Posted by Sulpicia on March 1, 2001, at 22:26:01
In reply to Med Problems (So what else is new), posted by Shirley1 on March 1, 2001, at 14:58:25
> Hi Shirley --
all I can say is ditto here to much of your history, with the exception of the AD tours.
I tried paxil for several months but a) it never worked that well, and b) I hated the side-
effects, like the weird muscle thing that kept me from running, which I love and need.I take adderall and my favorite old stand-by, tofranil -- an "old" tricyclic. It works.
It's not new and fancy, I don't have any side effects, and it works with no loss of effectiveness.It also doesn't interact with the adderall like the paxil did -- created lots of anxiety
and useless interests [like shampooing the rug] and this combo of paxil and adderall also
made me depressed!!The old tricyclics are not sexy, you need to make sure you don't have any contraindicating medical
conditions, you need an EKG just to be sure that your heart isn't going to do something weird, but from
where I sit, it works. Period.Two last suggestions: if you were diagnosed with ADD as an adult, find a clinician to do some talking
therapy with. Try the CHADD website for a referral or an adult support group. ADD is a big deal, much
larger in fact than most of us realize. I've really benefited from theraputic support.
With your doc's approval, consider switching your dose of adderall a bit -- think about when you are most
naturally alert during the day and when you are not. You may need a larger dose in the AM to get going.
Or you may find that it works to take a higher dose to maximize your natural periods of alertness and focus.
The practice of 2 or 3 identical doses thruout the day may not make sense for all of us. Also try to find
the time[s] when your body really needs a rest; I have a period between 1-2:30 in the afternoon when I simply
go into some form of hibernation. It's a lifelong thing and if I try to use adderall to work against this
this, I'm still in a stupor but then the higher dose that I took to maintain focus really makes me nuts
from tension. So I'm still not productive. Listen to your body and look at your daily routine and experiment.Also ask your pdoc whether a given AD is sedating or energizing, in his opinion. Unless you have sleep
problems, given your anxiety, better a sedating one [they don't actually sedate you -- just a term of reference].
I also highly recommend the ADD site at About.com for support. Lots of smart and caring adults there. Super
moderator and a wealth of info on the home site.Good luck and let us know what happens.
S.
poster:Sulpicia
thread:55240
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010221/msgs/55277.html