Greg

I have no doubt that adderall can cause jaw problems. I think adderall can cause a lot of jaw pain from all the teeth grinding and jaw clenching that Joanne mentioned is big side effect of amphetamines. The amphetamines gave me serious teeth grinding and jaw clenching problems. And I still have my jaw clenching habit from when I was on adderall. Especially when i am concentrating, I have to consciously remind myself to relax my jaw. Its gotten a lot better since I quit, (I used to grind my teeth in my sleep really badly, not as much after I quit) but still going to the dentist tomorrow to get a nightguard fitted for my mouth just for that specific jaw clenching/teeth grinding problem. Jaw clenching and teeth grinding can cause a lot of pain to radiate across the mouth and jaw area and around the temples and the neck.

Thanks Quit-Once, While I'm not thrilled about the exam results, I am happy I got myself to take it. Preparing for the exam has been my main post quitting project. I had a few panic attacks the week before and the week of. And I couldn't sleep the night before the test. Nor could I sleep very well in the days before. My adrenaline was pumping without any adderall.. I couldn't sleep, I was not hungry and I was fueled on adrenaline from pure nerves. My panic was fueled by reading extremely panic-y people on GMAT message boards, lol. You wouldn't believe how freaked out people get from this exam... It was weird, like I was on adderall (but not on adderall). Only it was a miserable feeling that brought back all these memories of being awake for days, with absolutely nothing in my stomach except caffeine and cigarettes. I even had some cravings for nicotine again - suddenly one year after quitting. All I can say is that this time around, it was a terrible feeling. And I'm not sure how I could have idealized those feelings when I was on adderall, during the twelve years or so I was, I guess, you could say, enjoying feeling like that every day... Before the exam, not once did I think about taking adderall to get me through it. I did though think about how crazy it was that I wasn't thinking about taking adderall all the time, given the stress of the whole ordeal. If I was still taking adderall, I would have been taking the stuff by the handfuls to get through each passing hour leading up to the exam. Ugh. Well, I'm going to give it another whirl. After reading some message boards from people who got my score the first time, a lot say that it is possible for me to perhaps get the required score the second time around. I'm not really feeling too hopeful, but I guess I will give it another shot. I guess it just doesn't hurt. Thanks for the encouragement.

I just wanted to pass along another book title. Its called Overcoming Perscription Drug Addiction. The author's brother died from a painkiller addiction. This book is filled with stories of painkiller addicts, but these stories are so similar to adderall addicts. Any adderall addict will be able to relate 100 percent to these stories. It's also filled with a lot of advice for dealing with addiction. It's a very quick read. Here is a link to the book http://www.addicusbooks.com/show_title.cfm?isbn=9781886039889 And here's the first chapter. http://www.addicusbooks.com/chapters/RXChap1-Sample-4-07-09.pdf There is also a 24 Hour Prescription Drug Addiction Hotline which looks like it could be a great resource. I haven't called in, but if anyone does, please let us know how it is. Here is the link for it. http://www.prescriptiondrugaddiction.com/ Again, this book is entirely about painkiller addicts, but I feel like the lessons apply to all prescription drug addicts. The withdrawal process is definitely different, I think painkiller addicts take suboxene to taper off. They also probably have less of a mental battle and more of physical battle than adderall addicts. Adderall addicts, I think, unfortunately get the worst of it in terms of struggling with the mind. But in other areas we are not as bad as other addictions.

Cassie, I am experiencing the same job conundrum. I'm glad you brought this up. I am struggling with those same questions so its hard for me to answer any of yours. I thought once I quit adderall, my life would suddenly have a clear direction. And all these special talents would come to the surface. I would find my consuming passion and career. Well, it hasn't happened yet. But I'm still holding out hope... Away from adderall I have developed a lot of different hobbies. Also, the anhedonia has recently been getting better...I have also in recent weeks felt a sharpening of focus, less discomfort, more relaxed energy and more motivation. Adderall recovery for me has been a game of wait...feel better...wait some more...feel a little better etc... I was supposed to start my real job hunt this week after I last week took the B-School GMAT entrance exam that I have been studying for for the past couple months. Unfortunately, I didn't get the score that I needed (huge sigh) and I was going to just give up the whole thing all together but now I have scheduled an exam retake for thirty days from now and have once again hit the books. My hopes for b-school though aren't high anymore and after my second exam attempt, I am going to try to force myself to get excited about a backup plan. But will first have to formulate some backup plans. I wish there was some kind of guide book to picking up the pieces after quitting etc. etc. I feel kind of like I dropped out of life for a year and a half for recovery (and the couple of years before I quit as I began my cognitive mental decline aka adderall psychosis every day) and now what do i do? Of course, one could argue that that the years when I was abusing adderall like a madman was the time I had truly dropped out of life. That makes more sense. Cassie, I figure I am going to grab a bunch of career guides and do some research and will share any helpful info I learn when I start the process after my second exam attempt. I do feel that life has cleared out all the things that weren't working for me. Now I can start over and make the right things happen. Anybody have any thoughts? Suggestions? Dealing with the same thing?

