Effexor or Adderall?Any advice or personal experience?

Post Reply New Topic

I just began seeing a new psych recommended by my "aspie psych" because she works with alot od aspies and her son is aspie.She originally suggested I increase my Effexor from 75mg(past 4 years or so).I had wanted to go off it completely because of the sexual side-effects...low labido.She said doubling it might counter the effects because at the current dose it is probably only working on seritonin but doubling it might make it work on norinepron(sp?),also.She said this would help with my low energy level,increased stress at work and over all anxiety issues.I said I had read that it is much more difficult to come off it at higher doses and she said she didnt believe this was true,it would be the same,just take longer to wean off and I would probably need to take it for the rest of my life given my psych history(or some thing like that?)

She then suggested I try Addeall.I am not sure why,other then ,I sleep alot and have motivation and executive function difficulties.Perhaps I ramble incoherently and she felt it would help me focus?I also have some compulsive collecting behavior.I have never been DXed ADD.I was a good student despite school skipping,drinking binges and major depression.

I just started the meds today and feel pretty crappy.took 5mg at 8:30am and 5mg at 12:30pm.I feel like I drank to much coffee.scatter brained and afraid to get up and move around(dont feel stable)I asked her if I should take lower then normal dose as many aspies are med sensitive and she said she had never seen any evidence of this.(I just discontinued Wellbutrin last week after only being on it a week and am still having itchy allergic reaction to it!! !)

Anybody else have any suggestions or experiences they can share about these meds?Do the side effects get better with time.Anyone else feel really spaced out when they started them?

I was on Effexor XR in high school, but I was able to get off of it after 2 years. I remember having cottonmouth when I started it, but after 2 weeks the side effects went away. Effexor helped me with my depression so I could get to the point where I could function more normally without it.

I don't remember my dosage. I haven't tried any other meds.

Hi Krex....Sorry to hear how you're feeling. Though I don't have experience of these meds, the following site is regarded quite highly and is very comprehensive for meds info and experiences:
http://www.crazymeds.org/
Take Care

Hello, Krex. I was on Effexor for a year or two, and my main complaints were that I only seemed to want to veg out, and not being interested in anything that I used to. There was also a weird thing with my eyes where they seemed to quiver and dart uncontrollably (can't explain it any better than that). So I told my doctor that I wanted to go off it altogether, because the eye thing was driving my crazy. He advised against it, so I read up on how to gradually decrease the dosage until it was safe to stop. It took a year for my eyes to get back to normal.

I like Adderall better.

http://www.healthyplace.com/communities ... ects_2.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyproheptadine

You might try something like that.

I've never tried effexor, but recently I picked up a perscription for adderall. The first few times I tried it, I thought it was a godsend; I finished writing a 10-page economics paper in one night, people were coming up and approaching ME at parties because I looked happier and more alert, and I felt like I had the attention span to sit down and do whatever I wanted. Problem is, I have some kind of mood disorder that I haven't figured out yet, so throughout the entire experience I would fluctuate between an almost euphoria and a weird, detached feeling of worthlessness and depression. Also, I can't expecp to sleep much more than an hour or two within the first 30 hours after I've taken it. And functionally it does help me pay attention to stuff but I'm quite sure that it slows down my actual processing, which, if I didn't have problems with, wouldn't have caused my short attention span. Basically what this means is if I try to complete an algebra assignment on adderall, I'll finish it, it just takes a good portion of the day. The big thing I don't like about this drug is that all the effects seem to hang around to an extent for like two days afterwards, especially the emotional instability. For this reason, I'm afraid of adderall now, and keep my almost full bottle around only for "extreme emergencies." I would suggest trying it and seeing what you think.

Effexor has helped me too, would be totally ineffective without it. *gets handed commission cheque*, seriously. Don't know anything about the other one.

Thanks Juliette....I just checked out the site and it was not only useful but pretty funny.Had me "giggling on the inside"...I try not to do this out loud,as it scares my cats..... They had some good info about Strattera that I will talk to my DR about and said that I should expect some neg. side effects for at least the first few weeks.I think I will stop taking it until after my job interview(I am spacy enough)and wait for my week off from work (incase I lose control with my abusive client and end up yelling at him or worse....they did mention to keep bale money handy incase you happen to be Bi-polar and have a manic exacerbation)Thats more info then I got from DR or from the Pharmacy "warnings."

