Hey peeps.

I'm baout to go into my shrink this week and talk about taking something for ADD. I have a serious concentration problem, and we;ve been talking about it in therapy. My shrink knows I've messed around with drugs and alcohol, I've been addicted to pot. I've never spent any time in rehab and have always manages to stop doing bad things on my own. Anyways, I have a feeling he'll want to put me on Stratera because of this. I have this preconceived notion that it won't work. I want to good stuff. I want adderall. I want something I can take five days a week, my workdays, concentrate on my work, then not take it on the weekends. I have this idea that Stratera is mild, and I won't get the same effects as Adderall. Anybody with any opinions on this. I'm stressing about it. I really want my concentration problem to go away.

To be honest with you, I’m not sure you have ADD. Far be it for me to question your doctor, but it doesn’t sound like you even need Adderall – ADHD is far more problematic than a "concentration problem" and that is why Adderall is a very strong drug. But maybe I just read too much into your message.
The thing about Strattera is that it is not a stimulant. It works for some people, but not for most that have tried it. If all you want is help for your concentration problem, why don’t you just give it a chance? It might solve the problem. If not, you can tell your doctor that you need something else.
I’ll be honest and I don’t mean to sound rude, but I think you’re drug seeking for more than a concentration problem. I have struggled with addiction myself for most of my life and am now on ritalin and it is a very difficult and slippery path to walk. I have been tempted to abuse the drug, but I have not done so because I know that I need it, it has given me back my life and I can’t risk a return to ADD.
Good luck, I hope you find something that helps.

Thank you for the reply. As far as concentration problem. It's pretty much like I can't focus on a given task for more than a few minutes. And if I really try hard, I'll work on something for more than a few minutes, but I'll do the minumum. I'm very easily distracted, I'll sometimes have four or five things going on at once, rather than starting or finishing one thing at a time. I can feel my brain drifting off, and next thing I know, I'm searching the internet or something. Actually, I'm at work right now, I stopped what I was doing for one reason, went onto the internet for another, and now I'm typing here. My work suffers because I have the hardest time paying attention to detail.

You are right in questioning my intentions. I part of me is already thinking "could I abuse this drug" but there's another part of me that's so frustrated. Being from an addictive personality, how do you manage the Aderall?

I have to agree w/ Sylvia on this. ADHD is way more than just a concentration problem. It's an illness that affects all aspects of a person's life... lack of concentration is only a tiny part of it. Also a lack of concentration could be caused by a ton of things... not just ADHD. Stuff like depression, anxiety, drug/alcohol abuse, etc can all lead to poor concentration. Also, asking for Adderall off the bat is not a good idea. Doctors are well aware that amphetamines have been abused as long as they've been on the market. Anyways, getting a precription for a stim would require a test/evaluation to see if you have ADHD in the first place. I mean you can't just stroll into the office, say you can't concentrate & expect to leave with the "good stuff." How do you know Adderall is the "good stuff" anyway? I take Adderall (40 mg/day) & I don't take it to get high or cuz it makes me feel good. It calms me & allows me to get things done. If a person w/o ADHD were to take Adderall they'd probably get a buzz. Is that what you're looking for? If you haven't tried Strattera, how can you knock it?

Don't mean to come off as harsh. Maybe I interprested your post wrong, but that's just the feeling I got... Hope everything works out.

Oh one more thing I wanted to say. I can sympathize w/ you on the whole addiction thing (I didn't mean to come off as some stuffy b%%%%). I have also struggled w/ addiction (did a 90-day stint in rehab at 17 due to cocaine addiction). I learned that up to 75% of people w/ untreated ADHD end up abusing drugs/alcohol at some point in their lives. Anyway, my doctor put me on 3 different drugs before finally settling on Adderall (since it can be abused). But to be honest w/ you... Adderall has only benefitted me in this respect... I no longer crave drugs because for once in my life I feel adequate. All those years growing up I had been self-medicating. If you truly believe your problem is ADHD maybe you should be tested for it... Then worry about what med you'll get.

