Posted by Peter on September 10, 2003, at 13:10:42
In reply to Re: stimulants-equivalent doses » Peter , posted by Ame Sans Vie on September 10, 2003, at 12:47:47
> "The 7.5-mg twice-a-day dose of Adderall and the 17.5-mg twice-a-day dose of Ritalin produced equivalent behavioral changes. This indicates that a 5-mg dose of Adderall (or slightly less) is equivalent to a 10-mg dose of Ritalin, indicating that Adderall is twice as potent; this potency ratio is similar to the well-known 1:2 ratio between d-amphetamine and methylphenidate."
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> http://www.addcentre.co.uk/On-Task-August.html
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> You're right about amphetamines being twice as potent as methylphenidate. I've yet to meet a psychiatrist who isn't aware of the amp/MPH 1:2 ratio, so he probably has a reason for starting you off a bit low. It does seem as if a 56mg dose of Concerta should work best for you, but perhaps your psychiatrist is being cautious because of the peripheral effects methylphenidate tends to cause? Methylphenidate can differ significantly from amphetamines in that regard -- starting with too high a dose could just make you drowsy and dazed, or, paradoxically, miserably nervous and jittery. This could also explain why he's having you take two 18mg Concerta rather than one of the 36mg capsules (which sort of puzzled me at first) -- that way, if the 36mg is too much, you have the option of cutting back on the dose.
>>Yes. He also gave me 18mg caps because I was simultaneously starting on lexapro. At first, I began lex 5mg AND switched to concerta 18mg on the same day, and it was hell. The concerta had no effect on me whatsoever, except maybe for some upset stomach and nausea. But the lex was probably producing similar SE's at the same time. So we decided to have me go back to the adderall and do 1 change at a time. Now that it's been 5-6 days on 5mg lex, and I'm not experiencing many bad acute SE's, he wants me to try the concerta again, this time 36mg. I guess you're right as to the reason why he's not having me go up immediately to 54, since we still have some lex SE's in the mix, and it would suck to have more bothersome SE's from the concerta.
Thanks for the info & your response,
Peter
poster:Peter
thread:258703
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030907/msgs/258763.html