YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

I take 10 mg extended release in the morning & 5 mg later in the day, usually around noon or 1:pm. I have never tried instant release, I am 100% sure that if there is a euphoric high that accompanies instant release, I would constantly chase that high, I am an addict in recovery. I've tried several combinations of extended release ranging from 5mg once a day to 25 mg once a day. 25mg after about a year lead to paranoid thinking. I started tapering down & I found that, for now, this combination keeps me fairly productive. The 10mg in the morning, alone, used to crash at about 3 or 4. But taking an additional 5mg in the early afternoon has me steady until it's near bed time, which, for now, is just right.

Question for other (Adderall) ADD'ers here:
Have you folks experimented with different Instant Release & Extended Release & MG amounts & frequencies to find combinations that seem to work right?
If so, what Rx have you found to work best for you?

Thanks in Advance, -WagonRider

10mgs in the morning and 10mgs in the afternoon works for me - I was taking 10mgs three times a day but I got too jittery/dehydrated/headachy. I just worry because if I try to take a day off I feel like hell and just want to sleep all day.

also I totally relate to the 3-4pm crash! Thanks for suggesting 5 mgs to get through that - I may try it.

I wouldn't encourage you mess with your medications or "experiment" with different combinations, especially if you're in recovery (or even if you weren't). It sounds like you're trading one problem for another. Are you talking to your doctor about this?

I am prescribed both daily doses of adderall by a psychiatrist. I talked to her about what I thought would work, she prescribed it, and it seems to be a good combination.


I'm still curious about what others have to say about their experiences with ADD/ADHD and what medication/combinations have worked best.

By fifthsonata
I wouldn't encourage you mess with your medications or "experiment" with different combinations, especially if you're in recovery (or even if you weren't). It sounds like you're trading one problem for another. Are you talking to your doctor about this?

2 doctors & a therapist LOL

I wouldn't suggest changing prescriptions & medications willy-nilly style either. My situation is that, even tho I'm clean & sober, I am stuck in depression & anxiety. In the midst of this stuck-ness I am not productive. Adderall helps me be productive & helps me focus. It turns the volume down on the hundreds of tiny voices that chatter away in my brain most of the time & I can focus & do things for a while. I sleep every night. I eat like normal, and I get some things done which wouldn't get done otherwise, and I survive.
Honestly, I STRONGLY believe that the real reason I started drinking and drugging when I was young, was to self medicate my way through the same mental disorders/illnesses that I still have today. 30 years later & the same brain still has the same problems.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2002, and I have been prescribed a variety of meds. Adderall - extended release and instant-, concerta, strattera, Wellbutrin.

BY FAR - the instant release Adderall is the most effective. I have been on the same dose for more than 10 years - 120mg/day. I know that is a higher dose than most people's prescriptions, but that has worked great for me. If you really have ADHD, you're not going to get a euphoric high from Adderall; you're going to feel more "normal" and capable and able to manage your life. If you're prescribed the right dose, I think the chance for abusing it is very small.

My son was also diagnosed with ADHD when he was about 10 and his doctors always prescribed him the extended release stimulants - they helped some but in ever thought he experienced the optimal benefit from the meds. When he was in high school he started using and abusing drugs, and part of his recovery program was to get a new psychiatrist and reevaluate his meds. For the first time he was prescribed Adderall instant release (60 mg/day). Rather than abusing it or using it to party, he started functioning at a much higher level, improved in school, made better friends and generally improved the quality of his life significantly. That was 4 years ago, and as long as he stays on his Adderall he does fine.

My pdoc and I have been tinkering with my doses and for the past year it's been really good for me. For a total dose of 90mg/day broken into:

Adderall IR 30mg: 1/2-1 tab upon rising

Adderall XR 30mg: 1 cap at 11am

Adderall IR 30mg: 1/2-1 tab around 3pm

Everyone is so different when it comes to these meds. I'm 26, and am 5'1, 125lb. My bf is 29, 6'1 and 230lb and only takes Adderall XR 20mg/day.

Seriously late to this party, but, who knows, maybe someone will get some benefits from necro-ing this thread.

I've gotten it down to as much of an "art form" as I'm able. Been on the dosage for going on 10 years, with subtle tweaks here and there for nights I need to sleep sooner than usual (I have to flip my schedule from nights to days, so it's not just me screwing around; the method works for me, but may not for everyone).

The only real difference was when I got put on XR, and found that 30mgs kicked off my panic attacks. Got switched down to 25 and it worked like a charm. Oddly, 30mgs/day on IR never did the same thing. I'm wondering if that has something to do with my stomach acidity (which, thanks genetics, is fairly high).

Anyway, my schedule is basically this: 15mgs in the morning, 10mgs 4 hours later (3 is when it starts to fade), 5mgs 3 hours after that (for a total of 30). It rounds out my day pretty well, and the only "bleh" period is the 3rd hour after the morning pill.

Every body is different in responding, but I've definitely noticed that it's kept me centered and not in the 'fifteen jets flying in opposite directions' headspace. It even manages to keep me level as I'm going to sleep, since that same effect tends to keep me awake far, far later than I want to be if I'm not careful. I just try to space it up when when I eat.

As a note, I've always assumed that the 'jittery' feeling came from taking too many mgs than you actually need. If I misjudge my doses for the day, I'll end up with jaw-clenching and general jumpiness by the third dose. Taking a small dose as your last is my way to go, but YMMV. I don't know that I'd recommend it with some of the higher doses, either. It's more for figuring out where your sweet spots are.