Alcohol Use and Adderall | ADHD Information

Marko:

AA is NOT for everybody. There are MANY successful programs out there.

I'm glad it worked for you and congratulations.

Your solution is not the solution for everyone. Hare Krishna works for some people as does Black Islam and fundamental Christianity. So do some behavioural modification programs.

There are folks for whom it is NOT a good fit. As I said earlier, if one of my clients *wanted* that then I sent them where they wanted to go.

A good addictions counsellor can tell this particular person what programs are out there and which are most likely to succeed, given their particular psychology.

[QUOTE=MetisRebel] [QUOTE=bharrod]Well I was sober for over 3 years. I used AA to stay sober, and for me it worked. But I stopped going after I had children and got married. Life became too busy, too hectic for me to make the meetings. I am always open to new ways to stay sober, other then AA though. Although, I do believe in AA and it was very good therapy for me when I attended the meetings.I have never tried anything else for my ADD other than Adderall. I have been on every single anti-depressant known to man though.And I did try provigil for tiredness associated with depression, and it didn't seem to help me at all, in fact I was still napping during the daytime while on provigil, which was strange to me.... hahahaha.I am sober now 10 days and counting...........I will write more in a bit, my 2 year old son and 4 yr old daughter are demanding my attention today.Thanks all for the advice and I will give a longer post later.

Mia

Good for you for climbing back up after your sliding a bit!Have you seen the psychiatrist and talked this over with her again yet?[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

No, I have not seen her again yet. Because.............. When she took me off the adderall and the anti-depressants, I was so shocked that I cried and stormed out of her office!! Never went back either. But I will go back to her soon. Once I meet with the drug and alcohol specialist (whom also works with her in the same office). I have been seeing this psychiatrist for almost 5 years now, and I do trust her, and I know that she was just protecting her own ass, and that she would give me other non-federally regulated drugs once I prove to her that I am not drinking now.

bharrod39239.8134375 [QUOTE=bharrod]

Well I was sober for over 3 years. I used AA to stay sober, and for me it worked. But I stopped going after I had children and got married. Life became too busy, too hectic for me to make the meetings. I am always open to new ways to stay sober, other then AA though. Although, I do believe in AA and it was very good therapy for me when I attended the meetings.

I have never tried anything else for my ADD other than Adderall. I have been on every single anti-depressant known to man though.

And I did try provigil for tiredness associated with depression, and it didn't seem to help me at all, in fact I was still napping during the daytime while on provigil, which was strange to me.... hahahaha.

I am sober now 10 days and counting...........

I will write more in a bit, my 2 year old son and 4 yr old daughter are demanding my attention today.

Thanks all for the advice and I will give a longer post later.

Mia

Good for you for climbing back up after your sliding a bit!

Have you seen the psychiatrist and talked this over with her again yet?

[/QUOTE]

I have never tried anything else for my ADD other than Adderall. I have been on every single anti-depressant known to man though.

I am sober now 10 days and counting...........

I will write more in a bit, my 2 year old son and 4 yr old daughter are demanding my attention today.

Thanks all for the advice and I will give a longer post later.

Mia

[QUOTE=bharrod][QUOTE=MetisRebel] [QUOTE=bharrod]Well I was sober for over 3 years. I used AA to stay sober, and for me it worked. But I stopped going after I had children and got married. Life became too busy, too hectic for me to make the meetings. I am always open to new ways to stay sober, other then AA though. Although, I do believe in AA and it was very good therapy for me when I attended the meetings.I have never tried anything else for my ADD other than Adderall. I have been on every single anti-depressant known to man though.And I did try provigil for tiredness associated with depression, and it didn't seem to help me at all, in fact I was still napping during the daytime while on provigil, which was strange to me.... hahahaha.I am sober now 10 days and counting...........I will write more in a bit, my 2 year old son and 4 yr old daughter are demanding my attention today.Thanks all for the advice and I will give a longer post later.

Mia

Good for you for climbing back up after your sliding a bit!Have you seen the psychiatrist and talked this over with her again yet?[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

[/QUOTE]

I'm glad you're going to try and work with out with your psychiatrist because it sounds like you've got a good relationship with her.

Has she tried strattera or alertec [modifanil/provigil] with you yet? That would lessen the addictive risk if you do drink at any time in the future and lessen her ethical problems around prescription drugs...

Keep us up to date

Hello MetisRebel. Your question of her method to quit drinking.. I belive it was Alcoholics Anonymous. Their method of recovery, a proven method later addapted by Narcotics Anonymous, Over eaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, ss.. uh, sse.. Sex Anonymous, a simple 12 step program of action that must be implimented by the sufferer in order to achieve freedom from being a user. As near as I can guesstimate through previous communication with her, she was sober for quite a few years and began experiencing difficulty with depression and further testing exposed her ADHD issues. I replied because her case is so close to mine.

