Love A.D.D.erall

At 21 they diagnosed me with AD/HD & gave me smart pills. My grades shot up & my future brightened & some said I was better. But I am numb inside of this drug. People I love become distant strangers sometimes, so proud of me for victories I didn’t earn. How do I tell them I am not what I do or have done. I’ll never be happy on this drug, but I’ll never be successful without it. If only I could Love Adderall.

There are Orange Generic Adderalls, Too

So I went into the pharmacy with my RS for 20 mg Adderall and told the guy behind the counter I wanted the orange brand name. He told me they didn’t carry the brand name because it was too expensive. Then he asked what was my beef with the generics, and I told him how the pink ones make me excessively jittery and often do more harm than good.

To my surprise the pharmacist told me that his generic brand was actually orange, not pink. Obviously this throws a new wrench in my previously held, simplistic assumption that only one generic brand of Adderall existed, and that it was pink. I don’t know why it never dawned on me that there were multiple generic brands of Adderall–especially since I’ve taken this other orange generic brand in the past.
So I went with the orange generic brand this month. One side has “b 973″ inscribed and the other says “2|0″ (for 20 mgs). The pharmacist told me he hasn’t heard much about the pink type, only that it’s cheap and unpopular. That explains why its so abundant at the University Health Care Center.

53 Comments »

  aikahi wrote @

I take the same exact pills and been on them for a year now. They are ok for the most part. I started off with the circle looking pink pills but stopped taking them because of too many bad trips. The pink pills by the way looked like the ones on your graphic header.

I sometimes have bad trips with the current ones I take but if it is too bad, I break them in half (10mg x2). This usually does the trick but it takes time to initially adjust.

I never tried brand adderall but am very curious…

  M. Frederick Voorhees wrote @

“Bad trips”? When I hear the word “trip” I think of hallucinogenic effects. Never experienced anything like that on Adderall. Sometimes the anxiety takes me on quite a mind trip, however. I’m still waiting for someone to invent the right concoction. My Adderall adventures sometimes seem like more trouble than they’re worth.

  aikahi wrote @

No hallucinogenic effects, just really bad mood swings, negative thinking, and extreme restlessness. Usually if I have any caffeine with adderall it sometimes triggers these emotions.

My Adderall adventures too are troublesome at times…but I can never get enough of this damn drug.

  Rachel wrote @

My pills have always been blue – Generic & Brand name – and of the same shape you’ve shown. If they’re supposed to keep me awake (Hypersomnia) a more energetic color makes sense. I like Orange… I’d like it if I could get Orange pills. It’s not like Adderall makes me fully functional – only moderately (and only sometimes). They might as well cheer me up when I look at them.

  M. Frederick Voorhees wrote @

Hi Rachel-

The difference is that the blue pills are 10 mgs and the orange ones are 20 mgs. That should explain why you like the orange ones better!

  Matt wrote @

you can tell the difference between the orange generic and orange name brand adderall by their taste. I’m not going around tasting them, but just noticed when I took them. The generic ones tend to have a sweet taste to them and the brand name ones have a bitter, expected pill taste to them.

  Mandy C. wrote @

I talk the generic orange one’s. Their made by Barr pharmaceutical. Their exactly as you described and are called amphetamine CPD-20, the 20 for 20 mg.

  Lee Hamilton wrote @

My sweet-tasting orange generic Adderall pills were just changed to the round pink ones. I’m wondering what the differences are.

  JMO wrote @

I live in Houston,Tx and have been taking Adderall for the past 3 yrs; I started when I was 21 and have taken all of the following:
* 20mg Adderall XR (Brand Name)
* 20mg Adderall D-Amphetamine Salt Combo (Orange – Generic)
*30mg Adderall D-Amphetamine Salt Combo (Orange – Generic)
*20mg Adderall Adderall D-Amphetamine Salt Combo (Pink COR 135 – Generic)

All of my prescriptions have been filled by Walgreens and today is my first time to take the pink ones. I took two this morning around 7:30AM but haven’t noticed any of the usual side-effects I normally get from the orange ones: dry/cotton mouth, increased Heart Rate, jitters(not bad jitters, just interal like I feel I need to be doing something productive), or increased body temp.

