What are the short and long-term effects of abusing/misusing prescription ADHD meds...

that's what I tried at first too, but its way too high to start on. I was first prescribed 15mg and gradually increased as i grew tolerance. i'm almost certain that you do have ADHD, and i never thought i could have it too because i always did phenomenal in school too. but it took me all day every day to achieve the results i couldve gotten in half the time with meds. id strongly recommend seeing your doc buddy. as for the heart condition, adderall affects the peripheral nervous system along with the CNS, so id recommend dexedrine or vyvanse which only affect the CNS

wait, so we're taking dexies and adderall at the same time? is any of this prescribed?

long term side effects are the short term side effects on steroids. weight loss, dehydration, sleep deprivation, addiction. dehydration is extremely dangerous. if these are being properly prescribed and monitored, there is no evidence of negative sequelae long-term. stimulant meds are safer than Tylenol. remember, stimulants are very short-acting, so tomorrow morning they are out of your system.

theyre all prescribed for my ADHD. the dexies are IR as needed and the adderall is XR. but the XR wears off quickly and I start to crave more and once i take one dex i cant stop. i do try and stay hydrated and i know i need more sleep, but 6 hours on average isnt crazy

well, you need to pace yourself with the dexies. you build tolerance to stimulants quickly, and the only solution to that is a drug holiday. i've taken stimulant meds for most of my life (i'm 50) and the only problem i've ever had is keeping weight on, and the meds losing their effect. if you keep popping dexies, they will stop working quickly as your tolerance builds.

interesting. that is one thing im worried about is tolerance, because i do seem to be taking a lot more. the adderall is still working though, but it could be a reason i keep needing to increase the adderall dosage.

also, response to these meds is highly individualized, meaning there is no cookie-cutter solution for everyone. if the adderall xr is wearing off too quickly, you should talk to your doc about adjusting the dose so you don't need the dexies so often. that would be the best solution.

you might consider clonidine, which is a blood pressure med that has activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. i actually like it better than the stimulant meds. plus, a month's supply is about $7US with no insurance. and it isn't a controlled substance.

Yeah, Im really bad about getting shit done. Instead of doing something that would take an hour Ill stretch it out over an entire day, sometimes multiple days if its not time sensitive.

Fucking hell, okay, Ill see what I can do about getting diagnosed. That fucking blows.

OP, start taking L-Theanine instead of ADHD meds.

It's cheap, natural, non-habit forming, you don't build up a tolerance to it, and it works better.

150mg twice a day should be good enough for most people.

t. user with severe ADHD since I was 12.

i go to my doctor very often to discuss my meds, but she really is not knowledgeable and just consults a chart. i have a referral to see a psychiatrist but it will be a long wait. i'm currently on the maximum dose of 30mg and my doc tells me that only a specialist can increase it. the 30mg adderall wears off after ~8 hours, and the 20-25mg would last about 6-7. I had the same problem with vyvanse, i could still feel it in my system all day but after about 5-6 hours it wasn't as effective.
i've heard about clonidine, but my issue is i had depression and possibly an anxiety disorder that were also being helped incredibly by the stimulants, at least in the beginning

exactly, if it doesnt absolutely have to be done right away i would put it off until the last minute. now, i always stay on top of everything and i actually enjoy school, and my grades are even higher than they've ever been. my perfectionism has increased but that may be a different underlying problem.

it does blow, i was so overwhelmed at first, but the fact that you have a chance to change the rest of your life should give you some relief. try not to think about all the wasted time in the past

thanks for the tip, but as i was telling the other user, i have comorbid depression and anxiety that the stimulants help incredibly. I was on SSRIs for 2 years with no results, so i feel like stimulants are my only option

yeah, that's really the issue right there. doctors and pharmacists can get in HUGE trouble and lose their licenses playing around with controlled substances. so they balk at higher doses. you need someone who actually has experience treating ADHD, not a general practitioner. when i took adderall, there wasn't an xr version, and i took 40 mg three times a day. xr means longer than three or four hours, but the length of activity is different for each person. doc: "this will last 12 hours." me: "nope, try 6 or 7 hours. tops."

clonidine won't mess with your depression, and will actually help with anxiety. my favorite thing about clonidine is that i'm so much less angry. and so much happier/mellow.

user, I have severe depression, severe anxiety, and ADHD. The L-Theanine handles all three things.

I've been through every SSRI and psych medication there is over the past twenty years, and none of them were even close to helping as much as the L-Theanine.

