quit-once
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Bluemoon, it took almost a year after I quit before my sleep cycle got back to pre-adderall normal. I just hated having to fall asleep early and wake up super early. But that was what my first year of recovery sleep pattern looked like. I prefer to stay up till at least 11 and get up around 6 or 7. ON Adderall, I only got about 5 hours per night and that was simply unsustainable.
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Here is my two cents on these supplements:
The only Lions Mane I have used is Host Defense brand and I got it at Whole Foods. It can make you over think things and obsess on the negative things too. I got a lot of mental clarity and better focus from taking it. Don't take it with fish oil because it does make you burp.
L-Tyrosine from GNC. 500 mg pills. More is not better. Must be taken on empty stomach at least one hour before eating.
Fish oil from GNC. Lots of different ratios of the different types of omega 3's out there and they do matter. It is from fish so fresh high quality supplements are essential. Stay away from the economy brands. Some fish oil capsules are coated so they don't make you have fish burps. I've had good luck with the GNC Triple Strength fish oil line. take them however they agree with you but take enough so read the dosing instructions.
St Johns Wort - I just use the economy line but only take it when I feel a bout of depression coming on. I hate the way it tastes.
Vitamin B-12 sublingual tablets. These are great for an energy buzz and they make your hair tingle I got some cherry flavored tabs at Rite Aid. Same active ingredient in 5-hour energy but your stomach does not absorb it very well and the under tongue tabs give an instant buzz. Some people take vitamin b-12 injections once or twice per month. B-12 injections are also good for mental clarity and cognition.
Also a good quality b-complex or daily multivitamin will help.
These are just the supplements that have worked for me during my recovery. Full disclaimer they may or may not work for you but you won't know if you don't try taking them at different times and dosages.
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Congrats to you, Doge. Thought I better get that in before you change your name again
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Frank, are you taking enough good quality fish oil? Take it till you smell like a fish. It does wonders for my motivation and focus. Lots of water and green tea too. Redbull or Monster or caffeine pills...don't overdo the caffeine to avoid anxiety. Did you try Lions Mane yet? And how about the L- tyrosine? The key to most of these supplements is not quantity but dialing them in to the amount and type that works best for you.
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Hi tantan,
Welcome to QuittingAdderall. I have a lot in common with you. I used it for almost ten years too, and smoked cigs for 30+ years. I am also into yoga practice, gardening and I love my dog. I used Lions Mane for focus well into my fourth year of recovery. I still take fish oil, vitamins, and Redbull. Straight to your question: "does anyone ever feel like their brain will never work to its fullest potential again?"
Yeah, I am concerned about that too. My brain is not as sharp as it was when I was in grad school 25 years ago. Is that because I spent a decade on Adderall? Or is it because my brain is 25 years older and it does not work as well as a young brain? Most likely a combination of both plus some other factors I am not even aware of. But my brain does work much better that it did before I quit stimulants. I was losing executive function and memory at a rapid pace. IN fact, my brain was not very functional and I was consumed with this awful addiction and hyper focused on maintaining my supply of pills while other things didn't matter. My future was uncertain as a drug addict and I had this impending task of quitting ahead of me. Going back to the pills will never be an option for me because I know the addiction would return with a vengeance and I simply can't afford to risk any greater mental decline than I have already experienced at my age.
So the short answer to your question is that I feel like I have lost some brain power with age in years but I won't blame it on the Adderall.
I also had to come to terms with my sexuality after quitting. In my case, I realized that I am asexual and that my lack of sexual attraction to others throughout my life was an orientation, not a choice. I am still in the process of accepting that I may never have a lifetime partner because of my orientation.
Motivation, mental focus and self confidence will return to you as you progress through your recovery. Just keep your expectations real. and give it plenty of time. It took me 2-3 years to feel like I was mostly recovered from this awful addiction,
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Hey Ashley, congrats on your soon to get born baby. Five days from now is...well its not April Fools Day so I gotta believe you really are having a kid. I've missed you around here. Did your new job work out well?
What's new with me is I got a new computer last weekend. And I will be taking it back soon because it sucks. It is a low-end HP notebook - like $250 - and it barely browses the internet. It works fine for forums like this but if I go to a website with ads, like the NYT or really any commercial website, the scroll feature does not work and it freezes up and gets really slow. It has Windows 10 and an AMD processor and I don't know if that is part of the problem or not. I have a new HP tablet from work that works great but it has Windows 7. If anybody knows more about these things than I do (I'm illiterate) I would really appreciate some guidance on what I should exchange it for. Best Buy gives you 14 days to return things and I will be doing that this weekend.
