What medications are used to treat ADD?

(5) On January 18, 2012 at 7:16 pm Voldock [51] said:

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(4) On September 8, 2010 at 8:53 pm Voldock [51] said:

Note: Voldock merged "What medications are used to treat ADD?"0"What medications are used to treat ADHD?".

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(3) On May 4, 2010 at 3:58 am Voldock [51] said:

Note: Voldock merged "What medications are used to treat ADD?"0"What medications are used to treat ADHD?".

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(2) On April 30, 2010 at 1:27 am Voldock [51] said:

Note: Voldock merged "What medications are used to treat ADD?"0"What medications are used to treat ADHD?".

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(1) On December 12, 2009 at 11:56 pm Fx303 [2] said:

ADD is not treated with medication alone, rather a combination of medication, therapy, and coaching. It seems to be generally agreed upon the combination of these three elements working together makes for the most effective treatment.

Possibly the medication is the lesser of the three. That is not to say the medication is not needed; which is a matter between the individual and their medical professional. However, medication alone does not help much without the other elements.

Behind the fancy names such as Adderall and Concerta we have essentially

SPEED,

The name for generic Adderall (which I took) is Amphetamine Salts. While not as potent or having as long a duration, the stuff is still biochemically related to and acts on the same brain areas as MethAmphetamine (hence the "amphetamine" in the names). As I understand Ritalin, methylphenidate, is structurally similar and also acts on the same brain receptors as amphetamine (much like tylenol - acetaminophen - resembles Aspirin). These medication increase the level of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Dopamine is associated with the pleasure center, sex, emotions, and so forth. How this is involved with the attention mechanism is beyond me; yet it seems to be the case and I can say from personal experience that I usually function an order of magnitude better on my Focalin than without it. That is normally my mind is hazy and is like trying to run in a dream (that slow motion thing) about half the time, about 40% normal functioning, about 10% hyperfocus ( which is a preferable state to have control over - as too much or at the wrong moments it can be a handicap like OCD ).

I take the Focalin immediate release (3 hour duration) tablets several times a day after trying (with my physician's approval of course) a number of extended release medications. I would prefer the XR for convenience; yet I found (and this only applies to me - my personal experience -; there seems to be quite a lot of different reactions from others I have spoken with).

The XR medications included:

Focalin XR - which I did not like as I could not fine tune the dosing.

Daytrana - the "Ritalin Patch" , transdermal methylphenidate (looks like a Nicoderm nicotine patch). I don't think this is produced any more as the same company came out with a replacement Vyvanse. They must have spent a lot on R&D to design the transdermal system, which is patented and is probably a lot different from the nicotine patch. This was supposed to deliver a fairly even dosage of methylphenidate over 8 hours (wearing the patch) and 3 hours after the patch is removed. In practice it never worked that well, admittedly there is about a month required to adjust to it and get the full therapeutic benefits; however I could not wait that long and gave up after my two week free trial was over. To be fair, there are many variables left open ended on how to best use the patch such as where to put it for optimal effect. I never found these answers out.

Vyvanse - "the next generation" ADHD medication. This is a formulation of amphetamine that is chemically bound to an amino acid (or something similar) and the amphetamine is not released until the amino acid is processed by the digestive system.

Thus it is supposed to be safer and less prone to abuse (as it is difficult or impossible to extract the amphetamine from the tablets and the only way for it to release is through some digestive system process). It is supposed to last about 8-10 hours. Unfortunately I had an allergic reaction and had to discontinue after two days.

I will say that the Focalin (which is not yet available in generic) is noticeably better than regular Ritalin. Focalin is dexmethylphenidate, the purified D isomer where Ritalin (generic methylphenidate) is about an equal mix of the D and L isomers. The L isomer is believed to be much less effective than the D isomer.

I have also tried Adderall and Wellbutrin (whose generic name is Buproprion, the exact same as Xyban - the quit smoking medication). Adderall does not work that great for me. It is better than nothing but I would take generic methylphenidate over Adderall if it came down to the choice. Wellbutrin works about the same as Adderall for me, perhaps better as I tend to be a bit jumpy on the Adderall and less so on the Wellbutrin.

Wellbutrin is usually prescribed as an antidepressant (and a stop smoking aid under the trade name Xyban) and it's mechanism is not well understood last I checked. It does have a weak effect on the dopamine system, which is perhaps why it works for ADHD.

Both methylphenidate and amphetamine can be addictive and extended use can lead to tolerance to the effects. Usually there is a "drug holiday" or period of abstinence during non school months to address both issues. I personally - as an adult with ADD - have found that a day with no meds every so often works.

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