Oh, and my stepdad is a nephrologist and I meant to say he talked to my other doctor, a lady, about my medications and moods, sleep problems, side effects and such and he was the one who suggested that I stop the adderall and get on the beta-blocker and SSRI... sorry for being unclear
So I've taken adderall regularly for almost 3 years now. I'm pretty used to the whole routine, and my body has become very used to it. Although they say it's not physically addicting, and I could agree to a point, it is very psychologically addicting and can change the way your body responds in the morning. My routine usually consists of me waking up 30 minutes before I would typically set my alarm, taking 30 mg of adderall when it goes off, and setting a new alarm in case I fall back asleep. At some point it kicks in and that's when I go get my breakfast and take my shower. Later in the day I'll either take a half tab or a full one to get up to my optimal level or just simply to combat the crash. I have become completely DEPENDENT on this routine, and couldn't imagine having to rough it in the morning like a normal person. I mean last Saturday I had to work at 730 in the morning, and left my adderall at my dads house when I was staying at my moms... ususally I'm not that irresponsible... but it was hell in the morning, for the first 3 hours of work I could barely move or even keep my eyes open, and I had a decent amount of sleep... I never remembered it being THAT hard to do in high school when I wasn't taking it.
So anyway, I was experiencing some chest pains and I told my stepdad that I thought I had high blood pressure... he told me to come into the clinic and he would have the nurses take a look at it and would tell me what he thought. Turns out I wasn't just being paranoid, my blood pressure was fairly high. Although he told me it wasn't a huge deal right now to the point where he thought I needed to be on medication and simply told me to lay off the salt and booze for a little while. But recently talking with my doctor (who prescribes me the adderall and gives me my occasional psyche evaluations) he decided that he thought it would be best for me to get on a Beta-Blocker and possibly an SSRI. He's a great doctor and I really do think he knows what's best for my body right now, but I'm concerned that switching off the adderall right away will cause lethargy and may cause me to miss some early classes and underperform in school... which I CAN NOT do right now because I'm on a tight tight schedule. And to be a little superficial, I'm also concerned that I would gain weight as I'm a pretty heavy eater and admittably I only stay lean because I do take amphetamines every day. I don't know if any of you are doctors or pharmacists but if you know anything about these medications or what I should decide to do, I'd appreciate any advice.
I think the word lethargy was coined for folks like you and me when we first stop taking adderall (me 40 mg/day). I suggest tapering in order to try to avoid the almost overpowering lethargic sensation. You especially, in school no less!!
Just the other day I was thinking how the warning label on this medication has it backwards. It says to avoid using heavy equipment or driving when first using adderall. What is should say is to avoid using heavy equipment or driving when withdrawing from taking this medication!