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ContactHow Adderall Works
November 16th, 2009 by Mike
"Once inside the cell, amphetamines move into the dopamine vesicles, forcing dopamine out."
Check out this great explanation of how amphetamines affect the brain by biology blogger ThinkingZygote.
Quick Summary
- Normally: Dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline are your brain’s Happy/Energy Juices. You don’t need big doses of them all the time, so your brain keeps them in a storage unit. When you do something you enjoy (e.g., snow skiing, working on something you care about), your brain spits out all your Happy/Energy Juices onto your synapses and (figuratively) lights you up. When you stop doing that enjoyable activity, your brain gradually sucks your Happy/Energy Juices back into the storage to use for something else later.
- Adderall: You pop a pill, the amphetamines break into your storage unit and kick out all of your Happy/Energy Juices. The Juices, having no place to go, hang out at the only other place they call home: your synapses. So they stick to your synapses (lighting you up) and hang on until the amphetamines get tired and move out of the storage unit, when they retreat in mass and you crash.
- In short: Adderall disables your built-in on/off switch for happy juices and flips it “on” permanently (until the pill wears off), making you act as if you are always enjoying everything.
Other interesting facts
It takes a while for serotonin and dopamine levels to return to normal
From the decptively anti-meth site tweaker.org
The above graph is from an anti-meth site, and it’s accuracy is not verified, but I think (based on my equally-unqualified opinion) that it’s probably a good ballpark. Their numbers say that after using amphetimines, it takes 7-10 days for your serotonin and dopamine levels to return to normal (baseline), or much longer for continued use. Of course, that’s based on crystal meth, but they are somewhat related. Also note: that site I just linked you to, despite appearances, is run by people who have quit meth.
Generally, psychiatrists state that it takes 2 weeks to a month for brain chemistry to recover from a chemical addiction. But breaking the chemical dependency is only half the battle.
Coffee has similar effects on the brain, but much more mild.
Coffee (caffeine) has similar effects on the brain as amphetamines, but in such a minor way that it is generally considered safe by doctors and the FDA (and very, very legal), whereas amphetamines go so far beyond caffeine’s effects that they’re tightly controlled and considered overall-dangerous.
Adderall’s effects are chemically similar to Love
Adderall Buzz = dopamine + serotonin + adrenaline
Love = dopamine + serotonin + epinephrine (Source: Sex on the Brain)
I’ve said before that Adderall is basically a love potion that you can take whenever you don’t like something. Scientifically, this holds true. The chemical mixture is similar. Now ask yourself, would you ever want a love potion used on you? Would you want some great villain, some disgusting person to slip you a potion and make you think you love them…and then abuse you? How violated would you feel? That’s basically what you’re doing to yourself when you take Adderall: you’re violating your right to choose your own Love.
Remember the Disney movie Aladdin? When the Genie (voiced by Robin Williams) pops out of the lamp, he tells the young Aladdin that he only has three rules:
- I can’t kill anybody
- You can’t wish for more wishes
- I can’t make anybody love anybody (because that messes with free will)
There’s a reason why rule #3 existed. Forcing love is a perversion of a beautiful process.
- Teddy bear from http://www.arenaflowers.com/gifts/i_love_you_teddy_bear
- Chalkboard from: http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/phrase/461/chalkboard.html
7-10 days after using it once, so how long does it take to get back to normal after using it daily for 7 years??i know theres no magic formula, it just seems like it shouldnt take months..and it has..and mike, you say its taken you a year and a half! i know its worth it, i think, but what are those chemicals doing for that long??
Hi Ashley,
The chemical recovery is only a small part of the battle. The mental part — rebuilding your willpower, confidence, and work ethic from scratch — is much larger and longer battle. It’s kind of like learning how to walk again after being in a wheelchair for seven years (and suddenly getting your neck fixed or whatever). Your bones and nerves are healed, and you are technically ready to walk, but your muscles are skinny and weak.
Good examples, except it seems like taking it should be relative to the activity, how come USAF Pilots and Many Other Armed forces Take It? It seems like the amount that it effects your free will is also relative to the persons cognitive blueprinting and environment as well.
@Jackson
That’s an excellent point: Adderall’s affect on your free will is absolutely influenced by by individual cognitive blueprints and circumstances. For one, I think it messes with impulsive people more than calculating people.
And as for the USAF Pilot example: As evidenced by the events covered this article (pilot hopped up on “go pill” lights up a down thinking it was a training ground), there are consequences to that.
That said, circumstances also dictate how much Adderall corrupts you. In a tightly-controlled activity like flying a plane, where you’re basically a hyper-intelligent robot who’s at the bidding of your commanders…then popping a pill won’t affect you as much…because at that point you’re just following orders with or without the pill. But the instant you start having to make lots of longer-term, abstract decisions for yourself…that’s when Adderall messes with you.
I am shocked at the sevarity of the addictive properties that this commen and perscribed pill produces!
How is this justified? Are there any pros to taking this monster of a pill?
I am very familiar with Adderoll and I never never knew the devistating ramifications that it causes.
I am shocked at the sevarity of the addictive properties that this commen and perscribed pill produces!
How is this justified? Are there any pros to taking this monster of a pill?
I am very familiar with Adderoll and I never never knew the devistating ramifications that it causes.
Also I was wondering if you could offer an explanation for the panic that comes when it is time to stop…what is the function behind that anxiety? It is not a thought it is a physical compulsion that is very very strong, I figured if I could understand the cause it would be easier for me to deal with the emotional and physical reaction to “the last pill”
Mike… it doesnt work that way for people that are actually accurately diagnosed. Take it from me, I’ve been diagnosed with ADD. I first started taking it 6 months ago. I have a problem with fatigue, so I thought since I never have done any stimulant of this kind before, it would help out alot. No, didnt work that way. I never felt anything out of it except increased concentration when I choose to concentrate (like reading a book). So too bad my fatigue problem isnt fixed, and I fall asleep on a decent dosage of amphetamine. But… it does exactly what my doctor said it was suppose to do, and nothing of what I had wanted it to do. Id like to note that I dont feel ANY comedown what so ever, nor do I feel addictive properties. I can easily stop for a week, and not feel any withdrawels or cravings. Point being, its prescribed for a reason and works for those that accurately need it.
Mike, I love reading these posts. I mean, I definitely have gone through EACH and EVERY one of your descriptions. Most of this stuff is “reveiw” for me, but the “love effect” that Adderall produces hit me harder. I have always said (in my head) that the feelings Adderall produces for me is very similar to the feelings that I felt/feel when in Love.
Actually, my abuse of Adderall began after my now ex girl friend began to see another guy. Therefore, I think that is a very strong reason for any relapses.
I just came across this site and am very grateful to read all the information here.
I’m in my mid forties and have had debilitating depression most of my life — after many years of many, many meds I am on a combo of lexapro, adderall and regular bloodwork to monitor my hormone levels. I’ve been taking adderall for two years (only 10mg/day sometimes an additional 10 after lunch) without the need for an increase — until recently…I’ve noticed that I’m flatter lately — and my impulse is to take more adderall, but I don’t — well, I did and it just made me clean my house more compulsively, not really “feel better”.
I did/do have a chemical imbalance and my dr. said the adderall would help the dopamine part — and it seriously does — I went from taking three naps a day (after 9 hours of sleep) to happily going about my business, being a great mom and wife and generally doing all the opposite things I did when depressed.
Something’s different now, as I read through the information on this site I wonder if it’s time to stop the adderall as perhaps the wanting more is a sign that the therapeutic effect is finished???
what I do know is that it completely transformed my cement-like treatment resistant depression and that was a welcome relief…many rounds of different meds later.
has anyone else had this type of experience? I know that I can relate to the mania feeling of adderall and really, although I’m embarrassed to admit it, liking it. So much nicer than laying in bed all day or sitting on the couch not being able to coax myself into doing something.
i wonder if I have some undiagnosed bi-polar’ish tendencies — I know I have been diagnosed with early ovarian decline, which let me tell you, can seriously make you feel bi-polar.
Anyway, now I’m writing on adderall — I try not to do that.
Thanks for reading.
LB
not addictive? check my link out. may chabge ur mind/. there are a few people who are like oh adderall does not make me high cuz im adhd. Well its not ur attention span its your bodys reaction to speed in your system . None of us react exactly the same. And if ur the cocky ass hole who really thinks ur add and this stuffs not addicting THEN YOUR PART OF A SMALL SMALL MINORITY and instead of picking on those devastated by the drug you should shut the hell up and thank jesus your not one of us who are destroyed by this drug.
just read all about meth and you can understand adderall too
Meh. Being free to take adderall only gives you more freedom over what you love. You can make it so you love things that you otherwise wouldn’t be free to.
Hello, i think its very dangerous to encourage people with chemical imbalances on the brain to try and get off medication and go with their free will instead…
When you have an addiction yes, you need to treat it. But a mental condition is oftentimes chemical imbalance related and should be treated as such.
No patting yourself on the back will make it right. Sorry, but I think you are misleading people.
Hi ShaneequaH,
Thanks for your comment. I agree that it is dangerous to have a site like this, where people with real debilitating chemical imbalances might find it and be mislead into thinking that they must quit a drug that helps them. I did not build this site for those people. I built it for the ones who want to quit Adderall for their own reasons, even if they technically qualify for it. I know that such people exist because I am one of them, and because I have spoken directly to many, many others like me.
I assure you that in regards to this website, I doubt myself just as much as I pat myself on the back. I can take the site down and clear my conscience of any truly imbalanced people who might misread it and feel wrongly convicted. But if I do that, I’ll abandon the person out there who’s about to take on the lonely war of quitting Adderall because they deeply believe it is the right thing for them to do (the person this site is built to help). I cannot make one group happy without potentially hurting the other.
Ultimately I remain convinced that this site has done more good than harm, so I keep it online. I think that most people are self-aware enough to figure out whether this site applies to them or not. And I hope that my giant disclaimer will suffice to help filter out the people that this site isn’t meant for, but I may need to make it even more prominent than it already is (bold, red link on the home page).
Keep the website up, please. This is my first time here and you guys have truely saved me. I don’t have add, but take Adderall whenever I get the chance to. I was going to call and make a doctor’s appointment to be “tested” for add on Monday. Because I found this website (that I have read for the past 2 hours) I’m not going to make the call.
I have my many reasons as to why I started taking it, as does everyone on else on here. I knew it was wrong and dangerous, but I have free will to make my own choices. Just like people who actually DO have add can make their own as to whether or not they want to stay on their medicine. If someone finds this website misleading, then they didn’t do enough of the reading. This is the ONLY website I have found that has a soul to it. All the others are so general and empty. No one really explains the head pounding, heart racing, so tired you can’t move, ears ringing, brain screaming, stomach so hungry it’s going to eat itself, mess that Adderall addiction feels like except on this website. So many people understand what I’m feeling like when I have no one to talk to. I take comfort in that. It has been an honor and a blessing to read everyone’s posts here and it gives me hope. I love the person I am. I am a funny, sweet, caring and pretty outstanding girl when Adderall isn’t part of my life. I want to always be her. I will report back, hopefully soon, with my progress. Thanks again to all of you & God Bless you all.
@Mae – I’m so glad you like the site! It’s comments like yours that keep it fueled and moving ahead. That’s a pretty good description of Adderall you wrote there. I may just re-use that… 🙂
People’s reasons for taking Adderall, in my experience, are much more pure than that of typical drug users. It’s self destruction in service of perceived growth, versus just escape. Because Adderall appeals to people who want to be at their best but are insecure, it’s kind of like the good girl drug. I guess what I’m saying is: You had your own reasons for taking Adderall, and I doubt they were very bad. Your challenge in quitting will be to find a different way to fill the needs that led you to Adderall. You can totally do it!
Good luck, and do report back!
A quick note on the love VS adderall comparison. epinephrine and adrenaline are two different names for the same thing, making the comparison bunk.
That aside. Good article! Factually informative.
@Benjamin – Seriously? So does that mean Adderall and love are identical instead of just similar? I hope I still have my source file for that chalk board graphic lying around somewhere…
makes you love everything?
what?
I don’t understand what type of adderall all of you are taking. Were you popping more than you were prescribed daily? Adderall can be addictive, but if you use it correctly (you know, not like a cracked out junkie) it can be very effective.
When I’m on adderall, things are just as fun / un-fun as usual. And I’m pretty sure that a known side-effect of too much adderall is that nothing is fun anymore (described as everything feeling “boring” or “grey”, otherwise known as the flatline effect).
WE HAVE HAD SUCH A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE WHILE ON THE SAME DRUG IT’S BLOWING. MY. MIND.
PS
Adderall crashing is, like … it’s like a baby crash. I mean IMO. You take a nap, you feel groggy, you over-eat to compensate, and then everything is back to normal.
it’s like a mini-crash, versus say the crash one gets from meth (seen that first hand: heads up. stay away from your meth-head friend when they crash. shit can turn nasty REALLY FAST).
or versus the crash one gets from ecstasy, which is like having a really bad case of the flu for three to four days.
I’d like to hear more from people like mary. I mean that respectfully, she seems to be able to compare it to other drugs that people thinking about trying adderall have maybe taken. How is it compared to marijuana?
