So my first appointment is this week. I have already been diagnosed with ADHD combined, but this doctor needs to decide for himself, I guess. It's alright. Anyway, how do they decide what to start you on? For example, I'm a college student, would they usually recommend a specific drug for college students?

I tried my friend's Adderall once after I got diagnosed, and I felt that it helped me quite a bit. I read a 250 page book and did 10 pages of prewriting for the highest graded paper I've ever done in college (this is my first year, though). I'd say that's pretty good. But yeah, I don't know how I could tell my doctor that I tried Adderall once without a precription and that I found it helpful. :confused:

Your insurance may also play into it.

I requested Strattera and got stuck trying Adderall and now Ritalin. They want me to try those (since they're cheaper) before going to Strattera.

I'd guess that if you sound like you've read up on the meds and are requesting Adderall because you've read good things about it, it may help convince the Dr.

Or s/he may not need any convincing at all. :)
Good luck!

Odds are you're going to get Adderall XR anyway, you can ask for it if you want, do you know if Adderall works better for you than methylphenidate based medications (e.g., Ritalin), becuase if not there's a medicinal patch for methylphenidate that can be very helpful.

Another thing you could do is bring in a coupon for 30 days supply of Adderall XR (you can get it off their website), and tell them you'd like to use the coupon.

hijack---thanks edward for that coupon :)