Adderall OG

That’s amazing! Congratulations on your sobriety, engagement and everything else. It is so important to allow ourselves to feel happy, proud and positive about how far we’ve come. And also to share it with this community for those who feel like things will never get better. They do. Time passes, even when you are struggling and every day clean is a day closer to the life you want!

It’s so true! The fatal neural pathway. The grieving. Everything. When I got off adderall, as well as when I stopped drinking, I grieved. I laid in bed and cried. It felt absurd but I was so sad. But that grieving was really SURRENDER. It was part of my process. Letting go and admitting the relationship has soured. It’s toxic. It will never lead you down any road but only dead ends. I am so grateful to be on the other side of my addiction. I’m so glad I gave myself that chance!

I agree- this quarantine is a unique opportunity to get off adderall that we’ve never had before and might never get again. The world has literally stopped so what a great time to work on yourself. It will still be a long road to truly getting this monkey off your back, but getting through the difficult initial phases while you’re in quarantine is a great start. Regardless, once this is all over it is important to stay strong and keep your eye on the prize. You can do this!!

I really enjoyed this, thank you for sharing. It made me feel things, a lot of things about my own experiences. Sharing in this forum has been really meaningful for me because for so damn long I’ve been confused and ashamed of my addiction to adderall. I may have kicked it 10 years ago but i never ever realized the value in talking about it, or understood the profound impact my addiction and recovery has had on my life. Sharing it with people on here is a huge step and so validating.

I can relate so much. I think what we all crave and were chasing was that experience we had in the early days of our adderall addiction- before it became so problematic and we fell down the rabbit hole. It is an unfortunate reality that we can never recapture that because we passed the point of no return with our addiction. I stopped drinking in November and I have been having intense moments of craving and even debating with myself if I can start drinking casually again. I rationalize that my drinking wasn’t THAT bad and I had more good nights than bad. But then I remind myself of a metaphor that applies to drinking but also any addiction, especially adderall and that is that you can’t unpickle a cucumber. Once a cucumber has been turned into a pickle, it can never go back to being a cucumber. And I know that I can never go back to being a casual drinker and none of us can ever take adderall without slipping down the slope into addiction hell.

Same. For so many years I thought it was because I was weak. But now I’m finally realizing the drug is designed to make you its prisoner.

YUP. That’s exactly what I feel like. Adderall lab rat! Sometimes it’s still hard not to be resentful towards my parents for not having some forethought of all the implications putting me on this type of drug (at such a young age) we’re going to be but I guess they were just blindly trusting a doctor. I know I will never make the same mistake with my children.

Awwww yeah!!! Gotta celebrate the days you wake up feeling like that! You’ve earned it and all the ones to come!

YES! This! What I have learned from getting off adderall ten years ago and my current journey of quitting drinking (100 days sober today :-)) is that patience can be the most powerful tool to use during the times when we’re struggling the most. Back when I was hooked on adderall, my solution to any unpleasant feeling was to pop a pill. Fast forward ten years and I had gotten in a habit of turning to alcohol to escape my emotions. It was and is hard to endure negative feelings without looking for a quick fix. All of the suggestions in the comments above are great. But if there are moments when you are struggling to motivate doing anything at all, don’t forget that even just getting through those moments without relapsing is doing something. It’s huge actually. I was also hooked on adderall for 15 years- that first year off SUCKS. But you’ve come SO FAR. It won’t always be this hard. Just keep your eye on the prize.

Congratulations on getting off adderall and staying clean for 13 months! I’m a woman so I didn’t have this issue but I know my body was a mess for a while after I kicked adderall. With diet and exercise I was able to get back in shape but it took time! Keep it up

@Ready4Change such a beautiful message and sooo true. @dolssa the four months you have been off adderall May objectively look like a lot of wasted time but it has actually been a time of your body and mind HEALING, a necessary part of recovery. You are now 4 months closer to being your best self, adderall free. Even though you may feel like you’ve been weak and lazy since you got off adderall, I promise you that you will look back at this time and marvel at just how strong you were to get through this awful stage of withdrawal and feel very proud. I have been adderall free for over a decade but only recently started reflecting on my addiction since starting therapy a few months ago. And in talking about my struggle with the addiction and withdrawal, I am truly realizing and appreciating how badass I truly was going through all that and coming out the other side. The old adage is true- it’s always darkest before the dawn. Keep trudging, keep going. You’ll get there. ❤️

Congratulations on 10 months! You are still healing so be gentle with yourself. I am so familiar with that feeling of panic. Just like everything else, it will subside as you get more energy and more confident in your abilities without the aid of adderall. You’ve made it this far and that takes a LOT of inner strength. You can totally do this!

I feel your pain so hard. The first year is a bitch. Set expectations low and be gentle on yourself. Spent a whole Saturday in bed? So what! You didn’t take adderall and that’s what you have to focus on. Gained some weight? That’s ok! Your body and mind are healing and a little (most likely temporary) weight gain is a small price to pay for a clean existence. Keep in mind while you are going through the withdrawal, that is not the real you. The real you is buried inside and everyday you get further away from adderall, the real you gets closer to the surface. I gained a ton of weight, slept SO DAMN MUCH, and like you, felt angry and grumpy and just generally pissed. But slowly it got better. I got control of my life little by little. It’s so worth it. Those years hooked on adderall I was living under this dark cloud. Even when i was struggling through withdrawal, I was happy that I was finally free of that crutch. You just have to do it. Every day make a promise to yourself to get through it without Adderall. AND definitely get that shit out of your house and cut off the supply. You can do this!!

@Aurora29 hey there sweet girl- first of all I am so proud of you for getting off adderall and for seeking help when you needed it. You are brave! To answer your question about Zoloft- YES, I am on it and have been for years. I got off adderall ten years ago and for the first 5+ years I was against going on any new medications bc I never again wanted to be dependent on a drug like I had been on adderall. I have always struggled with anxiety and over that period of time I definitely experienced bouts of anxiety and depression. Finally, after the birth of my 3rd child, my anxiety got so severe I knew I had to do something about it. So I started taking Zoloft and it REALLY helped. I was happy to see it wasn’t the same experience as I had with Adderall- it’s not really a drug that results in abuse, at least for me, bc the effects aren’t felt as immediately or intensely as adderall’s were. It’s more of just a slow removing on the anxiousness. I was taking 150 msg for a few years and then this summer i decided to try an wean myself off of it. I was ok for while (and the experience of getting off of it was NOTHING like getting off of adderall), but after a while i started to feel my anxiety getting worse so i am back on it at a low dose of 50mgs. I had no trouble making this decision to go back on it because my experience on it was never dysfunctional like it had been on adderall. I have had no problem taking it as prescribed and never once did i abuse it or run out early or anything like that. Based on my experience with Zoloft, i would recommend anyone struggling like I was to go on it. Stay strong girlfriend- it gets better. You’re fighting the battle now but stick with it and you will definitely win the war! Xoxo