Hi,

I know there was a similar post, but it was a few years ago, so I thought it might be worth starting a new thread.

I am diagnosed and on dexedrine, I would like to try Adderall, as I have friends in the US who were also on dexedrine, but have said Adderall was a huge improvement for them.

I realise it is extremely unlikely to receive a prescription on the NHS, however I am fortunate enough to be in the position where I could afford to pay for the prescription - is it then possible to receive on a private prescription? and if so, is it then a question of finding a psychiatrist who is willing to prescribe it (probably I imagine at a fee).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I appreciate some may be unhappy stating publicly, so please feel free to send a private message, all info helps enormously.

Adderall is totally unlicensed in the UK, unlike Straterra, Dexedrine and Ritalin which have been licensed for use in children. Any prescribing to adults at the moment is off-label, as no use is sanctioned by NHS for adults. I had been on Adderall for several months, until tachycardia effects took me off it unfortunately, as it helped my mainly inattentive/low activation ADD far more than Ritalin/Concerta (tried both which mainly helped my mood only) or Dexedrine (which made me hyper-focus more than I already do - which is too much anyway). Adderall was great, I think its the nor-adrenaline amphetamine salts (there are four different salts in Adderall) that make the difference in giving a motivational/activational kick compared to Dexedrine.

See my post on Adult Assessment Centres in UK for info on a Psychiatrist in London who prescribes it, but Adderall is not cheap or widely available. The only pharmacists I know that stock it are the Priory Roehampton's own one and Blaze Pharmacy in Marble Arch.

The cost works out at about £7.00 (GB pounds = approx $12 dollars) per tablet, irrespective of size 5mg-30mg. Adults doses can be over 30mg, so it can end up costing a lot. I even wrote to the chief medical officer at Shire Pharmaceuticals, the British company that (ironically) makes it to see if they would help with the cost issue but no joy. Problem is it is manufactured in USA and because it is a controlled substance the export controls are tight and add a lot of cost to the very limited amounts exported to the UK. The pharmacists are not the ones making extra profit (its around $3 tablet in USA I believe) its the exporter. Good luck with getting it if you haven't already.

For those who are inattentive/ADD and are thinking that they might benefit from an Adderall type kick in the pants but can't afford or get hold of it you could look at the supplements tyrosine or phenylalanine . They are precursors of dopamine and noradrenaline . I tried 1000 mg phenylalanine for about 10 months in combination with reboxetine and found it to be both energising and helping my concentration but I had to stop following a rather high blood pressure reading that was probably induced by my being anxious at being possibly late for my doctors appointment . On its own the phenylalanine also made me anxious much of the time .

So if you do try it be cautious and monitor your blood pressure.

Did you ever try Reboxetine on it's own?

Did you ever try Reboxetine on it's own?

Briefly for several months last summer and it had a very odd effect . When I started it or increased the dose I had an increase in energy for about ten days then back to my normal lethergy because my energy is so low its often one of the first things I focus on when I take things that are stimulating rather than cognitive improvements unless there very marked . I later came acoss a paper that might have explained the mechanism involved .

Because meds can take months to work I wasn't sure if the increase in energy when I took the phenylalanine ( DLPA ) was due to it or the antedepressant effect of the reboxetine kicking in and dealing with the diagnosis of dysthymia that I have been given in the past . As I had a drop in energy and my concentration worsened this summer after stopping the DLPA it looks like the DLPA was the major influence .

I have just begun to take Adderall XR, which instantly transformed my life since my distraction level was maximum and my hyperactivity level was high.

I'm in London, and it's going to cost me a fortune. My psychiatrist told me that there were three pharmacies in town that prescribe it; one is Bliss Pharmacy at Marble Arch (how distinctly unpleasant to have to walk past Selfridges where £240.00 would be far better spent) only to part with said sum on medicine) :(

Before medication my blood pressure was too low actually, so I'm hoping that I'll be okay on it.

I live in South Ken and I just spoke with my local independant chemist who could get me 100 tablets of 20mg Adderall XR for £600. Not the best use of funds but I hate taking as many Dex pills as I do and it really, for me at least, is not nearly as good as the Adderall I was on back in the states. Any thoughts on any chemists who can get it for less? Do I still need to get a prescription from a doctor? Can my GP write out a prescription like he does for Dex?

:mad:I get so frustrated reading that people cannot get the meds they need in the U.K.

I am so fed up with this place right now!!

I agree that the UK NHS is a disgrace when it come to ADD/ADHD and we have a very poor choice of medications compared to the USA.

