I'm Tired of Being Tired!!!

[Luckyducky]

When does your energy come back! I will have some days where I am fine and have a great day and others where I have no motivation and want to stay in bed. I do go to work and do want I need to but anything extra I feel trapped in my body "screaming in my head get up and move!" I am not depressed just lazy!!!

[Zerokewl]

it doesn't come back all at once. You'll sort of slowly but surely gain more energy and endurance.  I definitely have more energy than I did 9 months ago.   I have way more good days than bad days. But I'm still very lazy and really need to work on motivation. Don't push yourself too hard (this usually reults in a crash) but push yourself a little more daily.  

[JustinW]

Like ZK said, there's no quick fix to this problem.  I'm having a blah day myself because I didn't get a good night's sleep, but the good days do outnumber the bad ones.

[Krax]

When does your energy come back! I will have some days where I am fine and have a great day and others where I have no motivation and want to stay in bed. I do go to work and do want I need to but anything extra I feel trapped in my body "screaming in my head get up and move!" I am not depressed just lazy!!!

 

It takes 4 months - this was my experience any many others - to regain just basic minimal energy. I've said over and over to people that Wellbutrin saved my life in that I couldn't have stayed off amphetamine without it. After 4 months enough of my natural energy returned to quit wellbutrin. I've had many people respond that "oh I don't want to put any other drugs in my body," this coming from someone still taking adderall. That's a user's way of seeing everything black and white. I don't know how people quit, and I know some do, without something like wellbutrin. 

[Zerokewl]

Good to see you Krax.  I agree I avoided anti-D's for the 1st 3-4 months.  I had the attitude that I was done with pills etc. Out oif desperation I started taking the Anti d's.   I under estimated the depression that follows the withdrawl, I still struggle with it but it is less crippling with the Anti Ds, exercise, nutrition. 

[Cassie]

It also took 4 months for me to regain basic energy levels - very basic. I didn't take any antidepressants but I did Bikram yoga 2-3 times a week for the first 4 months, and I went hiking every Sunday.

[Krax]

Antidepressants is such a vague and general term, in fact I think amphetamine could be characterised as one of the first anti depressants . There is nothing similar between SSRIs like Prozac or Effexor , and Wellbutrin, they are totally different. I know many of you know this, but I'm pointing that out for everyone else. I had tried quitting while using Effexor and prosac, but it just made me even more tired. Wellbutrin doesn't release dopamine however it does inhibit the reabsorption of it, so it' was really a perfect transition to sobriety for me and non addictive. I know it sounds like I'm a sales rep for Wellbutrin, but it's just that I get frustrated reading peoples posts who are still using but are making all these grandiose plans to quit, and then I never see them again. I think there are a lot of unrealistic expectations out there, I should know I had them too, but to quit using such a cataclysmic central nervous stimulator is so hard.

[SweetCarolinee]

Lucky,

I'm right there with you my friend. Just like you, I have days where I wake up and life is amazing, I have a ton of energy, I get a lot done, I eat clean and healthy and go to yoga and then I have days where I can barely get out of bed, let alone eat healthy or go to yoga. I think this is normal and just a part of recovery. And it makes us stronger by not being temped to going back to our old ways, when we are at our worst. I feel though I'm best after getting at least 10 hours of sleep. I have to keep telling myself, this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. And I just try to make the best of this journey because it's the only way.

The longer we are Adderall free, the stronger we will keep getting and remember this state of mind and state of being isn't permanent.

 

You should be so proud of far you have gotten!

[ChrisJL]

Antidepressants is such a vague and general term, in fact I think amphetamine could be characterised as one of the first anti depressants . There is nothing similar between SSRIs like Prozac or Effexor , and Wellbutrin, they are totally different. I know many of you know this, but I'm pointing that out for everyone else. I had tried quitting while using Effexor and prosac, but it just made me even more tired. Wellbutrin doesn't release dopamine however it does inhibit the reabsorption of it, so it' was really a perfect transition to sobriety for me and non addictive. I know it sounds like I'm a sales rep for Wellbutrin, but it's just that I get frustrated reading peoples posts who are still using but are making all these grandiose plans to quit, and then I never see them again. I think there are a lot of unrealistic expectations out there, I should know I had them too, but to quit using such a cataclysmic central nervous stimulator is so hard.

