Does anyone take both? I'm sure someone does.. .if so what and for what symptoms? I have never taken any ADD meds but I've had prozac in the past which helped me lose weight (I eat in response to stress) and my mom used to give me klonopin (shh) maybe 2-3 times when I was anxious and that really helped. Other than that never been treated for any ADD symptoms but feel I migth benefit from an ADD med AND an antidepressant and antianxiety. Anyone take anti-anxiety meds ? thanks.

I've been on Concerta and Lexapro for nearly 2 years....am weening off of the antidepressant presently, though.

It's very common for people to take ADD meds with an SSRI like prozac.

I take Dexadrine and Wellbutrin.......
Dex. helps with my forgetfullness, being spacy, short temper, Those sre just a few things it helps.

The Wellbutrin is for my mild depression. I was feeling "blue", worthless,not caring about stuff I usally care about and so on...My depression has been brought on by outside forces not chemical imbalance.

i've been on efexor (300mg/day) for over a year. i'm also on 54 mg/day concerta.

i've tried many different anti-depressants, but efexor seems to be working the best for me.

ever since i was 18, i've been having periods of severe depression (mainly in the spring), but it's gotten milder/better over the years. i used to "hibernate" during the months of february through may - not talk to anybody, not going outside unless i absolutely *had* to, not eating unless i absolutely *had* to etc), but when i got my dog about 8 years ago, i forced myself out of the "hibernation" state, and since then it's gotten better and better...
:D

I take Effexor 225mg/day & Metadate 80mg/day. I started these two medications shortly after I was diagnosed. It was tough at first to start these to medications at the same time, there were a lot of ups and downs. Once I got the dosage and timing figured out the two medications worked very well together with very few side effects. There is a word for the the likelyhood of the various disorders to occure together, I think the word is comorbidity. I believe that it is common for ADD and depression to show up together. I am not sure if one is a result of the other or if the disorders occur separately.

Hey, can I stick this in here?

I went to the doc this past Friday and he feels there's a good chance my depression is biological (runs in the family), and he started me out on Effexor. If I still can't think then he'll have me tested for ADD.

So, is caffiene not good with Effexor? Because I've been taking the lowest dose in the morning, and I still can't sleep at night. My mind is racing, I either hyperfocus, or can't focus at all. I'm not sad or blue, good, that was quick, but how long do I wait for these headaches to go away? I don't get it, I've been reading up on ADD, and I just can't tell if it's good to try meds, or just learn to cope without them.

Confused, as usual.

I take Wellbutrin XL 300 mg/day for depression, Lexapro 10 mg for anxiety and Adderall XL 10 mg once per day. I tried to stop taking the Lexapro while I was on vacation the last 2 weeks. Ha! I lasted 4 days and the anxiety got so bad I started taking them again.

Eyeforgot (cute name!) - I don't know anything about Effexor, but as far as these meds go . . . it can take months to find the right "cocktail" that is effective and helps you. Different meds in different combinations and different doses work differently for everyone. What works for one person may not work at all for another. Also, everyone seems to have different side effects from the same meds. So it's all trial and error, unfortunately.

Many side effects do go away once your body gets used to the meds.

Eyeforgot......try looking in the section of this forum dedicated to medications under anti-depressants. Here's the link to make it easier :) http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=248

Ed

Ahalo, I can comment on the question in your original post. I took ADD medications alone for almost a year and then finally my doctor convinced me I might be suffering from depression (denial, denial on my part) and prescribed Wellbutrin. It made a wonderful positive difference in my life. The general sense of well-being, calm, and optimism I feel (again after years) helps me cut through the procrastination and lethargy that were part of the problem for me.

Good luck to you!

Ed

i've been on efexor (300 mg/day) for over a year, and i've been on concerta (54 mg/day) for over four months.
tomorrow i'm going to start switching to prozac (it's called "fontex" over here in sweden) instead of efexor.

that'll be quite interesting!!!
:D

Effexor is powerful stuff with a combined effect, better for trying later if other AD's don't work. I'd try Prozac first because it's easier to quit. I'd start with a small dose, which may be fine. Stratterra & Wellbutrin are other options. Pretty soon, they'll be saying you have bipolar & need a mood stabilizer too though so take it slow & maybe try to research all that first before going off the deep end on the strongest med. Stimulants for ADD are short acting and not the long drawn out ordeal that AD's can be. I was skeptical and impatient so was put on Effexor to guarantee I'd become a believer. I'm off that now and would like to try a small dose of Prozac. Stimulants didn't seem to help my inattentive ADD and just got me locked into obsessive procrastination but maybe with some balancing of Prozac they'd work better. It'll take time to sort out.

okay, so today i began my switch from efexor to "fontex" (prozac)!

yesterday i took 300 mg efexor for the last time.
today, tomorrow and sunday i'll take 150 mg efexor and 20 mg fontex.

