5 Month Update

[Civilengr2020]

Well...its been five months since I quit a 15 year addiction on Adderall/Vyvanse and just wanted to share a quick update on how I am handling this new phase in my life.  I'm not much of a writer so I will summarize my experience with the bulleted points below:

•  I have experienced almost every single one of the common withdrawal symptoms on this site but ALL of them were manageable. (Michael Scott was really helpful during these times...lol)
•  The first month sucked and going back to work sucked but my motivation has been coming back slowly but its there.
•  I still have anxiety 2 or 3 days of the week but the first months were pretty bad.  I only had 1 or 2 good days for the first couple of months but slowly started getting better days.
• PAWS is very real but all the tips they give on the website work, you just have to find the right ones for you.
•  Food cravings and extreme hunger were under control after about one month.  My hunger levels are now normal and I'm able to have a healthy diet.  My weight on Vyvanse was at around 175 lbs and gained about 20 pounds after I quit.  I'm now back down to 175 and even have a healthier diet than before.  What really helped me was walking 4 miles everyday and doing intermittent fasting to get back to my normal weight.  Now that my weight is back to normal, I feel that my food cravings are even more under control than when I was on the drugs.
• I quit drinking alcohol 100% which I personally think everybody should do.  Alcohol does nothing good for your mind and body and I believe someone in our situation should not be drinking something that will alter your mood.  A lot of the stories that I read about relapses have been during or after an alcohol binge.
• I've had about 5 major breakdowns in which I wanted to get back on the drugs and they all had to do with stress from work.  I pulled through them and was able to overcome the stress by coming to this website and getting support from my wife.  It is because of these situations that you need a strong support group to bring you back to reality when those difficult times sneak into your life when you least expect them.
• My only advice is not to give up.....there is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep trying new techniques to cope with your PAWS until you find something that works.

Well there it is.  Hopefully my summary helps and I will come back with more updates after my Six Month mark.  Take care and God Bless everybody!

[GPetrandis]

Thanks for sharing you experience. I'm 62 and been on vyvanse/adderall/other for 20+ years.   

I've been on a high dose of vyvanse and have weaned down from 110 (70+40) to only 10 mg on average every other day. I've gone as much as 9 days with out and give in to taking 10 mg.  My biggest fear is being able to work efficiently and stay social. I'm on a low enough dose to make the final cut; but concerned about the lows.  I loved vyvanse for a long time. I was very focused with work, but for have experienced health issues (hypertension) for the past couple of years which has motivated me to stop taking vyvanse.  Thanks for sharing your experience strength and hope.  G

 

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[Civilengr2020]

Congratulations on being able to bring your dose down to a more manageable level.  One of my greatest fears was and still is failing to perform at work without Vyvanse but its something I'm slowly getting over.  My profession is that of a civil engineer which involves a lot of creative work with some moderate amount of abstract thinking as well.  I'm not going to lie.....taking Vyvanse did allowed me to go above and beyond for many years at my job but once the benefits peaked, it kept me from progressing and growing into a more responsible, mature engineering manager.  That being said, deep down inside I knew I couldn't advance my career unless I was willing to let go of those horrible chains and finally become who I was meant to be.  Never ever give up even if you struggle to keep up and eventually you will cross the abyss and see your new self free from the chains of this drug.  Its gonna hurt.....its gonna be tough but it will get better.  Remember that awesome 80's classic rock song from the Rocky movie...…... "There's no easy way out....There's no shortcut home"