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@Tom23Jones Thats awesome, sounds like Dave Ramsey steps? I was paying off all my non-mortgage debt and on track to being debt free but during that phase I got my first Vyvanse script and unfortunately all the financial steps went out the window. Hopefully I can get back to it and become financially stable again.

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on 45 days! Caffeine has increased my cravings in the past and I found myself chasing that "high" by drinking excessive amounts of Red Bull. I quit for 90 days last year and when someone would recommend a Red Bull I knew not to do it because I couldn't have just 1 lol. I guess since caffeine is a stimulant it would trigger that part of my brain that adderall would. Unfortunately after chugging 3-4 Red Bulls in a short period to chase that high I started to feel worse (super shaky, anxious, and overall just crappy) than I would after taking Adderall and in my head I would just say "I might as well be on Adderall, its healthier for me!"...you know the addiction talking. My friend who's been clean over 4 years used to drink ALOT of coffee when he first quit, to the point where I actually thought he was on Vyvanse or adderall. After a few months he had to drastically reduce his caffeine intake to maybe 1 cup of coffee in the mornings and he went for a few months with no caffeine since it stimulated him so much. He started to consider it a drug of its own (like it was as bad as Adderall lol) cause it altered his attitude so much. But he normally stays around 1 cup in the mornings and thats it. Personally I drink a sweet tea with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which I don't feel like it affects me but when I didn't have one in the morning I noticed the lack of caffeine lol. Everyone is different, I'm currently day 9 at the moment and staying away from the energy drinks because of the way they affect me.

Well, made it thru day 6. Just a long day but thankfully not to stressful, didn’t think about adderall too much either. Just checking in and wishing everyone a good day tomorrow! Good luck to all!

Almost done with the workday, just rounding out day 5. I feel super anxious in the mornings too... especially in my job where things can be just fine one second and then all of the sudden all hell is breaking loose (IT job). I wish I delivered mail or something where its kind of the same routine everyday (a close family member is a mailman so I know all about the negatives too) lol. Oh well, for the current time I try to take it one hour at a time during the work day, and in the evenings I normally try to watch at least one Intervention episode and cruise around on this site after dinner and getting my son to bed. GOOD LUCK! Keep Posting!!!

@DelaneyJuliette I just want to let you know you’re not alone. I went on a full 8 day bender but finishing up my 4th day clean with you. What’s crazy is the past 2 days at work have been insane but I pulled thru. I also have another very close friend that is on day 9 today so that’s awesome as well. Hope your day was good!

@NurseAddy sorry to hear about the relapse. Take this time to think about your train of thought right before it happened and how to stop it in the future. Just remember where you end up after a day or two... which is this site and most likely experiencing regret. Last week I had intense cravings and learned enough from my relapses in the past to put a mental stop measure in place to prevent the cravings from turning into a relapse. Just play out how things will go after you pop that first one and remember the pain your going thru now. I’ve been busy the last few weeks experiencing life as a sober person and not constantly thinking about pills and it’s freaking amazing. I still experience guilt and regret about not quitting sooner and still have some sluggish days but overall it’s like I’ve been reborn and it seriously is amazing. You CAN get past this addiction!!! -End of day 69 :-)

You can PASS this test... I'm on day 65 today and I've been happy with life lately as well...then yesterday a thought from my addict side popped up in my head that maybe adderall isn't as bad as I've made it out to be. It was a very intense craving that temporarily scrambled my thought process. Whats crazy is since quitting I've actually been around people that are on adderall and was able to decline one that was offered to me at birthday party a few weeks ago, not to brag but with the mindset I've been in it was relatively easy to say no. Yesterday when the craving hit it was so intense that I actually looked into my coworkers bottle and saw them in there and thought of how awesome I could feel if I just took one but then I quickly thought to myself the reason why I quit in the first place. I thought " I can't take just one and be happy, one leads to two and so on..", this is just one of those cravings that everyone on the forum said would happen and no one is stopping me from taking one except me. I've thrown away sobriety more times than I can count in the past and the regret is way greater than that fleeting moment of "awesomeness" I may or may not even experience. So I put the bottle back in their drawer and walked away. The feeling I got from winning that battle with my addict side actually pulled me out of my lull I was experiencing all morning. I called my friend that now has over 4 years of clean time and he said those intense cravings happened quite often in the first 6 months. When he quit he was still with his now ex-gf for 9 months that took adderall. He told me he would go through the exact same thing I did, have the cravings, look at her bottle, then talk about all the negatives, and feel great after walking away from them. Even after 4 years his brother will offer them to him at family parties but he doesn't think for a second about taking them and declines. I know this because I would be there taking them with his brother lol. SOOOOO......these cravings are just something that we have to go through and deal with. The main thing is not giving in to the cravings and undoing all the clean time we've worked hard to get. I've seen it personally and read it plenty on here that in time things will get much much better! Good Luck!!!

