Dexedrine takes forever to kick in!

[SnappyCloud]

I used adderall and adderall xr before and they would kick in b/w 30-60 minutes. Dexedrine IR (Barr generic) definitely takes more than an hour.

Could this be the formulation or just a sign that the dosage is not high enough (at least not "equivalent" to my previous addrall)?

For example, I used to take 30 mg Adderall XR in the am. Now I take/took 10 mg dexedrine IR (yesterday) and this morning took 15 mg. Hello!!!...I'm still waiting and it has been 1.5 hours - eventually it does kick in though.

[Matt S.]

it really may boil down to the generic brand... Barr brand isn't very humble on the system... I only noticed a change with that brand when the diarreah started (i didn't take my dexedrine today so i may have type-o's which bugs me)

[SnappyCloud]

Walgreens only carries Barr; I think you had mentioned that elsewhere. Checked CVS webpage, but it does not mention the brand they carry. I suppose I can get brandname for a higher copay-not sure if doc must write medically necessary.

Thanks 1018.

[lars]

Originally Posted by SnappyCloud

Could this be the formulation or just a sign that the dosage is not high enough (at least not "equivalent" to my previous addrall)?

It could be either of those things, or it could be something as simple as you drinking orange juice, or soda, or anything that has a lot of citric acid in it shortly before, or after your dose. If you are drinking anything acidic including tomato juice, you could be delaying the onset, as well as deminishing the potency & the duration of the dextroamphetamine.

Food for thought, literally.

PS If you are a soda drinker, Dr. Pepper is the only soda on the market that does not contain citric acid.

[SnappyCloud]

lars,

No soda or juices. I do have espresso (latte) 15 mintures after I wake up.

Good info about Dr Pepper (I'm not a Pepper)

[dreamweaver]

Apparently if you ingest antacids at the same time and alkalinize your stomach, you increase both rate of ingestion and potency. Never done it, but that's what they say....

[SnappyCloud]

dream,

you seem to be on the right track, but this practice (the gratuituous alkalinizing) can alter your system in a dangerous way. I tried it twice in the past and it works in delaying the elimination of amphetamine. If one needs more amphetamine, it is advisable to ingest more, rather than alter your body's Ph, electrolites, etc.

[Matt S.]

baking soda and water is the best antacid for that... and it does help a lot also

[SnappyCloud]

Chewing the tablet before swallowing seems to help!

During the day, depending on when I take another dosage, I choose to chew, partially chew, or not chew at all. For example, if I'm an hour ahead of my planned next dosage and I'm going to be busy longer than that, I may just take it without chewing.

[attention]

You chew your Dex?- why not crush it and snort for quicker effects then. Barr is crap, Orange Dex triangles or Mallincroft IR is good

[SnappyCloud]

Snorting Dex would be to bypass the digestive system and hit the brain directly, thereby making its use not only non-medical, but consistent with ilegal and dangerous addicitve behavior. I suppose then that brand name orange triangles or Mallincroft brand would make little difference - less so if the addict chooses to inject it.

Unfortunately I don't think chewing it is really speeding up the effects, as it sometimes takes me up to one a half hours to feel them. I do know that Methylin chewable tablets (grape flavor!) is an alternative for people who have problems swallowing methylphenidate conventional tablets, but I doubt that it speeds up its digestion in any significant way; The same applies to its liquid formulation.

Lately I've even sucked on dex as candy, until it dissolves. It dissolves so quickly that I think it is exactly what happens when one just takes the tablet and it hits the stomach acid.

When I took Adderall IR Barr generic (without chewing it), I would feel it 15-30 minutes later. I will ask my doc next time I see him.

[attention]

The snorting comment was an exageration on the posters frustration-tabs are for oral use., Barr seems to be a bust 4u then?.

Thanks

[SnappyCloud]

Attention,

I don't think chewing is making any difference; It takes 1.5-2.0 hours to feel the focus effects no matter what. However, I'm beginning to suspect that a certain smooth relaxing effect might be taking place 30-45 minutes after ingestion - I just did not know how to appreciate it.

Of course, I drink espresso as I wake up- cannot afford to wait for Barr dex to kick in. It is interesting how I feel it releasing even three hours after ingestion. I wonder if I should take Adderall IR generic in the morning, followed by dex during the rest of the day. I tried Barr's IR Adderall a long time ago and it was harsh compared to Adderall XR. I never compared apples to apples: Adderal IR vs Barr's IR generic.

I have not been able to find a pharmacy that carries other generic brands.

[katatak]

Originally Posted by dreamweaver

Apparently if you ingest antacids at the same time and alkalinize your stomach, you increase both rate of ingestion and potency. Never done it, but that's what they say....

The misconception here is that the effect of alkalization that happens takes place in your digestive tract. The effect, if fact, is alkalization of urine that produces the effect. So you can slightly extend, or reduce the half life of dexedrine by attempting to alkalinize your urine. Taking tums will do it to a certain extent and if you drink lots of orange juice you will shorten the half life, but the effect is nothing like what people hope for or fear. There is research documentation for this and I referred to it a while back in a post.

Katatak

[lars]

Originally Posted by katatak

The misconception here is that the effect of alkalization that happens takes place in your digestive tract. The effect, if fact, is alkalization of urine that produces the effect. So you can slightly extend, or reduce the half life of dexedrine by attempting to alkalinize your urine. Taking tums will do it to a certain extent and if you drink lots of orange juice you will shorten the half life, but the effect is nothing like what people hope for or fear. There is research documentation for this and I referred to it a while back in a post.

Katatak

Hi Katatak,
I was not so sure about what you claimed about alkalization of urine producing the effect, because that contradicted what little I had learned about this subject, so I emailed a buddy of mine who in in his final year of pharmacy school to find out if he knew for sure. He knows more about drugs than any Dr. I have ever known, and he has always been good at explaining things to me when I ask. Even though I am not able to understand all the details he is describing, I do get the jist of his response, and according to him what you are stating about the alkization of urine being the cause is incorrect. Here is his response to what you stated about alkalization of urine producing the effect:

"the short answer is that absorption of an oral drug takes place in the GI tract through the small intestine. The only way that urine pH would be affected is if some of the free base did not absorb. Thus, dexedrine as a free base would raise the urine pH if it did not absorb. The stomach pH is low, and that converts the amine base dexedrine into a hydrochloric acid salt. Entities passing through the small intestine into the blood are polar, and a salt is the best case scenario of polarity. Lowering the urine pH has no appreciable effect on drug absorption through the GI. If anything, it means that absorption was poor. Dexedrine will already be an HCL, H2SO4, tartrate, or maleate salt in the pill form to aid in shelf life and GI absorption. Kidneys are only for blood filtration of metabolites of a given drug, and in that sense, If dexedrine were in free base form, it would stay away from the kidneys longer since they filter ions. But freebase dexedrine would also have very poor absorption through the GI. So the person at that forum who told you this is absolutely wrong."