Wait. Isn't she in ritalin withdrawal??

Ha ha ha...That was really funny. OK. My most ridiculous adderall dream revolved around a girl I knew in college named ADDY. And she couldn't get off her Adderall. Addy kept all her Addy's in plastic baggies. And hoarded them and didn't want to part with them. It was all about Addy and her Addy's...and we (everybody in the dorm) were trying to help her to get off the Addys. Somehow I just must've confused the words or something in my dream - Addy and Adderall...- and then combined them. (I DO remember that girl Addy dropping acid once, but never taking adderall...lol) SO...I wonder what Freud would have to say about these dreams...

Hey Jessie, Welcome back. It definitely is a difficult and persistant mental battle. I would though stop taking pills here and there though. That sounds like playing with fire to me. Adderall is no longer an option for me. Recovery for me has, in part, been over the months distancing myself from that "invincible" feeling that adderall gave me. I think that's really important to breaking the psychological addiction. Learning to forget it, to despise it as an unnatural/altered state, and to not idealize it in the mind anymore. When you take it every now and then, you put that feeling back fresh in your mind. And then your mind has to work to start forgetting it. Stay strong...And flush the rest of your stash! You don't need them laying around only to tempt you!!!

1. Don't take it. Just get through the rest of the day without taking it. Tomorrow, do the same. Take one day at a time. 2. Don't entertain your thoughts about it Try to just cut off your thoughts when you begin to rationalize it - just stop whatever you are doing if you need to, close your eyes and cut off those thoughts immediately as soon as you begin to think them. DO NOT entertain them. 3. Keep checking in. Even if it's just to keep saying you didn't take it today again. Maybe if you try to hold yourself accountable to the group, that will keep you from relapsing. Just - whatever you do - don't take it.

Wow Quit Once - Power to you. That sounds TOUGH! I don't think I have the willpower for something like that. I've tried that Hollywood Miracle Diet which is diet where you just drink a formula juice for 48 hours...and I've also tried the Shangri-Li diet...which is described below from wikipedia.. The diet itself consists of taking 100–400 calories in the form of either extra-light (not extra-virgin) olive oil or sugar water per day, either all at once or spanned throughout the day. [5] This must be consumed in a flavorless window, which is at least one hour after flavors have been consumed, and at least one hour before flavors will be consumed.[5] The consumption of these flavorless calories supposedly lowers the set point, and therefore, lowers weight. Both times I failed miserably! I am still on the Nutrisystem 1500 calorie/day diet right now - and sometimes I am miserable. i always start to salivate when I watch food on tv commercials or read about it. Sometimes I crave Dunkin Doughnuts SO BADLY. I just want to drive to the store and devour an entire dozen of doughnuts. Sometimes I crave real pizza, not the crummy frozen and flavorless Nutrisystem I get, but real pizza with all the fixings. Sometimes I lay in bed just daydreaminng about food... comfort food, italian food, McD's even...fried chicken or a big slice of birthday cake. I am also getting sick of vegetables which I consume in bucketfuls every day to help keep me full. Anyway, let us know how its working out...

yeaah..I completely understand what you're talking about. It's really, really, really....really frustrating. You just have to continue to wait it out, not take stimulants and trust in your brain's ability to change itself... I also started taking it for GPA reasons to my huge regret...I do have trouble though remembering how it is I felt before adderall, because it was so long ago. I found myself racking my brains a lot, trying to remember, so I would have some standard to measure of when I would be feeling better.. Most of the time I knew it must have been a lot better than how I was feeling at the moment. As each month goes by it always gets better...I remember clearly how I started noticing my first changes around the five month mark. I was so happy that I could begin to feel better. I even wrote down the date. It just kind of happened one day out of the blue all of a sudden. Since then, I've never gone backward, only forward. And I feel I've come a long way since then. I really miss the time in my life when adderall just never factored into the equation. Just know that nothing is permanent.

