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This! Totally spent so much time on writing thank you notes, organizing, cleaning, rearranging, creating spreadsheets, and avoided real work. Also, I hated running errands and would put them off forever. Things like taking the car to the carwash, picking up a birthday present, renewing my driver's license. It made me feel so irresponsible and childish to not want to leave my house or whatever project to take care of the basics, while my friends could spend a couple hours knocking that shit out. Especially when it came to things like birthdays or booking a place for a weekend trip with friends. It always felt like a chore and I never volunteered to be the one to organize things. I feel like that is changing and it makes me happy.

I just wrote about this in the "Getting Things Done" thread. I totally rebelled against my own to-do lists on adderall. It was ridiculous to even make lists, but it was fun to make the list and then not do anything on it. Whole weeks would go by and I would check off maybe 5-10 things on a list of 50 things. That habit has all but died now. During the first few weeks of quitting I felt so lost and foggy that the only thing that helped direct my actions was a list, and I didn't have the false sense of energy and motivation to start random projects, so I'd just slog through the list. These days my accomplishment is inverse. Maybe 5-10 of every 50 things don't get done. But I am diligent about moving those things to the list for next week. After 3-4 weeks of writing the same thing on my list every week I'm like, fuck this, I'll just do it.

Writing it down is key. I basically write everything down. The funny thing is I made lists ALL THE TIME on adderall but it was a joke because the list didn't motivate me to check things off. It was just the list-making itself I enjoyed, and then I'd move on to whatever stimulating task I felt like doing next, often a project that wasn't even on the list. Anyway, now I write everything down in a notebook or on scrap paper, and then pull out the to-do items and write them on a separate master weekly list (split up into days). Similar to Quit Once's SAU strategy, I approach time management in manageable chunks: one week at a time and one day at a time. Anything that's further than a week out goes onto a Google calendar in its approximate location and I don't think about it again until that week rolls around, then I plan it into the weekly list. And SAU for task management. Also, if it's a big project that's hard to break into small achievable tasks I write down "spend one hour researching/brainstorming X" so at least I can put a goal around making some progress. Great topic! Look forward to reading more tips from others.

Congratulations! So happy to hear it, and thanks also for the recap of your story. Super inspiring.

Congrats on the job offer! First reason to be confident, you did the interviews and got the job without adderall. That is stellar. You have every reason to be scared to start a new job with more responsibilities without adderall but DON'T BE. Take this as an opportunity to start from scratch with the real you. You will learn so much and gain a ton of confidence. You did absolutely the right thing with cutting off the doctor access. The worst thing now would be for you to go back on adderall and convince yourself that success can only be achieved with a pill. I started a new job in January this year, a big promotion and bigger job than ever. I started on Jan 2 and three days later was my last pill. For sure it was hard the first couple weeks but you know what -- being new at a job, you get a certain amount of slack cut anyway. People expect you to be learning. Take advantage of that. When do you start?

Congratulations on 10 days clean and sticking with it. That's huge. Did you feel like your writing was better, or more creative, or it was just easier to put words on paper? My experience was similar to SearchingSoul's. At first being on Adderall made me able to crank out words (cranking out any type of work product was just easier) but it grew harder and my writing definitely got worse. Spending more time searching for a perfect word, rewriting every sentence, spending hours just writing an email or a whole day on a short assignment. I am now 6 weeks clean. One thing I noticed right away was I was less attached to making things perfect, in a good way. Not every email needs to be a beautiful composition! Working in drafts is easier too - putting words on paper no matter how awkward they sound, and either getting feedback from a coworker or fellow student, or just coming back to the assignment later and improving it. So, keep at it -- things will improve for you and your writing.

You sound very confident. I truly believe you when you say you truly believe a week ago was your last encounter with adderall. Way awesome.

If I were still taking adderall these types of shows would freak me out. I like to watch them now because they reinforce the positive decision I've made to quit.

Not weak eye but I felt like my vision was always blurry on adderall. Thought it was just my contacts not fitting right, but I've noticed my vision is a lot sharper and clearer now. Not sure if related, but once I had this crazy vision experience where a bright color spectrum appeared in my field of vision and just shimmered for about 15 minutes. It happened while I was on adderall at work. Apparently it's a thing related to migraines although it didn't really feel like a headache.