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Wow, it's great to hear from you Ashley. I think of you often and hope you are doing well. No need to apologize for not being around here all the time - we all come and go and nothing stays the same.
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Thanks for coming back and letting us know how you are doing. Congrats on the coming baby and 5 months with a no relapse option is as good as it gets. It's hard to leave your tweaker buddies behind. My addie buddies were also really good friends and I vowed not to give up those friendships due to quitting. But I found out that we had less and less in common with time after quitting. Their world still resolves around drug use and my world wants none of that lifestyle, so we have gradually gone different ways. I wish you the best of luck in your life beyond Adderall.
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The ONE thing that really pisses me off is when people post spam. This web site is sponsored by Mike and a few others who make donations for its continued operation, and also a few of us volunteer administrators. It has only one purpose and that is to help people quit and stay quit from Adderall or any other stimulant drug. And that task takes on on-line village to be successful. When people fling their spam, especially in a place where no advertising is allowed, they are attempting to commercialize a forum devoid of commercial influence. It gives me great pleasure to delete every spam post and ban the spammers, and I really appreciate the other administrators who help with that never ending task. It hasn't been too bad lately, thankfully.
Doge, I just hijacked your thread with my rant on spam, and I hope you were not offended.
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I'm not sure what the Wiki definition of a "forum" or "discussion thread" is but in my mind it is having an on-line conversation with an exchange of ideas. As in a person-to person conversation, lots of things get discussed, experiences get shared, and many ideas get thrown around. The subject gets changed all the time, more often with some people than others. Around here, we only have about four or five broadly titled forums and pretty much anything can go anywhere. If I have a thought or idea that I feel like I need to express based upon something I just read, I will jump right in any discussion thread without believing that I am hijacking that thread. And if somebody wants to get the conversation back on topic they can drop another post below by responding to the topic title or the first post in the thread.
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Duffman,
I think item #1 is essential for all of us in any stage of recovery. Only within the last year have I been able to recognize the onset of a depressive mood, take a step back and just take note of it without letting the depression take hold. the key to combatting depression is recognizing those feelings in the first place. I am a pill addict so I always try to find a solution from any of these down moments by taking a pill...so I have a toolbox of supplements (st.johns wort, l-tyrosine, vitamin d or fish oil) that I go to if I think they will help. And if I believe they will help me... the supplements will usually do something until the bad feelings go away. As long as I can stay away from drugs or alcohol while fighting a depressive mood the problem is short lived.
In response to item #2, you are spot on with your outlook on recovery.
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Scout is a fine young German Shepherd pup! Every GSD I have ever had or trained (like 6 dogs over my lifetime so far) learns their lessons for life with very little effort. So be careful with the discipline. I used a fly swatter one time on my last dog and she would leave the room EVERY time I picked up a fly swatter for the rest of her days. I went to puppy school with my current dog, yes, the one in my profile pic, and learned that you should never ever EVER hit your puppy. An independent, strong willed bitch dog, she really tried my patience while she was a puppy and during the last two years of my addiction. At the time, I believed that Adderall gave me incredible patience while puppy training. And I ended up with a remarkable dog. But I would probably have even more patience not being strung out or in withdrawls all of the time.
Congratulations to you and Scout and your entire family!
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Follow the link on our tickers or go directly to either ticker factory or alternatickers.com and follow their instructions. ticker factory seems to have some kind of pregnancy relationship but I just ignored it and made my ticker how I wanted it. I ended up with one too many "since"s in mine but when I tried to fix it things got screwed up so I just left it alone instead of starting over.
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Congratulations for the new puppy! Will you share a puppy pic with us?
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It took me over two years to finally quit taking a pill or other supplement for perceived energy - not like daily, but at certain times. I had a pill habit. And anything that was not a stimulant drug was OK. I gradually reduced my pill popping dependency. Now it is just a select few nutrition supplements. But even thinking of all the rituals and quirks and rewards? from smoking gets me too excited, even now. So I choose not to entertain those thoughts any further tonight, Changing the channel.....
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as long as you keep ALL of your aka's; formerly known as; aliases; and any other names neatly tucked into your signature line, we'll be able to keep track of you.