I was addicted to adderrall, I got extremely impulsive, tolerance grew quick. Was on the BLUE DEVIL for 4-5 months until my wife asked me one day why I was so depressed and crying out of the blue. She helped me out of the addition with a weaning schedule. But even after 2 weeks of being completely off blue devil, I was even more depressed. Went on a trip to Venezuela and literally cried almost every day. Finally after 2 months , I became myself again.
adderall works by the way it is not just the chemical signals or messengers in the brain. this is only a partial truth. apertial truth may be valid put also misleading.also it may be an accepted method in the laws.but if you look at the warnings and how tiny and long the descriptions are, then how it states it is a federal controled substance and also can be addicting. you can realise how like all the other mood drugs as i call them, that adderall works with the very same dopamine, enepherine, serotonin, and sugh through out your body. if you want to be a ittle more precise and validate this, it is the same messengers in the sympatic or sympathic or sympathomimetic effects and thus had no local anesthetic signal which a person can beaware of or identify. usually it is referred to as a dulling effect.hence a general overall sense of dulled feelings and emotions. the sense of right and wrong, caring, fear, anxiety, caring, intimacey,slf defense impulses we call our immune sytem which is the very same sensed actions of moving out of danger or avoiding situations as well as the same instinctual throwing out your hands when you trip.you are aware to a point you are tripping and you immediately throw out your arms and hands. this is the same sensed and also semisensed and obvious way you yourself can from your experiences validate what you just read. also it is the defense, or immune, or adaptation, or automatic, or bdy defense, or subconscious mind, excetra excetra. don’t want to make it to complicatated or abstract. the brain is the same impulses by the refined action you call your known senses or your brain aqctivity you call your mind which is the typical and i belive perceptions of doctors.also the majority of normal perception
Mike-
Yes Epinephrine IS Adrenaline…identical molecular structure and all. That is why many anxious dental patients PANIC after a shot of ‘Novocaine’ in the dental chair. Actual Novocaine hasn’t been used in decades – what is used is Lidocaine/Epinephrine injections (the Epinephrine speeds the absorption of Lidocaine, making it take effect quickly). So if anyone’s ever had 2-3 shots ‘Novocaine’ during a dental visit and felt their heart pounding…it is because they were given 2-3 Adrenaline/Epinephrine shots – as a result the Fight or Flight mechanisms kick in.
Thanks, For Mike! That was interesting and helpful.
Mike,
My Dr. prescribed me Adderall to help with my anxiety, stress and depression. He put me on 20mg XR. I was extremely hesitant to take it and only did because I was pressured to by my parents. I took it for about a week and a half. The entire time I took it I didn’t feel like myself. I felt wrong and off and it made me extremely sick. I quit taking it about 4 days ago. Now I am experiencing side effects in which i do not even know how to explain. My body has clearly taken a hard hit. I constantly feel fatigued, like I’m running my days on no sleep, and i’m always dizzy. I never retain anything I do throughout the day and constantly have that blackout/dizzy feeling you get when you sit up too quickly. While on this drug I rarely slept and if I did it was only for a few hours. Now I try to sleep to make this symptoms go away. I just feel off. I feel the chemicals in my brain are just off balance. My thought process isn’t the same as it was before i took this drug and i just want to go back to feeling “normal” and like myself before I took this drug. Not like I’m going to collapse from exhaustion or feeling hazey. I have never done any form of drug in my entire life this was the heaviest drug that i have ever tempered with. Is there a light at the end of this tunnel? Will i go back to how I was before?
I have no idea what to do. I have been on adderall for 23 years. I was diagnosed when I was 6. I was a hyperactive kid, that had trouble sitting in class and not being disruptive. Thats typical though right? Anyways, adderall did help me though, i was instantly content when i took the drug, and could focus and remain calm for hours doing practically anything. After I few years I think I became addicted to it and took it everyday to get through the day. I overdosed on adderall for about a week, and stopped sleeping. I also became paranoid and delusional. My parents had me hospitalized to get psychiatric help. They took me off of adderall cold turkey. But as soon as I got out of the hospital I found a new psychiatrist and got back on it once again. I have been hospitalized numerous times in the past four years due to taking adderall regularly or abusing it and then becomming paranoid and delusional. I graduated from college 4 years ago, but have been not working, due to a lack of interest and thoughts of going back to school for a graduate degree in education. I was hospitalized back in september, and the psychiatrist put me in a court ordered program where i have a psychiatrist appointed to me. She has refused to put me on adderall or anything else for ADHD or depression. I have to live with this for the next four months before the court order ends. I have been off adderall for 3 months now, and I feel good, but I want to get back on adderall even though it causes me to sometimes be paranoid and delusional. I think i became delusional and paranoid partly because I am not working or going to school right now and have not much to do all day to keep me focused and busy. Could this be the case? But since i have been off the drug, I think sometimes about what it means to be truely ADHD. I can pay attention since i have been off the drug, I can listen to conversations, and focus on things when I need to or want to. I am not the hyper active kid, fidgeting in my chair that I used to be when I was a kid. Sometimes i wonder if i have outgrown ADHD, but my addiction to the medication I have not out grown. I took a class of anatomy and i found it boring, and would take breaks during lab to walk around the building, but that is normal if you find something incredibly boring. I miss adderalls ability soon after taking the pill, to trick me into thinking whatever i am doing is important, and interesting. But that is living a lie. I don’t think thats ADHD, thats just being addicted to the way it made me feel during times when I felt like doing something else. Now being off the drug, I have realized that I have to reassess what I truely find interesting and want to do for a living! Because on adderall, I could do study just about anything, and persue just about anything for a career, and adderall would enable me to feel content, happy, and interested in it! Has anyone else out there realized that they truely don’t know what they really enjoy because adderall has made them enjoy anything they did as long as they had that pill? I now have a bachelors degree from a great school, and graduated top of my class, but I am not sure if I even wanted to have that major, or if this is what I would really enjoy doing for the rest of my life. What a mind F. I feel like i have to start all over. Oh and by the way, the lack of adderalls flood of dopamine everyday has made me feel like life is really boring and dull on an everday level. I’ve been on cloud 9 everyday, interested and engaged due to adderalls help for years. Could I not be ADHD, and just addicted to the feelings adderall give me>? I think so.
Yeah, I think it’s an addiction to that feeling that adderall gave you. An artifical rush of dopamine flooded your brain over and over for years.
The reason they call adderall so psychologically addictive is because of the mental attachment the addict forms toward that feeling adderall gives you.
After you quit, recovery gets easier and easier as the mental attachment begins to weaken…
Adderall at normal prescribed doses don’t actually act on 5-HTergic transmission.
I don’t really know what to say or were to start. this is the first time I have ever posted on a site like this and the first time I have taken a step toward talking about my adderall. I figured that posting something would help get me started so forgive me if it seems like I’m just rambling. I was prescribed adderall when I was in elementary school after was diagnosed with ADD. I’m in my 20’s now, going to college, and still prescribed adderall. I’m beginning to see signs of addiction and growing abuse. I know I didn’t give you much to work with Mike but any form of response would be great encouragement to post something more helpful for me and everyone else. Thanks Mike
@Scars – Thanks for your comment! It’s easier keep to structured dose in middle and high school because your schedule stays consistent. When you get to college, you’re schedule may change every semester. All of a sudden instead of needing Adderall at the same time every day, you start to need it at all different hours. And then you start taking it whenever you “feel” like you need it, and then the abuse starts.
If that sounds like your situation, then the first step is to taper back to sanity. Try to keep yourself on a consistent dose as much as possible, and don’t let yourself pop when you feel like it. From there, reduce the amount when you can.
Once you’re back to a sane dosage schedule, then make the decision about whether you want to quit all the way. If you do want to quit all the way, start with a half dose for a month and see how you feel. Monitor the positive and negative changes that start popping up in your life on half the dose. If the positive outweighs the negative keep going down!
@ for mike
In regards to how taking it made you feel…please consider eating a well balanced diet while on it. I started at 20 milligrams and felt like it was too much because i wasn’t hungry and didn’t eat so I was dizzy and wasn’t thinking the same way and i was quite disappointed.
However since I have been paying attention to the clock and eating at normal times my head has been clear and the pill makes my focus clear and I am relived of my negative symptoms and have beaten the side effects it cause such as decreased appetite.
I agree with everything on this except taking 7 to ten weeks to recover. a have been on it for a couple months. and believe me i took it plenty of times just to get high before and not the right way. and today is my second day off it after months and i feel fine. you just have to have will power and realize that it disconnects you from normal life. its messed up how it takes away simple enjoyments like eating.
Hi, I am 42 and was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder at age 40, (right after a bad separation and divorce) but I believed I was more ADD. The Doctor prescribed me with Seroquel which made me sleep too much with no energy, so he prescribed me Adderall at 15 mg which did not help much so he raised it to 30mg. I did not like the way it made me feel. I already have anxiety and it made my anxiety worse. I couldn’t keep a steady hand. I stopped taking it after a few months. No withdrawals. After switching back and forth to a lot of different meds, because of anxiety, PTSD, depression, etc. Two years later, I found a new psychiatrist and he said I was misdiagnosed. I am not bipolar, I have severe anxiety, so I was put on different medication. I felt tired all the time and could not focus. I asked to be put on adderall again. I am on 20mg twice a day. It sure does help me wake up in the morning and helps me focus, but it gives me ‘nervous’ energy and more anxiety. I’m seriously thinking about stopping it, but I’m afraid that it will be very hard to wake up and take care of my children and focus, etc. My Dr. said I could wean off to 10mg and stop, but 15 mg wasn’t even enough to give me energy. What should I do?
I’ve been taking two-three 20 mg xr tablets a day for about five years. I have stopped randomly for weeks at a time and never felt any distress, I slept for a day or two and was good to go. The reason I take adderall is because it makes me feel good. Ask yourselve if your quality of life is better or worse with adderall. Just do what makes you feel good, you can die tired or you can die concerntrating on how your heart is going to explode. Im not saying this to be mean but some of you guys sound like you have mental issues that are worse than ADD
Ugh. WHERE DO I BEGIN??? Warning: I am going to ramble a lot. I am an addict and an extremist. It’s been proven that addicts/alcoholics tend to over-complicate things and can be over-thinkers. So bare with me, please! I just read this entire page, word for word on everyone’s stories and different opinions about adderall. I’m very grateful to have actually taken the time to read it all and this is my first time ever posting in any kind of forum. In other words, I feel helpless and confused, etc. Anyhow, before I begin my “Cry For Help”, I’ll start with this: Before I tried adderall, I got prescribed lorcets when I was 18. I am now 25. I’ve battled on and off with the pain pills for years because I found they gave me ENERGY and also relieved my back pain that sometimes gets soooo unbearable! About 2 years ago is when I actually realized my “love” for the pain pills was for more energy. I am clinically depressed, I have anxiety almost constantly also. I got put on many different types of anti-depressants to relieve those two things… I am now on Celexa and Lamictal and I have been for 3 years now. I accept that I do indeed have a chemical imbalance which causes the depression so I faithfully take my medication, although I quit taking the pain pills Dec. 2011. Felt like garbage of course, went through the withdrawals, etc. After about two weeks without any pain pills and just being back on my regular “head-meds”, of course I HATED IT! Plain and simple, I cannot stand being in my sober state of mind without altering it with some sort of mind and mood altering substance, in this case, first the pain pills, then onto the adderall.
Now that you’ve got a bit of back ground about myself, here’s my adderall ‘story’: I don’t know if anyone has heard about Adipax, but it’s used for supressing appetite and also gives you the BOOST that adderall does; it’s a diet pill. I tried one a friend gave me at work one day and LOVED the energy and happiness– I felt on cloud 9, just like I do when I take adderall. So then I come across these adderall one day and try them, WOW, same effect as the adipax, just a bit easier to get off the streets. I’ve taken both mlgs of the XR’s and the 20mlg tablets as well as the 30’s. With having such terrible depression, it goes without saying that when taking the adderall, I am no longer sad or depressed. I want to just be able to ‘Face and deal/cope with life on life’s terms’ but DAMN it is NOT easy! Not to mention I am a master procrastinator. I would eventually, one day, hope to be off of even the anti-depressants but of course, I would begin an excerise routine, vitamin intake and hopefully find a hobby so I can just “BE”. I worry about my health with all the different pill intake, mainly my liver. But anyhow, I’m scared to be off of adderall because I know what I was like before I took it: Dull, melancholly-like, sad, depressed, irritated, angry, inpatient, you name it! And that was all still while on the ‘head-meds’/anti-depressants. I don’t get prescribed adderall, I get them off the streets. It’s just a huge pain the ass and a mess! I’m ALWAYS chasing adderall because I have become addicted to the feeling I SO LONGED for, for SO LONG! Call me a pill-head, whatever. Yes, I do indeed have mental issues.
