switching a.d.d medicines

Okay so today I went to the dr. and we talked about switching add meds. I was on straterra when I came home from college bc I had anxiety. Now im home and dont have anxiety so we were gona switch me to aderall xr bc with straterra you have to take it everyday bc its not a stimulant. Previously all through high school I was on concerta. Has anyone been on aderall xr and what are some side effects. ALso, has anything bad happend to anyone when they switched meds.

no one??

You sound a lot like my son. He was first on concerta but lost too much weight so we took him off. He went on Stratera about 1.5 yrs later but he said that it made him tired and he was still having trouble concentrating. He went on adderal about 2 weeks ago and he has no ill effects from it. He says that he is concentrating more and he still gets hungry.

He likes it better then the others.

I take adderall... it works well for me but there are side effects. One is no appetite. You have to make sure you drink tons of calories and eat a meal at night as it wears off, and even doing that i lost nearly 20lbs on it (and i didn't need to, i am now about 115-120 at 5'7" and struggle to maintain). I suggest taking at least one day off per week to help you eat and also to reduce tolerance.

The other major side effect is trouble sleeping, especially at first. if you can manage the side effects though, it really really helps with ADHD, so for me its worth it.

Hey, Im a student nurse and have learned alot about add meds. The only advice I can give you is eat a big breakfast before you take the meds. Im talking literally eating a dinner-sized meal (chicken, high fatty foods to conpensated for loss of appetite). Also, taking a day off, or weekends off is a BAD IDEA (sorry hockeygirl). It is referred to as going on "drug holidays" and it can mess with the positive affects of the medication.

Hope this helps,

-Katie

I'm sure there are different (and legitimate) views on the issue of breaks from medication, but my doctor recommended this, and the reason is that adderall does not need to build up in the system to be at its most effective. According to my doctor, it does not "build up" in your system at all - after about 12 hours, it works its way out and thats it until you take more. My advice would be to consult your doctor, but please, Katie, be careful when giving advice about medication  - it can be dangerous to spread misinformation.

Just becuase your doctor recommened that for you does not mean it may work for another person. I would never give misinformation, I am just sharing my knowledge. There are many many studies that support not goind on "drug holidays" for aad meds. But I do highly recommend talking to your doctor about this, and not reandom people on the internet because he (or she) is the one who knows how to help you best! Each individual person needs different treatment styels, even if they have the same condition, and are on the same meds. That is probably the most important thing I have learned. :)

Just a quick edit to this post: I am just trying to inform people. This information is something to ask your doctor about. Ask what drug routine will be right for you!