drug combo

[LittlePrincess]

I'm getting ready to see a new psych next week and kind of nervous. I'm on a combo of meds that seem to be working for me, but since i have been on them for a while I'm kind of afraid that a new doc is going to start messing with the dosages or change them. As of now, I am on 20mg Prozac, 20mg Adderall XR and 300mg Wellbutrin XL. Haven't seen a psych since April. Anyone else on a similar combo or went 2-3 months without seeing a psych? Thanks all!

[kimo]

I am on 10 mg Lexapro, 300 mg Wellbutrin XL, and Adderall XR 10 mg. Just started the Adderall this week.

I'm thinking that if this doc wants to screw with your meds that you are successfully functioning on . . . find a new doc!

BTW, this combo for me is awesome!! I've never felt better in my life!

[Gregster]

Most doctors won't mess with something that works unless there are other issues - dangerous side effects, etc. What you're taking isn't extreem or unusual, so I wouldn't worry about change unless there is a problem with your blood pressure or something.

[LittlePrincess]

Well the reason I'm worried is because I was not formally diagnossed with ADD by my last doctor (also a psychiatrist)... The adderall was given to help with depression because it was thought that my ability to concentrate and focus was due to my major depression, NOT add. however, after researching ADD and my incredible reaction to the adderall, I feel that I probably have had ADD my whole life and no one ever noticed. I was never a hyper or misbehaved child, but all through school and even through college, I literally NEVER studied. I guess I just couldn't do it. No one noticed that there was a problem because I consistently made good grades. I have an incredible memory and pick up on things very easily. A lot of times I wouldn't do my homework, or I'd throw something together in about 5 minutes just so I wouldn't get in trouble. Then when achievement tests came around (primary and middle school), I would do incredible, and would even be placed in the gifted classes. Also, I remember several nights in college when I would stay home from the clubs on a Friday or Saturday night because I needed to study for an upcoming test early in the week.... and then ended up just talking on the phone or doing something else. This happened 9 times out of 10... seriously. My depression has been better... but it may be due to my ADD(?) getting better. I'm just not sure.
Honestly, the point here is that I don't want this doctor to take my adderall away. I have been on it since April, but I can tell that it is helping me in my everyday life. I just don't want him to increase, decrease or change my drug combo in any way right now. Guess I'm just worried! Thanks for your support! Please let me know what you think about my situation... I know you all aren't doctors, but from what I have told you, what do you think???? ADD or no? Will doctor take away my adderall if he thinks I DON'T have add? Anyone who has been in this situation, I'd love it if you would pm me. Thanks guys!

[ADD_Ed]

I agree with Gregster that no doctor should change your meds just for the sake of change. Is there perhaps something more about your fear that someone will "take your Adderall away"?

I am not on the same combination but can relate to everything you said about school, studying, standardized test, etc. That was me to a "T". As an older guy I have found that the tried and true coping mechanisms break down as one ages and what effectively compensated for me at 25 fails miserably now as I age and as the challenges I face in life become more complex.

Also, the depression/ADD relationship you mention is a chicken and egg question for me as well. I recently added Wellbutrin XL to my ADD medication (Strattera) and it has helped tremendously in lifting the veil of depression which made the ADD problems of procrastination and distraction so much worse in the past.

So.....I believe it is critical to do what you're doing and see the doctor and do what you can to improve your own life, including speaking up confidently when a medication seems to work for you.

Be bold and be brave, it is YOUR life and the doctor has no right (or reason) to mess up what is working for you. I have already added you to my prayers for today since that is the most powerful thing I can do to help you.

Let us know how it goes on Thursday!!

Ed

[LittlePrincess]

Hey all! Well my doc is a very nice guy. He seems to think, however, that the Adderall was given to me to help treat my depression... He thinks that my concentration problems were due to the depression. Anyway, he is going to keep me on the same meds for now. Hopefully I can taper off the drugs one at a time.. eventually. I'm just not ready to quit taking them yet and I made that very clear. He even wrote me another script for Adderall XR, yeeaa! That was my worst fear.