So has anyone here taken adderall and had such scattered thoughts? Such as, you’ll start one task and go to a completely different one without ever getting anything fully completed? That’s how I am. A simple 10-minute kitchen clean up will turn into an hour. I get extremely distracted and act MANIC when I take them. It’s embarrassing… but… I’m not depressed. I’m happy. I’m ENERGETIC. So that’s that… I know I need to stop taking them but I know what that will bring: CRASH, let down, perhaps self-mutilation like I used to do, MAJOR lethargy, you name it. 🙁 Please don’t get after me for saying this, but I am a believer so at least I have God for faith and hope, but I just feel so hopeless… I don’t know. I need professional help but I haven’t any insurance any more. I’ll leave it at that… I could go on and on and elaborate on many different things to help you better understand my hang-up… but I’ll wait for your reply and we’ll go from there. Thanks.. -k8-
Thanks for the info. I have been on Adderall for 4 years now and am now on Vynasse, I’m 28 years old. I started taking it because of my chronic fatigue and lack of motivation. It helped with the fatigue until it was time to come down. My blood pressure was hypertension for over 10 years and nothing helped. Come to find out the problem was my Silver Mercury fillings. The day I had them removed 1 year ago all my fatigue left me, my brain fog left me, and my blood pressure instantly leveled out to normal the exact day I had the fillings removed. Now Adderall helped with the fatigue, the fog, the tiredness it was like it was over ridding and masking the root cause of my symptoms.
Now here is my problem, I have tried to stop taking Stimulants/Amphetamines I’m no addict, but I’m no longer fatigued, but my mental sharpness is like a roller coaster. Some days I can focus on what needs to be done, others I procrastinate. I only took 10mg xr of adderall, and 20 of Vynasse, any thing more than that has always made me really geeked. Now that I’m trying to stop, I’m worried that I have caused my brain to stop giving me proper dopamine. I took a 3 month break, but I just popped a 20mg Vy and I feel normal, like “Oh this is what I use to feel like years ago.” What can I do to cause my brain to get healthy and start producing normal levels of dopamine. I feel like it doesn’t give it to me unless I take a pill. I’m ready to e done. I know all about 5 thtp and l tyro, 5 htp has been a life saver in coming down off Amphs.
If you have any info please let me know. I feel that the medical field wouldn’t tell us even if they knew that the long term effects were very crippling mentally, after all there is no money in cures in American medicine, thus we have been made to believe that there is no cure for cancer which there is. Anyways thats a topic in itself.
Hi i amn a person who has ADD and i have been taking adderall for 2 years now 50 mg a day. this is presribed by my doctor. Ever since i have been taking it i have tremendously change my life around, i quit drugs, found a job, and found my true passion which is MMA. i have been a work horse when it comes to MMA i train very hard and i have very high goal and puirsuits for my self. but over the time i have really noticed how i have to wait for the meds to kick in for me to do anything but once they do im in hyperfocus. and i read some of your stuff and i seen you had written about the samething. the fear and things that nag at me the most is( has all my success only happend because of this med, is my passion real? and if i do come off it will i still have the drive, desire, will power etc i have now?.. i love how things are going for me but i feel like i cheating now not because of this site but because im more aware if it effects. people look up to me and come to me for advice and so fourth and i have found spirituality in my life which was a ver enlightening stage for me. I very scared that if i do come off it that i was a mind and body being controlled by a pill. any advice would be helpful please??? And wether or not i have a long recovery with the dosage i have been taking and time. and if helping my self of adderall using nootropic like alpha brain would help?. thanks sincerely kyle, much graditude for this website.
First and foremost, when natural functions in the brain are altered, a domino effect occurs. Sit down and think about it. It’s what is called common sense. If you have experienced a difference in how your body looks or feels, since you started taking an amphetamine, common sense would tell you that it is highly probable that the CAUSE AND AFFECT are, INDEED, correlated. Do not abandon your common sense and educate yourself before ingesting anything which may alter your functioning as a human being, on the most basic level– tampering with your brain
Those who have researched the topic, “ADHD,” are aware that physicians who specialize in behavioral disorders (those NOT on Shire Pharm’s payroll) are in conflict, as a whole, as to whether or not there is actually any chemical imbalance associated with the presence of ADHD. Instead of assuming that this disorder actually exists, why don’t you ask yourselves how people got along before the term ADHD was coined. I bet they experienced the ups & downs, highs & lows, and managed to put food on the table, eat it, and go to bed. And, then, magically repeat it the next day.
Lay-folk are conditioned by the pharm co media campaigns & the physicians who depend on them. We are told to attribute any psychiatric “abnormalities” to a chemical “imbalance.” They use medical jargon that the average American buys into; doesn’t dispute, doesn’t know how to, or chooses to use it as a scapegoat, and to identify with something– anything.
And, YES, it IS safe to stop taking adderall, cold-turkey.
Will it be more difficult for you, on your first day “adderall-free?” if you haven’t been weaned?
You better believe it. If you’re on a tapered dosing schedule your body will have time to adjust, as much as it can, w/ out the complete absence of the drug. Weaning from adderall is based on patient’s comfort, not his health. A typical tapering schedule will depend on how fast patient wants to get off of it & what mg patient has been taking, as to how long your doctor will choose to wean you. There is no “recommended” tapering schedule for adderall, like there is for Xanax, Ativan, or other benzodiazepines, which CAN cause seizure &/or death if not weaned properly (detox/weaning for benzos is dependent on how long the patient used, not how much the patient used).
I have been taking Adderall for 6 years now and take 45mg a day. I remember when I first started I was on 20mg a day, the first time my Dr. increased my dose to 25mg when my body had a tolerance to it. The next time it was 30mg, that was the day I broke down. I was crying in his office. I kept telling him I don’t want to take more can’t I take something else. He kept reminding me I had tried all the other ADHD drugs and none of them worked for me. I said I know but I don’t want to be a drug addict. I was serious, I was scared! I hated having a “tolerance” that is something drug addicts have. He just laughed at me and told me I’m not an addict because I don’t take more than he prescribes to me. I am just an individual who happens to have a chemical imbalance in my brain that requires medication to fix it. It is not an addiction but a dependence. Then he asked me if I would quit taking insulin if I was a diabetic because I didn’t want to be dependent on it to fix my sugar. I said of course not that is crazy. He said so it not taking your Adderall you are dependent on it to fix your chemicals in your brain. That is when I understood and quit being scared. Adderall has been a life saver for me I have been able to function and be happy with myself because I was no longer failing at life.
Im sure we were all the guy who posted awhile back that hes been on adderall for 6 months and doesnt see himself becoming addicted. I only have two things to say: 1. I felt the same way after 6 months and 2. i would do anything to go back and raise my awareness of the addiction potential of this drug. Please take our advice and be on guard because most of us were addcted before we even knew it.
[…] Serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline are the chemicals in your brain that make you happy and they’re released when you do something you love (favorite sport, seeing your favorite band, whatever floats your boat). […]
[…] Serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline are the chemicals in your brain that make you happy and they’re released when you do something you love (favorite sport, seeing your favorite band, whatever floats your boat). […]
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This is a completely natural alternative. Alpha Brain has completely changed my life.
To.. Old timer I can relate to what you are saying i am also of the old school generation. It gets me somewhat angry listing to all those comments regarding the positive us of adderall junk . These people are new bees yes it makes you fell great at first and you can tell the world how good it feels for you and you also need it becouse your ADD All those usurers will come to this web site eventually it is jest a mater of time when they will up there doses of junk. It always starts out with a low dose of adderall and over time you start self medicate your self using as you needed to. Another point is the fuckin drs are in bed with the drug compaanis they both need eachater drug companies need the money so they can invent more garbage meds the drs need the new junk so they can have you coming into the office for a lousy 10 minute visit and collect there 90 dollars from you every 3 mounts this is what the FDA and DNA require them drs to do when they proscribe this junk class 4 drugs to paitionts. It is jest a big scam to make that evil drug mony called the BIG BUCk.Wy dont the drug companies putt ther efforts into making a cure for cancer or something like it. I will tell you why the medical industry is a giant money maker thousands of billonos of dollars yearly. To mike don’t let these kucal heads discourage your good work i know you are not becoming a rech from this web site and only do it from your heart that’s my intuition. God give all you users the strength to get off the junk when you become a zombies like most of us readers where at one time and we no longer are zombies I personally am in a recovery mode and i know i will never use again because the stores i am reading on this web site make me ill I thank all of my brothers and sisters. May your recovery be successful . yours trully …….. Falcon….
I liked the comparison that was given between love and adderall. I am 32 and have been on adderall since i was 17. I have depended on it to get me through all of the things I don’t like doing in life. At first I just used it to get through homework, and then I started using it to get through class too, and then to get through housework, to get through the day at work, you name it. I had a really boring job for 5 years, and I desperately depended on my adderall to make me happy at work, and fool myself and others into believing that I actually enjoyed my job. It was so awful because I used to worry about what would happen if I could get my prescription for some reason or another. After 15 years I’m finally starting to notice the negative effect it is having on my mind, will, emotions, and body. I know that I am coming to a place in my life where I have to make a choice between this artificial sense of happiness, love, success, and control over my life…and I have to just face reality and start trusting in God to be my source of strength, energy, happiness, and love. I want to be free. I can’t believe they give little kids this crap. I just saw a movie on netflix called “generation rx”, and it exposes what the drug companies are doing to the American public, especially kids.
I have had a different experience than what I have read on this site so I thought I would share in case there are others who can relate… I’ve dealt with ADD all of my life (as anyone who truly has it does of course). I saw Drs as a kid but learned study skills, diets, etc…to help me cope with it on my own. I made my lists and tried to be as organized as possible. Often those to-do lists would go unviewed immediately after I wrote them and I would find them 3 weeks later with 2 of the 10 things accomplished…guilt, guilt, guilt, but I persevered. I fit the commonalities of those on Adderal that you have on your website for sure. Was always the ‘most artistic’ in school. Went on to the top art school and often got the one A that the teacher would give out per semester (why do they do that? Anyways, I digress). Graduated with top honors with a design degree and ended up going to work at a small company that started to take off shortly after I came on. Because I was there before they took off, when things started to pick up and new people came on I quickly became the go-to person in my department. Fast forward several years- I’m the senior designer pushing more paperwork and delegating 90% of the time and only designing 10% of the time (if, that). More responsibilities added everyday and I couldn’t keep up- stuff kept falling through the cracks and I felt guilty all the time for not being the ‘star player’ I had been in the beginning. The sad thing is I know that feeling was more internal than anything. My colleagues didn’t perceive me as doing anything less but as you all with ADD know, if we can’t do things better than average then we don’t want to do them at all. I started self medicating with loads of coffee and energy drinks which helped some days but on others, I would work twice as hard to get 1/4 of the work done. Talk about your heart racing and a crash! For reference, I’m talking like 3-5 cups of coffee and 2-3 24oz energy drinks before 4pm. Classic ADD, i was missing deadlines, and then would overcompensate for that by going above and beyond what was asked because i would panic about getting it done which would cause me to get hyperfocused on one detail. I was always excused because my work was overprepared if that makes sense- which would send me deeper into the hole for the following day. It was the hyperfocus of the ADD that was my major downfall- which seems nonsensical to those who dont understand the condition but i know alot of you reading this will understand. The hyperfocus on items 6-10 of your todo list while ignoring priority 1 which has the deadline. I used my procrastination as a tool to get my list done- bc if I did those with the lowest priority first but I had to get the high priority things done then I would have no option but to get everything done and the adrenaline panic that accompanied my procrastination of the high priority items was my tool. Worked great for me in college and in slower times at the office but now that i was relying on it almost everday i started to worry about the effects of stress on my mental and physical health. After seeing a cardiologist due to heart palpitations (diagnosis- stress) I finally decided to go see someone to help me with the anxiety and stress that my procrastination had caused. After about 6 months of trying to amp up skills to cope with the ADD on my own seeing a psychologist- he sent me to a psychiatrist. I didn’t want to be on meds but I was desperate, depressed, and terrified of letting people at work down. Being with a smaller company, you start to see your colleagues as more of an extended family and it can mess with your head- meanwhile, my true family at home is complaining that they never get to see me. So……with lots of trepidation, in my early 30’s I start taking medication for ADD for the first time. 10mg-3xs a day. It was like the blurry landscape that was my life came into focus. I didn’t have the jitters or feel buzzed-quite the contrary!! It made me feel calm and settled me down. My manic reaction to my overwhelming to-do lists was transformed into logical reasoning thought. I slept better than I had in YEARS at the end of the day because I wasn’t rehearsing what I hadn’t gotten done during the day (which when I wasn’t on the meds caused me to either get out of bed to do one more thing or set the alarm for 4am). I was productive at work while friends and family commented how nice it was to have the real me back- my husband certainly approved. Then something happened… as I got back to my old productive self more responsibilities were piled on. Being that I was always a can-do person in the past (even if it meant a couple all-nighters to get it done) it made sense that when I was on top of things they would give me more. When I was on the adderall, I realized that if I couldn’t get something done in the course of a 16 hour work day, then they were asking too much of one person. No guilt. It wasn’t me failing, it was me taking on too much. No one in my personal life could understand why/how I was working so much but I hadnt seen it before. So I started to push back. It was the anti-superman pill for me. It made me see how unreasonable what they were asking of me was but I so loved being the superstar that I had blinders up to that reality. And they knew i loved being the go to so they kept giving me more. Fed my ego.. but it was killing me to keep up with literally and figuratively. So…I left my job. Best decision bar none. I loved that company and the people there and couldn’t see how they were taking advantage of my need to please. I have since started out on my own, and have been successful in doing creative projects that I couldn’t be more passionate about 😀 I’ve been on adderall for almost 2 years now and cant believe I struggled for so long. Now, let me say, I see the 30/mg a day as a MAX dosage never has been upped. He started me out on the higher end because of how severe the ADD was (his words). On weekends, slow days, I don’t take it and I don’t feel any different aside from the fact that on those days I’m allowed to procrastinate or I’m working on an art piece. When I go away for a week vacation- I leave the bottle at home. My gripe and the reason I stumbled upon this site is that, as many will attest, it definitely contributes to the most unhealthy thing in my life which is smoking and now that I am away from my high-pressure corporate job- I’m determined to quit that!
