i had an appt with my family doctor, told him my whole history, reaons why i think i have ADD.

he scheduled me an appt with a neurologist (which i found out after the fact that this was an odd thing to do)

the guy was creepy. he put me through lots of tests and talked to me like i was stupid. he made me sit against the wall in a chair and he was on his computer, but i was purposly facing a direction where i could not see his screen. he asked me a lot of questions, asked me if there was medication to help my problems if i would be willing to try, i said yes.

i prefer adderall, i have had a brief experience with it for 2 weeks. i was taking 20mg XR once daily, and OMG my life did a complete 180. all my feelings of anxiety went away, the endless thoughts/ideas/scenarios that were always in my head calmed down tremendously. i was no longer taking my 2-3 hour nap durring the day (i always felt SO TIRED at about 3pm, and felt i could not funcion without one) i was actualy ABLE to focus on one activity or task until it was completed. i was able to actually pay attention to someone while they were talking to me right in front of my face (as opposed to my mind wandering/not hearing what they are saying/ looking at objects directly behind or next to them in the background).

i told the neurologist this. BIG MISTAKE. he totally disregarded my "little story" and said we would try strattera. i said ok, since i was under the impression he actually knew what he was doing, and his MD. title is next to godliness, so there must be some explination of him wanting me to try it....

i take the pills for 1 week. 1 25mg pill/day that i am supposed to up to 2 pills after the first 3 weeks......i didnt even last that long. my side effects were TERRIBLE. i would be living in a constant haze. i was dizzy all the time, and felt so tired durring the day it felt like my arms were 100lbs each and that my body was weighing me down, so i took VERY long naps, about 4 hours, in which i would toss and tun a lot because even with my eyes closed i felt like the room was spinning. i could function even less than i could before, and it did NOTHING for my focus/attention span, it turned me into a zombie.

another side effect that i diddnt realize until i stopped taking it, i got SO depressed, i actually had hopeless/ boderline suicidal thoughs, which is totally not like me at all. the third day after stopping the pills, i was back to my usual bouncy/happy/goofy self.

i called his office, saying i couldnt handle the medication, i would like to be switched to adderall, and after playing phone tag with his not being in the office on friday, nobody there sat. or sun., me harassing them again on monday, his nurse calls me back on tuesday and said that the doc said to continue taking the meds as perscibed and come in for a follow up IN 5 FREAKIN WEEKS!!! or that he can give me the name of a good phsyciatrist.

basically he washed his hands of the situation, he clearly wasnt listening to my needs or concerns, and made me feel like a complete idiot.

so now i have a bottle of strattera that i paid for that i cant take, insurance helped a little, plus now i'm going to have to pay again to go see another doc, plus the meds AGAIN.


ARRRRRGGGG:mad:


btw thanks for reading all this, i know its a lot :D

I understand your frustration...good luck in finding a new doc.

Thanks to wikipedia, we hear about Strattera:
The most common side effect in adults is drowsiness. This can be counteracted in some patients by measures as simple as a cup of coffee, or breathing exercises, while others become exhausted a short while after taking the pills, and can sleep for up to 10+ hours. Some patients tend to feel lightheaded, dizzy, or "buzzed" as a minor side effect along with the drowsiness. To diminish these side effects, which can interfere with daytime work, study, etc., dosing time is sometimes changed to just before bed; as Strattera is long-acting, it does not "wear off" overnight. Mild hallucinations can be experienced under high doses (300mg)....

A significant minority of adult male patients taking Strattera suffer minor to severe sexual side effects, including erectile dysfunction, retrograde ejaculation, painful orgasm,
....

Psychiatric reactions

In September 2005, Strattera was determined to increase risk of suicidal thoughts among children and adolescents; one attempted suicide and five cases of suicidal thoughts were reported out of 1,357 young patients taking Strattera, while none was reported out of a control group of 851 taking placebos.
....
In less than three years on the market 10,988 adverse "psychiatric reactions" have been reported to Eli Lilly for the ADHD drug Strattera, according to the British Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), January 2006.


Oy. So there is a "reduced potential for abuse", which you trade for suicidal ideation, sexual problems, and overpowering drowsiness. Of course the people over in the Strattera discussion area would be more useful than me with my brief research, but what I have heard about antidepressants over the years makes my very reluctant to try them myself.

Good luck, I'll stay tuned for the rest of your story,

Ducky

find a good psychiatrist and go with that. This doctor does not seem to care about you. Also, there is probably no point in requesting adderall because it makes you seem like someone shopping for drugs and the doctor probably won't prescribe it until after trying the non-stimulant alternatives anyway.

Me :D

I'm surprised you even got STRATTERA. LOL


OMG.

