I am a 23 year old female who was just diagnosed with ADD- mainly inattentive. I'm taking concerta (18 mg.) and I was wondering if anyone experienced weight loss with it (adults)? Also, I may have to switch to Adderall, because of insurance reasons, and was wondering if anyone has taken both of these, and which one they liked better.(and did you lose weight on adderall?) So far I do not notice a differance in my attention span (I've been taking concerta everyday for 9 days) and I do not really a loss of appetite, like most people do.

Hi. I am new (2 weeks) to stimulant medication, but Ritalin is having a significant effect on me (positive) so far (20mg x 2 daily).

Both my psychiatrist and psychologist favored Ritalin and Adderall over Concerta; why exactly, I do not know. (Though my psych was anti-stimulant, and had me try Strattera first, which seemed mostly innefective for me.)

As to the weight loss: I was reading some info on-line about herbal diet pills that said the herbal ephedra or whatever in them caused a "sympathomimetic" response in the nervous system. This response, apparently, boosts an individual's metabolism, facilitates the production of body heat, and interestingly causes the metabolism of adipose fast tissue, or white fat cells. Apparently, your nervous system can go into the same state during winter in an attempt to compensate for lost body heat.

At any rate, it said the simpathomimetic response is also the same effect caused by stimulants, such as amphetamine or its near-neighbors, methylphenidate (Ritalin) and whatever Adderall and Concerta are (I think one is also methylphenidate, and the other has a very similar name).

Incidentally, herbal diet pills containing ephedra are also close cousins of the decongestant Sudafed (pseudroephedrine), which, ironically, has always taken me from the fog of a cold with congestion to a state of more alertness than my 'normal' state. (It's usually followed by a rebound the next day, as well.)

This would explain the weight loss associated with all of these drugs. On the up side, the lost weight seems to be mainly stored fat, which many of us Americans, so they say lately, have too much of.

How on earth did you get the words "weight loss" and "Adderall" to link to advertisements for diet pills and an herbal-alternative to Adderall? Are you really "a 23 year old female who was just diagnosed with ADD"? Or do you already know a little bit more about this ephedra / ephedrine / amphetamine / methylphenidate connection than you're letting on??

I am truly, truly sorry if I offended you. I was mainly surprised by the links, because it seemed strange for a post to contain advertising. Reading your reaction to me, and reading back over my post, I see now that I was rather insinuating, and I'm sorry.

I can tell you exactly what happened: The other board you posted to automatically creates these advertising links when certain "key words" are entered. When you cut and pasted, they were copied over here. As for the link in your next post, this message board software created it, as do most Rich-Text or HTML editing programs when they recognize website or e-mail addresses.

I honestly hope you'll accept my apology, and think about coming back to this board. I and many others that have posted here know well the frustrations and pitfalls of living with, and trying to get appropriate treatment for, ADD. I have been on this forum for two months, and have read alot of supportive, heartfelt offerings of experience, strength and hope. I feel a personal connection to anyone who has walked in our shoes. Though our backgrounds and life circumstances are as diverse as the human race, it is amazing to hear things expressed here time and time again which demonstrate the remarkable similarity in the particular quality of our experiences.

I am posting this reply to the board as well as privately to you, to ensure you receive it.

You don't have to apologize, it really is not a big deal, I understand how my post could be confusing with those links. And I will continue to come back to this board if I need more advice. Thanks!