quit-once

Coffee, Red Bull and 5 hour energy, also a good multivitamin with an iron supplement in addition to what you are already taking. Eat well and lay off the sugar. And for God's sake, don't try to take all those supps all at once or even every day. I started feeling better at 10-12 weeks and my personality and natural energy came back around nine months. Congratulations for quitting, Hleigh, and good luck. We are here for you! This is an edit because I almost missed something. Are you taking L-Lysine not L-Tyrosine? The amino acids of choice are tyrosine or phenylalanine for a better mood.

Meth is neurotoxic......what else would you expect from a substance made from battery acid and drano. Check out some of the quitting meth websites and you will see that their recovery process is longer and harder than adderall recovery (for most people).

Constantly thinking about adderall is just part of the recovery process. There were certain things I really enjoyed doing while high on adderall so when Friday nights (or the holiday season or certain friends) came around the adderall thoughts were obsessive. Annoyingly obsessive. But I read several posts that dealt with people's adderall thoughts so I understood it was just part of the process. I was addicted to nicotine for most of my adult life and I didn't think about ciggies nearly as often as I thought about adderall. Adderall is a psychostimulant so maybe it builds up in your brain and it takes a while to finally leave those thoughts behind. I thought about the shit for nine long months after I quit. In fact, the cessation of adderall thoughts was a defining period in winding down the recovery process and I felt like I could finally move on. I agree with Cassie: the thoughts are still there at some point every day, but they are no longer annoying - for me it is just amusing that i still think about it at all. Sky, you seem to be dealing with it well by demonizing the person adderall made you become while you were an addict. In my case, I remain grateful for my adderall experience and for the things it helped me to accomplish and deal with during the toughest time of my life. I was the caregiver for my mom in her late 80's who lived in another state so I had to be superman every weekend and not get overwhelmed by depression caused by the reality that she was frail, old, and slowly dieing. At the time, I believed adderall was essential to getting it all done. Now, I think I could have done it all just fine without speed, but I still have NO REGRETS because I did the best job I could helping Mom get through her old age.

Hey Sickofspeed' Welcome to the website. You are in good company here. Since you have already quit once before, you know what lays ahead and it sounds like you are ready for the challenge. Yes, the supplements do work and they are essential to helping you get through the early recovery period. Vitamins and iron are good for energy, just don't overdo it with these because they can upset the stomach. Fish oils are good and they help the brain and your memory recover better. L-Tyrosine is essential in combatting the lengthy depression. Coffee and any other drug-free stimulant pills or beverages can give you the boost to get through the work day. Good nutrition and hydration without alcohol and plenty or rest are also important, although these just happen naturally when you go off adderall. I was on it for nine years and I have been free from addies and ciggies for about a year and a half now. Good luck, sickofspeed, and that is a cool screen name.

(Pharmaceutical) Industrial Grade Speed.

Today on Google Health News, I read a summary of a research project that determined that empathy and analytical thinking were mutually exclusive thought processes. I thought back to all the great posts on this discussion thread and decided to review this topic. It looks like our discussion on this topic was spot-on. Adderall makes one over-analyze just about everything so it should come as no suprise that adderall abusers would notice their lack of empathy.

Lilah, Using personal experiences in an article really enhances its believability and credability. But if you have to use your real name then you will be forever known as "drug abuser" or an "addict". I would rather remain anonymous or simply pass on that opportunity.

