Popular Post John250 Posted December 21, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 Never “needed” Adderall but decided to try it back in March 2014. Worst mistake of my life. 20mg 1-2x/wk turned into 60-100mg/day(50% snorting) about a year later. In early 2016 my Dr. Prescribed me 70mg Vyvanse and had me taper by 10mg for 6mo. I actually got off completely for about 5-6mo then opened a business and decided to try Adderall again. That lead to my current state which is 50mg vyvanse(=20mg Adderall) morning and insufflating 60-80mg Adderall throughout the day. All in all I’d say I’ve consumed an average of 75mg/day amphetamine over a 4 yr period. (2014-2016)(2017-2019)(was clean about 4-5mo in 2017. About 4 months ago I noticed amphetamines aren’t working much for me. I can’t get out of bed until my Vyvanse kicks in and a few hours later I feel like a zombie and I just feel sick and flu like.The lethargy is the worst part and I get through the day with Adderall. Around 7pm-11pm is the only time I don’t feel sick and feel normal but typically the first half of the day is the worst. I take an arsenal of supplements to combat the side effects even though that’s putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. I get routine bloodwork and nothing is really out of the norm but I can for see myself going downhill really fast if I don’t take care of this. I’m just wondering what the best method people of used to help get off and get to the with drawl and live a normal life? I’m 37 with a wife and 2 toddlers so I really have to do this now. Thank you. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyStupid Posted December 21, 2018 Report Share Posted December 21, 2018 hi John, welcome to the forums! sorry to hear about your struggles. you've reached the point of no return with amphetamine - it will never be as pleasurable or effective as you remember it to be. even if you take a break for some time, your tolerance will kick right back in immediately. it won't be different the next time. but it sounds like you've already committed yourself to quitting which is awesome! unfortunately, there is no "best method" but some of the obvious stuff first: eat healthy and exercise. to be honest, i did neither of those things but Wellbutrin helped quite a bit. i certainly understand the concern with just starting on another medication, but Wellbutrin is a very well tolerated atypical anti-depressant. it has very few side effects and can be stopped without any prolonged withdrawal. at any rate, it's worth discussing with your doctor. gl and keep us posted! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John250 Posted December 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Thank you. My doctor gave me Wellbutrin and I noticed it actually dulled the positives of Adderall. After further research I found they can compete with each other for DAT receptors which is why. I think once I’m actually off amphetamines then Wellbutrin might help. I mainly just can’t stand the fatigue. Sometimes it takes me five minutes just to get out of my car. I used to be a competitive bodybuilder and now I go to the gym maybe once every 10 days if I’m lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic123 Posted December 22, 2018 Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Just curious if you’re stimulant use has affected any of your relationships with your family especially with your wife? Has she voiced any concerns about you or any changes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanW Posted December 22, 2018 Report Share Posted December 22, 2018 Just gotta tough it out. Quit the shit. Buckle up for a hard ride. The reason the shit ain’t working is because you’re not sleeping. You might close your eyes and time will pass but your not actually getting sleep with all that speed in your system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John250 Posted December 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2018 On 12/21/2018 at 6:36 PM, nic123 said: Just curious if you’re stimulant use has affected any of your relationships with your family especially with your wife? Has she voiced any concerns about you or any changes? Well,... yes and no. No I’m the sense of I’ve never gotten crazy or spent all $$ on amphetamines,etc... but yes in the sense that it’s caused me to pick up bad habits. I design custom diets for a lot of professional athletes, MMA fighters, a few celebrities,etc. so I work from home(all Internet based) Around 20weeks ago I opened a nutrition store which was more like an office where I can do my clients diet during the downtime and sell supplements. About 6hrs out of the 8hrs/day is a lot of down time and that’s when I noticed I use the most Adderall. When I’m busy I don’t. “idle hands is the devil's playground.” I will literally procrastinate all day until I have an hour left then I get bad anxiety to finish and stay late. Then I miss out seeing my kids when I get home and get guilty and depressed. The odd thing is I know it’s going to happen every time yet I still manage to be defeated by it. I decided to sell my store so I can work from home again which will help because my wife is there and I can’t be snorting Adderall all day. That’s how I got off in the past so that’s the plan again starting Jan 2nd. I also find I like to be alone more and more antisocial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John250 Posted December 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2018 On 12/21/2018 at 8:33 PM, SeanW said: Just gotta tough it out. Quit the shit. Buckle up for a hard ride. The reason the shit ain’t working is because you’re not sleeping. You might close your eyes and time will pass but your not actually getting sleep with all that speed in your system. I have sleep apnea and have a cpap that logs my sleep. I typically average 7-8hrs and I actually have good quality sleep. Very vivid dreams that I can always recall. A few sleep studies showed I have good REM and NREM sleep. However when I binge and stay up late working and average 4-5hrs sleep it greatly effects me. Amphetamines don’t work nearly as well and I’m a zombie