Yessss! I have to say ADHD is much catchier and appeals to me much more than MBD. Sign me up!

I agree with you newboy. I think it takes some time for both the dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitters to begin replenishing themselves in normal levels again. And even when they start getting back to normal, i don't think they are supposed to feel as "abundant" as they were like when on adderall. I think it takes an adjustment to the new normal of neurotransmitters and acceptance that you won't feel as pumped up as when you were on adderall..But also understanding you won't feel as bad as when you first stop and are underproducing neurotransmitters. If that makes any sense... I was abusing much longer and intensely than you were. So I don't think your climb will be nearly as steep as mine. It took me a while to start being able to feel the adrenaline rush again. And even then, it would never be at the same levels as when I was abusing. Not even close. When I was abusing my adrenaline/norepinephrine levels were sky high, dangerously and destructive sky high. To the point where I was having panic attacks every day over nothing and feeling some kind of anxiety disorder. I think my ability to produce norepinephrine has gradually come back, but its just not going to be at the same levels as before. I am working on "acceptance" of these new levels. And just realizing its not ever going to be the way as it was before. Nor should it. Nor would I want it to - (after all, I no longer suffer from constant anxiety nor have panic attacks all the time). I was on 250+mg. No one in their right mind could ever feel like they had 250mg of adrenaline coursing through their veins on a day to day basis in their natural state without the help of an artificial substance. So for me, its been about accepting my new levels of norepinephrine (and dopamine) production as how it will be and how it should be. So basically here's what I think... Stimulants work to create an artificial surplus of both dopamine and norepinephrine between the brain synapses.The brain adapts to this artificial surplus and learns that it doesn't have to keep producing the chemicals that make you feel good. These chemicals or neurotransmitters keep appearing without the brain having to do any work. When a person first quits stimulants, physiologically we have to regain normal levels of dopamine and norepinephrine production on our own again, but psychologically, we have to get used to performing optimally with lower levels of norepinephrine and dopamine than before when we were on stimulants. We also have to let go of the mental attachment to that jazzed up feeling we felt on stimulants. And we have to eventually let go of that long "relationship" we built up with stimulants during our time on it as part of our daily lives. We have to get rid of our reliance on it as a crutch in our lives not feeling helpless without it. Among probably many other things (Another thing is personally, on a psychological level, I have also felt like I have gone through some kind of grieving process with different stages). Do you agree? Does anyone agree?

I definitely agree that hobbies/ interests take over where the adderall left off, after you quit. I've picked up tons of new hobbies that I never could imagine doing when I was using adderall because adderall was really my full time hobby - a destructive hobby. The world does seem to have opened up more. By the way, I watched the series Addicted on Netflix. I definitely recommend any recovering adderall addict to watch it. It really explains the whole rehab process to people who have questions about it. And the stories are really gripping. There are only a few episodes. Each episode focuses on one addict. Here is a link to the show which is available on netflix http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/addicted/ And actually here are some links to addiction and recovery resources I pulled off the site for anyone interested... From the website -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get Help Here are some resources on alcoholism and substance abuse and about the organizations mentioned in Addicted. or for the individual in need of treatment and seek professional advice as appropriate. National Resources: National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), Inc. and its Affiliates help individuals and families with information/referral, prevention/education, intervention- 800-NCA-CALL (800-622-2255). http://www.ncadd.org/ Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Facility Locator or call 1-800-662-HELP http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/Pages/default.aspx National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) http://www.drugabuse.gov/ NIDA for Teens: The Science Behind Drug Abuse http://teens.drugabuse.gov/ Alcoholics Anonymous http://www.aa.org/?Media=PlayFlash Al-Anon http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/ Narcotics Anonymous http://www.na.org/ Nar-Anon http://www.nar-anon.org/Nar-Anon/Nar-Anon_Home.html Information on Alcoholism from MedlinePlus/National Library of Medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alcoholism.html Information on Drug Abuse from MedlinePlus/National Library of Medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drugabuse.html

