[musicsinmysoul]

I was diagnosed with ADHD (honestly, I don't even know what type I am, I can't remember if the psychiatrist told me or not. how sad, i know.) over a month ago now and have been taking Concerta 36mg.

I finished my first set of pills and went back for the check up and he asked me how the meds were doing, and for some reason I have no clue why, I said they help a little bit. It's hard for me to remember right this second what it felt like on the medication because, well, I have ADHD and apparently we tend to have a hard time explaining/remembering our symptoms. (I mean....I'm not the only one right........ ?)

I can tell when I'm coming off the medication at night, because I start to get fuzzy. I don't know how else to describe it, except that I just feel like I'm losing track of what I'm doing and it's more obvious to me that I'm losing focus.

I have been more irritable since I have been on the medication, and I feel like my moods change a lot more, I'm also pretty certain that I'm depressed. (Not to go off topic too much, but if I don't ask NOW I'll forget to...Can you be depressed and only FEEL depressed some days? Or for example, only morning or night, not ALL the time? Just wondering..)

I feel like my symptoms that I have when I'm not on my medication are somewhat worsened when I'm on them. Some days they work for my focus and attention, and some days I can tell that they definitely don't.

One last thing I would like to throw in here is to ask if any of you know if you're taking the RIGHT medication, and its WORKING for you.....Are you supposed to feel HAPPIER? Are you supposed to feel like everything in life is good? I don't think I do...So I was curious about anyone else with the experience)

I apologize if this post was kinda all over the place I have a hard time organizing what I need/want to say.

**BASICALLY, my intended question overall was really just how one would know if the medication was working properly, or doing what it is supposed to do, and if it isn't, what can be done? Or does that mean I have something else going on?**

[Miswimmy1]

Hi!

Ok let me see. so yes, you are not the only one who has trouble remebering. that is a one of the trademark symtoms of ADHD.

The next q- med can be known to change your mood a bit... that is a listed side effct. I would talk to your dr though if you are concerned about it. As for the depresion question, i can't tell you that. sry...

I took concerta (it was the 1st med i took aftr i was diagnosed.) I knew immediatley that it was working because I just felt so much better. It ended up not agreeing with me effctwise, so I switched to strattera, which I take now. I had the same issue you are talking about- I couldn't tell if it was working or not. So I decided to not take it and see if I could tell then. And boy could I tell. I felt "off" the whole day. So that is one thing you can try...

If you still can't tell, then I would talk to your doc. ADHD med is really a trial-error thing. They work diferently and you really won't know until you try. If you want to stay with concerta, but you aren't feeling the benifit, ask about raising your dosage. You may just need a bit more (everyone metabolizes at dif rates).

You will know if it is working (either you are taking it and you know it is, or you don't take it and wish you had taken it lol)

Best of luck!

[BlueInanna]

Hey Music,
Yes, I knew it helped me right away - mine was adderall, different med. But... I was also already being treated for depression. I'm so sorry you're depressed hun .
Please look into all the treatment options before going for the anti-depressants, the docs seem to hand them out so easy, but some are pretty intense and then a nightmare of withdrawals.
But I do take meds, lithium (bpII) and welbutrin (the depression) and adderall (add), plus an anti-anxiety called clonopin "as needed".
Please keep us posted.

Hi... I knew within 30 minutes of my first Adderall that things were much better. It is not an instant happy pill, but the fog cleared from my mind and I really felt good. I have not tried your med, but he probably started you on a fairly low dosage. I was on anti-depressants at the time and I knew I could come off of those and weened myself off of them within a month.

It can take a while to get everything right, but once you do you should know you feel better on the ADD meds.

[musicsinmysoul]

Okay thank you!

[NowWhereWasI]

I think my first med was Ritalin, but am not sure. It's been decades ago; however, I do remember that it worked immediately. Over the years, for various reasons, my doctors have changed meds. Some worked well and immediately whereas others took time or didn't work at all.

My advice is that you ask your doctor if trying something else is an option. If what you are taking isn't really helping, then there's no point in paying for it or taking it. All meds I'm familiar with have some side effects even if you aren't aware of them. I don't take ANYTHING that doesn't help my condition.

Best of Luck!
Bev

[Kiddo88]

Maybe this is just *the medicine for me- but I can tell a WORLD of difference the first time taking my Vyvance. Its like night and day. There would never be a question in my mind. I'm not so incredibly mad anymore, I feel like I can handle things, I can actually look at something and be able to tell you what the heck I'm doing...etc. Maybe your dose is too low?...

[musicsinmysoul]

That makes sense. The other issue I kind of have with medication is the fact that I don't have a drug plan, and therefor have to pay for my meds out of pocket. When my psych first talked about medication, he told me he prefers Vyvanse because it has always been excellent for people who he prescribed it to and nobody he has seen has had any issues with it. Except, it is the MOST expensive there is.

