Difference Between Adderall And Amphetamine Salts (Page 5)

I was recently diagnosed with Adult ADD and have been prescribed Amphetamine Salts (Generic for Adderall) for a few months now. The initial dosage was one 10mg tablet/ three times a day and recently my Doctor upped the dosage to one 30mg tablet/ twice a day. I know that overall this has been very beneficial for me but I cant help but wonder if the generic brand (IR Amphetamine Salts) has less of the active ingredient, and more unnecessary side effects(irritability, fatigue). I know that while the active ingredients are likely to be the same, the "fillers" usually are not and even the active ingredients can vary up to 10%. I also know that everybody reacts differently depending on their bodies' make-up as well as the drugs and I have always reacted sensitively to any kind of drug. The more I "google" the more I want to stay away from the generic form. Also- almost every pharmacy around has little to no Adderall Brand IR tablets in stock, they only have the generic brands and possibly Adderall brand but only the Extended-Release. My Doctor seems to firmly believe that there is no difference between Adderall XR and Adderall IR, and because she prescribed me the generic form (Amphetamine Salts), she probably doesn't see a difference there either. I don't have the time to ask 10 doctors what they think so if anyone has any information or experiences please share! Thank you!

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Medication effects people in different ways for we are ALL DIFFERENT. You may believe whatever you read, but try and think before you make such subjective conclusions. There are horror stories and success stories to adderall, and some in between. Medication effects, just like people are not so black and white.

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Perfectly said, and this is coming from someone who takes 20mg ir 3 times a day. I'm working hard to get off the med and realized the old me is better then the new me. You'll need more and more and after awhile you'll slowly realize you've become your old self again but worse and you'll need it just to stay awake. Good luck people, it was the wonder drug for me but not anymore.

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I had the same problem with the generic form, every day I got the most horrible headaches as the medication wore off; I explained this to my doctor, in the past I didn't have insurance so I couldn't afford the name brand & would have to make sure to take the next dose shortly after the 1st dose peaked in order to avoid the headache for as long as possible; now that I have insurance I asked my doctor to write my script for the name brand to see if there was any difference as far as the adverse effects I experienced, she agreed and now I don't get the headaches so I can take it less often. I strongly recommend advocating for your rights as the patient experiencing the adverse effects. If your doctor continues to disregard your report of adverse effects when taking the generic I recommend finding a different primary care provider... Nurse Practitioners are often preferable to doctors when it comes to listening to their patients, part of the training that nurses get at every level of education is the 'primary directive' of patient-centered care [meaning they are taught that as a nurse they are often the only one advocating for the patient and that stays with them through every step of additional license & certification]; somehow I doubt the same goes for medical doctors. Also, while you should always stick with a single pharmacy to fill all of your prescriptions to give the pharmacist the best opportunity to prevent dangerous drug interactions, that doesn't mean you don't have a right to switch to a different pharmacy. The manufacturer shortage led to a run on the brand name drug so most pharmacies were out of Adderall, after a long and frustrating search I found that asking the pharmacy staff if they know of any pharmacies in the area that have your prescription in stock is a good idea. As I stood there waiting the pharmacy staff person called around and found that one of the locations of Rite Aid in my area had my prescription in stock so even though they are not the closest location to where I live I am sticking with them. Rather than change the date I schedule for my monthly doctor visit, the delay in finding anywhere that had my prescription in stock was almost a week so now the insurance won't cover payment until 30 days have past from the date I had it filled, I drop my prescription at the pharmacy on my way home from the doctor and that gives them plenty of time to contact the distributing warehouse; the Rite Aid pharmacy staff are really good about making sure my prescription is filled and ready for me to pick it up by the time the date the insurance will pay for it rolls around. I think if you ask to speak with the pharmacist and explain that [unless your ADD magically goes away or you are able to become a recluse so you don't have any need to be able to function within societal norms] you will be returning every month without fail, if they want to keep you as a customer they will work with you to ensure they have your prescription in stock every month designated for you [otherwise I suspect they dole out medications on the 1st come 1st serve methodology which sucks if you live near a community that is filled with wealthy parents who would rather their child be on drugs than spend any time with them].

