39 and just started

[Art]

Hi there all, Ive been reading your posts for a couple hours and thought I may gain some insight. About me, 39 year old man who has just been prescribed adderall for the first time in my life, 20mg twice a day. Started off by visiting a psychologist/ marriage counselor with my wife for a number of issues. Although I've joked with my sister who is two years older over our add/hd since we were young adults, this past winter is the first Attempt at getting it under control. I've always found concentration difficult as well as staying on any given task. Money and finance has caused as much stress and anxiety as anything else I've encountered. The consensus between we three, wife, counselor and myself was medication should be tried. I went to a well known and well reviewed neurologist in the area and had a MRI, EEG and basic blood work done. Lexapro was the first choice and after a few weeks found I could barely function. At first no sleep and fatigue then sleeping all the time with constant fatigue. It affected my job as much as at home and could not continue. Adderall was suggested by my Doc and although I had read some possible side affects have not seen anything like what is being posted here, so Ive given it a go. To try and shorten this up, I'm looking for a little feedback for warning signs of dependence. I'm currently going on week 8, no meds over the weekends, and have not found myself experiencing any noticeable adverse affects. I find that if I skip the afternoon dose, I'm sometimes cranky but have not seen any of the other complaints posted here. My conundrum is this, since starting I've felt like Bradley Cooper in Limitless. Ive had experience in my early twentys with coke and look back on that time of my life with disgust and although it was a short run, a little over three years, I had no trouble stopping when I felt I needed to. At the time my girlfriend became pregnant and it gave me a shot of reality. Turned out to be twin boys who are now turning 16, great kids I'm lucky to have. So, where do I need to look at honestly with my use, and what sort of stuff can I expect may change in me which my wife and I should be on the lookout for? Sorry if I'm a little long winded and rambleing. ADD is a bitch.

[Cassie]

Hi Art,

Adderall 'dependence' (aka addiction) occurs when you need to take it in order to function normally. You won't feel a high when you take it, you'll just need it to feel normal. If you need to start taking it on the weekends I'd say you've reached dependency. Same with if you need to start taking higher dosages to achieve the same effects, although at 40mgs you're on a pretty high starting dose already. When amphetamines and methamphetamines were all the rage in the '50s and '60 for depression and weight loss (ADD hadn't been invented yet), doctors typically prescribed five to ten mgs per day, and pills didn't come in over 10mg doses. Shows you how the American appetite for drugs has grown, eh?

With amphetamines, as with most drugs, you will have a honeymoon period (around a year or so) when it feels like the greatest thing in the world. After the honeymoon phase, they won't work as well as they used to as they deplete more and more of your neurotransmitters. Over time, the negatives will outweigh the positives. Adderall almost ruined my relationship with my husband. I became unloving, cold, distant (his words). I was always in my own head, never cared about anyone else. It ruined my memory.

I also did a lot of coke in my early twenties and stopped that with no problem. Not so with Adderall. I don't have an addictive personality, and I got horribly addicted to Adderall. It's just so easy to add to your life and morph into a highly functional addict for several years. It took my several tries to quit. I've never been addicted to anything else before.

Hopefully these comments help somewhat. If you want more information on amphetamines (other than what the manufacturer wants you to know), I recommend reading the book "On Speed: the Many Lives of Amphetamine" by Nicolas Rasmussen. It's a highly researched account of the history of amphetamines in medicine and American culture. Truly riveting story.

Cassie