Hang in there Kathleen! This is just the beginning of a new and better life. I was also planning to taper off, but then I just said forget it and stopped altogether with half a bottle left... Give yourself permission to relax and just be whatever you want as you initially focus on your recovery...And just look at all the people on this board who are managing to sucessfully recover. You can do this... Believe it or not, stimulants were even more readily available in the past. If you've been reading a lot about amphetamines, here's something interesting. I read in the book "On Speed" that stimulants were available over the counter before the 1970's in the form of Benzedrine. Or Benny's which is what they were nicknamed. Basicially it was the same thing as adderall, dexedrine, ritalin, vyvanese etc. What happened was people started abusing it like crazy and there was huge outbreak of benny addiction. So finally, in the 1970s, the government intervened and made amphetamines available only by prescription. Amphetamines were also classified as schedule II drugs, in the same class as other addictive prescribed substances like cocaine. Also, schedule II prescriptions could only be written out one month at a time. This eventually, curbed the whole amphetamine addiction outbreak... UNTIL... In the 90's with the diagnosis of ADHD, particularly adult ADHD. This once again created renewed interest in amphetamines like ritalin, adderall etc...And according to the book, we're in the midst of a new addiction outbreak that threatens to surpass the amphetamine addiction of the 60's when these drugs were readily available over the counter. I am now extremely skeptical about the diagnosis of ADHD and whether its been marketed like crazy by the pharmaceutical industry to bolster sales of stimulant medication. I mean, they make tons of money from selling adderall to the masses. I never thought of diseases as being marketed to sell medications until I read this book and learned things like how when ritalin first came out and was marketed for depression, the drug bombed and sales were flat. Check this out.... Ritalin Ad from 1966 [2] Ritalin Ad from 1987 So this campaign is what caused ritalin sales to take off... Anyway, just passing along some facts to chew on... I just can't believe that diseases like ADHD are marketed to people to sell a drug. It feels really manipulative. (We don't like ritalin when we are depressed, but we are totally on board when it's for ADHD)

Yeah, that's exactly what it was like for me. It's like the mind doesn't want to just drop it. It's so persistant. And you refuse to take it. And yet the mind wont give up on it. Sometimes the addiction stops nagging and then all of a sudden it comes roaring back. And I'm like - again??? c'mon... I mentioned this before, after quitting it felt like living in a state of "being extremely busy not being on adderall all the time"... Sometimes I catch myself unknowingly daydreaming about being back on it again - and then i literally just snap myself out of it. Like I've awoken from hypnosis or something. Sometimes I think, "you know things would be easier if I just took..." then I suddenly catch myself and start yelling at myself for having the same train of thought that got me into so much addiction trouble in the first place. I was someone who always wanted to reach for the quick fix or the easy way out, didn't want to struggle or deal with imperfection. I'm determined to no longer be that way. I'm determined to take pride in and enjoy being a person who just deals with what life throws at me and doesn't reach for something to deal with life. I read somewhere that it's a good idea to yell at your drug cravings and prevent them from taking control of you. That hasn't really worked for me, but I have taken an aggressive stance with my cravings in how I respond to them. Whether it's reading my list of reasons why adderall messed up my life, or just rationalizing over and over why its such a bad thing for me. This approach has helped me deal... I think the whole thing is all part of the psychological battle...of regaining control of the mind. And then one day you win the fight. But as they say in NA, addiction is like cancer. It can go into remission, but you always have to be very cautious of it coming back and that means always being vigilent.

Cassie, First off congratulations on 4 months!! Also, I can TOTALLY, COMPLETELY relate to the "lost" feeling and the feelings you've described like the anhedonia!! The lost feeling eventually gives way to another feeling which is better, (but not 100 percent) with gradually more and more mental energy returning in stages... At least that is what it's been like from my experience. I was really bad off when abusing. 250mgs+ during 72 hour binges in which I was always crushing and snorting it or at least chewing the capsules. Also I'd been using abusing for twelve years. So I am not at 100 percent yet. But I definitely feel the mental energy returning. And I can at least "See" the light at the end of the tunnell, even though I'm not there yet. I feel I've moved passed the "lost" feeling stage into something else (??? dont know how to describe it, only that it's better) as I've continued to gain more "life experience" off of adderall. Right now, I feel I have the most mental and physical energy since I quit adderall. And just from observing where the quitting process has taken me, I know that i will gain even more mental and physical energy down the road. I feel like when I quit adderall, my adrenal glands were fried - kaput. They were no longer able to pump out adrenalin on their own anymore. I feel like thats gotten a hellava lot better. My mind seemed to put up a fight to want to be back on adderall a short while ago, in the form of daily intense cravings. But that has dissipated mostly now. (i am crossing my fingers, i think that is over) I hear it is normal for meth users to have a sudden onslought of intense cravings about a year out or so...I think for adderall this can also apply. At least in my case. I quit 17 months ago. Which seems like a long time, but then again I remind myself how SERIOUS addictions are. And how difficult they are to beat. People going in and out of rehab. I mean look at all the celebrities who have succumbed to addiction? Heath Ledger, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson... It's not supposed to be easy, you know? I can't help feeling proud of myself for beating it. It's hard work. it's also a huge accomplishment. Hang in there..We can do it...One day at a time.