Well what you describe is a symptom of ADD, but I recommend that you try everything else before stimulants if you are already having "those thoughts."
To answer your question about the addiction problem, it isn't easy. I am actually on Ritalin, not Adderall, but they are both amphetamine based stimulants. My problem is that ritalin has been the only thing that has ever worked for me - doctors for years thought that I had drug/drinking problems because I was depressed (also had OCD) and kept prescribing anti-depressants. It took years of heartbreak before we discovered that it was actually just ADD.
I say "just" - but that's a pretty hefty order for an addictive personality. I do not abuse it and hopefully never will because I'm terrified of what would happen if I had to start from square one with ADD and everything that goes along with it (depression, anxiety, chaos, substance abuse). I would highly recommend that if you do not need it, don't take stimulants. Try the Straterra. Really. If I could function without the ritalin, I'd do it in a second and I would be glad to endure some discomfort and confusion, if that's all it was. But unfortunately I can't, and I really don't like the feeling that I need it - not because I'm addicted to it, but because it is what allows me to act like a "normal" person.
I wish you the best of luck, let us know what happens.

StitchCarver,

I must ditto on all posts so far. You got good stuff. My 2 bucks (cents adjusted for inflation) Be very, very, very careful with ADHD meds if you are or have been addicted to any drug including alcohol. I was addicted to methamphetimine in the late 60's/early 70's of the last century. But the last time I abused any substance was September of 1972. It turns out that a major player leading to my addiction was ADHD. Nevertheless, now almost 35 years later, I will occasionally get that urge to take a couple/half dozen extra Rits just for good measure. There is no mystery to it. Things go wrong. Last week I was behind in my work and had to write a report, something that I positively hate doing, maybe "loathe" is a better word. Feelings get intense, anxiety, frustration, etc. and it just so happens that I know about a very quick, very sure "remedy" to all of the world's problems. I am being ficitious of course. There is something though I am dead serious about. Being an addict is far worse than having ADHD without meds.

If it turns out you do have ADHD, and, stimulants are prescribed, you must put a firewall up so the addiction virus doesn't infect your system. The single most effective firewall I have is my wife. She controls the "speed." She has been instructed NEVER to give me more than the prescribed dose regardless of how persuasive my arguments may be. If in fact the dose needs to be adjusted, it simply must wait until my next visit with the shrink. Since I know there is no way of getting a "little" extra, I have been able to effectively treat my brain disorder with a potentially deadly substance. I guess the key is facing just how insidiously an addiction can sneak up on me. Kind of like a room filling with carbon monoxide. You don't know anything is going wrong until you wake up dead.

addprogrammer

mauibarbie and addprogrammer, that was very, very well said! Especially "being an addict is far worse than having ADHD without meds" – THAT"s what I’ve been trying to get out in my long-winded way!

I find it interesting that we all had drug problems before being diagnosed (I was a pain pill addict. Well I still am, I’m just not taking pain pills), I’m sure that most addicts have some undiagnosed condition. I agree with you mauibarbie about treating the ADHD makes the substance abuse problem easier to handle because you’re more "adequate." I just feel calmer and far less agitated. I could not stand that constant agitation – what a nightmare. I was barely holding it all together. I would get smashed, take a handful of vicodin and maybe a valium thrown in for good measure (I know, poor liver). And did I feel calm then? Nope. Who would have thought that it would be amphetamines that would slow me down to a normal, functioning level? Go figure.

That’s not a bad idea about having your wife give you your meds, I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I’ll have my husband do that too. I know what you describe and I like how you say "there's no mystery - things go wrong." I am a writer under constant deadlines and I know exactly the feeling you describe. So far my "firewall" is still holding, but it wouldn’t hurt to talk to my husband about it.

