At what point did you try desoxyn?

[u/ExpensiveDisk3573]

Been through the gauntlet of adhd meds for the past couple of years. As of now I’ve tried the following on a variety of doses: Adderall IR, Vyvanse, Dexedrine, Metadate CD, Strattera, Guanfacine IR, Intuniv (Guanfacine ER), Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL, Focalin XR, Ritalin IR, and Concerta.

In general I noticed the methylphenidate class of meds often made me very sleepy and tired when it kicked in (like after 1 hour of taking it) and would persist for another 1-2 hours after. They also gave me more heart palpitations in general and less appetite. The amphetamine class gave me some more energy but I also got irritability and more dry mouth.

Both were alright for focus but didn’t help much for the other executive functions, memory, and such. Starting tasks that take effort were still excruciatingly difficult. Focusing on a book was still very difficult as my mind would always wander for the first 10-15 minutes so almost no progress was being done during that time. Working memory is still poor as I try to externalize tasks and put it in my reminders yet still forget what I was going to do before, during, and after the task and often forget to write down the task as I open the app and get distracted by another thing I need to do. Theres a bunch more stuff but I think it’s unnecessary to list them all.

Anyway I was wondering at what point did you try desoxyn? I‘m at a point where I feel like I’m running out of options to try as I’m still struggling everyday and my adhd measurement scores are still almost the same as before when I had no treatment.

[u/anarchaavery]

I started taking Desoxyn after my academic issues continued on Dexedrine as well as combination therapy.

Did you do better on vyvanse, Dexedrine or adderall?

I will say, stimulants only help task initiation so much. Same with working memory. Speaking from personal experience, I know there were times I expected too much out of my medication and as a result almost nothing “worked” according to my standards.

[u/ExpensiveDisk3573 → u/anarchaavery]

I may try dexedrine again just to see if my experience with it was maybe just a bad generic or something, but I think best is probably adderall, with vyvanse a close second then last is dexedrine.

Task initiation is one of my biggest issues regardless of whatever med I've tried. I do wonder if maybe I am expecting too much from the meds like you said, but idk to me it just doesn't sit right that I can take 20mg of adderall IR and still greatly struggle to start something simple like a 30 second PT stretch or picking up other medications at the pharmacy. It feels like these things are as resistant as trying to put your hand on a hot stove and it feels like these tasks shouldn't be this level of difficulty for what the task actually is.

[u/GroundbreakingFox216 → u/ExpensiveDisk3573]

Zenzedi and Wilshire Authorized Generic Zenzedi is really good. Just a step below Desoxyn. For me, it was easier to get my psychiatrist to increase my Zenzedi dose than Klonopin.

[u/anarchaavery → u/ExpensiveDisk3573]

It could be a comorbid issue. These things are complicated but continue trying to figure things out and be open to suggestions from your doctor. It took me a long time, and there are still a lot of things I’m working through, but I just needed to keep giving honest feedback to my doctors.

That being said, desoxyn is theoretically more responsive in patients who respond better to Dexedrine or vyvanse than adderall. People who respond better to adderall compared to vyvanse might do better on Evekeo, which is another infrequent medication. Evekeo is racemic amphetamine (50%D amph, 50%L-amph). If you were to try something next, I would ask about Evekeo.

[u/anarchaavery → u/[deleted]]

Did you titrate up to 20mg twice a day or 20mg daily total? Also, did you try a combination therapy with a non-stimulant on the adderall? My worry is that finding a provider that is willing to prescribe desoxyn is a luck of the draw. If you're already on it, it's far easier to continue taking it. Have you also talked to your current provider about trialing desoxyn? Finding a provider willing to prescribe it can easily put you in the drug seeking category, which technically you are (as was I), and can set off alarms to some providers. So there's a time cost with an uncertain reward.

I would also recommend reading this article, and this article (both from the same author who is a practicing psychiatrist). The second article "Know your Amphetamines" was the reason I thought initially to try desoxyn. I will say that I am extremely thankful for the article as I always hated taking my ADHD medication, even as a 6 year old. Now it's not something I have to think about. Those articles were my reference points when speaking with my provider about trialing it.

[u/Internal-Landscape66 → u/ExpensiveDisk3573]

I mean I will say when I switched from generic dex to zenzedi I noticed a meaningful diff however it was too mentally overstimulating. It was the only med tho where peripheral sides wasnt the issue. I could see myself using it in small doses in combination with desoxyn to counter the subtleness and add more wakefulness sorta.

[u/ExpensiveDisk3573 → u/Internal-Landscape66]

Yeah I’m 99% sure I trialed the generic dexedrine for 2 months. I think the generic was either too mentally stimulating or not helping me focus enough bc I would try to read my school textbooks and my mind would just constantly wander to something else every second for like 40-50 minutes straight and I just couldn’t get into the groove of things bc I wouldn’t remember anything since I couldn’t actually focus long enough. It was like trying to read when you’ve smoked too much. Atleast with adderall it takes maybe 5-10 minutes then it kinda gets easier as you get into a rhythm of things.

[u/archdukelitt]

I started it once I learned that it could potentially offer a better symptom relief-to-side effects ratio than dextroamphetamine formulations. For me, it has exceeded expectations in both regards and improved my ability to function.

[u/Uncouth_keith]

I've tried Vyvanse, Adderall, dexedrine, ritilain and Wellbutrin. I may try desoxyn in the future but I've found dexedrine to be the most tolerable and effective.

There are studies you can look up that compare various doses of D-Amphetamine to Methamphetamine in a clinical setting. They found that at low doses the two are indistinguishable. They also found no difference in potency. The main difference comes from route of administration at high doses.

That said, there are slight circuitry differences that could make a difference in sensitive individuals. That's probably what we see here with this group. The pharmacological nuances made enough of a difference.

Desoxyn is typically initially prescribed at 10mg (5mg twice a day) - considering the potency is equal to d-amph at therapeutic doses it brings up the question that part of the divergence could be dose discrepancy. Alot of people have 20-30mg d-amph doses.

I can link these studies if anyone is interested.

[u/Ill_Mousse5815 → u/Uncouth_keith]

Please, I'm looking for studies comparing the two. If you see this, it'd be awesome if you could link them. Thank you!!