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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 rach3 on February 25, 2006, at 23:16:17
So I'm pretty much always having a hang up with being on ADD medication. I am 19 years old, a student-athlete and I take an antidepressant and a stimulant. I became bulimic when I was about 16, was on and off low dosages of anti-depressants for a couple years and in and out of 11th and 12th grade of highschool, doing homeschool to, I guess somehow relieve my anxiety and feed my obsession to exercise and be alone. Anyways, I come from a very holistic and active family and developing an eating disorder was absolutely hellish because it was more normal to have eccentric eating and exercise habits in my family. I was so miserable as a senior in highschool that I begged for treatment. Finally my parents let me go to an intensive outpatient eating disorder clinic. I did really well there, and terminated at about 60-70% recovered. I then left for college to play tennis and arived at a school I did not fit in. I was pretty miserable my first semester and could not focus worth anything. I saw a doctor and began taking Adderall which several doctors had tried to put me on for years due to my struggle to focus in school. In addition to this I began to take Lexapro. Basically Lex helped lots and so did the Adderral, but I hated the high it gave me. I hated feeling like sh*t at the end of the day and feeling on top of the world when I was on it. I took it on the weekends and pretty much needed it to go to class adn function during the day. I have gone through small bouts of getting off of it for a week or 2, feeling very clean but then I start to be really disorganized and lazy again with my school work. I transferred schools after my freshmen year in college because it did not cater to my major and it was not a good envronment for me. Small baptist liberal arts school with 1800 students, agh, It was so cliquey. So now I'm in my hometown at a large state university that I enjoy much more and I like tennis a lot more here as well. So I switched doctors due to loation and this new one was a med freak. I became dtrmined to figure out my freakin med dosages and was frustrated with all my ups and downs. With him I experimentd with higher dosages of Adderral XR, 2 dosages a day and so forth. Basically the Adderrall makes me snappy as hell, irritable and up and down. I hate that feeling but I struggle to get outta bed and go to class if I don't take it. Meanwhile I still take the lexapro, a bit more, and still I am not exactly happpy again and still have a few over eating issues when IM stressed. so , i switched doctors again because I wanted to see someone who knew more about eating disorders and someone who did not prescibe medication for every little symptom. The last doc wanted to take me off of Adderral and put me on a mood stablizier to help my bad moods and irritability. I got mad at him and told him my bad moods were from binging on sugars and the ups and downs of Adderral. Anyways, I am now seeing a med doctor at my eating disorder clinic and she wanted to raise my lexapro a little but since I don't take a high dose and switch me from adderral to concerta saying that it would make me less irritable and it has a more steady onset and offset. So that is what I am doing now and I definitely do not feel it kick in or wear off as much and I sometimes I dont feel it much if I didnt sleep well the night before. I guess I like it more, but It just sucks because I really like stimulants but I really hate how I "like" them in that way. I don't really abuse them on a horrible level, occassionally I will have a small cup of coffee so I can wake up a bit in the evening and I know tat doesnt sound all out addictive but it's the thought that is addicting. I obsessively think about my stimulants and think about my energy and this and that. So that is how I know I am somewhat addicted. Anyways, I have hang ups with taking it for those reasons. I love feeling "high" and I hate feeling low. So, yea and I also struggle so f*cking much to focus and get stuff done in school so it helps with that. I just wanted to get some stuff out there and if anyone has any thoughts about it please feel free to throw it out there. Excellent, thanks.
Posted by Festus on February 27, 2006, at 0:03:31
In reply to ADD medication and depression, posted by rach3 on February 25, 2006, at 23:16:17
I hear you talkin',Rach3,I felt the feelings of anxiety,quick-tempered,snappy and crappy,up-n-down,phoooeyy!I take Dexedrine and I think it's pretty much in between Adderrall and Ritalin(or Concerta).The time-release sounds like it will be good for you.My daughter has been on Ritalin,in the form of Concerta,for 5 years.She is still only 10,but she takes 72 mg.a day (2 36's)because of tolerance.She stays thin as a rail.Be careful that what you feel,may simply be the way a girl is suppose to feel like!That's why the Doc has you takin' them!It will be fine,just stay mindful of the facts,and enjoy your life.See ya,Festus
Posted by rach3 on February 27, 2006, at 8:19:29
In reply to Re: ADD medication and depression, posted by Festus on February 27, 2006, at 0:03:31
> I hear you talkin',Rach3,I felt the feelings of anxiety,quick-tempered,snappy and crappy,up-n-down,phoooeyy!I take Dexedrine and I think it's pretty much in between Adderrall and Ritalin(or Concerta).The time-release sounds like it will be good for you.My daughter has been on Ritalin,in the form of Concerta,for 5 years.She is still only 10,but she takes 72 mg.a day (2 36's)because of tolerance.She stays thin as a rail.Be careful that what you feel,may simply be the way a girl is suppose to feel like!That's why the Doc has you takin' them!It will be fine,just stay mindful of the facts,and enjoy your life.See ya,Festus
________________
Yea I take 36 a day and it definitely has no impact on my appetite since I am always playing tennis and conditioning. Yea, I hate those snappy feelings, they feel so unnatural and uncontrolable. But, it helps me so much in school with staying organized and focused...I don't know I just have that hang up with needing something in the first place to help me with that...I just feel like drive should come from within and if I'm not driven without medication than am I lazy? or am I depressed? So, I just have those inner arguments, anyways, thanks for the feed back, it was very much appreciated!