It helps the first day, with the first dose. It's that good.

there's also 5-HTP

the problem for me is i live in canada and it's a very long wait to see any specialist. i dont think docs are allowed to exceed the recommended maximums either. my doc has no problem increasing and literally just asks me what i want. i know clonidine wouldnt mess with my depression, but i do need something to help with it, and SSRIs didn't work but stimulants do, at least they did in the beginning. i do feel myself getting angry a lot of the time on adderall, but it is getting better and i hope its a side effect that will go away. i will have to look into clonidine in more detail tho, thanks bro

very interesting, i will definitely have to look into this as well, i've actually never heard of it.
this is a possibility i would consider to supplement another medication

>there's also 5-HTP

5-HTP can also help. I don't recommend it to people because I had a really bad reaction to it, and I don't want other people to have that same bad reaction.

wow, i'm really sorry to hear that. i didn't know there was a backlog in Canada. i live in the states and am a veteran, so i go to the VA. i usually don't have to wait more than 30 days to see anyone. everyone said i was a fucking idiot for enlisting, but i got the last laugh. the most they can charge me is $50 per day and $9 per script. got my nose re-built so i could breathe better, and it cost me $140 total, and I was in the hospital for two days. best wishes.

agreed, it's not for everyone, and it's kinda pricey. but if it works, what the hell?

thanks my friend. im glad your dedication didn't go unrecognized. besides the crazy waitlist for any type of specialist and no family doctors accepting new patients, its not so bad. i have good health care that covers the full cost of generic adderall and i was able to get special authority that covered all the cost of vyvanse too when i was on that. i appreciate your help bro it means a lot, thanks for sharing.

yeah i really cant stand the idea of paying to make myself feel like a normal person should feel. but you're right, it is worth it if it makes a big difference, i just feel like it's more of a last resort option for me

I get the helping the depression part, but I would think that it would make the anxiety worse. Anxiety and ocd here.

If you do to much you go into toxic psychosis for the next day or two. Where as you can't think good. I always snapped out of it after a day or so. It's pretty scary would not recommend.

What do you even say to get a prescription

sure thing. i got to train with the australian SAS, the IDF, and JTF2. those dudes are bad-ass. i was just the little commo dude. and i carried the med bags and pushed guts back in.

what do you mean?

Look at Trump

actually it completely eliminated that anxious feeling in my heart/chest i would get almost all the time, before going to work/school or sometimes for no reason. it's helped my anxious thoughts because my thought speed is so much slower and my head isnt filled with racing fleeting thoughts. i also am more confident in myself with the meds.

it's interesting you mentioned you have ocd, because ever since starting with stimulants i think i've exacerbated some obsessive and compulsive symptoms. My perfectionism is worse and my standards have gotten even higher. What's your experience with OCD? I'm trying to figure out if I have OCD, OCPD, or if the stimulants are just causing these symptoms - my expectations of myself and others are higher because I'm functioning optimally and I get frustrated more easily with others being lazy or inefficient when they don't even have ADHD!

i told the doctor how i feel and i brought it up as one of the possible diagnoses. i'm not here to help you get a prescription for drugs you don't need

I did Adderall XR 30 mg and Vyvanse 60 mg without a prescription for about 2 months. One night I was coming down from Adderall and I started freaking out. I heard sirens and flushed all of my pills down the toilet. The next month was absolute hell, panic attacks every day and minor hallucinations. I'm getting better now but still suffer from depersonalization/realization. It's not worth it imo, but everyone is different, I weigh only 122 lbs so the medicine was more intense to me ig.

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adderall is really bad for causing or exacerbating ocd. careful with the frustration, it can be poisonous. and don't let them fill you full of SSRIs or SNRIs for the ocd, that isn't the answer either.

ADHD is prescribed early on in childhood and there is no way you could have made it to high school without diagnosis. I’ve tried adderall and it gives a great euphoria but that doesn’t last long with an addiction or so I’ve been told.

not always. you get diagnosed when the symptoms interfere with your life, not at a certain age. many with adhd are very intelligent, and can "coast" through school if it isn't challenging. when the challenge hits, whenever that is, and the person struggles with no other obvious problems, that's when they are diagnosed. if they are lucky. otherwise, we just struggle and get frustrated.

the most i've done in a day is like 45mg adderall XR and maybe 25mg dexedrine IR. I don't think this comes close to the doses necessary for stimulant induced psychosis. However sometimes I take my 30mg adderall XR and up to 45mg dexedrine IR.

i can see how it would be really damaging for someone without a prescription. sorry if i wasn't clear, but these meds are prescribed and i do have ADHD

i've heard that too, but it was happening with vyvanse as well. i really do have to work on the frustration because i don't want to damage my relationships or have people view me like that. I was on SSRIs/SNRIs for 2 years before starting stimulants and they had no effect. Then the only help left is therapy, but I have no confidence in therapists' ability to help me. Mostly because they read straight from the text and don't offer individualized treatment plans, but also because i'm taking psychology and i hate saying this but i'm just much smarter than most of them so it's frustrating to hear their responses. To actually see a professional/specialist for ongoing therapy is next to impossible in canada, so i'm not sure how I can get therapy for OCD/OCPD if i do indeed have it