While I have a great deal of respect for the many professional Doctors and Therapists as well as counslers who give much of themselves to help in the seemingly endless flow of suffering that passes through their offices, and surely through their dreams, they had their hands tied with me, because I didn't want their help. At 42, I had struggled long and hard to protect my right to use drugs and alcohol. It was I felt, the only thing that kept me from loosing my sanity.. {I learned later I can't lose something I ain't got). After being arrested for alcohol induced stupidity, I was ordered to stop drinking and tested daily through probation. Well that fear of being locked up convinced me to stop, and just as I had predicted, I went nuts and landed in the hospital mental ward where I met the Psyciatrist who still works with me today as well as a handfull of phsycological counslers... All of whom I lied through my teeth to in order to avoid being diagnosed as needing to quit using. It bothers me to look back now and see I never gave these people a chance to help me, which resulted in the hospital installing a revolving door

Truth of the mater is this;

When I was finally ordered by the court to attend some AA meetings... probably to alieviate stress on the hospital.. I sat at tables with the most sorry group of misfits one could ever hope to meet. Day after day, week after week, they would sit around talking about their prior troubles, but more importantly they talked about their solutions to their problems. Before long I heard every thing I was struggling with, every gripe and woe, coming from the mouths of these misfits... and I began to feel at ease for much of what they shared was stuff I'd never openly admit to. For the first time in my life, I wasn't alone anymore. They say in the Big Book at AA that another alcoholic can usually win the confidence of another alcoholic in a few hours. It took a few months for me, but when I heard people I trusted say they had been where I was and I'd see them where they are now, well... I had to have that too, and they gave it to me freely.

In closing, there are a couple of letters writen by the doctor who had attended one of the founders of AA- Bill Wilson. In the letters, Dr William D Silkworth gave praise to AA and the members who give of themselves freely in thje altruistic movement that was growing up around them, saying it brought relief to him and the many who work in their field. He said you can absolutly rely on anything they tell you.

I don't know what advice anyone here could give me, but please don't criticize me, I do a good job of that to myself 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.

I put your last comment at the opening of my post to reassure you that if anything I say seems critical, it is only out of my passion for those who are still suffering. Your well being as a fellow alcoholic is of far more concern to me than anything else.

Some of the things that can set off an alcoholic are restlessness, irritabillity, discontentment... those feelings when entertained long enough will cause us to throw in the towel, throw up our hands, and throw away our sobriety. These are subtle enemies or excuses that creep in slowly disguised as justifiable reasons.

I remember your exilleration over your new found drive to live life to the fullest manifested itself in your early posts. I had some concerns for you then, but only because I too had been there, done that. I didn't say anything about it then as I recalled the frustration I experienced when folks began to warn me. It raised irritabillty to the max as I fancied these folks were either jellous or just plain overly concerned. Let me give you a brief account of my relapse into alcoholic insanity.

With 3 years sober, I was having problems with depression which zapped me of my strength. Tired all the time, confused, and no drive to do more than breathe out after breathing in, and I only did that on reflex. Then came Adderall! It was a miracle to me as I began planning and completing projects, even menial chores like houswork became an adventure. You know, when your mind shifts into over drive after being in neutral for so long, you tend to grab for more than you can hold. Eventually my body and spirit could not keep up with my mind, and as frustration began to rear its ugly head, my wife suggested my inactivity in bed was due to the Adderall I imediatly went on the defensive. So then I was frustrated at my inabillity to be superman, resentful at my wife for blaming my impotence on Adderall... all those things and the restlessness that insued tapped me on the back one night and told me.. "Hey KIDD, you done dreaming yet?" Well, a few nights of that coupled with my inner lamment; poor me, oh poor me...oh.. poor me another drink.

With me I found that I expected the exilleration to be mine for the asking, just pop an Adderall and do it... uh 2, maybe 3.. before long I was up to 90 mg a day, and needing more. Much the same progression as my alcoholism.

I still take Adderall today, but have at my own insistance cut back to 60 mg daily. The problems that drove me back out still exist, but I'm training my mind to keep an eye on my body and spirit and above all, be patient... they'll catch up if you wait a minute. As far as my abillity to perform in bed, I feel is a matter of attraction. To put it as diplomatic as possible, I shoot blanks in bed, but when I use the self service pump, I could fill my gas tank till it spills over.

Hey, get back to the meetings, but more importantly, get back with God and stop punnishing yourself for slipping. That tends to be the biggest setback for me, for when others feel a need to punnish me, nice guy that I am, I help them.

much love, marko-poe-lowe [aka KIDD_Rock4444]

[QUOTE=bharrod]

Well hello there. You're right up my alley [I worked with drug users who had mental health struggles] so I think you're in the right place!

Hi Everyone, it's been quite a while since I posted on here.

I am 35 and was diagnosed with ADD around November 2006. My psychiatrist (who I have been seeing for 4 years regularly for depression meds) is a great lady. However, when she put me on Adderall, she warned me not to drink alcohol. Knowing my history of abusing alcohol, she just wanted to warn me. But I had been sober for years, so there was no concern there.

However, since starting Adderall, I noticed an increase in my need for cigarettes and alcohol.

My first question is, "what method did you use to stop drinking the last time?" Was it based in that "once a user always a user" mentality?