:D

spoke to my doctor yesterday (saturday). as of today, i'm officially *off* efexor, and back *on* fontex!!!
*drum roll, trumpet fanfare and a cheering crowd*

:D

what is fontex? (generic name for it?)

paul: "fontex" is the swedish way to spell "prozac"...!
:D

Hi my son is taking a medicine prescribed by his dr. that is not approved by the FDA in kids. Should he even be taking it. It is Lexapro. I feel kinda of weird having him take a drug that isn't approved for kids. he is 10. Anyone experience this. I am sure the dr. knows b/c she treats kids and adults. She says it is the best medicine around w/least side effects. We personally haven't seen enough of a result to warrant it and it is expensive even with insurance. It is $35 per month. I told her that was kinda of high for us. Any thoughts would be appreciated.thanks Jennifer

Most drugs aren't extensively tested on children - particularly antidepressants and such (depression and anxiety are primarily adult problems) - so the fact that it's not tested on children wouldn't concern me at all. Neither would the most recent FDA warnings about anti-depressants, children and the risk of suicide - such a warning bears watching, but in my non-medical opinion, if you have a depressed or over-anxious child the tiny risk involved is worth the improvements in their quality of life - as long as you see an improvement.

She says it is the best medicine around w/least side effects. We personally haven't seen enough of a result to warrant it and it is expensive even with insurance.
Do you mean you haven't seen enough of a change to be convinced it is helping, or do you mean you don't think your son's condition is bad enough to warrant taking it? If it's the former, I would give it some time because anti-depressants can take awhile to reach maximum effectiveness.

I'm assuming your son is depressed? If your doctor has experience with child depression and thinks your son needs it, then I would give it some more time to see if it helps. Discuss your concerns with the doc and maybe he/she can explain in depth why he/she thinks he would benefit from that drug vs. another, cheaper drug (for ex. another anti-depressant that is available in generic form).

I wanted to add, to the original question, that yes I take anti-depressants with my Adderall, as well as drugs for anxiety. I'm currently on 100mg of Prozac as well as 150mg of Topamax, and 600mg of Neurontin.

Along with my Wellbutrin & methylphenidate SR, I also take nortriptyline (Pamelor). It's an "old school" tricyclic antidepressant which has a synergistic effect with the Wellbutrin. They all work well together.

i take wellbutrin sr 150 once daily for depression and dont see any bad side effects with the ritalin im on, about to swich to adderall so ill see how that goes

I take Zoloft for Anxiety and Ritalin for ADHD, so to answer your question, "yes." They do not seem to counteract eachother, except that the Ritalin takes away the drowsiness caused by the Zoloft.

I've said this before in other threads but I've never really gotten a satisfying answer to it so I thought I'd post it in this one. My doc is on a whole prozac/adderall kick. The adderall is great but the prozac just scares me. He gave me a 5 month prescription to it, so I have tons of it but I haven't been taking it. He told me he thought I really needed to take both of them, but I don't trust the medical profession(kind of ironic in a way). I guess my question is should I be taking the prozac? I am not depressed anymore on adderall so I don't take it but are there other good effects that will help me? I'm going back to the doctor on October 7th so any other recommendations for drugs other than prozac would be good too...

cualexander,
Stimulants alone can increase anxiety, worry & overfocusing obsessive behaviors & thoughts so that's probably what he has in mind. I agree stimulants do have an antidepressant effect & I can believe your sadness would have cleared up with that alone. It's possible that sedatives would have a similar effect at least on anxiety, though docs will hesitate to prescribe them long term, you can understand being on a cocktail of uppers & downers is kind of sketchy treatment. If you are still very emotional (sometimes hard to tell because you've likely always been that way) then prozac may help. Prozac is more likely to cause weight gain & sexual side effects but the withdrawal is the least troublesome so it's a good one to experiment with & if it works you could move on to another with less side effects but more withdrawal problems. I believe prozac is not really used for anxiety like some other SSRI's are. If you tend to get angry quickly, SSRI's might make that worse. Wellbutrin is a fairly mild stimulating antidepressant if you aren't feeling too speedy on the stimulants it might help relieve some worry & overemotionalness (I made up that word).

