LILTEX41

Wow!!! Congratulations!!! I can't believe it's already been 3 years! Yes, I know what you mean about being on the other side of it now. It's wonderful to be free from this drug. I am so happy for you. You are an inspiration to others! As far as the depression goes, do you feel like it's situational or just an ongoing depression that has been around forever? I know for me, changing my diet has helped immensely along with listening to Joel Osteen. I know not a lot of people find religion appealing and all, but he always helps me so much switch over into a positive mindset no matter what I'm going through. I try to listen to his messages as much as possible. Oh and exercise of course too. Well, anyhow, I am so happy for you and we are blessed to have you on this website! Congrats!!

That is the addictive voice (or what I picture as my little monster) trying to trick you! Lock him up and show him who's boss! Every time you refuse to act on the urge or messages he's sending you, you become stronger and he becomes weaker. Kick his ass!!!

HI Frank, Congrats are you quit!! Sounds like you are doing great and have a really good support system in place. I am a firm believer in you have to find what works for you. If tapering does the trick, then great! Hope you continue to keep us posted along the journey.

That is AWESOME!!!! You go girl!! Are you feeling better now that you told him?

There is great relief to be found once the doctor knows. I know I just felt safe. You GOT this!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

You're doing awesome!!! I absolutely 150% agree it is all about the mindset. Whatever we focus on will manifest. Dwell on thoughts of victory and you will get through this. You are doing great and I'm so glad to hear it's going well.

If he doesn't want to stop then you have to decide what you will accept moving forward. Are you willing to walk away if he refuses to get help? Does he know how much this is effecting you and that you are at or close to your breaking point?

Hi all, Came across the final words from Steve Jobs through an email I received from my father this week and wanted to share. Here are the final words of Steve Jobs before he passed. It's pretty incredible that it took him till the end of his life to see that all the wealth he accumulated meant nothing in the end. It almost sounds as if he regretted he did not spend his life pursuing more endeavors of the heart. I find this very inspiring and a worthwhile sentiment for those of us addicted to a drug that is designed to make us get immersed in the conquest for more power, prestige, and super human strength to out perform those around us. And for what in the end? To prove our worth? To prove we were the "BEST" at whatever our talent may be? Can't we find other alternatives to a life filled of meaning and happiness? And why would we get sucked into a drug that empowers us to achieve so much and then in the end to only someday look back on our lives and say "Wow, I guess it wasn't all that important anyway. I won't be taking any of this success, money, fortune, and fame where I'm going now." Just something to think about on your road and journey to becoming a more authentic you and in your passion to quit adderall. <3 LT The last words of Steve Jobs - I have come to the pinnacle of success in business. In the eyes of others, my life has been the symbol of success. However, apart from work, I have little joy. Finally, my wealth is simply a fact to which I am accustomed. At this time, lying on the hospital bed and remembering all my life, I realize that all the accolades and riches of which I was once so proud, have... become insignificant with my imminent death. In the dark, when I look at green lights, of the equipment for artificial respiration and feel the buzz of their mechanical sounds, I can feel the breath of my approaching death looming over me. Only now do I understand that once you accumulate enough money for the rest of your life, you have to pursue objectives that are not related to wealth. It should be something more important: For example, stories of love, art, dreams of my childhood. No, stop pursuing wealth, it can only make a person into a twisted being, just like me. God has made us one way, we can feel the love in the heart of each of us, and not illusions built by fame or money, like I made in my life, I cannot take them with me. I can only take with me the memories that were strengthened by love. This is the true wealth that will follow you; will accompany you, he will give strength and light to go ahead. Love can travel thousands of miles and so life has no limits. Move to where you want to go. Strive to reach the goals you want to achieve. Everything is in your heart and in your hands. What is the world's most expensive bed? The hospital bed. You, if you have money, you can hire someone to drive your car, but you cannot hire someone to take your illness that is killing you. Material things lost can be found. But one thing you can never find when you lose: life. Whatever stage of life where we are right now, at the end we will have to face the day when the curtain falls. Please treasure your family love, love for your spouse, love for your friends... Treat everyone well and stay friendly with your neighbors.

