Random question, do you / did you drink much coffee before you started on your meds? If so, how did the effects of caffeine compare to ritalin in relation to your ADD symptoms?
Yes, I did (around 5-6 espressos per day). After the program started, I am happy with a single espresso in the morning, or occasionally just skip the coffee at all.
Caffeine effects are somewhat different — Ritalin gives me the ability to think clearly and plan more long-term, caffeine just makes me more alert (a good thing, too).
Adderall user here. Tried Ritalin in the past. Adderall and Ritalin are very similar in my experience. Compared to coffee, they're less addictive and there isn't really a "crash" when Adderall/Ritalin wear off.
To others reading this, keep in mind that it's very much anecdotal. I've taken Adderall XR for several years, and can confirm that it is far, FAR more powerful than coffee:
- I experience an extremely severe crash in the evenings (attention issues worse than my baseline, depression, anxiety, and lethargy to the point that it's difficult to start any non-trivial task) which I manage with anti-depressants and beta blockers.
- I become physically dependant on the drug after about 5 days of constant use. After discontinuing use, it takes approximately 4 - 6 weeks for the withdrawal symptoms to go away and to return to baseline.
- Excessive dosages (can be caused by not taking my medication for a few days then restarting) cause symptoms similar to mania, aggression, anxiety, social withdrawal, sweating, and racing heart.
My medication helps me live a normal life as a software developer, but I respect it for what it is - a powerful, physically addictive narcotic with potentially severe side effects. I know that it's become in vogue for professionals and students to take prescription stimulants as performance boosters, but it's important for these people to know that these medications can be very dangerous if abused, and are certainly no where near the safety and side effect profile of caffeine.
We definitely agree that Adderall is not something that should be used casually, like coffee.
And unlike coffee, with a little determination it's physically easy to ingest enough Adderall to do serious harm. (Although that's pretty much true for any medication in pill form.)
Were it not too late to edit my post I'd amend it to say that.
I definitely believe your experiences! However, from all of my reading and anecdotal reports from friends, I believe your experiences are not the norm.
> I've taken Adderall XR for several years... I experience
> an extremely severe crash in the evenings
I tried Adderall XR (the extended release version) and it didn't give me enough flexibility.
I didn't crash as severely in the evenings as you report, but the XR seems formulated to give about 8 hours of efficacy and that wasn't nearly enough for me. I now take 7-8mg of Adderall (non-XR) three times a day: morning, noon, and late afternoon. Sometimes more if I need intense focus... less on the weekends.
> After discontinuing use, it takes approximately 4 - 6 weeks
> for the withdrawal symptoms to go away and to return to baseline.
This seems like it would be much more of a problem with Adderall XR since they're all-or-nothing capsules, correct? Are you essentially quitting "cold turkey" when you discontinue it?
With the non-XR Adderall, I have much more control over my doses and can gradually reduce my dosage day by day.
As a child I was diagnosed and took Ritalin for a while. My parents didn't like the way it altered my behavior. However, they then tried coffee twice a day - Breakfast and Lunch (I was in 2nd or 3rd grade).
The coffee worked well. Entering highschool I couldn't stand coffee and didn't do anything to address the ADD symptoms. In college I powered through on other caffeinated beverages. I now enjoy the occasional cup of coffee (1-2 cups a week) and can definitely tell the difference in my ability to focus when I've been drinking coffee and when I haven't.
I have a similair story, as I child I never liked taking meds or how it effected me, I refused to take a blood test one day and was removed from treatment, I'm now 26, recently I tried matcha (green tea powder) and found it to be much better then coffee as it's a stimulant & relaxant (no crash, very calming and alert). I also found as I got older it got easier to manage, it also left me with the ability to hyperfocus when I'm in the zone working.
