Posted by zeugma on August 14, 2005, at 8:32:15
In reply to Re: Focalin XR » zeugma, posted by ed_uk on August 13, 2005, at 18:14:54
Hi Ed, hope your sleeping pill worked!
The l-isomer of MPH appears to be inactive. Dosing for Focalin appears to be similar to that of lexapro, i.e. half that of the parent molecule. You don't need me to remind you of your love for lexapro, so I suppose no more need be said.
The problem I have with Ritalin is that it is VERY difficult for me to find the right dose. At 30 mg Ritalin LA no serious loss of appetite, no chest pain, mild increase in anxiety that seems to be subsiding; but duration of effect is a problem. I make sure to have caffeine in the afternoon, and that alleviates the disorganization, fatigue, etc., somewhat, but the effect of the Ritalin is much less optimal than Provigil at an equivalent time. My guess is that optimal dosing of Ritalin would be 45 mg/day. It's impossible to get this dose with Ritalin LA however. One idea would be to take a 15 mg IR tablet in the early afternoon, which would produce an effect very different from a second 30 mg LA dose as I was doing last year. The 30 mg LA mid afternoon caused severe appetite loss and also kept me in a sustained state of anxiety that I did not develop tolerance to.
On the other hand, if Focalin really has a longer duration of action and/or fewer s/e, then the situation would be simplified and I could take 20 mg of the XR and not worry about the deleterious effects of repeated dosing.
All this is contingent on the results I get on my lab workup that my PCP gave me last week. If I am basically healthy, then I'll probably go back on Provigil as soon as possible, because its psychotropic effect is easier to deal with, assuming it isn't 'vaguely toxic' in some way to the rest of my body.
-z
poster:zeugma
thread:535356
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050811/msgs/541445.html