Hey Corey, I would go see a doctor and get that checked out. From people who've just taken adderall once, I've heard of them being awake for days straight and also headaches maybe, but never blackouts and ringing in the ears. Those don't sound like adderall to me. I'm not a doctor, but that's just my opinion. I'd get it checked out to see if it's something else. I'd also stay away from the adderall in case it was from the adderall. It's alwasy better to rule out all possibilities and be safe right?

I can relate to so much of what you said. Your post really moved me. Thank you so much for sharing!

Hey Jordan W. I thought I was the only one who had that problem. After I quit adderall, I started to become afraid of people, too! It's gotten better. I'm not sure what happened, really. I think adderall was giving me a false confidence to talk to people or something. When I quit, I guess I realized I'm a little more introverted than I was. I've gotten much better, but it's really, really strange...it's definitely not a reason to start taking it again. I can see why you'd be nervous at a convention. Usually, I get a little nervous starting a conversation, but once I get into it, I'm okay. Like quit-once said, I would just suck it up and you should be fine when you get back. Certainly, do not throw away 10 months. It took you a long time to get that clean time - don't toss it out the window. 10 months is a long time.

Hey Josh, When you try to quit and you can't because you sleep all the time without it - it's definitely time to get off that stuff. I think it even says that in the warning directions that come with pill. I had the same problem. I can guarantee you that if you don't stop, the 'sleeping when you're not on it' issue gets worse and worse. You're body only starts leaning on it more and more for your energy. Your inability to stay awake without it gets worse. A lot of us who get addicted to this stuff thought it was the answers to all of our problems when we first started taking it. It seems like that mentality is a big recipe for disaster. Really, try to get rid of it. I used to call it a 'miracle pill' because it made me accomplish everything. In time, I prayed for a miracle to get off of stimulants because I was so addicted to them. I know some people who take adderall but are not addicted to it. They don't seem to really care about the medication so much either way. It seems to me people who tend to get addicted are really enthusiastic about stimulants when they start on them... Also, mixing highly addictive medications is terrible. Breaking the adderall open and then combining it with Vyvanese is really bad. Probably not the answer you want to hear. I used to combine taking stimulants. Not only did I start getting more addicted to them, but it really started messing with my mind. Eventually, I was chewing the capsules and snorting them most of the time. I also found adderall and vyvanese to be equally as addictive. You're walking a fine line now - just imagine a continued future where you can't have enough energy without resorting to a pill? And imagine it getting worse from here on out. Imagine trying to get to work but worrying about your next refill first and foremost. There were a lot of days when I was worried how I was going to make it through the day - awake - without my pills. And so I called in sick instead so I could sleep. Then got in trouble for calling in sick too much. You said you're worried about what direction this is all headed. It seems that right now, you are dealing with tolerance issues, sleeping issues, and toying around with your dosages. If you don't have a problem, then stopping shouldn't be a big deal for you. Is it? If it is problem, do you really want to be starting back up again, even if you manage to take a break from it?

