Med + Alcoholism info needed :( | ADHD Information

WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM?

Hi,

On 40 mg of dex I became an alcoholic without noticing; for 6 months I averaged around 5 drinks a day. It was just natural, since dexedrine counters alcohol effects the next day, and vice versa, etc...however I was unaware this level of consumption permanently alters your brain, apparently making you an alcoholic. If that's the case I feel a bit cheated, to say the least...

ANYWAYs, I tried not drinking alcohol for the first time in 6 months this past week....and it was not fun, to say the least. It's like my brain goes way too fast now...but not in a good way. I also have these weird sociophobic tendencies I never had before....So is my brain permaf**ked or what? It's supposed to be, apperently, if you drink that much alcohol for that long. 

I'd really appreciate hearing anything about alcoholism at all, especially with regard to dexedrine or ADD medication in general. Thanks

McPerson38861.6191087963

I'm not hiding from anything. When I say 5 drinks a day "makes" you an alcoholic, I'm not referring to this being characteristic of an alcoholic's behaviour. It "makes" you an alcoholic in the sense that it causes permanent chemical changes/damage that makes your brain depend on it to function normally. Alcohlism isn't just a state of being like being a "smoker" for example (nor is it a fake disease like South Park suggests.)

 

McPerson38861.7077662037I agree with GlenW. This post really disturbed me yeaterday. Substances do not make you an alcoholic/addict. You are predisposed to become one because of how your body/mind/soul reacts to alcohol or drugs. My DH has been an alcoholic/addict his whole life, but didn't start using substances until he was 13 years old. He is a recovering alcoholic now (two years sober) but he is still an alcoholic and will be the rest of his life. Two years ago when he went through treatment, he went through withdrawl/DT's (different for everyone depending on use and make-up) and even two years later he still has some withdrawl effects. This is completely normal. In ten years he could still develop cancer that is a result of his substance use. Alcohol can wreak havoc on a mind and body. Your effects from alcoholism have nothing to do with your Dex and you should not feel cheated. That is definitely the first step in admitting that you have a problem.....owning it. No one caused it, no one can control it and no one can cure it.....except yourself.

My husband also suffered from undiagnosed ADD and was not accurately diagnosed until he was a year sober, to be sure it was not effects of alcoholism. He is being treated currently and takes adderall and is doing very well. We have had the discussion many times about addiction and ADD and stimulant medication. There is no way that my DH can abuse his medication, frankly at a therapeutic dose, there is no way in my mind that any true ADDer can abuse their medication. It doesn't work that way. My DH used alcohol and other drugs to feel better partly because of his ADD and the effects of being untreated, to calm the chatter as GlenW suggests. Now properly diagnosed and treated under the care of a physician, he does great. He also works a very good AA program and treats his alcoholism with abstinence and does great there too.

Just the other day, while trying to obtain his monthly prescription for his Adderall (he gets it monthly because of his ill-advised and misinformed psychiatrist who still believes that he may abuse it...long story short, but not everyone proclaiming to have medical accumen in adult ADD has it) he was picked apart by the nurse because of his substance abuse history. Turned out they had sent it to the wrong place. We laughed about it, because unless you have lived it or been there, people are so quick to rush to judgement. We figure he would have to hoard his medication for several months to get a dose that would actually give him a high and addicts don't have the patience to hoard for that long. Also, addicts who are going to use are going to use, not wait for their monthly prescription to do so..that is the progressiveness of the disease. Addicts with ADD will use meth, not ritalin, especially not a time release stimulant medication....like adderall (time release, not salts). The people using ritalin and other similar stimulants to get a high are in most cases not ADDers. Besides, his medication makes him feel normal when taken in a therapeutic dose and that is all he ever wanted.

While I believe the two diseases go hand-in-hand for my husband, I believe one is more the result of the other in his case. Would my husband have developed alcoholism had he been appropriately disgnosed and treated for his ADD when he was a child? Quite possibly, but it is less likely that he would have picked up that first drink when he was thirteen. So it goes.

You first step is to admit that you have a problem with alcohol. Take care of that and everything else will most likely fall into place. ADD is a disease/disorder, but it is not one that is terminal. Untreated alcoholism is a progressive and deadly disease without treatment. Good luck to you.

wow good posting chuckles.  I hope mcperson takes what he can away from it.

Adderall is supposed to be Rxed monthly btw (they can script 3 months but they never give more than 30 days at a stretch.  It's the law in North America last I checked.).

Yes, OWNING one's own foibles and mistakes is essential.  I am not an alcoholic but have so many shortcomings and I've worked hard to be accountable for the harm I did to others and to make amends where I can.  It makes a big difference in my mental health as I leave no burdens attached where I can drop them and feel better. 

You are right that meth would be the self-medication of choice for most addicts.  From what I gather either meth or crack would give more buzz for a buck than our meds.  My meds without insurance would be a dollar canadian per pill.  Would cost a lot for a day or two of buzz then to wait all month to refill.

I hope mcperson doesn't feel assailed by us right now.  I want mcperson to get better - just to put the accountability where it helps him most.  Blaming people and pills won't make it all go away.

I watched my dad in the 70s nearly drink to oblivion.  He has ADHD too (non-diagnosed but hey who couldn't see it? LOL!) and beer was his meds.  Kept him from hiding.  Watched every uncle and aunt die from drug OD or alcoholism, sad and all alone like hermits.  From what I saw as a child they were all ADHD in a big way and hid from the world out of feeling inept and alone.

My last paternal uncle passing away with a beer in his hand was actually the catalyst that finally got me looking at my own ADHD.  His early passing was the step I needed to get myself help.  He was alone in the middle of buckwheat nowhere northern canada - struck down with cataracts and lost all his friends so nobody was there to help.  He was found after being late for his prescriptions a month in his easy chair, TV on blaring, beer in hand.  Tore my father apart inside.

