Longest-acting stimulant? (Other than Nuvigil/Provigil)

[saoirse]

I take a moderate dosage of Ritalin LA and Ritalin short-acting for idiopathic hypersomnia. I've built up a tolerance and they no longer work whereas in the past they worked very well. My doctor thinks I might have to switch to another med now due to the tolerance issue.

I can't take Nuvigil because I went manic on it. (Manic on Nuvigil but fine on Ritalin? Weird how these things happen...)

Is Adderall longer-acting than Ritalin? Some people have told me that. Even Ritalin LA never seemed to work very long at all. What is the longest-acting stimulant in your experience?

[koali777]

I don't know how long Ritalin works, but both Adderall XR and Vyvanse worked longest for me; I could still feel the effects of Adderall 14 hours later sometimes if I didn't have anything acidic with it or any caffeine, and Vyvanse was even crazier...sometimes 16 hours. This is as you asked, my experience. This might be long compared to some. I loved Adderall XR. But it made my psychosis worse.

[saoirse]

Thank you for you response! I have a naturally high tolerance to stimulants (probably due to alcoholism/drug abuse rampant in the family, but who knows) and they work for about half of the amount of time as they seem to do for other people. If I could get six or seven hours out of an Adderall dosage I'd be ecstatic, my hypersomnia is so crippling. I will ask about Adderall and Vyvanse

[koali777]

I love them, especially Adderall. It worked even a year later, I just had to quit because of psychosis. Just make sure, since you have a high tolerance and it may not affect you as well, to not eat within an hour of taking it, as in not before or after, and stay away from anything acidic. It severely lessens the absorption. Glad I could help

[chipmunk]

I had to stop taking Vyvanse because it lasted so long. If I didn't take it by 7 am, I was up until midnight. I really didn't like it. Then it gave me bad acne, watch out for that. But that can be treated if you end up liking it.

If you don't like Vyvanse, Adderall XR lasts just about the right amount of time for me - maybe you could take one first thing in the morning, and one at lunch to get it to last longer? Or try combining the Adderall XR with the IR if you get to the evening and find it wearing off but you still need to be working.

I also found that the Ritalin was processed quickly for me. If I took the IR I got about 45 minutes out of it and that was it. After 2.5 hours it was gone. Never tried the XR version, just switched to Vyvanse, then Adderall IR, then Adderall XR. Now I take Adderall XR and top off with an IR if I'm working late at night writing my thesis.

[saoirse]

I know it's bad, but the idea of feeling awake/wired for that long sounds GREAT to me right now. I usually only get 1-2 hours a day of feeling moderately awake before I feel super sleepy again! Just thinking about all the stuff I could get done...

Yes, Ritalin doesn't seem to work for very long at all for me, and I've heard that from other people, too. I only get about a half hour of awakeness out of 15 mg.

Adderall XR seems like the best bet to me right now. Last time I saw my doctor, he just upped my Ritalin dosage, which did almost nothing. Tomorrow, I'm seeing him again. last time he mentioned that if this didn't work, he'd probably have to switch me to something else, so I'll bring up the Vycanse and Adderall XR again. From what he said, he will probably try Adderall next.