ADHD/ADD QUESTION: I am an adult and want to know which medicine is a good one- Adderall, Ritalin, others?

Question

I grew up in an era where ADD wasn't really all that common and believe that I have had this disorder for some time. I have always had a hard time concentrating and getting this done. Even after dropping out of high school I managed to graduated from college with honors. However, when I got to law school I got crushed. I barely made it out of there! At my legal jobs I would have such a hard time getting projects finished. Now, after taking a lot of 'on line' ADD assessments, a lot of them say I should see a counselor. Anyway, I was afraid of going to see someone and them putting me on a medicine like Straterra that seems to get a lot of bad reviews. Can anyone recommend a particular medicine that worked for them or someone they know? I have heard great things about Adderall but I wasn't sure if I have to do some HUGE psych workup with hours and hours of testing, etc. My insurance only covers a certain amount of mental health and I cna't afford all that. Any REAL answers appreciated!

Answer 1

THERE IS A RELATIVELY NEW NON-STIMULANT DRUG FOR ADULTS WITH ADD/ADHD CALLED STRATTERA. I AM 43 YEARS OLD AND HAVE BEEN TAKING THIS MED. FOR ABOUT 4 YEARS @ 40MG 2X DAILY (7AM & 2PM) I HAVE GOOTEN EXTREMELY GOOD RESULTS , QUCKLY (STARTED NOTICING A CHANGE IN ABOUT 2 WEEKS) WITH VERY FEW SIDE EFFECTS; DRY MOUTH AND SLIGHT LOSS OF APPEITIATE. HOWEVER MY FRONT TOP 2 TEETH WENT NUMB FOR A SHORT WHILE.THEY HAVE NOT GIVEN ME ANY PROBLEMS SINCE. THE STARTING DOSE FOR THIS MED IS USALLY 40MG 1X DAILY AND IT CAN TAKE AWHILE TO FIND THE DOSE RIGHT FOR YOU. IT WOULD BE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE TO SEEK OUT A PSYCHIATRIST FOR MEDICATION DISPENTION AS OPPOSED TO SEEKING A GENERAL DR. AS MANY GENERAL DOCTORS DO NOT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT PSYCHAITRICS MEDS TO DISPENCE THEM EFFECTIVELY !

BEST OF LUCK,
DODA

Answer 2

I was on Stratera for a time. I am an adult. I personally liked the medication. I no longer need it. I liked it because it was not of a stimulant nature. Adderal and Ritalin and most of the others are stimulants. I have heard some children being put on the antidepressant Wellbutrin for focus. I have no idea what the results have been. I have never seen a child on it. I think they are all pretty much the same. All stimulants. It depends how long acting you want. Really the different one is Stratera which you mentioned you heard bad things about. I noticed they took Cylert off the market. You are obviously really smart if you made it through law school you just have some things working against you. Think about goals in treatment. How long do you need your duation of action to be. Do you know that is your correct diagnosis. You might not need a whole ton of testing, but just going to a psychiatrist might help if you have not gone to one. A primary care doctor or counsellor cannot figure these things out. You are very smart. Have you read any real articles on adults. I mean real articles from medical journals? I am not trying to be insulting, but where is this info comming from? I just want you to get real info and not some scare tactics. I think we need speacialist and I am just a little angry myself because a primary care doctor misdiagnosed me initally and made me worse. They think they can take care of everything, but they cannot and mistake things that are really obvious. If I had a legal problem I would go to you and not your secretary. It is just like that.

Sorry the spell check is not working and that is a horrible problem of mine. A disability of mine. I just want you to get good care.

Answer 3

I was diagnosed as an adult w/this condition about 5 yrs ago.
I have had similar professional problems as you do, but did much better in college than in HS. However, I have problems keeping organized and with memory on the job.

I have been taking a dose of 20mg of Adderall combined with 60mg of Strattera for over 4 yrs now. It is a combination that works well for me.

Don't believe everything you hear about these drugs; it isn't true. There are politics involved that are trying to get these drugs banished because they are stimulants, w/the exception of Strattera.
There are no side effects of using these for me.
Well, maybe except dry mouth, but I take care of that.

Your best bet is to find a mental health professional in your area that treats either child ADD or adult ADD, or both. A PCP isn't trained in this area. Your local hospital can probably give you this info from the Psychology dept..

It's basically a trial and error thing. I went Through 3 months of different meds and doses until I found what was right for me. A lot of it depends on your weight and the severity of your symptoms.

I wish you luck in finding someone who can help you successfully.

Answer 4

Most general practitioners would probably send you to a psychologist for ADD. You will tell them your history, and they will decide what medication is right for you, if any. They work with ADHD persons all the time. Your train of thought is getting away from you...why would you have to spend hours & hours of time testing? It is not usually customary to self diagnose AND choose what meds you will be taking and you should know that all medications do not work the same on all people. What may work well for one person, may not work on someone else. Take the list of meds you have concerns about, to your Dr appt. You might also want to call your insurance company & see what ADD meds are covered under the policy and the cost. I would also stop doing online assessments and asking others which meds work & which ones don't. You can drive yourself crazy if you don't. Start by making an appt and go from there.

Answer 5

well I'm 16 and ADD & ADHD i hate to tell you still arent common, i Have ADHD and have to take 55mlg of Adderall XR, Which is a sign that i actually have it also i cant function with out it, i did research on ADD/ ADHD and i found that 1 out of every 35 people actually has 1 ADHD even though it seems like every1 has it it is because the symptoms are such that any one and there brother can be considered to have it, so i would make sure you have it first, and it rarely is and adult condition due to the fact that it is based on the development of the front lobe in your brain, which is why it is more common in children then adults, so if you have consluted a certifiyed physican and he has told you have ADHD/ADD then i would talk to him about Adderall XR the only real side effects with it on me are it kinda is like an appitite suppresent, because if i forget to take my pills one day ill eat constantly, and the other side affect has been it keeps you awake, like i took my pills late today i took them at like 1 pm and im up typing at 1:30 am compaired toif i had taken them at 6 am i would have been asleep at around 11pm

Answer 6

I'm 43 with ADD

took Adderall for years with good results until it kinda quit working (I think all ADD drugs do that after a certain time)
now I'm taking Concerta and it seems to work okay

Answer 7

i have adhd and am not medicated due to a bad experiance with concerta (a time relese form of ritalin) i have friends who havw had good luk with ritalin though .but as for my self i prefer the inconvenence of the symptoms over the side efects

Answer 8

Firstly it's important that you go and seek a psychologist who can officially diagnose you with ADD - this way services that will help you will become available.

Secondly, Effalex (normal fish oil) is great for ADD. Give it a try.

Stu :-)

Answer 9

Medicine can only do so much.
You need to overcome your fears and see the counsellor. There is no shame in seeing a counsellor.
You may need to try different medicine for ADD. You have to see a psychiatrist, I think.
All the best.

Answer 10

straterra and classical music (mozart) rock. I only had to take 18 mg to get the right focus.