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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by 3 Beer Effect on March 27, 2002, at 4:59:55
Before I went down the long dissapointing road of anti-depressants I was on Ritalin 20 mg twice per day and had a substantial increase in grade point average. The only problem is Ritalin makes me act kind of weird- shy, introverted, & too conscious of people looking at me.
I switched to Dexedrine IR 5 mg 2x per day, which was too low a dose for ADD but was great for social phobia.
In various psychiatry texts I have read that Dexedrine is twice as strong as Ritalin,
so 40 mg/day Ritalin = 20 mg/day Dexedrine.But i've heard varying stories on the efficacy of the Dexedrine Spansules which I am going to ask about on my visit to the psychiatrist today.
If I took two 10 mg Dexedrine Spansules in the morning is that the same as taking one 10 mg Dexedrine 2x per day (9 am & 2pm), or are the Spansules weaker or erratic?
Posted by fachad on March 27, 2002, at 6:41:03
In reply to 10 mg Dex bid = ?? Dexedrine Spansules/day, posted by 3 Beer Effect on March 27, 2002, at 4:59:55
3 Beers wrote:
> But i've heard varying stories on the efficacy of the Dexedrine Spansules which I am going to ask about on my visit to the psychiatrist today.
fachad replies:
Well, I'm going to ask my pdoc for Dexedrine Spansules tomorrow, so maybe we can compare notes after a week or two.
> Before I went down the long dissapointing road of anti-depressants I was on Ritalin 20 mg twice per day and had a substantial increase in grade point average. The only problem is Ritalin makes me act kind of weird- shy, introverted, & too conscious of people looking at me.
>
> I switched to Dexedrine IR 5 mg 2x per day, which was too low a dose for ADD but was great for social phobia.
>
> In various psychiatry texts I have read that Dexedrine is twice as strong as Ritalin,
> so 40 mg/day Ritalin = 20 mg/day Dexedrine.
>
> But i've heard varying stories on the efficacy of the Dexedrine Spansules which I am going to ask about on my visit to the psychiatrist today.
>
> If I took two 10 mg Dexedrine Spansules in the morning is that the same as taking one 10 mg Dexedrine 2x per day (9 am & 2pm), or are the Spansules weaker or erratic?
Posted by Ritch on March 27, 2002, at 10:06:16
In reply to 10 mg Dex bid = ?? Dexedrine Spansules/day, posted by 3 Beer Effect on March 27, 2002, at 4:59:55
> Before I went down the long dissapointing road of anti-depressants I was on Ritalin 20 mg twice per day and had a substantial increase in grade point average. The only problem is Ritalin makes me act kind of weird- shy, introverted, & too conscious of people looking at me.
>
> I switched to Dexedrine IR 5 mg 2x per day, which was too low a dose for ADD but was great for social phobia.
>
> In various psychiatry texts I have read that Dexedrine is twice as strong as Ritalin,
> so 40 mg/day Ritalin = 20 mg/day Dexedrine.
>
> But i've heard varying stories on the efficacy of the Dexedrine Spansules which I am going to ask about on my visit to the psychiatrist today.
>
> If I took two 10 mg Dexedrine Spansules in the morning is that the same as taking one 10 mg Dexedrine 2x per day (9 am & 2pm), or are the Spansules weaker or erratic?
3BE,The dosage is the dosage whether it is IR or Spansule form. The only difference is that the Spansules release half of their stated dose right away like an IR tab, but the remaining half is time-released over several hours. So, if you took two 10mg spansules at the same time it would be the same as taking two 5mg IR tabs at once and having 10mg time-released. You might be better off just taking one 10mg spansule at 9am and then the 2nd one at 2pm. That way the late afternoon and early evening you wouldn't be crashing. Unfortunately they don't have a sophisticated releasing system like Concerta or Adderall XR. They are more like Contac cold medicine caps from the 60's.
Mitch
Posted by geno on March 28, 2002, at 19:31:01
In reply to Re: 10 mg Dex bid = ?? Dexedrine Spansules/day » 3 Beer Effect, posted by fachad on March 27, 2002, at 6:41:03
3 beers,
I have a question. due to my GHB abuse, which causes excess dopamine buildup, if i take dexadrine will this potentiate more dopamine thus creating more anxiety? Although you said 1 cup of coffee makes you more anxious than dexadrine and more "euphoric and outgoing". I do drink a cup of coffee, due to the sedative effects of remeron,klonopin. I dont feel panicy, though more alert, but not "more talkative or euphoric" If i drink excess caffiene, i will become anxious.Im going to my pdoc tuesday. Im telling him that im too sedated on remeron/paxil, though these meds are helping me will depression. I would like to drop desipramine, and try dexadrine sapuples at a low dose? what do you think
I also have the clinical handbook of psychotopic meds! its a dream for us mind nuts. Its states the following about dextaoamphetamine (dexadrine)
1. May treat antidepressant sexual dysfuncion
2. At low dose, produces teporary improvement in mania.
3. Good theroputic augmentation with ssris.
Posted by Bekka H. on March 30, 2002, at 23:58:07
In reply to 10 mg Dex bid = ?? Dexedrine Spansules/day, posted by 3 Beer Effect on March 27, 2002, at 4:59:55
>The only problem is Ritalin makes me act kind of weird- shy, introverted, & too conscious of people looking at me.
