Compulsive behavior and stimulants? | ADHD Information

I've read on other boards that compulsiveness actually got worse on ADHD meds for some, and they can take different meds from the stims, or combinations of meds to keep both at bay.  The stims can exacerbate an alreay OCD tendency.     I certainly don’t look like a meth addict, but I can see the connection
between some of their symptoms and my symptoms which are much
more mild. Meth users often have open sores because they have
delusions of parasites in their skin. I haven’t figured out where the sores
come from…some people say it has something to do with the skin getting
dried out and some people say that the meth actually comes out of your
skin, so that is why the sores never heal. I’m not entirely sure.   But they
also engage in repetitive behaviors like taking things apart and putting
them back together, which gets you into a trance like state.

I’m just trying to figure out if these symptoms are associated with the
amphetamines or not because I have been using Dexedrine for 4 years,
which I would consider chronic. I don't know what the clinical definition
is. I know lots of people have worse skin picking problems who are not
taking stimulants, so it is a question of causality. If other people here
aren’t experiencing the same issues, then it is a good sign that it has
little to do with the drugs.
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I was reading the post about looking like a meth addict and I got to
thinking.

I have a few compulsive behaviors, joint cracking and skin picking. I have
a skin picking problem where I will sometimes go in to trances for long
periods of time trying to get stuff out of my skin that may or may not be
there. It isn’t as bad as some people get, but I had never considered that
what I am picking may be partly caused by the Dexedrine I take. My face
recently broke out with a couple of whitish looking blisters that I thought
were zits and I dug at them for a while and now I have two little sores on
my face. I also have a couple canker sores and I may have been biting
one of them. I also will find myself digging at my lip or fingers without
even noticing it.   Does anyone else have these problems?
Pinkumbrella

I would be very surprised if your skin issues were caused by your medicine.  However, it does sound like to me that it is exacerbating the "picking" behavior. After a few months on Adderall I realized that while working at the computer I was by biting my fingernails compulsively. It just got worse and worse.

My doctor then prescribed Lexapro for depression and anxiety which helped a little however it made me very lethargic.  Since then I've switched the Lexapro for Cymbalta and so far so good. I still feel a desire now and then to chew on my fingernails, however it's nowhere near what it was like a few months ago.

Best of luck to you!

MaxDad


It is nice to see people dealing with the same problems as me.  I have always messed with my face.  I never had acne growing up but developoed it in my mid 20's and became obsessed with my face.  I find that on adderall I will sit and focus on it for hours on end.  I use differin gel which helps a lot, but every little imperfection I see I mess with.  But I find I try to get everything out of my pores on my face by sqweezing them!  As far as the adderall goes....it changed my life.  I love it.

In a nutshell, OCD is either obsessions or compulsions.  Obsessions relates to recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images, whereas compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in reponse to an obsession.

However, to meet OCD criteria, this disturbance (picking) cannot be due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (such as medication).  Which for me, while I have always an occasional nail biter, this skin picking around my cuticles has definitely been exacerbated by the medication.  For me, the benefits of this medication (which are very few), and I seriously reconsidering at this time, do not outweigh the negative aspects of the picking issue.  I am embarrassed to show my hands and this is causing me more distress than anything else at the present time. 

 

 

 

I pick and scratch at my scalp and it used to  be my feet. the soles of my feet were so bad as I used to pick them till they bled.  what are you saying this is a sign of?  I thought it was just a bad habit like smoking.  My sister has add and picks obsessively at her split ends so much she has messed up her sight.  is this ocd??? it had never occured to me, i though you had to be obsessed about germs or something like that?

[QUOTE=KIDD_ROCKS4444]

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LOL

I would add for Dr Phil, "Those are MY hairs ... it's not about YEWWWWW"
I am an adult and just starting taking Adderall (40mg - twice a day) for the past 30 days.  I have not decided yet if it has done anything for me in positive ways - I feel it helps my reading and concentration a little.  Plus, makes me tired during the day.  I have always had sleep problems (insomnia) and it seem to help me in that area...when I allow myself to finally go to sleep.  I have always been a nail biter but could take of that issue with acrylic nails.  However, I have noticed also that I have begun to pick at the skin/cuticles on my fingers...embarassingly so!  I chew and pick at them constantly and was even thinking of wearing gloves during the wkend.  My plan is to try the Adderall for another 30 days and stop for 30 days and then attempt to evaluate if it did anything positively for me or not, then decide if I want to go back on Adderall or stay off of it.  Any suggestions or advice?????