@GirlScottie Congrats on cutting off the supply. You can and will get your life back if you want it bad enough. I'm still in shock that I'm clean and have only craved the drug on a few occasions since I took that final pill on the evening of July 29. I quit multiple times in the past with a crazy amount of enthusiasm but would fall off the wagon within a few weeks. This time I got honest with myself and decided enough was enough and had to internalize how horrible I was feeling and it will ALWAYS be like that if I ever took one again. The first few weeks I tried to do the bare minimum at work and home. I'd get home in the evenings and force myself to do chores and read my sons books but also laid in bed and watched a lot of Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. I watched A LOT of Intervention on Hulu, I could never watch that show in the past cause it made me feel like shit but I honestly think it was a major help in recovering. I was always rooting for the person at the end of the episode and it made me see how those people could get better so I can do it too. On YouTube theres a guy called CGKid and he has a lot of videos talking about drug use and interviewed people that are in recovery. Some of the people he interviewed were recovering from Adderall, and I also feel like the people recovering from meth had stories that could hit close to home for some of us that binged on adderall. When laying around I wouldn't be negative about the crappy way I was feeling, I would almost embrace it and simply tell myself, "well your just recovering from the damage you've done to your body for the last 5 years, this is just a step to getting my back life that everyone that hasn't gotten clean has to go through. Now its my turn". Basically you have to make the first 6 weeks all about recovery, maybe watch some Intervention, find stories on YouTube, visit and participate on this site often. Just focus on getting yourself better during that time! You will more than likely gain weight, feel lethargic, have memory loss, and feel nothing at times while other times you may feel complete rage, anger, regret, but you will also feel real happiness and an appreciation for life. But YOU have to be ready to do it for yourself and be honest that just taking one pill isn't in the cards anymore. My life has improved so much since quitting, I'm actually feeling some decent energy and my memory loss is no where near what it was a month ago. I've still got a long ways to go in recovery but quitting is nowhere near as scary as the thought of continuing to take that damn drug is. You CAN do this!!! -Currently Day 58 and happy to look forward while not forgetting the past...

@Collin Welcome to the forum, given enough time you will feel those human connections again and get back your funny goofy behavior(my wife says I'm almost to goofy lol). You made a good choice to quit and you'll have to pay a small price to get it back but it will be worth it. Just remember why you quit it in the first place, and you said it yourself that the honeymoon phase is over and the positive effects are gone. Just hang in there and post about anything you got going on....it helps me alot to check in and post. Good Luck! -Currently day 51

@NurseAddy CONGRATS ON 1 WEEK DOWN TODAY!!! Hope your having a good day. For a stressful Monday, I'm performing better than I have in years (even when I was on meds). So again just hang in there and realize that stimulants may help a lot in the short term but they screw you over from real happiness in the long run. Good luck and congrats!! - Currently Day 49 :-)

@NurseAddy I weirdly remember Day 6 because I felt the same way that day. My day 6 fell on a Sunday too and I felt super depressed and anxious....honestly I felt like complete crap. You're in the thick of it right now, just hang in there. The last 2 weeks for me have been going quite well but the first 30 days were solely about doing nothing except getting thru work and putting time between myself and my last adderall. I know that wasn't much advice but just a reminder that things will get better... -Day 48 and optimistic about life again

@Aurora29 Shit happens and so do relapses. Just do what you gotta do to get this part of your life behind you so you can move forward to bigger and better things. I've been pretty busy this week and thankfully feeling good overall. I cut out sugars and reduced my food intake and it's been an awesome change. I feel really great at the moment. Just hold onto how your feeling right now going forward to help prevent you relapsing in the future. We're always here for you. -End of Day 46 and finally feeling real happiness.

@NurseAddy I'm still in early recovery so I'm glad DrewK15 provided some input. Lately I try to be less hard on myself when I'm not being super productive or when I have a lot of regret for the years I wasted doing meaningless tasks instead of being a father and husband. I'm thankfully holding onto all the negative things that adderall did to me and I currently have had very little to no desire to take one again. I relapsed so many times that things are never different/better when I take a pill and I'm finally realizing that and internalizing it. I still got a long journey ahead but so far my life has already changed so much compared to 6 weeks ago and I have had no regrets about quitting. - Currently day 42 and plowing thru this Monday!

@PP37 Thank you for the post. Its reassuring to hear the positive things that can happen if you stay off the stimulants. It's also refreshing to hear this from a person supporting a stimulant addict, since you more than likely had a clearer head during the past year than him lol. My wife has been a rock lately and this would be so tough without her support. So good job to you and him as well!! Good luck!

