I'm actually on the Focalin because of the heart. I just don't understand his worry. It has been mabye a max of points high, but the other number is always low, and it constantly changes, so i don't think it could really be considered high(blood pressure). I have to talk to him about this when school starts back up. I found some interesting info on med holiday's which could explain my reaction, though i doubt weekends are enough of an incriment to have an effect, it had to be that large break. Before that break everything was going well. I had no sleep trouble, my grades were going well, and i was creative like never before. I'm a musician (as you could probably tell) and i was writing songs completely and I even wrote an act of a play. I just want to have that ability again, because it was a great thing that seemed to sort of fade and then i've never had it back again since spring break, excepting the time i was on the adderall instead.
med holidays may or may not be helpful. sometimes if you take a med holiday, say, every weekend, your body will have to readjust every time you start up again and the effects won't be consistent. was your doc the one to suggest med holidays? I personally probably won't have any because the meds help me with other problems outside of school, like poor motivation and sluggishness. it's really up to you and your doctor, and your need for a control of symptoms outside of school. i took a five month break from concerta so now I am back to a slightly lower dose. btw when you started up again, did you start with a lower dose or go straight to the higher ones? correct me if I'm wrong, but if you stop meds for a long period of time, because of the adjustment period, it's best to start with a lower dose again each time, just to be safe.jaxxer,
there is a 70% chance one of your parents has ADD ? ADHD, their concerns possibly are very skewed
I have taken wellbutrin, prozac, cymbalta, ritalin etc Adderall is the only one that lets me see what is is like to start and finish things, projects, songs I will be asking about Vyvanse myself. As stated by all, gotta try to find out
why med holiday? no one told me one way or the other, it's just that I have had decades of hyperfocaus and daydreaming, and I like it, sometimes.
Katastrophee:
I thought about talking to him about the Vyvanse(lisdexamphetamine) since it is a dextro version, which are consitently more centrally acting than the normal versions. He's more concerned with the heart, he admitted the first time that we talked about the meds that amphetamine does seem to be the best medication with people in my age group. I'll talk to him when next year comes around, but i doubt he'll do anything.
Parents are another issue, they don't like the thought of meds at all. They both share a stigma about them, I don't really know why. I don't really know how to get around it, and they don't trust me with this sort of thing.
The final thing(to both of you), the full time deal. I guess that i find i sort of like the adhd as long as i don't have to concentrate. I enjoy the fact that i can race through thoughts and still manage to think more deeply than most other people i know. I guess it's the only reason why i'm so weary about the anti-depressants.
And thank you for helping me out with this, it's a rather distressing problem, especially since there aren't any solutions without consequences that only effect me.
jazzer39263.3982175926From my personal experience, anti-depressants doesn't take daydreaming or mind wandering away. What it tends to do is just slow what you call mind racing down a bit. The only horrible part about anti-depressants are going through the first two weeks of side effects when you start them.
Hi jazzer,
I would be VERY careful about trying them again. It would be great if they worked OK, but I don't think it is worth taking the risk.
I am taking Wellbutrin (I am also inattentive), and it does not keep me from letting my mind wander. It actually does not give me SHARP focus, but has curbed my impulses (eating, shopping) completely and made me much more alert. I still daydream all the dang time.... I can't imagine a drug that would stop that completely! It seems beyond my comprehension since I have not found anything that did that. I could use some of it....
I haven't tried any of the stimulants (yet) so I don't know how well they would work for my focus and can't compare.....but I would think that if I found a medication that worked perfectly and helped me be able to focus on whatever was necessary, that I wouldn't WANT to take a weekend (or whatever) off....? Sometimes when people take "med holidays" this sort of thing happens - the effect the med has on them changes. It could be that once/if you find something that WILL work for you without creating other problems, you will have to take it everyday. Some people believe that it is good to take a med holiday now and then, but I don't know that there is really any evidence that shows it is truly beneficial. Anyone out there - if I am wrong, let me know! I am no expert!
