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Finally Ready To Quit, But Terrified


FinallyReady

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Hello, 

Its been hard for me to admit that I'm addicted to Adderall, but I found this website and it gave me the courage to admit it and begin my journey off of it. 

I first took a pill when I was in pharmacy school, I was so tired trying to stay up all night and take tests and pay attention in class the next day. One of my study partners gave me their Adderall and it was amazing. I could take one 10mg pill and be up all day and study all day with hardly any sleep. 

Believe it or not, prior to Adderall, I was a straight A student. I started pharmacy school making straight As. I finally made Bs and even my only C in pharmacy school after starting Adderall. But all my friends did it and we studied together, so it was easy to get addicted. I easily got a script from my doctor and so it began. 

I graduated with a 3.7 GPA, moved to another state for a one year post graduate residency in a hospital. I tried getting off Adderall for 2 months during that residency year and it was horrible. I caved and said I would stop when residency was over and my life settled down. Of course, it didn't. My job was very challenging and I'm a go-getter at heart. I would take it to read entire guidelines after I got off work. I was definitely amazing at my job that's for sure. 

I was "dating" very unhealthy people and found Adderall to be the only thing to ease my mind from the constant worry about why I'm not in a relationship or why I'm not married yet. I'm currently 29 and life is hard for us single girls near 30. 

I've eventually moved to sometimes 30mg-40mg IR one day a week or sometimes several days in a row. 

I moved for a job promotion to a completely different state, barely knowing a soul. Adderall makes me feel like I don't mind being completely alone and like I don't even notice that I'm single. Off of it for an entire week, I have so so so much trouble getting out of bed, I constantly think my new coworkers are judging me or hate me, I am completely miserable at work and constantly feel like I'm not good enough, even though logically, I know these things aren't true. 

I've been taking it for 5 years now. I'm taking a huge board exam in a month and after that, I want to get off Adderall entirely. It makes me paranoid, extremely depressed, and I am so ashamed of my addiction. I only take it when things get hectic at work or when I need to do something for work. I would never take it recreationally to party (mainly bc I'm an anti-social weirdo on it who would rather stare at walls). 

My two biggest issues with quitting are: extreme depression and extreme tiredness. If I were certain those things would go away exactly 30 days after I stopped, I could start today, but I seriously get so depressed sometimes that I consider suicide. I'm alone way too much and even feel alone at work bc my coworkers are all so new to me. I'm worried I need to be in a relationship to quit or maybe even in rehab just so I can assure my stability and not feeling so hopeless and empty that I want to end my life. I want to be happy. I want to live a life without addiction. I know I can. But I'm so worried about the withdrawal period that I'm scared to quit. 

Any advice would be helpful. :(

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The sooner you can quit the better because eventually adderall won't be able to save you from the depression and anxiety. When that time comes it'll be a hell of a lot worse than quitting now. I know it's ridiculously hard and tempting but the sooner you quit the better.. after a couple months you should be feeling significantly better. Especially considering your dosage which is honestly, reasonably low. If you keep at it one day you might see yourself taking 100mg+/day and by then you'll be in for a lot more serious ride than now. Anyways, I don't mean to sound disregardful or disrespectful in anyway. You'll be surprised how you'll bounce back if you can resist the temptation of the high. 

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Find support or someone to talk to via a counselor, social groups, anything. You don't need to be in a relationship just try to find what you love, as cliche as that sounds. If your depression is that bad already you really do not need to continue using.. Consider therapy and just try your best to connect to people and be healthy. 

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Yes it is scary.  It's scary as shit.  It's only been 1 month for me, and I've been on it for over 10+ years.  Everything you think Adderall is making better in your life is a facade.  I didn't know this but my husband reminds me because I like to "glamourize" my adderall self...apparently my adderall self was not as spectacular as I thought....and I'm actually ok w/o...hard to stomach or believe.

AND. It will mess up your hormones big time...

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you to all of you guys! 

I definitely appreciate the advice so much. 

Heres another part to my story and an additional question. 

So i just moved to a new state and started a new job, like I said, I just got a new primary care doc, who I think will help me quit. I'll probably get on Wellbutrin to quit. My real concern with quitting is the depression. I'm terrified to live alone with depression, especially this post- adderall addiction depression. I'm worried because I know how I can get without adderall, I'm worried I'll call into work or oversleep and not show up. I care so much about my job and my reputation at work, but when I'm far down, I don't care at all. I feel like I almost need someone living with me that I wouldn't want to disappoint in order to actually get up and go to work. And to pay bills and do normal things. Living alone and living your life alone is so hard. Sometimes when I haven't had adderall in a few weeks, I almost get suicidal because of how hard it is to motivate myself to clean my house, take a shower, go to work and give it my best, do something productive with my day after work, and do it all over again. I spend so much time alone. At work, im at a desk all day. I'm a people person for sure and I need people in my life. I'm just so worried I won't make it during the withdrawal. Any advice? 

 

 

 

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Do you have any retired family members whom you can confide in and ask them to come stay with you for a while to help you through the transition. Maybe a grandparent, aunt, uncle, parent, distant cousin or even a friend who is in between jobs. Is there anyone you can recruit to come help you get through the first month or two.  

If not then have you considered an in patient rehab facility?  Your job sounds like the kind that comes with Heath insurance. Find out if in patient rehab is an option for you. It's not like you are taking advantage of the situation or trying to skirt work - you need legitimate help. And you deserve some help to get through this. 

Our big boss man is out on FMLA right now and we are all concerned for him and no one knows why he is out we just know he is sick.  He will be gone for another two months. That could be you getting the very real break that you need.

There is someone on here who went to in patient rehab and if you search rehab you can probably find her story. I wish I had gone to rehab instead of trying to tough it out at work.  

I can relate to so much of your story.  I finally got married for the first time at age 38. You are going to get through this. It won't be easy as you already know but you have been successful in other areas of your life and seem like the kind of person who can do this.  It may take longer than one month to feel better but you will feel better if you give it time, I promise. Hang in there.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

We have quite a bit in common!  I'm 32, single, and NEED to quit. My useage started getting out of control in grad school and it's still out of control now that I'm working. Be careful with Wellbutrin. I tried it and it made things worse for me.  If you want a friend to check in with, feel free to message me and I'll give you my contact info ❤️  

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