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the way you generalize medication use is ignorant! Certainly you aren't so "stupid" that you believe all narcotics are abused by anyone taking them! People take narcotic medications everyday and do not abuse them. They take them for an illness diagnosed by a doctor, and get relief from whatever symptoms they are suffering from. Your view is ignorant, mean and down right rude!

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This is too funny to respond to.

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Margarita, you are funny. Most people with ADHD have an IQ that is above 120. What's yours?

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Why the heck are you on this site? Do you have adhd? Does Margarita? I assume you are Margarita, what is your issue? Please post your reason to rip apart people trying to get by in life like everyone else.

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I don't think margarita was saying people are stupid. She was trying to get people to think about where this drug will lead. My daughter has ADHD and has used this drug. I can only say she does not do well on it, she looks like a user and her health declines. We are under so much pressure to perform in this society, people need a way to cope, but I too believe adarall is the wrong choice. We can learn to cope and learn yto relax and learn to improve our health. Society is no better with all these meds, I feel it is much worse and we are becoming more isolated and detached. Maybe it is stupid to rely on the meds these legal drug pushers dole out. Come on now who hasn't done stupid things. That's not the point, so don't take it personally. God made you in his image and he loves you, that will never change. And there is help in prayer and meditation.

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Let me just say when I was five I was on the highest dose of Ritilan and I slept all day in school... So my mom walked the school and flushed all the meds I was on..... Today I'm 29 And I'm on 150mg of Limictal twice a day, and 0.5 kolotopin once at night for panic disorder, Elivil aka amitripiline 25mg for bipolar , anxitiy , mood stablizer, and bladder spazam and I take at night so it wont make me sleepy in the day . And I don't take nothing for the ADHD . Yet ! I hope you and your daughter the best of luck with the medication.

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I'm 53. Started Adderal last spring, and for the first time I was able to calmly focus on things again. It was an answered prayer for me. Before Adderall I took Nuvigil for a while but it made me nervous and too expensive! Changing from Nuvigil to adderal saved much money, plus adderal didn't have bad side effects. Now I'm taking genericnadderal makes me uncomfortable and jumpy/restless. It is like a different drug. I'm not crazy...I physically feel the side effects of generic. I don't want to speed! I don't take it to speed...I will see if my pharmacy will go back to generic even if it costs more. Any thoughts? I will post what my pharmacist says.

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hes taking it for medical purposes that was prescribed to him by a doctor and is wondering if there are harmfull fillers and binders in different brands, not a junkie like you make him sound to be. im sure hes aware of the side effects, as hes probably been briefed by his doctor. also you do sound pretentious, only because your reply had nothing to do with the question at hand.

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Adderall isn't just for narcolepsy . It's primary use is for aadd. Certain individuals brain chemistry lacks proper amounts of synapsids . Telling people medication is unessasary is wrong and dangerous . Dr. Murphy

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Well, Mr so called Dr. This is our situation: My daughter went from 130lb down to 98lb on Aderall. The wonderful meds took a vibrant young woman and made her look like a street addict! she had dark circles and heavy veins in her arms. She slept a few hrs each night and would walk the morning hrs at 1AM to 3AM with her dog in remote forested areas. Oh but she could focus better when she studied and when she wasn't delusional. The question is it worth it? After 1 yr her health was rapidly declining!!!!! Do you get it! Some Dr's don't deserve ANY respect, and her Dr. could have cared less because he continued with the prescription! Just because a DR gives out the meds doesn't make it right. But why would a Dr do such a thing??? Could it possibly have to do with $? My daughter is now off the Adderall and she has regained all her health. this is not to condemn those that feel they are doing well on it...truly I could not make a recommendation for them because there are so many other reasons that people struggle in their minds, and everybody has their own reaction. I am just saying perhaps...also try some holistic approaches and also bio rythms and re mapping the brain. Pills are not the only option... But absolutely no condemnation to those who believe they need them. I know it is not easy to have ADHD. Please, Dont just trust a person because they are a so called DR. Not all Dr. agree, I am sure most people know this...we had a horrible experience though.

