adderallxr for awile now,one 10mg in the am,and 5mg at lunch. it seemed to be the correct dose, just makes me so tirerd, all day. i started to be late for everything,slow moving,and motivated, and alot of trouble getting to sleep at night,as tirerd as i am i still couldnt sleep.so as a result i started feeling depressed.since im in the experimental stage,with my drs permission, a few days ago, i went back on ritalin la 10 mg.when i was on it before, i started feeling nervous all day, so i changed meds.this time im taking two, one 10mg in the am, one at lunch,i feel much better, except for some minor pinching in my chest area at times.maybe i needed 20mg ,and the 10mg wasnt enough.i feel awake during the day now, not sedated like the adderall made me feel.but i wonder if i go with this med, will i start to feel real nervous again?is there anyone else in here that has to go back and forth with meds because of feeling this way?and what about the pinches in my heart sometimes, is that just a side effect of me getting used to the med?also,wondering if there was another med out there, thats not so sedating as adderall,but not so nervracking as ritalin?just in case i start to get nervous on it again.im not looking for medical expertise, just maybe talk to someone whos experienced these problems i have.

i sure could use some advice, doesnt anyone have anything to say about the different meds,from personal experience?

All people respond differently to different meds hun. I am sure you will eventually get many replies, all with different experiences to them. It seems that the difference is in the human being more than in the meds when it comes to side effects.

For example, I never felt tired on Adderall nor did I feel nervous on Ritalin or one of its long-acting forms, Concerta :). I could not possibly address your question

if there was another med out there, thats not so sedating as adderall,but not so nervracking as ritalin?
because my experience does not match up for either med. I am sure some people will recommend Dexadrine however, and there are other medications other than the stimulant class for ADHD.

HTH and hope you get more replies from people who have experiences similar to yours.

I had the same experience you reported having with Adderall. It made me too sedated.

Interestingly enough, I had the same experience with Ritalin you are having too. It caused me to experience that feeling in my chest. Turned out that it was not good for my heart.

I found that after almost 15 years (as of this coming Febuary) of taking prescription stimulants, that there really are so many differences among these drugs. It is also important to note how differently we all respond to these drugs too. That being said, it is rare for me to hear someone speak about having almost identical experiences as me from two different drugs.

I have found that Dexedrine works very well. It does not sedate me like the Adderall, and it does not cause me to experience any of the problems inside my chest that the Ritalin was causing.

Another drug that you might want to talk to your Dr. about is Focalin XR. It is similar to Ritalin with very little of the uncomfortable peripheral nervous system stimulation that is typical with Ritalin. If you go to the Focalin website, you can print off a free one month trial coupon that your Dr. can decide about.

Even though I choose to take Dexedrine, I would have to say that Desoxyn works extremelly well too. There are two reasons I do not take the Desoxyn, one is because it is very expensive, and secondly it's mildly sedating. However, I did not find it nearly as sedating as Adderall. If you have insurance and the cost of medication is a non-issue, then you might consider talking to your Dr. about Desoxyn too. It's by far the most therapeutic of any prescription stimulant that I have taken.

Good luck, and keep on trying something new till you find something you like. Having tried each of them, I can assure you from my own experience that these prescription stimulants are not only different from each other, but they are also each different from their generic counterparts too, for the most part. I think it has served me well over the years to sample different generics, and the brand names of each when possible in order to see the differences first hand.

Hope this helps in maybe giving you some ideas to bounce of your Dr. on your next visit.

