Hi everyone,
First of all, to everyone who has posted here, thank you for sharing your stories. I only recently decided to quit Adderall, and this website and forum have been more helpful than I can say.
So ... I've taken Adderall every day for the past nine years. I've never taken more than my prescribed dose, but at times, my prescribed dose has been really high. I started reducing my Adderall dose about two years ago. I went down from 60 mg/day to 55 mg, then from 50 to 30, from 30 to 25, and then from 25 to 20 mg/day, where I stayed for about a year. Finally, in August of this year, I decided to quit Adderall completely. This was a scary decision for me. I work in a demanding and fast-paced job that I love, and I don't want to fuck it up. But for a variety of reasons, I decided it was time to take the plunge.
I opted to continue reducing rather than quitting cold turkey:
First, I went from 20 mg/day to 10 mg/day (then I read this post and regretted abruptly halving my dose, but it was too late to go back). That was fine -- I experienced some fatigue, but I was able to manage fairly well through diet and exercise.
Then, about one month later, I went from 10 mg/day to 7.5 mg/day. That was a bit harder but still basically OK.
About three weeks after that (and just under a week ago), I reduced from 7.5 mg/day to 5 mg/day. Then everything went totally fucking haywire.
I am on my sixth day of the 5 mg dose, and my mind and body feel like they're going to shit. My symptoms include:
Irritability (since day one of the 5 mg dose),
Depression/tearfulness (also since day one of the 5 mg dose),
Constipation,
Severe bloating, and
Acid reflux.
I know that constipation and bloating are symptoms of Adderall withdrawal. The acid reflux is a surprise but feels like it's related (in part because it came on at the exact same time as the constipation and bloating). I've been able to control the bloating/constipation/acid reflux somewhat with over-the-counter medications, but I still feel like my entire body is attacking me. My symptoms are affecting my ability to focus at work and function at home.
I'm confused by this. I thought that decreasing from 7.5 mg to 5 mg wouldn't be that bad. I'd been coping fine so far!
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Specifically, doing fine with gradual reduction and then suddenly hitting a wall where you feel absolutely terrible and dysfunctional?
Also, has anyone else experienced acid reflux/general gastrointestinal distress as part of Adderall withdrawal? It's kind of freaking me out, and I would really appreciate any advice on how to manage these symptoms, information that will help me gauge how long they might last, etc.
Thanks, everyone.
EDIT: I should probably note that I'm a 125 lb. woman. That probably influences how certain doses, and drops in dosage, affect me.