Hi everyone, I'm new to posting but I thought it would be useful to do so. After meeting with my school counselor several times to discuss my ADD symptoms I have finally been referred to a psychiatrist who will determine whether I should be medicated or not. My insurance plan allows me to purchase medication at a copay of 10-20 dollars and only covers several medications (Concerta, Adderall XR, Provigil, Daytrana, and Strattera). After reading the commentary on these threads, I feel that Adderall would be the best choice because Strattera seems to have nasty side effects. I am, however, in a college setting where Adderall abuse is fairly common so I don't want to come off as a drug chaser. Is there a way to convey an interest in the drug without coming off this way? I'm thinking about printing out a list of preferred prescriptions off of my insurance company's website. I feel that after reading this forum I have become way too knowledgeable about these drugs...

If you would like to try Adderall first to see if it works, simply tell the pdoc that. :) You have legitimate concerns about the s/e of Strattera - there is no reason the doc will think you are drug-seeking simply because of that.

I hope that your appointment goes well!

When we talked about medication, I mentioned to my pdoc that I wanted to stay with generics since my copay is much nigher for brands. My options were Ritalin or Addedall. I tried Rit first but didn't like the short duration & side effects. So I mentioned reading about Addedall and we tried that one next.

If you would like to try Adderall first to see if it works, simply tell the pdoc that. :) You have legitimate concerns about the s/e of Strattera - there is no reason the doc will think you are drug-seeking simply because of that.

Honesty is a good idea.

If you show up wanting Adderall, but conceal that fact, there's a good chance the doc will discover your hidden agenda. THAT would make him/her a lot more suspicious than a straightforward statement of what you want.

Agreed on the honesty part. Now the psychiatrist is the one who will be making the assessment as to whether or not you need to be medicated, but it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Though while it's not a bad thing to have an idea of what you'd like to try, you don't actually know what's going to work and what's going to have side-effects until you've tried a drug. You may want to ask your doc to write you a prescription for a few pills of two or three meds so you can try them all out for a few days and decide what works best for you.

I recently had the same concern, I didn't want to seem like a drug chaser because I'm a college student also and was recently diagnosed.

Let me give you some advice. 1. Go in with a piece of paper about your questions and concerns. Doctors are more likely to pay attention and take you seriously if they see you've been doing your research (my psychologist told me that!). 2. If the doctor sees that you are really concerned about your health and well being, he isn't going to question you. and 3. If you truly have ADD, abusing the drugs probably wouldn't be much fun anyway.... (at least for me, they just make me serious and kinda drowsy... I've got the hyper part too.)

Good luck!

I'll echo some of the good advice you've been given -- be honest with your prescribing psych. If it should happen that she/he should recommend a medication you have reservations about, tell him/her what you've stated here -- that because you want to find the most effective solution with the least side-effects, you've been doing research and are uncertain about Strattera (or whatever). That's what I did.
In my case, my prescribing psychiatrist decided I should try Ritalin for a month first. I approached it with an open mind, and gave it my best try. The result was that I hated it. And I told him so in no uncertain terms at my next appointment. The next med he wrote for me was generic Adderall. Gave it my best try again. Even though I thought it was better than Ritalin, given how crappy Ritalin made me feel, that wasn't saying much. Next was Wellbutrin that, after a month left me feeling as if I might as well have just been swallowing a Tic-Tac every morning -- it had that little effect on me.
Then surprisingly (to me, anyway), he decided I should try Adderall once again -- this time the brand name, not the generic. I was rather skeptical at this point, but figured I'd give it a go. As it turned out, this reacted quite well with me. I have no idea whether it was because of the difference between the brand name and the generic (I kinda doubt it), or if I was just becoming more accustomed to what the various medications did, and was learning through experience what to look for as beneficial for me (accent on the "me," in this case).
So I guess what I'm saying all boils down to your being honest and open with your prescribing psych. Also keep in mind that everyone reacts differently to the various meds. For example, just read the Strattera thread and you'll see it works just fine for SOME people. Same for Ritalin. Who is to say you might not be one of them until you see for yourself first-hand?
So if your prescribing psych does want you to try a med other than Adderall, give it a try -- it might turn out to be what works for you. And if it's not, LET HER/HIM KNOW. There are always other meds (including Adderall) you can try. Just remember you might not hit on the best med for you right off the bat. But if you are honest and objective with your doc, sooner or later you'll find what works best for YOU.

Best of luck to you, redelba. I hope your search is a short one.