Daydreambeliever

Like others have said, I think tapering really helps ease the transition. I started tapering in June from a 30 mg dose and finally quit after thanksgiving (I had previously used up to 60, but was on about 30 pretty consistently for at least 10 months prior to the taper). Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been easy. But I feel like coming off adderall and seeing things for what they are has helped me realize that adderall largely just provides a false sense of security. I think the addiction and habitual use distorts your thinking and you start to believe adderall is doing all these wonderful things for you. I think we tend to exaggerate the benefits of adderall and don’t give ourselves enough credit. Yes it will be hard to detox, but honestly it’s been a little easier than I expected. Disclaimer though- I’ve been taking Wellbutrin since I quit and think it’s helped a lot. So I would recommend just fully commit to a gradual taper, consider taking antidepressants to help ease the withdrawal and transition back to real life, and allow yourself to slowly get back to being your best self- one day at a time. Also, distract yourself. I got a new puppy and he’s been pretty distracting. But go easy on yourself and don’t expect too much too soon. Expect to be lazy and unproductive for a bit. I’m having to relearn the skill of willpower and just tell myself to suck it up and do it, even if I do it in tons of little baby steps. Breaking things up helps and just keep telling yourself to do the next thing. I give myself inner pep talks/lectures—like just get it done, doesn’t have to be perfect. You are in control. Just accept that it’s a gradual process and go with it. It was crazy to me how quickly I forgot I was off adderall.

Thanks for the encouragement! This is exactly how I feel. I’m at work bored out of my mind and it’s not so much that I can’t do my work, it’s that I don’t care and it doesn’t align with my overall long term goals, other than providing a reliable source of income. Adderall has a way of deceiving you. It disguises the sources of disatisfaction in your life. Truthfully I’ve been unhappy for a long time, even on adderall, but the adderall allowed me to stuff those things in the back of mind and forget. Just get stuff done, that is the mentality. So I feel like making big changes right now but I just don’t want to have any regrets. I want to be practical, but I also want to really start living my life.

Thanks for the input. I totally agree we are a similar type of person. I think I am beginning to accept what has happened and try to move forward and use it for good. I did just start taking Wellbutrin and I think its helping. But honestly, I feel like its cheating because it feels a lot like a low dose of adderall, so I am not sure its a good thing. It seems to provide less of the focus effect, and I feel on edge and restless. So now I'm not sure what is a side effect of the Wellbutrin and what is adderall withdrawal. Also, I am about to quit my job. Maybe this restlessness and frustration is a side effect of the real me just being unable to deal with my adderall-created life. I kind of feel like I am doing better, kind of feel like I am going crazy. I don't trust myself. For now, I am just biding my time.

Thanks for your response. I’m grateful to have found this forum and people who know this struggle.

My teeth definitely suffered. Working on fixing that. Teeth can be fixed.

So I'm new here. After reading everyones' adderall stories, I felt like it was time to share mine... forgive me if this gets a little long-winded (also forgive my stupid user name--it was chosen in the spirit of remaining anonymous!) I am going to try and focus on only the relevant parts of my story because I can feel myself about to go down a rabbit hole. I recently quit Adderall after almost 3 years of habitual use, which started in grad school. I'll start with some background. I don't think I am textbook ADD or ADHD---I always did well in school, though it was never too hard. I am what you call a daydreamer, creative type. I hate to read instructions. I can focus on things if I find meaning in it, which can sometimes turn into obsession. Weirdly though, I also can be extremely complacent, even lazy, about some really important things. Its like an all or nothing focus, which hinges on the level of interest and intrinsic personal significance I find in the subject, which probably isn't that unusual. As you might be able to tell, I'm having to rediscover myself a bit without the Adderall, which makes me sad for the time I lost. I never really "abused" it in the traditional sense, but I was using too much, too often. Like many others, I started out at 20 mg, and went to up to 30, plus some. 60 mg was the most I ever used. When I got it, everything was great... for about six months--I was SUPER skinny and confident, and more social than ever. I also really liked that adderall made me bulletproof emotionally. I was so much more task oriented--things beyond the task at hand didn't phase me. This wasn't me--I am a super sensitive person, and I used rehash every interaction in my head at ungodly hours of the night. I was surprised with the way I would act socially, and not in a good way-- I was not smooth and could be really assertive/almost abrasive, and I don't think my true self was ever really comfortable with my new way of interacting with people. This did have some positives though. I felt powerful and energetic, like there was nothing I couldn't do. Anyway, I quickly became addicted. I couldn't get out of bed without it and used it to do things that were supposed to be "fun." Pretty soon I wasn't doing anything for fun and I spiraled into a depression that has continued to get worse. My adderall use peaked when I was a studying for a major exam after grad school, one that had huge implications for my career and educational investment. Point being, I think the whole experienced changed something in my brain. I can be an anxious, type A, obsessive person as it is, and the adderall pushed me over the edge. I wasn't ready to see that at the time, though. I would spend HOURS picking at my face, like I was on meth. I RUINED my skin (it is better now, I do have scars and it will never be my pre-adderall skin). And the isolation. Adderall isolates you and sucks the emotion out of you--you don't even realize its happening. I was so numb and unhappy, but I didn't stop. I got a job after I found out I passed my test and of course continued to take adderall. Although I was back down to 30 mg, I started to realize the life I made for myself wasn't me, it was something adderall me had created. I couldnt shake the feeling of emptiness, wondering what my life would have been like had I never gone down this road. It started to become more clear that everything was all wrong. My life was completely devoid of all happiness and joy. I gradually started taking less adderall, and gradually started to hate my job more and more. I became more and more depressed. So now you're pretty much caught up. I managed to cut my dose down to 15 mg per day. I ran out right before Thanksgiving. Its been about two weeks since I ran out (I took it one last time at day 6, so I restarted the clock and now I'm on day 8). The thing that I am struggling with the most is feeling the flood of emotions coming back to me, the overwhelming depression, and the sense that my true self was frozen in time for those 3 years. I am not used to having to handle my crazy emotions and I don't remember how to deal with the constant barrage of thoughts and feelings. The thought that my true, non-adderall self could have matured and experienced personal growth during that time makes me more depressed and sad. I don't know where I am getting the strength to keep going and or how I'm not turning back to adderall, but I like being able to feel and take in the moment--even if it is sad and depressing. I was finally at a point where I was miserable on adderall and willing to acknowledge that. And because of that I am willing to try something else. The fact that I am feeling again and not stuffing my emotions with a pill gives me hope that maybe things will get better. Maybe this will all be the catalyst I needed to change things and go in a different direction. Maybe it's the right direction, or at least a better one. Anyway, thanks for reading.