I think you may be referring to a post I made a few days ago where you advised Wellbutrin during recovery and I was hesitant to do so. You may have gotten the wrong idea when I told you about my reluctance to try it. It's not that I'm totally opposed to giving it a shot, I just have some concerns about putting more chemicals in my body at this point. To be honest I was kind of hoping you would respond and tell me a little bit about how it helped you and why you advocate it during the early period of recovery.

[Krax]

Chris my advocacy is based only on my personal experience and I have no medical background.

I just note how similar time line wise so many forum members' experienced in recovery have been.

Okay, so here goes:

I have a very limited lay person's understanding of some of the chemistry involved, which is that amphetamine does 2 things, it releases dopamine and it inhibits the reabsorption of it back into the brain cells (?) so that more is swimming around in your head making you stimulated. The release of dopamine is what is so addictive. That is why appetite and sexual activity is decreased because you normally get dopamine released from those things but with amp who needs it? So right there you see how amp messes with God's engineering (designed to propagate the human race). That's a red flag right there.

So when you take amp the artificial release of dopamine throws your system out of wack and you stop producing and releasing dopamine normally. This is why you are so tired when you don't take amp. I had a psych tells me brain cells should recalibrate after about two weeks off amp. To this I cried bullshit! Now the thing is amp creates it's own dependency in that the more you take it the more you need and crave it, so when you awake and take one pill you auto are withdrawing because again, you are telling your brain NOT to release dopamine on its own, you've got it covered with your pills.

It takes a long time to get back to normal. I never would have made it without wellbutrin, I would have given in out of exhaustion. Wellbutrin does not release dopamine, but it does the 2nd thing amp does, it inhibits the reabsorption. It feels like a even coffee buzz all day. First few weeks are weird, buzzing feeling in your head, but in my case that went away. It is not addictive. I quit after 4 months. I can see why it's so successful as a smoking cessation cure.

Hope that helps

[Krax]

I wanted to add something: the idea that you can go from using such a drastic central nervous stimulant like amp, to nothing, without major withdraws for a sustained period of time is absurd. I'm not blaming the user, I think if any of us had had any idea what it would be like we would have been more hesitant to use it amp in the first place.  For me, with my professional obligations, I could not have sustained my quit without some help, and Wellbutrin was it.  You know, after 3 or 4 weeks you feel so great, then things go bad again in different ways - WB gave me some stimlulated stability for which I am forever grateful.

[JustinW]

I wanted to add something: the idea that you can go from using such a drastic central nervous stimulant like amp, to nothing, without major withdraws for a sustained period of time is absurd. I'm not blaming the user, I think if any of us had had any idea what it would be like we would have been more hesitant to use it amp in the first place.  For me, with my professional obligations, I could not have sustained my quit without some help, and Wellbutrin was it.  You know, after 3 or 4 weeks you feel so great, then things go bad again in different ways - WB gave me some stimlulated stability for which I am forever grateful.

Makes me want to go back to the dr. and get a script...

[Krax]

One more one more thing: I took very low dose, 75 mg of WB in morning only.

[Freebird]

I wonder if it makes a difference the amount of adderall you took on a daily basics and how long you took adderall?

I am still so extremely TIRED and have my moments of being so distraught about being so fatigue. I even went to the doctor and had some blood work with the hope that maybe there was another cause besides no longer taking adderall to explain my lack of energy. Maybe I was an anemic, thyroid, etc.. Just SOMETHING that would explain. Because honestly I worry that i will never get any better... I will never have anymore energy. Gosh I hate to be such a "Debbie Downer" but I have been crying non-stop about that I was so "tired of being tired" especially the past several days to has really gotten me down. In fact my son that is a senior in high school got home and I was upset and he ask me what was wrong and I actually said "I am so tired of being tired" . I decided to get on here and I thought it was so ironic when I read what the topic on this tread.

