So I'm on 56mg Concerta right now, at the beginning of August I was at 36mg and my next appointment he upped me to 56mg. I'm not sure about the results. It does help me focus a little and clear my mind, but still doesn't do too much for my drive. A lot of times I'll take it and it'll make me really drowsy. Also had a weird rash on my hands that I had for about a month but it's a little cleared up. Sometimes I think it makes me feel a little zombified too. I tried my friends' adderall a few times a couple years ago before I was diagnosed and felt that it worked pretty well, it's definitely a step up power-wise from concerta. I see my psych in a couple days before I go back to school.

I guess I'd just like to hear about people's experiences with Concerta and the switch to Adderall, similarities and differences of the drugs. Thanks.

I switched from 56mg Concerta to Adderall. The jury's still out on the Adderall as far as I'm concerned, but I have noticed a couple obvious differences--

1. On Ritalin/Concerta, I sometimes got this rash-like collection of dark red dots on parts of my shoulders and arms. (Spooked the hell out of me at first.) Nothing remotely like this on the Adderall.

2. I noticed more mood irregularities on the Concerta, like reacting to events in ways I normally wouldn't. Adderall only seems to interfere with my mood when I forget to take a second dose on time and get rebound effects, or when I've taken too much (in the process of titrating & finding the right dose, not abusing it, obv.).

3. Drive is sometimes a problem for me with Adderall in an excessive way. There have been times when I got stuck fixating on something unnaturally-- it felt like my brain's gear-shifter was broken. I'm hoping that as I find the right dose and get adjusted to it, that will cease to be a problem, but if it doesn't go away I may go back to the Concerta. I saw limited effects on it, but I'm beginning to think that was preferable to spending a chunk of my day trying to drag my brain out of a 'hyperfocus' ditch. I'm sort of hating Adderall's guts right now, to be honest, but we'll see.


That's just me, though. Some people seem to find the right fit w/ one of the two main stimulant meds relatively quickly, so I hope you're one of them, dkaiser. Good luck-- I'd be interested to hear how it works out.