Why do you want to quit? Are you really doing it for yourself or for someone else? The thought of quitting was scary to me because I predicted I would fail at my job without it. I started working at a temp agency when I was 23 and had a total of 6 different jobs!!! It wasn't until the 6th assignment (and when I started taking Ritalin/Concerta/then adderall) that I finally got hired on. Talk about feeling like I was worthless without it! I then worked in that field for a total of 6 years while taking adderall. The thought of coming off of it scared me to death!!! I never thought I'd be able to do a good job without it. Luckily, I didn't have a choice and I had to stop taking it. And thankfully, I didn't fall apart. I even ended up taking another job and doing really well at it. But yes, it is scary. You are not alone in feeling that way. But it can be done and you can get through this life without it. There are plenty of us here that can attest to that! You got this!

Awe man!! I didn't mean to do that! I was just so damn proud of myself for making myself do the 11 on my schedule I had to share. You are awesome!!! I can't believe you are already at 17.5 months!! That's fantastic!

Congratulations on day 4!!! Imagine the strength you might find in yourself if you stay off adderall and get to watch your co-workers behavior as they continue to take it. Imagine being on the other side of this and maybe even imagine one day one of them being inspired by you to quit. I really hope you will stick with us and share your journey. Life doesn't have to be so intense anymore and you discovered that at the gym today! That's amazing you were already there day 4! You can do this!!

It took me a year before I stopped wanting it so much as well. The addictive desire for it will weaken the longer you are off of it. If you take it again, the addictive desire will only be reinforced and grow stronger. Also, how about reframing your belief that your self worth is determined by being productive and getting things done? What about opening up your frame of reference in regards to how you define your self worth? I was actually so intrigued by this statement I went digging around on the internet to see what I could find and I ended up finding some great stuff for myself, lol. The main points I took away from everything I found is that basically chasing after our self worth in accomplishments and external crap is really not much of a solid way to deepen and establish that genuine feeling of utter acceptance and love for ourselves. It's all very fleeting as we are going to end up succeeding and failing many times in our lives and that is just part of being human. I really liked this little blog I found. What is your most valuable asset? You have something of great worth and it is so rare that it’s not shared by anyone else on the planet. Do you know what that is? You are a one of a kind, totally unique individual. You are you, and that alone gives you personal value and self-worth. Take some time to appreciate who you really are, aside from all the trappings and outside opinions. Make a list of things you like about yourself and then read it out loud so it can resonate in your consciousness. Think about all the ways you have contributed to the lives of those around you. Now, give yourself some well deserved approval. It’s time to celebrate you! Ok, so yeah, maybe that is pretty cheesy, but it's true! We are all unique individuals and everyone has something that is absolutely authentic and special to them. Take the time to appreciate all that is awesome about yourself and keep working to be the best you that you can be. Also, this is a good article. http://www.psychalive.org/self-worth/ Check out this part of this article. I think this is spot on when it comes to the our adderall addiction. Furthermore, studies now show that basing one’s self-worth on external factors is actually harmful to one’s mental health. One study at the University of Michigan found that college students who base their self-worth on external sources (including academic performance, appearance and approval from others) reported more stress, anger, academic problems and relationship conflicts. They also had higher levels of alcohol and drug use, as well as more symptoms of eating disorders. The same study found that students who based their self-worth on internal sources, not only felt better, they also received higher grades and were less likely to use drugs and alcohol or to develop eating disorders. I'm really glad you brought this up. Reading a bunch of stuff on this topic has really helped me tonight and given me some clarity as far as developing my goals for the new year. Anyhow, please don't worry too much about your urges and cravings as these are all totally normal. They will dissipate the longer you are clean. Keep focusing on all of the benefits you have enjoyed from being off this drug and remember how good it feels to be living your life again on your own accord without the use/abuse of stimulants. Try and define your self worth in a broader array of terms in things that are more based on your character, integrity, generosity to others, and being a person of substance etc., rather than all the external crap our competitive society brainwashes us to believe. I think you'll feel better. I know I do so thank you for reaching out! <3 LT

Feeling strong! 40 days sober! Ran 11 miles today.

Fantastic!!! Yes, you will be razor sharp again before you know it.

Awesome, Scott!! I love it. That's a great report! Dreaming, sleeping, and no longer feeling tweaked out. Ahhhhh....isn't it lovely. Keep posting! Love hearing it!