He talked to me a little bit about ADD and ADHD and said that it was something that doesn't come and go, it's something you have in your childhood and it usually disappears in adulthood. He said that he had very few ADD patients (he treats only adults). Well, Like I said before, I think if I do have ADD, it just wasn't caught when I was a child because of my high IQ. He knew without me telling him that I litterally "coasted" through high school and college. It wasn't my studying, attention and concentration that got me through (like most people). It was simply my ability to pick things up and get by with decent grades by just going to class and maybe reading through my notes right before the test... Just doing the bare minimum to get by.
Anyway, I really need to know if I have ADD... I guess we won't know. But what I do know is that the Adderall, along with Prozac and Wellbutrin, has helped me out significantly.

Well, thanks for all your support! I am going back to see him Aug 2.

[Gregster]

Your situation in school sounds very much like mine, and your discussion with your Dr sounds like my first (and last) visit to the local (small town) psychiatrist - depression was diagnosed.
The ADD expert I saw next (in the big city) had no trouble diagnosing me - and the childhood evidence was there if you took the time to read the report cards.
Whoever gave you the Adderall initally must have thought you have ADD/ADHD since stimulants aren't used for depression anymore - they work for depression, mind you.
I am glad that he is letting you take them.
Regards,
Greg

[LittlePrincess]

Well to be honest with you, I have been thinking about seeing a new doctor.
The more I think about it, the more it is starting to come together...

I could sit through achievement tests and IQ tests without a problem that I can recall. I always had such a good memory and things that are usually tough spots for kids (MATH) came especially easy to me. Numbers just always made sense. And I know that most people procrastinate, but I'm starting to think that mine is a little extreme...
I remember when we had to write reports, narritives, research papers, whatever... At the end, we would have to turn in all of our work that we had done throughout the semester (prewriting, note-taking, first draft, editing, revising, etc. etc.). Well, I would write the paper doing NONE of the pre-work. I would write the paper to be just "good enough" and THEN I would go back and write the notecards and first drafts. It was crazy. I even did that in college. In my English 102 class we had a research report that took up about 8 weeks of the semester and the teacher would give us "grades" along the way... well, needless to say, I didn't do the "prework" so I would get Ds, Cs (if I had time to throw something together that morning). But on the "final draft" (which in my case was my ONLY draft) I would end up with an A....
So it would be like... prewrite=D, notes=D, research sources=C, revising=C, editing=D.... Final paper=A
The more I think about it... The more I realize that I have been this way my whole life. In college it became extremely apparent that I had problems when I would join a study group because that was the only way I could "study"... It would be me sitting there socializing in the library, going for all the "food and coffee runs, etc." I have literally coasted my way through school. I remember a bunch of teachers in high school, and my mom, and the guidance councellor say "You know, you could have easily been valedictorian...." Meaning I didn't work hard enough... well that wasn't true.... I didn't work AT ALL!!! none!!!!!
No one.. including myself... ever thought that was a problem because "school" has always come so easy to me.

Okay I'm rambling now. Well I am going to look into seeing a new doctor. I have an appointment with this guy again on August 2nd so maybe I will try to find another.

Thanks for listening Greg. You've been very insightful!

[KevinN99]

one question: does taking adderall and prozac make a huge difference? my dr. prescribed me 10 mg. prozac (the generic kind...fluoxetine), but I haven't been taking it...because I'm kinda of scared. I thought prozac was only for people with depression? just wondering...

nice meeting you!

Kevin

[jayblaze2]

I was wondering when you take your anti-depressants? Morning or Night? I have been taking 10mg of lexapro in the mornings along with my 10mg of adderall. I take adderall 2 to 3 times a day (10mg). I notice that right when adderall is at its peak i start getting sweaty palms and feel weird. I have been taking adderall for a couple months and have had only anxiety when coming down at the end of the night. I started lexapro 4 days ago and started taking my adderall with it on monday when all the weird stuff started happening. Should i take the lexapro at night will this help? Should i take less lexapro because my adderall increases the effects of lexapro? What would you do? Besides ask your doctor, i know that. Oh, i take lexapro to help with my anxiety and depression.

any replies would be great!!

thanx

[KevinN99]

Actually, I decided to take my anti-depressant (prozac) today with my adderall XR (30 mg). Normally, I just take the adderall XR without the antidepressent. And actually, I felt pretty good today. However, (and I kid you not)...my palms and feet are getting really cold and clamy right now. Strange. Maybe it's because of the anti-depressent? I'm not quite sure. As for taking it at night, I don't see why you can't...unless the anti-depressant causes insomnia.

I'm going back to my doctor tomorrow morning, so I'll ask her and see what she thinks.

also...could you tell a difference when you take adderall with the anti-depressant? If you do, how so?

