Steve Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Hi everyone, Thank you for all the input provided in this forum. I’ve been on a very high dose for 7 years (90 MG/day or regular Adderall AND 90 MG/day on Adderall XR). I went to my physician and told him I wanted to titrate down off Adderall, and I gave him my suggestion of going from 6 30MG tabs/caps per day to 6 20 MG tabs/caps per day, and then to 6 10MG tabs/caps per day. He didn’t agree with my schedule and instead told me he would cut me from 180MG per day to 60MG per day of just the XR. That just didn’t feel right to me, and so I “made a decision†to stop using Adderall on December 30th, 2012. I read articles from both camps (cold turkey and step-down titration). I decided that I would rather suffer with withdrawal symptoms for 3-5 days than to have symptoms to a lesser degree for perhaps a few months. So far so good; some anxiety and restlessness. I believe for me that cold turkey is the best way to break free from this medication. If you all have any feedback for my situation, I’m certainly open to hearing it. Thanks very much & Happy New Year!! Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Congratulations on going cold turkey, I really think you made the right decision. I cannot believe your doctor had no issues doling you out 180mgs of adderall a day. And mixing the extended release with the regular! That is mind boggling to me. ( Couldn't he lose his license for that?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Also, A couple words of advice. 1. Go as easy on yourself as possible. 2. Even when it hurts so bad, know that what you are doing is 100% necessary and worth it in the end. 3. Read tons of books on adderall and addiction recovery. Check an older post for a comprehensive book list. On speed is a great book to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FALCON Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 Hey Steve welcome to the forum congratulations on your dissuasion to go cold turkey .I believe it is the faster way to detox suffer for 1 or 2 weeks and get it over with .Its day 2 for you the adderall should be out of your system now it thanks about 48 hours to get out of your system .So now you should get your self ready to feel like shit its not a easy withdrawal butt moist of us did it so their is no reason wy you cant you jest need to have strong will power and patients you should see some relief on your 5 or 6 day clean good luck my brother stay on the web site it will help you in your recovery. keep us posted on how your doing . FALCON Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 . Hey Steve welcome to the forum congratulations on your dissuasion to go cold turkey .I believe it is the faster way to detox suffer for 1 or 2 weeks and get it over with .Its day 2 for you the adderall should be out of your system now it thanks about 48 hours to get out of your system .So now you should get your self ready to feel like shit its not a easy withdrawal butt moist of us did it so their is no reason wy you cant you jest need to have strong will power and patients you should see some relief on your 5 or 6 day clean good luck my brother stay on the web site it will help you in your recovery. keep us posted on how your doing . FALCON I agree A lot of us have gone through this quitting process when it all seemed so impossible, we are still standing and have become stronger for it. There is no reason why you steve can't do it either. Just keep hanging in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashley6 Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 I didn't personally have the option to choose cold turkey or taper because I couldn't control my use, but I really believe it is the best option. I can't believe a doctor would prescribe that high of a dosage...shame on him/her. I think the max dosage suggested is 60 mgs/day, not that I didn't exceed that regularly, but not by my doctor's hands....wow. Best wishes to you, and we're all here for you. Fight like hell, it's worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather67 Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 Hey Steve..tough it out for sure. For me there is no such word as taper. I have 12 days and I think I'm gonna be OK. I came on when I still had some in stock ...sorting stalling the quit till after the holiday,waah,waah...edited version is I ran out,got red flagged by the state, so yupppp ....CUT OFF!!!! MY hustle that I prided myself that I was so good at.DONE!!! so hello quit. So glad tho...I survived..you will too!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sky Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 hey, one thing I've noticed is a lot of new folks come on this forum and tell their story of quitting, maybe say one or two more things, and then disappear.... now I'm not entirely sure why, but I surmise that a lot of them don't keep coming back because they keep on using... can't be sure if I'm right or wrong, but I bet most keep on going... and of those, I think most have been the weeners... those who put their quit date down the line and then try to ween off probably end up using some more.... I might be wrong, tell me if you think I'm off base on this one, but I think "Now is the time to quit" and suffer thru it is a hell of a lot more of a commitment to quitting than weening. Maybe some folks on here weened off successfully, I'm not sure, but eventually you have to just stop, and make it thru... so Steve, I think you made a good call... be one of the ones that keeps coming back, keep on posting on here, it does you and others good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 