Hi BG, Thanks for posting and giving us an update! I admire your resolve to quit and keep trying. That's seriously all you need. Just a firm dedication/motivation to want to quit and you will find a way that works for you. There are lots of ways that people quit drugs/alcohol and many paths to achieve this. I know lots of people that have been sober in AA for years and that's worked for them and that's great. AA did not work for me though. For me, I had much better luck with Smart Recovery. Smart uses a variety of tools that you can use to help build your motivation to quit and stay quit. Here is the foundation of the program below. The SMART Recovery 4-Point Program offers tools and techniques for each program point: 1: Building and Maintaining Motivation 2: Coping with Urges 3: Managing Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors 4: Living a Balanced Life I know you said you are not interested in books, but I do have 2 I recommend. The first one is called, "The Easy Way to Quit Drinking" by Allen Carr and the second one is called, "Alcohol lied to me" by Craig Beck. Both of these books have helped me reverse the brain washing that society teaches us that basically alcohol is a good thing. Alcohol is a highly addictive drug just like adderall and all the rest. I have been able to see my sobriety in a new way now that I no longer feel like I'm being deprived in any way. I was deprived when I was stuck in the alcohol/drug trap. Life can be so great if we can open our minds and change our perspective quite a bit. It just takes a whole new way of looking at it all of it. Anyhow, please keep us posted. I have to get to work! Hugs!

Expect nothing of yourself and ENJOY this time to be as lazy as you want. You are allowed full permission to be a total sloth!!

DAY 30 NO BOOZE (or any other drug for that matter ) Whoooo hoo!!

Scott, For me, I was tranquilized for the first 4.5 months after going to the ER/psych ward/7day detox. They put me on some hard core drugs that just made me a zombie and I basically slept most of the time. I finally got to a point that I was SOOOO wanting to just be normal again and exercise I weaned myself off the 3 drugs they put me on and I felt grateful to have energy again. For me, I went from being on speed to being on tranquilizers so by the time I was finally just my "normal" state of being I guess it was good enough to stay off adderall. I just started exercising all the time. That helped a ton! I signed up for a bunch of races as a way to motivate myself for something positive and take my mind off missing adderall. It really worked. Anyhow, I did miss adderall a lot, but I think because I got so active so quickly I was able to recover quicker. I was just so thankful to be off the tranquilizers and losing the weight they had caused me to gain. I felt like a million bucks. Your recovery is totally up to you! It definitely is going to be different for everyone so just hang in there and now you can do it!

So sorry to hear about his diagnosis as well, but so happy to hear you are doing so great and far away from your adderall days! That is awesome! Glad you came back to share and stay connected. Hugs!

I never had headaches after I quit. Seems weird with that it happened around the same time, but you mentioned you started getting them before you quit. Have you changed anything else? Do you wear glasses or contacts? I know I always get headaches whenever I get a new pair of glasses if my prescription changes because it takes time for my eyes to adjust. Maybe check with your doctor or schedule a visit to get a checkup if they don't go away soon. Hope you feel better!

I strongly recommend scouring this site and you will find most all the answers to your questions. IF you think you can handle tapering, then I would suggest trying to do that first and slowly wean yourself off so you can get adjusted slowly over time. If that ends up and doesn't work for you, then I would suggest planning an all out cold turkey quit when you know you will have enough time to go through withdrawal and sleep accordingly. It's attainable of course to quit, but it CAN be done. We are living proof. Please see links below for tapering and quitting cold turkey methods. I've never tried the non-stimulant meds like Straterra so I don't have any words of wisdom on that. However, I would maybe find an ADD coach or visit websites under a search of "alternatives to prescription medication for ADHD." I have found how to manage my life without ADD drugs just fine and it is no longer the overwhelming task it used to be when I first quit. But it mainly just took time of being off the drug to get used to living without a pill that automatically made me start cleaning and organizing. I think we have to use the same tools everyone else does by making a to do list everyday and keeping a planner, schedule, etc. I have found I just have to put forth the effort of doing this on a daily and weekly basis and I am very productive. If I don't make a plan and schedule things accordingly, then I will most likely not do much of anything. Go to this section: http://quittingadderall.com/how-to-wean-yourself-off-of-adderall/ http://quittingadderall.com/how-to-quit-adderall/ You can do it! Good luck and keep posting!

Have you stopped taking them recently or have you been tapering slowly?

I think what you are doing is good. Try the tapering method and if it works, then great! If it doesn't then you can try the option of cold turkey. It's a harm reduction approach which is great. You got this!