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Quit cold turkey or taper off? What did you do?


Bubbagump99

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Cold turkey quitter here as well...along with cigarette quitting at the same time! I believe in the saying One pill is too many, and a thousand is never enough. Correct me if I'm wrong all, but I think almost everyone here who has managed to stay clean that is active on the forums went cold turkey...if that helps any.

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Cold turkey quitter here as well...along with cigarette quitting at the same time! I believe in the saying One pill is too many, and a thousand is never enough. Correct me if I'm wrong all, but I think almost everyone here who has managed to stay clean that is active on the forums went cold turkey...if that helps any.

Well said, and in about half as many words as I would have used.   Cold Turkey Rocks!...  and it is easier if you kick the cigs at the same time.

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Cold turkey.  People who have never binged may have a much better chance of tapering but I certainly can't say because all I ever did was binge.  As soon as I took the first pill, the compulsion to continuously take more would absolutely *ROAR* inside of me (oh yeah, and the need for cigarettes).

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Cold turkey (adderall, pot, cigarettes, booze, and all other drugs).  I was tranquilized with a hard core mix of psychiatric drugs for 4 months though (lamictal, seroquel, and citalopram) because I went through a detox program and they didn't know what was wrong with me. They thought it was possible I had bipolar, but didn't know if it was the adderall or not.  Anyhow, during those 4 months I was pretty much a tranquilized zombie. I slept like 12 hours a day and took a month off from work.  4 months later I weaned myself off of everything and started exercising like crazy.  I don't take anything today.

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I was gonna goto the dr and tell her I wanted to quit, and have her replace my 30mg pills with a lower dosage.. But after talking and listening to you guys.. I'm starting to doubt that. now I'm questioning if say I'm prescribed a 10mg, if some days I won't be tempted to take two of them. Now I'm understanding why you say cold turkey. However, I have a demanding job from 8-5, so the thought of quitting when I know I have to work is unimaginable. Ugh. And no, I don't have time off to use. Wondering if I eat healthy, take vitamins, and drink a lot of caffeine if I will be 'ok' to just quit cold turkey. I never consume caffeine, so when I have it I'm pretty sensitive to it.. Meaning I would think it would help somewhat in my 'sober transition'.... ?? Sigh

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I went into the psychiatric hospital and tapered down slowly. This isn't "standard" procedure for amphetamine withdrawal, but I have a history of an eating disorder and couldn't quit cold turkey due to the insane anxiety of my hunger coming back full force if I went from such a high dose to nothing. Plus, I have had suicidal ideation in the past when I had tried to quit amphetamines cold turkey. 

 

In retrospect, it was EXTREMELY difficult to taper because every day I took the pill which activated my reward circuit in my brain and elicited cravings for more Adderall. Yet, I couldn't have more Adderall so I was essentially torturing myself. I would not recommend it but I think everyone's quitting circumstances are different. 

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smhjen:  If you are willing to be honest with your doctor, and your doctor is good and actually listens to you, maybe you can discuss this with them and the doctor can help work with you to figure out whether tapering or cold turkey will work best.

 

Tapering was not an option for me but I wouldn't write it off entirely (especially if your relation with adderall has been a long one).

 

If you are cut back to half the dose and just end up taking it twice as fast, then you could let your doctor know this and you can decide what to do from there?

 

Worst case scenario, it doesn't work, and you have to resort to cold turkey, which is rewarding in its own right.  Because you get to start racking up "clean" days on your calendar which before long start to feel really good! :)

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I went into the psychiatric hospital and tapered down slowly. This isn't "standard" procedure for amphetamine withdrawal, but I have a history of an eating disorder and couldn't quit cold turkey due to the insane anxiety of my hunger coming back full force if I went from such a high dose to nothing. Plus, I have had suicidal ideation in the past when I had tried to quit amphetamines cold turkey. 

 

In retrospect, it was EXTREMELY difficult to taper because every day I took the pill which activated my reward circuit in my brain and elicited cravings for more Adderall. Yet, I couldn't have more Adderall so I was essentially torturing myself. I would not recommend it but I think everyone's quitting circumstances are different. 

Wow, good for you!   And you already have 5 months clean!!!  Awesome job!! :)

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I tapered. Feels like so long ago...I did big jumps though. 60mg to 40mg then 20mg and 10mg to nothing all within a month. My quit was planned, I dont know if tapering did much because I quit from a big amount (10mg to cold turkey) but I had no unusual side effects just felt very very tired. I did it this way because I was still in school. Last day of the semester, I took my last 10mg & then I was done!

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I have felt functional since 30 days.  But honestly there have been lots of ups and downs; and I still don't feel like I'm 100% energy wise.  As many people say quite accurately, "it's not a linear process".  What I think people need to know is that although it takes a long time to get back to your old self, it does not take long to notice the rewards of quitting.

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Emotionally I felt better after about a month.  In the last month or so I started to get back some of my motivation.  At almost 11 months clean I am able to work around the house pretty well.  Although it is scattered and erratic, like before my Adderall prescription...I can't clean one room without getting distracted, but it is just who I am.  It's okay!

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From everything that I have heard and read tapering may be less shocking to you.  There is a ton of info. out there beside this great forum, so do some more research for yourself.  I would work with your physician/psychiatrist/counselor.  Some people may want ongoing counseling or a treatment center (rehab facilities are there too).  It is a personal choice and how you react and feel may be very different from someone else on this forum.  

I found one link for you (google search, not real hard to do) that has more info, since you are asking for feedback:  http://adderalladdictionsupport.com/quit-adderall-cold-turkey/

 

Best of luck to you, making the decision to stop, is the 1st step in the RIGHT direction.  You can do it!!

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I quit cold turkey and had massive mood swings and worsening psychosis after I quit - I wish I'd tapered off in retrospect as this may have been less of a shock to my system, but my girlfriend had just left me and I flushed the pills when she moved out, thinking she'd see that and come back, so at that point tapering off was no longer an option. I'm off the pills - so I'm grateful for that - but as far as the relationship, I've gotta chalk that one up to a casualty of my addiction (breaks my heart to think about, but things get better). 

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