Keep in mind that different ADHD medication might have completely different effects for different patients, and that what works for me might not work for you and vice versa.
That being said, I started with two doses of Ritalin (Methylphenidate) with 30mg in the morning and another 20mg past noon.
And then switched to Elvanse(Lisdexamfetamine) with a single 30mg for the entire day.
I'd describe the difference between the the two (personally, again, mechanisms of action and cause of illness differ between people), as my ADHD being like driving a car with flat tires. The Ritalin gave me a more powerful motor, so I could simply power through the flat tire, while the Elvanse is like a spare tire.
Also as a general note, I prefer to be slightly under-medicated than over-medicated. Ideally I'd take barely enough to make me overcome my inner barrier, and then work from there with taking breaks, going by my own timing, doing sports e.t.c. which then act as a compounding and self reinforcing positive feedback loop.
This is interesting, I used to take Methylphenidate twice daily (Ritalin LA) but stopped due to increasing side effects. A few years back I was able to switch to Lisdexamphetamine. I realized that one tablet a day was not enough for me, even upping my dose didn't help; it didn't last longer than 6 hours for me..
I think unfortunately that some of the marketing material and advertised duration by Shire isn't telling the whole story w/r/t the drugs duration.
Is it healthy for me to basically have amphetamine in my body 24/7? Probably not, but it has certainly helped me the 5 or so years I've been taking them.
I can be a bit more strict &straight to the point now than before, but I don't find myself behaving very differently now vs before. I'm on the autistic spectrum for sure, and with ADHD as well it's hard to judge if it's just me or the medication.
Lastly, if I had gotten the opportunity to take medication to help the symptoms earlier I probably would have had a better education and been better off than I am today. Way too much time at school was wasted just looking out the window and doing other things rather than paying attention, and yes it wasn't becuase I wasn't interested per se, it's just that putting effort into focusing short term in order to get the gratified response of a good education (years later) is not something someone with ADHD can easily do.
