Hi everyone, I've done a bit of reading here at the forum, and I guess I'm just frustrated and seeking out opinions, etc from people with personal experience as an adult w/ADD. I don't have anyone that I know personally to talk to.
Also, I do realize that everyone reacts differently to medications, and I will be speaking to my doctor as well.

I am a 22yo female that has been recently diagnosed with ADD and looking back I've been dealing with the difficulties with day to day life associated with ADD for my entire life.
My doctor is also treating me for depression that I've been dealing with for a long time and due to my never having medical insurance (even now), I've never sought out treatment for anything.
I do not have problems with hyper activity. I have family members with anxiety problems, however I only have mild problems with it.

I started with Metadate XR at 20mg, and at first it seemed to work.
It generally calmed me down a lot, no more road rage, and no more rushing thoughts. After about two weeks or so, it wasn't effective anymore. I experienced depression, inability to focus, and I was still having problems prioritizing. I had serious sleep issues, even with the aid of melatonin.
Once I noticed that I was back to the way I was before, if not worse, I tried 40mg and experience SEVERE anxiety. One wasn't enough anymore, and two was too much.
I also came down with a nasty sore throat that cleared up 2-3 days once I stopped the meds and I'm still not sure if they're related.

The doc then switched me to Focalin 10mg and told me that it was an isomer (I learned about isomers in Chem) that would cause less side effects.
I experienced a pretty bad headache, but what really worried me was joint pain in my shoulder that I've never, ever had problems with. I also experienced anxiety that was easier to deal with then with the Metadate.
When I told the doctor that the shoulder pain worried me most, she brushed it off. She said I probably moved in a way that I don't usually which is unsual in a 22yo, and that the Focalin, being an isomer of the Metadate, didn't have anything different in it that would cause something like that.
How is it that it owuldn't be possible for Focalin to cause joint pain, when I didn't experience headaches or nausea with Metadate like I did with Focalin? Does that sound right???

I just started Vyvanse at 30mg, and now I'm reading that it's for children 6-12 and I'm not sure if I should even bother with such a low dose? I'm 5'5, 120lbs. I'm going to call my doctor and ask her, but it may be by the end of the day or tomorrow to get back to me.

I guess I'm really questioning my doctor now, who also has ADD and is on meds, and the severity of my diagnosis to be on CNS stimulants? And now an amphetamine based med? I guess I should also mention that I just started Fluoxetine for the depression today, as well.

A few people have suggested that my doctor is too eager to put me on these meds, and I just don't know enough about any of it, or experience with doctors to really know what is normal.
I realize that the only real way to find out what is right for me is by trial and error, but I just don't know what should be weird or suspicious or not.

Thanks! And I'm sorry if this isn't appropriate for this topic!

Fluoxetine is a Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, while amphetamines supposedly block norepinephrine and dopamine reputake . Amphetamines also depress the transmission of serotonin; lessening it's pace in reputakeall of this "blocking" allows those happy (monoamines) to just chill in your brain space.

Because both drugs increase the concentration of serotonin in your brain, this combination at high doses is a little dangerous. If your doc starts really jacking up your doses, probably a good idea to find another guy.



Good luck. :]
Carrie

Your story is typical. Years of wading around with a Dx of depression or anxiety. It never improves, etc.

I think that lots of "treatment resistant depression" certainly has lots of attentional and memory components, if not ADD itself, yup.

BTW, Adult ADDers probably should have depression. Hard to have a life full of failures or underacheiving and be euphoric, isn't it?

PS I do not recommend mixing stimulants with SSRIs or SNRI type meds.

Joint and muscle pain happens on stimulants, yup.

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Metadate and Focalin are the same family of drug -- Ritalin-based meds.

After two failures on the same family of chemical, I'd Get away from that family of drugs. (A specialist I heard talk mentioned that.)

I always recommend Dexedrine to people. Mild, smooth and not violent in onset/wearoff like the Ritalin drugs (IME) or Adderall.

PS I do not recommend mixing stimulants with SSRIs or SNRI type meds.

Joint and muscle pain happens on stimulants, yup.

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Metadate and Focalin are the same family of drug -- Ritalin-based meds.

After two failures on the same family of chemical, I'd Get away from that family of drugs. (A specialist I heard talk mentioned that.)

I always recommend Dexedrine to people. Mild, smooth and not violent in onset/wearoff like the Ritalin drugs (IME) or Adderall.Why not?

Normal doses of amphetamine does not affect serotonin. There is only a raise in serotonin in high dose amphetamine. SO, therapy doses DO raise dopamine... and the brain responds to a raising op dopamine by lowering serotonin.

Methamphetamine DOES raise serotonin along with dopamine etc, thats why it has less side effects on low dosing.

So my opinion is adding a ssri would result in a more balanced experience. BUT methylphenidate inhibits certain cyp enzymes that metabolise certain medication. So not every ssri can go along with methylphenidate.

Im "testing" the combination of hyperforin and methylphenidate right now, and it seems the side effects are gone

Your story is typical. Years of wading around with a Dx of depression or anxiety. It never improves, etc.

I think that lots of "treatment resistant depression" certainly has lots of attentional and memory components, if not ADD itself, yup.

BTW, Adult ADDers probably should have depression. Hard to have a life full of failures or underacheiving and be euphoric, isn't it?i gotta laugh knowingly to this...ive recently been accepted to be part of the deep brain stimulation work for chronic, "untreatable" depression...but now i really do wonder as each and every time that my depression "broke through" the initially half helpful anti depressant meds it was as a result of cumulative "guilt and remorse" due to a build up of "abnormal" behavioural episodes/incidents ranging from being insensitive right through to assault occassioning...

im trying to eradicate these through ADD meds so i dont have this build up anymore..and hence..maybe wont get depressed..thats the theory.

PS I do not recommend mixing stimulants with SSRIs or SNRI type meds.

ive been taking, ssri, snri and dex all concurrently.

whats more ive never even felt this "stimulant" effect... quite the opposite in fact..a calming feeling like relaxing into a favourite chair and taking a deep breath.

isnt that exactly how dex is supposed to effect ADD'ers?

(one of the reasons why the caffiene test exists as a "screener")

Tim