As Inattentive hyper-focussed ADD, I went private and tried Ritalin, Concerta and Dexedrine before I found Adderall which was the only med that came anywhere close to the activation/motivation effect I was looking for. I came off Adderall (60mg/day) about a year ago due to heart tachycardia but the £15/day cost would have been a long term issue too. Since then I have tried to reproduce the effects with supplementation:


Tyrosine - was OK a minimal amount of energy
St John's Wort/5-HTP - these effect Serotonin and just make me sleepy, not surprising as boosting Serotonin suppresses Dopamine which is the opposite of what we need with ADD
N-Acetyl Tyrosine - this is far better absorbed than Tyrosine and much more effective and definitely closest to Adderall for motivation
DMAE, DL Phenylalanine, Phosphatatidyl Serine - all give some kind of kick/effect but didn't address my Inattentive ADD much
Magnesium, Zinc and Vitamin B - amazing difference to mood, almost eliminated my low grade depression (dysthymia). Seems most ADDers are deficient in these critical minerals, I am taking high levels: 800mg Magnesium and 150mg Zinc.
Multi-vitamin and multi-minerals - Good for overall health and hence energy
Macuna Pruriens - Just started on this "fuzzy bean" extract. Contains L-Dopa that some claim does not cross blood-brain barrier but I and many others don't agree. Seems to affect deepness of sleep too, with more dreaming. Depressed people don't dream enough according to a BBC2 Horizon documentary on Dreams this week.
Galantamine - Meant to improve memory, can't remember what my memory was like before I started taking it!
Magnolia Extract - Helps lower stress without making you sleepy, I think most ADDers are too stressed and stress screws up immune system and wellbeing
Gingko Biloba - Does seem to make a difference to memory/concentration
Lots of other supplements still under self-medication review....

Overall I have not achieved either the mood elevation or the activation/motivation I had from Adderall but I have improved a lot through supplements. I not interested in increased focus because I hyper-focus easily, in fact Dexedrine made me hyper-hyper-focus, which was awful, so I have not researched supplements for this.

Adderall did give me the biggest motivation boost but it also physically stressed my body, I lost a lot of weight too rapidly for my liking (over 50lbs in 6 months) and then had heart problems. Ironically the magnesium may well have fixed my tachycardia now. Supplementing with Zinc and Magnesium has made a great difference to my mood and Acetyl-Tyrosine/Macuna seem to help with activation a little.

I now realise that no ADD medication or supplement will truely "fix" all my ADD challenges, they might help a little but the rest is about understanding and working with who and how I am.

its around $3 tablet in USA I believe

For the name brand adderall it is probably closer to $2.00 however for the generic adderall made by Barr I pay about $0.85 for a 20mg tablet. Prices also vary according to our region but I probably pay mid range here in Texas



now realise that no ADD medication or supplement will truely "fix" all my ADD challenges, they might help a little but the rest is about understanding and working with who and how I am.


The above is a global truth. {IMHO}

i would like to get adderall into the UK. Campaign?:)

Hi Chamaleon,

The problem is that Adderall, unlike Dexedrine, Concerta, Straterra and Ritalin is NOT licensed in the UK. That means it can not be prescribed by an NHS GP.

Shire Pharmaceuticals, the British company that makes it would have to go through an expensive and slow licensing process. This will never happen as Adderall is now nearly out of patent protection in the USA (due April 2009) and some early generics are already available, as Meadd mentioned. There is just no financial incentive for them to licence it in UK.

Last year I wrote to Shire about them helping to reduce the UK cost of the unlicensed product, as you can still be prescribed Adderall privately. I received a reply from Shire's UK Chief medical Officer, which though sympathetic offered no real help. The problem is that though Shire is a UK company, it manufactures Adderall in the USA, which then needs to be exported to the UK. Because it is a controlled substance and volume is negligible, the import costs are huge. Unless hundreds more Brits start getting prescribed I can't see the situation changing. I guess one of the generic manufacturers might be more interested but I doubt it.

Shire also manufacture Vyvance, a slow release version of Dexedrine. This is Shire's financial future as they have the biggest share of the ADD meds market in the USA (23%) with Adderall and that is now declining as Adderall goes generic. So I would imagine they are looking at licensing Vyvance in the UK, as they would have many years of patent protection to make the costs/effort worth it. Many people seem to like Vyvance but I get the impression that it would not help with activation/motivation like Adderall does, as although it boosts Dopamine it does not effect nor-adrenaline/ nor-epinephrine. Supposedly Straterra does affect nor-adrenaline, I have not tried it, but from reading around I have not seen much evidence that it helps here like Adderall either.

The UK is effectively like the USA was twenty years ago when it comes to understanding and medicating ADD. So I agree with you and think we do have a "responsibility" to campaign and make a noise about the inadequacy of the current situation. But when it comes to the big Pharm companies, no amount of shouting will work unless they can see how they will make money from it...

Cheers

InTheMoment