Hi 3Beers. That's interesting. I acted that way on Ritalin, also. It's a little better on Concerta, but not much.
> In various psychiatry texts I have read that Dexedrine is twice as strong as Ritalin,
so 40 mg/day Ritalin = 20 mg/day Dexedrine.I have read that and my pdoc told me that, but when I switched from Dex to Ritalin, I could never tolerate the amount of Ritalin that would have been the equivalent of the number of mg of Dex I had been on. Again, the exception was Concerta. But the problem with Concerta was that, after I got over the Dex withdrawal phase, I found that 54 mg of Concerta was too much and 36 mg of Concerta was not enough.
> But i've heard varying stories on the efficacy of the Dexedrine Spansules which I am going to ask about on my visit to the psychiatrist today.
> If I took two 10 mg Dexedrine Spansules in the morning is that the same as taking one 10 mg Dexedrine 2x per day (9 am & 2pm), or are the Spansules weaker or erratic?I know a few people who do very well on the Spansules, and sometimes I think that if I'd taken them first, before I'd ever tried the immediate release tablets, perhaps the Spansules would have been fine for me. I think you just have to experiment with different dosages. Keep in mind, though, that the SR Spansules blood levels don't peak for at least 6 hours (or is it 8 hours?), so just because you don't feel much around hour 3 or 4 doesn't mean you won't feel it later. I hope you do well on them. I'm tempted to try them again. If only they made Dexedrine in a Concerta-like formulation.
Posted by Hattree on April 1, 2002, at 13:59:31
In reply to 10 mg Dex bid = ?? Dexedrine Spansules-3 Beers, posted by Bekka H. on March 30, 2002, at 23:58:07
> > If only they made Dexedrine in a Concerta-like formulation.
What do you mean by that, Bekka? How are they different?
Posted by Bekka H. on April 2, 2002, at 1:13:48
In reply to Re: 10 mg Dex bid = ?? Dexedrine Spansules-3 Beers, posted by Hattree on April 1, 2002, at 13:59:31
> > > If only they made Dexedrine in a Concerta-like formulation.
>
> What do you mean by that, Bekka? How are they different?************************************************
Hi Hattree.
How ya doin'? Even though dextroamphetamine is better for me mood-wise than methylphenidate, Concerta is the smoothest, most consistent, and most sustained of all the stims I've taken. I haven't yet tried Adderall XR, although I am curious about it. The main problem I have with Concerta is that it doesn't peak for about 6 or 8 hours, but that's true of most of the sustained release preparations. I have a problem with that because I'm not a "morning person," so I find I do better with immediate release meds in the morning, just to overcome my morning inertia. I'm like a big SLUG in the morning!
I haven't taken Dex Spansules in quite a while, but I might re-try them soon. When I did take them, they felt very inconsistent. I'll have to double check this, but I think I remember reading that the Dex Spansules release the med twice throughout the day. In other words, there are two "pulses" of the med being released, and that's it, instead of true sustained, continuous release.
I've also tried Metadate CD. That's also methylphenidate, but yet another sustained release version marketed by a different company from the one that makes Concerta. Metadate CD was better for me in the morning because it has an earlier peak, but it pooped out after about 8 hours, and the last few hours were horrid for me. Ritalin causes very bad rebound for me, but on immediate release Ritalin, the rebound is quite precipitous and is soon overwith. On Metadate CD, however, even though I felt good early in the day, once the blood levels start to decline (at around 5-6 hours), I go through several hours of sustained rebound instead of getting the rebound overwith all at once. That's just how I responded. Others may do well on it. On Concerta, I didn't have much rebound at all. It lasts longer, and I'm not aware of too much wearing off or rebound. For me, Concerta lasts about 10+ hours. For others it lasts 12 hours.
I have several problems with Concerta:
1) It's not as good for my mood as Dex.
2) It peaks too late in the day to help me with my morning inertia.
3) It's available in multiples of 18mg, and I find that 36mg is not enough for me, but 54 feels like too much.Other than those three problems, I would say that Concerta feels like the best "designed" medicine I've ever taken.
This is the end of the thread.
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