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Chinch
post Aug 5 2004, 02:18 PM
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hi, i'm just wondering if anyone here has an experience with adderall/adderall xr used to treat refractory depression. i have always had problems with SSRI drugs making me lazy, amotivated, and disinterested in everything. who doesn't, right? while they helped with depression, they also turn me into a wasteful lump.. which i cannot deal with.

even at low doses of SSRIs (paxil, lexapro, effexor), i lose interest in everything (even things i enjoy), i get very anti-social where i don't even want to talk to or spend time with my friends, i don't have any motivation to get anything done. psychiatrists have often tried to augment my SSRI with wellbutrin with very little success. i didn't actually feel depressed emotions, but my body itself seemed very depressed.

anyways, my current psychiatrist (considered by far the best and most experienced in my city) has placed me on a small dose of adderall xr to augument my lexapro, based on the fact that 300mg of wellbutrin caused only minimal improvement.

right now i am taking 20mg of lexapro and 10mg of adderall xr. i've only really been taking it about a week, and it's hard for me to tell how it is doing or not, since i am on summer break from college right now and really don't have anything to test it with. i do feel a small "crash" of sorts usually around 7-8 hours of taking it though, which i don't like. not an emotional crash, but a physical one, where i get really tired and usually have to take a nap to continue the day.

has anyone else had any experience with the SSRI+stimulant combination? particularly in regards to depression rather than ADHD. i would really like to learn from others' experiences in this area, although i don't think there will be many who have done this.
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Guest_I am Cat_*
post Aug 15 2004, 11:16 AM
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Chinch,
You bring up a couple of very interesting points.  The first being the fact that you can't sleep when you first take this stuff.  I was up for two nights straight!  It was a paint fest!  I was a painting fool (that's what I do when I can't sleep).  Finally, by day 3, I could settle down and sleep, although fitfully.

The second thing is the appetite.  Now, granted, I'm an anorexic, so I don't have an appetite at all, so maybe I'm not a good measuring "stick" (no pun intended  :nod: ) , but my doctor's were worried about the Adderall because of the appetite suppressant abilities.  But I'm also on Topomax which suppresses the appetite.  It hasn't seemed to make much difference in my weight, which seems to fall anyway.  You know?  I've had an eating disorder for longer than I've been on the medication, you can track it back 28 years, and Adderall wasn't in my system then... I don't see what difference it will make now.  And if you DO track it, you'll see that there isn't much difference in my weight processes, even though it is dropping.  I guess I'm trying to say that, for me, it doesn't matter one way or another... I never had an appetite to begin with.  But some doctors ARE concerned about that.  I never had problems with Concerta either when i was on that, but I can notice a difference between the two.  Adderall is much stronger than Concerta ever was, on all counts.

I'll let you know if I switch over to XR, or if I just get the doctor to up my dosage of the normal kind.  