I guess I’m sharing because after reading most of the entries on this site, I can certainly understand how this medication could rob you or your true self if taken in your formative years. I also feel like the youth of today are medicated too quickly due to the american way of the quick fix and the trust that we place in the hands of doctors. Most people have situational ADD throughout times in their lives. And it certainly would be easy to get hooked on that productive feeling and feel that you need it if you started it during on of those periods. It is not meant to be a recreational drug but it is- and then ppl find ways to get on it. Trust me, I saw plenty of adderall and Ritalin passed around in my college days. As I understand it, if you truly are ADD with a chemical imbalance in your brain, you do not have the side affects that others are describing on this site with staying up all night and getting buzzed. And please do not say that I am cocky as another poster responded to a similar sentiment. Why in the world would I be cocky about the fact that I’ve got a chemical imbalance in my brain- please! I think that post was the reason I decided to write on here. The reality is, there is no blood test to determine if you have ADD. The tests that they give could diagnose someone who is sleep deprived as having ADD- its not foolproof. These scripts are given out way too freely. My point is this, if you are taking Adderall and it has any other side effects than allowing you to logically follow through with tasks that were overwhelming before then you should seriously consider looking elsewhere. I’m not implying at all that you don’t have ADD, just that this medication is not providing you with the balance that you need. It would be a hard thing to be honest about with yourself if you are having the superman feeling described in many of these comments. Maybe it’s different for me because I knew what I was passionate about prior to being on the medication because I was an old fart when I started it compared to the majority of the posters on this site 😉 For me, in a way, it has given me my life back, made me less of a type A ppl pleaser, fueled the fire of my creativity, and given me the confidence that I won’t flake on myself pursuing my own path- but I think that is because I am one of the people mentioned in the disclaimer.
I think what you are doing on this site is amazing and courageous- so major kudos. I just wanted to present another point of view. I wish you all the best of luck and I think this actually has been very cathartic and strengthened my resolve to quit my life stealing addiction (stupid cigarrettes!). Thanks for the forum and sorry for the rambling- not on the meds today clearly 🙂
May we all find the balance we need to live happy, healthy, productive lives!!!
Hi! Ok, so i am a 53 year old male. I have had ADHD my whole life. Back in the day (60’s) they put us classes for hyperactive ‘gifted’ children. I had all the classic symtoms frustration, anger, alcohol and drug use etc. I had behavior issues like passive agressive and giving up on things. Also depression and anhedonia throughout. So 5 years ago when I got treated for alcohol and substance abuse I was diagnosed with depression. I was put on Citalopram (Celexa) everything was ok and welbutrin was added also to counteract side effects of the citalopram. Due to insurance I had to leave the alcohol/subs program and started to see a psychiatrist. I continued citalopram and bupropion and he screened me for ADHD which I have. So first was Stratera $150/mo which was expensive then Vyvanse $80/mo with discount card no problems. Insurance gives out a new drug list and the dr changes to amphetamine salt (adderall). I started my round of regular physicals and find I have emphysema and a small spot from smoking. Now under testing and monitoring. I paniked a bit and I developed very morbid anxiety and thoughts of death and dying as i continued to smoke and take the adderall but felt better when i stopped smoking using the patch and still on the aderall. When the storm hit hear in LI I smoked again but ran out of adderall. All of a sudden the anxiety of smoking fear of death and dying were lifted even though i was smoking very strange. The failure to achieve quitting smoking while on the aderall generated the nasty anxiety. The need to accomplish due to the command of adderall vs. the need to be myself and accomplish on my own. If I took the adderall and didnt succeed in quitting smoking the punishment was the morbid anxiety.
I will vacation the adderall and poof! no more anxiety. Also amphetamines cause pulmonary disease thus the scar tissue on the lungs which were not from numerous past flu and pnumonia or smoking. So now I am not taking aderall, I do not have the anxiety issue and can now more positively try to quit smoking rather than feel the panic, fear and anxiety of doing this under the influence of adderall. Thank G-d! Good luck and G-d Bless, John
Id rather choose the thing that makes me happy all the time. That way I will have minimal releases of cortisol due to not as much stress as a normal person.
It’s a give and take. Choose your option, each has there on benefits.
No artfical enhancer: More stress but your happy moments will be more intense. (simply because your actually not being stressed)
Using the artificial enhancer Adderall: Less stress but more of a desensitization of happiness. (But that is only because happiness and content are constantly being experienced)
I went almost 3 months without Adderall and today I popped a pill 🙁 It should also be noted that the new semester started as well. I said to myself “self you will start this year addy free!” but then myself said to my other self “yeahhhh but ummmmm im lazy and really don’t feel like writing a sociology paper”
Im glad this site exist!!!! I need it!
I have been on and off adderall for 14 years, since I was 21. Love the feeling I get from it. Have abused it to get work done, you know the story. What I don’t like about adderall is any time I try to write something, whether it be a cover letter, a business letter, or a simple memo that a normal person would do without thinking in under an hour, I will sit there and write what I am thinking and then revise one word, and then write more paragraphs, and then ramble, and then erase whole paragraphs, and so on. Eventually, it becomes this nightmare where I’m going through the motions of writing but I cannot stop to actually think what it is that I want to write in the simple quick way I can when I am sober. What I hope for tonight is that when I wake up tomorrow and in a few days I will flip a switch in my brain that allows me to have the will and attention span of adderrall with the sober reasoning ability of no adderrall. Honestly, for the first time I am seeing that it does not make me smarter, because I’m going to fast to slow down and think clearly.
My daughter got a prescription of adderall. 3 months later a nurse doubled the prescription. She was at college and I didn’t know. After seeing post on her facebook I picked her up from college concerned with her mental health. After taking the increased dosage for about 2 weeks – She had been awake for 5 days and was delusional. She is now in a mental hospital. We believe it started as adderall induced psychosis. Psychosis has not gone away without anti psychotic drugs and it has been 2 months.
This is a mind altering drug. Psychiatrist say if you have any sort of depression, adderall is last thing you should be on. Appears her dopamine system has been altered indefinately……
I began my dosage of adderrall in the morning and reading all these “very helpful” will keep me well advised of the ups and downs…pros and cons of taking this drug. I have Adult AdD. I afn alittle nervous about starting but very anxious to get control of some things.
I agree with those who have already said this– This is a great site. I was diagnosed with ADHD right after i graduated highschool and also during a two year-in battle with some mysterious health issues that no one could solve which led to clinical depression, panic and anxiety disorders. I was on all kinds of antipsychotic drugs.
I’ve been taking adderall for 10 years now and sadly it wasnt until a few years ago that It occured to me that I probably didn’t need to start taking adderall– especially at the point in time that I actually started physically taking it. It was my first year in design school and it turns out that I am a raging perfectionist. I wasn’t advised well on how it should be taken so I was taking A LOT while I was in school. I would just keep popping my 20ml tabs until the work was done and after so long I just stopped getting anything done because I would fixate on stuff that didn’t matter until I would run out of time. In my last 2 years of school I didn’t finish one presentation. Luckily My instructors always passed me because it either looked finished enough or they just knew the hours and the work I put into it, the work I DID have finished by the deadline was always well done; if they knew nothing else, they knew I wasn’t slacking off .
Adderall is becomeing more and more of a nuisance everyday to me now but I am having a hard time not taking it because it helps me at work and I am just used to taking it all the time to make me do anything! Whats worse is that its affects aren’t even consistent anymore! It actually makes me NOT want to do anything sometimes.
I’m so afraid now that it’s really messing up my brain chemistry and that fear in and of itself makes me afraid to find out how I’ll function without it. I’m afraid of being incompetent w/o it now that my brain is so used to taking it. …and actually its not incompetence that I fear– it’s laziness. I know I am not incompetent- im just increasingly lazy now when I don’t take it and that scares me..
@SRV, I am glad you are taking holidays from the drug often. I was ok with my dosage for a few years, but I progressively depended on the drug more and more until I stopped taking holidays. That is when the addiction becomes apparent, you now need the drug to do anything.
Please don’t stop taking holidays.
Adderall has completely changed my life. Taken like its meant to be taken it makes me that perfect goal oriented guy that everyone loves to be around. Without the medication IM impulsive quick to snap out grinding my teeth irritable and hates everyone and everytHing. I can focus on the important issue like my children and family. Anything in excessive issue be extremely harmful deadly and fatal. But I can drink to much water and die.anything is addicting to a point.weigh out the pros and cons before you take any type of medication. I took lythyme and it almost killed me. So careful what you take our what your doctor prescribes I. Nope don’t have a prescription but really would like one. Thanks drug addicts for messing it up for the ones who really need it. Help me figure this out please. Sincerely, WAITING PATIENTLY…….FOR PEACE OF MIND.
I have adhd, Ive had it for ever. Ever since I was little. It has been really hard having this condition, because growing up I have always felt different than anyone else, being a little girl and being different and other see that is tough. I was always very impulsive, talking to much without thinking of what I was saying, I could never read well because I couldnt concentrate I was always in reading after school program. Although I was really good in math. Anything else I just didnt get. I grew up alone. I never had friends because I could never hold a conversation. I just couldnt concentrate on what people were saying. Couldnt give feed back so I was never a good friend. I always felt bore, seeking stimulations all the time. I would go out seeking attention from men all the time. I always knew people didnt like me for me because of my social skills. always in lala land, but i did know however i was a young attracted teen (not be conceded but trying to get my point out there) I felt that was the only thing I was good at guys looking at me. I always relied on this to get what i wanted make friends, guys, to compensate for my adhd, always getting into trouble, doing drugs seeking adventures, never came home, always seeking more more fun, scared of boredom, impulsive behaviors impulsive sex life impulsive action not caring about consequences. I never focused on my life nor future. I had a baby from a guy i didnt even take seriously…after my daughter was born i didnt even care to take care of her…it was boring being a mom too routinely for me. i was easily frustrated…my mom would help me half of the time.. My life has just been a punch of impulse behaviors bad friendships, negative attention from people, horrible school experiences, a bunch of loneliness. my mom then told me what I was diagnose as a child and looked it up and realized that 100 that was me. so i went to get treated…. omg! for the first time in my life i feel balanced. I feel neutral. satisfied. im taking adder all. it has helped me so much. I am back to school. I can finally study like a normal person. I am finally a good mom. I enjoy the normal things i have too enjoy…like taking care of my daughter, cleaning my house….omg before I was sooooooomessy i couldnt even walk throuh my room… I finally planned my life and currently studying fashion merchandising …. I am stable. Im not always all over the place. I can sit at home everyday and relax with my daughter study, cook, I made friends in college and I can be a good friend by finally listening to others problems and giving feed back its been one year and its been the best year of my life, I’m not depressed anymore like before … I was always depressed because of the way I was. Now that I feel like a normal person and my brain finally feels like this ——— instead of _-_-_——_-_—__-_-_-_-_—_I feel I can finally just live life…if the medication messes my heart hands spine whatever I dont care. I rather live 20 happy stable years than living my whole life as the real me.
Why are so many people getting on here to say how good adderall is for them/how it changed their life for the better? That’s really great for you, but this website is not for you, it’s for those who wish/are ready to quit adderall. Please go praise adderall on some other site. this website is not meant for you, see? The guy even says that on his HUGE DISCLAIMER! if you like your addys please go away. This site is for people who CHOOSE to quit, it does not attempt to convince you to do so. If your addy use makes you feel like you have to defend it to a bunch of people who are CHOOSING to quit, then perhaps you need to examine that, but please do it elsewhere. I want to talk to people who, like me, are CHOOSING to quit addys. If adderall makes you a “perfect goal oriented guy” or makes you have The best year of your life, be a better mom, clean your nasty house, then hooray for you. Please go love adderall on some other website. That is not the purpose of this one. This site is for those of us whose tolerance is so high we can take 120 mg a day, still sleep, and who finds everything interesting while on it. See we want to find the real us, not the us a pill turns us into.
to t-lo, I understand what your saying, but if u truly have adhd, u would not think to quit, because u would like the normal person it bring out of u…….If the adderall affects you like drugs affect people building tolerance to it wanting more and more……then why take it…u truly dont have adhd….people that truly have severe adhd dont built tolerance to it…in fact they love taking breaks….but then know they need to take it again to be responsible.. in every medicine bottle it clearly states your doctor prescribed this medication because the benefits out way the bad. Adhd meds are for people that truly need it because its affecting their life EXTREMELY they are heading towards a road that will ruin there lives. In this case, adderall works and saves people. But if u just started taking it because “oh my god, im not the best student,,,Or “im not the best employee”,,,, or I cant do this I cant do that. most people have that problem .doctors need to stop diagnosing so easily….. but money talks soooo…..yea…….. I know for a fact I needed it badly if u truly have adhd u sense it yourself as a child….not in adulthood….my point is quit if u feel u can function semi ok, without it. quit if you dont need it
oh and how do u quit? just throw your medicine bottle away…. stick through the withdrawal and thats it!…..u dont need! theres the real u!..lol
It is evidenced over and over in these comments. Adderall or lack there of makes no improvement in ones ability to spell words correctly.
