Has anyone had any experience with taking a stimulant for depression treatment? Stimulants like what they use to treat ADD. I've gone to a new psychiatrist and she wants to supplement my current medications with a stimulant to assist with energy and motivation. I have to get an EKG and clear it with my PCP first. But I'm actually really looking forward to this prospect. I'm still fighting depression and motivation issues pretty hard. Its the first thing in awhile that's sounded interesting to help me with my treatment.

So have any of you had any experience with taking a stimulant? Did it help? Where there any side effects?

Thanks!

I take ritalin for adult adhd and I don't think I would just use a stimulant for depression. I've taken just ritalin some days with no anti depressant and I didn't feel any better.

I suffer from major depression (I haven't been diagnosed with bipolar but my doctor has me, basically, on the same meds you would use to treat it). I also have concentration issues. My doctor put me on Phentermine thinking it would also help my weight problem. I can only take half of a 37.5mg tablet at a time because sometimes it makes my thoughts (sometimes quite irrational)race and I am prone to rages and panic attacks. but it does help for the most part and, if I am careful, I can concentrate and get through the day without medicating myself with food. But if I am inconsistant; it really doesn't do me much good. I am not sure about Ritalin. I suggest that once you find the dose that works best for you; be very consistant and hopefully it will be helpful. Best of luck to you!

Thank you for your responses. I should have also mentioned that I take medication for bipolar yet I just can't get motivation. I'm on lamictal and wellbutrin. I'm hoping that the stimulant might be the extra push for me because normally I'm so lethargic and unmotivated that I don't do anything. I think the Dr is hoping that it might work for that problem.

I've taken Ritalin, Adderall and Focalin for ADD and help with my depression- I found them all addicting with many negative side effects. Initially I lost (more) weight and was running on nervous energy. However I found that the energy during the day would turn into anxiety and panic at night when the pill wore off and I would eat/ drink more to medicate those feelings. Before I started taking these I had lost 20lbs on my own through diet and exercise, this was in 2010. In 2011, I got down to 174 while on the stimulants within the first two months. By the end of 2011, while ON the stimulants, I gained it all back and then some- I'm up to my highest weight ever, 213. I'm off the stimulants, hopefully for good- trying to medicate with diet and exercise instead. Good luck and keep us posted!!

I know I am resurrecting an old thread here, but this was of interest to me and might help someone. I sought help for what I believed was "just" ADD back in October. I was started on a stimulant called Vyvanse. I have always suffered from periodic depression and lack of motivation, and this drug is practically a magic pill to me.

After getting the ADD diagnosis, I also received the diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which was very shocking to me. I believe I've had it my whole life and just didn't realize the way I felt was extremely abnormal since I had nothing to compare it to. I was taken off the stimulant and started on the mood stabilizer Abilify, which worked for me, but made me so sleepy I was completely nonfunctional. They added the Vyvanse back into the mix and it was like MAGIC. That is the best word to describe what this combination of meds has done for my life. I now have focus, motivation, and relatively stable moods. I am more productive than ever before and it feels amazing to have this new life.

I do believe it would be possible for a low-dose stimulant to really help a person with depression who seriously lacks motivation. As long as it's taken properly and your doctor is suggesting trying it, I say go for it. It could really change your life.

I take 54 mg of Concerta, every morning.

I was diagnosed with Depression as a teenager but my current psychiatrist firmly believes that it was just ADD all along. Not being able to think clearly can get depressing awful quick! I never responded in a positive way to any of the medications meant to treat depression. I only got much worse. Concerta has changed my life.

I have only felt positive effects. It doesn't feel like I'm taking anything at all, honestly... Just that I can organize my thoughts and remember where I put things, now, and FOCUS! It's amazing .

interesting... I've been diagnosed by different doctors with depression, anxiety and recently ADD - so even going to different doctors I get different answers. so it's hard to get a proper diagnosis, or to even try to figure it out on my own since depression also has the symptoms of "trouble concentrating and focusing"!

im not sure how relevant any of this is....

im about to be prescribed SOME sort of stimulant, becuase my psychiatrist just diagnosed me as having NARCOLEPSY! I HAD NO IDEA. I thought my extreme drowsiness and lack of motivation were functions of my (improperly diagnosed, apparently) depression. I thought the reason i could fall asleep (AND HAVE) standing up, in the act of actually doing something, was a function of me burning the candel at both ends, so to speak. Ive been on a ton of anti-depressants that all made things worse.. now we know why. I blink, and its suddenly 45 minutes later.


I cant help but wonder if the narcolepsy has contributed to my weight gain over the past year or two, and is one of the reasons i am having such a hard time losing the weight, even doing *everything* right.... DOes it lower my BMR? that would make sense....

in any case, i am leary of the medications, due to the potential for abuse ( i am a meth addict~ 7 years sober) On the other hand, i am excited at the prospect of not having to worrry that i will fall asleep in the middle of a meeting at work! The EXTREME and innappropriate daytime drowsiness has caused SO MUCH ANXIETY to me...... Its actually covered under the ADA Act--- my empoyer must provide reasonable accomadations... ie; if i NEED a 15 minute "power nap" cuz a narcoleptic episode is going to occur ( i usually have a couple minutes warning) then i am entitled to it? But i dont want to tell... im hoping my doc will decide its appropriate to put me on a stimulant, despite my drug abuse history. Fingers Crossed

Hi. I haven't been on in awhile and I just noticed that this thread was resurrected so I thought I'd give an update. So my psychiatrist started out giving me 10mg of adderall. I was so excited to take it. I'd read so much about how adderall seemed to be the wonder drug for so many people. So the next day I took it.....and felt absolutely nothing. It was as if I hadn't taken anything at all. So we didn't want to give up on it right away. Over the next two months my doctor worked me all of the way up to 30mg. What I started to realize is that I wasn't feeling what the people who abuse it feel. They seem to get this euphoria and can work on a task for hours and be really productive. I've felt this maybe once or twice. But I realized that my reactions are more subtle. I am a bit more focused. And I do have more energy. A side benefit is that it's an appetite suppressant so I don't have to worry about being starving all day long. It doesn't get me moving, but it will keep me moving for awhile after I take it. I still have to have the internal momentum to do what I need to do.

Unfortunately over the last 6 months I've had major ups and downs with the depression and weight loss thing. I would work hard for a couple of weeks and then completely fall apart for a month. But we think that we've got a good level of medications now. It's a lot but we don't want to mess with it while I think it's working. I'm on Wellbutrin, Lamictal, Nortriptyline, and the Adderall. The combination seems to keep me more even. Nothing has been a wonder drug that I know doesn't exist but always hope that it does. But I think I've finally settled into a routine where I've lost some weight.

So in conclusion, I wouldn't use only Adderall for treatment of depression. But it has seemed to make tasks not quite so hard when I actually get the motivation to do them.