There is a generic brand of adderall which is what i take and i am on medical assistence which pays for it.
I took Ritalin in the beginning and it was a major shock. It worked - however for not that long - for only one to two hours. Then poof I was back to my normal not being able to concentrate because of my weird moods again.
I have not tried Adderall or Concerta because my doctor recommended a drug called Vvyanse but I found it works for alot longer than the Ritalin. Its only in the one pill instead of the multiple pills (Ritalin). The only thing is, it is very expensive and if you do not have medical insurance then I would not recommend asking your doctor about it.
You need more pills of the Ritalin to get the same effect from the Adderall, Concerta, or the Vvyanse because they last longer. However you will still get the same effect from the Ritalin just not in the same form or as easily from the other ones.
If you ask your Psychiatrist for more information of the difference between the two, they may be able to explain it better then we can.
I wish you the best of luck in finding a medication that works the best for you.
There definately is a difference between Ritalin and Adderall. Adderall is stronger. For instance, if a person is on 30mg of Adderall and wants to switch to Ritalin,..you will need aprox. 50 to 60mg of Ritalin to be equivelant to the 30mg of Adderall. I am on 60mg of Adderall daily. I wanted to try Ritalin again just for the heck of it. I have shown proof from reliable sources, to my Doc that he needs to give me MORE than 60mg Ritalin for it to be effective as 60mg Adderrall. He still will NOT increase the Ritalin dosage. I took the script anyway, and after filling it realized I am screwed for the month. I hardly can tell that I am taking an ADD medication when I take this weak Ritalin. I even took 80mg and felt nothing. I hate to do it, but I am going to call my Psych. and see if he will give me my usual Adderall script now. I hope he will. I can offer to exchange it for this worthless bottle of Ritalin.
Have you considered talking to your pharmacist? I've found them very helpful as they are the ones who study drugs. Early on in my "recovery" a pharmacist explained to me that I either need to get my meds from one pharmacy or let others know about all my medication. This helps them to evalute meds more accurately. I have also found that they often know more about the meds I'm on than my doctors do. Hope this helps.....