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Large doses of (prescribed) Adderall
Does anyone else have an unusually high tolerance to Adderall or other stimulant medications for their AD(H)D? I am shocked at the amount of mg's it takes for me to actually get a mild benefit from Adderall. It is a prescribed amount from my Dr, I'm just shocked at the resistance I have to it, and I still don't think I'm getting much out of it. (I'm a 30 year old Woman, I'm 5'5, and 135lbs.) Has anyone else gone through this, or is also going through this??? I'm at a prescribed amount of 160mg Adderall XR per day, and feel like I could easily go to 200mg's. I have had virtually no adverse reactions, my blood pressure is good and stable, appetite is good, and I can sleep any time day or night. I just don't get this ... Doesn't this seem obscenely high??
Hey Everyone,
My name isShane and I was diagnosed with ADHD and OCD at about 11 year old. my OCD was much worse then my adhd back then. I was on Prozac, lexapro, and the other popular one I’m sure you will say it in the response Sophomore year of high school while I played varsitybasketball and club year around. I was on 64 mg of Concerta, I personally told my PSych. To never give that to an athlete or child ,my pill couldn’t hold half of the MG’s. So I took both every morning, body fat dropped to 2% during season. I changed to small xr combined with low dose IR and it worked much better , especially for active people.
My name isShane and I was diagnosed with ADHD and OCD at about 11 year old. my OCD was much worse then my adhd back then. I was on Prozac, lexapro, and the other popular one I’m sure you will say it in the response Sophomore year of high school while I played varsitybasketball and club year around. I was on 64 mg of Concerta, I personally told my PSych. To never give that to an athlete or child ,my pill couldn’t hold half of the MG’s. So I took both every morning, body fat dropped to 2% during season. I changed to small xr combined with low dose IR and it worked much better , especially for active people.
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Lifted 4 days a week and played ball 4. Hours a day. No college wants to over An underweight guard who has to take SSRI Meds and Adderall to pass class
I played for whole life just wore me down... teammates all went division one and play pro but I’m stuck trying to find the combo that works between my lexapro and my adderall
I was a coaches son lol so I had to play as good as possible to not embarrass him.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Ask about Vyvansse. It is the longest lasting med. Just depends if it will work as well as adderall for you.
And yes, you will get the ups and downs taking the ir 3 times a day. If nothing else try the xr first and see how that goes.
A high protein breakfast also really helps the med stay effective during the day.
And yes, you will get the ups and downs taking the ir 3 times a day. If nothing else try the xr first and see how that goes.
A high protein breakfast also really helps the med stay effective during the day.
From what I know, the highest my doctor will go for me is, 60mg/day. I take 20mg of adderall ir 3x a day. The problem is, it's not keeping me as focused, alert, it's not keeping my anxiety down anymore. I also feel a lot more tired during the day now, than I was prior to starting this med. I've been taking adderall IR (starting on 20mg 2/day) and about every month, I would up it 10 or 20mg, now I'm up to 60mg/day, for about 7 months now. I've been experiencing many down falls while taking this dose. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow, so I'm going to ask him if I could possibly up my dose, or rather than upping the IR dose, maybe try taking adderall XR along with my IR. I really think that the two together will help me. I'm also taking lexapro 20mg for depression and anxiety (my phychiatrist says that lexapro actually works well with the adderall, I'm not exactly sure how, or why.) I take 2mg of xanax up to 3 times a day for my generalized anxiety as well as panic attacks too. Lately I've only been taking one xanax a day. Since I've been taking adderall, I haven't really needed much more than one xanax a day. I hope that my doctor will help me out with this, he's been really cool about me choosing the meds I take, as well as my dosings. So we'll see tomorrow(:
Hi Kelley,
I know it's a being quite a time since you posted this. My name is David and I was browsing the net for suggestions about adderall tolerance, I am on 90 mg xr of Adderall , and it stopped working . No single psychiatrist as of now has been willing to increase it. It just kinda gives me hope to know that there are others who need more than the 'usual' dose, thanks for your time. I just needed to say this.