Cat
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Posts in this topic
- Chinch   Adderall   Aug 5 2004, 02:18 PM
- - I am Cat   Wow Sharon, that WOULD be scary.  Nope, I gue...   Sep 18 2004, 09:36 AM
- - PattiChati   Chinch - I absolutely LOVE your sense of humor, yo...   Aug 20 2004, 09:01 AM
- - I am Cat   Patti, I'm sorry it's not working for you....   Aug 19 2004, 09:17 PM
- - Ocracoker16   Lizard, I hope the Adderall XR helps with your dep...   Sep 6 2004, 04:43 PM
- - SharonEG   When I could no longer afford Provigil (to keep me...   Sep 4 2004, 03:33 PM
- - Chinch   i'm taking 20mg of lexapro right now. i have t...   Aug 6 2004, 08:49 AM
- - Sammy   Chinch, I also look forward to hear how the addera...   Aug 5 2004, 11:52 PM
- - I am Cat   I'll be interested to hear the responses to th...   Aug 5 2004, 07:50 PM
- - Chinch   interesting.. does it make you depressed feeling i...   Aug 21 2004, 05:00 PM
- - PattiChati   The dr. put me on 30 mgs long acting Adderal. ...   Aug 21 2004, 04:48 PM
- - Chinch   hey just to add an update here, i asked my pdoc th...   Aug 15 2004, 09:54 AM
- - orevgym   I take Adderall XR 15mg 2 times a day, My doc thin...   Jun 15 2005, 12:00 PM
- - I am Cat   Ooops! Sorry, Darrell, misprint!  :bl...   Jun 18 2005, 10:24 PM
|- - durhan   Does anyone have any more experiences with Adderal...   Dec 2 2006, 01:30 AM
|- - eve123   QUOTE(durhan @ Dec 1 2006, 10:30 PM) Does...   Dec 2 2006, 03:32 PM
|- - durhan   QUOTE(eve123 @ Dec 2 2006, 01:32 PM) Hell...   Dec 2 2006, 08:19 PM
|- - durhan   Oh, can someone point me to an FAQ or something th...   Dec 2 2006, 08:21 PM
- - I am Cat   Patti, I'm sorry... I thought it was supposed ...   Aug 24 2004, 11:44 PM
- - lizard   After a long time off of it, I re-started Adderall...   Sep 5 2004, 08:21 PM
- - Chinch   same here, i prefer the regular kind over XR. i ju...   Aug 23 2004, 04:13 PM
- - pufnstuf   Hi cat!  I had the same problem with you ...   Aug 23 2004, 01:52 PM
- - I am Cat   I can't imagine that the doc would give it to ...   Aug 10 2004, 10:12 AM
- - I am Cat   Chinch, You bring up a couple of very interesting ...   Aug 15 2004, 11:16 AM
- - Chinch   cat, i can say i have experience with both the imm...   Aug 13 2004, 09:31 PM
- - I am Cat   My Adderall is MUCH more effective at this sort of...   Aug 13 2004, 09:04 PM
- - I am Cat   Where is everyone? How's is going with your A...   Aug 19 2004, 06:55 PM
- - Chinch   hi all, just an update.. i saw my pdoc today and i...   Aug 13 2004, 12:28 PM
- - Orion   Wow, great insights and answers.  Thanks ever...   Aug 11 2004, 06:19 PM
- - Chinch   yes, this turned into a very interesting discussio...   Aug 11 2004, 06:53 PM
- - lizard   Welcome to DF, darrel1111 Are you sure it wasn...   May 27 2005, 01:07 PM
- - darrel1111   I see A pain management Dr. every 3 weeks. They ar...   May 27 2005, 07:55 AM
- - Swede   Darrel1111...Lexapro is Not an MAOI inhibitor but ...   May 27 2005, 09:50 AM
- - Chinch   yes, i find it very strange that adderall does not...   Aug 19 2004, 09:37 PM
- - Ocracoker16   I am Bipolar II and I take Adderall XR.  I am...   Aug 10 2004, 10:34 AM
- - I am Cat   Not for long term use?  That's a new one....   Jun 16 2005, 02:43 AM
- - Ocracoker16   Adderall XR has lessened my anxety at shool. ...   Aug 11 2004, 09:36 AM
- - SharonEG   No, Cat, I have always had extremely low BP - that...   Sep 7 2004, 04:38 PM
- - lizard   I have problems with anxiety, so when I first trie...   Aug 11 2004, 08:37 AM
- - Ocracoker16   They do the same thing being both psycho stimulant...   Aug 10 2004, 12:27 PM
- - I am Cat   Wow, I guess it worked sort of like "speed...   Sep 5 2004, 03:51 PM
- - PattiChati   Okay, a little off the topic here, but how come I ...   Aug 10 2004, 11:30 AM
- - PattiChati   Okay, I feel really stupid.  The first time I...   Aug 10 2004, 11:33 AM
- - PattiChati   Katie, I know Concerta and Adderal are not the sam...   Aug 10 2004, 11:19 AM
- - CAE   OH man am i glad i found this topic...i finally go...   Aug 10 2004, 12:03 AM
- - Orion   hi everyone, yeah, CAE brings up a very good poin...   Aug 10 2004, 06:49 AM
- - lizard   I took Adderall several years ago for treatment-re...   Aug 9 2004, 06:41 PM
- - PattiChati   Sorry I haven't been on for a couple of days. ...   Aug 19 2004, 09:09 PM
- - I am Cat   You know, I have noticed that the honeymoon period...   Aug 9 2004, 04:44 PM
- - PattiChati   Wow Cinch, can I ever relate to you.  You hav...   Aug 9 2004, 08:37 PM
- - darrel1111   I had no doubts about possibly having ADD. Sure en...   Jun 15 2005, 10:07 PM
- - darrel1111   So, you take a total of 80 mg's of adderall da...   Jun 16 2005, 06:22 PM
- - bebo   Hi all, I am on provigil whcih is a stimulant and...   Apr 19 2005, 09:24 AM
- - lizard   You might want to look through the threads in OTHE...   May 29 2005, 12:22 PM
- - darrel1111   Thanks so much for the welcome! Mixing all the...   May 29 2005, 09:48 AM
- - caddon   Hi, hope this will help a little....I take 60mg of...   Dec 2 2006, 06:04 PM
- - an unquiet mind   QUOTEI never get the rushes you all describe, but ...   Dec 2 2006, 06:10 PM
- - I am Cat   I don't get a rush at all either, and USUALLY,...   Dec 2 2006, 07:25 PM
- - surgeon2006   Hey Robert, Which ones are you having problems wi...   Dec 3 2006, 04:42 PM
- - I am Cat   I went back and found all the "shortcuts...   Dec 3 2006, 11:29 PM


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