I could type a wall of text about my ocd misery. But I won’t. I’m diagnosed with mdd, gad, and ocd. Have “other shit” that is not “officially diagnosed”. Possibly some add. Like many mental health disorders, it is usually not all cut and dry. Also different heads, different meds, as the saying goes. I have mostly the “o” part of the ocd. Obsessional thinking, etc. Took ritalin on and off for a period of time. Mid-dose. Ended up cleaning my bathroom for 9 hours once, making sure that every square inch was immaculate. More so I would obsess about past and present shit. Sure, stimulants can “bring out” ocd-type-symptoms in some people.

careful, the ONSET of ADHD occurs early in childhood. Many people like myself go undiagnosed until adulthood. I always performed exceptionally well in school so my parents and teachers couldn't recognize it. It took an incredible amount of dedication and all the energy i had to do what I did

this is really interesting, thank you for sharing. I'm starting to become more and more convinced that I have OCD but I'm having trouble differentiating between that and OCPD. My main thing is obsessive thinking like you describe and I don't really have any compulsions. For example, I obsess over girls and can't stop thinking about them all day and start thinking they don't care, they're fucking other guys, and other intrusive thoughts like this that just make me completely miserable.

People on meth have been known to clean for 20 hours straight. Vacuuming their carpet until it starts to come apart. Insane

i feel your pain with the intelligence part. i haven't met a therapist yet that is within 30 IQ points of me. i told my last therapist that 1. i wasn't talking about my childhood anymore, 2. i wasn't going to talk about my parents, and 3. don't ever ask me "and how does that make you feel?" cause homie don't play that shit. we got along great, and he actually helped me. we did acceptance and commitment therapy.

BRO EXACTLY. it makes me feel better that there are other people because i thought it was just me. the same 3 fucking phrases, and i always know the intent behind their questions. i just have 0 confidence in them and i always think if they really were going to help me they would have gone on to clinical psychology or psychiatry, making me devalue them even more.
don't get me wrong, they're usually super nice people and they do seem to genuinely care. i think they could help in some ways, mostly just with talk therapy so i can express myself. but the frustration from hearing their responses or completely missing my point is enough to make me never want to see another counsellor again

I took wellbutrin for about two years for the depression. I had some “stimulant-type” effects from it. It works on dopamine and norepinephrine, the neurotransmitters that stimulants work on. Wellbutrin has more of an “indirect” effect on them as opposed to adderall, ritalin and similar medications.

The skin picking is kind of an ocd deal.

I've heard good things about wellbutrin for ADHD and depression. I was on the SNRI Effexor and it didn't help with anything though. Another problem for me is I have gotten used to the immediate effects from stimulants and I don't want to come off them, wait 4 weeks for wellbutrin to start working, and then function less optimally than i am now or feel worse

ADHD isn't real, anybody focuses better with a little amphetamine in their system, and kids who are a big problem at school, it helps considerably.

There have been a lot of articles written in the past decade or so about how these diagnoses form, editors at the DSM are subject to outside pressures as much as anyone, and they face an industry and a few million parents who all want kids on these meds... and they need a reason for it.

ADD symptoms were first thought to be the result of "minimal brain damage," when this was debunked it was later thought to be on the spectrum of tourettes... basically tourettes without tics. When more and more kids were being diagnosed with it, i think the big belief these days is it is just a behavioral thing.

Mental illness in general is strange, what is considered illness, it isn't like, you can poit to this and this objective measurement, and you have high blood pressure. Things that make it so someone can't sustain gainful employment are illnesses, whether it is completely normal or not.

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yeah, you can see through their questions with relative ease.

I think my last therapist helped me so much because we DIDN'T talk. he gave me exercises to do, and we discussed those. don't get me wrong, we'd bullshit for 10 or 15 minutes of the hour, and then we'd go over the exercises.

I had real trouble understanding what we were doing at first. i'm combination adhd, but i'm also on the spectrum, so i can be (or always am...) very literal. once i got the hang of it, the exercises worked great. i saw him for about a year, and now i see him every six months just to stay current. that was in 2015, and i've never been happier or more at ease. finally. fucking took long enough... but yeah.

Hear ya. The norepinephrine antagonists tend to have a negative effect on some people with anxiety. Not so much dopamine. Supposedly “better” medications are in the pipeline. Most are developed to have less side-effects with the same efficacy as the older ones.

not quite. the original diagnosis was "minimal brain dysfunction," and i'm actually old enough that i was originally diagnosed with MBD.