David
I know it's a being quite a time since you posted this. My name is David and I was browsing the net for suggestions about adderall tolerance, I am on 90 mg xr of Adderall , and it stopped working . No single psychiatrist as of now has been willing to increase it. It just kinda gives me hope to know that there are others who need more than the 'usual' dose, thanks for your time. I just needed to say this.
David
adderall(amphetamin salts) work on your dopeamine and also(correct if I'm wrong) but also serotonin in your brain, dopeamine more so, to avoid writeing a long discription of how it works n the mechanism it uses to achieve what it does/how, long story made semi-short ,a lot more on the dopeamine than serotonin,(I have heard methamp, the meth (fergot full chemical name) added on to the ampethamine part allow it to affect seotonin more, so basically the lower your natural brain chemicals are with its dopeamine/serotonin, the more you have to take to make it so those are back up to natural level... and if anyone that uses any amphetamines for recreational, the same exact applies
COMMUNITY LEADER
To leslie and John - check out this discussion - http://www.medhelp.org/posts/ADD---ADHD/For-Adult-Aderrall-Takers/show/1438643#post_6556761
Have either of you tried to reduce your dosage and had trouble doing so? Am I off base thinking that it shouldn't be that hard. Beginning to think that I am - because so much is based on need (type of job you have for example).
Have either of you tried to reduce your dosage and had trouble doing so? Am I off base thinking that it shouldn't be that hard. Beginning to think that I am - because so much is based on need (type of job you have for example).
Thanks for your post on some of the issues you are having with stimulants; I find that I am encountering some similar difficulties with the dexedrine that I take for my ADHD. I am a pharmacist as well by the way, so maybe I can I can help you out with some relevant advice.
The first point I'd make is that no doctor or pharmacist will disagree with the fact that a particular dose of a certain drug that is adequate and effective for ONE person will NOT NECESSARILY be adequate and effective for another. That's because we (human beings) are all different,no two persons have exactly the same physical make-up.. For example, it may take, say, 40mg of Dexedrine a day to successfully treat symptoms of ADHD in a particular 25 year old male who is 185cm tall and weighs 85kg, Though another male of exactly the same age, height and weight may well find that 40mg of the Dexedrine is wholly inadequate and that his adhd symptoms do not.
respond to anything less than 80mg (or even more perhaps) a day of the same drug. Yet another male, again, of the exactly same age , height and weight will find his ADHD symptoms are perfectly controlled with only 20mg of Dexedrine each day.
Tolerance works the same ways. Some people may find that the effect of a drug like Adderral tends to "wear off" quite quickly, that they feel they get used to it with time and start needing more and more of the drug to get the same effect that they had at when they first started taking it. Another person may find that they do do experience this kind of effect (tolerance) at all with Adderral, but that they did with Dexedrine!
The second point, or if you like,general principle is this (and it is similar to the first). ..The drugs Adderal, Ritalin, Amphetamine Sulphate, Concerta, Vyanase, Dexedrine, and Methedrine and the like are all similar. They are all classed as pharmacological stimulants and they all work in roughly the same way after they are taken, that is by making more dopamine available in those part of the the brain (like the frontal lobes, for example) that are dopamine deficient due to problems (with dopaminergic nerves and dopamine receptors, etc) that have been caused by ADHD.
Even though they are are stimulants and work in much the same way, a person who finds that Adderral is not effective for alleviating their ADHD symptoms , may very well find that Dexedrine is; likewise one person my find Ritalin is an excellent treatment for their ADHD, while another person finds that it is not effective for them at all. Again , it is due to the fact that because everyone is different,Likewise some people find that using stimulant patches that are applied to the skin as opposed to swallowing tablets gives them better releif from their symptoms.
The first point I'd make is that no doctor or pharmacist will disagree with the fact that a particular dose of a certain drug that is adequate and effective for ONE person will NOT NECESSARILY be adequate and effective for another. That's because we (human beings) are all different,no two persons have exactly the same physical make-up.. For example, it may take, say, 40mg of Dexedrine a day to successfully treat symptoms of ADHD in a particular 25 year old male who is 185cm tall and weighs 85kg, Though another male of exactly the same age, height and weight may well find that 40mg of the Dexedrine is wholly inadequate and that his adhd symptoms do not.
respond to anything less than 80mg (or even more perhaps) a day of the same drug. Yet another male, again, of the exactly same age , height and weight will find his ADHD symptoms are perfectly controlled with only 20mg of Dexedrine each day.