@NurseAddy Welcome to the forum, officially. Your story is unfortunately all to familiar to a majority of the members here including me. Lurking around the site when running out of meds and/or when your coming down off the high and hating your life. The "yo-yo" effect of getting your script, burning thru it in a week or two, and saying that you're never gonna go back but do anyways. Realizing that you have become addicted to this little pill even tho you can't believe it has happened and scared that you will never be able to quit and that life will be potentially horrible for the rest of your life. I have personally experienced these things and read hundreds of posts like yours where people are in complete despair and scared of life off this drug and its crazy. On the bright side, many of those people that have posted similar stories have gone on to quit and say its the best decision that they've ever made in their life and I fully believe them. I also have a friend that abused for years and is approaching 4 years clean this upcoming week and he's been able to enjoy life to the fullest and used to regret all the time he wasted being burned out (his first 6 months were rough but after a year he rarely even thought of the meds). Just know that life will suck for a while in early recovery but its so worth the reward of being a normal human in the long run. I'm thankful for this site and the stories that reassure me that what I'm doing and going thru will be worth it. That there is light at the end of the tunnel. I've quit many times in the past and flushed my pills on so many occasions but still went back to them. Now, I've developed an overwhelming hatred for the drug and a final realization that I'm not getting anywhere by being on them and they solve nothing by taking them. Also, venting and contributing constantly to this site has been crucial for me as well, I'm normally a quiet person but posting has given me accountability and honestly just makes me feel better. Just know that you CAN quit and you WILL be okay and happier in the long run, it won't be overnight but eventually...it sounds like things are going very good for you in other aspects of your life and thats something to be especially thankful for while recovering. A good support system is crucial as well and it sounds like you have that in your significant other. Just know that there are people here just like you and the support can be amazing. Good luck and keep checking in!!! -Finishing Day 41 and excited about life again

(Disclaimer: I rambled a little bit and may have vented about my regrets..) @HairsprayQueen Just checking in to see how things are going. I cant believe its been a month since you made this post. It feels like an eternity to me...just wanted to let you know that we're all still here to offer support when you need it. Lately my memory has been a little crappy and I can barely remember yesterday but today I passed by a beauty shop where I know one of the stylist uses stimulants and somehow your username popped into my scattered brain along with this post. It made me think about that morning when you posted about being at the doctors office and caving in. I was only day 7 and I wanted reach out to you to somehow make you rethink your decision but I knew that there was nothing in my power to help you at that time and I honestly didn't even know what to say at the moment, I happened to be on the site when you posted it :-(. Instead of saying something right then I waited a few hours to just say something simple and I'm sorry about that, even though your mind seemed pretty set on getting back on them. When I look back at your previous posts over the years it kind of reminds me of my previous ones...and I always wanted to go back in time to my first post about quitting cause I would be so far in recovery by now if I stuck with it back 2016...and then I would post months later about the hell I was still in and yada yada....however from every relapse I did learn something and thats key to going forward. In the end tho, we all have to stop one day and my time has finally come and I'm thankful I didn't get to the 6 year mark of usage (5.5years roughly). I wish I would've been able to stop back at the 2 year mark because this process would've been so much easier and the damage I did to my life overall could've been reduced, but I am happy I've finally reached my quitting point now than later. I guess I just wanted to remind you that its better to quit at 7 years instead of 8 because eventually you will have to. I'm glad you were able to learn quite a bit about yourself during that clean month and I hope you are establishing productive habits so your next quit is the last one. Best of luck and I genuinely hope the best for all those that come here. I personally am getting thru because of this site and the members. Today marks 38 days of being free...

@DrewK15 Yeah I may have been experiencing PAWS and not fully realizing it, I briefly read up on it and maybe the high levels of stress led me to the full on rage/anger, irritability, and the host of other things that PAWS can consist of. I've had a few bad work weeks/days like the one last week over the last 5 years except this time I didn't have drugs nor the desire at all to take them so my brain reacted poorly (as in the increased stress levels triggered my brain to take something but I wouldn't so it didn't know how to act, PAWS!!). Who knows....but I will say it was a rough week and I hope I am able to handle them better in the future and it sounds like with enough time I will be able to. Thanks DrewK15! Gonna go outside and ride my bike to help my mood and hopefully start losing some of this extra weight I've gained! -Currently day 36

@Aurora29 Glad to hear your okay and congrats on 2 weeks!! Those are some great quotes to hang onto. Keep us up to date! GL - Currently day 36

@Aurora29 Hope things are still going good for you. I've been super busy the past week and pretty fatigued by the end of the day cause of it so wasn't on the site so much over the weekend...Keep it up!! - Currently day 36

