To anyone who has taken both at one time or another......What were the noticable differences between the two? I know it will vary from person to person but im curious as to how it affected you.

While Ritalin was helpful, Adderall was much more effective. When I took ritalin...besides from the judgemental looks on the pharmacists faces and their assumption that the ritalin was for my "daughter", not for me, I had some pretty bad side effects. Sometimes I would have this incredibly euphoric feeling and sometimes I would be so miserable I didn't want to leave my house. Ritalin really gave me a horrible temper and made me extremely irritable. It also gave me pounding headaches and made me nauseous. It was almost impossible to go to sleep, my heart would feel like it was going to pound out of my chest. Since beginning adderall (xr 20mg), the headaches are gone and the nausea is gone. I still have a general disinterest in food, but I am able to enjoy the little bit that I do actually eat. It was a little hard to get to sleep the first week, but if you have a regualr exercise program, it makes sleep so much easier. I definitely prefer adderall over ritalin.