[perfectfire]

I've been on (legally, with a prescription) Modafinil (4 straight days of nausea), Armodafinil (made me really sleepy), Dextroamphetamine (3 times including right now), Adderall (constantly felt sick), Adderall XR (even worse than Adderall), Ritalin SR (about the same as Adderall), Bupropion twice (Wellbutrin, no noticeable effect). Pretty much everything other than Dextroamphetamine either made me feel sick or strangely for Nuvigil made me sleepy. All of them, except Wellbutrin, Provigil (which I didn't take long enough to notice it's primary effect) and Nuvigil could keep me awake. At least at first.

The first few times you take it or you go up a dose it feels pretty amazing. For some reason I want to say it feels like your head is full of light, but don't even know what that's supposed to mean. There's some extra energy and a little more motivation, but if you're looking for a pill that will turn you into a super-productive maniac look elsewhere. It mostly just keeps you awake and what little extra motivation you gain will be offset in part or in full by being more more easily distracted. I've never noticed any sort of increase in cognitive function. What I have noticed is that I get exhausted from physical effort very quickly.

When I take it long enough I start to pick off all of my facial hair (there was maybe a year where I never shaved, but had no facial hair), and lose a lot a weight quickly. Recently I dropped around 40 pounds in a few months.

[FullMtlAlcoholc]

Like you, I once was on a roller-coaster of cognition enhancing drugs. I did find that I was more productive, but only if I planned out what exactly I wanted to do beforehand and removed all distractions from my workspace. (Phone on airplane mode in another room, email/chat closed, websites blocked, etc.) However, the side effects made it rarely worth it.

However, I started going to see a new doctor. He recommended to Selegiline. I had some reservations, as it is officially classified as a MAOI, but he had some impressive credentials (PhD in neurobiology and MD, Postdoc in psychopharmacology and neuronal regeneration, APA President, wrote APA Textbook of Psychopharmacology) and seemed personally familiar with it.

It has been a revelation for me. It provides similar benefits without the tunnel-vision or distractibility. Most importantly, it doesn't have a noticeable narcotic/stimulant effect, nor does it have the dietary restrictions of MAOI. It does partly metabolize into Levoamphetamine and levomethamphetamine, but it's a minimal amount and you don't feel it. I'm still young, so I cannot attest to its supposed anti-aging/neuroprotective qualities.

[joelmeckert]

I had some excellent results with selegiline / Deprenyl in my 20's, Cyprenil (liquid) seemed to be the best. I had mad cash back then and could afford to spend money on life extension and cognitive enhancers. It certainly helped me focus.

[perfectfire]

> Selegiline

Interesting. I just moved and my new doctor just recently suggested maybe trying MAOI's. I've found a medication that has been absolutely wonderful for depression, but I have yet to find anything that helps with anxiety other than Klonopin and that's definitely not a long-term solution (I'm tapering off of it for the second time right now). I haven't been taking stimulants for ADHD though, I've been taking them for narcolepsy.

I'll definitely look into Selegiline now, thanks!

Edit: Oh wait:

> it doesn't have a noticeable narcotic/stimulant effect

I kind of need the stimulant effect because of the narcolepsy.

[FullMtlAlcoholc]

Modern SSRI's are not more effective at treating depression or anxiety than drugs from the 1960's including MAOI's. In fact, MAOIS raise the level of 3 neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine) while SSRI's usually only effect serotonin. I believe effexor inhibits one more neurotransmitter. They fell out of favor because they required such a strict diet and had severe interactions with many OTC medications.

I've never heavily researched the exact pharmacology, but the patch version of Selegeiiline is completely safe as long as you don't gorge yourself on aged, aromatic cheeses or a bucket of miso soup. The only thing I've had to restrict is ingesting amino acid supplements as it's high in tyrosine.

I'd still check it out as I have recently discovered that Selegiline is the Holy Grail of nootropics. Medications for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's tend to have neuroprotective properties and there is even decent evidence of neurogenesis.

> I kind of need the stimulant effect because of the narcolepsy.

The first few days I was on the medication, I did feel an adderall-like effect. My doctor told me that the 10mg patch does metabolize to about a 5-10 mg dose of adderall. Perhaps your doctor will prescribe a higher dosage to counter that effect.

BTW, you have to be one of the few people I've talked to that took Provigil for it's intended effect.

[perfectfire]

I've been through so many anti-depressants, but I've found something really works well. It's actually an anti-psychotic. Not an S[S|N]RI combined with an anti-psychotic, just the anti-psychotic alone does the job really well.

When I looked up Selegiline I recognized the brand name and patch delivery mechanism. It sounds good, but I don't really need the anti-depressant effect. I went on to look at Moclobemide which looks like exactly what I need. Unfortunately it's not available in the United States, but if the only thing standing in my way of not feeling panicky and anxious all the time and not having any libido is buying something on the internet I think I need to research what are some good online pharmacies.

[codezero]

:(

This sucks.

I tried a lot of different combos of medications and was lucky to have a doctor that let me very clearly experiment with what worked.

My dose: Adderall XR 30mg + Adderal 10mg (around 2pm)

I tried Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin and Concerta (long acting Ritalin)

Ritalin had the best cognitive effects but the worst side effects. I slept, but I didn't really sleep. Over time, I developed terrible atrophy as well as a deep sense of apathy.

Adderall has been my rock. Straight Adderall is "bad" for me – the side effects are very strong. Any nervous tick I have is amplified very intensely. I play with my hair, I fidget, I bite my lips etc...

Adderall XR is very stable, but not very strong. So I take it, and sometimes I supplement with direct Adderall.

The most functional combo I ever had was accidental, it was Concerta + Adderall (not XR) but my doctor said it was bad/questionable to mix the two kinds of stimulant (ritalin/adderall) so I abandoned it.

It really is about finding the sweet spot between cognitive benefits and side effects. I still have some side effects, but my invariant is sleep. If a medication fucks with my sleep, I don't take it. Adderall, if anything, helps me sleep better, so it works quite well for me.

A solution to picking off facial hair, if that's really the problem, is to shave it all off. Same with hair on your head. If then, you are doing great, then problem solved.

Also, it doesn't hurt to get a barrage of tests done, maybe you have more stuff going on than just ADHD, and other medications may have a more significant effect on your wellbeing.

[perfectfire]

Thankfully, I don't have any urge to pick off the hair on my head. It's just facial hair. I do shave from time to time, but the shave isn't close enough. In fact newly shaved hairs are the most satisfying to pull out. I might have to go back and try razors again. I stopped using them because I could never get a good close shave and I figured if I can't get a good shave I might as well have the convenience of an electric shaver.

I actually don't have ADHD, I have narcolepsy, but it comes and goes (hence this being the 3rd time I've been on Dextroamphetamine).

[codezero]

Ah yep, I remember when I was originally diagnosed I learned about how the treatment for narcolepsy was similar!

Welp, as long as you can manage things, that's what matters.

I've tried various other treatments over time and they usually end up as very distracting blunders so I've settled where I'm at now for about 8 years.

I do shave my head about once every 6 months when I start fidgeting with my hair incessantly.