Hello everyone,

Just a little background: I began taking Adderall 4 years ago, switched to Dexedrine Spansules probably 3 months later, and then Dexedrine Brand 5mg tabs 3 years ago. I have been prescribed 20mg/day ever since, taking a 3 month break from them during the summers (I'm in college).

I had been researching the Mallinckrodt brand of d-amphetamine for awhile, thinking that it sounds like a good idea (smaller pills, only 4 fillers vs. 12 for the brand). This month I just couldn't find Dexedrine brand tabs ANYWHERE...until I found out the bad news they got discontinued. This is really shocking to me, since they have been on the market since 1944 and worked so well. I mean I was really getting frustrated, calling every pharmacy in town, only to hear "nooo...but we do have generic" "Really? What brand?" "BARR" "Well, thanks for your help" was always my reply. Anyway, the only generics I could find were BARR and I refused to get a prescription of those. I did one time a few years ago and refused to ever try them again. It was like comparing Coca-Cola to Sam's Choice. Sure, same ingredients, but just not the same product.

I finally went to a small pharmacy here in town, whose owner/pharmacist is my friend's dad. He said he also carried BARR, but I asked him if he could order the Mallinckrodts next month. He had 16 brand name pills to cover me for 4 days, and told me to come back for the rest. Recently, my insurance also stopped covering brand name Dexedrine, so I was paying $62 for it. After trying to order the brand, and finding out they are no longer manufactured, he said he got the Mallinckrodts. I was really surprised and excited to try that generic, after hearing good things about it on here (also, paying $5 instead of $62 for brand was nice). The first thing that I noticed was how TINY these pills really are. I mean, compared to Adderall and even brand Dexedrine they are small. In fact I was pretty skeptical whether or not they would be as good.

Now, to get to the point. I took 10mg when I first got them and they seemed to be very weak compared to brand Dexedrine. I ended up taking 25mg total throughout the day and they still seemed weak. I was a bit upset, thinking I'd have to take more than my usual 20mg/day. However, the next day I took 15mg (figuring I'd need another 10mg later on) at 11am and these things were STRONG and very very smooth. I could still feel that 15mg at 9:30 at night. No jitters, etc I got at times from Dexedrine and especially Adderall (and I used to think brand Dexedrine was the smoothest thing ever made). Today, the same thing is happening. I took 10mg at 6:45 am today and still feel like I took them about an hour ago.

What gives? Why are they so smooth (where I can't feel them "kick in" like the name brands did) yet last sooo long for an IR pill? I'm very happy about this so far. Does anyone else feel the same about the Mallinckrodt brand?

What gives? Why are they so smooth (where I can't feel them "kick in" like the name brands did) yet last sooo long for an IR pill? I'm very happy about this so far. Does anyone else feel the same about the Mallinckrodt brand?Hi MIB, and welcome to the site.

Good question. I have a few theories/guesses as to why Mallinckrodt's IR tablets are so much smoother than other dextroamphetamine IR tablets on the market.

Mallinckrodt partnered with GSK in 1999 to co-promote the brand name Dexedrine. In fact, Mallinckrodt is a large supplier of base chemicals to many drug companies around the world for the manufacture of their drugs, and GSK's Dexedrine was one of those drugs that Mallinckrodt supplied the chemicals for.

Since Mallinckrodt is the source of the dextroamphetamine used in both its own generic dex, and GSK's Dexedrine, I think that its smoothness may be related to the fact that their tablets are a fresher product & straight from the source. Kind of like getting your vegetables from the farm that grew them as oppossed to getting them at a big chain grocery. Things are better from the source, things are fresher from the source, and with drugs it has been my experience that things tend to be more potent when coming from the source.

Another theory/guess is that the smoothness may be related to the fact that the Mallinckrodt tablets have less binders, and other non-active ingredients like dyes for instance. Maybe the addition of the extra binders used in the brand name Dexedrine, and the addition of the dyes has somekind of synergistic effect with the dextroamphetamine molecule thereby causing the drug to be less smooth.