I dont understand how this could be a bad thing. Isnt it much better than never being able to tap into those happy chemicals and always feeling lost and unable to truly love anyone or anything? Im just confused. Will u please explain how it is worse to make yourself have those feelings than to never tap into them at all???
I just dumped an entire bottle.
Seriously, who really needs this shit? Looking back, all it took for me to feel good was to get off my ass, get some sunshine, some fresh air, and run. We are too wrapped up in cell phones and sitting in front of the computer or tv. It is mind over matter; the good thing is you are in control of your mind and if you do good things for yourself your mind will set you free. So get off your ass and go for a run or try different things. Some will capture your interest and others won’t. Build your support system with people who have the same interests you do (not including using substances). Have fun. Be outgoing, find yourself. Look at nature, it is truly beautiful.
Making this move is hard and scary for some reason but I’m getting off my ass right now!! And I am happy about it.
While just a theory, I was thinking along the lines of comparing Seroquel to Naltrexone. While very different in their mechanisms, where they hit, and act on specific Neurotransmitters, here is my thought on this; because Seroquel binds to dopamine receptors, possibly same ones that Adderall and other stimulants hit, would it be a possibility that Seroquel by blocking dopamine receptors, once using it for awhile, and getting off, recreate lost cells, neurons that long term Adderall use did? I compare this to naltrexone, being that supposedly because it is a full opioid antagonist with some saying it acts in antagonizing dopamine through the mesolimbic pathway. Naltrexone after prolongued pain killer usage, than creates new endogenous endorphins. Of course this is just a hypothesis but never the less, should be looked into. Perhaps Seroquel could reignite lost dopamine cell within the dopaminergic system and serotonin(on higher doses) lost from adderall usage??
After I returned from Iraq, in 2010, I had, like most combat vets, severe anxiety which left untreated had led to a depressive nature with problems reintegrating with normal social life. After months of drug trials it seemed like I’d never be “normal” again until Adderall was introduced to me by my soon to be wife and it has changed my life ever since. Adderall does have factors that treat depression and coupled with an anti-anxiety med it made me feel great.
The first step to fixing a problem is to first realize accept that there is a problem. I do in fact have an addiction to this very powerful psycho-“BOSS” of a drug and have had experience with both taking as prescribed and abusing the living hell out of it. After reading these comments I feel obligated to share my experiences to help others make the best decision for themselves and be well informed of the risks in abusing.
My Story…
I was started out with Adderall 20mg instant release once a day and loved its effects. I was able to get out of bed, I was genuinely happier, and I was very focused. Within a month I was addicted but began running out so I told my psych they had little effect which resulted in 20mg twice a day. I began self medicating using other methods of ingestion to keep the peak high. Spiraling out of control my daily intake rose exponentially to the point where 3 to 4 days of no sleep was a bi-weekly activity. Fortunately, I realized I had a problem and quit cold turkey when my roommate woke me in the bath tube with the water running in an effort to cool my core temperature after a 3 day binge. I had found my bottom. This was literally a very cold wake up call and I was thankful to have lived, however, I didn’t regret my actions. To my surprise I found that had wrote down all the side effects I had during the course of those days and had been scouring the internet researching the drug, printing and highlighting like a high functioning OCD machine. Side effects as follows diarrhea, loss of appetite, OCD like tendencies, seminal discharge, rapid weight loss, excessive sweating dizziness, loss of memory, decreased blood flow to extremities (numbness, discoloration, inability to stay warm, and severe cramping), lock jaw, joint pain, erectile dysfunction, ringing ears, fatigue, blankly staring for hours, psycho-paralysis (feeling as if you can’t move), audio and visual hallucinations leading to psychosis, paranoia, and then finally the inability to cool down followed by a syncopal episode possibly even a seizure. Although cold turkey didn’t last I will eventually wean myself off but it definitely took awhile to recover mentally and physically. To take the drug is a choice, a choice I grossly abused. It effects people in different ways. DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN PRESCRIBED OR WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION. It can screw you up mentally, physically, and chemically.
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Amphetamines were created during the second world war by the military, in an effort to fight the bodies natural cycle of sleep leading to longer working days and to create more focused and “obedient” soldiers. It worked extremely but had very severe side effects when used in high-doses for prolonged periods of time. Soldiers became delusional, malnourished, hallucinating, psychotic walking zombies with guns. Ending with a few “casualties of war” sleep deprivation became out of the question and was later scraped but the stimulant was greatly excepted in medical practice to battle chaotic, fidgeting kids.
I’m not going to break down how it treats ADD and ADHD but I will say the effects between someone who actually needs it and someone who doesn’t will greatly differ. Most of the general public does not know that there are two “classes” of ADHD (Adolescent and Adult). Majority of diagnosis’s are made during child development [which can, treated or untreated, resolve themselves by early adulthood], some present symptoms later on as adults. There are a lot of cases where the patient does not have the disorder anymore but are still prescribed the medication as a result of dependency, addiction, or because they did not know that they should be reevaluated as an adult. Putting your child on this medication is a very important decision and you need to have this information. Adderall has four combined amphetamines. It is very easy to get, addicting, and easily abused. As you’ve read on this website it has pros and cons with variations in school of thought. Yes it calms your kids down but at what cost?
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I do want to add that I have had no long lasting negative effects other than dependency. I still function normally lol
This is very interesting. No wonder it’s ruined my will to succeed and strive like I used to.
I was so thankful that I found this website! I had recently started taking add. and within a months time began having bad nightmares,freezing shivers, accompanied by EXTREME emotional lows in the evenings, and throughout the night. Sucidal thoughts were actually seemimg more and more like the only relief to what I was experiencing. I truly thought there was no way out. I have since stopped taking the medication, and the days following were dificult, but a cake walk compared to the other!! I feel like I have been released from the grips off a powerful demon! I hope anyone else that is having a difficult time with this medication would consult thier physician, and also confide in a friend or relative for support becase the road can seem DARK and unsurmountable at times! But well worth it to be rid of it!
Hey everyone…I stumbled across this website while doing some research on Adderall. I’m a registered nurse and in active recovery from an opioid dependency. So I understand both sides of this topic; the medical/pharmacological aspects as well as the potential danger of abuse or dependency on this medication and how devastating addiction is in general. I just wanted to reinterate how frequently ADHD is misdiagnosed leading to physicians prescribing amphetamine salts to people who don’t need them, will get high on them, crash , and potentially start a vicious cycle of enjoying this medicine a little too much. With that said I want to really drive this message home; people who have actual ADD — the kind where you just can’t deny that there is a pathology of the brain chemicals, inhibiting function, and distorting behavior in devastating ways in serious cases, have obvious improvements when on stimulants. The reason being is because the drug is working very differently in the brains of true ADHD cases where as in a misdiagnosed person, the adderall will in fact speed someone up to the point of hyperactivity, lack of focus and essentially feel much like cocaine in higher doses. if you are feeling these side effects its time to get a second opinion on your diagnosis. Keep in mind that ADHD is very difficult to diagnose in most cases especially if you aren’t being seen and tested by a specialist. Just some stuff to consider — good luck to all of you. This website has been amazing to read and learn from. I’ve truly never read a forum created by such articulate and involved persons. As a nurse it’s comforting to see how this generation is taking back control of their healthcare, educating themselves and questioning things that concern you instead of putting all of your trust in the very group of professionals who have inadvertently spawned an opiate addiction epidemic by forgetting or just not caring that oxycodone in doses above 5mg are not meant for anything less than life altering, chronic and unrelenting pain. I’m not trying to sound hypocritical because I too became an addict even with the knowledge I have. However looking back I somewhat resentful of the doctor that helped me become dependent yet left it up to me to find help when the pain went away but the need to take the pain meds did NOT. I’m proud to be in recovery, although controversial, methadone saved my life and now I am getting the help I need to part ways with it as well. So hang in there people. You all should be proud of every word. Thanks Mike — you’re a hero.
PS… I was not implying that in all cases if you’re feeling reved up and just off on adderall that you don’t truly have ADHD — I suppose I was trying to emphasize that it’s a powerful drug and sometimes too much for some patients with milder symptoms of ADHD. I will say this; bottom line — it’s amphetamines; absolutely addictive and dangerous when abused and nothing to take lightly if prescribed. Don’t let it trick you…it’s meant to make people with ADHD feel calm and focused. If you’re craving it, feeling like youre crashibg or misusing it — stop. Something is wrong with the picture and you need to open up and let your doc know everything.
I keep reading and reading and I continue to want to praise everyone here! Especially Mike. Mike you have started something here and it’s really increasing awareness and calling this medicine out on all of its deadly intentions for those who have experienced an addiction or tendency to abuse it. It’s healthy to have support like this and like I said before, taking control of your healthcare and being educated and honest regarding what’s happening to you all is so commendable. Mae said it straight. If it’s 5:00 am and you’re crawling out of your skin, feel like your heart is going to thump out of your chest, sweating yet freezing with a wonderful greyish/purple coloring of the hands and feet (actually from your dehydrated, adrenaline overwhelmed cardiovascular system attempting to sustain the marathon by directing all of the blood in your body to the core, vital organs, ignoring the face, arms, hands, and feet resulting in a creepy tingling sensation, lack of oxygen to those areas, and causing something called psychoparalysis. It’s a common side effect of large doses and misuse of not only Adderall but all amphetamines. Makes you feel like you can’t move; your body becomes very rigid and cramped. I don’t think the people who have had positive results from adderall would even believe the half of it. To those of you who have found that this medication has helped you live normal lives; that’s awesome. It does help many people in the nightmare of ADHD. To those of you who have acknowledged and owned your part in revealing the devastating side of this highly addictive drug — you’re the reason someone reading this may just think twice about abusing or even filling the script. This is the kind of open dialogue that saves lives.
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My experience:
Diagnosed at 37 – real life adhd Mom!
Prescribed adderall, on that roller coaster ride for 2 years, then quit cold turkey.
2 years med free, decided to get back on the crazy train for several months and am now 2 months med free.
Lethargic, depressed, unmotivated, easily confused, lots of anxiety & the biggest challenge everyday being med free is psychologically – the “dependency” that’s stuck in my head – how can I do “life” without meds? I didn’t abuse adderall. How to function without ADDERALL reminding me I can’t do life without it.
I hate it. I feel like adderall has stolen the last several years of my life and as I continue to sit here on this sofa, med free, completely failing my kids, unable to be a mom most days still, I’m thankful for forums like this that have people who share the real life struggles and even though there isn’t an easy answer to ever getting life back to normal, there’s a hope ignited just knowing I’m not alone.
Thanks to all for sharing.
Wow…the incorrect information presented here makes me sick. Here’s the facts:
The Genie’s 3 rules were:
1. Can’t Kill Anyone
2. Can’t Make Anybody Fall In Love With Anybody Else
3. Can’t Bring People Back From The Dead
And then there was a 4th rule he mentioned in that you couldn’t wish for more wishes. Only get three.
His three rules weren’t even really rules, they were limitations on his powers. It’s explained in the 2nd movie that a genie can’t kill even if he wanted to. It, as well as the other 2 rules, are things genies litterally are unable to do.
Check your freakin facts.
Very good site and spot on for me, I stumbled onto it for a reason.
It makes total sense and applies in my case.
I take Adderall every single day, sometimes I am up to 80 milligrams throughout the whole day (Which is insane in my opinion)
I am in my early Thirties and the past 6 months I have realized that I am addicted.
My issue is that I am Self Employed and the work I do (not going to discuss here) is very tedious, requires a lot of detail, and time with no room for error.
I started my business in 07 and I have reached success only in the past 3 years of which last 2 were heavily filled with Adderall.
It’s hard to justify my success sometimes was it because of Adderall or was it just timing and everything I did for all those years before.
I have tried Adderall in the past here/there and yeah it helped study and get things done but it was never a priority or a necessity.
As I got busier with work and my business was growing I needed to work 14 hour days sitting in front of a computer, so a pill here and there became
a necessity and I was not going to go looking for it, so I went to the Dr got diagnosed. The interesting thing was the questions on the ADD test were spot on
another words I answered them honestly because, at that time I wasn’t addicted yet. I figured hey it does what its designed to do so that means I must have ADD.