I'm not going to engage in this argument because I know I'm not going to change your opinion, and as frustrating it is to me that some people think this way, you're entitled to it. The one thing I will say is ADHD is real as shown in brain scans. There is extensive research on it, they have a proven chemical imbalance with lower levels of dopamine and norepinephrine.
'anybody focuses better with amphetamine' - individuals with ADHD have the chemicals in their brain brought to neurotypical levels so they can function normally and not be held back by the disorder

uuuh, beg to differ. they have finally done enough PET and FMRI scans of the brain that ADD can be objectively diagnosed. problem is, no one can afford these scans (~$50,000US each) so it's pretty difficult to pull off unless you are really, really rich.

Citation needed. I know that they are expensive, but not that much.

i guess thats the trick, to find a therapist that just understands you and knows what to say. i also have to limit my expectations and try not to get so frustrated with them. i just think my experiences with them have discouraged me so much that i don't feel like they can ever help.
sorry to hear about your other disorder bro, i don't know about the spectrum in a ton of detail, but im glad you got help and you feel better my dude

well, my data is pretty old. PET scans, when i last had one, were about 50k. it seems that for the brain, it's about $6,700US. (NewChoiceHealth.com) just for reference, that's more than I paid for my car. i drive my car every day, and you only get a PET scan once.

you say the illness doesnt exist and the only thing you refute about the objective evidence is how much the scans cost? the fact is there have been scans, and they prove the legitimacy of the disorder. i'm not sure what your argument is

The cost.

Remember you should be blinking and shrouded in darkness much more than you really are. Sometimes you have to hold your eyes shut before you close them. Will help ADHD i believe, OP.

thank you, i feel great most days. i love what i do, and regularly help friends and family for free. in my field, asperger's is pretty much a job requirement, so it's all good. i'm an interesting case because i'm an extrovert, which is very unusual among those of us on the spectrum. i genuinely like people. i don't always understand what they hell they are thinking/doing, but i still like them.

if you can see a therapist, and you should at least try, make sure you set the rules. the therapist isn't in charge, you are. tell them what you want out of your sessions, and make sure that's what you get.

wut?

Short-term: you get super high
long-term: nasal passages be fucked yo

Light Bulbs distract. Eyeballs shoot a lot these days (6 hours rest is just time). Sometimes Just need to really really rest the eyes, and blink right. Copy Paste. Sleep more wutard

um, i'm an american, we are widely criticized for our use of language? however, i don't actually speak your brand of gibberish. kiwi slang is a breeze compared to what you are saying?

You lie. My words just are causing you dissonance. Shut yo eyes american

Bullshit, l-theanine does Jackshit. You're just feeling Placebo dude

what? are you saying i need more sleep?
that's awesome bro. its good u found an opportunity that doesnt make u feel held back by it. im going to read up more on it, im interested in knowing more about all mental health disorders.

i do think it's worth another shot at therapy. i have a problem with confrontation and i do feel like they're in charge and find it hard to express my disagreement or frustration. im also afraid of coming across as arrogant or condescending and making them feel inferior

they're prescription lol, and i don't snort them. sometimes on bad days i will chew the 5-10mg XR addies

okay. i'm just struggling to understand you. are you ESL or something? if so, that's cool, please disregard my asshole behavior.

as far as closing my eyes, i have these boss moisturizing goggles i wear at night. they're called tranquileyes.

Nice self diagnosis yourself faggot

I'm saying prioritize yourself. Instead of picking at flaws just take notes. Hope your thread amounts to something positive.
>tldr 20-minute power nap and RIP candle culture.

just cause i'm writing in english trying to motivate and self help you doesn't mean im ESL

naps: i could never take them, always had bad sleep issues. i dont even like to sleep at night.

flaws: that has been a lifelong challenge for me. my perfectionism and high standards lead me to expect only the best from myself and i obsess over any mistakes and possible flaws.
this thread has been an incredible help to me and i've learned a lot. it's really great to hear other people's experiences and

Be carefull what you wish for...
I was in emergency psych ward for a few days, and finally got to see a real doctor with experience and capacity.

He literally told me to man up, get a grip on my life and find out what made it work for me... Worked for a long time.

But two children and a wife is way more than I asked for :-/

How old? And any close relations?

dude, i'm not trying to be a dick, i'm just struggling to understand what you are saying. the fact that i'm still answering you means that you might have something important to say, i'm just not understanding you. what are you trying to tell us?

Medfag who takes ADHD/ADD medication, lucky day for you OP

Before I waste my time posting a lot of information, are you still here OP?

Also, if other people who replied to this thread are here like , post your original post number and I'll address that as well.

Nothing good. Wouldn't it be funny if you woke up from a dream and God slapped you for wearing tranquileyes. Goggles lmfao

Hmm... You remind me of someone...

My uninformed and non-professional guess... You are on a life long learning high and are just looking for your next high and praise. Look up co-dependency and narcissisme, run the check list and figure out how to be a better person to others

i agree that some doctors are so conceited and controlling. i've had one session with a psychiatrist before and he was incredibly open, though all he did was double my dose of SSRI. failed to see any of my issues and recognize that SSRIs weren't helping. 6 month wait for 1 hour to explain all my problems and get a proper diagnosis seems like an impossible task.