I have read alot of these blogs and have seen where people are mentioning that they like the Pink cross-haired COR 135 Adderalls better than the orange ones, but I feel the opposite. Not only do I not have the normal side-effects (not necessarily a bad thing), but I don’t feel the ‘focus’ I usually get from the orange ones.

Is there anyone else out there who feels like these pink ones are as bogus as I do, or am I alone in this thought?

  emma wrote @

I agree with you. I just had my 20mg filled of COR 135. My sis takes the orange and I tried hers the other day. It was a huge difference. I must get the generic next month. I was positive with the orange and moody with these pink 135. I thought I had built up a tolerance or something. I ASK MY DOCTOR ABOUT TAKING 5-HTP WITH IT. It boosts serotonin. He said it was okay to do so. Thanks for your insight. It has helped me!

  Brittney wrote @

I feel the same as you do, I HATE the “pink” ones. They do not work. They don’t. I am really upset about it. I paid $75, like I always do for my prescription. Went to Wallgreens, like I always do, and when I picked it up, they NEVER informed me they changed companies. I hate the “pink” ones. Now I have a whole month with these pills that DO NOT WORK!!!!!!!!!

  kelly wrote @

I also picked my perscription up at walgreens and the pink ones do nothing for me I feel ripped off and I’m glad I looked online because I thought it was just me.im wondering if anyone has contacted them and complained

  Traci wrote @

I thought this was all in my head. Please note that the following all happened before I even saw this website…I just now went online to see if I could find anything out about the pink pills. I also get my prescription filled at Walgreens. Just this month, I got the generic pink pills made by CORE PHARMA instead of the orange ones I had been taking for months made by BARR. Right away, I noticed a difference. The pink ones actually made me feel jittery, anxious and even paranoid. They do not help me focus at all…I think they even make it worse! I called Walgreens and shared what was going on and they pretty much told me it was all in my head. I’m calling my doctor for a new prescription tomorrow and going to WalMart…I just called and they have the BARR orange ones.

  Marks wrote @

I had been using the 30mg generic oblong orange tablets (taking halves). Yesterday I tried the pink 20mg generic for the first time and they have a noticeably different effect than the orange 30’s. I think I may like the pinks more honestly, they are less ‘edgy’.

  William wrote @

I’m an M.D. who takes Adderall. Just wanted to weigh in on Brittney paying a ridiculous amount for her prescription. Is that for 45 or 60 of the 30 mg tablets at Walgreens? The brand name Adderall is only about thirty-fourty dollars YMMV more than that at a discount pharmacy. Walgreens will substitute generic even on Dispense as written prescriptions in my experience in my local area. I just got off the phone with a patient upset about it and after going through the drive-thru and walking into the store, they said they did not have the brand name as they told him they did when he dropped it of 1 hour before.

My 2 cents…..Find a discount pharmacy where you live owned by local people. There are generic drugs that are equal to the brand in terms of efficacy, but you need to look into the company’s history and standards (and complaints) if you are getting a generic and are not getting the same results. There are multiple generic versions of the 30 mg brand name Shire original.

Brittney, if you are used to paying 70+$ for the generic, try the brand name ones for a little more money at a discount pharmacy.

  Jennifer wrote @

walgreens – im afraid- has lost my loving/happy feeling that WERE (past tense) felt for them last month…and the month before…and the 1 before that…NOT ANYMORE THOUGH…NO SIR. I turned in my adderall script, went back 2 hours later, and got these horrible little pink things. They’re sugar pills or something, they have absolutely NO effect. I know it is NOT in my head. My friend still has her orange ones (the good stuff), and today we traded (to see how much of it was in my head). Crazy thing, she ALSO said that they sucked/didnt work/were worthless. Seriously, i think i’d be better off taking half of a skittle every 4 hours. blaaah. what am i gonna dooooooo

  Meg wrote @

I am taking the orange pill for my ADHD, it say 20mg on one side and AD on the back, is it the generic brand?