I notice the cues from stress and environment a lot which I notice can be unpredictable as far as medication and dose. Honestly I think that often times I find that switching to a class or combining both at varied doses can prove helpful as well, I can say however that that goes against the standard and is appropriate to some cases and harmful toward others... i.e. the idea that maximum amounts will be the amount taken due to it's status as a drug and the newer standard that works wonders for people seems to be predominant treatment with long acting stimulants only. I think that the only reason I feel that there is allowance from my doctor (who I recently found out is "anti-stimulant" due to an addiction fear) to ask for it is only because it has a profound effect on my behavior and seems to activate the ability to understand and inhibit my behavior, and that also comes from resentment and severity of illness by other factors. I can say that I have other issues that have caused my illness to be as severe as it is... i.e. PTSD, spending years in treatment and having certain behaviors that have been misdiagnosed and are treated differently, as well as no consistency or regularity to reference due to a faulty relationship as well as excessive amounts of medication and being essentially medicated for bad behavior and overreacting to not knowing what to do rather than having a legitamate illness. I guess since I have other issues that seem to come with filling the developmental void and I tend to not understand things that seem simple to people, patients cues on when to start and stop. I would have to that I may not be much help to most cases due to that. I noticed that my reply was overdone and feel that it is ridiculous and overdone but that is something that is the ideal for some cases of AD/HD such as my own and felt that people should here that rather than having it converted to "DSM-IV" format but in some instances there seem to be advantages in development of skills that one drug regardless of how well one worked for how long does nothing to help what you need to function in the situation. My experience with Dexedrine is that it seems to give a better internal sense of structure but does nothing for motivation or desire to notice progress it helps better when I need "Grounding" I tend to have the same 'antsy' impatience and tend to like to overdo the function of one track thinking and you end up after it serves it's purpose obsessive depressed and isolated. With ritalin it is different there's a better sense of external direction and social and other functions the whole goal setting mechanism comes alive. Lower levels of both of these medications together has been the ideal for the longest time with me and the rapid adaptation issue and all factors involved may lead to needing one or the other. I tend to get the attitude I had as a kid toward specific forms of medicine (specifically immediate release ritalin and the dexedrine spansules) due to the method of introduction which was excessive to current standards as well. I can say the 'defective' aspect of it is the same for any problem that isn't regardless and now I just deal with what now seem's like Aha moments. My most recent one was out of the blue as well. I guess thats part of AD/HD and treatment for it is no longer the issues that Headlined the days of the Ritalin Boom either (the lazy parent part of making ADHD symptoms worse, or the old zombie child treatment for the hyperactive types). I guess I should stop typing when I guess I am doing it due to embarrassment for some of my recent behavior on the forums. Sorry about that. But dont be afraid to ask your doctor about any schedule form because sometimes something seeming old, risky or a medical contradiction like a lot of things inconsistent in ADHD as a diagnosis itself is different and it will make things worse in the long run to go by the gut feelings you have as far as what to ask for. For some people methamphetamine tablets is all that will help them. Everyone is different.

I have found that Dexedrine works very well. It does not sedate me like the Adderall, and it does not cause me to experience any of the problems inside my chest that the Ritalin was causing.

I wonder if you could clarify something : by saying Adderall made you feel sedated, did you mean a "zombie affect" or actual sedation as if you had taken anti-anxiety meds. Do you take the same dosage of Dexedrine as you did of Adderall? Do you find that there are differences between the different manufacturers of the Dex generic as some do? Thanks

I had similar effects as you and lars with the adderall, I felt kind of uncomfortable and intensely tired/sedated (I got absolutely nothing done on it)-- and like lars the dexadrine (most of the time) actually makes me feel quite motivated and I get stuff done-- so maybe people who react like we do to adderall react much better to dexadrine? maybe not tho-- I guess you could answer that a bit :)

I would be happy to clarify anything I can. Adderall made me feel so sedated that I felt like I had been hit with a tranquilizer dart. That's the only way I can describe it based on personal experience.

As far as the same dosage of Dexedrine compared to Adderall, I do not think so. To the best of my knowledge, the Adderall dosage was about twice that what I take of Dexedrine.

Peace, Lars


I wonder if you could clarify something : by saying Adderall made you feel sedated, did you mean a "zombie affect" or actual sedation as if you had taken anti-anxiety meds. Do you take the same dosage of Dexedrine as you did of Adderall? Do you find that there are differences between the different manufacturers of the Dex generic as some do? Thanks

@lars - I also found adderall required about 10mgs whereas dex could be around 5, may it has to do with only getting half of each amphetamine type (2.5mgs of d and 2.5mgs of l per 5mgs of adderall)?

@lars - I also found adderall required about 10mgs whereas dex could be around 5, may it has to do with only getting half of each amphetamine type (2.5mgs of d and 2.5mgs of l per 5mgs of adderall)?
I was wondering about that myself and concluded as you did. I also wonder though, if it may be that the malinkrodt dex that lars mentioned he takes (on another thread) is more potent than the d-amphet component in the adderall, and if taking another, such as barr, equal dosages would be needed. Which generic do you take?