24. nope, only a few work friends, nobody outside of family that im very close with. im so quick to notice flaws or feel a lack of connection in anyone and it prevents me from wanting to maintain a relationship. i feel like they have to be in the 1% most attractive/intelligent for me to pursue them. this is even worse when i look for a romantic partner. as i said earlier i get crazy obsessive, and i simply have no interest in girls that aren't 10/10. i need a super attractive girl for some validation. also, i get delusional and don't see any flaws when i like someone and the obsession kicks in. almost always go after girls that are already taken and usually self-centred bitches i know won't make me a better person feel better about myself.

yeah, i have really bad sleep issues as well. 10 minute nap? wtf ever, it takes me an hour to go to sleep. routines help; i had to drop the gf that wanted to talk about super-contentious shit like 15 minutes before bedtime. ya naw.

as far as the perfectionist stuff goes, i would tell you to forgive yourself. when you learn to juggle, the first lesson is to drop all the balls. that's called your "guilt-free drop." you aren't perfect, embrace who you are. once you do that, you will be able to see the humanity/imperfection in others. our flaws are what makes us special/interesting/fun. don't turn something wonderful into the world's greatest sin.

Exactly... Take a good look at your need for external validation... Or you are fucked!

still here

i'm still here
spot on. when i'm in school and strive for perfection i get that feeling of validation and power. but i still cant let go of any mistake, no matter how small. getting 99% means i lost 1% and i cant stop thinking about that.
co-dependency, 100%. i rely on others ( specifically those people i mentioned here ) for happiness
narcissistic tendencies ive started to notice since starting treatment with stimulants, because my confidence is higher. sometimes i do have grandiose thoughts and i believe i have a greater purpose and i will change the world. but i have so much love and empathy for others and i'm incredibly sensitive and emotional, so i think this rules out narcissistic personality disorder

Did you notice the connecting between your lag of sleep and mood? Get some sleep

glad you are still here. have you done 16personalities.com? i'm curious how you would sort out.

Nope... Doesn't rule out your deep selfish use of others. As I said... Read ”Dealing with a narcisist”
It's a book about you

ENTP?

exactly, lie there for an hour tossing and turning just to take a nap that i will be exhausted from when i wake up.
for the perfectionism, i have such a strong feeling inside that doesn't let me forgive myself. i always think i can do better, that i'm capable of anything, and that failing to reach these standards means i'm not reaching my potential.
sometimes it goes beyond reason and i know that meeting some standards wouldnt even help me in any way. i need that 100% for no other reason sometimes than to make me feel accomplished, even when it won't make a difference

I am not on anti-depressants or ADHD medication, however I suspect I should. Wellbutrin sounded like the best overall. The problem is I noticed some anecdotes of clouded thinking. My job involves thinking all day and I worry this would negatively affect my work. Can anyone comment?

Also, am I correct that you only get positive effects for as long as you're taking the medication?

yes, absolutely. thanks for the good vibes, but i get plenty of sleep. i have a four inch, five pound mattress topper that cradles me, and an 18 pound weighted blanket that holds me in place. would recommend both.

is that you? ENTP?

I am... consistently over 30 years or so

i havent been on that site in particular, but i've done a personality test before and it was either INFJ or INTJ i believe. it's interesting that im an introvert when the biggest thing i want in life and the thing that makes me feel the best is when i connect with others and i'm around people.
are you trying to be rude, because that's how it's coming across. i don't have a deep selfish use of others - i think about their needs, i care about them, i'm respectful to everyone, and i truly love and appreciate humans. i think the part you're referring to is my high standards for friends/partners, but i think that is an insecurity issue

Not trying to be rude...
Just trying to tell you the overlap between codependent and narcissist is very big, and you might get some new understandings from looking into that

He's being funny. Why dont you just pop a Melationin at 4:20 take a fucking nap and then wake up, do-wut-you-do, then get 7 or more hours for the night?

First you need a grip on your anxiety... Meditation with the mantra ”open and calm” for one hour a day might get you there fast

okay, sorry i just felt kinda attacked because i pride myself on caring about others and prioritizing their needs. i will look into it in more detail, i am just thrown off by the antisocial tendencies of narcissists because they don't apply at all. but i guess it's still possible to have it.

Alright then,

So ADHD medication honestly has a huge list of short and long term effects. Many of them being side effects such as increased heart rate and palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, GI disturbances, etc, that become more prominent with abuse.

Those with ADHD/ADD likely have some sort of imbalance in their dopamine and norepinephrine levels. This is why stimulants often help.

Long term abuse also leads to a myriad of ailments, however with abuse and thus the heightened levels of dopamine, psych changes and disorders can become more prevalent or arise - depression, anxiety, changes in personality or quickly changing moods, leading into hallucinations and psychosis.

