I take Effexor and Ritalin for severe depression and ADD. With out the Ritalin I have the attention span of a nat!
I used to take 140mg of Ritalin a day... But the FDA came in and ruined that for me. Now that dose, added with the Effexor, really helped me! It was as if someone turned the light on... I felt awesome!
But now I can only be prescribed 60mg Ritalin and I am strugling to find the light switch again. But it is a great combo if you have ADD and depression, not sure about bipolar though.
AniManaic, you are so right about the whole "buzz" thing. When I was hearing, a few years ago, that people were using Ritalin or Adderall to get buzzed and be able to party all night I just didn't understand. *LOL* I can take a dose of Ritalin and take a nap an hour later! It's people like that who have abused the drug that makes it hard for someone like me, who needs it, to be prescribed the proper dose... Really chaps my hinnie!
If anyone is interested here is a great link for ADD/ADHD dosing for adults...
http://adultadd.info/
Now if I could just get my doctor on board with the doctors on that site I would be doing great!!! *sigh*
Good luck... Hope all turns out well with your appointment!
Quote:
Originally Posted by AniManiac
So you've actually got several antidepressants on your meds list, which suggests they're not doing the trick particularly well.
If your pdoc agrees to it, trying Wellbutrin (or Effexor) could be worthwhile because they are different classes of ADs. SSRI's are bad for me but Wellbutrin has been a godsend. It is also used to treat ADHD so if you have concentration issues, it might be a two-for-one med for you. Even though Wellbutrin sometimes makes anxiety worse, some of that can be dosage-related.
I take Adderall along with Wellbutrin because my symptoms are severe enough to require it. I also had a computer-based ADD/ADHD test that verified the (multiple) clinical interviews had been accurate on dx'ing ADHD. Depending where you are in NY, that might be an option worth considering. If you end up on stimulants for ADHD, you will know right away whether they work. I've also heard more than one doctor say that the best way to tell if someone has ADHD is to give them the meds and see what happens - if they get wired, it wasn't needed; if they settle down, it was needed. People who have ADHD don't get a buzz or high off the meds (unless perhaps the dosage is wrong, but that's why they start you at a minimum dose.)
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