Hello, all.

After years of knowing I had ADHD but trying to work around it, I finally went in for a (re)diagnosis. (I may or may not have been diagnosed with it when I was 7; long story, but the school child study team allegedly diagnosed it, and instead of having me put on medication -- a condition of my staying at that school -- my parents simply sent me somewhere else. My mother told me this, then denied doing so a month later.) I was diagnosed, and I recently started medication. I was put on 5 mg of Ritalin once a day to see how I tolerated it, as I'm so sensitive to most stimulants that I can't take cold meds. It has done little for me. The dosage I was instructed to take is merely an interim one, so my psychologist suggested I try 10 mg. The first dosage did little for me. It made me slightly less impulsive, but no more able to concentrate. Basically, I could sit down longer without needing to constantly get up or seek diversions like food or conversation, but that's it. With 10 mg, it's just a little more of the same. I'm remembering to do things that usually flit through my mind, but still struggling anything that requires a lot of focus (other than the typical bouts of hyperfocus). About a year ago, when I was still in school and struggling mightily with completing assigned readings, a friend who also has ADHD and was prescribed Dexedrine recommended that I try it just to see what it did. I was really, really reluctant because of the above-mentioned issues with stimulants, but I was staring down 150 pages of mind-numbingly boring political theory that were due the next day. There seemed to be no chance in hell of my getting through it no matter what, so I figured "what the hell." I tried half a 5 mg tablet. I got through most of the reading. I was no more impulsive (but no less so, either), and when I was on task, I was ON.

My question is this: is there any medication out there that would give me the reduced impulsivity I seem to be getting from Ritalin and the improved ability to focus I get from Dexedrine? I suspect my Ritalin dosage will be increased yet again, but I also suspect it will be even more of the same. Since my issues with inattentiveness and inability to focus are far more of a problem than hyperkinetic tendencies, it's not addressing my primary concern. I know there's no way I'm likely to be put on both drugs, and I'm not finding any information on a drug that will do both things. (Strattera is not an option.)