Posted by Pelequin on November 17, 2004, at 0:37:09
I've been using Adderall on and off for the past 3 years, and my main problem has been the inconsistent effectiveness of Adderall. I'm sure many here know what I'm talking about.
I researched basically every post on dr-bob surfed the net forever looking for a solution. I found something that I think has potential, but I will need to take it at higher dosages for a little while longer before I can render a solid conclusion.
The Adderall-tolerance-preventer drug is called Namenda (commercially); it's better know as Memantine.
Before I took Memantine about a year ago, my tolerance to Adderall would develop very quickly, and of course I would increase the dosage. The highest I ever went was 160mg/day I believe. This was before I started Memantine.
After I started Memantine I didn't notice anything amazing, but after about 3 weeks I kind-of noticed that the Adderall was a little more affective.
I stayed at the 20-mg range on the Memantine for about 5 months and then stopped taking everything. I have since resumed the Adderall and Memantine, this time with 40-mg of Memantine taken before (important point here) taking the Adderall. Once I began using 40-mg, the adderall-tolerance-inhibiting effects were more noticable.
As I look back, I didn't start working 20-48 hour shifts (without a break) before I started the Memantine, not once. But over the past year (after starting Memantine) I've worked 2-3 days at a time without sleep, and the effectiveness of the Adderall seems to remain steady (120-140mg/day).
Also when my Memantine ran out once for about a week, the Adderall's effectiveness dropped very quickly.
In conclusion, all I can say is Memantine seems to slow down adderall tolerance. In my opinion, I think a dosage of 40-60 mg of Memantine is what is needed to really block the Adderall-tolerance. But keep in mind the objective I'm referring to. I only recommend this if you have to work 100 hours a week at your job, or if you're trying to start, say, a software company.
poster:Pelequin
thread:416906
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041113/msgs/416906.html