I have decided to stop taking adderal.  I take 40mg xr in the morning and 20-40 in the late afternoon.  I was working 12-16 hurs a day and needed it to stay focused.  I am not working those hours anymore and the medicine is around $450.00 a month.  I have abruptly stopped taking it for 4 days now and I am extremely tired.  I have no irrability but have headaches, hotflashes and nausea from time to time.  I sleep non stop.  Is there anything that can help speed up this process?  Should I cut down on the medicine and then stop it?

FlutterRose

I am new to this forum, but I feel as though I can add my experiences here, especially in regard to the above original post.

I got on Adderall several years ago, not because I thought I was ADHD or whatever, but because I was working insane hours and I needed a pick-me-up. I was working as a television reporter and editor and it was my first job out of college. It paid well and I thought it was on the fast track to something and I needed the edge.

I basically went to a doctor and faked ADHD symptoms, played dumb and he whipped out the prescription pad. I wanted Adderall XRs because that’s what I experimented with in college from time to time, in order to drink longer, party longer in the night. While in college, my adderall use as sporadic, just whenever I could find it. I rarely took the stuff daily.

It also helped me make a 3.7 or higher GPA for three consecutive semesters and I figured it would help with my new job – keep me fresh and on the go.

Well, after two straight years of taking Adderall XR’s (30s), even bumping up the dose on occaision with a 10 mg. Adderall in the afternoons, I found myself getting more and more miserable.

The side effects were insane, frequent headaches, unreal constipation and sometimes fits of rage that I never thought I was capable of. The stress of the news environment, which is a really crummy profession, I might add, only increased the side effects of the drug.

Since I’m not an idiot, I realize and always have that Adderall is very addictive – it’s just one step down from the gunk they cook up in the trailer parks. I knew that I needed to step down off of it.

First I asked my doctor to step me down – give me 25s, then 15s, then 10s, then 5s. He tried to convince me to stay on it, but I was lying to him and had been all along. I didn’t want to tell him that I tricked him into giving me the stuff in the first place. I just went along with his program and never saw him again.

Well, I stepped down on my own – breaking the 30s up into estimated 25 mg portions, then 20 mg. portions, then 15 and so on. The smallest I was taking was an estimated 5 mg. portion and after several days on that, I would only take 5 mg’s every other day and then I ran out completely – skipped my doctor’s appointment to keep me from asking for more adderall.

The first week without the adderall wasn’t that bad…in fact, the only thing I noticed was two beers actually had an effect on me and I could reach orgasm quicker when having sex. I also noticed that I had no compulsion to smoke cigarettes without the adderall.

Now it’s been 6 months since I took myself off of it and now I want back on it. I have a new job, a better one that’s only 40 hours a week with little stress, but I want back on it because I’m so bored at work, I fall asleep at my desk. During meetings, I pay attention for only three, four minutes, and after that I’ve supplanted myself at home, mowing the lawn, walking the dog, cooking supper, picking up the dry cleaning, etc. After meetings, I have to find a co-worker and let them fill me in one what I’m supposed to be doing.

Also, when I do have a deadline driven project at work, I can’t compel myself to start it. Once I do start it, I’m fine, but I’m usually behind and have to play catch up.

I’ve also considered getting back on it because I’ve taken the LSAT and will start law school in January. I know I’ll need it then, maybe not the 30s, but I’ll need something doing basciallyu two jobs.

I hope this has helped.

Thank you Cyclops.  I am definitely missing the pick me up effect and cannot function without sleeping for 2 hours first.  I hate that I am on something that I cannot control.  I had stopped it once for a few weeks but was having a hard time staying focused at work too.  I kept fiddling and looking at my projects instead of actually doing them.  I own my own  business and it has been difficult to stay on task.

AT this point in time I am confused to whether I need it or just abused it to help me get through my tough time as you did. It was a comfort to know I am not alone in this.

I am a very strong woman and I know I can beat this.  I just want to do it smart! I guess I should not go cold turkey and just down the dosage?  Something has to happen because I actually feel ill.  Ihave never felt this way ever.