In fact, cigs and alcohol have slowly (in the past few months) taken over my life. I mentioned to my Doctor that I was drinking a little again, and she didn't take me off the Adderall, instead she referred me to a guy who is an alcohol addiction specialist.

Can you still make an appointment to see the addictions specialist?

Did they try strattera or alertec for you [non addictive stimulants]?

But, my regular therapist got upset about this, so I never went to the alcohol therapist, I guess it would be stepping on her toes, or something.

There's something wrong with a therapist who doesn't want the best for you. I used to recommend my clients to people who specialized in abstinence IF that's what the client wanted. I also recommended them out for a number of other long-term struggles as well including a psychiatrist that specialized in personality disorders so we could "team up" and help the client in the best way possible.

Did she tell you she was sending this letter and SHOW you the letter? This is about trust between client and worker.

This is not true at all. Yes, I drink, but I don't use the Adderall to keep me awake, I use it to help me focus and finish projects and to calm my mind down. Anyway, once the letter got into my file, my psychiatrist is required by law to stop the Adderall. Because now she is knowingly giving me Adderall, and my file says that I am drinking again. So the other day when I went to her to get a refill on my anti-depressants and my Adderall, she told me NO! She never tells me NO. We have tried many different medications over the 4 years that i have been seeing her, and she is always open to trying new things to help me out. But she was angry this time and didn't give me refills on anything. She said she could lose her license! I can't blame her, but damn I am so upset at my therapist for trying to play "doctor" she isn't a doctor, she is a therapist, that is it. And it's not her business to be contacting my doctor and recommending my medications or treatments!! So I fired my therapist after 2 years of weekly meetings with her ! I am so angry.

There's legalities involved here, unfortunately for you. However I must say there are better ways of dealing with clients who are co-using. I had a number on methadone who "peed dirty" and I wouldn't USE a meth doctor who cut them off for that because sometimes, it happens. Also I had alcohol using clients that were on certain meds and we TALKED to them about what the ramifications could be. We didn't cut them off their meds when I worked in a health centre.

I don't think that taking me off all my medications (Cold Turkey) is the correct solution here !! Help me get treatment for my addictions, but don't take everything away like that, and then expect me to still be a normal happy functioning person. So now I'm depressed and hopeless and feeling like there isn't much left to be alive for.............

Hang on Sloopy, hang on. We'll get through this somehow. What about the anti-depressants? Did they cut them off, too?

I just don't know what to do, I'm definately ADD, no doubt, I took 3 solid weeks of testing with an ADD Doctor who specializes in it, and he also noticed significant depression too. But now, I am without it all, which makes me just want to drink even more..........it's like a visious freaking cycle, that I see no ending to.

It IS a vicious cycle and you CAN find a way through. We just gotta bump our heads together a bit, first

I don't know what advice anyone here could give me, but please don't criticize me, I do a good job of that to myself 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.

Thanks,

Bharrod

Not gonna beat you up here

I don't know if anyone told you but it's not unusual for ADHD'ers to be attracted to substances since they shut off the noise in our heads. It's also not unusual to self-medicate for depression. So far, you sound pretty normal to me.

What you are--is upset and possibly going cold turkey from the adderal.

The psychiatrist sounds fairly understanding so that's your first point of reference. However, if ANOTHER therapist complains publicly [letter] about what you are doing--it doesn't leave her any choice for legal reasons.

How did the drinking start again? Was there a catalyst in the past 6 months?

[/QUOTE]

Hi Everyone, it's been quite a while since I posted on here.

However, since starting Adderall, I noticed an increase in my need for cigarettes and alcohol. In fact, cigs and alcohol have slowly (in the past few months) taken over my life. I mentioned to my Doctor that I was drinking a little again, and she didn't take me off the Adderall, instead she referred me to a guy who is an alcohol addiction specialist. But, my regular therapist got upset about this, so I never went to the alcohol therapist, I guess it would be stepping on her toes, or something.

Anyway, my therapist sent my psychiatrist a letter the other day, saying that she felt like I was drinking too much and that I was just "using" the Adderall to wake me up in the morning and keep me alert and awake during the day, after a night of drinking beer late. This is not true at all. Yes, I drink, but I don't use the Adderall to keep me awake, I use it to help me focus and finish projects and to calm my mind down. Anyway, once the letter got into my file, my psychiatrist is required by law to stop the Adderall. Because now she is knowingly giving me Adderall, and my file says that I am drinking again. So the other day when I went to her to get a refill on my anti-depressants and my Adderall, she told me NO! She never tells me NO. We have tried many different medications over the 4 years that i have been seeing her, and she is always open to trying new things to help me out. But she was angry this time and didn't give me refills on anything. She said she could lose her license! I can't blame her, but damn I am so upset at my therapist for trying to play "doctor" she isn't a doctor, she is a therapist, that is it. And it's not her business to be contacting my doctor and recommending my medications or treatments!! So I fired my therapist after 2 years of weekly meetings with her ! I am so angry.

I don't know what advice anyone here could give me, but please don't criticize me, I do a good job of that to myself 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.

Thanks,

Bharrod