Posted by AuntieMel on March 8, 2006, at 17:44:16
In reply to Re: ADD medication and depression, posted by rach3 on February 27, 2006, at 8:19:29
Good grief, girl! You're 19! Don't be so hard on yourself, and don't keep expecting yourself to be perfect!
XR is probably best for avoiding ups and downs, but it's also *normal* for a girl your age to have those ups and downs. It's ok, really
My daughter just turned 21 and she went through the same emotions when she went to school (and before she got out of hight school) I thought about putting her on mood stabalizers, too. Volitile! Geez!
She's pretty much grown out of it now.
Mel
Posted by Festus on March 16, 2006, at 1:37:36
In reply to Re: ADD medication and depression » rach3, posted by AuntieMel on March 8, 2006, at 17:44:16
Hi Rach, hope you are leveling out,med-wise,it can be very difficult to keep steady,proper dosage in a growing girl.That part is about over.The next few years(after school is over and all that studying),as you get up in your 20's,you may very well not need Stimulant Meds anymore.Many folks kind of "outgrow" their ADD to a point that meds are'nt a must.Keep a positive outlook,Rach,those Stim Meds can cause some anxiety/depession type feelings,mostly after long-term use.Festus
Posted by Johnny B. Linux on April 22, 2006, at 22:16:34
In reply to Re: ADD medication and depression, posted by Festus on March 16, 2006, at 1:37:36
This is a stagnant thread but I'll post my 2 cents anyway.
I experienced nasty moodiness and irritability with Ritalin and Adderall. I was shocked when those side effects disappeared after I switched to Dexedrine. Suddenly, I didn't need two other prescribed drugs, which were added to treat those side effects.
KIS - "keep it simple" whenever possible
Later... :-)
Posted by Festus on April 23, 2006, at 23:32:32
In reply to Re: ADD medication and depression, posted by Johnny B. Linux on April 22, 2006, at 22:16:34
Interesting reply to "Un-Stagnate"our thread,J.B.I felt as you did,when taking those same Meds,We(DR.)went with the Dexies,too,and they were more "user-friendly".It seems Kids do better on Ritalin,Adults with Dex.The Adderrall is made in a manner that taking a bit too much of it feels crappy,like you described.If you want,it would be cool to see what your doses were.I began at one 10mg.tab,3 times daily.I'm at 4 tabs,BID,at this time.Festus
Posted by Johnny B. Linux on April 24, 2006, at 21:41:58
In reply to Re: ADD medication and depression, posted by Festus on April 23, 2006, at 23:32:32
> Interesting reply to "Un-Stagnate"our thread,J.B.I felt as you did,when taking those same Meds,We(DR.)went with the Dexies,too,and they were more "user-friendly".It seems Kids do better on Ritalin,Adults with Dex.The Adderrall is made in a manner that taking a bit too much of it feels crappy,like you described.If you want,it would be cool to see what your doses were.I began at one 10mg.tab,3 times daily.I'm at 4 tabs,BID,at this time.Festus
Hi Festus, saying Dexedrine is more "user-friendly" strikes a note with me. I presently take one 10mg spansule bid. The next time I see the pdoc will be in the second week of May. Hmm, I wonder if the pdoc and I can safely go up to one 15mg spansule bid? I'll keep you posted (if I can remember...lol). Take it easy.
Posted by rach3 on April 25, 2006, at 20:24:43
In reply to Re: ADD medication and depression, posted by Festus on February 27, 2006, at 0:03:31
So Yea, for an update; I am now taking 150 mg wellbutrin SR twice a day and 10 mg of adderral xr twice a day. So far the Wellbutrin has helped tremendously with the depression compared to Lexapro which at no matter what dosage I still felt down. The only thing about the Wellbutrin is it is taking me a while to adjust, I was really nauseous the first week and getting that watery feeling in my head...kinda dizzy--the weird feeling when you're withdrawing from an anti-depressant. Anyways, the nausea is now gone and the watery feeling is still around but not as bad as before. The doc told me I need to give it at least a month before it kicks in, which I am definitely doing. But I just wanted to say that I am really excited that Wellbutrin actually functions properly with my body to even out my depression, it's pretty cool! I don't know about all the dexedrine mentioned earlier in these posts, I've heard it's highly addictive and more of a weight-loss med than concentration...but I obviously don't know all of the facts, so hah, just throwing it out there. kk, take care all
Posted by Festus on May 17, 2006, at 1:49:49
In reply to Re: ADD medication and depression, posted by rach3 on April 25, 2006, at 20:24:43
Actually,Rach,the Adderrall is the Diet Drug.It was marketed as "Obitrol",a new weight-loss pill at the time(1965).It was taken off the shelves and re-marketed as a new ADD/ADHD drug,Adderrall.It is composed of 4 different Aphetamine salts and Dex only has 1.Festus
This is the end of the thread.
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