Kevin

[jayblaze2]

Ok so i just wrote a long reply but it got erased some how!!! To answer you ? i did feel beter on the anti-d's + adderall, but i did have crazy feelings throughout the day (sweaty, confused...). My friend said they will pass as they did with her. I tend to worry way to much. I know adderall makes anti-d's stronger so i may reduce my anti-d dosage or try taking them at night. Have a final tom!!! I love this stuff =(

[Ruby]

Originally Posted by LittlePrincess

Well to be honest with you, I have been thinking about seeing a new doctor.
The more I think about it, the more it is starting to come together...

I could sit through achievement tests and IQ tests without a problem that I can recall. I always had such a good memory and things that are usually tough spots for kids (MATH) came especially easy to me. Numbers just always made sense. And I know that most people procrastinate, but I'm starting to think that mine is a little extreme...
I remember when we had to write reports, narritives, research papers, whatever... At the end, we would have to turn in all of our work that we had done throughout the semester (prewriting, note-taking, first draft, editing, revising, etc. etc.). Well, I would write the paper doing NONE of the pre-work. I would write the paper to be just "good enough" and THEN I would go back and write the notecards and first drafts. It was crazy. I even did that in college. In my English 102 class we had a research report that took up about 8 weeks of the semester and the teacher would give us "grades" along the way... well, needless to say, I didn't do the "prework" so I would get Ds, Cs (if I had time to throw something together that morning). But on the "final draft" (which in my case was my ONLY draft) I would end up with an A....
So it would be like... prewrite=D, notes=D, research sources=C, revising=C, editing=D.... Final paper=A
The more I think about it... The more I realize that I have been this way my whole life. In college it became extremely apparent that I had problems when I would join a study group because that was the only way I could "study"... It would be me sitting there socializing in the library, going for all the "food and coffee runs, etc." I have literally coasted my way through school. I remember a bunch of teachers in high school, and my mom, and the guidance councellor say "You know, you could have easily been valedictorian...." Meaning I didn't work hard enough... well that wasn't true.... I didn't work AT ALL!!! none!!!!!
No one.. including myself... ever thought that was a problem because "school" has always come so easy to me.

Okay I'm rambling now. Well I am going to look into seeing a new doctor. I have an appointment with this guy again on August 2nd so maybe I will try to find another.

Thanks for listening Greg. You've been very insightful!

Wow, this post really got to me. I had almost exactly the same experiences. Exactly. I didn't "suffer" in any academic sense from ADD until graduate school and facing the working world. I did suffer in lots of ways that people didn't get b/c I always just seemed to ace everything without trying (and that's exactly what I did).

Just the other day I was trying to share with my husband how frustrated I was with my doc talking about how "if" I had ADD I was awfully "high-functioning". I said "high functioning compared to what?" I mean, if you compare me to the average person, I'm high-functioning. But if you compare me to a non-ADD person with my IQ (I'm technically at "genius" level) then I'm positively a loser! It's all a matter of perspective, you know?

Thanks for posting.

[pharmacy boy]

That is also me, i remember my senior year of high school i didnt do a bit of work on our big term paper till the night before it was due, and i stayed up all night and just wrote what i was saying to myself instead of going through the routine of rough drafts and revisions, and i ended up getting the highest grade on my term paper that year, and i would make my friends mad because they spent weeks doing their paper and i did it in one night and i got a better grade. I am i HUGE procrastinator and probably will always be, however since i went back on my meds, i seems to help, and thats one reason i choose "stimulants" instead of Strattera. Mentally im going at 100 mph but physically im lazy so i now have that little boost to help me get off my butt and do what i need to do. I cleaned my office last week, something i had been putting off for months, and once i got started, i just worked untill it looked the best since i moved in. In high school i was given an I.Q. test for the gifted program and tested 2 points under clinical genius. But i got B's and C's because i didnt apply myself, something that has been written on my report cards since the third grade. looking back all the signs were there for add, but i just never put them together, i wish in hindsight (of course hindsight is always 20/20) that i had seeked help earlier so i could have done better and gotten a scholorship to college (i didnt get one because i didnt apply to them, laziness) I had a 34 on my ACT but only a 3.2 GPA, i wish i had done something earlier, but getting back to what this thread is about, my wellbutrin and Ritalin (im going to the doctor next week to swich back to either adderall or dexedrine) have been working wonders, i am functioning better than i have in years.