Bad insomnia and constantly hungry

[speeder1975]

Overnight trying to say asleep is hell. I can fall asleep at say 11pm sitting at my computer wake up a few hours later and cannot get back to sleep. At times, I have taken ambien,Motrin pm,Benedryl or natural supplements like valerian root but nothing helps that much.

[quit-once]

Have you completely quit taking adderall?

[Greg]

Constantly hungry makes sense when you quit, but not the insomnia part. Usually you get more tired. You go a lot in the opposite direction of where the speed took you. Like quit once said, Have you stopped?

[Jon]

I've stopped for 7 days now and still have trouble staying asleep. I took Adderall in many forms and doses over the past 12 years. I tapered down to 10 mg in the AM and another 5 mg if I felt tired in the early afternoon. I'm also addicted to ambien which I figured a requirment while taking Adderall. Isn't everyone taking some sort of sleep medicine while on Adderall? In the 7 days of lonley sobriety I can still feel the Adderall buzz in my body and mind. I stay down for 14 hours a day, but most of it is not sleeping, just resting in half sleep.

Question: Am I going to have a hard time due to the duration of my Adderall use?

[ashley6]

Jon,

Congratulations on taking a big step. I would like to sugar coat it, but recovery is a long process. You just have to believe it's for the best, and it's good you're giving yourself relaxation, because it's pretty important. Did you ever abuse it? What made you decide you wanted to quit? Whatever your reason, let that be your constant reminder to stay quit. It's a journey, but a peaceful life is worth it.

[Jon]

^{Thank you for responding Ashley. God knows, I need the support. I feel so isolated, like I’m going it alone. I’ve had to come to terms with smoking and alcohol addictions earlier in my life and always had the benefit of an in person group environment. Being part of a group is what makes all the difference in the success of any quit, in my opinion, so your input is received with relief, refreshment and gratitude.}

^{I appreciate your honesty about recovery being a long process. I am disappointed, but it shouldn’t surprise me. It seems fair enough that the price to be extracted shall be equal to the degree of accomplishment I achieved while taking the drug. I accomplished much, most of it physical. How’s this for crazy? I collected over 240 tons of quarry rock, painstakingly excavated from an abandoned quarry, two states away, transported it to my house by car, and built a rock wall dividing garden and woodland habitats. It looks like the work of 10 men. I used to call myself a human backhoe. Now, I can hardly keep up with mowing the lawn, let alone the maintenance of gardens, the paths and the trees.}

^{I never took more than prescribed, but I took it as I needed it to satisfy my energy needs, so yes, I abused the drug. I have never run out and have a stockpile that is outrageous. I haven’t tossed any of it yet.}

^{Ultimately, my reason for wanting to quit is to recover that part of myself I have surrendered to Adderall — my peace, my spirit, my smile, the ease of my breathing, my passions for photography, hiking and discovery that I once had. They have all slipped away as if silently while I slept.}

^{I had never taken a vacation day from the drug (I can hardly believe this fact) since I was first prescribed it in 2001 for fatigue and depression resistance to SSRI’s. I was started at 5 mg 3X per day, increasing to 30 mg XR then adding another 20 mg IR in the afternoon. I kept chasing the euphoria and the psychiatrist would prescribe whatever I felt I needed or wanted. This usage went on for about 8 years before I started tapering down due to self-awareness of who I was and the impossibility of sustaining euphoria all of the time.}

^{Then I found this website and after reading Mike’s “Weaning yourself off Adderall†article, I decided to try a vacation day. A week later, I started my quit. A caveat: Over the last 2 years, I had also weaned myself down to 10 mg IR and an additional 5 mg IR If I needed it, which happened mainly on weekends to get yard work and other chores done.}

^{I have this opportunity to quit because I am working the 3 PM - 11 PM shift for a solid month ( a freak set of circumstances), sleeping as late as I need to, otherwise I was going to wait until I retired to quit (I’m 58) at the end of this year or next year. Instead, I seized the moment as Mary Oliver said so beautifully in her poem The Journey, “One day you finally knew what you had to do and beganâ€.}