The scary part in my situation is that everything in my life revolves around my business and I have gotten to the point where I cannot go more than 2 days
Without Adderall. I used to work right through weekends with no breaks (Not Normal) and now I do have more time and I hired help. So realistically I don’t need to
Take Adderall but when I try to not take it, I cannot get anything done I feel like a completely useless, tired, and paranoid person. I would try to go a day without it
and the work starts to pile up and as mid-day comes, I start to panic that I will fall behind, things will not get done and I will lose clients. I am very good at my job and always was prior to Adderall
but now without it, it’s scary to think about as I feel like I am disabled. Even though I have an employee I still don’t take vacations, the only time off I do take is to see family
in a different state 2 times a year (I know not normal also). Sometimes I think I should maybe go to rehab but then I start thinking of all the work time I will miss and what would I tell everyone
“personal time off” just doesn’t work. I think the longest I went without taking Adderall was 5 days in the last year and it was when I went to visit family, the interesting thing was that when I got to them
I did not feel the urge or need to take it cause there was no reason for it, I had no work to be done. If you are wondering what I do on the weekends?, all the personal stuff that I don’t have time for
during the week. Also to go out at least once a week with friends or a girl, well I take Adderall then as well because all the personal shit during the week adds up in a pile and on Saturday morning after going out on Friday Night and getting drunk on top of that the only way I can get personal shit done is to take more Adderall then it all hits full circle (Rave, Sleep, Eat, Repeat).
I feel like that last 2 years are a complete blur that flew by in a glimpse, I am starting to think more and more that if don’t eliminate Adderall soon it might end up bad for my health.
I go to get blood work every 4 to 6 months everything always checks out fine, but the lack of sleep (I know the sleep gets effected at least for me), lack of exercise (Never in my life before did I miss the gym for more than 2 months, (Also started to smoke cigarettes again) Is not going to end well.
Mentally speaking I cannot really say that I am depressed, however I have had friends say I am not the same anymore and sometimes I kind of notice it myself, I make more excuses to avoid doing something outside of work
I also cannot make solid plans with any friends unless its last minute and at the end of the week.
Anyway I am glad I came across this site and noticed I was not alone..
I am going to try to cut the dose in half since not taking it cold turkey does not seem to work.
Thanks for reading
Thank you for the web site. I have been reading it for two years- six weeks ago I finally gathered the courage to quit.
I’m finally coming around to me again, my authentic self, instead of taking my “happy to be here” pill. For once, I’m taking care of myself, earning self respect, instead of trying to impress others.
If I’d known that the acute withdrawal phase only lasted a few days, I would’ve done it much sooner. Believe me, you will never do what you are truly meant to do while taking adderall. And, one thing I’ve discovered, I was really no more productive on speed, I would just obsessively do them, again and again.
I’ve known this drug was poisonous for years. And if I could quit, you can.
I am happy to report that a week after I wrote the above Book lol, I have been clean for 20 days and like most people on this site say it’s like am back to being my normal self again (I missed myself and so did my friends) I actually feel a lot more energy without Adderall. Like Lauren said it took me a few days to feel better I would say about 4 to 5. I am so happy now and I don’t have paranoid thoughts at night and I finally get normal sleep. I am trying to preach to some of my friends who are stuck in this terrible state of mind. No one deserves to feel this way. I recall on the 4th day as I stepped outside I was able to smell the fresh air and a deep breath made me feel amazing, I also started to notice that everything around me is beautiful and even seeing birds going about their day made me happy. I live in Florida on the water and it’s like I just moved here for the first time even though I lived here for 3 years, even food tastes better. Thank you for creating this site. I really hope most of you in trouble can find the strength to get off this terrible drug if it’s a problem for you like it is for most on this site. I feel like I lost 2 years of my left, now it’s time to move forward and get things done. I also don’t have anxiety anymore, I had it for about 2 weeks after I stopped Adderall, I also quit smoking cigarettes oddly enough it’s like I don’t need them and I don’t crave them as I did on Adderall. Thanks again and good luck!!
Hi I am in search for serious recovery aids from amphetamine addiction damage as I’ve been a seriously full on daily amphetamine user for years now and have only ever been able to handle a week max of cold turkey attempts due to the withdrawal being extremely intense and unbearable. Yeah pretty worried about the damage it’s done so I’ve realised I really need to seek extra withdrawal support if I’m to successfully recover. I’ve since learnt about megadose amino acid therapy does wonders for getting through withdrawals and rapidly restoring neurotransmitter balances thereby speeding up the whole process and not only that but reducing withdrawals by 70-80% intensity and even eliminating them and cravings by the 4th day, feeling amazing by the 8th day and all completed by day 10 back to normal. It’s serious though as it’s not just taking capsules or powder it’s having daily intravenous amino acid and relevant cofactors and enzymes therapy every day as an outpatient for 10days. As I haven’t heard much about this till recently I wanted to ask if anyone here /reading this post has ever done this kind of thing? And if so could you PLEASE share your experience and your background addiction level (I.e. if u have been as severe addict as me) ??
I would love to hear of other people’s experiences who have actually done intravenous amino acid addiction therapy and find out if it really is as good as I’ve learnt for relatively painless recovery from amphetamine/? And which clinic you went to? I’m pretty eager to give it a go, it could only help or leave me in the same spot I’m in now anyway? Thanks..
I have been off of Adderall XR now for about 3 months after taking it for 9 years (50mg daily). The first week after quitting, all I could do was sleep and eat. Lately I have been able to stay awake pretty much the entire day, but I still don’t feel like doing anything. Almost nothing I used to enjoy gives me any amount of pleasure. I barely leave my apartment, and when I do it takes an enormous amount of effort. Its pathetic. I gained almost 25 pounds, I quit my job, and I am soon to be evicted from where I live as a result. I keep trying to tell myself that quitting Adderall was a good decision, but I can’t ignore what is becoming of my life. While on Adderall, I used to be a very motivated person, and never had a problem accomplishing virtually any task I set my mind on. I want to be that person again, but I don’t want a pill to run my life. I am so tired I don’t even know if this makes any sense. If it does, Please offer me some advice. I need help and I don’t know what to do.
To Matt:
I also took Adderall for 9 years, everyday, 60-90 mg a day. I have been clean now for one year today. I went through what you are going through for 4 entire months. I couldn’t work, nor function. I had to live with some family friends and after 4 months, they asked me to move out, so I was forced to find a job. Going back to work was hell, and I almost lost my job a few times, but I kept pushing. When I was on Adderall, it was wonderful for the first 6 years or so, then I began withdrawing from everyone. I slowly lost all of my relationships and eventually became detached from life and more importantly, myself. I quit cold turkey, and it sucks, but you can do it. It just takes time to learn how to function off of the Adderall, and it is extremely tough. I took amino acids, in capsule form, which helped some. L-tyrosine and phenylalanine are very helpful. Make sure they are a reputable brand. You will more than likely need to find a job that is low stress and not very demanding. There were times, even very recently, where I have been very tempted to start taking Adderall again, but I had to remember how miserable I was when I was on it, and not think about all the times it made me feel like superwoman. No one is their true self on this drug, and any amount of pain and discomfort you encounter to get off of this stuff is worth it. I promise. You can do it!
Hi folks
This is to mike. I agree that there are negative things with Adderall but there are definitely benefits. I won’t go into that because if you are reading this then you have internet access. By the way, you misspelled severity and devastating along with common but i assume that one was a misteak- get it.
Hi my name is Nicole. I’m an addict/alcoholic. I started using
Adderall at 15 I quickly became addicted and went to my first treatment center
At 17. I relapsed and have now been to 5 different treatment centers
For severe adderall abuse. February 1st God willing will be
My one year sober. Adderall/vyvanse/focalin or any amphetamine
I could get my hands on absolutelty stole my soul & my life.
It controlled me. I am so grateful to be sober today and my energy,
Clear thinking, and motivation are slowly coming back.
God bless,
Nicole
Hi my name is Daniel. I started taking adderall but im not addicted its just that i was wondering how much of adderall would make me addicted. Like What if i took 2 a day then didn’t take any for about 3-4 days then maybe 1 every 2-3 days. Thanks, Daniel
EPINPEHRINE IS ADRENALINE.
STOP TAKING YOUR PLACEBO ADDERALL.
Now ask yourself, would you ever want a love potion used on you? Would you want some great villain, some disgusting person to slip you a potion and make you think you love them…and then abuse you? How violated would you feel?
Take away the word disgusting and that actually sounds really good
To me.. The depressing part of adderall addiction stems from the fact that, only when on adderall does one feel an extreme need to be a perfectionist, and not only spend countless hours on a project, but truly enjoy every second they are doing it. Think about what the world would be like if everyone felt this way naturally all of the time. Think of what could be accomplished. It seems that with an extreme positive, carries with it an extreme negative. This I will never understand. I beleive this thought is the main reason for adderall addiction. People wanting to better themselves through hard work, and loving it the entire way. In all honesty, I’m at the point where I would prefer to hold on to that feeling, even if it kills me. I feel like a return back to dull, boring and depressing normality, back to mediocrity, just isn’t worth it. I would rather be unnaturally hard working, unaware of the time and effort I spend on things because I’m so involved. I feel this May be destructive to the main message from this website, but I think in all honesty, I just want to be convinced otherwise.
To me.. The depressing part of adderall addiction stems from the fact that, only when on adderall does one feel an extreme need to be a perfectionist, and not only spend countless hours on a project, but truly enjoy every second they are doing it. Think about what the world would be like if everyone felt this way naturally all of the time. Think of what could be accomplished. It seems that with an extreme positive, carries with it an extreme negative. This I will never understand. I beleive this thought is the main reason for adderall addiction. People wanting to better themselves through hard work, and loving it the entire way. In all honesty, I’m at the point where I would prefer to hold on to that feeling, even if it kills me. I feel like a return back to dull, boring and depressing normality, back to mediocrity, just isn’t worth it. I would rather be unnaturally hard working, unaware of the time and effort I spend on things because I’m so involved. I feel this May be destructive to the main message from this website, but I think in all honesty, I just want to be convinced otherwise.
I accidentally stumbled upon this website while researching the effects of 5htp and Adderall combined..
Wow..so many people using Adderall the same reasons I am. I first started buying Adderall in high school from my friends who were prescribed and just looking to make some money. Loved it from day 1, but usually only took it when I had some crazy projects or tests coming up..
Well I’m in college now and for the first time in my life.. after experiencing the death of my dad at age 10, anorexia in highschool, abortion at 16, and just about any crisis a teenager should never have to go through.. I can honestly say (now in college) that I have never felt this hopeless, anxious, and sad for no direct reason.. and the fact that I can’t explain it, and the fact that I have so many awesome things going for me right now makes it worse.
Well, lately I have been buying Adderall every chance I get, even stealing it from my sister anytime I go home (she is actually prescribed). I haven’t seen a doctor about why I’ve been feeling the way I do, all I know is one thing, Adderall makes me happy. Makes me energized. Makes me want to talk to people instead of shutting everyone out. so.. reading all of these posts really hits home. Right now I don’t know any other way to not feel depressed and hopeless without taking it.. but it gives me motivation to find that way.
Thank you for this website, Mike. It’s been truly inspiring and cathartic to read everyone’s experience. I’m 38 and have been on and off Adderall for 3 years, always conscious not to take them everyday and stopping for days- sometimes weeks at a time, to give my body a rest. But even with those breaks, my addiction is now evident and I’ve decided to quit cold turkey.
I am not apologetic about my ADD and in many ways I’m thankful that my brain is wired differently. It’s naturally restless, curious, eager and full of ideas- and I love that. But it’s also introverted and impatient. Environments that feel normal or slightly annoying to others (classroom settings, board meetings, open space offices) are excruciating for those of us with ADD. Two years after working in a corporate environment the cobwebs in my head had become too much to handle on my own, and so I gave in to the Adderall.
I’ve always thought of Adderall as an aid- something that allowed me to express myself and communicate my thoughts more clearly. A mechanism to put out the best of me to the world. But when the world isn’t watching, I am happy to skip the Adderall and retreat to my cocoon. In that sense, my addiction to Adderall is not an escape. Quite the contrary. I’ve become dependent on Adderall to engage and be present in the world.
I agree with Mike 100% that this drug afflicts mostly the good girl (and good boy). The overachiever. The perfectionist. The ones who are genuinely trying to be better. To live up to their potential. That’s what’s really scary about this drug- it’s self sabotage when all we want is the complete opposite.
It’s also a quick fix, not a long term solution. It’s amphetamines, people. It’s naive to believe that prolonged, everyday use of speed will not mess up with your brain and with your body- whether you have ADD or not. I have yet to meet the first person with ADD/ADHD who’s been on Adderall for more than 5 years straight and who doesn’t suffer from other afflictions like tension headaches, eczema, mouth blisters, ringing in the ear, malnutrition, night sweats, depression, severe anxiety, bipolar disorder and worse.
Bottom line is, I love what I was able to achieve on Adderall, but I love myself more. So again, thank you for this website. I hope you are here because deep down, you know better. Because if you learned anything from Addy is that you have amazing in you. Adderall didn’t make you smart. It didn’t give you ambition. It didn’t give you charm. What it did was create certain conditions in your brain that heightened what was already there.
There’s no doubt in my mind that we can bring out our true selves from hiding without the Adderall. And I know now that connecting with myself takes more than a pill. In the past 6 months I have re-evaluated everything in my life. I have been making some drastic changes in lifestyle, in the people I surround myself with, in the foods I eat and the supplements i take, and I’m even pursuing a new passion.