Tolerance works the same ways. Some people may find that the effect of a drug like Adderral tends to "wear off" quite quickly, that they feel they get used to it with time and start needing more and more of the drug to get the same effect that they had at when they first started taking it. Another person may find that they do do experience this kind of effect (tolerance) at all with Adderral, but that they did with Dexedrine!
The second point, or if you like,general principle is this (and it is similar to the first). ..The drugs Adderal, Ritalin, Amphetamine Sulphate, Concerta, Vyanase, Dexedrine, and Methedrine and the like are all similar. They are all classed as pharmacological stimulants and they all work in roughly the same way after they are taken, that is by making more dopamine available in those part of the the brain (like the frontal lobes, for example) that are dopamine deficient due to problems (with dopaminergic nerves and dopamine receptors, etc) that have been caused by ADHD.
Even though they are are stimulants and work in much the same way, a person who finds that Adderral is not effective for alleviating their ADHD symptoms , may very well find that Dexedrine is; likewise one person my find Ritalin is an excellent treatment for their ADHD, while another person finds that it is not effective for them at all. Again , it is due to the fact that because everyone is different,Likewise some people find that using stimulant patches that are applied to the skin as opposed to swallowing tablets gives them better releif from their symptoms.
I do... I take 60 mg of Adderall, but used to take 60 mg of Dexedrine a day(the spansules.) If I'm not careful, I can run through my ADD meds so quickly... I usually write it down when I take one so I won't abuse them. I used to be on 90 mg of Adderall(both XR and a 30 mg IR tablet)a day. But I told my psych that I wanted to lower my dosage, because though I had no health problems... it just seemed like too much. A psych who's actually really experienced with ADHD and adults will keep upping the dosage. They know you get immune to it, and that every person's metabolism and ADHD are different.
ADDers will abuse stimulants as well, because many times they forget that they took their second dosage. I've done that many times. My ex girlfriend would lock them up(cause I asked her to)and it was better that way. My current psych would up my meds, but probably be concerned since he knows I have a past of alcohol abuse(and admit that I still drink.) Also he gives me 75 1 mg of Klonopin a month, and Ambien since I complained about the Restoril(Temazepam.) All psychiatrists are different, and I'm an active guy who works out, am 5'11, 170 with a fast metabolism. He said some people take 120 mg a day of Adderall which I think would be all effed up. You'd be so reliant on the meds that you could never get off them.
ADDers will abuse stimulants as well, because many times they forget that they took their second dosage. I've done that many times. My ex girlfriend would lock them up(cause I asked her to)and it was better that way. My current psych would up my meds, but probably be concerned since he knows I have a past of alcohol abuse(and admit that I still drink.) Also he gives me 75 1 mg of Klonopin a month, and Ambien since I complained about the Restoril(Temazepam.) All psychiatrists are different, and I'm an active guy who works out, am 5'11, 170 with a fast metabolism. He said some people take 120 mg a day of Adderall which I think would be all effed up. You'd be so reliant on the meds that you could never get off them.
I know, right? And it's the Non ADHD people who abuse the Stimulants, who make it an utterly horrendous ordeal to get the proper meds and doses that the ones WITH ADHD really need. Even with getting the more usual doses filled, I still got the Pharmasist's scrupoulous questioning reactions. Now that it's a higher amount I absloutely dread getting it filled. They look at me like I'm some kind of horrendous junkie, trying to scam my way into getting a mass quantity of drugs. They even call my doctor to see if it's a valid prescription, while I stand there in front of the line in pure humiliation. I wish they would make a note that the doctor approves this amount, because I have to go through the embarassment of it just about everytime. When I go back to pick it up, I get the whole berating lecture of the harmful and habitual effects this medicine can have and especially at my dosage.
