Hello all-

I'm not an adderall person myself , I've always been a ritalin responder , yet here's my question. I'd like to know personal experiences of those who switched from mph ( ritalin, concerta, focalin, metadate) to adderall just how long it took them during the trial period to get a positive response from their adderall......Some guys are going to tell me immediately , but honestly I don't buy that . It takes time to adjust to the meds, you may feel drowsy at first then after a month bingo you adjust and you find the therapeutic dosage.....Patience is of virtue in these circumstances. So, theta , J.R. etc. feel free to pitch in if you will-

im with you it takes time id say about 5 or six weeks to feel a new normal. but i didnt switch from anything. this is all new to me.

well i take adderall and i felt the positive effects the first day. when you take it your brain releases norepinephrine and dopamine which help concentration and energy (mind and body). i take the generic adderall instant release and it is more potent than the adderall XR to me.

im pretty sure you can tell right away. atleast i did.

Although I started on Adderall, tried a few methylphenidate meds then went back I did find that Adderall XR 20mg worked wonders at first as did any of the other meds. All the meds tend to work well for a short time then less and less until the right dose is found.

While I haven't had as much experience with Methylphenidate meds I can say one thing for sure when comparing to amphetamines. I've never had any of the methylphenidate meds 'turn on me' like Adderall did. For the most part, even on my final adjusted dose of Adderall I found sometimes it worked well. Othertimes the damn stuff made me drowsy and useless. I never experienced that with Concerta, Ritalin LA, or Focalin XR except for rebound.

I think you will know fairly quick how well your body will respond to Adderall. The usual standard starting dose is 10mg of IR or 20mg of XR which is usually fine for most. It won't last though and you may need 12.5, 15, 20 or 30mg per dose for it to do anything. Both classes of meds work well but as you probably know they go about their business a different way. The lucky ones respond well to either class.

Now that I look back on my various trials of meds, I feel that Focalin XR was probably the fastest acting and most potent. I just don't like the bi-modal release as much.

J

jr -

I agree with you regarding what you said in relation to focalin xr, it is probably the strongest fastest action ( ritalin based medication ) that I've ever tried. I may or may not go back to it. I had a question, you mentioned that you never have had ritalin turn on you like adderall has. I assume your mentioning that once adderall does turn on you , you get that useless drowsy feeling...... If so , I agree with you totally . Being that both meds have worked in the past I was amused by the fact that ( concerta , ritalin, focalin) have all worked and even on varied doses worked well. Yet , when on adderall the wrong dose would render me useless.... I guess I just found that strange. Anyways , thanks for the feedback as always-

No problem. I wish I had (or anyone had) an real answer to how and why amphetamines can do that. Vyvanse hasn't turned on me as of yet (over 6 months of taking it) but it won't suprise me when and if it does.

Kinda on another note I might do something crazy and try to gather some research and put together some sorta informal paper on the topic of 'acute tolerance' with stimulant therapy. The problem is way more common than I think many suspect most notably due to lack of knowledge by the treating physcian and patient.

J

Jr-

Agree with 100 %. Yet the question still remains even in the presence of acute tolerance why then would the amphetamines cause that drowsiness and the mph medications still seem to be working relatively well? Perhaps it is because the amphetamines are so much stronger in relation to the mph medications.....? Anyways , I find it interesting as well-... From my graduate school work days my thoughts were that a adhd medication that works true and true is supposed to work 7 days a week year round -