Adderall vs Concerta?

[RISC601]

I am 38 and have two brothers aged 36 and 27 who are on Adderall XR and a 12 year old nephew on the same med. My doctor has placed me on Concerta, had I remembered that my siblings were on Adderall I think I would have requested that instead.

My question to all of you is if any of you have tried both and which you feel works better and why.

Considering that my brothers are on Adderall, I figure the doctor has weeded out the other drugs as not working well for them and I might save myself some time and trouble by just following in their footsteps. I know the 36 year old was once on Ritalin and then went to Adderall. The nephew was on Concerta for a VERY short period of time before my sister-in-law took him off of it and put him back on the Adderall.

[x95murray3]

The bottom line is that these are the two primary stimulants on the market today, representing both molecules (Adderall XR (mixed salts amphetamine and Concerta methylphenidate). Research suggests that most people will respond preferentially to one or the other, and 10-15% of people will not respond to either. However, a larger percentage of patients typically respond better to the mixed salts amphetamine molecule.

What complicates thing is that both products use delivery systems to obtain an extended duration of action. When you add this into the mix, more possibilities occur. One might work sooner or last longer than the other. In some cases your metabolism or GI tract may not respond well to the delivery system, etc....

The ideal thing would to try each one for 30 days. Start on a low dose and titrate up until you get no additional response/benefit.

If you want my opinion, I would say that since ADHD is 30-70% hereditary and Adderall XR worked better for your brothers, there's a good chance it will work better for you.

[Margreet]

I've taken Adderall XR and now I'm taking Concerta. My results are complicated by hypertension, so I think I reach a dose that's physically intolerable before I ever reach an optimally effective dose. #%**@!!!

So far, I think I prefer the Adderall, because I know how to make it work: one dose upon rising, and another after lunch. That usually gets me through the whole day.

With Concerta, it seems to last about 12 hours, and then I'm not worth a YKW in the evening, so I rummage through my little pill box of leftover experiments to see what works. Nothing does, very well,although I've got some 5 mg. generic Adderall that helps.

The more I try other stuff, the better I like Adderall, although nothing works perfectly. Blast it!

[unreal33]

I just switched from Concerta (54mg once per day) to Adderall (20mg, twice per day... 8am and 1pm, give or take). Noticing a great response to the Adderall... got stuff done the last 3 days that has been on my to-do list for literally months. Still dealing with my own bad habits, but I have to say that my work ethic, motivation, focus, and all those other important factors are much better with the Adderall. Had some sleep issues (restlessness), but I can get out of bed in the morning easier now than when I was on Concerta.

In hindsight, I don't think the Concerta helped me much. Adderall's effect on my productivity was pretty much immediate and very noticeable. I also feel surprisingly less anxious than I did when I was on Concerta, but as my wife pointed out, that could be because I'm actually getting stuff done at work!

[chaigirl]

unreal33

Are you taking Adderall XR or the regular formula?

Does anyone have experience with Adderall combined with Effexor 75 mg?

[Lexicon]

I'm on 75mg of Effexor and I think I'll be starting Adderall in about a week, so I'll let you know. I wouldn't think it would be much different from Effexor and Dexedrine, which I'm on now... which is working pretty well.

[chaigirl]

Thank you for your reply...

I currently take Concerta 54mg along with Effexor (75) and it's working for me ok. However, I am going to talk with my doctor about giving Adderall a try.

I have tried various medicines over the years... Dexedrine, and regular release Ritalin, then Metadate (CD?) The shorter acting stimulants worked great for a couple of hours, but then I would suffer a rebound effect wherein all of my ADHD symptoms were magnified. Also, it seemed that my anxiety went way up. I felt very pent up inside. You know? Not good Now, I feel a balance with my medications, but I wonder if I'm really acheiving the maximum benefit for ADHD symptom relief...