From doing drugs to sober | ADHD Information

Share
I developed a strange addiction to Excedrin for 6 years. In my mind it was the only thing that prevented my foggy mind and headaches. I have been off it since 2000.Yes, I was afraid of acid and most drugs.  I used drugs to help hide all of my problems.  Really logical now that I think about it (being sarcastic).  I just couldn't handle my problems, so I thought that being wasted made me feel better.  Now that I finally have the proper diagnosis, I totally understand where I am going in my life now.  I was mis-diagnosed as bi-polar II.  I knew that I wasn't but the Dr's wouldn't listen to me!  Reading about ADD, it is clear that allot of ADD'ers have problems with drugs.  I agree with Boggled that the ADHD was responsible for my substance abuse, not the other way around. For me it was alcohol mostly, but also dabbled in pot, hallucingens, magic mushrooms , coke. I also started drinking at age 16. I now see I was self-medicating (as I believe many ADHDers do/did), because only recently diagnosed, I'm now aware and remember that I've "suffered" from ADHD since grammar school. And, believe me, memories came pouring out once I stopped drinking! And still are.   Some have not been such good memories, either. But I've been able to remember peers in grammer school, teacher's names, etc. Still having problems with the short-term memory, tho.

Starting 12 1/2 years ago when I went through alcohol recovery, my life improved considerably. However, now dx'd for ADHD, I'm hoping it to improve even more.   

Good afternoon/morning to everyone.

When I was growing up, I started drinking in the 8th grade.  I abused drugs like pot and speed when I was about seventeen.  I stopped in my early twenties, and started back up on pot until I was about 33.  Now I am the complete opposite,  I  drink occasionally.  I was wondering how many of you guy's abused drugs as well?  My sister believes that the drugs changed my brain chemistry and caused some of my problems.  I do feel better than ever being sober.  It was hard but really worth it! 

I dabbled, but wasn't a great one for recreational drugs.  Acid scared the cr*p out of me - my brain's chaotic enough without that stuff!  I smoked cannabis for a while, but noticed it seemed to affect others more than me - in fact it screwed up their attention spans and short term memory, making them just like ADDers for a while.  I used speed quite a bit, but never noticed any of the 'beneficial' affects it's supposed to have on ADD - but perhaps that's because of the large quantities of beer I'd drink at the same time.

Long time ago now though.

Mark -

I drank from ages 16 to 19, and used amphetamines from 17 until about 22.  It was many, many years ago, but I remember claiming that I needed that one dose of amphetamine a day (I took one each morning, no more) to feel "normal".  Looking back, my problems with ADD were responsible for my substance abuse, not the other way around.  I had clear symptoms of ADD from the age of 13.  My addictions these days are totally legal. 

I always hated cannabis as a teenager, it made me feel my vision go strange and I felt dizzy. This also made me feel paranoid because I had negative thoughts about the effect. My friends would sit around like vegetables and I HATED how boring they became, when I felt restless. I wanted to go do something, not just sit around. 

Probably it wasn't the dope so much, but that I was a bit hyper and couldn't handle people who wanted to sit around watching tv. Think I've developed an anti dope obsession now, I can't stand anyone smoking it near me, I get really paranoid. Haven't touched it since 18.

I do enjoy alcohol a lot, it calms my brain, but trying not to drink too much, as my brother is an alcoholic and depressed, because he had drug-induced psychosic about 10 years ago. (He's 30 now).

