Medical student with ADD need help
<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Hey everyone
i'm so glad i found this forum
This is my story
im 25 yr old , last year medical student , i struggled since i was in school to get good grades and to get into medicine , i must say that i failed my mcat though i studied 10000 times more then my peers and i had to retake it , add to that to get good grades i had to study 1000000 /hours per day and i sacrificed all my life to study to get to where i am , it was untill this year and while i was rotating in psychiatry that i discovered that i had always been a potential ADHD ... i did the tova test ... and the surprise was that im a typical adhd with impulsivity in the 40 range , concentration in the 80 range etc ...

I said it was time to let my life get easy and i started ritalin and switched to concerta , to state i had no side effects other then insomnia and slight pharyngeal drieness due to domaminergic effects of the drug , i am serially doing LFT to see if anything gors wrong and im keepin myself on additional antioxiandts

The problem :
i want this wonderful feeling to last 24 hours so im considering strattera ! does it help as much in concentration and attention cos this is what i want in fact ...

Add to that for all of you who wonder if ADHD are different yes they are ... unlike my collegue medical students im a painter , piano player and an active social member in many organisations ... so yes it makes ur character more charismatic creative nd special and i guess i didnt loose this nice character with medication though i guess creativity decreases a bit ...

Waiting your answer all regardin strattera ... is it worth to give it atry? what are the worst side effects and how do u guys taper it with concerta?
thanks a lot
foudz

I haven't tried concerta, so I can't compare it's effects with strattera. However I take mine with dexedrine, and I did find the two did a fairly good job of maintaining my concentration/focus.

I'm a parent of a 10 yo child with ADHD. Our pychiatrist said that Strattera is not as good as the stimulants for concentration. Other specialists the doc knows said that they do have to give patients doses higher than the guidelines to get the effectiveness they want (but feel comfortable in prescribing higher...can't tell you the doses exactly--don't recall.)

What will be your specialty when you graduate? Good luck to you!

Obviously psychiatry :)

Medical student with ADD need help


<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Hey everyone
i'm so glad i found this forum
This is my story
im 25 yr old , last year medical student , i struggled since i was in school to get good grades and to get into medicine , i must say that i failed my mcat though i studied 10000 times more then my peers and i had to retake it , add to that to get good grades i had to study 1000000 /hours per day and i sacrificed all my life to study to get to where i am , it was untill this year and while i was rotating in psychiatry that i discovered that i had always been a potential ADHD ... i did the tova test ... and the surprise was that im a typical adhd with impulsivity in the 40 range , concentration in the 80 range etc ...


I said it was time to let my life get easy and i started ritalin and switched to concerta , to state i had no side effects other then insomnia and slight pharyngeal drieness due to domaminergic effects of the drug , i am serially doing LFT to see if anything gors wrong and im keepin myself on additional antioxiandts

The problem :
i want this wonderful feeling to last 24 hours so im considering strattera ! does it help as much in concentration and attention cos this is what i want in fact ...

Add to that for all of you who wonder if ADHD are different yes they are ... unlike my collegue medical students im a painter , piano player and an active social member in many organisations ... so yes it makes ur character more charismatic creative nd special and i guess i didnt loose this nice character with medication though i guess creativity decreases a bit ...

Waiting your answer all regardin strattera ... is it worth to give it atry? what are the worst side effects and how do u guys taper it with concerta?
thanks a lot
foudz

I have tried concerta before and now, I'm on strattera. My experience with concerta was that it made me calmer, but did not help with focus/concentration. I've been on strattera for 3 months and it helps me to focus and get things done.

One thing that you should know is that strattera works slowly (unlike concerta) and it may take upto 4 weeks or more to find out if it works or not. It also takes few weeks to adjust the dose to the right level (I'm still working on the dose after 3 months). The other thing is that Strattera is a lot more expensive than concerta (if that is going to be an issue for you) and may not last 24 hours as it is adevertised. It depends on how fast your body metabolizes strattera. I am taking the maximum dose of 120mg (60 around 7am and 60 around 2pm) and still does not last 24 hours.

If you compare inattention between concerta and strattera what's better for you?

And how much is the effect lasting? :)

Thanks

I'm in a similar situation to you. College student who struggled with grades and had to study all hours of the day before just to pass.I am talking like normal Friday Saturday night for me was studying. Any time i was not in class I was trying to study.

Whatever you do DO NOT start taking starttera during the school year. Start it during summer vacation. It will take it a few months to kick in and it has nasty side effects in the first month or so, that will make it verry hard to do well in school.

i use strattera + vyvanse to do the job... i tried strattera by itself and it did nothing for me...which i later found out makes sense.. i have ADD inattentive and have a deficiency in dopamine and norepinephrine in my brain... it makes me sluggish, tired, and feel down in the dumps... i take the vyvanse to put chemicals in my brain, and strattera to keep it there... im pretty sure strattera works better with ADHD though.. sorry for rambling....:p

thanks addperson for replying
i have add the inattentive type
what is vyvanse?
i will start strattera soon
strattera is not enough for inattention?:)
thanks for replying

Hey I'm a 26 year old second year dental student! I know I know, I'm taking the "easy" way to be a doctor haha

I used to take dexedrine then moved to try concerta and all forms of ritalin. They all took away my personality I felt. I mean like I didn't want to talk to anybody when I'm usually very friendly and like to joke around.

My second year of college was when Strattera came out. I've been taking it ever since, even though I've struggled with finding a good dosage because I still feel like taking Strattera quiets me down a bit. Im 6'3" 205 and only take one 40mg capsule in the morning. I find that this makes it possible to sit in long lectures and sit after school for the long study sessions. Plus at the end of the day I'm feeling a little more social and able to talk and be with my wife and child.

Side effects are a slight decrease in appetite, slight increase in heart rate, slight decrease in being social and talkative, but it's all worth it because like I said without it I can't sit down for more than 2 hours.

Another thing I've done is find new ways to study, like make diagrams, use white boards, flash cards, highlight and make my own notes, etc. I've tried to find the best way for my brain to learn and it has helped a lot.

Sorry this is so long but i just found this website and am excited to share experiences!

thanks addperson for replying
i have add the inattentive type
what is vyvanse?
i will start strattera soon
strattera is not enough for inattention?:)
thanks for replying

You have ADD the inattentive type yet you are impulsive? If you are are impulsive, strattera prob won't work for you. And if you are impulsive period, you probably don't have adhd inattentive type. Straterra works best in individuals with inattentive ADHD and no hyperactiviity/impulsivity/ depression. Where as dexedrine and adderall XR work better for individuals with hyperactivity and impulsivity.

i have some slight impulsivity i just tend to cut people while they are talking yet i am mostly inattentive ... while im reading i tend to skip lines paragraphs ... just my mind keeps on getting derailed ... im on concerta for the day and ritalin for the evening studies ... concerta is starting to make migraine i guesss ... as for 3 hour ritalin they dont since their effect tends to wear off ... im doing fine study wise ... i dunno if i should switch to strattera ! how much does it make a person concentrate on studies ?

Thanks so much

Our pdoc has said that Strattera is not as good as the stimulants for concentration.