Posted by johnnyval on December 8, 2003, at 10:31:29
In reply to Re: Adderall Question, posted by Kinny on December 8, 2003, at 5:18:43
I've taken Adderall up to 120mgs a day on and off for the past three years. What I've found, is that there is something about the formulation that makes me intensely irritable/aggressive as the dosage wanes, particularly in the late afternoon. I get sort of a pressure in my head - like a tension headache, but not quite. I do not experience this with Dextroamphetamine or Methylphenidate. For the most part, I stick with the Dextroamphetamine, but occasionally I go back to Adderall for a short period of time just to see if things have changed. I've found that different manufacturers formulations produce very different side effects. My pharmacy has recently switched suppliers for dextroamphetamine and now I'm getting massive headaches and TMJ-like symptoms. Perhaps, if your son is taking the brand, you switch to a generic or vice-versa. My personal preference remains the brand Dexedrine, with the brand Dextrostat in close second. Dextrostat is, unfortunately, no longer manufactured and Dexedrine isn't covered by my insurance. I find the Dexedrine feels much "cleaner" with almost no side effects whatsoever. I also took Zoloft for aggression/rage and found it to be very helpful, but only at around 400mgs/day. Risperdal didn't seem to be effective at all. If you search through the archives here, you'll find pretty much every med effects each person differently. I have found that drugs which are purported to be identical, but are produced by different manufacturers can have very different effects. I don't know if it is because of the active or not. Perhaps there is some fraction of the active that is chemically, isomerically, or chirally different. Maybe its the non-actives that produce the varied effects. I know that Adderall has approximately 25% of the l-isomer which three to four times less potent than the d-isomer and also has a higher incidence of extra-neurological side effects, I think. In one study the l-isomer was shown to be more effective for cases involving aggression and the d-isomer for those were inattentiveness was the primary concern. From what I understand, mainly from reading here, the dosages I mention are not typical. I seem to have a very high threshold for stimulants, benzodiazepines, and opiates. I sleep like a baby after taking dexedrine, can take a fistfull of Xanax with little effect, and after a recent surgery was given the maximum legal dosage of morphine and was still very awake and very uncomfortable. If I take a very small dose of an SSRI, however, I feel like sleeping all day.
poster:johnnyval
thread:287470
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031208/msgs/287676.html