![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Charlotte on April 1, 2002, at 9:40:35
should my optimal response feel like? I have been recently diagonsed with ADD / depression, and was taking Ritalin (10 mg. AM - 5 mg. PM) / Wellbutrin (150 x 2 day). I had terrible headaches and the crash when the Ritalin wore off was terrible.
Now I am taking Adderall (10 mg. day) / Wellbutrin (150 x 2 day) and have no more headaches -woo hoo!- but I'm not sure if the Adderall is doing anything. I do feel more tired when it is wearing off, 5-6 hours later. And it definitely last much longer than Ritilin if that's the case. So I'm thinking of asking for the Adderall XR 20 mg. - but here's the main thing I'm wondering about.
What should an optimum response feel like for me? What is the goal? what am I going for here?
Thanks.
Posted by Charlotte on April 1, 2002, at 9:54:14
In reply to OK - now taking Adderall / Wellbutrin -- what, posted by Charlotte on April 1, 2002, at 9:40:35
Posted by Dr. Kramer on April 1, 2002, at 21:18:43
In reply to Kramer: see above post re: Adderall / Wellbutrin (nm), posted by Charlotte on April 1, 2002, at 9:54:14
These are questions only you can answer, in consultation with your doctor. I'm not sure what you want your meds to do. No one can tell you how to feel.
Posted by kazoo on April 1, 2002, at 21:46:23
In reply to OK - now taking Adderall / Wellbutrin -- what, posted by Charlotte on April 1, 2002, at 9:40:35
> What should an optimum response feel like for me? What is the goal? what am I going for here?
Charlotte, my dearest darling, I'm not quite sure what you want as a response here.
It's like asking "Are we having fun yet?" How should *I* know? Only you, dear, would know when you are feeling well enough to answer your own questions.
Your goal will be the ability to answer your own inquiries without the need for someone to say "Yes, we're having fun, sweetie, don't you feel it?"
And what you're going for is that state of mind where you do not have, or find, this need to ask these sort of questions again.
Seek, and yea shall find ... but only yea can do this.
kazoo
Posted by Charlotte on April 2, 2002, at 7:14:03
In reply to Re: OK - now taking Adderall / Wellbutrin -- what » Charlotte, posted by kazoo on April 1, 2002, at 21:46:23
My question was a bit like, "Are we having fun yet?"
I just don't know how someone with ADD on a stimulant is supposed to respond (ideally) so that both the doctor and I know I'm taking the right dosage. I could *observe* my son and brother respond to Ritalin when they were small because they weren't hyper anymore. I'm not hyper to begin with.
With Ritalin, there was a small response that resulted in focus and concentration -- but it wasn't anything like "Wow! That's working!" and the headaches and sleepiness weren't realy worth that.
At least with the Adderall there are no headaches, but I"m not really feeling anything. At all. Seems to me that I should just save my money and take nothing.
So I guess I hoped someone with ADD could have told me how they felt when they knew the medication was right, was working. Or maybe stimulants really don't do much of anything for ADD w/o hyperactivity -- or for me specifically.
Because, yeah, I know how *not depressed* should feel - I meant ADD and optimum response.
Posted by IsoM on April 2, 2002, at 11:28:24
In reply to Kramer / kazoo: okay I deserve the sarcasm » kazoo, posted by Charlotte on April 2, 2002, at 7:14:03
Here's my view on it - I'm ADHD but also have narcolepsy. My metabolism/physical make-up seems to have two speeds, high gear or idling. I either move fast & do things very quickly (& because of that, I'm sometimes a real klutz & have the bruises to prove it) or I tend to vegetate like a couch potato.
I took Ritalin for a week but disliked the peaks & valleys in its action. It wasn't smooth at all. My two speeds seemed exaggerated on it, kind of like a yo-yo effect.
Dexedrine gave me focus & I felt alert & "with it". If a stimulant is working, you should notice something. It's not like a kick in the pants feeling (that may mean the dose is higher than needed) but you should have that "with it" feel. Much like your brain is doing what it's supposed to do. You should feel what you've always assumed "normal" should feel like.
Here's a short list of what to expect:
-focused
-alert
-your mind can follow through a thread of thought
-attention doesn't wander
-can follow someone's conversation without forgetting what it was they were sayingFor me, I prefer adrafinil (related to Provigil) as I still felt a little too hyper on Dexedrine & still felt some of the peak & valley effect as Dexedrine started each day & wore off afterwards.
Hope this breakdown of effects of stimulants is somewhat helpful to you.
Posted by BLPBart on April 2, 2002, at 21:32:09
In reply to OK - now taking Adderall / Wellbutrin -- what, posted by Charlotte on April 1, 2002, at 9:40:35
> should my optimal response feel like? I have been recently diagonsed with ADD / depression, and was taking Ritalin (10 mg. AM - 5 mg. PM) / Wellbutrin (150 x 2 day). I had terrible headaches and the crash when the Ritalin wore off was terrible.