Interesting topic question, Kylechaos. I suspect the answer is no for most people. Highonlife said it best in one of his responses: "that we change and mature regardless". Time, relationships and life experiences will always add maturity to our personalities. Hopefully one thing that will never be the same for any of us is our wreckless irregard for the power of addiction and addictive substances that got us hooked on adderall in the first place. When I was in high school (back in the 70's) they taught us that amphetamines were addictive drugs. I knew this and still chose to take those pills and persue my adderall addiction. I thought there would be some kind of magic cure for getting off the shit when I was ready to quit. Haha. I feel like I am better off for having experienced a true addiction because I can relate to all the people who are still addicted to anything. I feel their pain. I know how hard it was to quit. I understand that some people just can't quit or don't want to quit because they truly enjoy being addicted to something or using a substance they believe gives them satisfaction and relief. I feel like I am a stronger person for conquering amphetamines and cigarettes. Even if I don't live any longer I will live better being free of addiction. So to answer your question, kylechaos, I have not returned to exactly the same person I was ten years ago before I met adderall, and I don't think I ever will. But that is not a bad thing because I have grown and matured during that time. On the other hand, I do feel that my basic personality is relatively unchanged...I was an ISTJ and I suspect I still am. The same things that "did it" for me before adderall still work today.

What a great discussion thread. I don't know if I have anything new to offer but I can say I agree with most of the content on this thread. Evie, you can't force yourself to do things you are not ready to do yet. Look at your recovery time as paying your dues to your addiction. Most "dues" are paid up front but this addiction collects its dues on the back end. And the dues are not paid in money but in recovery time. Or maybe it helps to look at your anhedonia as a debt to yourself and your recovery period is how you pay off this debt. That in itself should be a good movitator for avoiding a relapse. Anybody who persues an adderall addiction is mortgaging their future. You are now in the stage I call the "middle recovery period". It is the longest stretch of time in the three stages of recovery (according to quit-once anyway). My middle recovery started around three months and lasted until about nine months post-adderall. It was a pretty noticible transformation on a pretty quick time frame, considering the overall slow pace of recovery in general. And I still have "those days" or more commonly "those moments" that remind me that I am still in the later stages of adderall addiction recovery and it has been more that 500 days since my last pill. But the good news is: I feel 99% completely recovered, I don't feel like I fried any neurons; my pre-adderall personality has returned after ten years (although wiser and more mature); and I am not fat anymore. I am motivated and excited about life and I am ready to tackle new challenges and seek new opportunities. Recovery is a long, slow, and painful process. It is a period of growth and you will emerge a stronger, smarter and better person for having conquered your addiction and paid your dues of recovery. Just don't try to force it's pace or results.

Good Job, Falcon. Your friends and family are your most valuable assets and you don't have to give up either one to sucessfully quit adderall. I was determined that I would not lose friends over quitting, if the friendship had more than adderall in common. A true friend will support your effort to quit using a substance, even if they still do. A substance-related friend will fall away pretty quickly after you quit as you will see that the only thing you had in common was using. I had a lot less to do with some of my (non-using) friends while I was isolating and becoming more and more anti social as my addiction progressed. Those friends are good friends and they came back after I quit. I just recently passed my 500th post-adderall day, and life sure feels good.

Falcon, My early recovery period lasted ABOUT TEN WEEKS. Some days were better than others, but it was in that 10-12 week period post-adderall that I finally felt some sustained energy returning. And even then, it was not without a lot of help from coffee, tea, redbull, and 5hourenergy shots. I also found some energy pills at GNC that I took when I felt like I needed to get my energy from a pill as well. Multivitamins and fishoil and L-tyrosine too. I slept more than I do now and I had an incredibly hard time staying up past 9:30 (but I would wake up at the crack of dawn) and I don't consider myself a morning person. Do whatever you gotta do to get that energy you need to get through each day. Just don't get it from drugs or abuse alcohol to help you deal with early recovery.

You've got to quit at some point in your life because an amphetamine addiction is simply unsustainable. If not now, when?

A heart rate of 122 bpm while at rest on adderall (sounds like an oxymoron) is probbably normal. On adderall, my resting heart rate was around 118 bpm. It is now exactly half that - about 58 bpm. So will your heart wear out faster if it beats harder and faster than it was designed to work? Will your veins and arteries handle the extra pressure over the long term? Your body is like a used car - it isn't about the age but it is more about the miles and how it was driven that will determine what kind of service it will give you.