Ashley, You will get through it. Please keep checking back with us especially during those initial first scary days. We are all here for you to see you through it..

hey Ashley6 Before I read Lil Tex's post, I was actually going to say the same thing, just slightly differently. She said that you don't need to go to rehab if you have the willpower to do it on your own. I was going to say - If you find that you can't stay away from adderall on your own (if you believe this in your heart), then I strongly suggest you ask your dad to pay for it and go to rehab. You know, It's really the next best option. Of course its the way costlier option, but at least its another option available to you. There's no question, the rehab process (along with continued outpatient care and continuous NA/AA meetings) works. It's the current model for addiction recovery and has been so for years. Thousands upon thousands of addicts swear by it.. I was strongly encouraged to go to rehab by family and doctors the second time around, but I truly believed I'd be able to do this on my own. Since I'd been through it before, I knew what to expect from rehab, and I just KNEW deep down that I could do it without the assistance of rehab and outpatient care. I had hit my 'enough is enough' point, was exhausted from the fight to keep the addiction and I knew I was really ready to let the pills go for good this time around. Hang in there. So many of us know where you are rignt now and have been there. Later on, trust me, you'll be so grateful you finally decided to face this. And you'll be so much better for it.

Welcome to the forums! I just wrote a post and deleted it by accident! But it went something like this: Suggestions for the first week: - Distract yourself with DVDs. I got myself absorbed into tv shows. I watched episode after episode of '24' and 'Alias' which really helped distract me from withdrawal (a lot)... --For the first week at the very least, your full time job should be "not being on adderall all the time" so just relax, sleep as much as you need to, and pamper yourself. -- Distract Yourself with books. -- Try supplements -- Try out an NA meeting in your area. -- Read lots of stories on this site, realize you are not alone -- weigh yourself every day, so if you see surges in weight gain, it might deter you from devouring everything in sight. -- grill lots of veggies: eggplant, zuchinni, squash, mushrooms, onions, peppers, asparagus and store them in tupperware. Reach for those instead of unhealthy snacks. -- But You can always, always lose the weight later! So you don't necessarily have to eliminate oreos and cheez doodles altogether. (You gotta give yourself a break, too, Going through withdrawal and being on an crash diet is really extreme and could be difficult. Remember, your full time job should be 'not being on adderall all the time') Just be very mindful of the slower metabolism and potential for weight gain when you are quitting and try to adjust your eating habits accordingly, to the best you can. But dont be too hard on yourself. -- write down a list of reasons of how adderall messed you up and the benefits of life without it. keep reviewing that list...do what you need to do to keep your motivation to quit high. --Most importantly, believe in your ability to 'kick this', take one day at a time and keep us posted!

That was interesting and a fresh perspective on looking at insecurities. I also thought Mike's article hit the nail on describing the adderall addict. It seems we are very insecure. It seems like a lot of us take adderall because we think it helps us to become the person that we THINK we should be, the person that society puts expectations on us to be. The person who has it all and can do it all! When I first started to use stimulants, I was so excited about the way it made me feel and how I felt I was performing on it. It made me feel like I could "fool" the world and my friends into being this super hardworking high achieving person that could do it all - a person I always wanted to be but never could be. Someone who could impress everyone. Little did I know that this mentality is what got me so addicted to the drugs in the first place. They were fulfilling a need - a deep rooted insecurity that I was just not as good as everyone else. I read somewhere, someone said 'you can't hire someone else to do the push-ups for you'...But that is exactly how I viewed adderall. As something doing the pushups for me, and not myself. I no longer was giving myself credit for the positives in my life - it was all because of adderall, not me! The more dependent I became on the adderall, the less I looked to within myself for self confidence to get things solved. Already insecure to begin with, I found myself getting more and more insecure because of the adderall! I guess one of the best parts about quitting is that I'm finally getting over my insecurities and the whole mentality that made me want to use and abuse adderall in the first place. I look to within myself now for the self confidence to solve problems. I do things because of me now, not because the adderall enabled me to do something. I don't feel helpless like that anymore. As a result I've built so much more self esteem. Thanks for sharing the article!

Hey Cassie, I DID read that caffeine has a very similar effect to cigarettes in that regard. For one thing, both cigarettes and caffeine are both stimulants. And it make sense for stimulants to augment the rush we get from another stimulant. From what I understand, just as nicotine boosts dopamine in the pleasure centers in the brain (and wears off in five to ten seconds), caffeine apparently also boosts dopamine levels in the reward pathways in the brain. That artificial surplus of dopamine between the brain synapses in the pleasure centers of our brain is what the adderall addict is addicted to. It's what gives us that superinflated sense of self confidence and makes us feel good among other things. And then it gets harder and harder to get off the drug because we start to feel so bad when we stop. That is how I understand it, at least! By the way, for anyone more interested in why we get addicted to adderall...I wrote about what I found here