  M. Frederick Voorhees wrote @

Hi Meg-
The generic orange pills (barr laboratories) are inscribed with “-2|0-” on one side and “b 973″ on the back. Sounds like you have the original, non-generic Adderall.

  christie wrote @

WOw, I am really glad that everyone thinks the same thing about these crappy little pink pills. I found it really rediculous that I have been picking up the same percription for a year at walgreens and the pharmacist did not even mention that they had a new brand or that they were a different shape and color. Its really rude I thought that they had given me the wrong percription at first. It just seems so inconsiderate, its like they knew the whole time that they did not work so they did not tell anyone that they were different…that way they did not have to deal with angry adderall deprived peope in person :) Anyways I will be calling around tomorrow to find the BARR brand at target, wal-mart or somewhere but walgreens is HORRIBLE for doing that to everyone nationwide.

  dierdre wrote @

i walgreens has made a huge mistake by switching companies.just for your 411- Target carries the Barr generics (just ask them) sometimes they will have a few brands, Barr seems to be the best in the generics.Question, has anyone switched over from adderall to dexedrine? If so, did you notice any big change? i know it has the same drop level, but just thought i would ask. its about 20.00 for a 30day script. for those w/out Ins, thats a nice chunk of change. peace to you all. :o)

  kelly wrote @

i used to be on dexidrine and it did nothing for me…I would have to say that for add/adhd, adderall is the best.

  Kit wrote @

I’m trying to find something comparable to Adderall or the peach colored generics since my insur. will no longer pay for it. Tried Dexedrine and have to take a lot more of them to equal the other because of low dose but even then not as much energy—taking it for Chronic Fatigue/FM

  Ian wrote @

I can’t beleive it. I am about half way through my monthly prescription right now. I noticed that I haven’t been able to focus on anything. In fact I should be doing something else right now. I started the prescription over a year and a half ago. This drug has been the absolute best thing for me. It has honestly changed my life. After I went to Walgreen’s to get my prescription I noticed that I was starting to fall back into my old habits of halfway starting things then moving on to something else. I think that Walgreens really screwed me. I will never go there again.

  Jade wrote @

This blog has been so helpful!! I’m a female in my early 20’s with ADD (without hyperactivity). I’ve been taking Adderall for about 8 years now and seen it’s many forms, including XR. Strangely enough, the name brand stuff does not seem to work for me and XR is like taking nothing at all. For the last few years, I’ve been taking 50 mg of the orange pills – the b974 30mg in the morning and the b973 20mg at night. In the past 7-8 months I’ve noticed that I’ve been having rather severe and sudden mood changes, even becoming suicidal a few times.

Just in the past few days, they’ve switched my 20 mg pill to the cor135 and I’ve noticed that I feel really jittery and much less focussed. I just feel really…calm. I naturally feel very calm anyway (one of the reasons I have to take meds in the first place, haha), but I feel like this is a sort of forced calm and my thoughts are racing. Both the orange and the pink pills make my eyes extremely sensitive to light, but the pink pills seem to make it more so – it’s hard to look at even this webpage as the colors are almost too bright.

I guess my questions are more about the orange pills, the b974’s/b973’s. Has there been any change in this formula recently or is it all in my head? Because I have a habit of forgetting to call the doc to get the prescription, I stash away a few each time. About a month ago, I found an old stash (about a year old) and those pills worked amazingly for me. When I switched back to the newly prescribed pills, I got all the issues back almost immediately. The mood swing issues are pretty bad and I don’t understand why they’ve been coming on all of a sudden with the orange pill. Has anyone noticed this difference with the orange pills at all?
As to the pink pills, the only effect they have is keeping me alert and awake, which is only half the battle. They feel more like actual Adderall and the effect doesn’t wear off before bed time, even with 2-3 glasses of fruit juice. To me, it’s not worth it and I’ll be asking my doctor to lower my dose to 45mg so I’ll just have the b974’s. I’d rather feel suicidal sometimes than like crap all the time, haha.