My husband takes Strattera and gets pretty good results from it. The advantage of antidepressants is that they are in your bloodstream 24/7. Stimulants wear off. Unmedicated I have a horrible time getting up in the morning - Wellbutrin helped that tremendously. I worry that if I switched to a stimulant I might be miserable in the morning again. Then there is that rebound issue.....
I'm not necessarily trying to convince you to try an antidepressant, because they don't help everyone. Strattera seems to be a dud for about 50% of the people who try it, and Wellbutrin can be hit or miss too - it has a tendency to exacerbate anxiety. I'm just trying to help you get as much info as possible about your options from my personal experience.
I don't know whether amphetamine is likely to have more cardiological effects than methylphenidate, but I would hope your doc would realize that keeping you on something that makes you depressed to the point of suicide is NOT a good idea. Since you tried that option, maybe he would be willing to try one of the amphetamines. There is a new one - Vyvanse - that has to be activated by digestion and therefore can NOT be ground up and abused (in case that is what you doc is concerned about). It is also supposed to last 14 hours and from the few posts I have seen from people who tried it, that seems to hold true. There are vouchers for a free 30 day supply on the website (vyvanse.com). You could always ask about it, or admit that you tried an amphetamine previously and it worked well for you. Or, if possible, find a NEW doc that is willing to help find what is best for you.
You don't mention anything about parents....? Not trying to be nosy, but if they understand what is going on, maybe they can help you get what you need?
You seem pretty mature for so young. Good for you for trying to do the right thing for yourself and learning about your options.
Good luck!
I'm really hesitant to go on the antidepressants. The fact that i could not take these pills if i didn't need them and let my mind wander and such on weekends or slow days was almost the deciding factor for me for doing these, but now they don't work anymore...
My thought is that mabye after summer is over and i've been off them for 3 months, when i go back on them they won't have the same train-wreck sort of effects. Do you think that's realistic or not?
jazzer39261.8540046296I agree with Katastrophee that antidepressants should not casue you to be unable to let your mind wander. My daughter has taken a lot of different stimulants and on several of those would tend to hyperfocus, but I've not seen that on the TCA's. She also took Wellbutrin although not alone and was good on that too.
You are right that you do not have the option of being off meds with the antidepressants, but again I agree with Katastrophee that on the right thing, that may not matter. Most people do med breaks to make up for the side effects (like to gain weight), but if there are no side effects, why go off?
This is my first post, and i'm sorry if i missed an earlier thread on a similar subject, but here goes.
I'm 15, and i was diagnosed with adhd (innattentive type) about 6 months ago. My doctor noticed that i have erratic blood pressure (the numbers change within 5 minutes substantially) which is consitently a tad high, although one of the numbers always seems to be low. because of this he put me on dexmethylphenidate since it has less peripheral activity and less caridological side effects. it worked for a month or 2, then he upped the dose, then it worked up until spring break. i stopped taking it over spring break and when i started it again it made me angry, depressed, and while i was still more attentive, i didn't care about working on anything because of the depression. it was a huge problem so i stopped taking it for about a month. when i started back up again, it didn't work at all, so i went back to the doctor. he gave me more (above the normally perscribed dose(20mg time release and 2 5mg instant release, one for the morning and one after lunch). This worked for a day, and then continued working but i got very depressed again, this time to the point where i had thoughts of suicide. Luckily i realized what was going on, and at the end of that week i stopped taking them. i was happy and hyper that day, although spacey, but i decided that it wasn't worth taking them if they were going to make me so miserable. thankfully it's summer here and i don't have to deal with school, but i don't know what to do. when i started taking the stuff it made me tremendoulsy creative. i was writing music like i'd never done before, i was writing plays and short stories and i was doing amazing in school. i carried over some of what that initial experience taught me as far as creativity, and i can do that without the meds but i want that ability to focus on things back. i doubt my doctor will put me on other meds because he has a horrible bias against amphetamine, although i've tried it once and it worked perfectly. i really don't know what to do and i'm wondering if any of you have been in a similar situation or could help me out here.
There are other options beside amphetamines. Straterra being one of them. Some people have luck using Wellbutrin and we use Despiramine which is a tricylcic antidepressant also used for ADHD symtpoms. I would talk with your doctor again.