Day 8 after 10 years of stimulants

[TheRealBigfoot]

Greetings,

I'm 36, a husband and father of 3. I was on 20mg adderall xr for 10yrs. And I also drank coffee and dipped grizzly wintergreen like a maniac. Today is day 8 of 0 adderall, 0 caffeine and I replaced grizzly wintergreen with Zyn 3mg pouches for a little nicotine fix. I think I'm doing great except for my diet lol. I'm eating like I'm starving 24/7. I also have no energy. I'm trying to lose 30lbs before the summer and not gain 30lbs. I quit caffeine because I was drinking too much coffee and had heart palpitations lately due to stress and stimulants but I've had 0 heart palpitations in 5 days and my BP went from 135/85 down to 110/62. There was 3 days in between those readings. I can't believe how much that changed. I honestly feel okay now except I have 0 energy and my diet is going crazy. Those 2 reasons are the only reasons I would want to take adderall again but I won't!!! It's just hard to fight those urges. I can start to feel myself coming back a little, especially my humor! and I've missed that a lot. I'm also planning on putting in a new fence this spring and it sounds terrifying without Adderall or chew lol but I'm going to try my best and get it done! Thanks for reading!

 

[GeorgiaRigby]

Hello!! So nice to meet you and read about your story and get to know your situation.  I just logged back on here after months of being away.  You are in a good position, especially when thinking about my own situation, comparatively! Your 20 mg is a much smaller dosage and some coffee and dip I can't imagine are too much more to add on!  I think you will be able to get through this much better than you realise!! I have been experiencing the heart things also, I'm 28.  I haven't been on here in a while and I'd hope this didn't read or come off as some kind of competition, ha!! I'm just trying to let you feel the situation as a little less heavy and overwhelming as you maybe felt you had started from.  So much comes from right inside of our minds!  I have totally missed my laugh also, it's much harder to physically find a laugh when I'm stimulated.. Cool thing on the fence, fun project and will add so much value to your home!!  Hope you are doing as well as possible.  I'm so afraid of getting through this.  The food, oh goodness. I just love to self soothe.  We'll all help eachother !! 

[TheRealBigfoot]

Thank you! I noticed a natural laugh today a few times(1 by myself watch TV lol) and it was a good feeling. 

[SleepyStupid]

hi @TheRealBigfoot

welcome to the forums! congrats on finally taking the plunge - 10 years is a long time! certainly, it is going to take some time for your natural energy levels to return, but you'll feel progress along the way. first couple of months you'll feel like a zombie, then staying awake through the day will become easier but your energy will be unfocused. learn to recognize and appreciate the small but decisive steps, challenge yourself when you feel ready (that fence project seems perfect!).

don't worry about "losing" weight - eat healthy, but eat enough that you're satisfied. just listen to what your body wants for a while till your past the initial hump! (:

gl and keep us posted!

[quit-once]

Congratulations for quitting and welcome to the forums.  I quit after nine years on much higher dosages than you were on and I was about ten years older.  I also quit nicotine about the same time.  It can be done, and it must be done, because nobody can expect to spend the rest of their life on stimulants. and the nicotine will kill you.  Weight gain, depression, anxiety, and lethargy are the classic symptoms of quitting.  Keep your expectations for yourself tame and focus on the Quit and not going back.  Things will be much better after a year or so.  I gained about 15-20 lbs after quitting and it took about two years to get back to my pre-quitting weight.  Best of luck to you!

[TheRealBigfoot]

Thanks guys! Tomorrow is 14 days of 0 adderall and 0 caffeine. I already gained 5 lbs lol but the last couple days my will power towards food has become more manageable. Keep my expectations tame is good advice. Thank you. I'll remember that when I notice my expectations being too high, which they usually are but ill try to remain tame. The fence project is getting closer lol I think it will be a success. 

Thanks again

[Civilengr2020]

Congratulations and don't give up.  I'm gonna be honest....its not going to be easy and it will get harder but your mind is stronger than your body and with enough motivation and persistence you will be able to quit.  My 1 year sober anniversary is coming up and I was on a 70 mg Vyvanse binge that lasted 15 years and I'm still working on getting used to not using the drug. ( You can check my first post under my profile to read my story)  Your post acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) will be intense the first few months but will diminish gradually. My PAWS manifests mostly as anxiety and minor panic attacks caused by my new drug free work life and it mostly goes away within a day.  The frequency of these "attacks" is greatly reduced as the months go by.  Its uncomfortable but doable.  At the end of the day its the best thing I could have done and I'm grateful to God that I have been able to do this.  Don't give up.....pray and keep strong!  God Bless!

[Civilengr2020]

The following is from one of my old posts and its how I felt about 5 months into my new drug free life:

•  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. (UPDATE: I'm now at 165 lbs and have never felt better.  Look into intermittent fasting....it changed my life.)
• 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.