In my earlier blogs I have mentioned thoughts about quitting Adderall. After months of constant mood swings and negative thinking I finally got tired of the side effects of taking this drug. I wasn’t happy or motivated about anything and just didn’t care about anything in life. I felt it was time for a change and decided to quit for a while.
Back in January I quit for a month and was very happy during this time period. I was going out socializing again and was very positive. Even though everything was going good I somehow ended up back on Adderall a month later. As expected the same negative thinking and mood swings returned and my happiness was gone. Up until April was a shitty two months and I called out sick from work a lot. Work sucked and I didn’t feel like being bothered with shit politics so I took a week off and went to Vancouver. I had a great time and checked out Whistler for some snowboarding. During this trip I decided to stop taking Adderall and haven’t been on it since.
It feels good being off Adderall but I have been experiencing some withdraw symptoms. For one I sometimes feel that I need this drug in order to succeed in life. I made it all the way through college without Adderall so I know it is possible to get ahead without it. But sometimes my mind tells me otherwise and I have to constantly remind myself that it is possible. The other problem is that some of my developed negative thinking and bad habits carried over from the drug. Before taking Adderall I was ambitious and motivated but once I started taking it that all declined. Now that I stopped I have to get motivated again and get back into my original mindset. I am fearful because sometimes I wonder if its even possible. I could just be depressed and need to see a psychologist but I am not going off the deep end or anything. Hopefully I will overcome this and get back on track.
Hi there-
I read your blog completely understanding your experience on Adderall. I used to take the “quick-release” Adderall as well. I’m assuming this is what you have been taking because of the photo.
The short-acting or quick release Adderall is difficult to handle. The highs and lows are detrimental that I used to be motivated and “alive” for about 6-7 hours and then I would take a dive for the worst. I would crave sugar and my appetite would soar. Probably and compensatory response to the glucose debt created as the drug wears off. This was the drug I used for many many years and would have to time it so that I wouldn’t experience the dive. I would take a second Adderall about 1 hour before the 1st dose would wear off and it would curb the drop in energy and generally dive downward.
I no longer take that since Adderall XR came out. It is an extended release type of Adderall that slowly goes into your system so you don’t get the ups and downs and it lasts 8-12 hours instead of the 6-8 of the regular Adderall. Check it out with the doctor that prescribes it for you because you can get a 30 day supply for free. It is quite more expensive for the XR than the regular but if you use insurance, that may not matter. Anyway, the mood swings are not a factor anymore and I find that it is very helpful..
By: mindfullyfit on June 17, 2008
at 6:23 pm
[...] August 20, 2008 at 3:04 am · Filed under INSIDE AN A.D.D. MIND, MEDS & PHARMACEUTICALS and tagged: ADD, adderall, ADHD, medication, pharmaceuticals, prescription drugs Today I was reading Aikahi’s Blog: [...]
By: Trajectories & Divergences from Former, Unmedicated Selves « Love A.D.D.erall on August 19, 2008
at 9:04 pm
I’m reading here because I am on Day Six of quitting ADHD meds… why? Adderall XR 30 worked so well –just for as long as Shire’s Patient Assistance was willing to support my drug habit.
However we did not see eye-to-eye on their marketing of new miracle drug Vyvanse; I rode a mood rollercoaster trying alternatives.
Reflecting on circumstances aligned to prevent my drug delivery for over a month in 2006… I thought “Do I really want to subject myself to pharmaceutical mind-control for ever and ever?”
Last time I made a drug-free attempt (2001), I began nutritional study that radically altered my eating habits; no longer eating what I like, I eat what benefits me. My eyes rove menus & buffets for picking Best Possible Vitamin content.
Yet I had to admit I was not functional without meds, and sadly began augmenting my dopamine first Wellbutrin’s lovely purple pills and then with Adderal XR, that I learned to slpit the capsule for taking half at wake-up and half before noon if I remen=bered to do it, so that I stretched the effect into a quad-release rather than the dual it was designed for… had a gentler drift to bedtime that way too, rather than a cranky crash.
BUT NOW –
prompted by a friend in 2005 I bought my 1st pair of running shoes and trained with her for the Peachtree Road Race… NOW I have been running 10k fairly regularly since…
And since EXERCISE enhances dopamine; I think I can,
I think I can get off this junk.
I just steamed fish, cruciferous veggies, and a blend of wild, red & brown rice FOR my BREAKFAST.
I wish I could say I feel great. I am lethargic (ran a 10k four days ago). I am staving off a cold (cleaned a moldy basement yesterday for 4 hours in a clubhouse that had water off for plumbing problems; got dehydrated, I was not prepared with my own water supply.) And today’s rain is making me sleepier.
But, I have seen my dark circles clearing up as I have rededicated myself to Good Mood Food… and I’m cognizant that this quitting adderall IS A PROCESS not A Pill. I wish I knew how long it will take.
Other than my yearlong break in 2001, I have been on stimulant meds or antidepressants or both since 1987.
Shire, read my lips, I’m mad as hell and won’t take it anymore.
By: Lydia on October 8, 2008
at 5:53 am
Hi. Good site.
By: Alek on December 31, 2008
at 3:07 pm