what do yall take??? I just started on Focalin and its making me feel like shit. Anyone take that or anything else? and how does it make u feel??

1/11/2006 6:43:56 PM

i've been on methylphenidate as ritalin and concerta before - from 8 or 9 til i was 17.
went off it my first semester in college.
*I* never noticed a change in my behavior, but that was probably just the whole being a self-centered young'n. Other folks noticed a big change - namely, i actually had an attn span, i didn't twitch/jerk/tap/knock/bounce, and was more subdued in general. I never noticed any side effects, nor did anyone else.

thinking about going back on something soon.

/worthless $0.02

[Edited on January 11, 2006 at 6:53 PM. Reason : letter]

1/11/2006 6:53:28 PM

i took dexedrine and it worked wonders for me

1/11/2006 6:54:30 PM

I was on ritalin for a bit but then had some problems because it wore off before the day would end, so they switched me to concerta which is supposed to be longer lasting. No problems, but I did lose about 35lbs when I started taking the meds. They really help me to focus on what I need to do. Without it, things take me a lot longer to complete and I am in a bad mood because I get more easily frustrated.

1/11/2006 7:03:04 PM

i took concerta for.... 4 years
and ive taken adderall for almost 2

i like the adderall better, but maybe if id gone up on my concerta dosage it woulda helped more (i switched to addy instead of going up to 72mg/day of XR concerta)

and it makes me feel, from what i understand normal to be, normal

1/11/2006 7:22:08 PM

thanks for the replies...I think my body just needs to get used to it..oh well..hopefully it will help

1/11/2006 7:48:33 PM

I took adderall for about 4 years or so and it worked wonders with helping me get my work done and take notes and everything but it made me lose up to 20 pounds because i would be so busy thinking about everything i had to get done that i wouldnt make time to eat. Most of the time i would just forget to eat. It suppressed my appetite so much that i finally had to switch to a non-stimulant called strattera. It wasn't as noticable as adderall in helping me pay attention or get things done. It helped somewhat, but after 2 years of taking it i finally just got off all medication and im trying to live life without using medication. It's a lot harder, but oh well

1/11/2006 7:56:44 PM

tom cruise says drugs are bad

1/11/2006 7:59:03 PM

i stopped taking any medication for adhd... mostly out of stubbornness... and i could never bother to remember to take it anyway, so it all seemed kinda pointless...

1/11/2006 8:00:35 PM

dexedrine is the shit.

1/11/2006 9:30:12 PM

started taking ritalin back when I was a senior in high school. worked wonders but I hated it. Made me feel 'weird' is as best as I can describe the feeling. Got to college, stopped taking it out of stubborness...plus, people actually were paying me for the shit and since I hated it I could have cared less (mind you that I'm older than you guys so this was back when it wasn't as 'popular') anyway, switched to adderall a few years later and have been on it ever since

1/11/2006 9:41:17 PM

Anyone know if student health can MAKE a Rx for adderall?

I know they've prescribed me with other stuff in the past.

1/11/2006 10:04:34 PM

how do you know if you have add/adhd, or if you're just a procrastinator/lazy person...

1/11/2006 11:17:18 PM

Quote :

"how do you know if you have add/adhd, or if you're just a procrastinator/lazy person..."

DSM-IV + psych professional

1/11/2006 11:31:23 PM

yea well, it is now almost 1am and I still feel nautious....it better not stay this way or i will go insane

1/12/2006 12:38:03 AM

Whatever you decide to take, if anything, make sure you buy it off the black market.
Do not acquiesce to the sovereignty of g0vt-meds.

Quote :

"how do you know if you have add/adhd, or if you're just a procrastinator/lazy person..."

If you:
- believe that individuals should have medical autonomy, and that the decision to self-medicate can responsibly be made by an individual after researching the subject and/or consulting with others that have spent more time researching the subject.
- believe that most anyone who studied/excelled 8-12 years (of biology, chemistry, etc.,) in college (but doesn't have a government paper allowing them to allow others to sell you drugs,) is qualified to give competent advice on what drugs/regimen one might benefit from.
- believe that it is inappropriate/unnecessary to arbitrarily group together undesirable character traits with other undesirable mental/physical experiences and legally label the whole thing "disease" in order to force people to have to use the highly authoritarian medical drug model/system if they wish to acquire drugs that may benefit them.
- realize that psychiatric drugs are not cures nor appropriate "medicine", but instead are simply another option to diet, exercise or talk therapy that an individual may make the autonomous decision to try, should they want.