>
> Now I am taking Adderall (10 mg. day) / Wellbutrin (150 x 2 day) and have no more headaches -woo hoo!- but I'm not sure if the Adderall is doing anything. I do feel more tired when it is wearing off, 5-6 hours later. And it definitely last much longer than Ritilin if that's the case. So I'm thinking of asking for the Adderall XR 20 mg. - but here's the main thing I'm wondering about.
>
> What should an optimum response feel like for me? What is the goal? what am I going for here?
>
> Thanks.Thought I'd respond since I'm in the exact same boat as you. I've been on Wellbutrin for a couple of years for depression. In January my doc added dexedrine because we thought I might be ADD (inattentive or as Fachad puts it-hypoactive). Anyway, my doc told me that when we got to the right dosage it would be like a light bulb being switched on and I would "know " that I was on the right dosage. I started on 10 mg/day of the spansules and titrated up to 30 mg. I felt absolutely nothing on it. We then tried concerta and he started me out on a high dose (36mg) and when that didn't seem to do anything he had me double it to 72mg. Even on that I didn't get hyper or anything, although I had a kind of anxious feeling that I can only describe as that butterflies in the stomach feeling you get when you're dreading something. Anyway, I tried going up to 40 on the dexedrine again. On that, it's not like any kind of light bulb went off, however what I have noticed is this. At work I have suddenly found the ability to organize my files and work space, I can work on one project at a time (usually what happens is when I'm working on one thing, my mind wanders onto something else so I start doing another project, then I'll remember that I was going to call somebody but while I'm dialing the phone I remember that I was supposed to do something else.....all day long to the point where I'd end the day with a dozen half incomplete projects on my desk) and one of the best things is I can sit through a meeting and actually pay attention and walk out knowing what everyone was talking about. Before I would start out OK but at some point my mind would wander and I would miss a substantial amount of what was being discussed. I also had this problem in conversations with people. I've been known to talk on the phone and write e-mails to people at the same time.
I know how you feel because I still wonder, am I really ADD or am I using it as an excuse? It's hard, but for me I feel better on it and I feel more productive and less hassled. I also like it because I don't really feel any kind of peak and valley from it. I only know when I'm peaking in the afternoon because I get a really dry mouth from it, but in the evenings, it just seems to slowly wear off-I don't crash or anything.
Posted by Charlotte on April 3, 2002, at 20:29:36
In reply to Kramer / kazoo: okay I deserve the sarcasm » kazoo, posted by Charlotte on April 2, 2002, at 7:14:03
Your descriptions were very helpful.
Spoke with the doctor yesterday, and before he prescribes the Adderall *XR*, he wants to find out how much I should bump up my current dose which was 10 mg. reg. Adderall once a day. So he told me 20 mg., then said to go 15 mg. first. So yesterday I did 15 mg. Not much difference. This morning I took 20 mg., and here's how I felt:
Relaxed? So relaxed that I can honestly say I was mellow, totally in the moment. However, felt like napping about 5-6 hours later.
Good GOD what's wrong with me that I can take stimulants and 300 mg. of Wellbutrin SR a day and get so NOT energized... I get relaxed?
Comments, insight, opinions are welcome.
Posted by jennay7188 on July 12, 2006, at 0:16:26
In reply to OK - now taking Adderall / Wellbutrin -- what, posted by Charlotte on April 1, 2002, at 9:40:35
MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY EXERCISING TO GIVE YOU ENERGY.. I KNOW THAT IF I JOG OR RUN IN THE MORNING THAT IT GIVES ME NEW FOUND ENERGY I DIDNT THINK I HAD.. AND IT ALSO HELPS WITH FOCUSING.. NO JOKE!
Posted by Madison007 on July 28, 2006, at 3:42:39
In reply to Re: OK - now taking Adderall / Wellbutrin -- what, posted by jennay7188 on July 12, 2006, at 0:16:26
I have been taking wellbutrin sr 150mg twice daily along with adderall 10mg twice daily. I was on 10 mg of adderall a day and the increase really seemed to help a lot more. I am able to concentrate more and finish something once i start it. I have been on the 20mg day dose for about a week and i have been eating healthier and not as much, drinking tons of water because my mouth gets dry from it, and been cleaning like crazy. I guess my attention to detail is coming out. I have also lost 7.5 pounds, but i have been cleaning anywhere from 4-8 hours, everyday, until it is done. i let the house slide a lot before because i could not keep up with it. My energy levels have increased greatly and I dont feel like I am chronic fatigued anymore, or over stimulated. I hope this helps.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.