Posted by Optimist on October 2, 2004, at 22:59:50
In reply to Re: coffee helps, where do I go from here? Iris2 » Optimist, posted by iris2 on October 2, 2004, at 14:55:21
> It would appear that something like adderal that improves concentration is what you are looking for. You seem to have energy and some focus . Perhaps the adderal will improve the focus. That is one of the symptoms it is for. I need both energy ( I am very lethargic) and focus and concentration. I have a difficult time getting out of bed in the morning. No energy to do anything even though I want to and have a lot of guilt about it. I cannot focus and everything including responding to an email takes me a long time to do. So I am never sure what combination of meds to take. Unfortunately I cannot take the ones I really need because I have interstitial cystitis which makes it impossible for me to take most meds. So I think it is my lot in life to just suffer through it. I try to make it just a little better when I can. For instance I am able to take a little Amisulpride. It makes me so I am not suicidal all the time and occationally get up the motivation and energy to do something, Whether it be vacuming my home or walking the dogs. Unfortunately it does not much improve the anhedonia so I do not get much enjoyment out of what I actually get myself to do. The best is a sence of occomplishment. Things are always this way. I guess I am unloading because the past two or three days have been particularly diffficult. I have no idea why. It is almost 4 o'clock and I have not showered dressed or walked my dogs yet. I was supposed to cycle with my father at 10:30. He had to cancel but I was going to anyway. So now another say is almost over and I have not even gotten dressed yet. I just want to cry.
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> Sorry about the unloading. You just make me a bit jeolous I guess. But not in a bad way . Iam glad you are doing as good as you are.
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> I think adderal would help me a lot but I know i cannot take those stimulants because of my bladdr. I ws thinking of trying either Strattera or mirapex. Not sure which one I should try?
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> Thanks,
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> irene
Correct me but I may be wrong. Isn't strattera a stimulant similar to ritalin, dexedrine, adderall, and Cylert? I was under the impression that it was but I may be wrong.My energy, focus, and motivation aren't too terrible. I think one of the culprits is that I have high expectations of myself and won't do things that don't inspire me. I've been heavy in to all the motivational/self-help stuff in the past and am not willing to settle for certain things, which can be both good and bad.
I know creating high expectations, and having a perfectionist mindset can lead to depression and am trying to get away from those things. My main problem is my moodiness, and fluctuating energy, motivation, and cognitive abilities. I find it hard to make decisions cause my abilities feel like they change from time to time.
It may be possible that I have ADD symptoms. I have never thought of that before. I always did well in school as a child and didn't seem to have problems with staying on task then. Only until I got to university did I experience problems staying on track. I dropped out of school 3 or 4 times as I can recall and switched programs 3 times. I finally graduated from university this June and am happy to get it finished. I don't think my main problem was with actually doing the schoolwork, it was mostly my changing moods and how they would influence my decisions.
It's all pretty hard to figure it out. I'm trying to flesh everything out with my pdoc and figure out if the problems I'm having are biological or cognitive in nature. Usually this time of year (sept/oct) I'm feeling better anyways so it's hard to say. Usually in nov. is when I take a nose dive. I'll have to wait things out, and keep an open mind and not create any self fulfilling prophesies.
Today seemed quite promising. The adderall seemed to do a good job with regards to energy, motivation, and focus. I think I took a little too much today so I'm going to take a little less on mon. I want to make sure I take the minimum therapeutic dose, and take drug holidays on weekends if possible, to keep my receptors fresh. Amphetamines can be nasty so I've read, so I'm trying to go in to this with a fair amount of respect for the drug to make sure I don't abuse it. The fact that it has a high addiction potential makes me want to be as careful as possible. It's also damn expensive. I'm paying out of my own pocket, and at over 3 bucks a pill it gets expensive very fast.
I seem to react very well to stimulants though. I love caffeine, and never have any of the bad side effects other people have had i.e. jitters, anxiety, insomnia etc... I also tried cocaine once, and even though I really liked it I will never do it again. I found the feeling of wanting to do more 15 min later a very disconcerting feeling. It was more so an experimentation thing. That was a year and a half ago and I have no want to try it again. I'm lucky I don't have an addictive personality I guess. Lets cross my fingers for the adderall!
poster:Optimist
thread:394906
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041002/msgs/398418.html