...then you're just a procrastinator/lazy person


If you:
- believe that the government/law should dictate who can/should buy/take drugs, what drugs they may buy/take and when they may buy/take them.
- believe that only those who studied/excelled 8-12 years (of biology, chemistry, etc.,) in college and have a government paper allowing them to allow others to sell you drugs are qualified to give competent advice on what drugs/regimen one might benefit from.
- believe that the government should get to dictate what is and what isn't a legally-termed "disease" for the purposes of prohibiting from individuals access to drugs that may benefit them as well as for the purposes of prohibiting individual medical autonomy in general.
- would rather believe that you have a "disease" that you simply must pop a pill to fix, rather than assume the responsibility of exercising better, eating better, and/or seeking talk therapy.

...then you have add/adhd

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Long story short: "add/adhd" is quite simply an arbitrary label used to describe a procrastinator/lazy person/fast-thinker/multi-tasker/etc. Just like in diet pill commercials that say "It's not your fault that you're fat!", suggesting that ones problems stem from a "disease" and that they can be solved by taking "medicine" helps people to not take responsibility for making the effort to modify their maladaptive behaviors and thinking strategies as well as their inappropriate/inadequate diet/exercise.



Note:
I know that many of you are stupid--stupid enough to associate groups that share similar criticism.
That being so, I should point out that I am not opposed to psychiatric drugs per se, but rather am opposed to the practice of psychiatry because of its inseparability from authoritarian law. (libertarian opposition)
I do not, in any way, subscribe to the views of scientology. Tom Cruise is an idiot.

1/12/2006 11:55:13 AM

^ as someone with a psych degree who has dealt with having ADHD his entire life i think i speak for everyone else with it when i say, "fuck you, you don't know a damned thing about what you're talking about"

1/12/2006 12:01:48 PM

^
Can you say pathologize?
Or is that word suspiciously not in your psych books?

Your degree isn't worth the paper its printed on.
(...unless you mean psychology--which is a great field, as opposed to psychiatry--which is crap)

I have over ten years of personal experience with psychiatrists and was on ritalin, so don't tell me about experience.

Instead of saying "fuck you, you don't know a damned thing about what you're talking about", why don't you actually make a meaningful point? Can you?

Look, it never feels good to learn that your career choice is a scam--I'm sorry you had to hear it from me. Trust me, if I took the time to engage you in a formal debate on this subject, I would clean the floor with you. You, however, are simply some idiot for whom my time is not worth.

1/12/2006 12:41:49 PM

i dont think anyone is going to take a stoner seriously.

1/12/2006 12:45:15 PM

^Fortunately, no one has to.

http://www.google.com/search?q=critics+of+psychiatry

1/12/2006 12:50:11 PM

http://www.google.com/search?q=OMG+IM+SO+HIGH+DUDE+I+CANT+FEEL+MY+LEGS

1/12/2006 12:51:36 PM

http://www.google.com/search?q=OMG+SOBER46AN3+IS+SO+FUNNY!

1/12/2006 1:11:35 PM

old

1/12/2006 1:19:55 PM

I took Strattera for about a week and a half. My resting heart rate and blood pressure went through the roof. I lost almost all of my sex drive as well as the ability to "perform."

Needless to say I quit. Within a couple of days things were back to normal. A healthy 25 year old shouldn't take anything that causes the problems that I mentioned.

That's just my experience though.

