Diagnosed with ADD & Focalin XR 20 mg | ADHD Information

I think I've tried every ADD medication over the last few years and absolutely nothing worked. Although ADD explained a lot, I started to think that my diagnosis was wrong. After all, not everyone with the symptoms will have ADD, maybe all that was the real me and I was just trying to blame ADD. My doctor convinced me to try Focalin XR and that changed everything.

I started on 10mg and was jittery at first, but after few weeks that went away. You may decide that 10mg is the right dosage -- if 10mg works there is no need to take higher dosage. My sleep also improved, I am fast asleep maybe 10 minutes after going to bed, always. But I do sleep less. Normally, I'd need 8+ hours (didn't always get them, but that was the optimal time for me). Now, I need 6-7 hours. But I don't feel that I am not getting enough sleep -- I actually feel much better after 6-7 hours than when I slept longer. But it is still unnerving to wake up and get out of the bed right away not because you have to, but because you want to.

But you probably also want to know what Focalin does for ADD. I am very tempted to say that nothing. At least for me. It didn't change me at all, my ADD problems remained as bad as before Focalin. But there was one important difference: with Focalin, I now have a CHOICE.

Before, I was virtually powerless against ADD. Now I can actually decide for myself if I want to be on time, if I want to finish something, if I want to speak up, if I want to get organized, etc etc. Before, I knew that I could do all that, but it was never up to me IF or WHEN. And the effort required for some things or complexity would virtually paralize me. Now, the moment I have a thought of doing something, it is up to me to follow up on that or ignore it. That was never something I had control over.

I don't know if I am explaining this the right way. The difference Focalin is making in my life is so profound and so real!  I don't know how people without ADD feel, but I imagine that all these things I described are completely natural to them. I don't think they could understand what it is not to be able to do something so simple as starting a task just because you decided to start, or finishing something when you want to. Somebody without ADD would probably think these examples are trivial.

So try to stick with it for a while. If it doesn't work, try something else. It is possible that a medication you need has not been invented yet, who knows. But there is a lot available.  I am also fortunate to have a doctor who knows enough about how medication works not to be intimidated by something classified as a controlled substance.

Good luck to you!

I just started taking the same dose of Focalin you are. 10mg 2xday. It's working good, but not great.

Add medications are like cell phones -theres something wrong with every one of them. All you can do is find the one that sucks the least.

I was taking adderall and it was making me feel sort of hyperfocused, shaky, jittery, yet sometimes tired. I delt with it for 3 years and recently made the switch. No matter which stimulant you go with it's going to have simlar side effects.




The problem with add meds is that there is no easy way to measure how effective they are. Sometimes you are happy with just a little improvement in your condition and stop looking for more. In any medication you are really measuring the trade-off between the side-effects and benefits.

I also tried adderall, but it just didn't work for me, or at least not consistently. Focalin is working well so far, although the effect as I described it above is very different from Adderall. I think some type of behavioral therapy would work really well with Focalin -- you'd want to "unlearn" many things you've learned to cope with life with add. When I realized that Focalin is giving me the choice to do or not to do what I need, I also realized that many things I've been doing were automatic. It really is difficult to believe that you are in control of something that was always out of your control. Actually, I am not sure if it is therapy or just some type of coaching that would work.  Would love the hear from someone who benefited from that sort of thing...
Hi,

I was recently diagnosed with ADD and my doc/psych gave me two prescriptions - for Concerta and Focalin XR. He recommended I start with one of them and then work with him to adjust dosage and settle on the drug that gave me the fewest side effects.

Well, I've been taking Focalin XR (20 mg) for two days and the side effects today (2nd day) were really bad. I was jittery, sweating, had  a headache, and was talking really fast for 2 hours in the afternoon. Needless to say, my day at work was shot. Anyway, I'll be testing a 10 mg dose over the next few days.

Has anyone tried Focalin XR and had success with it by adjusting dosage down? Also, any general thoughts on how long it might take me to find both a drug and dosage that will work well for me?

Thanks,

Raju