rchem Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I took a whopping 90mg/day of Adderall and 60mg/day of Ritalin for the past 4 years (divided into 3 IR doses of 30mg and 20mg each). Things started to get nasty around a year ago when I realized these drugs weren't helping me anymore. They were actually making everything worse. I was nauseous 24/7, irritable, and just felt ill all the time. But I couldn't force myself to even think about quitting until like 3 months ago. I didn't want to tell my psychiatrist I was addicted because I didn't want her to take them away if I changed my mind or couldn't do it, but more importantly because I was afraid she'd take away the other medications I use with abuse potential (i.e. Xanax, Klonopin, & Ambien). I don't abuse or feel addicted to any of those other substances. So I started tapering down by myself over the last 3 months and it was actually not as hard as I thought it would be. The most important thing, I found, was to keep myself occupied. If I laid around for even 30 minutes, all I could think about was stimulants and I would inevitably end up taking some (or, even worse, did some cocaine instead, which I used to be extremely addicted to and had to go to rehab). I also increased my doses of 2 mood stabilizers, Lamictal and Seroquel, which I take for bipolar disorder 1, and that seemed to help a ton. Slowly, I've worked myself down to just 1 of the doses I used to take, 30mg Adderall and 20mg Ritalin. My scripts keep piling up and I fill them every month but don't use them. I know that's stupid. I don't know what stops me but I find myself unable to not take them to the pharmacy. Anyways, my point is, I can't shake that last dose every morning. I do fine the rest of the day, but I'm physically unable to get out of bed without it. I used to set my alarm 20 minutes before I actually needed to get up and take them then, then slowly wake up and instantly be ready to go. Part of the problem is that I take a large dose of Seroquel at night (4x how much I take in the morning), which is very sedating and lasts 12 hours, so it's extremely hard to get up in the morning. But it works very well for me and keeps me grounded and that is invaluable, especially when stopping and switching to another medication almost certainly would send me into a mood episode. Regardless, I can't shake the '20-minute ritual' every day. I've tried cutting the dose down but it's not the same because I need that whole 30/20mg to actually wake me up efficiently. Even when I do tell myself I'll only take 20/10mg or something and lay exactly that much out on my nightstand, I inevitably get up and walk into the bathroom to get the rest of my dose and go back to bed until it kicks in. I tried totally stopping in the morning and it takes me hours of alarms set every 10 minutes to get the motivation to actually get up. I have recently cut down a bit on my Seroquel dose so that may help but it's basically out of the question for me to quit that unfortunately. Did anyone else have difficulty specifically in the mornings? Does anyone have any suggestions or is this basically a situation where I have to totally cut it out and suffer for a few weeks/months? :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nouedis Posted July 23, 2015 Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Why not try out Adrafanil if you're looking for the same effect of Adderall, but without the side effects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchem Posted July 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 I'm embarrassed that that didn't occur to me earlier honestly lol. I'll definitely ask about it at my next psych appointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchem Posted July 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2015 Any insight on how adrafanil compares to modafinil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doge Posted July 28, 2015 Report Share Posted July 28, 2015 I've tried cutting the dose down but it's not the same because I need that whole 30/20mg to actually wake me up efficiently. Even when I do tell myself I'll only take 20/10mg or something and lay exactly that much out on my nightstand, I inevitably get up and walk into the bathroom to get the rest of my dose and go back to bed until it kicks in. How bad do you want to quit? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanatos Posted July 28, 2015 Report Share Posted July 28, 2015 The mornings have been the most difficult for me. Two things have helped. One is the recognition that I am simply not going to feel as alert first thing in the morning as I felt when I took an amphetamine. For people who don't take drugs, waking up is a process and I have had to accept that it will take time to get going. Second, I have a VERY strong cup of coffee first thing in the morning and then an energy drink a couple of hours later.This helps some with the grogginess. Don't get me wrong though it does not change the fact that you will not feel (to some degree) zooked like you did on adderall. It has, however, helped me survive the morning. Good luck. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doge Posted July 28, 2015 Report Share Posted July 28, 2015 waking up is a process. that is for sure People who don't even drink coffee.... they blow my mind. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysAwesome Posted July 28, 2015 Report Share Posted July 28, 2015 I am trying to cut back, and it is not so bad. I was drinking so much caffeine that I was having headaches reminiscent of the ones I had while taking Adderall. I miss my Monsters, but 160 mg of caffeine is a lot in one can... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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