I will check out those site Machine1....I was hoping for your input,as you seem well informed about "chemicals".Dont you have ADD?Are you taking anything for it.I am not even sure I have it or if she is useing it only to treat the sexual side effects of Effexor?

Maldodor......Thanks for the insite.Perhaps your reaction was from being Bi-Polar?The site that Julliette mentioned,warned about this taken by unDXed Bi-polar.

Heartofspace....I have been taking 75mg dose of Effexor for past 4 years and it does keep me from crying when stressed(which can be really annoying/embarrassing at work.)I do feel like I feel like I am more "spaced out" which I thought was a type of dissociation but now wondering if it the "brain fog" mentioned as a side effect?I have been experiencing it for so long,I cant remember if it is "normal" for me or drug side-effect.

Anyhow,I appriciate all the feedback and links.It has helped me.

Adderall is some good stuff. The extended release is better than the regular Adderall. Although, it costs a lot more. Straterra is garbage, well that's what I found when I took it. I have had almost all the ADD meds prescribed to me. Adderall XR is the one that works the best for me.

i take both adderall and effexor (both xr)

But you only take 75mg of effexor XR? I take 450mg daily!

Adderall has been a god help for me. It's not the wonder drug some people make it out to be but when I take it, I notice that I have more of an ability to concentrate and I have much more energy. I would recommend at least trying it. The only side effect I've ever had is a decreased appetite but loosing a little weight would be good for me.

Yeah i want to mention other things but I'm very sleepy (normalily asleep at this time). Yes I have inattentive ADHD and take nothing for it. Its possible she is recommending the Adderall to boost your libido. And its possible it will work better for you than the drug I mentioned.

Ugh, if she's never heard of people with ASDs having sensitivities to medications, I'd get rid of her. Just because she has an aspie son doesn't necessarily mean she's a better doctor for it. Think of all those people who submit their kids with ASDs to all sorts of evil therapies like chelation.

I haven't taken Effexor, but I took Cymbalta once, which is a similar medication in that they're both SNRIs. I took the smallest dose that they make and had a lot of what you described when you increased your dose...jittery and sick.

I do take Adderall though, and I think it might be worth it to give it a try. I started taking it for the attention thing, but it doesn't really seem to help me much with the attention problems. What it does do however, is give me motivation, which I've always been severely lacking. Instead of laying around in bed moping and worrying about stuff, I actually get up and get things done. It's been much better for me than any antidepressant that I've ever taken.
Start at a very, very small dose though, or you just might go straight to "too much coffee" feeling. I'm highly sensitive to medications myself, and I'm prescribed 5mg, which is the smallest dose they make. That's the dose they give to 5 year olds. Adults usually take anywhere from 20mg - 60mg (and sometimes more). I can't even handle the full 5mg, I open the capsule up and dump some of the little balls, so I essentially take about 3 - 3.5mg. Oh yeah, and the AdderallXR is a much "gentler" version. It's basically a time-release version so that you don't get as much of a spike and then a crash.

Yep...75mg has been enough to keep me from crying.That was my main goal.Even at that dose and on XR...I can feel myself feeling like crying(over whelmed)and it reminds me to take it,after only one missed dose.I was afraid to increase the dose because when I was on 200mg Zoloft,which I was gradually increased on,I felt like a zombie and didnt even realize it until I had gone off it(which was a drag,felt like blacking out everytime I stood up(lost 30 pds going off it though... .She want to increase me to 225-250,to get the norineprin? effect,but I am very leery of added side effects.After my recent experience with Wellbutrin(it was really hell for a week and I have the scratch marks to prove it),I am more concerned then ever.

Mnemosyne......I agree.I was suprised that she was not aware of aspie sensitivity.There were a few other things I had researched on line that she said she had never heard.But in her defense.She did listen to me for over an hour,seemed to respect my fear of increasing the Effexor...didnt make fun of my internet information as my previous "ex"DR had done(telling me I couldnt be aspie because I could communicate!! !)<---She was an uninformed egotistical nut.

My DR has started me on 5mgXR 4X daily(after the first few days of just taking two)but after my experience today,I am going to wait until a week off work and stay on half that dose for a week,see how that goes.She thought it would make me less obsessive but after breaking my constant WP addiction for the past 6 months...I ended up doing nothing but hanging out here all day and got nothing else done......go figure.

effexxor amplified the white noise in my head that is normally almost totally unnoticable, I can ignore it regularly, to the point where it overwhelmed all my senses and I was just not having a good morning, it did eventually slow down, but oh lord, it was terrible