I'm wondering how other people's doctors went about finding the correct dose for them...

I got diagnosed with ADD...well, I have a therapist, after talking to her and filling out some checklists, she said she thought I had it so she sent me to a psychiatrist, who said well try this prescription for 5mgs of Adderall, if it doesn't make you crazy you have ADD.

So I started the Adderall and it helped, I mean, I was like..oh, so this is the world without that fog around it. Cool.

I went back this week for a refill, and he was like, do you think it's working enough?

And I was like..uh..I dunno. Cause I DON'T. I mean, it was like the fog had lifted for the first time ever...the best comparison for me is like when I got glasses for the first time. I never realized that the world wasn't supposed to be blurry around the edges until I finally saw it clearly.

So..how do I know enough? I thought about trying a higher dose, but I decided to stay with the 5mgs (although we changed to 3x a day, since my days are long) because I have finals in a week and I think that of all times to mess around with new med doses, that would have to be the worst....

So...does anyone know how you know if it works enough?

The best dose for attention and focus, from the literature I've read is around .25mg/Kg/day for dexedrine, but for Adderal this would be slightly higher, as the salts are slightly less potent than dextroamphetamine. Theraputic doses have a maximum of .5mg/Kg/day, but people do go higher than that if they need to.
The improvement in attention is the first effect of the drug, then, at higher doses impulse control improves and finally motor hyperactivity at higher doses still. The problem is that the high doses actually hurt attention, so the trick is to find the dose that gives you the most "bang for your buck" by treating the symptoms of ADHD that are the biggest problem for you. Trial and error is the best way - Slowly titrate up from a low dose and when you notice the negative effects, reduce the dose back to the most effective one.
I wouldn't do this at exam time either!
Regards,
Greg

I would say if this dose is working for you, stay with it awhile before you switch to a higher dose, if it starts to lose effectivness you'll be able to tell. Just an idea though. Slowly increasing dosage may help you tell if it's working for you.

Also, just a warning because it happened to me, when/if it begins to stop working as well, be careful how much more you take because it's really easy to get addicted to. And as gregster mentioned higher doses do hurt your attention cause you get distracted easily and focus on other things, like i'll clean for hours and never get my studying done.

Thanks for all the responses!

I guess what sort of ticked me off, is he wanted to know if I was being able to have 'normal' focus...well, for me, normal is to not focus! How the heck should I know if I'm 'normal'.

The three a day seems to be working a bit better...I was feeling it start to wear off at four thirty, five before and that's when I START my homework.

I haven't really noticed any side effects, though, so I'm lucky. A little dry mouth, maybe, but I need to start drinking more water anyhow.

Has anyone else lost weight on adderall? I actually feel hungrier now, definately not surpressing my appetite, but I think maybe it's raised my metabolism...and I had a very high metabolism anyway.

It's getting ridiculous. I'm having tea, a smoothie, and usually toast or a bananna sandwich for breakfast, two pieces of pizza or a foot long sub for lunch, some snacks like cake or something, and a dinner of like pasta and cheese and I'm STILL LOOSING WEIGHT!!

To put that in perspective, I'm 5'3" and about 110 before I started losing...and I'm trying to GAIN to start lifting weights and become a firefighter...so this is flipping me out. I'm not used to eating so much!

*sighs* I'm also on a diet, sadly...it's the I'm a broke student who can't afford lots of food diet...damn, I hate that. ;)

But, thanks for the advice, I will look into that.

I haven't been on it that long, but I noticed the dry mouth and appetite thing. I don't really feel hungry, but I keep looking for food.

When my doctor wrote out the prescription a few weeks ago, he asked me my weight. I'm about 190. He told be to take one pill a day for four days, then go to two a day.

When I first found this board a few days ago, I was reading the dosages people were talking about, and the results, effects etc.

I went home and checked the bottle and they're 60 MG capsules! He's got me on 120 MG a day, which from the what I've seen here so far, seems a little high to start. I'll check with him this week, but any feedback would be appreciated.

60 mgs does seem high...

From what my psychiatrist said, the dosage is pretty independant of body weight and metabolism. I'm not sure of the exact way the med works--I'm trying to do some research (yeah, that's so what I do..go read everything about something. BIG DORK. Too bad I can't get organized, I'd be great academic if I was).

On the other hand, if you are doing ok with 60 mgs, then I wouldn't be OVERLY concerned. It would be something to check on, yeah, but not panic over.

Not hungry, huh? Can we trade. I'm STARVING all the time. Just yesterday I ate a foot long sub, and then half an hour later I was starved.

It's insane. I never used to eat like that--I used to eat, like, a six inch sub and a small bowl of pasta plus some tea and that would be the entire day's food.

And you're not gaining weight? I'll change places in a heartbeat. I look at food and put on the pounds. Recently got back to the gym so hopefully that will help.

I thinks 120 MG a day is too much - I'll check with the doc, but very few people on theses boards seem to be anywhere near that...and he has me taking them at the same time (two 60 mg capsules once a day) He said it lasts 24 hrs, but I definitely see a peak and a low point.

I remember thinking I noticed a positve change with the one pill a day the first four days, then when I went to two, it just turned into one long buzz.

Don't knock yourself for being a research junkie. You've only got one body and its better too know too much about what you're putting in it than too little. Keep reading...

It's Adderal you are taking, not methylphenidate (ritalin) right? Is is a sustained release verson?
None of the stimulants, even the sustained release versions will last 24 hrs, as far as I know. You wouldn't want them to - sleep is necessary!
Taking 120mg is not dangerous in the short term, as long as you have no other problems the Adderal might exacerbate, but higher doses are less effective for attention - they can make it worse, depending on the dose.
If the 60mg seems to be working, you might want to just stick with that until you talk to your Dr, if you are worried at all, or you feel better at 60mg.

Well its obviously affecting my ability to read!

I'm new to the whole medication thing and I haven't been carrying my prescription bottle around to remind me of exactly what he gave me! How I got Strattera confused with Addarel when I first signed on here is beyond me. I guess thats why I'm taking it. :-)

Anyway I'm taking 120 mg of Strattera, not Addarel, so I apologize for the confusion I may have caused. To all my newfound Adderal friends, I bid you goodbye, as I move on over to the other forum where I belong. Bye!

I don't think you can put a number on it. You get used to what you are taking over time and may need more.

I thought that 120mg of Adderall was a god awfull amount for a 190lb man, but who am I to contradict a Dr, right? I'm just a guy who has always found medicine and medications fascinating (been reading the PDR since I was 14) - and maybe would have become a Dr if my darn ADHD was diagnosed in 1974 instead of 2004!
Glad to hear you won't have to worry about amphetamine psychosis Turbo!
Regards,
Greg

Im a big guy and slightly overweight, and I was prescribed 10-20mg/day. When i saw he had 60mg or 60x2, I was thinking Strat but didn't know. This is my 1st time on the Adderall boards, as I have been on it for a few days. I started with Strat from 25->50->80, now back to 60 of Strat because of the headaches I was getting mid-afternoon. I also have just added 10mg's of Adderal to the mix, and decided to check these boards before upping my dose of it (I was told 10-15-20mg's a day to start). Immediately with Adderall, I noticed a slight mood change. I seemed to have a more positive outlook on things, where as the strat helps me sleep a little better and keep me a little mellower in the anger department. I am quite happy with Adderall, but what is the difference between it and Concerta. I need to investigate that one further.

Adderall vs concerta - they are just different stimulants, they work roughly the same way. Concerta is a time release version of methylphenidate which is what is in Ritalin.