Shilly
09-07-2008, 05:01 PM
I have tried 5 different ADD meds including Stattera and nothing. For example, my Psych. put me on a low dose Adderall XR and eased me up to 30mg per day. It did have some effect and it did help, but after a week it was like taking nothing. This has happened with all stimulant meds I've tried. My Psych. says it's a placebo effect, but I don't understand. I thought placebo effect was when you were given a sugar pill and not told and it tricked your mind into thinking it was a med. Why after one week do my meds quit working? This is very hard to understand. I'm ready to just quit. You know having ADD, and not doing something goes hand in hand. I know my meds are real because I called the pharmacy and asked if they had any placebo pills and they said no. Sorry this is so long, but I don't know what to do. Thanks for listening and any help will be appreciated.
Shilly
Shilly
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janewhite1
09-07-2008, 09:34 PM
Real medicine can also have placebo effect.
If you have a headache, and I give you an aspirin and tell you it's going to work very well, it'll probably work better than if I give it to you and tell you it's useless candy.
In the same way, when you start taking a medicine, it sometimes works much better than it should, due to a placebo effect.
Just one question. Are you sleeping enough when you take stimulants? ADD medicines do not work on people who are sleep-deprived.
If you have a headache, and I give you an aspirin and tell you it's going to work very well, it'll probably work better than if I give it to you and tell you it's useless candy.
In the same way, when you start taking a medicine, it sometimes works much better than it should, due to a placebo effect.
Just one question. Are you sleeping enough when you take stimulants? ADD medicines do not work on people who are sleep-deprived.
magilla45
09-07-2008, 11:07 PM
I know this is a silly question but how do you know if you are sleep deprived??
Shilly
09-08-2008, 12:02 AM
I get at least 7 hours of sleep per night. When I was taking Vyvanse, I overslept for work twice. I NEVER over sleep. Vyvanse seemed to work some, but when it wore off, I felt horrible. Now I'm not taking anything. Waiting to see the Psych. again this week.
rheanna
09-08-2008, 07:39 AM
Shilly,
Why after one week do my meds quit working?
Your post brought two things to mind.
First, your psych may not have a great deal of experience working with ADD issues. I may be wrong, of course (I frequently am!) but his approach to drugs and his use of the term placebo effect raises questions in my mind.
Second, if you are trying drugs for only a week and then switching to something else, you may be doing yourself a disservice by staying with this doctor. Some people are very sensitive to stimulants (as janewhite1 has reported about herself) and some people need higher dosages. My guess is that you need a higher dosage of meds for them to work with your metabolism.
It is common to try out a med at a low dosage, and then every few days or every week increase the dosage a little bit, until one finds a dosage that works, or until one finds that the side effects are not acceptable, or one finds that even with a high dosage the med just isn't going to work.
You may be one of those people who needs a higher than "normal" dosage in order for the beneficial effects to work. You won't find this out in only one week of trial. The reason it may have worked in the first week and then stopped working is that in the beginning your body and brain are getting used to it -- it's new and your body has to adjust to it. After your body adjusts, then the med isn't at a level that works for your brain. It would be appropriate to try a higher dose for a week or two. Then, if you find that this dose also seems to quit working, you would try another increase.
This is just my opinion, but I would look for another doctor who understands this. The placebo effect was wonderfully explained by jane :). It has nothing to do with why your meds stopped working.
It appears that stimulants work for you, at least in the beginning. This is an indication to me that it's worth going back and trying one or more of them again, but this time allowing time to find out an appropriate dosage.
--Rheanna
Why after one week do my meds quit working?
Your post brought two things to mind.
First, your psych may not have a great deal of experience working with ADD issues. I may be wrong, of course (I frequently am!) but his approach to drugs and his use of the term placebo effect raises questions in my mind.
Second, if you are trying drugs for only a week and then switching to something else, you may be doing yourself a disservice by staying with this doctor. Some people are very sensitive to stimulants (as janewhite1 has reported about herself) and some people need higher dosages. My guess is that you need a higher dosage of meds for them to work with your metabolism.
It is common to try out a med at a low dosage, and then every few days or every week increase the dosage a little bit, until one finds a dosage that works, or until one finds that the side effects are not acceptable, or one finds that even with a high dosage the med just isn't going to work.
You may be one of those people who needs a higher than "normal" dosage in order for the beneficial effects to work. You won't find this out in only one week of trial. The reason it may have worked in the first week and then stopped working is that in the beginning your body and brain are getting used to it -- it's new and your body has to adjust to it. After your body adjusts, then the med isn't at a level that works for your brain. It would be appropriate to try a higher dose for a week or two. Then, if you find that this dose also seems to quit working, you would try another increase.
This is just my opinion, but I would look for another doctor who understands this. The placebo effect was wonderfully explained by jane :). It has nothing to do with why your meds stopped working.
It appears that stimulants work for you, at least in the beginning. This is an indication to me that it's worth going back and trying one or more of them again, but this time allowing time to find out an appropriate dosage.
--Rheanna
addprogrammer
09-08-2008, 11:16 PM
I know this is a silly question but how do you know if you are sleep deprived??
Actually, magilla45, there's nothing silly about your question at all.
Lots of people find out about sleep disorders while looking for the why of not functioning properly during the day. Poor quality sleep, interupted sleep virtually all bad kinds of sleep except no sleep at all can be difficult to detect. "Fortunetely" for me I got the easy to detect no sleep at all type.
Actually, magilla45, there's nothing silly about your question at all.
Lots of people find out about sleep disorders while looking for the why of not functioning properly during the day. Poor quality sleep, interupted sleep virtually all bad kinds of sleep except no sleep at all can be difficult to detect. "Fortunetely" for me I got the easy to detect no sleep at all type.
Shilly
09-09-2008, 12:27 AM
My psych told me that it takes longer than a week for a persons body to get "use" to meds. He's not specialized in ADD/ADHD, he is a Psych from another town who comes in twice a month to see his patients. The closest ADD Doc is 90 miles away, which come to think of it......really isn't that far away. I think I'll give him a call. Thanks everyone.