Then again, maybe it's just a combination of being both a fresher product, and also having a different formulation of non-active ingredients that causes the smoothness.

I happen to like the smaller tablets too, and I also really like the fact that they contain no dyes, and less fillers. On a side note, I have noticed that two of the 5mg Mallinckrodt IR tablets are more potent than one 10mg Mallinckrodt IR tablet. I have come to the conclusion that the reason for this is because their 5mg IR tablet is a generic version of Dexedrine's 5mg IR tablet. As you know, Dexedrine only came in a 5mg IR tablet. However, Dextrostat, which is a brand name generic comes in a 10mg IR tablet, and I believe that the Mallinckrodt 10mg IR tablet is a generic version of the brand name generic Dextrostat.

Anyhoot, these are just one man's theories and guesses.

Same deal with me on the 5 mg vs 10 mg tabs in the Mallinckrodt brand that two of the 5 mg tabs seem to work better for me too.

My Dex has a lowercase B on it, does anybody know which generic that is and how it can be expected to work? Thanks in advance! OP let me know if I am crashing your thread ;) I can move this question if you don't like it here.

That's the Barr Brand which I personally had issues with the long acting barr brand dexedrine but some people can't tolerate the more physical side effects of it which for me is really a few days of appetite loss. The tabs were okay for me though. When you change from barr to another brand you'll notice a difference and you may prefer another one after that but they seem to be okay for me but I get the 10 mg tabs and the dye in it makes it seem different than the 5 mg tab (they are close in size except the 10 mg is pink) and I am sensitive to the changes.

Thanks Mspen :) I had thought it had to be the Barr brand what with having B stamped on it. My pharmacy is not too "swift" with ADHD meds--I have actually burned through all the available Ritalin they had :eyebrow: and they had to OWE me tablets...for one RX! So I am afraid I may never see another generic brand of Dex :( since they do not seem terribly skilled here in SC. I will have to pay close attention to specifics on brand now I suppose!

My pharmacy is not too "swift" with ADHD meds--I have actually burned through all the available Ritalin they had :eyebrow: and they had to OWE me tablets...for one RX! So I am afraid I may never see another generic brand of Dex :( since they do not seem terribly skilled here in SC. I will have to pay close attention to specifics on brand now I suppose!I can certainlly relate to having the pharmacy owe me meds on a RX. It tends to happen to me about once a year or so, mostly due to me switching things up from time to time by going with a different brand or a different strength tablet.

Concerning you not seeing another generic brand at your pharmacy, I can relate to that too. However, I have had good success finding the brands that I wanted over the years by calling each pharmacy in town, and sometimes even neighboring towns until I find a pharmacy that is willing to order what I want.

It has been my experience that the big chain pharmacies (CVS, Right Aid, Walgreens, Wal-Mart, etc.) are much less flexible in what they can/will order for a patient, compared to the small Mom & Pop privately owned pharmacies that are usually quite flexible in what they can/will order for a patient. I think most of the privately owned pharmacies have trouble competing with the big chains, and they try to pick up any customers that the big chains refuse to cater to.

Thanks for the tip Lars...and bummer, now that I just remembered that one of the Mom & Pops just closed. There is only one left in town that I can think of. Maybe I will give them a call :).

You guys who think the that two malinkrodt 5mg are more potent one 10mg, is the difference worth all the hassle of handling and taking so many little 5 mg pills? If you're taking higher dosages, that's a lot of pills!

Also, do you think that the reason could be that with two smaller pills more is absorbed in less time, or is the affect you feel more than just at the onset?

Hi Hamlet, and welcome to the forums.

Is the difference worth the hassle? Yes, for me it was well worth the hassle of taking two 5mg Mallinckrodt tablets compared to one 10mg Mallinckrodt tablet.

Two smaller pills absorbed in less time? Absolutely not, at least for me that is.

The two smaller pills are actually smaller than the brand name Dexedrine 5mg pills. The two smaller pills are not smaller than one Mallinckrodt 10mg pill. If anything, two 5mg Mallinckrodt tablets are exactly the same size, if not a tad bit larger than one of the 10mg Mallinckrodt tablets.