[Edited on January 12, 2006 at 1:24 PM. Reason : s]

1/12/2006 1:23:36 PM

^this is normal and it only last about 3-4 weeks when you start any anxiety/depression meds. Read the label if you can sit still enough dumbass

Lexapro is the shit btw

1/12/2006 1:34:07 PM

Quote :

"i stopped taking any medication for adhd... mostly out of stubbornness... and i could never bother to remember to take it anyway, so it all seemed kinda pointless..."

yeah same here

1/12/2006 1:35:53 PM

Quote :

"^this is normal and it only last about 3-4 weeks when you start any anxiety/depression meds. Read the label if you can sit still enough dumbass Lexapro is the shit btw"

reading is the shit btw

strattera != anxiety/depression med
lexapro != ADD/ADHD med

1/12/2006 1:53:58 PM

^^^ Sorry, but I'm not going to feel like shit for 3-4 weeks.

My resting heart rate was somewhere around 110. My blood pressure went from ~120/70 to ~160/100. That's way above what most people would consider to be "high blood pressure." I thought it was just the initial shock, but it didn't get better after the first few days. Not good at all.

[Edited on January 12, 2006 at 1:55 PM. Reason : k]

1/12/2006 1:54:43 PM

Lexapro for my anxiety - i have absolutely no symptoms of ADD or ADHD















Actually, im in the camp that believes that ADD/ADHD is a made up malady that describes "lazy and/or spoiled fucks who cannot function at the same capacity as the rest of society"

1/12/2006 2:17:05 PM

Quote :

"Lexapro for my anxiety - i have absolutely no symptoms of ADD or ADHD Actually, im in the camp that believes that ADD/ADHD is a made up malady that describes "lazy and/or spoiled fucks who cannot function at the same capacity as the rest of society""

so you posted about anti-depressants in a thread about about ADHD meds, and then also incorrectly identified one of them as an anti-anxiety/depressant drug?

gg.

1/12/2006 2:21:28 PM

ADHD people are as pathetic as fatties calling obesity an epidemic.

1/12/2006 2:24:07 PM

no wonder you ppl post so much

1/12/2006 4:44:32 PM

Quote :

"Actually, im in the camp that believes that ADD/ADHD is a made up malady that describes "lazy and/or spoiled fucks who cannot function at the same capacity as the rest of society"""

on some level i will agree with you. i think it is used ALOT as an excuse for a child behavior resulting from inconsistent/non-existant discipline from the parents. however, there are some people who i think really and truly are ADD/ADHD.

anywho, good luck finding something that works for you.

1/12/2006 5:16:46 PM

^ agreed. Although it's grossly overdiagnosed, it's real, and it's physiological. Children whose mothers drank a lot while pregnant tend to have various behavioral problems, including ADD/ADHD.

The things you learn when your spouse is in med school...

1/12/2006 5:21:47 PM

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318761/

1/12/2006 6:04:51 PM

metadate

1/12/2006 9:28:04 PM

read data describing data

1/13/2006 5:01:57 AM

HEMPSTER IS ACTUALLY TOM CRUISE


SAVE ME XENU

1/13/2006 9:16:54 AM

I just got put on Adderall (20mg XR) a week and a half ago. It's amazing shit....I take notes a lot more and can actually pay attention. It gives me a level of motivation I've never had before.

The only thing is that I went from smoking 1/2 a pack a day to 2 packs a day....I'm hoping that will go away with time....

1/14/2006 3:48:38 AM

ATTN: current students who "need" ADD drugs

those drugs aren't going to help you when you get a job. Reality is going to kick you in the ass when you realize you can no longer result to a pill to be productive and self sufficient. tolerance is a bitch.

[Edited on January 14, 2006 at 4:58 AM. Reason : ]

1/14/2006 4:57:59 AM

^wrong. They can help you stay focused at/on work. They can help you not get overwhelmed by "butterfly" brain and all the things that stimulate you. Work is one too fast moving overedited commercial: tasks, bosses,subordinates come at you from many directions. The drugs help you continue to focus rather than get frustrated through all the over stimulation.

1/14/2006 7:52:21 AM

yeah. but once the 'high' or 'rush' wears off, you're fucked. I mean it would be a very medicated and nice world if we all could drum up mini-speed/euphoria to focus. I mean shit, for anyone ADHD or not, using adderall makes note-taking seem like fun....it's a rush that makes nothing boring because it makes you feel good.

what type of shit life must you have if you need adderall to subside in life, that's the question.