I guess what I'm saying is, I hate the fact that I have no attention span and I want something to fix it. Because I've had problesm with drugs in the past, does this make it unable to get "the good stuff." I call it that not from a druggy standpoint, but from a "make me focused" standpoint. I've been diagnosed with mild ADD, and I have a pretty intimate relationship with my Pdoc. I go in weekly for pshycotherapy. So, the whole thing is, I don't want to abuse the drug, but I don't want to be kept away from it because a doc may think I will.

When you guys talk about tests, I have taken a multiple choice test, is this what test you're talking about?

Wow, some of these post came in as I was posting my last one so, I didn't get to read them. Thanks for all the responses. See, the pretty picture in my head is that I take Adderall or Ritlin or whatever five days a week so I'm focused, and detail oriented. A lot of my work is in my head, I'm a writer, most of the time, I can think about an idea for about five minutes until I'm thinking about something else, without even knowing I've changed. So I picture being really focused. then, on the weekends, I imagine not taking ADD meds. Maybe this is a fantasy. Maybe Stratera will work for me. I was never a hard core lose everything drug abuser. I was a weekend warrior in college, smoked pot for two years straight until it gave me panic attacks, and had a three month stint with Vicodin. But I know that drug abuse isn't cut and dry. But anyways, I think you are all say becareful, abusing drugs is far worse than having ADD and no drugs. One thing you've all brought up is this idea that your ADD has been a real factor in your history with drug abuse. Please, please, fill me in. Was it because your mids are in such disorder when your sober, that being on some drug gave your mind relief?

Yes, for me that is exactly it. I think that’s what mauibarbie was saying about 75% of ADHDers having some substance abuse problem at some point. Substance abuse is a very common symptom in adults with ADHD. For that reason, I wouldn’t sell your doctor short just yet. Doctors do understand that a lot of people have past drug problems because they were suffering from untreated ADHD. Because of that, if they are confident that you do in fact have this disorder, that a stimulant medication, ironically, may help you to stay away from drugs because the reason (at least for me) that we took drugs is that we could not live with the pain and chaos of ADD – something has to give, and drugs and alcohol can provide some temporary relief (which is ultimately disasterous). Your doctor knows this. Like MB said, her doctor tried her on three medications, but if they didn’t work – well, they didn’t work. Now she is on Adderall and not using drugs because now she can function like a normal person. Same story with me. However, keep in mind that no matter what he prescribes you, it won’t do the whole job. It takes a lot of personal work too, so that’s good that you are in psychotherapy. I’m not, but should be.
I wouldn’t worry. You are taking the right steps and you will get the help you need, but it may take some time to find what works. Your drug problems (if it is pot and a few months of vicodin) really did not get nearly as out of hand as mine did, and I do just fine (well, sort of fine) on the ritalin. Your doctor will not prescribe you too much, and he will monitor you to be sure that you’re doing OK.
The thing about the stimulants is that if you do wind up abusing them, you can build a tolerance to them and they won’t work anymore. That’s the fear that I’m talking about. If you are unhappy enough with the ADD, you won’t let that happen.
I had a multiple-choice test, yes, along with lots and lots of interrogation about my family and childhood, grades, behavior problems, etc.
Let me know if that helps at all.

Yeah, that helps a ton. I did go through the the multiple choice tests, and the family/life interrogation. The doctor that I was seeing at the time, (now I have a new Pdoc) ended up putting me on Welbutrin for concentration, which did nothing. The same doctor gave my girlfriend Stratera, which didn't really help either.

Just to stray from the topic a bit. Through a lot, lot, lot,. of therapy, I've realized how chaotic my mind can be. Along with "possible ADD" there's tons of anxiety, worry, thoughts running through my head at millions of miles an hour. Meanwhile, I am a functional person in society. Rest from this chaos is seldom. It's cool to hear that other people feel the same thing.

Really quick note, Psychotherapy saved my life. If you have a chance, go for it.