maybe a real diagnosis finally - so ADD & Anxiety, med advice?

[chewbacca]

I went to a good dr finally after seeing many that we awful. But the initial thought was add and anxiety.

Due to the fact prozac worked ok for me except for the tiredness and the shaky hands. Cymbalta only for those couple weeks knocked my anxiety out as well - apparently they are like "cousins" from what the pdoc says.

So he thinks cymbalta or prozac & one of the gold standards for ADD. So it looks like concerta, ritalin, and maybe some I don't know of.

I asked about strattera or wellbutrin but he isn't sure because with wellbutrin you have to go high and it takes a while, provigil apparently is stimulating alot which might make my anxiety worse, and then strattera he isn't sure about because of the mixed reactions.

So anyone have any good info on concerta? I am not starting anything until Monday but I am already worried because of the heart issues or sudden death these things apparently can cause?

Thx

[null0trooper]

Due to the fact prozac worked ok for me except for the tiredness and the shaky hands. Cymbalta only for those couple weeks knocked my anxiety out as well - apparently they are like "cousins" from what the pdoc says.

Prozac and the other SSRIs mostly work by slowing down the rate that serotonin is hoovered back out

of nerve synapses.

Cymbalta does the same for both serotonin and noradrenaline.

So he thinks cymbalta or prozac & one of the gold standards for ADD. So it looks like concerta, ritalin, and maybe some I don't know of.

I asked about strattera or wellbutrin but he isn't sure because with wellbutrin you have to go high and it takes a while, provigil apparently is stimulating alot which might make my anxiety worse, and then strattera he isn't sure about because of the mixed reactions.

Provigil is usually stimulating more in a "wake up already!" than a "Yarrgh! What was THAT?" kind of way.

Are you sure you don't have what the doctor said about Strattera and Provigil swapped in your memory?

Not everyone takes Wellbutrin at the 300 mg/day or 450 mg/day levels. Then again, not everyone can.

But, if ADD is a primary problem for you, you'd notice its effects much sooner than someone without ADD.

So anyone have any good info on concerta? I am not starting anything until Monday but I am already worried because of the heart issues or sudden death these things apparently can cause?

The "sudden death" issue has been discussed a number of times already on the Stimulants board.

You might find a good bit of Concerta/Ritalin discussion over there as well.

[Penny Century]

stimulants are some of the oldest medications we use for psych stuff. their usage and risks are well known, and, frankly, the risks are overblown.

i couldn't find a thread specifically on the risks of heart attack from concerta (which is a well-designed sustained relase form of ritalin). concerta is a stimulant. i found a post on the risks of heart attack and adderal that was fueled by a paranoid news article. adderal is a stronger stimulant than concerta. every once in a while the media likes to freak out about how we are giving children drugs and write a scary article about how they are eeevil. (think about how many kids take stimulants and how many are helped and ask yourself if doctors would really continue to give children a medications that are unsafe for the past oh... well i know someone who was on ritalin as a child 40 years ago. i think if ritalin was dangerous it would have been pulled sometime in those 40 years.)

the thread addressing the risks is here. the posts showing that the risks are actually remarkably minimal start here.

there is always a risk-benifit analysis with every medication.

always talk about your concerns with your doctor. your pharmacist can also help you sort out some of these issues. (and we're always here to help, of course.)

good luck to you. the first time i was prescribed meds for ADD it was like i was in a whole new world. a world i could pay attention to and function in.

best,

penny

[LunaRufina]

I've been on Concerta for a long time.

I'm 24 and I've taken it since I was about 18. It works for me. I have had mild elevated heartbeat, likely due to anxiety, too much caffeine, and too little sleep and there hasn't been any problem from the Concerta. I'm taking 72mg.

Wellbutrin XL- I take 450mg. It's also a high dose andI didn't notice and benefits for my ADD, but I wasn't taking it for that. I did notice a benefit for my depression, which is why I still take it.

I am currently also taking Abilify- which is so far doing something good. On top of the Concerta, this is one of the things that has made a large improvement on the ADD. I wouldn't drop the Concerta, though and I think the Concerta for me is first choice. I haven't been worried about being on it knowing that it is a stimulant even also being on Wellbutrin which can also be stimulating.

I had been considering taking provigil a while ago before the abilify and it may have come up again if there were still problems. I have only been on it a few weeks but so far I don't see that there would be a reason to try anything else. We'll see.

If there was something to be concerned about, my doctors wouldn't let me take Concerta. I'm really not. Be attentive to your body. Don't drink caffeine and get enough sleep.