A few days ago, a reader posted a comment on my post about feeling tired after eating, saying that they used to feel that way before they started taking Adderall. Which got me thinking: should I reconsider my decision to not try a new (and stronger) stimulant?
About three years ago, I resigned myself to taking a higher dose of (only) Concerta to treat my Narcolepsy, despite the fact that I wasn’t happy with how awake I felt on it. I had tried to add Xyrem and then Provigil to it, but neither worked well for me.
For years, Concerta worked great for me. Now, I question how much it is doing to help me (and have questioned this for a long time now). A few weeks ago, I was unable to get a prescription for Concerta from my doctor for a week because he was on vacation and so didn’t take any, and I was surprised to discover that I didn’t really feel all that different. A little bit different, I suppose, but it wasn’t as noticeable as I would have expected it to be.
I have known for a long time that Concerta wasn’t doing much for me, but I have been reluctant to try one of the higher level stimulants because I know that they tend to have more side effects. I have mainly been thinking about Adderall, because from my research I have read that it is the next strongest stimulant after Concerta (with Dexedrine being stronger than Adderall).
I am concerned about Adderall’s potential to cause depression and anxiety, as I have struggled with these things in the past. However, I do see the same warning about people with these problems for Concerta on drugs.com, so I’m not sure how much I should be concerned about this (maybe all stimulants have such warnings?, I don’t know).
And, okay, I’ll admit, I’m also just a bit scared to try taking something stronger than Concerta, especially with all the warnings these medications come with (heart warnings, etc.).
However, now I have to ask myself, shouldn’t I at least try something else and see how I feel? Sure, it sucks trying to change a medication because, at least for me, it seems that a lot of the time I just end up being disappointed when I get unacceptable side effects (in addition to the pain of trying a new medication).
Now I find myself going back and forth between resigning myself to the sub-par medication I know (and whatever side effects I get from it- I don’t know anymore what those are) and the unknown medication that might very well be worse. It’s a tough one.
Anyways, despite having said for 3 years now that I’m not willing to try Adderall or Dexedrine, now I’m starting to reconsider my position. Now I’m starting to think that maybe I should consider my last remaining options – options which don’t sound great to me, but I do know that many Narcoleptics take these medications.
I am trying to gather more information on this from other Narcoleptics who take Adderall or another stronger stimulant, both to figure out if I want to try something else and because I know it’s going to be difficult to convince my doctor to prescribe me something stronger. (It’s another story, but I’ve been told that here in Germany doctors normally only use Provigil or Xyrem to treat Narcolepsy. It was quite difficult for me to get my doctor to prescribe Concerta for me (off the label), despite the fact that I had record of me taking it for Narcolepsy for at least the past 10 years. I have to expect that it would be even more difficult to get a stronger stimulant, especially since I can’t point to two other sleep doctors prescribing this for me in the past. I get the impression that Narcolepsy treatment is farther along in the U.S. …).
Do any of you take Adderall or another stronger stimulant (or have done so in the past)? I would love to hear what you thought about it and what your doctor said about it, both to aid me in my decision and, in the case that I were to decide to try something else, to help me convince my doctor to consider prescribing me something else.
Thank you in advance. :-)
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4 comments:
I tried Adderall a couple of years ago, but had to stop taking it because it was messing around with my heart. It was making my heart rate all jittery every now and then - at least a few times a day. I've heard it works well for other narcoleptics, but I couldn't take it. And I wasn't on it long enough to know for sure how well it helped with my daytime sleepiness - I know the starting dose I was on didn't seem to help much, but I think they could have raised my dosage some if it hadn't been affecting my heart.
Concerta worked for me, but over time I developed a tolerance to it and had to keep increasing my dosage. I eventually switched to generic Ritalin after my Concerta insurance copay got too high for me to afford it.
I am new to researching this disease, although I wish that I had begun my search in October 2006 when I finally broke down and endured the overnight/next day/ sleep study and not surprisingly was diagnosed without a doubt by my mother's sleep disorder doctor (Yep, she has narcolepsy, too) As my mother and I aren't the best communicators, I just didn't think much of the disease~except that I was thankful to know that I wasn't insane due to what I now know to be sleep paralysis upon falling asleep and that I could now stop being told that I had depression or the other famous diagnosis from the early 90's "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" or the Yuppie Flu...And no more lyme disease or thyroid tests either!
I'm getting off track with the subject I was first prescribed Provigil. I took two #200 mg tablets per day and an older antidepressant named Pamelor to reduce the sleep paralysis/scary dreams. I changed to Nuvigil 250 mg 7-8 months ago. I have only been on the Adderal for perhaps a month now--I have been taking 10 mg of Adderall each a.m. upon awakening as a "fast acting" stimulant to supplement my daily 250 mg dose of Nuvigil. I am not having any side effects as far as I can tell...I am not fidgety or nervous and actually I could still fall fast asleep on what I am taking now. My main problem is arising each morning--I just can't get into a wakeful state. It takes me hours of punching the snooze button after my husband brings me coffee and coaxes me into sitting up to take my med that is out and ready on the nightable.If it wasn't for having to get my 2 children on the school bus and dragging myself to work, I assume that I would never get out of bed each day.
I am up on/off all night long, even though I also take ambien; However, I fall into what I consider my deepest sleep between 4am-6am. I have had some really emotional situations occur in my life recently and I feel that my narcolepsy has progressed very quickly. I am having trouble getting my children on the bus and then me to work on time. I have trouble focusing and my memory has really diminished. It takes me forever to "pack up and go", etc., etc. I hope that the Adderall makes a difference. I do believe that I feel somewhat more focused and my co-worker whom I confide in tells me that she can tell a big difference.
I wish that I had more experience to share about side effects, but so far, so good, this combination is working okay for me. I'm not much for the computer (too tired after work all day), but I am looking forward to visiting your site to learn all that I can. Thank You! Carina D. USA
I take 60mg of Adderall a day (two 30mg XR capsules) and 250mg Nuvigil. I've tried various forms of methylphenidate (Ritalin LA, Concerta, Focalin XR) but they have never worked as well as amphetamines.
Adderall(dextroamphetamine salts & levoamphetamine salts) is great but some people prefer Dexedrine(pure dextroamphetamine) instead. The holy grail of stimulants is Desoxyn but trying to find a doctor that is willing to prescribe it is hard. While it carries the stigma it has the fewest side effects.
I've been on Adderall for several years now and ironically my blood pressure has improved and now is right at the 120/80 mark. My cholesterol levels have also come way down too.
Hello,
I have been taking Provigil for several years and I have taken Concerta when I was first diagnosed in late 2005 and in 2006 after I had my first child.
My neurologist moved me to Provigil and it kind of helps ( I am in the process of trying to find different medicine especially since I want to have another child here in the near future.
I actually asked my neurologist if I could start taking Adderall b/c I remember taking it back in high school b/c I was diagnosed with ADD or ADHD when I was in the second grade but wanted to try and take the medicine to help me take the ACT since I struggled with timed tests and my focus level.
I do remember that I stopped taking it b/c it made my heart rate speed up a bit but I was desperate to try and find some meds that would actually work for me so I could have or lead somewhat of a normal life so I started taking 20mg of Adderall XR (which is the timed released kind) and I can for sure say that it works and can tell a significant difference when I don't take them. I take the two times a day - Once in the morning and once in the afternoon b/c if you take it late at night you are up for a while longer than usual :)-
I recommend trying it, it can only help you and now they have a generic version of it and I haven't been able to tell a difference from when I took the non generic kind.
Good luck!!
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