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Originally Posted by Libsters
Hi YYZadd,
I'm trying to figure out best meds for me and I am hoping to gain some knowledge from your, or others experiences.
I also was diagnosed recently, within the last 1 1/2 -2 years and just turned 44. After a decent amount of reading up on ADD I relectantly decided to give meds a try and started on Adderall XR 20mg about a year ago. I stopped taking it after about a month because even though I was getting good mental effects: clearer thinking, much better motivation, better impulse control, and a clearer view of what was going on around me and my own actions (although a think a fair amount of the last one has been due to reading and learning) ..it also made my heart race, kept me up too late, made my fingers and feet feel as if they were going numb speratically, and I really wasn't fond of the "geekin" feeling.
After being unmedicated for about a year I have been back on Adderall for about a month now, tried 15mg this time, in the hopes of removing the negative physical side affects and other than the foot and hand thing, just a little, and still a little of the "geekin" feeling here and there the rest are gone. ..... Unfortunately so is some of the clarity and motivation. Ultimately I would like to have more of the positive mental affects that I experienced with the 20mg, and keep the physcial effects to what I am experiencing with the 15mg, or ideally eliminate them all together, all though I realize the last part may be unrealistic.
I was thinking that maybe taking meds throughout the day as opposed to taking the time released version might help me to better regulate both the mental and physical effects of the meds. I am wondering if you started on the XR version and could speak to the differences, or if you could just share specifically what you are taking now and what your experiences with it have been with it.
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Hi Libsters...
The thing about the ADD meds is that they affect people differently. I have tried Ritalin, Adderall and Vyvanse (This is a long acting stim) Adderall worked best for me. Ritalin was okay, but Adderall seemed to be a little more consistent for me. I like that Adderall takes affect quickly and I can plan my dosage based on the day ahead of me. Vyvanse started up more slowly (I did not like) and tailed off for me too early in the day. My usual weekday has me up at 5am and not in bed before 11pm. I take 60mg of Adderall per day, 20mg at 5am, 20mg at 10am and depending on the day 10-20mg at 4pm (changed from 2pm about a year ago) taking the last dose later keeps me more effective at home and actually seems to help me at bedtime. (My brain begins to race as the meds wear off)
One thing to mention about being on the meds is that after a lifetime of living with ADD you have to learn a lot of things. The meds make me more aware of everything, like Tone of Voice, Body Language, what people say to you and how they treat you. I am still basically a laid-back guy, but I have really had to learn how to react to these things that I did not notice before, or that I used to not engage the comments because I tended to shut down during a conflict. 3.5 years later, I'm still working on these things.
If you have not read any of the good ADD books, definitely do so... The reading has really helped me understand how ADD has affected so many things in my life.
If you have any questions, feel free to send me a pm.