Waronwar, do you think your chronic fatigue, narcolepsy, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune stuff are caused by your long term adderall abuse? Or the high doses? Does your body feel old? Is your mind less sharp than it used to be?

The Falcon has some good advice for you, Katie. Go cold turkey with a few pills in reserve, but not where you can get to them easily. This should lessen the anxiety of being completely without. Then you can flush the stash when you are well into your recovery, on YOUR terms. The Falcon says honesty is best when it comes to the boyfriend, and I kind of agree but I don't think you need to just spill your guts about an adderall addiction UNLESS your behavior off adderall is a 180 from being on the shit and you need to explain why you are acting differently. If he asks tell the truth and you don't need to make more lies to explain something as positive as freeing yourself from an addiction.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but there is no such thing as a swift recovery from an adderall addiction. Recovery is a gradual rebuilding and repair process of your body and mind that will happen at its own slow pace and the rate of recovery is different for everybody. Congratulations on making the decision to quit and I wish you good luck during your recovery.

Yup, it's normal to lack energy and motivation after you have quit. It took me about ten weeks before I began to regain my productivity. And it took about a year before I felt my "old self" making a sustained comeback. Do whatever you have to do (short of drugs) to boost your energy. Coffee. L-tyrosine. RedBull. Iced tea. 5 hour energy. Fish oil. Vitamin D. Avoid sugar binges. If you simply miss taking pills then go out and buy some kind of energy pills at GNC and take 'em just like you used to take adderall. Whatever you do or don't do, you should start noticing some substantial improvement in your energy and motivation around three months. Stick with it, Corey; freedom and better health are only two of many reasons to stay off this shit forever.

I have always had a lazy streak and that's why stimulants appealed to me in the first place. Realizing this helped me to accept the laziness and fatigue of adderall withdrawl and recovery. The most energizing thing I have ever done (besides using stimulants) was to lose some weight this summer. I have knocked off about 10% of my post- adderrall/cigarette body weight and I want to lose another 5% before year's end. Good nutrition and ample activity has made me feel like a million bucks this summer. I, too am a Yoga fan and I practice it 1-3 times per week (thanks, Cassie).

Dustin, I hope today is your last day on adderall too, forever. Welcome and good luck!

Well-said, Cassie. I view addiction as a disease OF choice.

".....because adderall addiction is unsustainable" Ashley, you have just identified the difference between the quitters and the tryers. Once you realize and accept that your adderall addiction is unsustainable, then quitting and recovery (and the rest of it) is fairly straightforward process. Kyle Chaos you just need to endure the unpleasant moment (days or weeks) in return for a future of freedom from addiction. In other words, man-up and deal with it. Find a new distraction or a healthy obsession. Just don't replace this addiction with another one.

I "quit" smoking cigs in 2001, but I continued to "enjoy" ONE cig per month for about two years. Until I started taking adderall and then within six months I was a daily smoker...again. It has been much, much easier to have none and be done with the habbit. Addiction is addiction, whether it is gambling, porn, nicotine, heroin or adderall and the only way to beat it for sure is a commitment to life-long abstinence.

I believe that any amount of adderall you take after you have quit taking it on a daily basis is a bad idea and that it will make your recovery process more difficult . It sounds like you have the daily habbit kicked but still think you "need" that social crutch once in a while. A recovering alcoholic could justify taking a drink in the same way. I am in the cold turkey camp myself, but these are just my beliefs, backed up by my own experiences and observations. Does anybody else have an opinion about PKR's 2.5 mg cheats?

Wow, that is a really good plan you have there. If you follow it, kicking adderall will be less difficult for you. i would print it and post it somewhere in your home and read it every single day of your recovery! I also suggest adding to your Foundation that relapse is NOT an option.

As long as "giving in" and taking 2.5 mg to "help you out a bit" is an option, you will struggle with your recovery. Even at that tiny tiny dose, it fucks with your dopamine and seratonin levels. For days. I wouldn't force myself into new social interactions if I were you, unless it is a "have to" event like a funeral or something work-related.