HTH

hey there,
just recently learned that SSRI's like prozac have a side effect that the drug compainies did not want people let alone doctors know. there is a 3% chance of suicidal tendencies for those taking the meds. it has shown that the deppression may get worse before it gets better. talk about a double edged sword huh????

angel:confused:

Yeah the thing that scares me with SSRIs so much more than stimulants is that its that they last so long in your system. Prozac lingers in your system for about a week whereas Adderall stays around for about 6 to 12 hours. I took Prozac for 3 weeks after I first started visiting my doctor. I told him on the second visit I thought it was making me suicidal and he told me to keep taking it that it would get better in about 3 more weeks. What? I don't have that kind of time. In fact he gave me 5 more months of it. I don't take them though. Prozac has 185 Side Effects listed in the Physicians Desk Reference. Whereas Adderall has 24 and they are generally common stimulant side effects, like insomnia and loss of appetite, increased blood pressure. Phil Hartmans wife was on an SSRI when she killed him and shot herself. Lenny Gall was on Prozac when he killed his mom with an axe. Causation or Correlation? I don't know, but I'm not willing to take the chance.

Mentally unstable people are often proscribed SSRI's and such. There is one theory that in some cases the drug brings a person out of a total, sleep-24hrs-a-day depression and gives them some energy which they use to kill themselves.
The people who are killing themselves are deeply troubled to begin with brain chemistry so messed up that only God knows it works. I really don't think that people/kids are being driven to suicide by these drugs.
I have taken a number of SSRI's over the years - usually in the winter, stopping in the spring, and mostly the side effects were pretty tame.
I currently take an NaSRI and it helps a lot - for a bit of anxiety and (previously) light depression. I've never had a panic attack and am not effected too much by either, but I do know that I am simply a happier person when taking the drug, so I've kept taking it. I have stopped a couple of times, just to see the effects and I did notice it - especially in my driving.
I think you have to weight the potential benefits vs the risks. In a severly depressed person there might be a slight risk of suicide, but the potential improvement in the quality of life might well be worth the risk.

Well see thats the thing though. I'm not even really depressed, I think I just have GAD or something. I get these anxiety attacks sometimes and SSRIs take too long and they make me personally feel really bad sometimes just because they are depressants, they make you emotionally dead. Gregster, since I know you know a lot about chemicals, do you know of any drugs that are fast acting and I can just take occaisionally as needed? i mean I have a 3 month supply of 10mg valiums but benzos are some of the scariest drugs of them all. The addiction potential is too high. I need a non SSRI, non benzo, drug. Wellbutrin is none of those right?

If your problem is mostly anxiety Wellbutrin might increase it since it's stimulating. If you tried SSRI's & they didn't work & you're scared of benzos & not interested in sedatives, I'd recommend meditation, breathing exercises & CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Benzos can be taken occasionally only as needed, that is a common way to use them.

Yeah I guess what got me scared of benzos was that my doctor gave me 10mg valiums with 3 refills and told me to take them everyday for insomnia, along with my Prozac and Adderall. So If I had listened to him, I would have been on a Benzo, an SSRI, and Amphetamines everyday and I'm talking about high dosages. 40mg of adderall(two prescriptions), 20mg of Prozac and 10mg of Valium. I think my doctor is crazy.

Paulbf, wasn't it you who wrote out that post about the neurotransmitters? I mean just thinking about all the chemicals that would be effected in my brain by those medications makes me worried.

I'm about to ask my doc for trazadone to take at night, because of its mild sedative effect, to deepen my "light" sleep pattern when taking Ritalin or Dex. Anyone else tried this combo? Doxepin is another antidepressant that has a similar effect but it's almost like a knock-out pill, like taking Nembutal or something. Trazadone has been around for a long, long time. Branded as Desyrel.

I take the anti-depresant "Remeron" which deals very effectivly with sleep problems, as well as anxiety. No sexual side effects to speak of from this drug - I'm very happy with it.

80 mg strattera & 450 mg wellbutrin-still have to force myself to read longer posts &
sleep really lousy unless i have some late evening coffee. doing this for weeks, but one good thing;before i pop off & let my temper have its way with me, i do get some early warning.
not happy with the way this combinaton is working-good thing i have appt with dr this week. maybe ask about this remeron you speak of.