I feel like I'm the only one who has this massive unexplainable tolerance, and I am so stumped as to why.... I'm afraid I might be doing some damage to my mind and or body that I'm not even aware of, although my doctor tells me that it's ok as long as my blood pressure stays in the norm, etc etc... I've done a lot of reaserching about this, and I am almost positive that I have a Dopamine deficiancy. I mentioned my concernes about this to my doctor at my appointment the other day, and asked him if he thought that maybe Dexedrine would work better for me.
I guess it totally slipped my mind that by suggesting other means of meds or treatments to a highly educated and masterfully proficient, dynamically skilled Doctor, by an average menial everyday person, can really aggitate the Doctor's ego. It seemed that he was kind of offended... He said, "Let me worry about the chemicals, we as Doctor's go through years of training for this, we know what we are doing".
Woopsy. Although I felt bad that I ticked him off, I'm not too sure that Doctor's are always right on with the way they treat and medicate their patients. Sometimes the patient knows and understands themselves and what might be better for them, even better than the Doc does... I just know this way is not working, and I hate that I can't suggest other avenues with him.
Has anyone been swithced to Dexidrine from Adderall and found better results with Dexedrine? From what I have read about the switch, it seems to be highly individualized with various results... I'm just thinking the Dexedrine would be a god-send to a person who might have a dopamine deficiancy?? I would love some insight or advice with how others have managed with their meds. I'm wondering if I should, yet again, find another Psychiatrist... This massive amount of Adderall is becoming more and more unaffective every day that passes, and my Psychiatrist doesn't seem to care much about my take on it, or what I have researched... I really don't want to go on any higher of a dose than what I'm at already... I need some help. :/
I feel like I'm the only one who has this massive unexplainable tolerance, and I am so stumped as to why.... I'm afraid I might be doing some damage to my mind and or body that I'm not even aware of, although my doctor tells me that it's ok as long as my blood pressure stays in the norm, etc etc... I've done a lot of reaserching about this, and I am almost positive that I have a Dopamine deficiancy. I mentioned my concernes about this to my doctor at my appointment the other day, and asked him if he thought that maybe Dexedrine would work better for me.
I guess it totally slipped my mind that by suggesting other means of meds or treatments to a highly educated and masterfully proficient, dynamically skilled Doctor, by an average menial everyday person, can really aggitate the Doctor's ego. It seemed that he was kind of offended... He said, "Let me worry about the chemicals, we as Doctor's go through years of training for this, we know what we are doing".
Woopsy. Although I felt bad that I ticked him off, I'm not too sure that Doctor's are always right on with the way they treat and medicate their patients. Sometimes the patient knows and understands themselves and what might be better for them, even better than the Doc does... I just know this way is not working, and I hate that I can't suggest other avenues with him.
Has anyone been swithced to Dexidrine from Adderall and found better results with Dexedrine? From what I have read about the switch, it seems to be highly individualized with various results... I'm just thinking the Dexedrine would be a god-send to a person who might have a dopamine deficiancy?? I would love some insight or advice with how others have managed with their meds. I'm wondering if I should, yet again, find another Psychiatrist... This massive amount of Adderall is becoming more and more unaffective every day that passes, and my Psychiatrist doesn't seem to care much about my take on it, or what I have researched... I really don't want to go on any higher of a dose than what I'm at already... I need some help. :/
COMMUNITY LEADER
Wow, that is a lot. Kind of makes me wonder what would happen if you went to just the Adderall, and skipped the extended release since it doesn's seem to be working much anyway. The other advantage would be that you could take it has needed. Many adults have been able to adjust the med intake to their life style demands this way.
It always does amaze me that a dosage that would send a non ADHD person straight up the wall, across the ceiling, down the wall, across the floor, and repeated many times - never has this effect on an ADHD person.
At any rate, this is certainly something that you should let your doctor know about.
It always does amaze me that a dosage that would send a non ADHD person straight up the wall, across the ceiling, down the wall, across the floor, and repeated many times - never has this effect on an ADHD person.
At any rate, this is certainly something that you should let your doctor know about.
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The following link might help. It contains a ton of info on the various meds and you can see easily how they differ. http://www.healing-arts.org/children/ADHD/medications.htm
Hope this helps. Happy new year!