We are both around 6 weeks in our journey. Glad to read your update! Congrats!

Today is Day 45 and I wanted to update my original thread. Just had an amazing long weekend in the mountains with my boyfriend. This is like my Zen place in the world. Woke up today, back at home, and realized I didn't think about Adderall even once the whole weekend! To me, that is a huge accomplishment and one of the main reasons I wanted to quit. I wanted to be able to create my own happiness and find contentment where I know it exists, without a pill. At work, things are gradually improving. I am relearning the normal action-reward cycle. I can no longer rely on a pill for instant motivation and enthusiasm. I have to work to create those things for myself, by actually engaging my mind on the task. Then the energy flows. I feel like I'm starting to catch up on the work I let slide during the first few weeks. I can't wait to be fully caught up and back on track. It seems like I am actually more productive because I am able to prioritize and get important stuff done rather than hyperfocusing on the wrong projects. At the same time, it's hard both physically and mentally to be productive! Adderall made it easy to feel productive all day long, but in retrospect it was kind of an illusion. Socially, I love not being on adderall. For example, last night I had an important work dinner. Sure, there were a few awkward moments but overall it was easy and conversation flowed among the group. On Adderall I would have been overanalyzing everything and really dwelling on whether I appeared awkward or said something weird. Same goes for hanging out with friends. Anyway, thanks to this site for continuing to help in this journey!

You've already made it to Day 4 -- you're more than halfway through the first week! Seriously, this WILL be the hardest week. Day 5 might not be any better than Day 4. But you can do it! Just tell yourself you can make it seven days. Remember what you said about the world not ending because you didn't get stuff done a few days ago? Well, it won't end in seven days either. But you will make it through this week, and the next week, and the next few months, and you will feel SO much better. You can do it!

Welcome to the forum, Soccer Mom. Before i got my own prescription I babysat for this family. They had two boys and I think both were on Adderall, but the older boy took mega amounts of it, like three or four pills a day. And his last pill was labeled "only if he needs it." So naturally if he didn't need it that evening, I would keep it. I cannot imagine being a mom in that type of situation. Point being I'm amazed at the moms and dads on here who have families with legit ADD who need their prescriptions and who quit. You guys have the strength to hold your family together AND to want to quit Adderall with pills in the house. Unreal. Utmost respect.

I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes I just feel at a loss for what to do with myself during all this empty TIME. On Adderall, time flew by and I would try to plan as much "free" alone time as possible so I could occupy myself with Adderall activity and no distractions. Right after quitting I also spent too much of all that extra free time drinking and overthinking the quit. It feels like a good sign that now it's to the point where I'm ready to start filling my schedule again, you know? Like join an indoor soccer team or something.

Thanks for sharing Ashley. I liked the way they presented three pretty different cases of Adderall's negative effects on adults.

Yes, Adderall had that effect on me too. Midsentence, I would just be unable to recall the word I wanted to say. My speech in general just sounded dumber, word salads all the time. I think it was worsened by heavy drinking.

No political commentary intended with this post, just a lot of awkward dry mouth. Watching Marco Rubio's rebuttal to the State of the Union just reminded me of giving big presentations while on Adderall and getting nervous and having the WORST dry mouth. Wonder if he'd taken any stimulants for focus... http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/rubio-takes-sip-of-water-midway-through-sotu

I'd like to be there next week! Tonight conflicted with the State of the Union Good chat session though?

Woohoo! Good luck tomorrow. Let us know how it goes. You'll kick ass. Good call getting your suit ready too. And YES to glasses -- a must have for looking/feeling sharp. Falcon's advice reminded me of this time I got a last minute call to do a live interview on the evening news for work. I was sooo nervous. After practicing my talking points for the last hour of the day, I left the office and stopped for a whiskey soda on the way to the studio I think it did the trick. Maybe not quite right at 8 am though.