Remember, although these types or medications are more safe than methamphetamine, they're still very similar in function and effects. This is why they are a scheduled drug and they need to be taken exactly as prescribed.

For the person who posted this, I would bet a great deal that there is more going on than just the adderall use. I'm not saying it isn't possible, just unlikely (assuming everything was given, taken, and followed up on correctly). ADHD/ADD and depression often go hand in hand and I would seek help for you symptoms and think about if you have depression.

1/2

i'm not sure what to suggest. don't get me wrong, i am ABSOLUTELY METICULOUS in my work (slob everywhere else, like my fucking car.) if I fuck up while working, it's MAJOR because of what i do. but at some point, we all need to relax and realize that we are not robots.

Yes, strive for perfection, but forgive if you only get close. seriously? 99% is fucking awesome! why can't you decide that you are fucking awesome and not sweat the 1%?

who convinced you that you can't do anything right? because that's not true, you can do lots of things right, or at least better than most. reading what you posted breaks my heart.

i tried melatonin for sleep at night before and it didn't work.
i just cant bring myself to try anything like CBT, mindfulness, or meditation. i have a strange resistance to it that i dont quite understand. i feel like it won't work or that it won't be helpful for me like it is for others.

Nobody talks about ’having it’...

First try to be ‘open and calm’, then understand how overly dependent you are on others views you are... And get over it

Your last sentence probably applies to any medication. Maybe some “lag” depending upon the elimination of half-life. I am personally not for psychotropic medication as a first option. Of course rule out any medical problems. Then diet, exercise, sleep and life modification, if possible. If all that is done, then consider medication. If one suspects that a prescriber really doesn’t care, rushes the appointment and just laundry lists medications, then find another, better one. Unfortunately, like many things, there is the time/money variable. An hour with a qualified psychiatrist can cost around $210, depending on the location. Insurance, depending on what kind, covers much of it, with a co-pay/deductible. I have about 28 years of “experience” as a patient with this. The “fast food psychiatry” is, in my opinion one of the main problems.

Ok. I like you for your issue and responses OP.
Brush & floss every night before bed, goodluck

are you OP? or someone else. i thought OP said he was 24.

I'm on the stuff because I have a prescription. It's awful. I know that I'll never be able to get off of the pills, but that they'll ultimately kill my ability to operate like a normal human.

I tried to stop taking them earlier in the year, and by week 2 the lack of dopamine made my life a living hell. If I weren't doing something that required my attention, the only thing I could think about was either how much everyone in my life hated me, or ways to kill myself. I told this to my (at the time) girlfriend, and she intervened.

2/2

Obviously, you need to talk to your doctor about the abuse. There are other medications than can be used to treat ADD/ADHD than stimulants like adderall. With a counselor of some sort, delve into why you wanted to and are abusing the medications.

Most individuals who had ADD/ADHD also have depression or anxiety or something related and sometimes the ADD/ADHD is met with medications, but the other issue isn't addressed because of the initial improvement.

Again, see your doctor and actually take time to see what's going on and take stock of how you feel. A good idea is to write down how you feel throughout the day (just simple things), so you can see a pattern of how the drug affects your and if something else may be missing from the equation.

Also, this should be obvious, but living a healthy lifestyle can impact so much and should be addressed.

Good thread. Fuck the yellow attack. More of these threads.

Read the later portion of my earlier comment
Make sure everything is being addressed

thank you so much. i feel myself slipping and getting so high on these pills almost every day i know is terrible. its such a vicious cycle, my mood is bad so i take more. right now im really obsessed with a girl and dependent on her for happiness and its literally killing me. im getting to the point where i dont really care what happens any more, even though i know i have such a bright future and i will eventually get over it, the feelings are so powerful and i get tunnel vision.

i know their close similarity to meth. it does scare me. i just read about how some people take doses that are way way higher than what i take and convince myself that my situation cant be so bad, then i feel better about doing it. i fear that my personality may be changing, and i do have some mood swings - not yet seeing signs of psychosis

thank you so much for caring. it means a lot to me. im not sure why, but i continue to raise my standards so that i have room for improvement. this is with attractiveness in girls as well as grades and the way i should behave in general. im always unhappy because i set almost purposefully unattainable goals. im not sure how to be satisfied with good enough

it isn't what you think. mindfulness is simply paying attention to something. try counting your steps when you go to lunch, or walk to transportation. just count. even if you get it wrong, matters not.

Doesn't work for you to take a breath, sit still and have a look at your thoughts, and try to stop your inner judge... Just for 30 min a day...

I think that is exactly what you need

Melatonin doesn’t work to counter the sleeplessness brought on by amphetamine. A benzo will work best. Or Theaine and benedryl. I’m out like a light with that combo.

