jaymeyer26

Day 13 - confirmed. Closing in on 2 weeks. Never been this far. Had some less than normal things occur (getting a cold, then huge snowstorm), which have helped take my mind off of it. Big milestone for me tomorrow! Plus tomorrow happens to be 2 weeks until my baby's estimated due date! Big weeks ahead! I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe - JustinW, I hope you and your family are handling the snowstorm ok!

Days 11 and 12 - check and check! Sorry for no post yesterday. Live in the Southeast and got slammed with snow unexpectedly. Hard to get home, much less get to a computer. Working from home today, so less stressful. Thanks for all the nice words, I'll respond more tomorrow when back at the office!

Day 10 - check! This ties my longest stretch without Adderall in 7 years! Pretty crazy! I am over my cold and feeling pretty good. Work is a challenge most days (especially Mondays and Fridays) and I am not knocking out work at the frenetic pace I did previously, but I know that is the reality of the situation. I really need to get motivated to get up and exercise in the mornings, but I am just a sleeping bear these days and have to pull myself out of bed just to get to work on time. So definitely some things to work on. SweetCaroline - CONGRATS! You reaching your goal is inspiring. I hope I am there in 20 days! LuckyDucky - let's keep going! Glad you had a good weekend.

Day 7 (1 week!): confirmed. Feeling good heading into the weekend. Cold is better but not great, so lots of rest this weekend. Thank you all so much for the support and I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Day 6 - check. Came down with a head cold so I'm pretty useless at work; however, everyone seems to understand with one look at me. Likely going to make today and tomorrow short work days to try and heal up. The one good thing is that I don't have the same urge for Adderall when I'm sick, so I guess I have that going for me. SweetCarolinee - great work! I need to get back into working out. I always felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest when I was on Adderall and used it as an excuse not to do as much. No excuse now! You are inspiring me to get back into the gym. Luckyducky - Just keep sharing and we will keep listening. I have started and stopped my attempts at quitting many times. The fact that you return to this site to share is an indication of your strength and desire to change. Just keep at it!

Day 5 - check. SweetCarolinee - thanks for the kind words. I am doing my best to keep my eye on the prize. Today was the first day I realized that if I had filled my prescription, I would have totally slipped up. Work seems so much more mundane and I have less energy for it. This is probably the reality of my job and that scares me, but I also know that my brain is not pumping out all the feel good neurotransmitters at alarming rates like it did while I was on adderall. Thank you all for giving me the courage to tear up the prescription, otherwise I likely would have been on my way to the pharmacy with a good excuse as to why I needed it.

I have posted on the 30-day challenge thread. On Day 4! Will post there with my progress. Thank you all!!

I am going to hop on here and track my (hopefully) 30 days with you all! I started a thread that helped me tear up my next prescription. I am on Day 4 of being clean (three-day weekend was nice - my wife and I completely unplugged and just relaxed). There is a good chance my Day 30 could coincide with the birth of my first child, which is why I decided it's now or never! This is the first day back at the office and I can tell I am sluggish and wish I was home, but I am going to power through. Picked up some L-Tyrosine this weekend, so hopefully that will help a little. Thanks!

zerokewl - yeah I have not had many noticeable issues with Zoloft, hence the long duration on it without trying something different. I was on 100mg daily (and during law school 150mg daily), but have been tapering off at the instruction of my doctor. However, while I tapered on it, I was increasing my Adderall intake, so I'm concerned I was getting an artificial boost as opposed to actually being less depressed. I plan on monitoring it and talking with my doctor about a proper course of action if the depression starts to set in in a bad way after quitting Adderall.

zerokewl - wow I have never thought of my timing that way before and it makes total sense. The practical part about my colleagues assuming the new baby is the cause of my fatigue and slower work output really just lifted a huge burden for me - thank you so much for pointing that out. I have been so anxious about people noticing the marked difference in my behavior and questioning my drive and desire to be here, so just knowing that people may chalk it up to something else is very helpful. And I am certain my baby will bring me some pretty amazing natural highs in the coming months and I am so thankful for that and definitely do not want to miss them due to Adderall. I'm so nervous about what lies ahead and by the fact that I tore up my next script (which I have never done before when trying to quit), but I just have to keep reminding myself that I have no other option. If I can't quit now with the incentives in front of me, it will not happen.