I take 36mg of Concerta, so maybe I need to be taking a higher dose. I've been looking at iPhone apps for ADHD, and I found one that you put in your height and weight and it tells you what the HIGHEST dose of a certain med that you can handle is.

Obviously I have no idea if that's even accurate but for my height and weight it put me at 56mg being the highest I could take..there is a 54 mg of Concerta, maybe I'll try that. Then if that doesn't work I'll suggest being put on Vyvanse, since he did tell me he's never had patients with problems with it, but then again, I'm not like most patients. I had severe side effects on day TWO of 18mg! Maybe I was just adjusting.

I have an appointment this coming monday with him, so I'll see what he thinks.

[OneEmptyHeart]

Some of your post makes me think you may be ADHD/ bi polar or just bi polar. Your reaction to the medication sounds like many articles I've read comparing add/ADHD to bi polar. They say that medication for ADHD can affect a bi polar person who was mis-diagnosed very much in the way you are describing.

[musicsinmysoul]

I heard that too....I'm honestly not comfortable enough with my psychiatrist that I can just be like "I think you diagnosed me all wrong". BUT, I was like this when I was a child. The inattention, not able to focus, hyper ALL the time, all my report cards said "could exceed if she just tried harder" and all that. So it has to be ADHD. I know you can have both ADHD and Bi-Polar, but im not EXTREME in anything. With Adhd you still have mood swings and they're due to life things, so if someone upsets me I over react.

I actually just got switched from Concerta 36mg to Vyvanse 30mg (today), and so, if my symptoms get WORSE does that mean I don't have ADHD? Or maybe it could mean im half bi-polar as well? I just don't think that my symptoms are extreme enough to be classified as something bigger.

I have wondered that though. Thank you OneEmptyHeart for commenting, you're actually not the first person to say anything like that. It's just hard for me because I feel like when I talk to my psychiatrist he doesn't really care.. I'm just taking medication and can't do any kind of therapy because I can't afford it, but I know that I need it. He also won't give me a referral if I asked for it, so. I'm seeing me regular doctor next week, I can talk to her a bit easier, as I tend not to leave things out with her.

Any suggestions as to what I should do? It's difficult for me to realize some of my symptoms and nobody seems to notice anything extreme...it's just me who notices, so I tend to think I'm just thinking too much.

Originally Posted by musicsinmysoul

I heard that too....I'm honestly not comfortable enough with my psychiatrist that I can just be like "I think you diagnosed me all wrong". BUT, I was like this when I was a child. The inattention, not able to focus, hyper ALL the time, all my report cards said "could exceed if she just tried harder" and all that. So it has to be ADHD. I know you can have both ADHD and Bi-Polar, but im not EXTREME in anything. With Adhd you still have mood swings and they're due to life things, so if someone upsets me I over react.

I actually just got switched from Concerta 36mg to Vyvanse 30mg (today), and so, if my symptoms get WORSE does that mean I don't have ADHD? Or maybe it could mean im half bi-polar as well? I just don't think that my symptoms are extreme enough to be classified as something bigger.

I have wondered that though. Thank you OneEmptyHeart for commenting, you're actually not the first person to say anything like that. It's just hard for me because I feel like when I talk to my psychiatrist he doesn't really care.. I'm just taking medication and can't do any kind of therapy because I can't afford it, but I know that I need it. He also won't give me a referral if I asked for it, so. I'm seeing me regular doctor next week, I can talk to her a bit easier, as I tend not to leave things out with her.

Any suggestions as to what I should do? It's difficult for me to realize some of my symptoms and nobody seems to notice anything extreme...it's just me who notices, so I tend to think I'm just thinking too much.

30mg Vyvanse is a pretty low dose. My daughter was recently DX'd with ADD and she is taking Vyvanse 60mg per day.

I don't know too much about BP, other than there are many shared symptoms. My GP suspected I had BP, but the psych he sent me to quickly DX'd ADD.

Just let you doc know if the meds are not helping that much and of course if you feel weird on them. It can take a while to get the correct med/dosage correct.

[Miswimmy1]

Everyones body has a different tolerance for medications. What may sound low to someone may be strong for u. It's a trial and error thing.

And as for the bp thing, my sister has both... I think a large % of ppl with one have the other, and vice versa... It is always something to look into- if not to dx u, then to rule out any other possible disorders.

[musicsinmysoul]

Ohh that makes sense. Yeah there are currently only 2 dose amounts available here in Canada right now, which are the 30mg and 50mg capsules.

This was my second day today on Vyvanse, and I have had no side effects that I can think of, just I get REALLY irritated the second the meds wear off... I can definitely feel it coming and I'm still not sure how to handle it.