Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 256583

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Lexapro and Concerta questions

Posted by Peter on September 3, 2003, at 4:43:32

Hi all:
I finally spoke with my pdoc, who decided to start me on lexapro (for all my anticipatory, social, and general anxieties, and depressive episodes) and to have me switch from adderall to concerta.
I've been taking adderall on and off for about a year. My highest dose was 40-45mg. Now, after having me off of it for a month, my doc had me resume it at a lower 20mg dose (divided 10mgx2 daily). (BTW, I also take 3.25mg klonopin divided into 3 doses).
I've been finding, however, that my mood is 'choppy' on the adderall this time around and had been wondering about a sustained-release stimulant formulation. I had tried Adderall XR before, but found it to feel like 2 doses released 4 hours apart (which is what it is).
But I never really went the ritalin route and gave a different stim other than adderall a fair trial (I did try dex spansules for a while, but dex still exaerbated my mood swings, and I still had to always keep track of how many pills I took per day).
What I like about the Concerta is the advanced Osmosis release mechanism, which sounds to me like it maintains a steady level of ritalin in your system all day (instead of it being just 2 discrete dose releases).
Also, I found that adderall XR lasted only 6-8 hours or so, and have heard that concerta lasts 10-12.
However, I got the gist on this site that most people prefer amphetamine to ritalin. More specifically, dex to adderall.
I wouldn't only be taking the concerta for ADD, but also to help my mood and counteract SSRI-induced alcohol cravings and impulsivity; that is how I've used adderall in the past with SSRI's, and it has worked for attention, mood, and impulsivity.
Questions:
1) Because concerta/ritalin doesn't act on neuropinephrine AND dopamine (like adderall or dex), but JUST dopamine, does it still help with MOOD as well as adderall?
2) Are there any satisfied concerta takers out there?
3) I take 20mg adderall now. What would be the equivalent concerta dose? (I believe my pdoc is having me start with the smallest - 18mg- and then, after a week, take the next biggest). Does this sound right in your experiences?
4) As for the lexapro, I'd like to here opinions on it (hopefully positive). Does it really begin to act more quickly than other SSRI's? Also, is anyone taking this specific combo (lex + concerta), and, if so, what doses are you taking and how r u doing on it?

 

Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions

Posted by cybercafe on September 3, 2003, at 14:42:40

In reply to Lexapro and Concerta questions, posted by Peter on September 3, 2003, at 4:43:32

> 1) Because concerta/ritalin doesn't act on neuropinephrine AND dopamine (like adderall or dex), but JUST dopamine, does it still help with MOOD as well as adderall?

i'm pretty sure ritalin works on NE
it does help with mood, but probably not as well as amphetamines
i'm taking celexa + ritalin SR

> 4) As for the lexapro, I'd like to here opinions on it (hopefully positive). Does it really begin to act more quickly than other SSRI's? Also, is anyone taking this specific combo (lex + concerta), and, if so, what doses are you taking and how r u doing on it?

i find celexa + stimulant pretty good mood wise, but i still think an MAOI would do the best job

 

Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions » cybercafe

Posted by Peter on September 3, 2003, at 16:23:52

In reply to Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions, posted by cybercafe on September 3, 2003, at 14:42:40


> i find celexa + stimulant pretty good mood wise, but i still think an MAOI would do the best job
>>Yep. I've been considering going on an MAOI for years now. But whenever I get close to doing it, my anxieties kick in about the dietary restrictions/med interactions, etc. So, instead, me and my doc have been having me go from one cocktail to the next. I do think that, in general, the SSRI+stim+klonopin combo works best for me, but, as u said, an MAOI would probably do the best job over all. But for now, it's lex and concerta time. Hopefully it will work sufficiently so I don't have to continue on the pharmacological roller-coaster.
thanks,
Peter

 

Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions

Posted by cybercafe on September 5, 2003, at 2:25:30

In reply to Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions » cybercafe, posted by Peter on September 3, 2003, at 16:23:52

>
> > i find celexa + stimulant pretty good mood wise, but i still think an MAOI would do the best job
> >>Yep. I've been considering going on an MAOI for years now. But whenever I get close to doing it, my anxieties kick in about the dietary restrictions/med interactions, etc. So, instead, me and my doc have been having me go from one cocktail to the next. I do think that, in general, the SSRI+stim+klonopin combo works best for me, but, as u said, an MAOI would probably do the best job over all. But for now, it's lex and concerta time. Hopefully it will work sufficiently so I don't have to continue on the pharmacological roller-coaster.

hey lex + concerta sounds like one of the best combinations i've heard of

but how do you feel in the morning, when you wake up before you've taken the concerta? i can't get myself out of bed :(

 

Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions » cybercafe

Posted by Peter on September 5, 2003, at 5:06:19

In reply to Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions, posted by cybercafe on September 5, 2003, at 2:25:30

> >
> > > i find celexa + stimulant pretty good mood wise, but i still think an MAOI would do the best job
> > >>Yep. I've been considering going on an MAOI for years now. But whenever I get close to doing it, my anxieties kick in about the dietary restrictions/med interactions, etc. So, instead, me and my doc have been having me go from one cocktail to the next. I do think that, in general, the SSRI+stim+klonopin combo works best for me, but, as u said, an MAOI would probably do the best job over all. But for now, it's lex and concerta time. Hopefully it will work sufficiently so I don't have to continue on the pharmacological roller-coaster.
>
> hey lex + concerta sounds like one of the best combinations i've heard of
>
> but how do you feel in the morning, when you wake up before you've taken the concerta? i can't get myself out of bed :(
>>Funny you say that. I haven't started the lex or concerta yet, so I'm still just taking klonopin, adderall, and restoril. But man, I just cannot wake up in the morning. My alarm clock becomes a noise in my dreams for about 10 minutes before I finally wake up and realize that the alarm is going off! I was hoping that maybe the lex would help me wake up - more activating SSRI's have always helped me wake up early. If not, at least its anti-anxiety benefits might help me reduce some of the high-dose klonopin I'm on for anxiety (I'm up to 3.25mg). I'm sure that contributes to my difficulties waking up. As for the stims, I take my adderall as soon as I wake up and literally force myself not to go and get a cup of coffee, because I've heard caffeine interferes with stim absorption (BTW, is that the same in the case of concerta?). Sometimes I just have coffee anyway because the adderall alone isn't enough to wake me up - it sometimes makes me feel even more tired.

 

Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions » Peter

Posted by Amanda1 on April 25, 2008, at 15:17:35

In reply to Re: Lexapro and Concerta questions » cybercafe, posted by Peter on September 5, 2003, at 5:06:19

Peter,

I have been on concerta & Lexapro for about a week now and I feel like I am one of those little rubber balls bouncing all over the place. I went from getting nothing accomplished to conquering my job :) I can barely fall asleep, but I sleep well once I do. I haven't had a problem getting up with this... and I'm not a morning person. I hope it works this well for you too!

Amanda > > >
> > > > i find celexa + stimulant pretty good mood wise, but i still think an MAOI would do the best job
> > > >>Yep. I've been considering going on an MAOI for years now. But whenever I get close to doing it, my anxieties kick in about the dietary restrictions/med interactions, etc. So, instead, me and my doc have been having me go from one cocktail to the next. I do think that, in general, the SSRI+stim+klonopin combo works best for me, but, as u said, an MAOI would probably do the best job over all. But for now, it's lex and concerta time. Hopefully it will work sufficiently so I don't have to continue on the pharmacological roller-coaster.
> >
> > hey lex + concerta sounds like one of the best combinations i've heard of
> >
> > but how do you feel in the morning, when you wake up before you've taken the concerta? i can't get myself out of bed :(
> >>Funny you say that. I haven't started the lex or concerta yet, so I'm still just taking klonopin, adderall, and restoril. But man, I just cannot wake up in the morning. My alarm clock becomes a noise in my dreams for about 10 minutes before I finally wake up and realize that the alarm is going off! I was hoping that maybe the lex would help me wake up - more activating SSRI's have always helped me wake up early. If not, at least its anti-anxiety benefits might help me reduce some of the high-dose klonopin I'm on for anxiety (I'm up to 3.25mg). I'm sure that contributes to my difficulties waking up. As for the stims, I take my adderall as soon as I wake up and literally force myself not to go and get a cup of coffee, because I've heard caffeine interferes with stim absorption (BTW, is that the same in the case of concerta?). Sometimes I just have coffee anyway because the adderall alone isn't enough to wake me up - it sometimes makes me feel even more tired.
>


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