ADD Medications

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So.. I used to be on ADD / ADHD medication.. I have come off of them a year ago, and looking back I feel as though the medication changed me a LOT. And I really didn't like how it made me a different person.. I wanted to see if others have had this or similar experience..

There are a lot of good and bad of not being on them anymore, but I am frustrated because being on them so long I now have lost my special interests. I feel now as though I cannot find that one thing I would like to profess in.

The good is now I feel myself.. And I would rather be myself then someone I am not.. And I am less depressed all the time.. But I still get depressed here and there..Still better then all the time.. As well as my anxiety is a lot better.. I really don't have much anxiety anymore.

I am noticing though all the things I used to have issues with returning.. I am having trouble reading voice tone again and sarcasm.. I also get confused if people are referring to specific things that were recently talked about but weren't just then talked about.. Sorry if that confused anyone.

Anyway, I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced these changes and noticed them.. Or any other changes they may have had being on or off ADD / ADHD medication.

They made me more hyper/ impulsive and extroverted. I actually don't mind the change. I was more cautious and quiet before.
Anti-depressants took away my special interests but 6 months later I started to get them back.
Ritalin can make me over focus on my interests but it's kind of good when it makes me be able to focus on other things. I don't like staying on one thing for too long.
They do make me more anxious too.

Yeah, I used to be slightly more extroverted on ADD meds too.. I took a different one called Vyvanse and was also on Zyprexa (anti-psychotic).. I couldn't stand the intensity of my anxiety though.. and I couldn't stand any more medications because I felt a lot of the time they over medicated me..

I have not been on any medication for my ADD since 1997 and according to my mother they increased my metabolism. I don't know what other side effects there were.

I'm on meds for ADHD. They don't make me a different person... not any more than coffee does, anyway.

Actually, that's pretty much the way they affect me. It's the same effect as drinking coffee--only without the caffeine jitters and physical tension that you get from drinking a lot of coffee.

I just started taking ADHD medication last month. I started with adderall and it was great. I did notice I felt like something was missing, and I think it was the special interest thing. I did start to get back into a routine after I sort of got used to the medication though. And it helped with anxiety and overall social awkwardness alot.
Just a few days ago, I was switched to Ritalin, and it is terrible. It's like it has the opposite effect, making me think about a different topic every 30 seconds and i get really bad anxiety!

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Nothing though is going to cure this. It takes the edge off and restores functionality.

Just started on dexedrine. It makes me happy! For some reason I'm running around smiling more and feeling more upbeat.

I have been on dexedrine for ADD since I was 8 years old (and am still on them to this very day). I only take them while at work and/or have to get work done. I don't take them when it comes to my social life because I have always felt two things: 1. The dexedrine make me more focused and take things more seriously 2. It is important to be myself when socializing with other people (this means not taking my ADD meds because when I'm on them, I am not my natural self.)

I was also briefly on Straterra for a couple of weeks during my freshman year of high school. But it caused too many problems. Thus, I got taken off Straterra.

That sounds very familiar. But Ritalin has been a life saver for me. It's made me want to have one. For me it allows me to focus on one thought. On my breaks is when my mind goes crazy with thoughts.
My anxiety is manageable through CBT...when I remember to read that book.

Strange that moved they moved you from Adderal to Ritalin. Aren't they both stimulants?

I take meds for ADD (Concerta in the morning, and a small booster dose of Adderall in the late afternoon, but not on most days and only if I really need to focus on something important). The Concerta (extended-release Ritalin) doesn't change my personality, and it helps me in social situations. It also lessens my hyperactivity and stimming greatly. I don't care for the Adderall too much. Makes me a little irratable and makes me feel like I must obey orders when asked to do things (if that makes any sense). So I don't take it most days. Concerta lasts about 10 hours, Adderall lasts 3 hours.

Last edited by SyphonFilter on 19 Nov 2011, 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I started Focalin XR this week. The first day was great, I could focus and felt good. The second and third day sucked. I couldn't sleep at night and had stomach pains most of the day. I remember having side effects on Ritalin, and Focalin is essentially the same thing. So I'm going to try a different med.

Give it more time. A few weeks at least. If you keep deciding that a med is no good for you after a few days of side effects you'll never be content. I'm not one for med switching too, unless one is life threatening or not working at all.

On Ritalin I was shaky, had throat pain even some breathing problems but it all evened out and the worse I get in a little bit of jitteriness around that time of month when the damn pills only work half as well.

Give your body time to adjust to it. Sleep? What's that? I've never been able to sleep though I thinkt hat's because I used to drink English breakfast tea a little too late in the night.

I took a few ADD medications when I was about 12 or 13, but they all gave me weird side effects and therefore I stopped taking them.

the difference is Adderall actually releases dopamine, while the Ritalin just helps regulate it. We only switched because there is a sort of shortage going on and my doctor was worried I wouldn't be able to get my prescription filled. She said this is practically the same, and I knew right away she was dead wrong (pharmacology is sort of a hobby of mine ) but I kept my mouth shut, listened to the doc, and immediately regretted it.

It seems like if your ADHD manifests itself as being really hyper and everything ritalin would be better, but the extra energy adderalll provides works wonders for me, I notice what needs to be done (especially at work) and, most importantly, I do it right away. I get it done! something I've struggled with for a long time, if I don't understand why it needs to be done I just don't do it.

Sometimes it does take a few weeks to figure out if you're more efficient on the meds; but really, stimulants do have their effect pretty much immediately, within a few hours. If they were SSRIs, I'd say give it a few weeks; but stimulants, you can tell right away. Won't be a magical "now I can do anything" effect, though. More like, it's just a bit easier to regulate yourself, organize things, get things done than it used to be. It gives you an edge, that's all. You'll probably recognize that the first day, or else after the initial side effects go away. (Some people get headaches and appetite loss. You have to wait a week for those to fade.) If the effect is more subtle, then you're probably going to hear it first from other people--your teachers might comment on how you've been better organized; or your spouse might notice how much better you're keeping your house clean.