Never, ever, mention what drug you want to try, in the first few app'ts with a new doctor or specialist!! (Or they may take you to be a 'drug seeker'.) Sounds like he is trying to weed out drug seekers.

Adderall, in particular, has a "high street value" for injection drug users. A lot of ADD drugs get "diverted" (sold, given away, stolen, lended, used for abuse).

Diverted drugs sell for a LOT.A pill of Morphine goes for $20-40. You can imagine the rate for a 30 mg capsule of Amphetamine.

I hear about diverted drugs and it makes me SO ANGRY.

So many of us (yourself included) can't get "diagnosed", yet all kinds of jerks can get Speed and sell it.

You can be MAD at this Neurologist guy, but he is sort of on the right track.

However: he -=SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU=- ABOUT ADD Testing.

------------

Any Patient who came to my Partner's Office and asked for "Adderall" in the first app't or two would put his hackles up too.

(sorry! Then again, my city currently has 200 people on daily METHADONE for IV drug use, so I tend to be suspicious.)

The "usual sequence of ADD Medication prescribing" SEEMS TO BE that they want to try Strattera or Ritalin, then if you are a poor responder/have side effects, to try other stuff.

Please hesitate in asking for what your "Drug of choice" is, or people become suspicious. Or, you can say "My Mom (or Kid) etc took Adderall and it works for them. they have the same problem". Docs know that simillar drugs work in the same family.

----

If you want to be diagnosed (for sure): Get the Neuro-Psychological Testing. (Neurologists do NOT do this testing. Testing Psychologists do.)

This "ADD/LD" Testing will PROVE your deficits in (a) Executive Function and (b) attention and (c) memory -- all the ADD stuff you describe. You likely have Auditory Issues too (most of us do).



I got jerked around for 5 years by my College's Disability Office until i went and got my OWN testing.


IF YOU CAN, GET TESTING.

thank you everyone who posted.

i went to my appointment this morning with my regular family physician, the one who sent me to the neurologist to begin with, and i told him exacty what happened, including the neuro.'s response to my calling him complaining...

i also told him that a nurse i had spoken with from the same clinic said he could perscribe adderall to me (coincidentally she also had ADD, was taking Adderall, and has always gotten it from her family Doc.), he said that was true, but that he only had his majority of experience with it with children, with XR and not IR, and that was before, when he practiced in michigan (we are in Florida).

he said it was odd that the nuerologist tried to send me to someone else, and said he would put me on 20mg Adderall XR and we would have a follow up appt. on dec 14'th. he said they are supposed to last 12 hours (i am positive they dont, i'm lucky to get 6) and said that after that month that if it wears off too quickly he will give me a "boost" with ritalin in the evening?? i havent heard much about that, but he also wasnt very familiar with adderall IR.

so i am VERY happy that someone actually took the time to talk to me about it, realized i wasnt a drug abuser or just some other college kid who wants to get a perscription, which is what i think the neuro(tic....lol)logist thought to begin with, with my age and all.

now i just have to time it properly so its most effective when i need it, which varies a few days and starts very early on weekends.

YAY :D

I think that Shire lies about how long ADDERALL XR is supposed to last. LOL

[Shire pharmaceuticals is the Maker of ADDERALL.]

My Doc gave me the Adderall XR, too, saying it "lasts 12 hrs."

No, it does not last 12 hours.

Like you, mine lasted 7.0 or 7.5 hours.

Had to quit that one. Can't be sleeping in my car on the way home at 330 when it wears off.

another side effect that i diddnt realize until i stopped taking it, i got SO depressed, i actually had hopeless/ boderline suicidal thoughs, which is totally not like me at all. the third day after stopping the pills, i was back to my usual bouncy/happy/goofy self.



Strattera has a "black box label" directly associated with suicide (especially in adolescents... how old are you?). The biological mechanism behind this is rather interesting, very similar to SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, i.e. antidepressants). I'll spare you with the details but based on my knowledge about medicine, I would assume that these feelings are generally a sign of "healing" or getting better. It occurs (at least in the case of antidepressants) because it starts to bring you from your ultimate low (so low, you have no energy to execute or even desire such thoughts) gradually back up--here is a transitional phase were you are still low ("sick") but better, gaining energy and able to have actual desires with the ability to execute a plan (i.e. suicide).

But I know exactly how you feel, your story is ironically identical to mine; except my initial treatment was with ritalin (very similar effects to the ones you are describing).

My program director is a serious advocate of ADD. He claims it to be one of the most under-diagnosed conditions in the U.S. I also feel that a lot of doctors are cynical of the diagnosis or are possibly misinformed/non-informed about the condition.

Bottom line, you need to find a doctor that is more empathetic and understanding of ADD in order to get appropriate and efficient treatment. (It may be costly, but your mental health is, in my opinion, just as important as your systemic health).