Popular Post hyper_critical Posted April 13, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Four years ago today, I took Adderall for the last time. My mother slid three blue 5mg instant release pills across the table so I could get through the night. I couldn't hide any more. After living in denial for so long, I was confronted on no uncertain terms with the horrifying reality that what I thought was my best friend, my lifeblood, had turned on me. For years, Adderall had been trying to put me in an early grave, but only after blocking me off from others and systematically eviscerating me spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. - At one year I thought I was a little shaky, but on the right path. I took solace in the fact that people on here said that it got even better in the second year. - At two years, I was on my feet and doing well, but still pretty volatile emotionally. Occasionally, I'd flirt with the idea that I could go back on it. That idea had to be SMASHED. - I spent my third anniversary in London after hiking the West Highland Way. Towards the end of my using, I couldn't bend an appendage without joint pain and muscle soreness. - At four years, I KNOW, without a shadow of a doubt, even in my worst moments, that I can't use Adderall "as prescribed" for any real length of time. I'm on the right path. I've recovered from the hopeless state of mind and body it put me in. My intellectual faculties are at all time highs. I've been lifting regularly for some time and am making sustainable progress on that front. I enjoy helping others recover, on here and IRL. I pray and meditate. Daily. I have a sense of purpose. I've rekindled relationships with friends and family. I trust that if I stay off Adderall and keep giving it my best, or at least a decent shot, one day at a time, things will work out. They have so far. I don't have any magical insights to share tonight. There are no shortcuts. You have to work through the discomfort. I couldn't do it alone. Sometimes, all you can do it Netflix and Self-Loath/Chill. But if you stick with it, you'll get back on your feet and the world will open up a life beyond your wildest dreams. Read the articles on this site. Contribute to the forums. You're not alone. People have been through what you're experiencing and worse and gotten out the other side clean. Every time I've felt hopeless the last four years, EVERY TIME, tremendous growth was waiting patiently nearby. I was a slave to those devllish pills and now I am free. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnie Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Congrats! Thanks for sharing your story! How long were you on adderall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyper_critical Posted April 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Thanks, and my pleasure. Have shared more over the years but you'll have to look up old posts...I don't have a magnum opus in me tonight ; ) Six years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnie Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 Had to look up the definition of magnum opus haha but i like it thanks for expanding my vocab as well im hoping that the expected time frame for recovery from addiction is similar to getting over a break up... half of the time of the relationship.. on the other hand, before i was addicted to adderall i was addicted to a long list of other things so that protocal doest seem too swift Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LILTEX41 Posted April 13, 2017 Report Share Posted April 13, 2017 LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!! So happy for you!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotToday Posted April 14, 2017 Report Share Posted April 14, 2017 Wow, congratulations! 4 years is amazing. So grateful that some of you come back after all that time to encourage us to keep going and that it will eventually get better! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quit-once Posted April 16, 2017 Report Share Posted April 16, 2017 Thanks for the positive update on your recovery. I think those of us with long quitting term success all have total abstinence in common. For about the first three years of recovery, I noticed yearly improvement with time away from Adderall. After 3 years, it seems like the daily and seasonal ups and downs of regular life superseded my feelings of Adderall recovery. HC - did you notice a plateau in your recovery or has it just kept getting better and better the longer you are free from Adderall? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyper_critical Posted April 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2017 Hey Quit-Once, Good question. I attribute a lot of my gains the last year to working a program of recovery. But to answer your question: yes, things are getting better and better. Whether that's because of additional time away from the drug or now that my faculties have returned, me taking responsibility to continue growing from here (which includes working on managing my ADHD) is tough to know. H-C 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerokewl Posted April 28, 2017 Report Share Posted April 28, 2017 Wow. Can't believe you've been quit for 4 years. That also means I have a 4 year anniversary coming up. Wow. I'm super busy these days new job and probably should get back to work but I'm glad I checked in today. Make sure you do something nice for yourself today. Little changes daily make big changes happen. Congrats. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.