I also take Wellbutrin and after about 7-8 with feeling tired all the time. It went though a period were I was also crying all the time as well. And I had been doing somewhat better but it was like i "hit a wall" my husband insisted I call my doctor and tell him I was having a major depressive eposide I explained to him what I had been feeling like and he agreed sounded like I could benefit from an anti-depressant and starred me on lexapro. It did seem to help and did at least "get me out of bed"

so again do you guys thing it matters how long you took adderall or the dose you were on?

[JustinW]

I think that any amount of long term exposure really scrambles your brain. I believe that the title of this thread is applicable to at least 90% of the people on these forums that are in recovery.

[Krax]

I think that any amount of long term exposure really scrambles your brain. I believe that the title of this thread is applicable to at least 90% of the people on these forums that are in recovery.

 

agreed. One thing that is weird: I took ritalin, alternating on and off a few times instead with folcain and concerta, for 4.5 years pretty hard.  The last six months i was also on wellbutrin. I decided at that point, that whenever I started tweaking out I would dump the rest of my 30 day prescription (of ritalin) and go without until the refill. I did this the whole final 6 months. Sometimes I lasted two weeks, sometimes 2 days, but no matter how long I lasted, the withdrawal was always the same. The only good thing about this is that being on the WB, I developed confidence and a belief that I could function without the ritalin, because I had a number of work related things that I did really well without the ritalin.  I finally quit for good when my Dr. gave me a 90 day refill, and after 30 days I dumped it and was done.

[Cassie]

I wonder if it makes a difference the amount of adderall you took on a daily basics and how long you took adderall?

I am still so extremely TIRED and have my moments of being so distraught about being so fatigue. I even went to the doctor and had some blood work with the hope that maybe there was another cause besides no longer taking adderall to explain my lack of energy. Maybe I was an anemic, thyroid, etc.. Just SOMETHING that would explain. Because honestly I worry that i will never get any better... I will never have anymore energy. Gosh I hate to be such a "Debbie Downer" but I have been crying non-stop about that I was so "tired of being tired" especially the past several days to has really gotten me down. In fact my son that is a senior in high school got home and I was upset and he ask me what was wrong and I actually said "I am so tired of being tired" . I decided to get on here and I thought it was so ironic when I read what the topic on this tread.

I also take Wellbutrin and after about 7-8 with feeling tired all the time. It went though a period were I was also crying all the time as well. And I had been doing somewhat better but it was like i "hit a wall" my husband insisted I call my doctor and tell him I was having a major depressive eposide I explained to him what I had been feeling like and he agreed sounded like I could benefit from an anti-depressant and starred me on lexapro. It did seem to help and did at least "get me out of bed"

so again do you guys thing it matters how long you took adderall or the dose you were on?

I'm sure the longer you took it, the longer it takes to recalibrate. I took it for 5 years and the first year sober I was pretty tired all the time. After 2 years I felt a lot better. My motivation and drive is starting to come back a lot more now, after almost 2.5 years. It is a slow process to regaining your physical and mental energy. There's nothing wrong with you, it's just a slow process and you have to give it time.

[Cat]

I think that the length of time you took adderall is related your recovery period. I took it for 5 years and have been clean for 15 months now. The first 4-5 months off I was way tired. The rest of my first year I had good and bad days, with the good days increasing as time went on, but still had random days of feeling super tired or unmotivated. My latest turning point came at around the 14 month mark, lately I have been feeling pretty consistently energized and motivated. 

[Freebird]

I took adderall for about 15 years and i quit at the end of May 2013. It does seem like there are days were I have more energy I guess than others. Maybe this is just one of those periods where I am experience a real loss of what little energy I did have and I guess that makes me depressed and the cycle continues. I have to continue to remain myself my adderall is NOT the simple answer to solve my problem and that now i could handle it. It is very tempting I admit to sometimes thiink that's the answer. But I have a list of all the reasons I quit and the pain it caused me and my family while on adderall to remind me NO THAT's NOT an option for me. thanks guys for taking the time to reply to my question. I might not post everyday. But I am on here everyday reading your comments and learning from your advice you give. Thanks.

[JustinW]

I'm coming up on 14 mos. myself and find that my worst times are when I don't get enough sleep. Even this far along in recovery we are not strong enough to deal with a minor sleep deficit so make sure that you are always mindful of getting enough rest; some days that may mean 8 hours and other days it may mean 14 hours.