I just started on Strattera recently. I take 40 mg 2x per day, with no problems. However, I am wondering whether I should maybe be taking Aderall instead.
Obviously, I am gonna discuss this with my doc, but I was hoping to get some thoughts from people who are actually using the drugs.
In addition to Strattera, I take 40mg Paxil daily. I also smoke a lot of cannibus.
I am a software programmer.
Any thoughts will be most gratefully appreciated.
Whirly_Head.Stay off the grass with ADD, it makes it worse. I speak from experience.
I was on Strattera and hated it, it made me a total slug. Adderall XR ROCKS! I love it! Lots of energy, complete focus and complete life turn around.
I take strattera 100 mg/day. I just started to take adderall XR, 20 mg, along with it. The first day was great and so was the second by day three I had to count my pills to make sure I took the adderall. My doc said I could go up to 40mg before seeing her again in a few weeks. So today i took the usual 100mg of strattera and 40 mg of adderall. I have noticed some change but nothing super dramatic. I plan to stay on my present dosage until I see my doctor...but does anyone think cutting back on the strattera may increase the effects of the adderall?
whirly_Head
If you have ADHD then meds/drugs tend to act the opposite on you then on folks without ADHD. So following this train of thought, you will find that ADHD meds tend to slow ya down and focus you. Now if you are toking up on cannibus, guess what that is doing, dahhhh; speeding yourself up. Haven't you ever noticed, how productive you are on pot when all of your friend just want to kick back, zone out and eat? My point is that maybe you are nullifying the effects of Strattera with Cannibus. Additionally, Strattera takes about two weeks before you feel the full effect. But with Cannibus in your bod, you may never realize the full effect since it take at least 30 days for cannibus to clear from your body. Know this as a fact since I've been involved with drug testing of employees and the lab we use can detect pot in someone's body after 30 days. It has to do with the retention of THC in the fat cells.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not making any morale judgement on your selection of legal/illegal meds, only offering feedback to your question.
Paul
But Paul, that "opposite effect" on ADHDers, to the best of my knowledge,
only applies to KIDS. Adults will not "mellow out" with amphetamines,
altho helping the mind to focus. However, those of us with "inattentive"
type, NEED the "boost" from meds like Aderrall, to kinda "wake up" the
brain, and help to focus.
When I was in college, many years ago, not diagnosed (unfortunately), I
intuitively "self-medicated" myself with a combination of pot & uppers.
The pot helped me to sit through classes, without going crazy or my mind
wandering everywhere else. Plus, when combined with the uppers, I was
able to sit and write, write, write. This combination must have been pretty
right on, as it enabled me to do very well with minimal effort.
The pot probably helped cancel out the hyperness of the speed, while at
the same time, slowing down my thoughts, so I could better organize &
express them....which the uppers helped move along on out....
However, when I stopped the "self-medicating" my life slowed down, and
I was less productive, moving two steps forward & one (or two)
backwards... Until about 25yrs later when I was finally diagnosed....
So, I must take issue with your "no-pot" directive, as it really does depend
on the individual, same as all other drugs....
[QUOTE=Saxman7]But Paul, that "opposite effect" on ADHDers, to the best of my knowledge,
only applies to KIDS. Adults will not "mellow out" with amphetamines,
altho helping the mind to focus. However, those of us with "inattentive"
type, NEED the "boost" from meds like Aderrall, to kinda "wake up" the
brain, and help to focus.
When I was in college, many years ago, not diagnosed (unfortunately), I
intuitively "self-medicated" myself with a combination of pot & uppers.
The pot helped me to sit through classes, without going crazy or my mind
wandering everywhere else. Plus, when combined with the uppers, I was
able to sit and write, write, write. This combination must have been pretty
right on, as it enabled me to do very well with minimal effort.
The pot probably helped cancel out the hyperness of the speed, while at
the same time, slowing down my thoughts, so I could better organize &
express them....which the uppers helped move along on out....
However, when I stopped the "self-medicating" my life slowed down, and
I was less productive, moving two steps forward & one (or two)
backwards... Until about 25yrs later when I was finally diagnosed....
So, I must take issue with your "no-pot" directive, as it really does depend
on the individual, same as all other drugs....
[/QUOTE]
Weed is never good for ADD, and as I said earlier, I know from experience. Chances are it was your uppers that were causing you to focus since they are stimulants and stimulants help you to focus. I was on Adipex (a weight loss drug) for a month before I was diagnosed and during that month I could focus better then I ever had. My psychiatrist told me that Adipex is a stimulant and that it was actually helping my ADD. People think that a stimulant would make your brain go much more crazy, however, a stimulant "stimulates" the brain and allows it to work more "normal" you could say.
Shock, you should know better than to say "never".....
YOU had a bad experience with pot, but for many people, it DOES help
them focus. It can mellow someone out, it can slow down or get rid of the
"chatter" going on in one's mind, and then again, in some people it may
do the opposite. Thus, just like every other med people use for ADD, you
can't really ever say "never".....
I've also known some who's stimulant-taking in no way "allowed their
brain to work better", either, but I would never say never......:-)
[QUOTE=Saxman7]Shock, you should know better than to say "never".....
YOU had a bad experience with pot, but for many people, it DOES help
them focus. It can mellow someone out, it can slow down or get rid of the
"chatter" going on in one's mind, and then again, in some people it may
do the opposite. Thus, just like every other med people use for ADD, you
can't really ever say "never".....
I've also known some who's stimulant-taking in no way "allowed their
brain to work better", either, but I would never say never......:-)
[/QUOTE]
I NEVER said that I had a bad experience... :)
What I meant is that when I did smoke, I was absolutely amazed at how fast my brain went. I would sit and just be baffled about how many thoughts were running through my mind. It was like my eyes were sitting still and thoughts were just blowing by a million miles a second. It physically mellowed me out, but mentally it was just crazy. I have heard this same type of thing from a bunch of ADDers.
I hear ya Shock, but for me and many others, it has the opposite effect!
I was better able to sit through lectures, classes, etc., and for a number of
years I used it when playing music, cause it cleared my mind like
meditating would.....
So, that's all I'm saying, "different strokes for different folks"......
[QUOTE=Saxman7]I hear ya Shock, but for me and many others, it has the opposite effect!
I was better able to sit through lectures, classes, etc., and for a number of
years I used it when playing music, cause it cleared my mind like
meditating would.....
So, that's all I'm saying, "different strokes for different folks"......
[/QUOTE]i agree, when you write music or lyrics on weed, your mind seems to be able to flow easier.
Interesting read. Thanks for showing some sides of this discussion.
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