[...] pharmacist finally emerged, I told her about my dilemma with the 20mg Adderall: that I much prefer the generic orange Adderall (Barr Laboratories, inscribed ‘b 973’) to the generic pink Adderall (CorePharma LLC, inscribed [...]

  gman wrote @

Go to target if you like the organge pill.
i get 60 of 20 mg adderrall. oragnge generic are $60 at target. Walgreens has the pink for 75$

each pharmacy carries different brands

  Alex wrote @

I spoke to my doctor today regarding this issue, he said dont take that crap! He also told me that generic drugs only have to be shockingly 78% the same as the original brand name drug. Seeing as how the pink ones taste different and give a different reaction in most cases, its obvious that this corepharma company uses the bare minimum, probably to make it cheaper for us. But, um, helloooo let me pick! Damn walgreens. and damn costco too i had to take my rx there today and i got there at 7, 11 minutes before they closed. Then they wouldnt take my costco card in my moms name. Too big of a hassle. cant we just grow adderall like pot?

  HANNAH wrote @

I HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN THE ORANGE GENERIC FROM WAL MART 20MG. THIS MONTH I GOT THE PINK GENERIC ONES FROM WALGREENS AND ALL THEY HAVE DONE IS MAKE ME FEEL VERY GROGGY, LIKE THE EFFECTS OF A SLEEPING PILL AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS SLEEP. I TAKE THEM TO KEEP ME AWAKE NOT PUT ME TO SLEEP. I’M GOING BACK TO WAL MART.

  HANNAH wrote @

GO TO WALMART I GET 120 20MG ORANGE GENERIC FOR $8. WHY ARE ALL OF YOU PAYING SO MUCH?

  Joahua wrote @

I tried the pink pills 20mg corepharma and the orange generic 20 mg barr. I had a bad allergic reaction to the barr htey contain saccharin as a filler\binder. So I flushed 2 weeks worth (60 pills). I was taking the Shire “name brand” and was they were great, but my insurance decided they were only going to cover generic and not name brand. Croepharma felt like they kicked harder but wore off quicker. Barr about killed me…

  Joahua wrote @

Can any one recomend a generic without saccharin but is better than corepharma/ranbaxy?

  Denise wrote @

Now I’m really confused. I take a generic adderall “Amphetamine Salt Combo’ 20mg they are round and orange and are made by EON. One side has a horizontal and vertical line for dividing the other side says E 401. Has anyone used or heard of this one??

  Crystal wrote @

Okay I read about a lot of side effects from adderall. I take the pink generic pill form. It is in 20 mg. Ive only been taking it for 5 days and everyday, all day, I feel like there are bugs crawling all over me!!!!! HELP! Is this a normal side effect? Has anyone else experienced this? If so please let me know.

  Southern_Girl wrote @

I know you posted this a year ago but I am experiencing the same thing, the feeling of tiny bugs crawling all over you. I just recently started taking the pink pill (my first ADHD medication) and I was wondering did you continue to take the generic pink pill and if so did that feeling increase or decrease? It would be extremely helpful if you could let me know because I cannot seem to find any other person with this side effect. Thank you .

Souuthern_Girl

  Krissy wrote @

I,m also taking the E 401orange. I dont know if it is as good as the other ones from barr. It seems very little people have used this one. Can anyone tell me if they’ve tried it and the effects vs. the one from barr.

  Kyle wrote @

I was perscribed adderall when i was in elemntry school . From what i remeber, they where small and white and not time relased so i had to go to the nurse at lunch to take another, They where also bitter making me think it was reall adderall. I was taken of it when i started becoming angry and took concerta after that. Recenly i started taking concerta again because i dont take it in the summer and i could not sleep so my doctor switche dme to adderal. I have the generic orange brand with the b 973 on it. My doctor gave me a bunch so that i could determine how much i need to take daily for it to work effecavly. I started of with 20 mg 3 times a day and work my way up till i dont notice a difference. But i dont think it works at all. Im right now trying 60 mg doses 3 times a day and i dont see any difference at all. Im wondering if i should have just bite the bullet and paid the extra for the real stuff.

  Addie wrote @

I have tried the pinks, orange, XRs, etc…I sometimes crush them up and snort them….
the orange pills work wayyyyy better….everyone i know that uses and abuses adderall agrees that the pink ones suck!
PS..if you need to crush up the beads in the XR capsules, use a strong piece of paper and a hammer….works great!!! hahaha..

