merovingian
03-26-09, 07:39 PM
I recently received a prescription from my doctor for Desoxyn after simply asking for it after being on adderall for a month. My problems with Adderall had to do with increased anxiety at only low dosages (10mg twice daily) and I didn't want to have to be an some sort of benzo to mitigate the anxiety at higher dosages. So, I did my homework which led me to suggest to my doc that I try "the holy grail" of ADD medications and he agreed to give it a shot. I asked for the lowest available dosage to try it out at 5mg twice a day.
Usually when I try any sort of drug I start low and work my way up, for adderall for example I started with 1/4 a 10mg pill twice per day, then 1/2 the next and 3/4 on the third. Since I had read online that kids usually take between 20-25 daily that I was safe to try the whole 5mg on my first try. I experienced an unforced focus (as opposed to the forced focus of adderall) that was available to me as I tried to catch my flight on time. I got on the plane and I simply relaxed and dosed off. I had strange vivid dreams that would occasionally wake me up and cause a mild jerk or muscle tencing and then relax back to sleep. When waking after what seemed like a 2 hour nap which only lasted 45 min I was immediately alert and able to focus on the things that I planned to do while on the plane. As opposed to Adderall, the Desoxyn required more Discipline to remain focused but I was able to utilize the creativity that makes my Attention Deficit Condition such a gift in terms of being able to think outside the box. I would say that Adderall is certainly better for making completely mundane, boring, or repetitive tasks seem almost interesting but seems to detract from my creativity. Being on the Desoxyn during this period was much more productive for me over all. It's not that I was as focused at this light of a dose but as if time were dilated, as if the flight lasted 9 hours instead of 6 which can be either good or bad depending on the situation, I needed the extra time to get things done so it worked out. Sadly, I had a mild headache, one of the known side effects for some patients. This combined with the initial sleepy effect, the fact that I felt like my eyes were constantly too wide open, dry mouth and slightly too chatty brought me to the seemingly inevitable conclusion. What would be the perfect drug for me was to come with a series of side effects that would cripple any net benefit at a dosage high enough for me to rectify my issues with being able to focus. Despite the initial disappointment I decided to try again the next day at 1/4 a 5mg pill every hour for 4 hours until I felt side effects. Surprisingly only two side effects took a strong effect, complete loss of appetite and lack of desire to drink alcohol. The following day I took 1/2 of a 5mg pill right before I started eating breakfast and another half 2 hours later. 6 hours after the first pill I took a whole 5mg pill right as I started eating lunch. No side effects besides the loss of appetite and lack of desire to drink. I've been going strong for a week and things are working out very nicely. I'm about currently asking my doctor to start ramping up my dose to normal which I believe is 20-25mg per day increase from 10mg at a rate of 5mg per week.
The lesson I learned here is to ramp up to 5mg over the course of a few days and ask your doctor to allow you to ramp up your dosages to "normal" on a weekly basis in 5mg increments. I believe had I done this, it may have helped reduce the chances of side effects on the way up to a dosage that is able to deal with my condition. Hope this helps.
Usually when I try any sort of drug I start low and work my way up, for adderall for example I started with 1/4 a 10mg pill twice per day, then 1/2 the next and 3/4 on the third. Since I had read online that kids usually take between 20-25 daily that I was safe to try the whole 5mg on my first try. I experienced an unforced focus (as opposed to the forced focus of adderall) that was available to me as I tried to catch my flight on time. I got on the plane and I simply relaxed and dosed off. I had strange vivid dreams that would occasionally wake me up and cause a mild jerk or muscle tencing and then relax back to sleep. When waking after what seemed like a 2 hour nap which only lasted 45 min I was immediately alert and able to focus on the things that I planned to do while on the plane. As opposed to Adderall, the Desoxyn required more Discipline to remain focused but I was able to utilize the creativity that makes my Attention Deficit Condition such a gift in terms of being able to think outside the box. I would say that Adderall is certainly better for making completely mundane, boring, or repetitive tasks seem almost interesting but seems to detract from my creativity. Being on the Desoxyn during this period was much more productive for me over all. It's not that I was as focused at this light of a dose but as if time were dilated, as if the flight lasted 9 hours instead of 6 which can be either good or bad depending on the situation, I needed the extra time to get things done so it worked out. Sadly, I had a mild headache, one of the known side effects for some patients. This combined with the initial sleepy effect, the fact that I felt like my eyes were constantly too wide open, dry mouth and slightly too chatty brought me to the seemingly inevitable conclusion. What would be the perfect drug for me was to come with a series of side effects that would cripple any net benefit at a dosage high enough for me to rectify my issues with being able to focus. Despite the initial disappointment I decided to try again the next day at 1/4 a 5mg pill every hour for 4 hours until I felt side effects. Surprisingly only two side effects took a strong effect, complete loss of appetite and lack of desire to drink alcohol. The following day I took 1/2 of a 5mg pill right before I started eating breakfast and another half 2 hours later. 6 hours after the first pill I took a whole 5mg pill right as I started eating lunch. No side effects besides the loss of appetite and lack of desire to drink. I've been going strong for a week and things are working out very nicely. I'm about currently asking my doctor to start ramping up my dose to normal which I believe is 20-25mg per day increase from 10mg at a rate of 5mg per week.
The lesson I learned here is to ramp up to 5mg over the course of a few days and ask your doctor to allow you to ramp up your dosages to "normal" on a weekly basis in 5mg increments. I believe had I done this, it may have helped reduce the chances of side effects on the way up to a dosage that is able to deal with my condition. Hope this helps.