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I just remembered something about the generic adderall!!! The brand name Adderall has a sweet taste, almost like candy. The generic brand tastes VERY bitter. This came to mind because when I first began taking Adderall, I thought how easily a child would think it was candy. The generic is bitter. My son is grown now but I still cringe thinking about sweet tasting medicine.. If it tastes different, wouldn't that mean ingredients aren't the same?

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This is a response to post about people using meds to "cope". This is not true in every case. Does the diabetic take insulin to cope...? What about cardiac & cancer patients? I agree many of these scheduled meds are abused and can cause dependency, but please don't assume everyone takes them for recreation. Like you, I am also saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. For me Adderall isn't a substitute for the peace of God that passes all understanding. I agree about prayer for all things & I know the Word of God has all answers. God also tells believers will still have difficulties. I'm not intending to be critical, I'm just saying no one can know for sure the circumstances of another...even someone you have known for years.

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@Margarita, I certainly understand your concern, but you need to understand that while for most people, d-amphetamine does act like "speed," for people with ADD/ADHD, it actually calms brain activity and allows for better concentration and impulse control. Some sufferers of ADD/ADHD (myself among them) even find that Adderall helps with problems falling asleep because, again, it calms the hyperactivity in the brain.

Read the books of Dr. Russell Barkley, one of the top experts on adult ADD/ADHD, who explains why Adderall, Ritalin and their ilk are not "speed" or addictive for those of us with this disorder. He contends, as well, that these drugs have the highest success rate by far of any treatment for brain/psychological disorders. These are drugs that have been studied for decades. One neuro-psychologist told me, if I remember correctly, that d-amphetamine has been around for a century or so and has proved to be safe.

Like so many others I resisted these drugs--refused to even consider them--despite the fact that I have struggled every single day from childhood and into middle age with the effects of my ADD. It's not an issue of smart or not smart, or procrastination, of laziness or of lacking respect for others when one is chronically tardy, late on deadlines and on and on (these are among the typical traits of someone with adult ADHD) -- it's a brain disorder, and is most often genetic (When I learned about adult ADHD, I also understood my mother's "failings"). I went through years and years with a therapist who also didn't believe in drugs, and while she was wonderful and helped with some things, I made absolutely no progress on the problems I now know are associated with this disorder. My current psychiatrist says that, while some behavioral therapy can be helpful, talk therapy does nothing for ADHD itself. I wasted SO much of my life fighting for concentration, struggling to keep track of time and feeling like a failure every day (despite running a business and having the respect of my peers), when this medication could have been helping me. It's not a panacea, but it makes a real and immediate difference.

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wake up my soon to ex husband is on amphetamine salts, changes his whole personality and I threw his sorry ass to the curb, he says he prefers meth which is illegal, who the hell would live with that? he was on porn sites all night, and is just a mess, I would say don't take this crap and it was prescribed by a shrink, he was also putting drugs in my drinks, after 28 years of marriage it's OVER. too bad drugs had to be the source.

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Margarite is right, my soon to be ex husband is now a speed freak thanks to this drug

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I do well on generic Adderall, a.k.a. amphetamine salts.

In fact, I would think that IF someone does NOT do well on the drug -- worse than tolerable side effects -- that it is NOT the correct drug, either the person was misdiagnosed, or they should be on Ritalin or some other drug.

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Not asking to be critical, just wondering if you had the option to see another doctor when the first didn't respond to the terrible side effects your daughter was suffering? When I first started taking Adderall, I did have a crazy ability to go with little sleep, had less appetite and I talked wayyyy too much, but these subsided pretty fast.

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