Posted by Andy Drinkard on March 13, 2003, at 20:17:50
Here's a screwed up analogy for ya:
Adderall is to Mark McGuire as Concerta is to Barry Bonds...ADD is the single-season homerun record.
Both players spanked the record. Bonds spanked it better. And it looks like he plans to spank it a few times over...
Concerta is the best drug I've ever taken for any reason. Period.
Ok, here's what the heck I'm talkin about:
I'm 19 years old today, a (male) freshman at University of Colorado at Boulder. Back in 10th grade at a preppy private school in Atlanta, GA, things were getting rough. I was taken to a psychiatrist for depression, and he was quick to add ADD to the diagnosis. Now, I'd been raised to take full responsibility for my concentration problems (my folks and I both thought the depression was my own dang fault too until I started collapsing on the floor and curling into a ball at random), so suddenly hearing that maybe it wasn't all my own fault was in of itself a relief. So, I started treatment for depression, and eventually for ADD. I'm only going to talk about the ADD treatment here (if you are curious about the whole story, I have a post in the "Effexor Withdrawal" thread that tells it all).
The doc started me on Adderall as my Senior year approached. I don't remember quite the dosage he ultimate had me using (maybe 10 mgs?), but whatever it was, ADD was no match for it. Mighty Adderall swatted it like a fly, and my studies, notetaking skills, listening skills (both social and in a classroom), and all sorts of other aspects of work and play improved dramatically. I found myself able to find the right words when I needed them, to speak my mind when appropriate, and to focus on hard work when required. I thought Adderall had saved my future career as a student and beyond. Well, it didn't quite end up that way. Adderall (at least when combined with Wellbutrin) was consistently robbing me of sleep, and I always felt my heart racing when it kicked in...and I do mean RACING. I'm talking about 160 bpm and beyond while resting. Well, that was bad, but it wasn't the worst part. The worst was at the end of each 4-6 hour dose, I experienced an period of intense aggravation. Everything pissed my off. My friends, my dog, my computer, my parents, the dude at Taco Bell, inanimate objects... Everything. I'd find myself screaming and throwing pillows just because my sister had interrupted my video game to ask for help with a math problem or two. Of course, the cure for this anger was to hurry up and take the next dose (seemed and still seems quite a bit like the high-low pattern associated with most addictive drugs).
I continued with Adderall up until a nasty incident towards the end of Fall in my Senior year in high school. Most students have to deal with the frustrating fact that tests, midterms, papers, etc. always seem to arrive in waves. One week you'll have a tiny bit of homework, the next week you'll have a 12-page paper due for two different classes mixed with an exam and a test all in span of a couple of days...you get the point. Well, during one of these such "waves" of work, I fell into the trap of staying up all night. Adderall was more than helpful in keeping me up. As it happened during that week, I remained awake for five days and four nights straight. On the fifth day, flu had set in as well. A teacher actually forced me to go home for the first time in my life. Anyway, that did it for me...Adderall was not going to hang around any longer.
Fast forward six months, and I'm returning to the doc, again for depression (we had stopped the Wellbutrin for the same sleep-related reasons). Effexor XR was selected to nail the depression, and Concerta (just one pill a day to last 12 hours) was selected to nail the ADD...
Concerta had me dumbfounded at first. Here I was studying more efficiently, yet I felt nothing in my system. No heart racing, no aggravation, no sleep loss, nothing...just better concentration. What the...? The doc continued "pushing the dose" as he called it in order to find out the best amount. Currently, I'm on 54mg each morning (they make the pills in 18, 36, and 54), and everyday I'm re-amazed by the great benefits I get with dang near no side effects!
Concerta is INFINITELY smoother than Adderall. There are no "ups and downs". There's just a so-gradual-you-almost-can't-even-notice-it kick in period. Occasionally during the day, I think it's lost its effect, but it always comes back as smoothly as ever. The heart-pounding side effect is still there sometimes, but not nearly like is was for Adderall. The only "low" of Concerta is the gradual tapering off of the medicine at night, and I've actually come to like that part, since it kind of relaxes me for bed. Concerta helps make every bit of my day a very pleasant and productive experience, and I'll never go back to Adderall.
Hope this is useful information for somebody out there!
Thanks,
Bad Andy
poster:Andy Drinkard
thread:208856
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030310/msgs/208856.html