 

It's my belief now that I used drugs, alcohol & caffeine to self-medicate. ( I didn't start taking Ritalin till my mid twenties) I wasn't a heavy user. Since starting the Ritalin I haven't touched any of it except caffeineI started drinking at the age of 13, and started smoking pot when I was 15.  I occasionally did speed and tried coke a couple of times.  I was way too chicken to try any hallucinagens because I had a lot of paranoia when I smoked pot.  The paranoia ended up getting so bad that I quit smoking pot when I was about 18.  I drank a lot! but quit that in 1987.  What a blessing that was! Whew, I shudder at the thought of where I'd be now had I continued down that road.Adhd and Substance  abuse   show up a lot together.  Addiction is a problem for me   and the ADHD   made it worse but now that I am treated i can tell you addiction  would still be a problem for me if I started drinking  etc.  My medication is medicine   and I have never nor do I desire to abuse it  but, I know the demon that lurks benneath the surface if i were to pop a couple narcotic pain killers  or a Sam Adams. Cucumbers  may become pickles  but  pickles  are not cucumbers  even when you remove    the pickling juice

I am all together scared of drugs... I know that I have an addictive nature, so I wil NEVER tuch any other drugs than Alcohol.... and that I chose to live without for weeks, to avoid being addicted...

I am addicted to caffein though, but It's possible to quit in a day or two... so who cares

I USED TO SMOKE A LOT OF POT WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND DID A LOT OF COKE OFF AND ON FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS, NOT TO MENTION A LOT OF DRINKING.   MY FATHER WAS A HEROIN ABUSER AND DIED AT THE AGE OF 46 SO I GREW UP IN AN ENVIORONMENT WITH MY MOM BEING A "WEED" SMOKER AND DRINKER, AND MY FATHER'S BEING A MAJOR DRUG ADDICT.  DON'T GET ME WRONG, I'M NOT TOALLY BLAMBING THEM OR ANYTHING.  ANYWAYS, MY EGO WOULDN'T LET ME ACCEPT THAT I REALLY DID HAVE A PROBLEM ALL MY LIFE, SO I GUESS I TOO, WAS SELF MEDICATING AND FINALLY JUST GOT SO SICK OF IT!  I LEARNED ABOUT ADD A FEW TIMES AND AFTER THE FIRST TIME I "REALLY" LEARNED ABOUT IT, I COULDN'T STOP THINKING THAT I THINK I AM A VICTIM OF ADD.  SO, I WAS VERY RELUCTANT TO TAKING STIMULANTS FOR QUITE SOME TIME BUT WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT MANY "ADDERS" SELF MEDICATED, I KNEW I NEEDED HELP.  IT HAS ONLY BEEN A MONTH SINCE I STARTED TREATMENT SO ONLY TIME WILL TELL.  OH, AND I ALSO EXPERIENCED ESCTASY, AND IT'S BEEN ABOUT 4 YEARS SINCE I'V TAKEN "RECRATIONAL" DRUGS AND WOULD NEVER WANT TO GO BACK.  I THINK I WAS DEPRESSED BUT WAS TO "EGOTISTICAL" TO ACCEPT IT AND KEPT NUMBING MYSELF.  FOR SOME REASON, I FELT A SHAMED OF MYSELF TO ADMIT DEPRESSON OR THAT I HAD ADD TO ANYBODY!!  NOW, I'M STARTING TO NOT CARE WHAT OTHERS THINK AND JUST ACCEPT MYSELF CAUSE I FEEL BETTER COMING TO TERMS IN THE OPEN WITH MY FEELINGS NOW THAT I'M OLDER.  BTW, I'M 29.

I started getting high when I was 12 years old. I tried almost everything.but not with anything that involved needles. At the time I couldn't put it together but "speed" (as it were) made me feel normal. However, it was hard to find and I think that a greater part of me didn't think that I deserved to feel "normal" People would talk about how they felt when they took speed and it was nothing like that for me. It made me calm and relaxed and today I take Adderall daily. It still makes me relaxed and calm. In addition, the noise inside my head has stopped and I can focus better (not great but better). However, because I have formed years of ADHD type of unreliable coping skills, I am now having to relearn how to live i.e. time management, not interrupt, and think analytically. theoptimizer38442.8308796296I've been smoking pot for abour 5 years now (i'm 21) and used drugs (lsd, mushrooms, speed and datura) for about 3 years.

