how would be the best way for me to tell my doc i want to try dex? i have been on ritalin for years,anymore it just seems to make me a nervous wreck when i take it,i cant concentrate at all,my nerves in my back feel frazzeled,so my back hurts worse, and its an up and down rollercoaster ride all day.i take ritalin ir,10mg tabs,up to 3 a day.but alot of days i only take one half of a pill three times a day,because of the nervousness.i did try adderallxr before,at first that made me want to jump out of my skin,but after i kept taking it,it started making me feel so tired,that i couldnt function.dex would of probably been the next med to try,but i jumped the gun,and went in there and demanded to be put back on the ritalin.and at first it worked great,i felt like i had been asleep the whole time on adderall,and the ritalin woke my brain up.but its been about two years now with the ritalin,and it only seems to work like a nervous speed pill.my daughter was prescribed dex awile back,and i tried one of hers,to see what it did before allowing her to take them.it worked great,i felt calm,alert,and could focus for once in years.i dont know how to tell him after all this time that i want a med change,its easier to just keep getting the ritalin,even though i know now its not doing what its supposed to be doing for my add.any suggestions??

Tell your doc exactly what you just told us (but maybe leave out the part about trying your daughter's meds). There's no reason you have to feel so awful on your medication, and you've put up with it for way too long. Your doctor doesn't even know there's a problem! Dex is known for being the "gentle" ADD drug; it's very smooth and has a calming effect, whereas Adderall is known for causing jitters.

Your reasons for wanting to try Dex are perfectly valid. I'm sure your doc would agree, and he'll probably be surprised to learn that you've been suffering with Ritalin for so long just because you're timid about asking for a switch. You pay for those appointments and the medication; it should be worth it!

my daughter was prescribed dex awile back,and i tried one of hers,to see what it did before allowing her to take them.

I think you did the right thing here, but I'm not entirely sure that it doesn't constitute as "drug abuse" in legall terms. The drug is not supposed to change hands after it leaves the pharm. Since your daughter is probably not old enough to have the drug "transfered" to her in the first place, things are obfuscated in that you are, and always have been the holder of the drug.

I'm still trying to figure out the actual laws that doctors HAVE TO follow and stuff but...

of interest to you would be to wonder:
What even happens (not that you're abusive, just how can they denie someones kid treatment for a disease is my thinking) if a known stimulant abuser has a kid who is ADD and needs stims?" is the child denied stims? (I would hope that legal gaurdians would then get the drugs to the kid, and after that the courts would have to, but the drugs would need to be held in the house of the drug abusing parent due to practicallity. Oh... maybe a school nurse would be empowered... anyway sorry for thinking out loud.


Here's some general rules regaurding Doctor ethics, but this doesn't touch on law (and may not pertain to your state)
http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/ama/ (old! from 2001, can't tell if it's changed)

By those ethics, telling them everything you told us could not result in negative consequences for you, since a mother taking a childs dose out of natural, human concern for their offspring is by no means abusive, and therefore

Withholding stims for this reason would be unethical, I don't fully know what the law says the doctor must report when a federal law is violated but I can't find any citations that indicate that you are in violation of any law (It doesn't say anything about sample a drug prescribed to a minor under your control on my pill bottle either).

Anyway, from that AMA declairation from 2001 linked to above it is stated:
III. A physician shall respect the law and also recognize a responsibility to seek changes in those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient.
also
IV. A physician shall respect the rights of patients, colleagues, and other health professionals, and shall safeguard patient confidences and privacy within the constraints of the law.
http://www.cirp.org/library/statements/ama/

Indicating that if you are violating the law.. idk, I guess if they believe you are going to use controlled stimulants with out a prescription then you will be told not to do this?. I don't know if they must / can rat you out to the police or not though, because doing so would violate another clause in that same declaration that states.

A physician shall, while caring for a patient, regard responsibility to the patient as paramount.
Which would imply that getting you fined / locked up / blacklisted is a serious nono for doctors.

I'm still searching for the exact protocal with which these situations should be handled.

(on another note, I think it's unethical and in violation of trust to use a child's medication with out informing them of this, especially so if they're older than 9ish).

Unless your name is written on the bottle, it's illegal. Doesn't matter age, who paid, who's insurance, nothing. Not that I'm saying what you did was a bad thing, I understand you probably felt defensive of your child as most parents.

Just tell you doctor exactly what you said but defo leave out the taking your child's med thing though because even though you did it in good intention, it will still sound sketch potentially. Perhaps substitute that you read about Dexedrine and found that many people who have the uncomfortable side-effects you're experiencing had a much better experience on Dexedrine.