all day. I’m genetically an ultra metabolizer to amphetamines. Even when I first started I could take a dose and feel it wear off just a few hours later. I could literally take 30mg IR Adderall and go sleep a few hours later. The majority I snort so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was out of my system 1/2hr after snorting it. Typically my last dose(snorted) is around 5-6pm and I usually go to bed around 11-12. also yesterday I ran out of Adderall and only had vyvanse. Typically lately has been around 50mg vyvanse(=20mg amphetamine) in the morning and then 100mg Adderall snorted throughout the day(probably absorb 70% of that so closer to 70mg) so 90mg/day total. Yesterday I just had 3 Vyvanse I took spread out(60mg amphetamine) total. So I had 30mg less than normal. I definitely noticed much more fatigue and around 7pm I got some brain fog/anxiety/depression. But I survived obviously and today I only have 40mg amphetamine total and I’m tired but not going crazy. That’s how I know I will be able to beat this. In July I attempted to detox when my family went to New York to visit back home as I thought that would be the perfect time. I had about 10 days. Day 1 I slept all day but day 2 I got horrible anxiety and depression at night from being alone and missing my family almost felt like mild psychosis I had to take a Xanax and on day 3 I was freaking out because I was getting behind on work so I ended up using again. This next time around when I detox I know that I definitely have to have my family around or not be alone as being alone was deafly not the right move. And I have to announce to my clients I need a few weeks off as there is no way I can work when being off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John250 Posted December 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2018 Also I’m not blaming the psychiatrist I went to because I’m a big boy I should be able to control myself but there was never a need for me to use Adderall. He just told me one day “you might have a little ADHD why don’t you try Adderall.” He started me on 20mg IR 2x/day. The next month I told him it didn’t seem like enough so he prescribed 30mg IR 2x/day. Following month 30mg IR 3x/day and then...get this.. 30mg IR 3x/day + another 20mg IR. At the pharmacy they said they’ve never seen that much and had to make a few phone calls. Apparently my psychiatrist said since I am a 260 pound bodybuilder( I was at the time now I’m about 230) that my metabolism is rapid and weight is so high that’s why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanW Posted December 23, 2018 Report Share Posted December 23, 2018 Damn yeah I’ve never seen that much prescribed. Do whatever you gotta do to detox. I spent a lot of time alone. Being around people including fam gave me anxiety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John250 Posted December 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 Something odd I’ve noticed is if I use very small doses of opiates like 2.5-5mg Vicodin/Percocet 1-2x/day it allows me to cut back almost 50% on my Adderall. Clearly I can’t trade one drug for the other but I wonder if the dopamine release from the opiates is what allows me to not crave and crash so hard from amphetamines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeri0 Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 @John250 I know you probably don't need someone to tell you to be extremely cautious with that plan (from your post history I know you make a career from nutrition/wellness), but that would scare the hell out of me. Be very, very careful. Someone with an addictive personality messing around with opiates for any reason at all sounds like a a bad recipe to me!! Welcome Keep posting and sharing here. We have a lot to learn from you and vice versa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John250 Posted December 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 53 minutes ago, Cheeri0 said: @John250 I know you probably don't need someone to tell you to be extremely cautious with that plan (from your post history I know you make a career from nutrition/wellness), but that would scare the hell out of me. Be very, very careful. Someone with an addictive personality messing around with opiates for any reason at all sounds like a a bad recipe to me!! Welcome Keep posting and sharing here. We have a lot to learn from you and vice versa Yes I agree. Opiates and benzodiazepines have far more side effects and a much worse withdrawl than amphetamines. I don’t think there is a single “human” study linking amphetamine neurotoxicity unless it’s astronomical dosage so I guess if you have to pick your poison amphetamine “technically” would be the “safest.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyStupid Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 On 12/26/2018 at 4:20 PM, John250 said: so I guess if you have to pick your poison amphetamine “technically” would be the “safest.” you're not wrong. i've seen this argument made by medical professionals regarding the long-term safety of amphetamines, from a physiological perspective. however.. IMO it's worse on a psychological level (or at the least has it's own unique challenges). downers are usually taken to disconnect from life, an escape. i think the primary value here is that of pleasure or bliss. there is also a very established stigma with these types of drugs. uppers (and more specifically Adderall) are taken increase engagement and productivity. the value proposition here is "success", which of course is indirectly pleasureful, but in and of itself a very different beast. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 I felt very similar to your description prior to quitting. "Flu Like" is a good way to describe it... You will need to taper down your high dose before quitting and you will feel even worse once you quit. The good news is normal healthy energy will come back. I still get a day here and there where I have that sickly feeling however it is mostly gone now... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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