Now that I’ve gone cold turkey I know it will not be easy on my body and my spirit, but I trust that I’ll come out so much stronger and happier on the other side 🙂 thank you for your stories!!
xx
K, I wish you the best of luck, I feel like I can relate to you in many regards. I was diagnosed with a terminal illness (ALL Leukemia), which I beat, at the age of 3, but I became very depressed the moment I first hit puberty around the age of 12. From that day forward, I became susceptible to addiction.
I always felt incredibly lost and lonely, despite being a star athlete with many friends. I met a young lady who was incredibly beautiful, but she led me even further into the darkness, and eventually into homelessness. I stuck by her for 8 years until she finally went too far. I had to rescued her from a drug house that had barred doors, thugs with guns, and camera’s set up all around the house. I took what was left of her to a 1 year treatment program where she is currently still housed.
I’ve always been a very loving and caring person, but also a very savvy survivor when I had to be. Somehow I’ve managed to always put myself into incredibly dangerous positions. I’ve been stabbed, shot, run over, you name it, I’ve been to the bottom because of my disease. I would use anything to change the way I felt on the inside.
I’ve now just turned 30 and have managed to get my life back on track with two substances. The first, Suboxone, was to get me off my DOC, opiates; the second, Adderall came a year later when I was unable to get high anymore due to the Suboxone. With these two substances, I’ve managed to pull myself out of homelessness.
I am now a quality engineer. I’ve since gotten my associates degree (with honors), and I am now about to graduate next semester (Business Management) with a Bachelors from UAH (A notoriously difficult school) with a 3.5 GPA. While simultaneously working and going to school full time, I’ve also become a competitive weight lifter. It’s incredible what the drugs have done for me. It’s almost like chemotherapy, kill the patient to save them. The drugs have stolen my life from me, and yet saved me right before I flat lined. Instead of quitting the drugs, which I have done for periods of time as long as 18 months, I began using them not for pleasure, but instead to get an edge over my counterparts.
Obviously, I wouldn’t recommend anyone ever go my route. I think only a very small % of people would not be destroyed in the process, and I’m not out of the woods yet. I did some pretty terrible things to get myself out of the hole, including robbing drug dealers, and selling drugs to pay my way through college. How I wasn’t found in a dumpster somewhere, is beyond me. Thank god I found an employer who provided me with insurance and pays for my college.
I do worry a lot now about getting off of these substances. I don’t think taking these drugs for the rest of my life is a viable solution. I’ve been on them long enough as is. My goal is to quit as soon as I have my Bachelors. No way can I quit now. I’m working, studying, dating, lifting weights, and I do none of these half ass. I’m not sure if this means anything to anyone. I just enjoyed reading what everyone had to say and thought I would share my experience. It’s a pretty incredible one I think.
Hello. I am a 44 year old female who quit taking Adderall 5 weeks ago. It is wonderful to no longer be a prisoner to that monster. I’ll admit there are times that I miss it – I miss the constant influx of dopamine – and there are days that are hard. Reading this site has given me hope, however. I find myself bored and lacking interest in most things. Even my hobbies. But knowing that this is a temporary state (even if it is going to last months – ugh) gives me the strength to hang in there. Thank you so much.
I am not even sure I am addicted to adderall other than I have been afraid not to take it and that I would be tired. I have been so moody and I get into the I want to work mode and I don’t want to be interrupted by life, kids, ect.. because I know the adderall will wear off and I want to maximize it’s effect. And then I realize how absolutely crazy that sounds. But when you become super woman people don’t understand how fun it is to finally finish something. I am 45 and I want out. I almost feel as though I am not getting enough sleep on it. Any one else find more energy with out it?
Dear Mike,
I am struggling with a very difficult decision. As a child I was the “bad kid” in class. Always acting out, creating chaos, could not sit in my seat, always bored. This was before ADD was a household term. I am almost 39 and it was never spoken about. When in high school I suffered the same issues, ADHD/ADD had now become accepted as a disorder. My parents informed me of the drugging of America and how ADD/ADHD was not real. I was scared to death of being put on those “Evil Drugs”. I made it through college with good grades, but only because I was gifted with the ability to miss class and still pass. I smoked a lot of pot and experimented with a lot of drugs in college. I found myself always bored or anxious….until 5 years ago. A friend whom I looked up to told me about his ADD in depth. I kept hearing a voice in my head say “that is you”. He described me to the T, from constantly losing things, to being late, to forgetting appointments, to feeling restless and anxious. He referred me to his Dr. The Dr was a GP, not a psych. The GP prescribed me 20mg per day divided into two doses. To my amazement it worked wonders. I began to think that maybe this is how I am supposed to feel. No more fidgeting, no more forgetting, I could sit and pay attention, social anxiety faded, I LIKED ME. As I became used to this feeling my DR just prescribed me more, and more, and more. I will not lie, I liked it. When I finally quit one year ago I was taking 90-120mg per day. I was MANIC all the time, my house was no longer clean, I was hoarding things, carrying bags of electronics with me everywhere I went.
My soon to be wife found out how much I was taking and gave me an ultimatum. It was her or the Adderall. I chose her and quit cold turkey 1 year ago. The first six months were HELL. Then I fell into a general malaise. Depression set in, no motivation, forgetting things, fear of social engagements, no work drive, the list goes on. I had developed a fear of doctors also. I was afraid that I would end up where I was a year ago again. I even attend AA several times a week now (not for alcohol, but for my Adderall addiction)
I recently saw a doctor for my depression. He prescribed Wellbutrin and it has helped a bit, but I am still unmotivated ,etc. While cleaning I came across a 10mg Adderall. Where it came from I do not know. I took half of it yesterday and half of it today. There was no high, but I went for a bike ride, I worked on my resume, I called my mother to talk for a while. I felt like I think I should feel. I am very confused now, I feel so guilty for taking it. Did I just blow a year of sobriety? Should I be taking Adderall in low doses? I tried just about every drug except for Provigil for my ADD. The only thin that worked was Adderall.
I have an appointment next week with a psychiatrist. I am going to be completely truthful with him about my Adderall history. I just want to get better. I have taken the right steps, I try to exercise, get out of the house, I have a job, I have many friends in recovery, lots of support, a son, a wife, etc. I just feel empty. It has been a whole year without Adderall and I don’t know if this is me now, or if this is how I was before Adderall, or what to do. I also have a therapist and have had several. They are all at a loss. I am not opposed to Adderall, but I am not for it either. I just want to do whatever it takes to enjoy this short life that god gives us. I am tired of living in darkness and that little 5mg Adderall I took yesterday and today makes me feel like I got a glimmer of hope to a happy life. Am I flirting with disaster? Please comment at will. I am sorry for the diatribe and grateful to have found this site……Regards
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Another nootropic that could be beneficial in kicking adderall and other dopamine as well as serotonin receptors is L Theanine. Which is commonly found in a wide variety of teas and even some soft beverages (Neuro for example has L Theanine in it as well as CDP choline). Tianeptine could be helpful in terms of the serotonin receptors as it is a SSRE (for those of us who have had to use/be prescribed SSRI).
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the first time u take this drug, u feel very optimistic and you have a high self confidence. before taking this drug, i was happy and could actually think. the first time you take adderall, you’re deceived that this drug will always help you and it’s prescribed so it must be safe right? hell no, it messes up your cognitive abilities. back when i was a stoner, the only minor problem that i had was a slight loss of memory. i didn’t have mood changes or anything. after a progressive use of adderalls my mood changed and i became a zombie. adderall makes you disconnected and you want to use it in order to become normal. i don’t think i’m addicted though. i’m just irritated from the withdrawals and my mind becomes blank like i can’t think. this drug takes aways your ability to think when you don’t use it. when i do something wrong such as having a bad grade or losing a game, i would blame myself about not being able to focus like everyone. if you seriously think that adderall fixed your problems, your wrong. this drug is a temporary solution to ur problems then becomes a permanent fuck up for your problems. FUCK YOU ADDERALL
“Adderall Buzz = dopamine + serotonin + adrenaline
Love = dopamine + serotonin + epinephrine”
Adrenaline and epinephrine are 2 names for the same hormone.
Adderall is the best exhibit of the corruption that the big pharmaceutical companies unavoidably cause to a society’s healthcare. The drug commercials that have been occupying so much of our TV advertising for the last 20+ years are perhaps a tie. Both are entities that simply would not exist were it not for the profit-driven companies that produce them. In the US, we need to break up the unholy marriage between the FDA and Big Pharma and take back control of the business of medicine. I am 100% for biz’s making money. Problem is that making money MUST come first in biz, and for the rest of us, public health MUST come first. When your business is that of selling drugs and other pharmaceutical products, these two priorities are unresolvably in conflict. But the drug biz has so much money and power. They have managed to fool us into accepting their interests as being that of the general public’s. In this country, the drugs themselves have teams of lawyers fighting for them in court. The drugs themselves have a defensive voice when standing accused the many horrors and losses that they inevitably cause. The drugs should not have a lawyer….or anyone else… fighting for them as if the drugs themselves will suffer if folks stop taking them. The drugs should require NO one to defend them… and the public should feel genuinely violated and betrayed every time a lawyer for Big Pharma goes to court and pretends to argue in defense of public health.
Adderall all but destroyed my life. It took a full five years for me to begin seeing what had happened. I wish I had been able to tell my story sooner and maybe get the doctor that introduced me to it in some trouble. But the doc was not solely at fault… I’d put Big Pharma ahead of all others because they are the ones driving the whole system. When I was diagnosed with ADD, the diagnostic test was primarily a questionnaire which the doctor tore from a tablet….a bound tablet of ADD questions that were provided by the company that makes Adderall. The company’s name and graphics were all over the sheets of paper. And evidently Big Pharma is not concerned with their stealing marketing techniques from the street dope dealers…. cuz they also gave me coupon for my first month’s supply of the speed.
It was poor and even lazy medicine to make a diagnosis based on a set of questions that was published by a company that has an actual interest in folks’ being diagnosed with ADD. Did not seem like big deal until well after it had done the damage. I wouldn’t hesitate to tell my story in court but i think it is too late. Maybe someone will speak up here if I am wrong.
Make no mistake. Adderall and meth are the same thing. Ritalin is too. Speed is speed. The presciption speed is every bit as dangerous as the street stuff. The exception is that the pharmacy stuff is less likely to be fake and easy to catch if it is. That makes the street stuff more dangerous simply because we do not know if it is really meth and to what purity. I would choose Adderall over street meth anytime for that reason alone and it would satisfy my addiction just as well.
Cheers!
Kent
Hey, I was wondering which type you were prescribed? I was happily on 10mg short-acting, but needed to take it three times a day, so finally acquiesced to trying the XR. I am not a fan. I’ve always liked myself better without any drugs but can’t focus to save my life, so i take it only when necessary. However I now have noticed that when I’m not on it, my ADD is soo much worse than it ever was!I have NO drive, NO determination or will-power of any sort, and I am simply lethargic! I have lost all passions that I previously had and want to do NOTHING but sleep and eat and watch movies all day. I lived for 15 years as a normal human being; these issues were NEVER present in the past! What has happened to my brain!?
This drug scares the shit out of me, and I’ve wanted to go natural again for quite a while, but I cant sleep my life away, which without my daily dose is what I would be completely content doing!
I stopped taking Vyvanse 5 years ago in January, and I searched high and low for ANYthing that would help me figure out what could possibly be happening inside my head and make my misery be less, and could find nothing. Today it occured to me to look again (I have a friend who needs to stop) and found this site. THANK YOU all for posting and thanks so much, Mike, for starting it. I am so happy to just not feel so all alone! There’s only so much you can describe to someone who has no idea…and my husband has been most patient.
I am a dreamer…a painter and an actor. I wander around. I’m super handy and creative and had always been a very hard worker. Before I had kids (I should say I’m now 46) I was fairly high-functioning for an ADD person. It was always a joke for everyone in my family and friends, how out of it I was…but it was ME. The second baby really threw me for a loop, and I started doing really crazy things like leaving things cooking on the stove and dropping bigger balls like appointments and other important things…which made me feel lost and out of control. I asked my doctor about medicine for this, you know, just to give my head a little help, and he was resistant (bless him), which made me mad. So I asked everyone I knew who took an ADD drug for a sample. I tried everything and of course decided that Adderall time release was the one for me. I was referred to a psychiatrist, was tested, diagnosed and given the script. Boom! I was fixed! I was awesome…all my old energy seemed to come back and tasks were completed and checked off. I lost weight and was ever so together! The downside was, I smoked like a chimney. I had always been a social smoker, since college…I did it to feel a little wicked with my friends, but this was different. It was like I was compelled to smoke. Also my husband said the medicine made me different. I began to sweat profusely when I exercized, was light-headed and dizzy all the time, and a little more snappish with my kids. But I didn’t care because I was AWESOME.
So, same story….the minute I would mention to my doctor (drug dealer shrink in his perfect suit) that I was tired in the middle of the day, or felt a little groggy, he would up my dose. Eventually he switched me to Vyvanse, a drug with Adderall, but also with a sophisticated delivery system that is soooo smooth up and down. Brilliant. I was still awesome, so skinny (this makes me sound shallow, but being thin makes me feel fantastic), and wildly productive. I also began to do some crazy stuff…like I would do Sudoku puzzles while I smoked….and if I didn’t finish the puzzle during the cigarette, I would have to start over. New smoke…new puzzle. It seemed perfectly rational at the time.