Wow, that sounds like an evil combination.

Am currently taking 50-100 mg of trazodone at night in combo with 20 mg of dexedrine during the day. This is the best I've ever felt in my life, especially this week, which coincides with being on the traz about a month. Seems to take that long to feel a kind of "well-seated" response/presence. Hard to describe except to say I sleep very soundly and have a kind of pleasant drowsy/clarity in the AM, and less of an occasional desire to double dose the dexedrine. I just feel productive without over- or underdoing it.

well, my last attempt to cut back on the efexor ended in a complete *failure* - after about a week of trying to cut the dose in half (150 mg instead of 300 mg), i was reduced to a sobbing, quivering *wreck*, and so i went up to my regular dose again...

now, however, i've once again cut the dose in half, and so far, things have been *very* different this time!

i'm still on 54 mg of concerta, and 150 mg of efexor seems to be "enough" now!
yeah...

i guess you could say i'm on 54 mg concerta, 150 mg efexor and 150 mg *anger*/*frustration*!
:D

I'm just over a month on Zoloft & not feeling good recently. I've found it to be very stimulating which is nice but not good for sleep cause it stays in you 24 hours once you get it going. Effexor also disturbed my sleep and made me sleepy in the day too. The withdrawal from Effexor after 6 weeks was not bad for me, so hopefully Zoloft will be OK too.

I take Ritalin and Xanax together because sometimes the Ritalin alone makes me feel nervous.

fontex is an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) that is used for depression and is at times used "off-label" (meaning not FDA approved but used for... I think) bulimia. I take concerta and zoloft and I'm doing fine
Concerta for ADHD and Zoloft for Generalized Anxiety.

The only problem that I've heard about is if you are taking Effexor (not sure what other AD's can do this), which is relativly unique being an SNRI (serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor), and a stimulant is something called serotonin syndrome (basically a serotonin OD).. This info is from this (http://www.drugs.com/xq/cfm/pageID_1150/int_1/list_1/values_drugid%3Dd04035%26drugid%3Dd03181%26/OpText_Effexor%20XR/dr_%2CAdderall%20XR%2CEffexor%20XR/qx/index.htm) drug interaction site:

"In general, amphetamines should not be combined with serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Close monitoring for enhanced sympathomimetic effects is recommended if these agents must be used together." This site calls it a "major drug-drug interaction"....

Anyway, interesting stuff, still looking for more info though

120mg of dexamphetamine / dexadrine... 150 - 225mg of effexor xr .. 200mg of tegratol / 150mg of thyroxine / 3 fish oils / 4 multivitamins.. (2x2 dayly) / endronax 1 morning and 1 in evening if needed...

Got my blood pressure tonight.. it was 150 / 80 ... with pulse of 100... i had been listening to my alpine stearo system after working an 18hr day stressing for someone else fixing there computers... this is after 3 hrs of sleep...

I think you and your dr should try to get you off some of the medications. Clonodine (catapress-brand name) can help to reduce blood pressure. So can Tenex (that's the brand name).

hmm why i that? hmm i just woke up .. had 46hrs sleep.. my gf found this amazing article. Feeling very fogged from thyroid.. put my thyroxine up to 200mg from 150mg.. will speak to edroconologist asap also...

http://www.tshc.fsu.edu/students/new_articles/sleepdeprivation.htm Dear Director:

Sometimes, I’ll completely skip a night or two of sleeping because of studying or partying or whatever. I was wondering if that’s really bad for me because I don’t really feel tired and I only sleep around five hours a night anyway.

Yes! Skimping on sleep seems easy at first, but is a stubborn habit to get rid of. Listen, sleep deprivation is not something to mess around with! It can cause a decrease in mental functioning and mental health, hurt your immune system, lead to obesity and diabetes, and can even be deadly because of the impairment it causes to your physical responses and motor skills, as in when you’re driving a car. Also, what makes this all worse is several studies have found that after just a few days of not getting enough sleep, you stop realizing how tired you are. In other words, you’re so tired, you don’t even know you’re tired, putting yourself and others in danger. When you’re in your teens and twenties, your resiliency seems endless, but, unfortunately, it’s not!