I have been on Zoloft for about 15 years. Right now I take 50mg once daily. Of course I wonder what exactly it has done to my brain over the course of time, but one thing at a time right now. Since Zoloft is a SSRI, I am worried about my dopamine levels, which is why I am going to take your all's advice and pick up some L-Tyrosine after work and start taking it.

Sebastian, Thank you so much for hopping on here and sharing your story. After Cat mentioned you in her post, I went and read all of your stuff from this past year. Very powerful, telling and most of all very similar to my story. How you describe law school with and without Adderall is spot on to how I felt. I became so much more interested in every topic (even tax and the UCC just like you haha) and it made me feel like "damn this is really what I am supposed to do for a career." Then when I got the job I wanted and started cranking out work product, I was so pleased with myself. However, over the last year I have just noticed the side effects of this drug (or more likely finally started listening to my body). Initially I was on 10mg 2x daily just like you and I stayed on that dosage for more than 5 years. But then I started getting used to that dosage and wasn't getting the same "edge" (read: high) that I had before, so I told my doctor and she bumped me up to 20mg 2x daily. That is when the wheels started to fall off for me. Projects at work started to get larger as I started getting more experience and late nights became the norm. I started taking Adderall later in the day and then couldn't sleep at night, which made me exhausted the next day and I needed more Adderall just to stay awake and perform. Normally I stay within my prescribed range, but I have on several occasions abused it and taken upwards of 80mg in a 24-hour period. I have tried quitting three times now - the longest I have lasted is 10 days in October. But all I wanted to do was sleep, spend time with my wife and family and well, sleep. Not exactly the winning formula for a mid-level associate at a large law firm trying to make partner someday. Soooo I convinced myself that I had proven I could go without Adderall for 10 days and that I didn't have a problem. But of course the vicious cycle kicked right back in (late nights, no sleep, more Adderall) and I am right back at the same place. But now this problem is not just about me. I am about to have my first child in a little over a month. I cannot be a dad and be on this stuff. I am a robot on this drug, which is great for work but awful for personal relationships. I can't begin my relationship with my baby with my brain this way - I want to laugh, cry and love her without some chemical in my way. So while I do agree with your approach about weaning off, I don't think I am as strong as you in that regard. I am relying too heavily on this drug and can't tolerate it anymore. So starting tomorrow, I am going cold turkey. My prescription is out and I tore up the script from my doctor for this next month's fill/fix. Though I've failed at the cold turkey method before, I didn't have the support of this community. I am going to rely heavily on peoples' encouragement and personal stories on this forum and just do it. No other way at this juncture. I need to get off of this drug. Tomorrow I'm going to hop on the recent 30-day challenge forum and post my daily progress along with the others on there. I am competitive by nature (as I'm sure you are) and I think that daily accountability will be very helpful. Again Sebastian, thank you very much for sharing your story with me. I know what lies ahead is going to be tough, but I hope with this great outlet and support system I can do this.

Wow, thank you all so much for the comments and encouragement thus far. It honestly brought tears to my eyes to hear from other people that have gone through this. It is so hard to explain to someone that has not shared the experience. Fear of going at this alone has been such a huge component of why I have not been able to quit, but these few comments already indicate that it doesn't have to be a solo battle. I need to let it all digest a little and come up with a game plan that will work for me this time around. I'll share it soon so I can have some support and accountability. Thank you all again, it really means so much to me.

I have been using Adderall for about seven years now. My doctor prescribed it during law school in combination with the medication I was taking for depression. I have tried to quit five times but keep getting back on it, mostly due to my job. I am an attorney and each time I try and quit I become a slug and my work piles up and I hop back on. I have read a lot about people making career changes due to this, but that is really not an option for me. Lots of student loan debt, a wife and a baby on the way. We need my income to remain large enough to make ends meet. However, I hate the thought of meeting my baby and being a dad while on this drug. Not sure what to do. I have tried "cold turkey" each time previously, so I am considering the weaning approach. Any thoughts, guidance and/or words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated!