Adderall xr question

[puzzled]

My pharmacy finally got the generic form of adderall xr in and we got Jon's prescription filled yesterday, he took the first dose today. I checked in with him at about 11 AM and he said he could feel it working and that he was "on fire today, getting tons of things done". He of course said he wasn't sure if it was just because he got a good night's sleep, but trust me, usually it does not matter how much sleep he gets, he still drags all day, flitting from place to place not finishing anything. Anyhow, when I checked on him again at about 3:45, he said he could feel it wearing off, and that leads me (finally!!) to my question.


For those of you who have experience with this med, will a higher dose last longer? Or should we get him a booster of regular adderall for the late afternoon to get him through his workday?

This is all assuming of course, that he does not have rebound issues (on dexadrine he said he felt "almost suicidal" when it left his system, and he is worried about that happening again) and that it continues to only last the 8 hours. He is planning on using it for 3-4 days and keeping track of when he feels it leaving his system.

His dose is 30 mg once a day...is this a small dose? I only called his doctor and asked a nurse to have the doc write a prescription....I know, I know, but getting Jon to a doctor unless he is half dead just doesn't happen....I am wondering if he started him off low to titrate up if it worked for him.....

[bugsmom]

Puzzled...I don't think a higher dose will last any longer. When Josh took Adderall, he was in the second grade. It never lasted past 3:30 pm, no matter what dose he was on. He usually took it at around 7:00 am and by the time I picked him up from school, it was done.

I'm not sure about the dosage amount for Jon, but I do know that when we took Josh off he was taking either 25 or 30 mg. Like I said, it was a loooooong time ago. I'm sure that a booster would be ok and help him through the day.

Good Luck and keep us updated on how Jon is doing. I love to get an adults perspective on meds and how they feel on them. Josh can't really put it into words on how it makes him feel, so I love to hear from people who can actually put it into words.

[kyty]

I had to take my son off because when it was wearing off he was getting angry and not being able to control it. He said during the day it made him feel really good and I found it hyped him up. He went back to concerta. Good luck!

[puzzled]

Thanks. I did not think that a higher dose would make it last longer either. He said it wore off by about 4 which means it lasted him 8 hours or so. He is going to take it for the next few days and see if that is the pattern. Then we will call the doctor and see what he says. We may just go for the booster for the late afternoon/evening to get him through the day if it continues working for him for the 8 hours, his workday is usually MUCH longer than 8 hours.

I will keep you posted.

Thanks!

[puzzled]

Well the dose he was originally given did not work nearly as well on the second and third days he took it....he called the doctor today and they are gonna start tweaking the dosage to see if they can do some good.

Shoulda heard me on the phone when I called him from my car to see what the doc had told him...he hasn't told his brother that he is taking meds OR that he has tested as ADHD, so the conversation went something like this:

Me: Did the doctor's office call you back about the adderall?
Him: Mmmm Hmmmm....
Me: Well, did they say that you could do anything with the dosage?
Him: Yeah..
Me: What did they say? (here it dawned on me that he was not free to talk...LOL) Or can you not talk right now?
Him: That's right...
Me: Can we use what you already have or do we need to buy another script of a different dosage?
Him: The first one...
Me: So the doc is gonna double the dose?
Him: That's it.
Me: So did he say what is too high a dose, or when you would top out?
Him: Why don't we talk more later?

[bugsmom]

Puzzled...How is Jon doing?

[puzzled]

I think it is working pretty good, but not lasting long enough...he ran out the other day and wanted me to call the doc's office to refill, started going on and on about maybe doing this or that and adding another dose for the afternoon/evening...but I told him it sounded as if HE needed to call them himself. I would not have the answers to the questions they would likely have....so far he hasn't called...I am going to have to stand there and dial the phone and hand it over to him or he won't remember to call. Tomorrow when I get home from breakfast with dad will be a good time...I don't have to work tomorrow.