Adderall or Concerta?
 

My insurance company will not pay for Nuvigil or provigil.....they want me to try Adderall or concerta.

Anyone here taken either of these, and did they help?

Hi daisy.girl,

Adderall is Dextroamphetamine and Amphetamine

Concerta is Methylphenidate (Ritalin)

Out of the two I have used Adderall. I did like it but I have paradoxical reactions with stimulants so I am unable to use them. Stimulants make me more tired.

From what I have seen with ADHD although different prescribers have preferences most people seem to respond favorably to one or the other when it comes to Adderall or Ritalin.

Sometimes it is just a matter of trial and error. Not sure how this translates into your needs but would I guess either would be a decent place to start and if neither helps you might be able to challenge the insurance company for something else. Best of luck to you.

Snoopy do you have ADHD? ;)

Why? Because stimulants make me more tired? :) Actually, it has been suggested for quite a few years that, yes, I probably had ADD as a child. My Daughter has ADD

The clear and unclutteredness of mind I recieve from stimulants is amazing but I can't handle the increase in fatigue :(

Well my understanding is that if someone has ADHD they aren't wired up by stimulants like a person without ADHD would be so that just popped into my mind when I read your post. It is very familial btw and often females don't have the hyperactive component . ;)

Just thought I'd throw that out there although its ironic I would do it tonight when my suggestion that the other MS board moderators remind posters to watch giving medical advice just earned me yet another passive aggressive retort. :rolleyes:

True. Although I shake more while on stimulants I don't feel wired up and the longer I try and take them the worse I feel (extreme fatigue, grumpy)

That is also true. When my daughter was dx'd with ADD at age 8 and I learned about ADD and how best to help her I started wondering about myself. Her Psychiatrist was the first one to mention the possibility of myself having ADD. Since that time I have been told by 2 Psychiatrist and a Psychotherapist that, yes, I have ADD.

I was thinking about the discussion when I read you response :p ;)

Pharmacologically speaking.... both stimulants can be useful when used carefully.

Their biggest drawback is that if used every day...
tolerance can occur necessitating higher doses. So medication "holidays" can help prevent that.

Secondly these do affect the heart and blood pressure so anyone with heart issues, or high blood pressure may have issues of safety, there.

Thirdly, long term use of these can result in depression. This has to due with depletion of neurotransmitters in the brain.
Typically the wearing off period during the day, can be a huge "crash" for some people. Here again using occasionally or having "holidays" may help prevent this side effect.

But used carefully with doctor monitoring (blood pressure and cardiac EKGs etc) many people find them helpful. Some Parkinson's patients use them.

It makes me beside myself when doctors prescribe a med for a patient and the insurance company won't pay for it. I could just spit.

Provigil did not speed me up and I have no
ADD. Here is the kicker: My insurance company would not pay for Provigil for MS. The lady at my insurance company had a brother with MS and told me that Provigil is only prescribed for FATIGUE. She told me to get my docs office to call so they could code the drug for MS FATIGUE. So try and see if your docs office can call your insurance company and prescribe Provigil for MS FATIGUE.
Originally my prescription went thru the insurance company as being prescribed for MS. Provigil is not approved for MS. You need to pursue the FATIGUE angle. With that I got my prescription! It took 3 days not to feel a bit jumpy and then I felt fantastic!!!!!

Provigil was my first experience with stimulants and it was prescribed for fatigue, this was before anyone had even mentioned ADD to me. Starting with the first dose and every time I would take it, I feel asleep 30 minutes later :rolleyes:

daisy.girl, as mrsD mentioned, there are drawbacks to stimulants but as we all know, everyone reacts differently to medications. Good luck with which ever medication you choose to try ;)