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Cigarettes. They still call out to me when I see/smell somebody smoking. Not sure why. I smoked for 30+ years and finally quit around the same time I quit Adderall almost 5 years ago. I have been 100% abstinent but I still feel a weakness in resolve that I just don't feel regarding Adderall. At least I have learned to manage the cravings and not allow the thoughts of smoking to be entertained or take hold.
I sure don't miss being enslaved to that stinky, breath robbing, expensive, unsociable, nasty fucking habit.
OK, back to the topic of this thread....Without Adderall, I can finally not smoke.
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In-person meet-ups from forums like this are really rare. I'm glad you two could put it together. Lil Tex, didn't you meet up with Ashley once?
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The single most important vitamin may be vitamin D. A lot of us had low levels coming off Adderall and it takes a blood test to confirm. Vitamin C is critical because the human body does not make that one. A good quality multivitamin will help, just be careful with the minerals. I also take a B complex. You will need to determine your own dosages. And be aware that everything has potential side effects. It is best if you can get all your vitamins from your food, but after Adderall, you may have deficiencies that only supplements can replenish quickly. Never underestimate the power of good nutrition.
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I wouldn't spend a lot of money on exotic shit. I think if you try out the basics like vitamins and fish oil that is a good start. Just see what works and what agrees with you. If it is extra energy you are looking for, supplements with caffeine can really help. I am a big believer in the placebo effect. So if you try different things and you find something that feels like it works, by all means take it. I used a GNC supplement with caffeine and carnitine and capsicum. Also 5 hour energy. I took it whenever I needed to feel like I needed energy from a pill and, while it was no replacement for the Adderall, it did give me a temporary boost from a pill and helped wean me off the habit of taking pills for energy.
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Bluemoon, I predict that by the time May 20 comes, you won't be counting "days" anymore.
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I would like to discuss some of the perceived side effects I have noticed while taking various supplements. Rarely are the side effects identified on the bottle because supplements are underregulated. Keep in mind these are only my personal observations and are strictly anecdotal in nature.
Currently, I take fish oil and vitamin C almost daily; I take a multivitamin without iron, a B-Complex, and Vitamin D 2-3 times per week; and L-Tyrosine and St John's Wort as needed only when I feel a bout of depression coming on.
Iron: Sometimes it is hard to digest and it causes middle back pain while I am sleeping leading to poor quality sleep
Calcium: Causes hot sleep cycles and night sweats and difficult urination. Even too much cheese or almondmilk causes these effects.
Lions Mane: mushroom burps and overthinking things. Obsessive thoughts.
Fish oil: Fish burps and tinnitus (ringing in my ears)
Vitamin D: Tinnitus
L-Tyrosine: Muscle twitches, especially in the extremities. Headaches if I take too much
5 Hour Energy: overwhelming anxiety. tingling scalp sensation.
St John's Wort: Photosensitivity leading to sunburn
5-HTP and trpyptophan: Morning grogginess and a hangover-type feeling the next day.
Anybody else have similar experiences or have you experienced other side effects from your supplements?
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Very Good, Grumpycat. That lesson you learned will be key to your success. I learned the same lesson about nicotine before I quit Adderall which is why I only had to quit once. I don't know how many cigarette relapses to took me to finally learn that lesson, but my cigarette Quit was also successful when I coupled it up with quitting Adderall. It is a universal truth about addiction...that it only takes one lapse...one mistake...one moment of hubris thinking that you can handle it this time...just ONE little fucking pill... to bring on a relapse with all the guilt and depression that comes with it. "once you have crossed the line into addiction, there is no going back to controlled use and the addiction will always return" or something like that from the book "Unchain Your Brain". Now if you could only decide on what screen name you want to go by.....cat vs. dog
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This thread is for those who have graduated from the Ninety Day Challenge and anybody else working towards six months of freedom from stimulants.
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The New Moon
in Member locations (for meetups)
Posted
The New Moon!
The days around a New Moon are my favorite time of the month. I am usually more motivated, energetic and generally happier around the new moon. I also sleep better during the dark time of the moon. and I experience the opposite of these feelings during the time around a Full Moon....usually, but not every month. Anyway, if I want to get some shit done I will plan it around the new phase of each moon. I'm not into astronomy but the moon phase is a pretty reliable thing for me to plan around the motivation, mood, and energy ups and downs of life.