My dad got sober in the 80s after being shown how he blew fatherhood with his first granddaughter.  I'm proud of him.

Sobriety can be achieved if it's wanted enough.  Takes work - just like fighting off ADHD symptoms.  It's an urge in the end - something to take ownership of - then control of.

I wish mcperson the very best and hope he does what is needed.

I am concerned mcperson that you blame the medication for making you an alcoholic.  Is that a fair interpretation by me?!?

Dexedrine will not make a person an alcoholic any more than alcohol does.  To be one you have to have a genetic predisposition and maintain a high intake of alcohol.  Dexedrine wouldn't have masked the effects except for the drowsiness - the dizzy, disoriented feeling is still there.  Same as coffee would make you a wide-awake drunk.  Especially at normal intake of dexedrine unless you purposely increased your dosage.

One of the first steps in controlling alcoholism is to take responsibility for your actions.  Noone or nothing made you do what you did.  It came from within.

Many with ADHD take alcohol to numb the chatter.  Perhaps you fell back in to old habits when you became used to the dexedrine?  That can happen as you like the high and want to get that "buzz" that makes you feel disoriented but good.

Although I sympathize with your problem I am not happy that you try and blame something innocent like your ADHD meds on a situation that you already had inside.  Search the whys and make the right decisions.  Make sure you don't abuse your meds too - an alcoholic with the gene will abuse almost anything to escape and if you remove the booze you may reach for the nearest high to replace it. 

Was not on add meds at the time. I have never been diagnosed as add. My son is adhd, and his ped doctor thinks he might have gotten it from me. He says he sees the signs in my history. Good luck!

 

Wow dude, sorry to hear.

Were you on ADD meds while you were drinking?

McPerson38862.6884722222

I was an alcoholic for about 6 years, averaging 10 drinks a day. And, from experience, it takes a long time to recover from the effects. You need to be completely sober for a time, before the effects wear off. And, my brain is a little more normal, but my memory is awful now. Who knows if it is old age or not, but, no, I am not the same person I was before. 

 Good luck to you!! Oh, have you tried aa meetings, they might help. There are even some online aa meeting sites you could try, if you wanted to remain anonymous.

Something about adderall makes me want to drink alcohol, too.  I frequently take days off and med-vacations.  When I take adderall, I'm much more likely to have drinks on a weekday.  When I don't take meds, I would never drink sitting at home with my wife.

I don't really think its adderall that "makes" me drink, but it is just more fun to drink with adderall.  That's probably a separate issue, though.  I'm normally an extremely mellow person, but adderall makes me more attentive, alert, and sometimes stressed out.  Maybe that's also why I'm more likely to drink with it.
maybe its just withdrawl symptoms of not having alcohol - going that many drinks a day and just stopping on a dime might make the brain give a reaction. I used to be an alcoholic, but since my trip to juvi I've been staying away from that stuff, but I actually dont even think about alcohol when i take my adderall. Im too interested and occupied with schoolwork, videogames, guitar, doing housework, or whatever.

Well I was hooked on alot of sh*t  like this otc hallucinogen dextromethorphan, and (like alcohol not speed)  i worked through it for a couple a years,  dint get me high anymore, then the anxiety withdrawl i went through and got over it...it makes me feel more depressed   instead of a lift...I have no desire for pot, alcohol, this, just cocaine..which  when i took adderal  i lost my desire to use anything.....2nd of all  i tried taking  50mg of adderal  it never made me feel high, just hyper and panicy..it was a straight formula...ive never been prescribed to it,   just bought it off the street,  when i get a script,  i wont abuse it  i dont feel tempted too,  even coke....its not addictive like it   but it relaxes me and makes me feeling good  but not euphoric....so yea....the trick is  asking a understanding doctore and getting it..  maybe i shouldnt mention substance abuse....just occasional cocaine use....i shouldnt have to hide anything,  but if i have to oh well  cause i dont wanna use anything  adderal is all i need....in fact before i abused drugs i tried it in high school and said the same thing.  i believe if i was given it as a child   i never would have gotten into anything.....

 

By the way  if you stop using alcohol suddently,  stimulants arent a good idea for at least a few months    (i was hooked on the downers b4  dont wanna explain more,  but wait at least 4 months...but yea...

hey ummm well i guess thats all 

[QUOTE=IsIcKle721]

Well I was hooked on alot of stuff  like this otc hallucinogen dextromethorphan, and (like alcohol not speed)  i worked through it for a couple a years,  dint get me high anymore, then the anxiety withdrawl i went through and got over it...it makes me feel more depressed   instead of a lift...I have no desire for pot, alcohol, this, just cocaine..which  when i took adderal  i lost my desire to use anything.....2nd of all  i tried taking  50mg of adderal  it never made me feel high, just hyper and panicy..it was a straight formula...ive never been prescribed to it,   just bought it off the street,  when i get a script,  i wont abuse it  i dont feel tempted too,  even coke....its not addictive like it   but it relaxes me and makes me feeling good  but not euphoric....so yea....the trick is  asking a understanding doctore and getting it..  maybe i shouldnt mention substance abuse....just occasional cocaine use....i shouldnt have to hide anything,  but if i have to oh well  cause i dont wanna use anything  adderal is all i need....in fact before i abused drugs i tried it in high school and said the same thing.  i believe if i was given it as a child   i never would have gotten into anything.....

 

By the way  if you stop using alcohol suddently,  stimulants arent a good idea for at least a few months    (i was hooked on the downers b4  dont wanna explain more,  but wait at least 4 months...but yea...

hey ummm well i guess thats all 

adderal in a normal dose  makes me feel more "high"  than a abuse dose   weird

[/QUOTE]