  Kristen wrote @

I just switched from vyvanse to generic adderall and ended up with the pink pills from Walgreens. I can’t compare to orange pills from Barr but I will not settle for anything else next time. I think the pink ones are sugar pills. And no more Walgreens! Someone should send all these posts to Walgreens and COREPHARMA!

  Shawn wrote @

The eon labs….slanted E….are much better than the barr brand. I can take what actually is prescribed to me unlike having to take twice this amount when I was taking the barr brand. The eon brand kicked in much faster and feel more potent. However, I have to say the barr brand was….don’t know how to describe…lets say they seemed to be smoother. That could be an advantage to some. There is definately a difference between the two, and I know I’m not crazy when I say that. So to whoever says that there is no differnce in brands…is completely and totally deluded.

  dopeydave wrote @

does anyone notice if stored at like a high 70 maybe 82degress Fer. that the adderall loses effectiveness almost completely, i had some working great for the first 3 days down to nothing on the 4th day, ive had this happen multiple times and have had no posts come up on it anywhere, i take the organge 973/20’s 2x a day, i tried taking 2, then 3 and still nothing , this keeps happening to me, has anyone else noticed that they are extremely heat sensitive , i never had that problem before i used to take it all the time from like 2000-04, i swear to god to that they fucked the formula all up since i used to take it , iwasnt a big abuser either more of a self medicater, i just want to know if anyone else is having this problem, it also happens with the 15mg xr addys, on top of the 20/973’s

  mimi wrote @

I just went to Costco and they do carry the generic adderall orange pills (I got the 30mg tablets). They were only $28.50 w/out insurance and I am not a costco member, you don’t have to have a costco membership to use their pharmacy.

  Josh B wrote @

I just started on Amphetamine 30 mg (Generic Adderall 30 mgs) and they are orangey peach colored. They pretty much do as recreational amphetamine does. . .make you speed. I tried Adderall XR 20 mgs twice a day and it just made me slightly more focused, but THESE boys. . . .Heh, Lets just say there isn’t ANY dust on ANY wood furniture in my ENTIRE house now. If you aren’t getting the FULL effect of what you want, I reccommend trying these at the 30 mg dosage. I take 1 twice a day, and the day is nothing short of a breeze.

  John wrote @

The differences that everyone seems to notice between the various varieties of adderall are probably not “in your head.” Most molecules can exist in two forms, one of which is the mirror image of the other. This is analogous to the difference between your right hand and your left hand – if you place your right hand on a mirror the image will look like your left hand.
The left and right hand forms of molecules are called “levo-” and “dextro-” – so you can see why adderall contains “dextroamphetamine”, among other forms of amphetamine.

The relevance of this is that the dextro and levo forms of a drug often have different effects. This is well recognized by the medical profession, which is the reason that dextroamphetamine is specified as a constituent of adderall instead of levoamphetamine.

In the case of amphetamine, dextroamphetamine is longer acting and has a slightly different psychoactive profile compared to levoamphetamine, and the same is likely true of the other amphetamines in adderall.

Now, here is the important part: The manufacturing process used can determine whether you end up with all dextroamphetamine, all levoamphetamine, or a mixture of the two. If a mixture, it can determine the percentage of dextro and the percentage of levo.

I am not sure, but I believe that adderall contains dextro and levo (often abbreviated as d- and l-) mixtures of some of the amphetamine salts.

If there are different percentages of d- and l- salts in the generic, versus the brand name adderall, then the effects experienced, and the time interval of effectiveness could vary between these two variants of adderall.

Similarly, small differences in the manufacturing process between various generic manufacturers could result in variants of adderall with different effects and perceived potency.

Special separation techniques would be required to increase the percentage of d- and l- in a given batch of adderall when produced, and these techniques would add to the cost – so manufacturers would tend to eliminate this separation to d- and l- isomers (isomers just means mirror image versions) unless it was required by the FDA in the manufacturing process.

