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ContactThe 13 Milestones of Quitting Adderall
May 7th, 2011 by Mike
| 1. Day One SucksGet through one work day without taking Adderall |
| 2. Withdrawal SurvivorMake it 45 days without Adderall any way you can |
| 3. Self FirstFace the disapproval of at least one person who you can't bear disapproval from, and keep going. |
| 4. One Small StepComplete your first small project without Adderall |
| 5. Your First FreakoutOhmygod how am I going to finish this without my pills?! |
| 6. Fear ItselfComplete your first big project without Adderall |
| 7. Exercise NutFall in love with some form of exercise enough to do it at least once per week for 4 weeks in a row. |
| 8. Cut the CordGet rid of your remaining pills. No turning back now! |
| 9. Natural HighRecognize your first natural tweeked-out feeling. |
| 10. VisionaryEnvision a new path for yourself that you are excited about. |
| 11. Bright FutureTake three big steps down the new path you've envisioned for yourself. |
| 12. ValidationSomebody tells you "wow you've gotten a lot better" |
| 13. Reborn SupermanBe able to utter these words: "I love my job so much. I can't believe I get paid to do this." Be able to work freely on anything without hesitating and thinking of Adderall. |
Thanks for the list. I can relate with so many of these steps. No. 5,I cannot tell you how badly I freaked out when my doctors found out I was abusing adderall, my supply was cut off and I realized I would have to stop. Freak out was an understatement in how I behaved!
No. 4 and 6, I was so psychologicalle dependent on adderall that I didn’t even have the confidence to sit down and read a book without the pills. Reading lots of books without being adderall for me was a big project.
No. 12, Now in my tenth month of recovery, my sister tells me I am so much better…I remember the days I was so hooked on adderall and she was in tears when she’d see me…She is now so happy, says she has me back and it’s so good to see the real me again..
@InRecovery – Yay congrats on 10 months and already reaching Milestone #12! I took me over a year to hit that one.
Also: How did your doctor find out you were abusing?
I have no idea how long withdrawl lasts but mine wont stop. i took 120mgs for five years and im a year and two months clean. My energy is still very low and my weight gain is still high considering i have been active. I should weight bout 165. when i was taking adderall i was around 140. Now im 215. Im just curious mike how much longer will i deal with this. i thought this was enough time to get over this.
I like this a lot.
I did 1,3,4,5,10.
@Ryan – You were at a pretty high dose for a long while. You may have a harder battle in front of you. Try natural stimulants like coffee and 5 hour energy and see if it takes the edge off (note that these will just keep you awake, they won’t focus you like Adderall, so don’t expect a “high”).
Also try supplementing with Omega 3 and keeping your diet and sleep schedule consistent.
I’m not sure how active you’ve been or in what ways, but the #1 way to melt off wait is to run. Have you ever seen a fat runner?
@Sick Kid – Glad you liked them!
Hey Mike, I just saw this. Thanks for your support…This site has been integral to my recovery. To answer your question – How did your doctor find out you were abusing?
The answer is so embarassing. Ok, here goes. I was in adderall-induced psychosis. In my state, I was convinced my mom – ahem – was trying to kill me or poison me or something. (Yes, I know! So crazy!) Adderall-psychosis can really make a person sound like a lunatic.
I was out of pills early, of course, and went to my doctor in my adderall-psychsis state and told her everything I was feeling. That I thought my mom was trying to poison me etc. etc. She immediately wrote a prescription for a lower dose of adderall. Then told me to come back the next day for another appointment. Then she called an ambulence directly to the doctors office. Had them pick me up, confiscate my pill bottle and put me in observation for the day in the hospital. There, they talked to my mom who explained everything.
Adderall-induced psychosis – ugh.
Ryan, I think I’m in the same boat as you. Also, I was, taking double the amount of adderall then you were at. It’s been almost a year, and I still suffer from this awful withdrawal feeling in my head at different levels of intensities depending on the day. I’ll heed Mike’s advice. I think it’s going to be a longer battle for us… (Not too much longer, hopefully)
This is awesome. Somehow, setting it up like Xbox achievements makes it a little more attainable.
1, 5, 8, 10, and 11.
@Anthony – That’s what I was going for! I thought it would be more fun and motivating than time-based sobriety chips. Glad you like them!
this website has helped me a lot I have just gone cold turkey after weaning my self for 3 months that did not work just kept going up and down did not know all this stuff just thought I was loosing it seeing all that you are going through makes me feel better it has been 2 weeks and knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel gives me hope the mood swings are not that fun but coffee helps with the sleepy. hoping that the people around me like friends and family will still be here when this is all over I do feel better though even though I feel yucky It is such a relief have been doing more with friends and making new ones .I have been taking it for about 1 1/2 years do hope I can keep my job am in the service industry and it took all I had to not just say what I wanted and a monotone voice with no feeling was all i could do but I got through it that was the first week the other half trying to stay there It felt like I was never going to be able to live . But am happy I am doing it
leave I mean sorry