Hi All,
I have a few questions I'd like to throw out to you all.......I'm 56 years old and have beeb diagnosed ADHD for about 6 months....I started on straterra for the first five months and thought I was making some progress but after several dosage adjustments it all sort of fizzled out.........I asked for Ritalin after hearing some good reports but my doctor opted for adderall 10mg XR...........
I was quite sure I got the right medicine this time because I noticed a difference almost immediately although it was quite subtle............30 days into the adderall now I still feel it's right but I wonder about the dosage as well as the XR vs STRAIGHT UP............I feel I am having too many bad days and sometimes multiple bad days...........Much like before I started treatment......However there are areas in my life that are much improved and this is why I feel the adderall is right for me....
My questions are how do I know when I'm as good as I'm going to get or if I could even be doing better..............I've read where no one has to suffer with ADHD any more because now there are so many good meds out there....Also the XR as opposed to the original I wonder about....I would appreciate any comments or suggestions anyone might have.......I see my doctor tomorrow (psychiatrist).........I hope he ups the meds but I don't want him to think I just want more for the sake of more......
Thanx.....................John
ps.......I am also on Zoloft 100mg
In my opioion(sp?) any medicine that's out there for ADD/ADHD only helps reduce the symptoms by some percentage, and the reducing of the symptoms vary day by day or depending on how your body and mind take it. It all depends. But, you will also have your good days too. Hope everything works out the best for you.
[QUOTE=letterman]My questions are how do I know when I'm as good as I'm going to get or if I could even be doing better[/QUOTE]
I started on Concerta about three years ago at age 49 because I returned to college. I was quite sure I had ADHD but wanted to find out to see if it would help the grades. Interestingly, I've wondered the same thing, how is success measured?! My only real benchmark, and it isn't really a good one, is that my grade average seemed to jump about 5 points after getting the Concerta up to 72 mg.
But, I still am fidgety and tap fingers, hands, etc constantly. When I brought this to the attention of the Dr. he said I still do it because it's become a habit after all these years. He's not really offered much else except to ask how I feel I'm doing when I see him.
I also seem to focus more when I read, but again, not all that different from before. About the only thing I can say that is markedly noticable is that I can feel the Concerta kicking in about 45 minutes after taking.
Agree with fukaiotaku you'll have good days and bad days. There is no "cure" for ADHD just drugs that give you relief. XR is a time release method of delivering your meds. That's so you don't get spikes and drop offs. XR is considered an improvement over Adderall straight up. Are you on the maximum therapetic dosage? Might ask your pdoc to increase. Good luck.I an 39 I have been on strattera for 3 months which has help some and I have been taking adderall XR 20 mg for a week ...the two days i was very foucsed then i went kind of blah... yesterday I was easily distracted. My doctor said that it was okay to increase the dosage to 40 mg before I see her again in several weeks. So today I have increased the dosage to 40 mg and I will see how that goes but the original post brings up a good point how does one know when they have reached the optimum dose? Is 40 mg too high ? or not high enough? What is the ceiling?
Intuitively I guess it is when i see some overall improvement in the areas where I have decided to target...distractability and impulsitivity. I also rely on the people around me to provide feedback on my improvement or lack there of. I work with a woman who is also ADD and she says she has seen a marked improvement in the quality of my work over the past three months. My wife also has seen an improvement with my helping out around the house.