i eat lsd blotters about 2 or 3 times per month. i find it really appreciable as it put other people in some adhd-like state. ie. loss of short term memory, impulsivity, talking to themselves.


snorting amphetamines sometimes as a med, and sometimes just to have fun and dance.

i've been into alcohol for about 1 year now (i didnt know i was adhd then) and i've found that it put me in some stable, calm state and enabled me to concentrate on what other people did say and let them finish they sentences!!
the bad thing about it is that i'm know i'm going to be an alcoholic if i dont find a workaround soon :s

every drugs i've tested was kinda slowing down my brain, and
enabled me to not to be hyper and impulsive.






Well, I do believe that drug use and ADHD go hand and hand. My therapist thinks it was self medication I think it was both self medication and up bringing and social factors plus I was pretty f**ked up. My dad still smokes weed and trips out and snorts a little coke now and then. He is an 50 year old biker dude. I love him a ton and we ge along very good, but I wish he'd grow out of parting before he hurts himself, but drugs were no big deal in our house, actually they are a bonding thing, some families talk over dinner, me, my dad, and my sisters and brothers got high.

I was just diagnosed with ADHD about 3 months ago. The list:

I started drinking around 15 still drink on occasion, but was very very bad from 19 to around 23. I learned my lessons during those years and have been pretty good.

I started Pot about 15 and smoked pretty much everyday till about 1 month ago. I did stop once at 19 for about 8 months: and last year for about 6 months. But have decided to stop for now to make sure my meds are working.

I did Coke and freebased off and on for a couple years in my early twenties.

Still have a love of pain killers Vics, Lorasat, Muscle relaxers etc. I have not taken any for quite some time, but the other night did two pain killers and felt horrible, most likely a side effect of my ADHD meds.

Percaset in liquid form when ever I could. Opium a number of times. E during my rave/techo years. I tried Acid only once and had the worst paraniod exp of my life, so never did again. Tried Mushrooms, made me sh*t all day.

I love caffine and used take speed and viverine, sh*t like that, energy drinks too.

Smoked cigs for awhile but quit (thank god)and never ever stuck a needle in my arm or anywhere no tattoos or piercings.

That should cover it. Told you I was self medicating like a mad man. Not to mention my sexual addictions, impulsive stealing, money problems and insane temper.

The worst thing is I really am a good guy Oh, and I'm 29, so plenty of time to fix all that sh*t, right?jake77738442.5050347222I was a user of pot only (the screen name is not for the halloucinogen but my initals arranged last, first, middle) I never got into anything harder, like Mark said before me those things scared me to death. I do drink once in awhile but only when I go out, which alas isn't all that often. It's also been quite some time since I've been drunk, I've learned to limit comsumption not only because of extremely harsh DWI penalties, but also because the hangovers just aren't worth it.Another thing which I forgot to mention abut my pot smoking days, is that it would often get me "properly motivated" to do menial tasks such as cleaning.

I tried pot, cocaine and speed while in high school and my early 20's.  Like many of the other posters the pot just made me paranoid and nauseous.  Didn't like it at all.  The biggies also scared the crap out of me not to mention that I am kind of a control freek so I don't like to be out of control.  My drugs of choice were cigarettes and alcohol although I only drank that when out until I got into a bad marriage.  I definitely could have become an alcoholic if I hadn't gotten out of that marriage.  Cocaine made my jaw hurt because of unrelived jaw clenching.  Interesting that is a side effect of my Adderall too, only not so bad.  It seems to happen mostly when wearing off.  I usually got really sick on the alcohol because I didn't know when to stop.  I used it as a social crutch.  Now I can have a couple of drinks with friends and not feel the need to have any more.  I am very caucious with the Adderall even though I felt my dose needed adjusting I didn't increase it myself without talking to my doctor.  Having a child with ADHD who takes meds I want to set a good example.

My biggest dilemma now regarding my illegal drug use is what do I tell my kids.