  Lil_T wrote @

I just started taking the orange oblong 30’s, what I assume, from reading all these posts are the Barr company pills. Of course, they are not what I expected. I have taken…oh like 4…!! This is not what Adderall is supposed to be!! And I guess since it’s a schedule 2 they can’t trade them out for me. Crappy!! And I was all excited today to get my Adderall 30’s! I should have asked for brand!! Amphetamine is a tough one to master, I suppose. And I have a feeling John, who posted right above me, is exactly right. I’ve wondered for a long time, is there a way to switch the isomers?? Like the small little vaporizers are levomethamphetamine…Can the levo- be changed to dextro-?? If someone can come up with how to do that without all kinds of lab equipment, they would be millionaires!!!

  Megan wrote @

I just started taking adderall the other day. My doctor prescibed me to the D-Amphetamine salt combo 15 mg tablets for now to see how I do with them. On side 1 it says B 777 and side 2 it says 15. Does anyone else take these specific ones? How did you like them?

  Frederick Voorhees wrote @

Megan. That’s the Barr Laboratories brand, the better of the generics. Most people find it leads to a better overall experience, conducive for concentration and focus. It is less likely to lead to other unpleasant side-effects like dehydration and general anxiety. Overall a cleaner, smoother, less jittery feel.

Don’t worry–it’s not the pink CorePharma brand!

  Laura wrote @

I’ve been taking generic adderall off and on since I was 14, I’m now 25. Going been 20mg and 30mg twice a day. I’ve played the meds game for years with doctors. Tried ritalin, dexatrine, strattera, nothing worked like adderall. Granted I do get lack of appetite and sometimes sweat like crazy, but I think its worth it if it means I get to stay focused and get my work done. I’ve never tried anything other than the orange generic pills (the sweet kind) but from what I’ve read, I don’t think I ever want to be on anything else.

  Amanda wrote @

I have the blue 5mg Barr Adderall Generic they make me crash but other then that they sometimes work I have an appointment coming up soon I hope I can get a higher dose I am not ever going to walgreens anymore because they carry the Corepharma and they did nothing so I switched pharmacies I go to Walmart now and they carry the Barr ones….

  neil wrote @

i think adderall the orange is the bomb. It has a comic book type of fantasy realm to it. it gets you high if you snort it or if you just take em.

  Mary wrote @

I have Hypersomnia and I have taken the 30 mg Adderall for about 8 yrs. now. I have taken the the orange oval tabs for as long as I can remember until this summer when I filled my rx at Walgreens and got the pink round tabs. After about 1 month of taking these I broke out in a rash. The next month I went back to my old pharmacy and got the oval orange, the rash started to go away untill I went to another pharmacy and ended up with the pink ones again, now I itch all over. I will no longer be taking the pink ones. I don’t know what ingredient they have put in this but it is not for me. I found the ingredients for the pink ones on the Corelab site, but, Barr Labs doesn’t have a site that lists the ingredients so I will check the PDL.
If anyone breaks out in a rash try to find the orange Barr Labs generic and get your rx refilled with that.

  Eva Maldonado wrote @

I’ve been taking what I think are generic tabs 15mg.. They’re round, orange, and reads 1| 5 on one side and b 777 on the other. Are these Barr?

[...] to fill my prescription and I was doubly ecstatic to find out my pharmacy went back to the old orange/peach colored generics by Barr [...]

  cybrbob12 wrote @

I take 20 mg amphetamine salt combo 3x/day, and have recently been given a round, orange pill with the Letter “E” and number “401″ on the other side. I will personally attest that the effects normally felt right away took a little longer to kicyk in. But it also seemed that after two hours, I continued to be experiencing close to full benefits that generic Adderall provides. Not too sure, as I’ve read so much going one way, or the other, so I feel as if I may have allowed myself to buy into the hype. I do know one thing: When originally going to Hy-Vee for a refill (usually gives me cor 135), they stated they were out of that dosage. They called another Hy-Vee close by, whom stated they had my amount available, as well for $10 cheaper!($37.50 for ninety 20mg tabs) I just immediately got thrown off by these Eon Labs. pills. The manufacturer has different ingredients for their breakdowns of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine(These orange ones use aspartate and sacharatte opposed to monosachharate and sulfate) I am very tempted to see how big of a difference the real 20 mg Adderall would be at this point!


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