Thank you

Yes.

Actually, my plan is -- if my doctor puts me back on it after I missed an appt and haven't seen him in like a year -- to get a lower dosage, say 20 mg. and just take it once or twice a week, when I know I'll have a rough day.

As for law school, I'll use it to help me study -- that's the plan anyway.

No way I'm ever going to take the stuff daily at high doses again!!

Flutterrose -

For certain - don't cut cold turkey unless an MD insists you should!

Thankfully - as long as you haven't gone over 60mg (according to manufacturer's website above that at one dose is abuse), most of the symptoms will be psychological withdrawl.  But there's the physical component too and your body expects the med there for pretty much everything it does.

If you can afford it - step down 10mg or so every week.  Good thing is dexedrine salts flush out of your system very quickly - so as you drop your body will become used to it fairly quickly.

To supplement you and keep the tired feeling away - you can always have 2 cups of nice hot black coffee during the day.  That always helps me.

I have dropped my dexedrine about 3 times in 10 months - so my body has time to rest and recharge and keep the meds from being tolerated.  I go cold turkey - but the MD monitors me and I have not had the nastier side-effects - only a feeling of being tired and the ADHD showing up somewhat.  The longest I stayed off was 2 weeks and by the end everyone was begging me to get back on - I was grumpy, sullen and tired all the time.  Mostly what I was like pre-med!

I know that without insurance it's hard to stay on the meds.  Perhaps check out dexedrine spansules - they are much cheaper even without insurance.  Also - perhaps check with the manufacturer if you're financially strapped and low income as they often allow low-income people to get breaks on meds.  I was surprised when I found that out but it's a nice thing to know.

Perhaps if you are employed and they just don't offer the insurance at your hours worked you might check out one of the med-only private insurance plans?  At the amount you spend if you're on meds -perhaps it would be worth it.  I know in canada blue cross pharmacy insurance averages 30 to 40 a month and covers 80 percent of most generic meds.  A thought anyway.

Good luck - and be sure to get your MD to watch this carefully!  Don't want you coming out of this worse off than you were when you started!

[QUOTE=GlenW]

Thankfully - as long as you haven't gone over 60mg (according to manufacturer's website above that at one dose is abuse), most of the symptoms will be psychological withdrawl.  But there's the physical component too and your body expects the med there for pretty much everything it does.

[/QUOTE]

Where does it say "abuse" on the manufacturer's website?

I went to look up the info I had before - but shire (the manufacturer) has pulled the SR page (which is where I'm sure I saw that) and only lists adderall XR - and mentions maximum 30mg daily dose but no info on what's considered "too much".  It's all changed locations so it might take some time. 

Seems they are pruning info - probably to avoid any negative aspects.

I shall prevail!!

[QUOTE=GlenW]It's been a while since I looked it up - I'll find the reference and get it up here.  They list minimum and maximum doses and what is considered too much.  I might be wrong with the word but it comes out the same way.  I'll try and dig it out tonight.[/QUOTE]

Please be careful throwing around the word "abuse". Nowhere on Shire's website does it say that anything over 60mgs/day is abuse. There are recommended dosages - but that's just what they are - recommendations. 10mgs/day is effective for some people. 40mgs/day is effective for others. And some need more. A person working closely with their doctor to find their most effective dosage and is taking that prescribed dosage could be taking more than 60mgs/day without "abusing" it.

I reserve "abuse" for those obtaining Adderall by lying to their doctors for a prescription or those people who don't have a prescription and get it from friends, relatives, etc.

Paritthead -

Fair enough!

However - even a valid Rx holder can "abuse" the meds.  Going over the recommended dose could very well be abuse.  Abuse by definition is improper or excessive use.  Using this definition - if the MD says take it as X per day - and you go X plus a day then it's abuse, correct?

I will be careful of my terms - chalk this up as being too fast at the keyboard please?

There is a cap of medicinally recommended amounts for each med - with a little give for weight, age and purpose of use.  But too much is always a risk.

My apologies! Geez - I end up saying that way too often these days - better talk to my therapist about this.