I know it's probably a dumb question :o, but can you tell an obvious difference when you take a stimulant vs. not taking it? i've tried both focalin xr & provigil, but neither really seemed to help w/anything. the focalin made me a little more anxious, & when I took the provigil, it felt like I hadn't taken anything at all.

I know everyone responds differently to different meds, but I guess I was just wondering if you can definitely tell a difference when you take a stimulant, or is it maybe a more subtle thing? i've talked to a couple of people who on are meds for ADD, & they said for them, they can definitely tell when they take their medication. I know there are other meds I haven't tried yet, but i'm down right now b/c i'm afraid what if I don't find anything that works for my ADD. any input would be greatly appreciated.

I'm still new to this, but so far as I can tell from limited experience and lots of research, the first few days of either a new stimulant or a new dose are a little racy, almost a too-much-caffeine feeling, and after that I think if the dose is optimal, the physical effects are supposed to subside but the mental clarity should remain. So yes, it should be pretty obvious at first, and then it should just be a dose of "normalcy", more or less. From what I've heard, if you're getting a consistent sped-up or euphoric feeling, the dose is too high.

This is only day 9 for me though, and I've never been on any medication before Concerta.. I felt absolutely nothing after the first couple of caffeine-feeling days on the lowest dose and just upped my dose (with doc's permission of course) to see if there's a difference in the positive effects after the initial sped-up feeling passes.

As far as feeling negative effects, I had major rebound the first few days, lots of tiredness, minor stomachache, and getting emotional or having anxiety over nothing, but logically I knew it was just related to the drug leaving my system so I warned my family and boyfriend beforehand and they knew not to take me too seriously at that time. I'll have a little caffeine, some easy-on-the-tummy soygurt and a couple Advil handy when I go to work tonight in case I have rebound again from testing the higher dose.

I also feel like the new dose has raised my blood pressure in the 1.5 hrs since I took it, which was a lovely 110/60 when I was nervous in the dr's office, so I'm getting that checked out today and will monitor it over the next couple of days as well.. this side effect is the one that's a major concern to me, I've never had high blood pressure and I really don't like this feeling. I honestly don't know how people can take this kinda stuff recreationally..

with the focalin I initially had that "sped up" feeling too, but after a couple of days that went away, & I didn't really notice any difference w/my concentration. the dr increased my dose, but after that all it really did was increase my anxiety. thanks for the input, I appreciate it :).