^{I wish the amount of sleep I require were less life intrusive. My body feels like it was made from lead and my mind, while laying in bed but not sleeping, is like a vulture circling above me just looking for something terrifying to land on.}

^{Thanks to the support I've gained from this site (thank you everyone, thank you Mike, Thank you Ashley) I have confidence of sustaining my quit. My biggest fear is when I rotate back to the world ( I work rotating shifts. I know it’s a hostile environment for quitting): the dreaded 7 AM - 3 PM day shift. What will I do at 6 AM to get me going without the precious pill?}

^{Ashley, please stay in touch.}

[Cat]

I've stopped for 7 days now and still have trouble staying asleep. I took Adderall in many forms and doses over the past 12 years. I tapered down to 10 mg in the AM and another 5 mg if I felt tired in the early afternoon. I'm also addicted to ambien which I figured a requirment while taking Adderall. Isn't everyone taking some sort of sleep medicine while on Adderall? In the 7 days of lonley sobriety I can still feel the Adderall buzz in my body and mind. I stay down for 14 hours a day, but most of it is not sleeping, just resting in half sleep.

Question: Am I going to have a hard time due to the duration of my Adderall use?

Hi Jon, I too got addicted to Ambien while taking adderall. I quit adderall first and continued to take Ambien for another 3 months. That's because I tried to stop both at the same time and with the combo of insomnia plus withdrawal I literally could not function at all. However, finally quitting Ambien was truly the final and necessary release from meds that my body and soul were seeking. I'm now free of prescription medication and feel alive and healthy and happy for the first time in 5 years.

As to breaking the habit of popping a pill at 6 am: that was hard for me too. Even though the physical withdrawals subside after about a week, it is hard to break your mind free of the habit of needing that energy kick first thing in the morning especially knowing you have a full day of work ahead of you. For me, what helped was taking supplements such as fish oil and L-Tyrosine first thing upon waking up, and sometimes even a 5 hour energy shot. Obviously all those things do not provide effects even close to what adderall does, but at least they satisfy the craving and the habit of popping a pill. I also have a "coffee station" right next to my bed with an electric water heater and a French press that I prepare the night before, so when I wake up I turn on the water and then prepare my coffee and drink a cup before even leaving bed. Eventually, after a few months, your body will adapt. You will start waking up and getting out of bed without needing or craving the instant energy. Hard to believe but yes it's true! (Although I still do enjoy drinking coffee in bed in the morning.)

[Jon]

Hi Cat, Thank you for responding. I also continue to take the Ambien because I too want to avoid the double whammy. Today is day 10 off Adderall. Whew, I can hardly believe it! I am sleeping less but still sleeping 12 hours a day. I go to bed around 1 AM (work until 11 PM) sleep in bed until around 11 AM, then slide out of bed and make it to the couch for another 2 hours of half sleep. Since I have to be at work at 3 PM, I figure that 1 PM is the latest I can stay down, so I get up and push the start button on the coffee machine and head back to the couch for another 5 minutes of leaden rest. Then I drink the coffee and begin to feel like it’s okay to wake up. I will live another day. Huh, how about that?

I do plan to quite the Ambien eventually. Thank you for your guideline. I will use it. The supplements you spoke of, the fish oil in particular; is it the brand recommended by Mike on this site?

Since my schedule rotates and most of my work time (2/3'rds of it) is at night and I am requiring so much sleep, the 6 AM shotgun awakening is frightening, but coffee in bed is very seductive. I can use a thermos for the creamer. I can't do black coffee. I can do black espresso, which I used to use a French Press to make. I also could use a Zip Fizz energy drink shot (4 ozs.), as long as my tummy can tolerate it. All good ideas and I am grateful that you took the opportunity to share honestly with me. Thank you, Cat, for your self-expression, your suggestions and sharing your experience, strength and Hope with me.

Jon