If you’re hard pressed you might have some luck with a gaba drug like lyrica or soma.

i cant tell my doctor because i dont want her to think im drug seeking and stop prescribing. the thing is, i have no urge to take more for the first 6-8 hours while the adderall XR is effective. then i go into spiral mode. im just searching for a medication/dose that will last me all day and eliminate the need for the IR ones. because there have been a few days where i just felt perfect, like i could acknowledge my problems, be comfortable with them, and work on them. this makes me think there exists a specific dose that will work for me. i dont want to be chasing a high, i like that feeling of acknowledging my issues and not feeling scared or guilty because i cant stop popping the dexedrine

If you’re taking adderall or Dexedrine or vyvnase and not taking l tyrosine, you’re doing it all wrong.

I'm almost certain I have some kind of depression, but I can't tell my doctor because I'm afraid I won't be prescribed the stimulants I need to succeed in school and function somewhat normally.

A lot of speculation and judging :-)

I hope you take some advice, and start working on your issues, rather than your doctor...

L tryptophan wouldn't be a bad idea, seeing as how ADD/ADHD tend to go along with depression

ive read about eating lots of protein to help the effectiveness. i will absolutely look into this asap to see if it fixed my issues. thank you
i am very judgmental and critical, mostly of myself. i can hear the advice but it is so incredibly hard to put it to use. i have this overwhelming feeling in my body that wont let things go. i cant stop obsessing no matter how much i can think rationally that it is hurting me and it isn't reasonable

Yes but regular l tyrosine supplements replenish dopamine lost by adderall abuse. If you can manage some way to keep dopamine levels closer to normal, many of the symptoms of adderall crash are not nearly as bad.

I take 60mg adderall a day. I take a gram of l tyrosine every morning and a gram every night. My crashes and comedowns are so much better since using this regularly. It probably helps with withdrawal too, although I’ve never had an issue with adderall addiction.

Not to obvious-post, but big pharma cares about profits. Also not to suggest that medications don’t do anything but placebo effect is a real thing.

So... Find someone to help you to commit to sitting down and breath for 15 min every other day... Just stop your evil circle.

Then, spend some time reading up on co-dependency...

At stop being delusional about what you have to offer the world, but what you have to the few people around you that care.

That's it

dude, i made a glib comment to my friend Bill. he quoted it back to me. that has never happened before!

what I said was, "the best that you can do is not the best that you can do, because you can always improve." i never should have said that shit. like i'm some sort of authority on things and shit.

anyway, another stupid thing i say is that people love you, even if you have never met them. please don't quote that back to me! but it's still true.

we walk the same path, i'm just several hundred steps ahead of you. if i can help, i will. that's why i'm here.

Im positive you’ll notice positives in some form with tyrosine. Even if it just helps adderall feel stronger. Everyone who takes amphetamine regularly should take it, imo.

i will read more about co-dependency and narcissism.
it's hard because i don't think it's a delusion. there have been people throughout history that have changed the world. this first semester of having medication i scored 1st out of 220 students in 1 class and 1st out of 90 in another. this makes me think i do have some special abilities, because some people truly do. most often they are deeply troubled.

It will turn you into a crybaby sjw

i take it everyday because its prescribed to me. the problem with every amphetamine is that i think i metabolise them very quickly. they are very effective, but only for about half the time they are supposed to be. so i keep increasing the XR dose to try and make them last longer. i don't need a stronger feeling initially, just to prolong duration. will it help with that?

Medfag again,

DO NOT TAKE THESE COMBINATION OF DRUGS TOGETHER. Benzos and stimulants are serious drugs and do not mix unless you have a doctor prescribing them.

Here's the thing, exactly what you're telling me you should be telling your doctor. This isn't something rare. Psych medications and medications of abuse get abused all the time, that's why they're scheduled. If a patient I had given adderall to for however long came to me and said they may have an addiction problem, that is the OPPOSITE of drug seeking behavior. Maybe a higher dose is what is ultimately needed, but doing this on your own is dangerous. No doctor on the planet would want you to continue doing this and not see them for help. That's why doctors exist, to help people.

You can take both. Like I said these illness go hand and hand and it's common to take more than one medication. If you came with depression symptoms your doctor would add an antidepressant alongside your current medication. The fact that you just said you have such a positive effect with the adderall that it allows you to function normally means that drug is working and should not be taken away.

I'm seeing a theme here and I want to be clear. SEE YOUR DOCTOR. Our goal is to find health with our patients. Do not be scared, and if you are, tell us why.

Maybe. Taking it regularly ensures enough dopamine is there to be released by the amphetamine. If there’s enough dopamine floating around, it could probably last longer but I haven’t really thought that it helped that way but your results might vary.

If you’re getting generic dexies or addies, it’s worth considering that your longevity issues could be related to the specific brand of generic you are getting. I don’t know about Dexedrine, but I know some adderall genetics are notoriously ineffective or short lasting.

