addicted to stimulants | ADHD Information
Sort of. Could you be "addicted" to the medication just because it worked better? In this case it is not addiction. If you have cravings, take more than the prescribed dosage, or have depression and lethargy more so than before you started the Concerta, this may be an addiction. Physical addiction can lead to a wide variety of withdrawl symptoms similar to withdrawl from caffine, but stronger. These disappear within a week or so. Phycological addiction causes no physical symptoms, but you despirately "want" it. This may fade with time but never completely disappear. (like a smoker who quits, the phycological addiction-- wanting a ciggarette although there are no "cravings", never disappear completely). Concerta is not as addictive as the medical community would have you beleive. Besides, as long as a doctor is prescribing it, any abuse will not last for long-- you'll run out. i take concerta and when i dont take it i feel o.k. concentration wise becuase i am on 18 mg of straterra as well for a a mild anti depressent. i mean i can get thru the day without screwing up big time. but i realllly realllly miss the adreneline rushes from the stimulants. is this a sign of addiction? addlad45638517.5497800926I had a Phycological addiction to ritalin for four years. I would get the prescription and it would be gone in a week. I wouldn't go to sleep for 5 days and even 6. I started out good, using it for school and did great. Then I slowly started abusing it. I used it to play video games and looking at adult sites on the web for hours and hours. It almost wrecked my marriage. Finally I saw how it was hurting my wife and myself. It really did not feel as good in the end. The addiction was weird because after the week was up and the medicine was gone I could live without it unitil my next appointment. I didn't have withdrawl. Now I take strattera. It is great for my anxiety but it does not help me focus. So now I am trying to find anything that will work.
realgonerocket38529.620625 I would definitly say that I am sadly addicted to my adderall. When I don't take it I cannot function and I am very tired. I am afarid this is going to turn into a problem. I want to find inner peace and I don't know if I can do so with chemical influence? any opinions?
inner peace? like nirvana or something? You lost me with that one.
It's not that you are addicted to adderall, it's that the adderall raised the quality of your life.
Look at it another way. If a 300 lb woman could (by magic) loose 150 pounds the quality of her life would be vastly improved, she would have more energy, a happier outlook on life etc. There's nothing stopping her from returning to 300 pounds.
So in that sense it would be hard to go back to my old life before (Ritalin in my case) I really have nothing to go back to.
[QUOTE=addlad456] i take concerta and when i dont take it i feel o.k. concentration wise becuase i am on 18 mg of straterra as well for a a mild anti depressent. i mean i can get thru the day without screwing up big time. but i realllly realllly miss the adreneline rushes from the stimulants. is this a sign of addiction? [/QUOTE]I may be wrong, but it's been my opinion that when AD/HD meds are taken and one feels adreneline rushes, they may not even be AD/HD. That supposedly when taking the stimulants for AD/HD, if they are AD/HD, then one would only feel more focused or it would help the mind to slow down (that never-ending spinning mind!), but not euphoric or 'high' or 'rushes.'
Can anyone please set me straight on whether this is true or not? Thank you.
In order to get the euphoric 'high' that addicts get with stimulants, you must snort or inject the immediate release versions. Taking it orally, even in high amounts is not sufficient to get high. Concerta is *very* difficult to abuse because of the OROS osmotic-pump delivery system. I would bet that Concerta is just a much more effective medication for you than the low dose of Strattera you are on.
Well, i sometimes get these 'adrenaline rushes' after i have taken a lower dose the day before, or had alot of caffiene/other stimulants (the legal kind, like in red bull etc.. im not a druggie.. :P)
Just because someone has AD/HD, doesnt mean that it will cut out the 'fun' effects of the stimulant drugs. It simply helps focus a certain part of the brain, and still works the same way on other parts of the brain as it does in 'normal' people. I have ADD, so im not hyperactive, though i asked my psych how a stimulant would slow down a hyperactive person. He told me to think of the drug as a conductor, making the orchestra of the brain play correctly, as opposed to doing their own thing. My analogy to this situation would be if the conductor was a clown, he could still conduct the orchestra without being less funny.
Conversely, the drug still helps 'normal' people focus. This is one of the reasons there is such a big market for them at universities. My friend was saying to me the other day how much i have improved at uni and how i seem to have less 'side effects' from the meds (i used to look tired all the time due to insomnia, and occasionally looked frazzled), when some guy she knew overheard us and came and asked if i was selling!! The guy seriously nearly lost teeth, and will definitely know hes talking to the wrong guy next time he asks. Its guys like him who are giving people like us at uni reputations as dealers.
Hey Jesse get off of it. It is not worth it. Try strattera and see if it works. Trust me you can live without the high!
I am still looking for something to help my focus. This board helps a lot.