@JacobHonestly I feel like this past week has been harder than the first 4 weeks. Idk if the initial "excitement" of quitting wore off after I hit the 30 day mark because 2.5 years ago when I hit 30 days I felt amazing (granted that was over 2.5 years ago and alot more drug abuse has happened since then) but when I hit 30 days this time I actually felt crappy. I'd like to bring up the fact that it was a rough work week last week and even my coworker(he doesn't do drugs) was pretty burned out on all the clients we had calling in with issues. SO, maybe thats why I was feeling down too, even if I was on adderall it would've been stressful due to the stupidity/ignorant levels of people. In a recent post somebody stated that the 2nd month was easier than the 1st month and I was excited about getting into the 5+ week mark but now I'm beginning to realize that my recovery may not be like theirs. I'm kind of glad to see you mention that 1-3 months were tougher than the first week and you were afraid of losing your mind around month 2 because I've been hard on myself for not being better and being more active and its depressing. My wife reminds me tho that I'm still early in recovery and to take it easy on myself because its not gonna help anything. (She doesn't fully know what I'm going thru but atleast shes positive and wants to help). Luckily, I've read this site long enough to know that this is a long term recovery and it doesn't happen over night. Everyone is different but I honestly thought I would be "good" by now and that was wishful thinking. On a positive note, I have not craved or even thought once about taking meds, I remind myself that they do not fix anything and I quit them in the first place for multiple reasons. Well I better get back to it and your post has seriously been a big help. -Currently day 36

Congrats on the 6th month mark!! I'm on day 35 and been extremely busy the past few days and feel pretty fatigued along with having memory loss issues so reading this post was a great thing just now. I thankfully have no desire to go back on stimulants even though last week was insane at work and I had some weird anger/rage issues going on. I weirdly keep thinking I should be "better" by now cause I feel like I've been in recovery for months already. I realize I got a long ways to go and the only way to get better is to not take anything. Congrats and thank you for posting!!! It helps reassure those of us in early recovery that things will get better!!

Welcome to the Forum, your story sounds similar to a lot of people that come to this site for help and I hope you're able to find some here. Adderall/Vyvanse is a terrible drug that makes you instantly fall in love with it and then treats you like complete crap later on, basically a toxic relationship but this one is actually killing you. Just remember that at this point in your usage your life may already be falling apart and will get worse if you continue taking the drug. Read through the forums and see that there is not just light but a whole new sense of freedom at the end of the tunnel....even though right now it may just feel like more tunnel. I'm on day 30 for the 2nd time, after abusing for 5+ years tomorrow morning will mark the longest time I have been off stimulants since I got prescribed them. I've attempted to quit more times than I can count but this time my attitude is completely different (not sure how to explain the overwhelming urge to move on past this point in my life but its there). I'm embracing the journey to being free from this drug and recognizing the damage it has done to me everyday due to the way I'm feeling in the recovery from it. Just realize that one day you will no longer be able to stay on this medication and it only gets worse as the years go by....relapses can/do happen but you have to WANT to quit instead of "hoping" you can quit. Just know that I meant that in a nice calm tone and not being rude lol. Congrats on day 8 and good luck!!! check in whenever! Currently day 30 and grateful for this site and the members

@amcardwell Congrats on day 48! Keep it up and good job on not giving into that 5mg. I'm looking forward to reading more about your recovery since your further ahead. Also, I'm beginning to realize that drugs may have given me a false "love" for my job as well so I'm right there with ya. GOOD LUCK!! Currently day 29, fatigued but finding my personality more in the last few days.

Congrats!! That was an amazing post to read and reassures me that I will eventually get to a better place through this process. It just takes time, awesome man! Day 28 of recovery and getting thru this Monday.

@Lawyer wow you posted nearly a minute after me about 20 minutes ago!!!, wish I would've gotten onto the site sooner to reassure you that your doing the right thing by quitting. The good times are over when it comes to taking it. It sucks to hear it and realize it but from what I read in your post it sounds like the honeymoon has been over and the drug is only gonna make you feel worse and worse as you continue taking it. I've taken it for almost 5.5 years and I finally realized that you will only get better if you listen to all those that have come before us and just quit taking it, time is the only thing that will be able to fully heal us at this point. I'm sorry to hear that your feeling some regrets from getting rid of them and it happens...I've had so many relapses that I became sure I would be on them forever and I'm still at risk of potentially going back on them because I'm human and make mistakes. That's why I'm doing things different and working my recovery to the point where I've come to terms that I will never be able to take another one again because in the past when I take "one" it would lead to more and more and things would only get worse.... Just know that you will unlikely be able to take these forever and getting clean will be one of the best accomplishments of your life. I'm really hoping this is helping cause I'm trying brother!!! Just get thru the rest of the day and chill this weekend if possible!!!