No, you don’t take them together. You take the benzo during the adderall comedown. No one using adderall for adhd would take a benzo with an adderall, defeats the purpose

why not come down on watermelon fried chicken and a fruit roll up?

took 40mg Vyvanse with 40mg Strattera, worked nicely, but then I smoked weed and found myself in psych ward with paranoia, now I'm forbidden from ever taking stimulants, and also my low key perpetual depression has kicked into full gear and I'm on low dose SSRI now that worked wonders,
But I'm probably one in a million (if not more) case, but be aware that things that effect the central nervous system always carry a certain amount of risk.

Medfag,

If you're prescribed them, just ask your doc to change the dosage. Don't continue to increase the initial dose, but instead take half the dose in the morning, and half in the afternoon. Or take an XR in the morning, and in the afternoon take an immediate release. Something along those lines

How is that gunna work, nigger?

not anyone of note, but i was a medic and corpsman with prescriptive privileges. long time ago. best advice i can give you: NEVER NEVER NEVER lie to your medical support staff. for fuck's sake, we aren't the police, and we are bound by oath, if not LAW, not to disclose. just TELL ME what is happening, and perhaps i can help you. or not, i'll hold your hand while you die. wouldn't be my first time.

Medfag,

I don't know your full situation obviously, but this seems like an oversight. Vyvanse and Strattera both have the side effect of paranoia. Marijuana can cause paranoia as well. Mixing these all together seems like this is exactly what could occur. Also, marijuana, or other drugs for that matter, can shift your brain chemistry enough to unmask an otherwise dormant psych disorder. While it's not super common, it's also not that rare to happen.

my doc was also prescribing me valium but didnt like to. they are very helpful for anxiety but they become useless so quickly.

i've told my doctor everything about the longevity issues, just not about the abuse. she is literally clueless and knows nothing beyond the ADHD medication chart on the internet. just asks me what she should do, what strength i want. if i tell her im abusing the dex IR, she will likely stop giving them altogether. we cannot increase my adderall dose past 30mg (at least thats what she thinks) without a specialist. i can't get another family doctor because again there are none accepting new patients.
im on a waitlist to see a psychiatrist (6 months) and i do plan to explain the longevity problem. i'm struggling with what to do in the mean time.

generic both - the dex IR are effective for the full 4 hours. but i was taking vyvanse (only comes as brand name) and i had this same issue of it wearing off way before it should. the generic adderall is completely covered for me, otherwise the pills are $4 each. i actually bought 5 brand name adderall to see if there's a difference, in which case i will apply for special authority to try and have the brand name covered

see my above comment about my doctor being useless and me being at the maximum dose. i never increased the XR dose on my own. i am taking the IR in the afternoon at 6-8 hours, but then i can't control my use of the IR and end up taking way too many

out of curiosity, does it mean I'm fucked for life, or if I continue to smoke (which I'm not, not getting closer to that again) I will continue getting those effects? my family had no history of mental disorders

Adderall gives me some of the best shits.

This. Big pharma doesn’t want an “instant fix”. They make money on the time that it takes for medications to work, if they work. They make money on the guessing game.

benzos for anxiety are the wrong answer. you must not be here in the states, such scrips are prohibited for that dx. in my state (ohio) such scrips are completely prohibited.

Medfag, also this will be my last comment.

Family docs are for general care, in your case with your medications and history, you need a psychiatrist or psychologist of some sort. The interactions between your symptoms and drugs are immense and definitely need a specialist which I'm glad you're going to see.

And often times, asking the patient what the doctor should do is honestly all we can do. You know your body and mind best, and with psych issues, that's what it boils down to, how you feel.

What I would do in the meantime,
Cut the bullshit with the abuse. Mention you feel that you have been needing more of it to last throughout the day. Specifically ask about taking the drug in a lower dose twice a day. You are in the middle, but this is what I believe would be best.

No one can answer that question definitively. However, no you are not fucked for life, and if you only smoke without the other affecting medications, there is a much less risk of that happening again.

However, like I said, drugs can change your brain chemistry and unmask otherwise dormant things. Think of it as a primer. You may (key word being may) have primed these effects, but that does not mean they will occur.

is OP still here? just wondering.

>our flaws are what makes us special/interesting/fun.

This is how people rationalize being lazy about putting in any work to fix their flaws and become a better person.

People would rather think that they're special, unique, and fine the way they are, that way they don't have to put in any work to really face and fix their deficits, and they can just blame other people when problems happen, because there's no way it could their fault because they're "fine the way they are".

Thank you, you eased my mind a bit,
The most depressing thing from this whole ordeal was the thought that after all the hardship
And all the work I did in life all will go to waste because I will go insane.
OP sorry about hijacking, just wanted to share my experience and got curious from the answer I got.

OP here ill respond to the most recent comments in a few minutes sorry