I was constantly ditching my family everywhere we went to sneak off and smoke, text my friends…and I suppose trying to seek out a calm place. Funny how it took me so long to realize what I was trying to get away from was myself. Sitting out on the stairs at the hotel where we were staying for my grandmothers funeral, I finally had a ray of light shine in. I stopped taking it and stopped smoking that same day. I never want a cigarette again…it was like I smoked the quota for my whole life and now they gag me. The drug I wanted every day, because I was cast into a fog like no other. I took the medicine for 6 years, and I swear it took me at least 6 months to enjoy ANYTHING fully. My husband seemed glad to have me back, fog and all. I gained 20 pounds within those 6 months, in spite of a rigorous workout routine. BUT ITS OKAY. The emptiness I felt, within myself and all around me when I was chasing the impossible tail of perfection is all filled back in with LIFE . No drug can replace that.
All of you who are happy on your adderall, all I can say is, it won’t last. I know you think you’ve found the answer to your perceived imperfections, but what you are doing is in fact, carving out a new, very large, hurtle to overcome. B careful…love yourself for who you are.
I just want to know while dealing with the chemical depression caused by no longer having adderall how I can counteract the effects so that I don’t feel so shitty. I literally want tot do nothing am depressed and just want to eat things that are bad for me. I want to get some shit done and be productive in life but I need to kick this chemicals depression and or my own ass in order to do so. Lots of caffeine?.. What should I do?
I just quit 2 days ago after taking my precious Adderall XR for over a decade. I was prescribed this medication then my doctor upped the dosage every couple of years and I finally hit a point where I do not want to NEED it anymore. I too feel TERRIBLE, lazy, unproductive, but I will not supplement with copious amounts of caffeine or energy drinks, I just want it to go away.
I am sure it will pass. In the meantime, you can all find me facedown at my desk.
Three days ago I was diagnosed with Inattentive, Interest driven ADHD after filling out long questionaire and a 3 hour appointment with a Dr at an ADD/ADHD clinic. It was explained to me that the ADD brain doesn’t get the dopamine needed in the frontal lobe. The dopamine is there but unlike the typical brain it’s taken back up into the cells. Basically it a dopamine reuptake inhibiter. People with add/adhd are born with this problem. The doctor said all the adderall is doing is restoring the dopamine levels to that of a typical brain. I’m 62 and wondering after reading mixed comments, if it’s worth taking this journey if you truly have this kind of brain chemistry.
Adderall has been robbing me of peace in my life for 8 years. I have been taking 60 mg fast acting and a 1 mg Xanax at night to fall asleep for years. Thank God for my 2 pregnancys because that was the only time I was completely off the medications. But I want really off cause I thought about adderall throughout the whole pregnancys. Wishing I could take it during and counting down the months until I could take it again. I recently have been having problems remembering things and have been getting extremely irritable and agitated over silly things and I just want off adderall for good. Even been having spells of vertigo. I’m 33 years old this stuff should not be happening. So anyways 11 days ago I started a cleanse actually it’s more like a detox. It’s a 21 day program called the ultimate reset and it resets your life basically. They give you a meal plan and supplements. It brings your body and mind back to its natural state in 21 days. I have been using this to get off the meds. First 7 days you feel like crap. Extremely tired, foggy, and headaches. Then day 8 came and I had energy. Now I’m on day 11 and I can honestly say I’m not feeling any withdrawals and actually have energy. It’s the weirdest thing. The cool thing is they have this huge support group on Facebook that are actively doing the 21 days with you as well so you are not alone while your doing it.. If any of you want to look into it my website is http://www.beachbodycoach.com/akaceya (yes I’m a Beachbody coach who struggles with an addiction to adderall and finally wants to say goodbye to it forever)
Hello, I have visited this site on and off for the past few years. I started taking 10mg Adderall XR as a late teen approximately 9 years ago. I am so conflicted and nervous. Don’t know what to do. I think I might have an Adderall addiction but am unsure what to think. I never increase my dosage. But I am AFRAID to go without the medicine.
Right now I am on a meditation retreat. I have taken it each day so far…. unsure if I should keep taking it or not. In some ways I think it enhances my meditation but in other ways, I wonder if it prevents full relaxation (?). I think it keeps my body stimulated in a way and I don’t know if it is good or bad.
I am afraid to face who I am off of the medicine… even though it is only 10mgs XR, I am very sensitive and it makes a big difference when interacting with others. I actively hear and think about EVERYTHING. I am afraid that if I don’t take the medicine, I will not hear people or bother to talk to anyone. Ugh. I want help, support, advice, but I never trust anyone. The very fact that I am so scared to keep taking it probably means I should stop and “confront” whoever that person is behind the medicine. I am afraid to lose the support of people who appreciate what I can do. I guess it is a “good girl” problem. I am afraid I won’t make it in the real world without being a good girl in the way I have been. Even if it doesn’t make me 100% happy. I have so much FEAR. When I take the meds, there is no more fear, but maybe I am living automatically and in a way that isn’t ultimately satisfying. God I don[t know what to do.
I don’t think there is anything bad about this site as mentioned by others on this forum. As someone who took this garbage for 5 years, and saw the culture of it within college and corporate America, let me help the readers clear some denial: I would venture to estimate 50%+ of people who take Adderall DO NOT have a chemical imbalance, faked symptoms to a doctor to get a Rx, don’t follow the recommended dosage or instructions on how to take it, and use it for a competitive advantage at work or in school. Look, you can live in a utopian fairy tale, or you can step into some harsh truths. America is lush with pill popping Rx drug abusers. I would go as far to say as it’s an unmitigated epidemic that’s isn’t talked about. My last statement points to Rx drug abuse in general, not just adderall. This stuff is horrible for your body and brain long term. There are zero long term studies on it’s effects. Humans survived for a million+ years without this crap just fine. Let’s face it. The problem is not our “chemical imbalances” it’s society. Some people aren’t meant to sit inside a 3×4 cubicle staring at a computer screen for 10 hours a day. That doesn’t make them disordered, it makes them more normal than the guy who can. And certainly should not condone taking Rx to enduce psychosis levels of hyper fixation. Human biological and social evolution is mutually exclusive to the actual lifestyles of modern society. In short, take a hard look at what you do all day and what demands are put on you. Pretty sure a caveman would have been called chemically imbalanced if you asked him to crunch numbers all day on excel. But he did just fine, and proof of that is HE survived, and that’s the only reason any of us are here.
My keys for quitting: You have to want it. For a long time, I loved it. Eventually when it robs you of joy and passion long enough and you begin to feel contempt, you will want to quit. That’s the ONLY way it will happen. Second, prepare within reason: Don’t quit in the middle of a chaotic work cycle. Do it when you have down time. A slow month. I realize we are all busy but for Christ sake put yourself first for once instead of other people or worse, work. Ironically enough the best advice I ever read came from Eminem…yes that Eminem. I read an article about his addiction struggles to pills. He said something that resonated with me and I’m paraphrasing. “You either have an addictive personality or you don’t. If you do, the only way you can stop one addiction is to replace it with something else.” For him, he became this obsessive runner. For me, it was the gym. I started going every day. I put all my passion and energy into addictions that were GOOD for me vs one’s that weren’t. So have something lined up, other than work. If work is your main passion, you need to get a life. Invest in your family. Invest in your church. Volunteer, pick up an old hobby, but I’m a firm believer that a sound body = sound mind so I started working out. The rush of endorphin’s, when people notice you are looking for fit all of these things kept me going. Inspired me and most importantly, negated my suddenly ravenous appetite. Before you find your new/good “addiction” LISTEN to your body. If you want to sleep, find the time. Go to bed at 7pm for the first week or two if need be. Sleep 12+ hours a day. You aren’t lazy, you are catching up and more importantly giving your brain a rest from the fight or flight adrenaline induced mode you’ve forced on it for years. This sleep will eventually work it’s way back to normal. Unplug. Get off facebook, get off social media. Go outside. Go to that park down the road you always drive by and said you’d check out next week, 3 years ago but never have. With your new found sleep comes newfound energy. And use that energy to explore, and to invest in yourself. Work out, eat well, and enjoy the chipper and happier new you….well enjoy the old you finally coming back home to yourself 🙂
YOU CAN DO IT. AND IF NOT NOW……WHEN?
Thank you so much, Jake, for that much-needed pseudo-diatribe (against the various associated societal elements, etc). I agree with every word you said. For me, the ‘contempt’ really started to set in every time the morning of my *appt* came around, once a month, where I would for the 100th time question my need for the drug and end up so pissed off at having dug this hole for myself. This brain hole, probably figuratively AND literally. The ever-increasing knowledge that every day I took the pill, the more my brain would fail to be able to work on it’s own. Or at least to *want* to work on it’s own. Anyway, thanks to all who speak their truth, and make it easier for many more of us to confront our own.
oops, correction: I didn’t really mean the word ‘pseudo’ in my post above…was trying to say ‘quasi’ (guess it’s that brain issue, i’m on day 7 off-adderall.heh). …just caught that when I came back to inquire if anyone’s had any luck with the Neuro drink or anything similar? I saw it mentioned in one of the posts and wonder if there’s any feedback to that or any of the various suggestions. thanks again…
Então primeiro item da lista em 2014 tem que ser decidir perder peso e, claro, levar isso a sério”,
aconselha.
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This article was very intriguing. I’ve contemplated this concept after being diagnosed with ADD and been prescribed adderall on and off over the years. After taking some time off of it, I reflect back and realize how many toxic and non worthy/healthy relationships I made socially in my life. One thing you fail to mention is Oxytocin. I would hope not many people would truly conceptualize forcing someone to fall in love with them. Whatever motivation that stems from that seems entirely delusional to me. It would require a vast amount of cognitive dissonance to be in alignment with the situation. What would the true personal gain or benefit be for the person who’s aware the love is not really real?
I was prescribed adderall in 10′ , Just turned 28. I was up to 70-90 mg a day almost 100 sometimes, when I decided I needed to quit that and tobacco of 12 years at the same time. I started my own weaning schedule in March, and was completely off the drug by the end of June, so I’ve been off the drug for 8 months, (almost a year if you include my weaning schedule), the first three months is hell. I was able to quit through God and prayer I truly believe, because I had been trying to get off this drug for years, used to cry at night after work at home just wanting my old self back and old natural motivation and energy. After 6 months you will feel better if you are exercising lightly and eating right. I’m about be going into a trade and it demands long hours and very hard work outdoors, also have a side business as well), I don’t feel like my body is ready for it. So I’ve considered going back on it but like people have said before on here, the tolerance will build I don’t care who you are your lying to yourself if you think it won’t. It makes me sick to think about taking somthing like this again just to be able to “keep up”…. I’m seriously wondering if this career move is a bad move. To anyone out there taking this drug that wants to quit, quit while your ahead, it don’t last. If anyone has any advice for me I’d appreciate it.
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I think it definitely depends on the person (general rule of thumb, anything that has to do with neuro is highly individualized).
I am diagnosed with ADHD and severe depression. I was diagnosed as a child and repeatedly through life, but never sought a prescription. Additionally, I have a pretty high IQ (156 on the on the standardized version).
My experience was that I nearly failed out of high school as a result of my ADHD and depression. Found Adderall in 11th grade, started buying it to focus and cram since I could never focus on anything before (getting through 11 grades solely on test taking skills and common sense). Brought my GPA from a little over a 2.0 to a little over a 3.0 in my final 2 years (so nearly a perfect GPA once I found adderall). Got into a very good college due to a nearly perfect ACT score.
In college I continued buying adderall. As my schedule became more difficult, I had to take it more frequently and as a result I finally went out and got a prescription during my junior year of college to reduce cost.
I’m now a 3rd year student near the top of my medical school class, taking adderall for its intended purpose, to focus and study. Without adderall I’m working at taco bell or something instead of being able to harness my intelligence by focusing instead of studying. Take my older brother for example, same intelligence but is a truck driver who always thought he was lazy because he couldn’t focus.
Sure, if you’re taking adderall for it’s euphoric purpose or energy instead of to focus and study, you’ll be at a higher risk for addiction and problems associated with adderall. But having used adderall exclusively for focus and studying for the past 6 years, and as a person with a VERY addictive personality, I can tell you adderall is probably the ONLY drug I’ve ever done that I’ve never had addiction problems with. I absolutely hate the drug, I hate taking it because I hate what I do while I’m on the drug; study. When I get a break I look forward to genuinely just quitting cold turkey for a while, I enjoy quitting, that’s how non-addictive I’ve found it to be. I can totally see how people who abuse drugs would find adderall fun at first and addicting, but once you take adderall for a week straight, all that euphoria goes away and you just get the focus and lack of emotion. I hate the lack of emotion, I hate that I need to take it, but it is absolutely essential for me to be productive and focused.
A problem people have is they don’t realize that 15mg is the maximum effective dose on attention. That means almost every script is too high, it means the people who use it for euphoric effects are doing more than the effective dose, and aren’t using it for the right purpose.
You ask why we prescribe adderall? It’s so people like me and my brother can achieve our full potential instead of hating our life working a remedial job we’re way too intelligent for.
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