First off, let me explain how a lack of sleep affects your mental functioning. In a nutshell, your brain works harder to counteract sleep deprivation effects, but will perform less effectively. Concentration levels drop, you’ll experience slowed mental reaction times, and your memory will be impaired (which means you won’t remember things you learn in class and also, while taking a test or quiz, you will have problems recalling that information you studied). It also adversely affects your problem solving skills. Bottom line – you will not perform as well on tests, quizzes, or projects when you are sleepy!

Secondly, it is a known fact that without sufficient rest, your emotional mood deteriorates. You may become short-tempered, irritable, pessimistic, sad, and experience increased stress and anxiety levels. This can lead to a vicious cycle because increased stress and anxiety levels are a leading cause of insomnia! Plus, being run-down will significantly decrease your overall quality of life. You won’t enjoy activities you normally find fun and pleasurable!

Also, lack of sleep can hinder your ability to maintain a healthy immune system, which means you’ll be more susceptible to illnesses. You’re not going to do well on that exam if you’re suffering from a cold or the flu and who likes being sick?!

Not getting enough sleep also can lead to weight gain, obesity and even diabetes. Sleep deprivation lowers your Leptin levels, which will signal to the brain the body is starving. This in turn causes increased cravings for fat, starch and salt. Also, when we don’t get enough sleep, our thyroid levels rise, making it harder for the body to efficiently burn calories. In addition, sleep deprivation leads to a dramatic decrease in glucose tolerance. To compensate for glucose intolerance, your body secretes more insulin to get to normal control of its glucose. This makes the body less sensitive to insulin, which can lead to symptoms that mimic early stage diabetes.

Finally, sleep deprivation will seriously hinder your physical responses. When you are deprived of sleep, not only does your muscle strength and endurance drop, it makes it difficult to focus the eyes properly and to perform motor functions as effectively. This is particularly dangerous when you’re driving an automobile. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates (conservatively) that each year drowsy driving is responsible for at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities.

To recap, you’re not going to be as happy, do as well in school, or be healthy and in-shape if you don’t get enough sleep! It’s just not worth it. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that adolescents and young adults need between 8.5-9.25 hours of sleep nightly. But, unfortunately, the average for college students is considerably less than this. Also, I know many of you think you can overcome an all-nighter if you keep pumping in the coffee and soda, but the truth is caffeine and other stimulants cannot overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation. I know it’s difficult at times, but there are enough hours in the day for you to study and sleep (and even have some fun). So, manage your time wisely and get those Z’s!

hmm why i that? hmm i just woke up .. had 46hrs sleep.. my gf found this amazing article. Feeling very fogged from thyroid.. put my thyroxine up to 200mg from 150mg.. will speak to edroconologist asap also...

Not positive, but I'm pretty sure 46 hr's of sleep is not a normal thing to do (I've been averaging 3-5-hrs/night for 4 months, and the most catch up sleep has been 10 hrs... But that's just me, and I'm weird, but 46 hrs is what I get in almost 3 weeks... seems like a heck of a lot for one period... Not that I have a problem... I'm just really jealous :cool:...

Yeah.. well the fog has gone now since increasing dose to 200mg.. however i still dont have a normal nights sleep.. maybe 2 times a week only ;(

So, is caffiene not good with Effexor? Because I've been taking the lowest dose in the morning, and I still can't sleep at night. My mind is racing, I either hyperfocus, or can't focus at all. I'm not sad or blue, good, that was quick, but how long do I wait for these headaches to go away? I don't get it, I've been reading up on ADD, and I just can't tell if it's good to try meds, or just learn to cope without them.

I've been on Concerta 36mg for about 2 years... (diagnosed with ADD), about 2 weeks ago I was put on Effexor XR 75mg for depression. In the first couple weeks I felt a little anxious from time to time, I had trouble sleeping (for about the first week), and the effexor xr seemed to make the tinnitus worse (ringing in the ears). I did have headaches for a while but they went away after about 3 days when I switched to the bigger dose (75mg from the 37.5mg). If you continue to have distressing symptoms for more than 2 or 3 weeks after you start the medication... I'd highly suggest you talk to your Dr. about switching meds. Remember, every drug has side effects... but they're only effective if the benefits of the med. outway the disavantages of the side effects. Make sure you're open with you're Dr. about how you're doing on the meds. Don't let the Doc up your dose too quickly. My doc is pushing me already to go up to 150mg/day when I haven't even been on the 75mg for more than a couple weeks. Anyway, most my side effects have gone away except for feeling a little sleepy during the day.