Posted by JohnL on April 22, 2000, at 4:49:31
In reply to Carol Ann (and anyone else) - Ritalin, Adderall..., posted by KarenB on April 21, 2000, at 14:55:05
> Carol Ann,
>
> You had mentioned a couple of times before that you could not take Ritalin and you were now on Adderall.
>
> My question is, why not Ritalin? And, what do you see as the advantages of Adderall? Please also comment if you have tried any other ADD drugs and your opinion on them as well.
>
> Thanks!
>
> KarenMy experience was similar to CarolAnn's. I found Ritalin highly abusive. I used to do cocaine decades ago. Ritalin was very much like that. Ritalin to me is just an inexpensive legal form of cocaine. I felt so good I just wanted more and more, and I couldn't control it. The urge to up the dose each time was intense.
The mood benefits of Adderall were not as strong as with Ritalin, though Adderall definitely increased interest, motivation, and energy. It did have mood benefits, but not as intense as drastic as Ritalin. And it is ssmmoootthh. Slow to come on and slow to wear off. Unlike Ritalin, which perked me up like a freight train and then abruptly dropped me off a cliff.
I think finding the right dose of Adderall is tricky. Too much leads to a wired, restless, crawling out of the skin, inability to be satisfied, agitated state. I found even a change of 1.25mg could make all the difference. My doctor prefers to treat with the higher uncomfortable doses, but to counterbalance it he also mixes in an antipsychotic. The two apparently work very well together. The stimulant increases NE/dopamine in parts of the brain where it's needed, but also in other parts where it isn't needed. The antipsychotic does just the opposite. It reduces the dopamine in parts of the brain where it is excessively elevated, yet leaves other parts of the brain unaffected. So stimulants and APs work synergistically together, often better than either alone.
Since we all respond so differently due to unique chemistries, I can only comment on my experiences. I found Adderall to be a much better choice than Ritalin, for a lot of reasons. For someone else it may be just the opposite. JohnL
poster:JohnL
thread:30860
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000420/msgs/30934.html