1/14/2006 9:49:30 AM

Well, you need to take you medication till you actually build up a steady supply in your body for 3-4 weeks; you won't see any noticible effects, untill. Taking it like a drug addict and complaining about daily side effect's isn't going to cure you.

Btw, staying on task might be hard for you already, tho

1/14/2006 12:36:47 PM

i agree that most ppl are just using it as an excuse. i personally have a TERRIBLE time focusing and doing work, especially boring things....THATS CUZ IT ISNT FUN TO SIT IN CLASS FOR 2 HOURS AND TAKE NOTES. buck up fuckers. plenty of us get antsy and cant sit still or have our minds wander constantly, you dont need a pill.

that said, i knew some ppl in HS that definately did need a pill. one particular guy was just off the wall non-stop when he didnt have it, but was normal taking it. not super serious, still had to work issues like the rest of us, but he could actually behave for a second.

1/14/2006 12:51:23 PM

Quote :

"those drugs aren't going to help you when you get a job. Reality is going to kick you in the ass when you realize you can no longer result to a pill to be productive and self sufficient. tolerance is a bitch."

yeah, ADD meds only work in the classroom.


if ignorance were bliss, you'd live in a paradise.

1/15/2006 11:03:42 AM

^you miss the point. You have to stop taking the pill at some point. Right? Or do you?

If you take certain psychiatric drugs, you must continue them your entire life in order to maintain the effect. If you do stop, it's just like supercracker and Kainen warned--you'll end up right where you started before taking the drug, or worse!

Sure, you can take a pill every day, for the rest of your life.--it's your decision. I smoke weed [almost] every day.--it's my decision. Ultimately, individuals should decide for themselves what drugs they want to take, mostly based on their own cost-benefit-analysis. However, some drugs are more unnecessary than many think. You can simply eat and exercise better, and very often that replaces the need for a drug. Also, talk therapy works. Or, you can take a pill--it's up to you.

Quote :

"They can help you not get overwhelmed by "butterfly" brain and all the things that stimulate you. Work is one too fast moving overedited commercial: tasks, bosses,subordinates come at you from many directions. The drugs help you continue to focus rather than get frustrated through all the over stimulation."

Ever consider that with some effort spent with one or more forms of talk therapy, an individual can learn to overcome their brains' tendency to become frustrated by over-stimulation? In fact, after working to become self-aware of ones' maladaptive thinking strategies in order to replace them with better adapted thinking strategies, what was once a weakness that drove one to frustration can now be an asset of which the "average" person isn't capable. The ability to juggle many different projects/responsibilities without a loss of quality is a valuable skill--one that for many "ADHD sufferers" have untapped potential. Like I said, however, if an individual decides that the potentially years of talk therapy will prove too hard, too time-consuming or too expensive, then that individual may make the decision to take a drug instead.—an adult decision. (The problem for children, of course, being that they don’t get to decide.)

I just think that this kind of thing shouldn’t be viewed as "medicine" for a "disease" as much as "autonomous mental cosmetology". That’s all.....



[Edited on January 15, 2006 at 12:29 PM. Reason : ]

1/15/2006 12:25:42 PM

Ritalin since i was about 7 and then they switched me to adderal XR a few years back. it doesn't make me sleepy. I don't have any of the hyperactivity alot of recreational college users have or the weight loss since i have been using the meds effectively for over 15 years but i guess that probably means i genuinly needed them unlike ya'll procrastinators (not that i think it is wrong to do that, i think taking advantage of something like that is being "resourceful," and not "cheating") Sometimes I am envious that it doesn't put me in the zone like most kids and just levels me out like a normal person.

1/15/2006 1:03:49 PM

If ADHD/ADD drugs are justified for improving work/class performance, then steroids should be made legal in sports.

1/15/2006 1:05:57 PM

i want timswar to come back to the thread.

^ you're an idiot

[Edited on January 15, 2006 at 1:30 PM. Reason : x]

1/15/2006 1:30:21 PM

I "take" dexadrine.

1/15/2006 2:27:44 PM