[Maus5321]

Just a ramble. I recently started taking adderall IR after being diagnosed ADD. The IR's were awesome but I wanted them to last longer so my doc prescribed me XR's. I tried taking those and they did not seem to work as good as the IR's.

IR's: make me calmer more relaxed. Give me the motivation to tackle things I would normally not even attempt or do. They also seemed to help my sleep in many aspects. I slept less. Got up the same time everyday and overall kept a good schedule. They were working great letting me do things I never thought possible. The only downfall to me was the length they worked.

XR's: So my doctor let me try some XR's. They were expensive. But my mom said I should try them before I passed them off because of the price. I tried them they did last longer but they did not work as well at all. The little bit I did notice they worked was definitely longer but not what I was looking for. It did not have the same effectiveness as IR's. Also I noticed I was falling back into old patterns. Staying up late sleeping late not feeling generally motivated. Trouble falling asleep. Hiding in my room immersing myself in my laptop.

But my biggest concern is that the XR's seemed to make my hair trigger temper worse then when I was off meds altogether. So it felt to me like I was regressing as I could not control. I had been taking the XR's for a few days since I am trying to use them but it seems my anger was getting worse rather then better like when I was taking the IR's.

So my question is after the useless ramble above? Can different meds of the same type cause you to become angry easier or have different effects then the other(IR vs.XR).

Thanks for any input, Maus5321

[doyoutrustme]

I went through an Adderal/XR run as well. for me, The IR lasted 2 hours really well. the XR works in 2 'bursts' and would spike and drop inconstantly and make me really irritable. I am currently trying Daytrana, which has no generic at this point but its a patch that gives a consistent release. No spikes and drops. I really like it.

Yes! Adderall made me SO mean. I was a mean, horrible, awful person to be around. Everything annoyed me and I was just so sassy all the time to everyone over stupid things. My mom flushed them and said for the sake of our family I couldn't take them anymore LOL. I take vyvanse now and it works much better and I'm a lot nicer

[Maus5321]

Doyoutrustme: Yeah with the XR I noticed a 2 burst with it. I would feel the initial just slightly. Then around 4 hrs in the second burst would come in but it was to much of peak and valley for me I did not like it at all. Ir's are fine to me. Quick burst up. Then a smooth come down. I am not angry when I just take the IR's.

CourtKnee: I glad you found something that is working for you now. Hope the generic comes out soon for you . As far as the adderall goes. I am fine on short acting. But lookout when I am on the XR. It is like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde depending on which one I take. So curently I am just sticking with the short acting so I am a happy panda!

[kptclutch]

Reading this makes me interested in trying the IR, as I've always been prescribed XR. I take the generic though, so I'm not sure if that'd make a big difference in any way.

My temper has been quite different ever since I began medicating, but I've learned how to cope with the anger as I've become, for lack of a better term, "experienced" with how it affects me. People were certainly asking questions about wth was going on with me the first two months or so I was taking though....seemed to always be pissy

[Maus5321]

Originally Posted by kptclutch

Reading this makes me interested in trying the IR, as I've always been prescribed XR. I take the generic though, so I'm not sure if that'd make a big difference in any way.

My temper has been quite different ever since I began medicating, but I've learned how to cope with the anger as I've become, for lack of a better term, "experienced" with how it affects me. People were certainly asking questions about wth was going on with me the first two months or so I was taking though....seemed to always be pissy

I also took the generic. I really don't think there is a big difference but I can't say for sure if there is or not. Anyway here is my explanation.

The XR has two types of granules in it. They call it the microtol release system. When you take it you get the first dose in the first hour or so. Which is half the medicine contained in the XR. So if it is a 20mg Xr pill you get 10mg. 4 hrs later you get the second half of the medication(20mg total). At the 7hr mark you will reach the peaks concentration. For me the problem was I did not notice the XR working well at all in the first half of the day. When the second half kicked in, in the afternoon I could tell it was working beautifully. So I took for a couple days after that. 3 days in a row total. It made me the most pissed off person on two feet after the first day though. So I locked myself in my room til it wore off then the next day I went back to my short acting.

I take 20 mg twice a day of the IR. It is by far the best for me so far. I cannot say it will be the same for others. Whenever I get up I take my first dose. It kicks in fully about an hr later. So if I take it at 10 am. kicks in at 11 am. I take my next dose at 4pm. Pretty much covers my day, The thing I like about the IR is that I can vary when I take the first dose to match when I start my day. Also I get all the medicine at once. I can tell when it kicks in and is gone. Making it easy for me to decide also when I want the medicine to stop working at night when I want to go to sleep. The benefits for me of the IR are better then the XR. Maybe something to ask of your doctor if you feel it may sound better to you. If you do I hope it works well for you as it does for me.

[kptclutch]

Very insightful information! I didn't know that only half of the dosage was absorbed at a time....20mg dosages are misleading in this context. It reads, to me anyway, that 20mg is released consistently.

I'm actually happy about this confusion because I've always thought about stopping the meds altogether one day. It might not be too hard to get off this stuff with only a 10mg consistent dosage.

Thanks for the information and I'll let you know if I decide to try out the IR.

Btw, do you experience a night and day difference when the IR wears off? I ask this because my memory isn't the best in the world....so I'm afraid I might forget to take it if there isn't some sort of a reminder.

[Maus5321]

I am glad it was helpful info lol. I also though it was a gradual constant release of the medicine as well. But I read up did some research and it is a two step release.

The big thing that turned me off to the XR as well was the price difference. It was double the cost of the IR to fill.

As far as the night and day difference. I can clearly tell when the IR is starting to wear off and I can tell when it is basically gone. For me around the 4hr mark I can tell it is starting to taper off, at the 5 hour mark it is basically gone.

Timeline: Take 20mg@10am; Working by 11am, full strength; 3pm effect starts to wane; 4pm effect is basically all gone, Next dose taken.

So I get about 4 hours of max strength use out of 1 20mg pill. from the 4hr mark on the effectiveness drops off pretty fast. But since I am only currently getting two pills a day allowed. I wait until the effect is gone completely at the 5 hour mark so I can stretch the two pills I do get to last the whole day I need them to.

If I could get my way I would have the option for 3 pills a day and take them at the four mark so the drop off does not really have a chance to take hold until I am ready to sleep lol. Baby steps though . Also the come down of the IR is much smoother to me compared to the XR even though it is said that it is suppose to be smoother. Also the XR really interfered with my sleep something fierce. All around it was not good for me.

[Maus5321]

The IR wearing off will be your reminder, believe me. I have never been so regimented on remembering something, but I have not forgotten to take a pill yet. Nor would I want to .

Yeah. It is quite different how the XR works. The coating that covers up the medication that the capsule holds inside it is actually pretty interesting. When the first half of the dose is released, the coating covering the amphetamine salts is melted away and is absorbed while the other half of the medication retains its coating for about four hours longer before being melted away and released. Just degrades at a slower pace.

[learningursula]

Yes it can I to take Adderall and If I am in a bad mood the adderall makes me real angry and not want to be bothered.