I need help with medication dependence

[yourwierd000]

Has anybody here successfully quit any ADD medication/stimulant?

I am 19 years old, I have been taking dextroamphetamine for about 8 years now and I would really like to quit.

Over the past year, I have decreased my dosage from about 70 mg/day to 10-20 mg/day... but I feel very lethargic and depressed and I really miss the way I used to feel while I was on the drug. ( Note that the dosages are for the short-acting pills... I cannot sleep when I take the time-released dexedrine).

I am wondering roughly how long withdrawal lasts for dextroamphetamine/dexedrine/adderall (which contains dextroamphetamine).

And I am also wondering how likely it is that I will never fully recover.

I am very torn over what to do. I am tired of being nervous, stressed out and dehydrated all of the time, and having a low every single day because I take the short acting pills. But I'm afraid that quitting it will just ruin me.

[addprogrammer]

yourwierd000,

70mg of Dexedrine is an extremely high dose. I'm pretty sure you are experiencing both physical and psychological withdrawals. Your CNS has adapted by lowering your natural supplies of dopamine, norepinephrine and no doubt other neurotransmitter levels. Take away the Dex and you experience what you experience - no energy, lethargy and depression.

Dopamine is the "pleasure" neurotransmitter. Too much of it produces an intense euphoric high. An inordinate desire or craving for the high is psychological addiction.

Are you legitimately suffering from ADHD? If so, you can add the return of your symptoms to the list of woes you are experiencing from amphetamine cessation.

The physical withdrawals should take care of themselves. Give it about a month.

The psychological cravings may never go away if you are legitimately ADHD. Very few people (there are some) find living a dysfunctional life happifying. Most of us will seek misery relief one way or the other. If you find yourself still craving Dexedrine after a month's abstinence, seek the advice of a qualified psychiatrist.

Check out Dr. Daniel Amens medication and supplement recommendations for the various ADD subtypes. Try to determine which ADD subtypes affect you the most. Discuss Dr. Amens medication recommendations for your subtype(s) with your shrink.

Bob

[janewhite1]

Addprogrammer is right, 70 mg is a very large dose, and you would get physical withdrawl from that.

As long as you've just been taking pills, however, rather than injecting the stuff, you should recover. Shooting methamphetamine really damages the dopamine-producing "happy circuit" in the brain, sometimes to the point of producing Parkinson's symptoms, but you just need to readjust.

[mellowfish]

I take short acting stim meds too, and often would get depressed and frustrated that I couldn't function w/out meds, so I would stop taking them. Then I would get even more depressed because I couldn't function right w/out taking the meds, so I would have to start taking them again (more than once or twice over the years...) I had tried tweaking my diet, vitamin supplements, exercise regimen, you name it, I still have a need for the meds (sigh)......

Don't let that be discouraging, a lot of ADD'ers have had good experiences trying healthier lifestyle modifications, that would even help even if you must continue taking medication.

If you are experiencing lows and only do well with a short acting med, have you tried taking smaller doses more often? As long as you have not been misusing/abusing your meds (or even if you have) the worst part of not taking them is the psychological withdraw. Just be careful if you decide to stop your meds that you don't inadvertently pick up a substitute habit, such as excessive drinking or recreational drug use. Good luck.

[Jennita]

Although no one can say for sure anything about permanent damage, the brain nevertheless has a built in drive for homeostasis. Just think about it, if your fears were correct, then nobody would ever recover from any psychoactive substance, but as we know, many people have!

So I say, never say never. The brain does have a recovery instinct which has proven to work that recovering alcoholic and addicts can attest to.

The problem is the actual recovery itself....after withdrawal process is over(withdrawal is technically only the time it takes the drug to completely be out of your system), then you must deal with the brain trying to re-establish it's own system of checks and balances again, since for years it was depending on the daily doses of meds to do that. That recovery could be short or long, it varies with everyone; also, relapses can occur long after a drug has not been used.

I think many people can fully recover, but alas, if it takes longer than a month or two many people give up, mainly because the medical community feels once technical withdrawal is over, everything should be just peachy so when it isn't they tend to convince people that it is not a protracted state recovery but rather an old disorder or sometimes even a new one if new symptoms pop up (as they sometimes do) that were not present originally.

I personally went through a long protracted benzodiazepine recovery(never abused) and was told by a doctor that it was impossible that I was still experiencing withdrawal type symptoms at 6 months off, and that I had no doubt some sort of depressive disorder. Well, thank god I knew from many internet informations that simply was not so and rejected the idea I needed to be back on the benzos or an antidepressant.

Presently, I am recovered. It took a long time (benzos are more inclined to take longer than most drugs).

That doctor was completely and totally wrong. I couldn't be happier or healthier right now.

You can get off the drugs if you want. It takes time and patience but I can attest it is well worth it, especially if you are having issues with the drug presently than in the long run it will be worth it.

I think it's individual. If a person is not having any problems on a drug and wishes to continue, so be it. But clearly, problems develop in some and those problems can continue or get worse, so one must weigh that in as well.

You also have youth on your side. Age does effect ability to recover from most things, but at your age you should expect full recovery if you do try to wean slowly, take care to eat well, avoid other substances and exercise. Good luck!