hey, one thing I've noticed is a lot of new folks come on this forum and tell their story of quitting, maybe say one or two more things, and then disappear.... now I'm not entirely sure why, but I surmise that a lot of them don't keep coming back because they keep on using... can't be sure if I'm right or wrong, but I bet most keep on going... and of those, I think most have been the weeners... those who put their quit date down the line and then try to ween off probably end up using some more.... I might be wrong, tell me if you think I'm off base on this one, but I think "Now is the time to quit" and suffer thru it is a hell of a lot more of a commitment to quitting than weening. Maybe some folks on here weened off successfully, I'm not sure, but eventually you have to just stop, and make it thru... so Steve, I think you made a good call... be one of the ones that keeps coming back, keep on posting on here, it does you and others good... There are so many people who do that. And I often wonder what happened to them. I am assuming a lot of them couldn't do it or gave up or whatever...And then some just stay with the site and you know those people are going to be okay. i dont know...too pessimistic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quit-once Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 "....the weeners..." I almost spilled my coffee over that one, sky. Great term, and funny. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motivation_Follows_Action Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 Steve, how are you doing? You're a brave man. Cold turkey after 180mg... that's A LOT OF ADDERALL. I was taking 90-100mg a day (like you, a mix of delayed and immediate release - actually InRecovery it's quite common that doctors prescribe it this way, they give you 20mg XR and 10 IR to "get you through" when the XR wears off... that's how it all started with me...), and I ended up in amphetamine psychosis. Apart from the fact that your doctor agreed you should come off it or taper down, what are the reasons, YOU, Steve, want to quit? Why now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krax Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 I think there is a chemical explanation for why tapering off is so hard or impossible, how could there not be? I mean, your mind/body is suddenly without warning supposed to start releasing dopamine on it's own, like it did originally, just out of the blue, and of course it doesn't, so it's like a mini-withdraw really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motivation_Follows_Action Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 Steve, you are right. Read the book that InRecovery recommends, "On Speed". It's fantastic. And also, although this relates to porn addiction, the series is really a useful explanation of addiction and dopamine. There are 6 videos, if you have time, watch them all. Such a useful series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krax Posted January 3, 2013 Report Share Posted January 3, 2013 Those were interesting I assume the weakening and strengthening of the neural pathways apply to CNS stimulates too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassie Posted January 4, 2013 Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 hey, one thing I've noticed is a lot of new folks come on this forum and tell their story of quitting, maybe say one or two more things, and then disappear.... now I'm not entirely sure why, but I surmise that a lot of them don't keep coming back because they keep on using... can't be sure if I'm right or wrong, but I bet most keep on going... Yep, you are correct! If you go way back in the forums you'll notice that my first 'tell your story' post was in March 2011 and my second was in...March 2012. Guess what I was doing in between those dates? Speed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roxbury27 Posted January 4, 2013 Report Share Posted January 4, 2013 Steve, Have you tried quitting before? Your withdrawal is going to last way longer than 3-5 days.... I used to take 4 30mg pills a day when I'd go on my binges and I still feel the withdrawal symptoms going into my 4th week of recovery. I'm only saying this so you know what's coming if you've never tried before. For me, the first week was always the worst physically. I used to go into what I call sleep comas waking up only to eat and go to the bathroom. I never started to feel "with it" for at least 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Thank you all so much for your support. I'm on day 9 and still feel like sleeping all day. I suspect it's best when I don't, and I get out and work or do things to take my mind and body off the withdrawal side effects. I did ask my Doctor for a short supply of Xanax to help with the side effects. I'm not sure if that's helping or hurting because I feel so crappy; it's hard to tell. I had an option to see my doctor on Thursday, and I know he would have re-prescribed for me if I asked him to, so I no-showed the appointment to take away the possibility. I hope I can keep this up and make it to the two week mark; that's what I seem to hear is a turning point. Thanks again for all of your support. It's helps to hear from you. All my best, Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LILTEX41 Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Welcome Steve. Congratulations on day 9!! Can't wait to hear more about your recovery and all the great things in store for you! Hugs, Liltex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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