i know this has been posted before, but everything i read was from 4 years ago.
i was on adderall IR 10mg twice a day. i lost insurance and was off for almost a year.
when i finally went back to the doctor, they are only prescribing the XR now because of so much abuse with the IR.
i liked having control with the IR. if i have to be up late i liked knowing i could take a pill and it only last me 3 or 4 hours.
is there a way to split up the XR to where its not lasting 8-12 hours?
do they say that we can't just because its marketed to be XR?

thanks
sarah

http://www.adderallxr.com/assets/pdf/prescribing_information.pdf

If you open the capsule the contents are still time-released(prescribing info says that can be done if you cant swallow a pill). But say you decide to use less than the full amount it is still going to have the same half-life but with lower potency. I'm not sure if crushing the material stops the time release (soaking likely would) but that would be consider abuse by your doctor since he does not prescribe IR adderall. The best thing is to find another doctor.

your doctor won't prescribe you IR because of abuse? YOUR abuse? or just Adderall abuse in general?

Does he not think the XR has the potential for abuse? That makes no sense.

that is poor logic and perhaps you should ask him to clarify. Besides, the prescriptions are filled by the pharmacy, not the doctors office. I don't see how he's covering his ***, by prescribing XR versus IR.

Folks here have done it, how effective it is, I don't know. I'd press your doctor for more info and if that leaves you with no resolution, maybe a new doc? If you have a valid, provable diagnosis, there's really no reason you can't seek treatment from another physician.

I'd recommend that route as opposed to dicing up those little balls and potentially short changing your meds effectiveness.

I have a much larger abuse potential with IR....

(I won't go into details, but there is very real reasons its more abusable)

when I first started adderrall xr...I did one and a half....for no insurance reasons...
...my dr had me spilt the 30 mlg capsules....

he said ....

pour half in apple sauce,
...........I just opened it big side of capsule down...

pour half in the little side, and pour it on your tounge, re cap it....and drink water.

(chewing the little balls is abusive behaivior I learned, don't do that)

that would cut the does in half.

SuzzanneX: you said XR has the potential for abuse (chewing the balls) so how is prescribing it better than IR when abuse is the issue?

That's what I'm confused about. (NOT arguing, just confused).

SuzzanneX: you said XR has the potential for abuse (chewing the balls) so how is prescribing it better than IR when abuse is the issue?



Its just a small barrier to keep the majority of people from experiencing the peak experience of a large dose of stimulant flooding their system too fast.
Thus reducing the number of potential new addicts. Its not intended to be a real barrier for existing addicts.

no nothing like that...

...I did'nt know if it was proper to say....but drug addicts, crush em up and snort em
because of the drop off.
......former IV drug addicts, get the tendency to shoot em up.

it's almost addict proof the xr time release balls.
........plus....it tapers off.

I get a jones from IR's.

I have alot of ADHD addict friends.
....who NEED these meds.

most of us have someone hold them..
....we're as dysfunctional off meth as on it, with out adhd meds.

so we have to come up with ways to stay "str8"

I met alot of my addict friends in san francisco last year.,

one is a psych nurse...
...and she saw me chewing up an IR.

the sadness in her eyes was heart breaking.

...she said "If you did that in the psych ward, they would take your meds away, it's bad to do that"

now I just don't, because I love this person, and I see her eyes if I think of it.

I just like the taste of it.

the abuse comes from other people who they have learned are selling the IR or chopping and snorting.
this is the 3rd doctor i have been to. i have an diagnosis from a psychiatrist with diagrams charting my adhd. all the doctors i have been to are either not prescribing adderall at all (even though they know thats what i have been taking) or only giving out the XR. one place told me to take wellbutrin. i walked out.
it took me a month to even find this doctor willing to prescribe the XR.

I know nothing about splitting up the XR dosage. But I know what you mean about preferring the IR. I took IR this morning instead of the XR just because I have nothing to do this afternoon and plan on napping.

The IR are much cheaper because there's a generic available. Maybe you could mention to the docs that you cannot afford the pricey XR?

I don't know how old you are but I've always wondered if doc's are more cautious writing scrips for the early twenties age range? Ya know, with all the hoopla on college kids abusing the meds.

sorry I couldn't be of help. Good Luck!

you people who are taking the generic IR - what brand are you on? is there a difference?

no, it says don't crush, chew or snort in the directions you get at the pharmacy.

LOL! ...what are people gonna do?

i am 29. so at this point the dr's aren't caring what the age range is.
they said if i absolutely can't stand the XR, they will put me back on ritalin (which i took years ago). i might go back to that.
this weekend i was taking XR and the only thing that would knock me down enough to go to sleep was drinking beer.
i could tell them can't afford the XR, but she mentioned that they have ways to help with assistance in affording it.

what about saying "look, i don't like the XR i want to go on IR here's my reasons, and if you aren't willing to do that, then can I go back on ritalin?"

unless your doctor suspects you specifically of abusing your meds, then why can't he prescribe them for you specifically. There are no laws that I'm aware of that say a doctor can prescribe XR but not IR.

to use this blanket policy on such unique cases seems very counter productive to the entire basis of being a doctor.

i would never consider going back on ritalin as an option to not taking adderall XR. i've never taken XR i am currently taking IR but i've tried focalin and concerta and they had very bad side effects for me.

I tried Adderall XR and IR and am now on Ritalin and am quite happy with it. I'm not experiencing the edgy moods that I did on Adderall.

The IR that I have are from BARR. I haven't received any others so can't comment on the different generic manufacturers.