Thanks for the replies everyone! Falcon - thank you for the advice, you're right -- there's no reason to rush everything at once. Better to do things right and be successful. I had no idea it was bad to quit Ambien cold turkey, glad to have that info. Lea - good to know. I'll bring that up when discussing options with my doctor. InRecovery

Could you really wing something like that even with Adderall? If so, that's impressive -- and means you'll kick ass doing it the old fashioned way. PRACTICE. Write down every question or scenario you might conceivably be asked about. Write down your answers - not just notes, full paragraphs with complete sentences. Practice out loud. Repeat. I swore by this method when interviewing for jobs recently. I practiced so much that when it came time for the real interivews, when they asked a question, I was able to jot down quick keywords "brand strategy, website, board cultivation" and call to mind whatever accomplishments/anecdotes/success stories I wanted to incorporate into my answer. You've been interviewing for a few months now, which makes it easier because you know what kinds of questions to expect. Just think of how much more natural and conversational you'll be without adderall.

I've had trouble sleeping ever since I was a little kid. From the time I was six years old the only thing that worked was for me to read a book until I fell asleep and one of my parents would have to come turn off the light. Whenever I spent the night at a friend's or at camp where we had to turn the lights off at bedtime, I would lay awake for hours. Freshman year of college I had to share a dorm with another girl who needed darkness to sleep, like normal people do, and my insomnia was really bad that year. However, I never took sleeping medication (except for Tylenol PM occasionally) until I started taking Adderall. The first year on Adderall I would literally go days without sleeping. My doctor prescribed me Ambien - at first, just 5 days a week thinking I could do without on the weekends. But eventually I was taking it every night and became addicted. I cut off the relationship with my doc when I decided to quit Adderall so I thought it made sense to quit Ambien at the same time, cold turkey. About a week in, I was desperate and exhausted and miserable and rethinking my decision to quit both at once. So I called my doc and she sent me a 3 month script for Ambien. However, I didn't fill it right away because I had tried Nyquil and found it to be somewhat effective, and I thought maybe I could just take Nyquil as needed while weaning myself completely. But the Nyquil has since become a daily thing. I get super anxious at nighttime thinking I won't be able to fall asleep, especially because there's no Adderall free pass to get me through the next day. Plus I googled Nyquil and found out it's not that great for your liver. So two days ago I broke down and filled the Ambien prescription. The NYTimes published an article about 3 weeks ago recommending that women only take 5 mg Ambien instead of the typically prescribed 10 mg. But my doc wrote the script right before that article came out and so what I have is for 10 mg. I am thinking about cutting the pills in half and seeing if 5 mg works. I guess I'm just also trying to figure out what my plan is for dealing with insomnia. I wanted to quit both meds, but quitting and staying off Adderall is number one by far. I'm about 40 days clean now and never going back. Has anyone had experience quitting sleeping medication? Did you wean or go cold turkey? Did you quit at the same time or before/after quitting Adderall? Or do you continue to take sleep meds? Another semi-related question: Depression runs strongly on both sides of my family (my father and two of his siblings committed suicide because of it, and there are two cases of bipolar disorder among my mom's siblings). So I am very attentive to my own symptoms in that regard. So far I'm feeling okay, and my goal was to go 90 days free of meds before visiting a new shrink. But I am doing research in the meantime, and might want to ask about Wellbutrin. I've never taken an antidepressant before. For those of you on Wellbutrin, is insomnia one of the side effects? Thanks for reading this!

So true!

Adderall made me a morning person to the extreme. (Because adderall only knows extremes.) I would get up 6 am on the dot every morning even though I didn't have to be at work until 9, because those first three hours of the day were MINE. (Well, mine and adderall's.) But yeah, mornings were invariably the best part of my day. All downhill from there. Since quitting, my mornings have changed in what must seem like a dramatic way to my boyfriend who has been with me the whole time but never knew about adderall. Now I am usually sleeping in till 7:45 or 8. At first he thought something was terribly wrong. Haha. Now he just enjoys the fact that I sleep in with him and don't harrass him about getting up and being productive.

Debra, it is really hard being addicted to uppers and downers. For me the downer wasn't xanax but Ambien. I felt like a slave to the pills at all times. At no time did I feel comfortable existing in my own skin without some sort of substance. Vyvanse, alcohol, ambien, every single day. I just want to say that even though it seems impossible to escape that cycle, it's not. You CAN get out of it. It's hard for sure. But if you stick with it then you can make it, and you will be so, so happy that you did. You will finally feel like you are in control of your life.