survived

Well it's definately not natural thinning. I'm a woman with really thick hair and I didn't start losing the hair in that area until I started Adderall. My hair grew back out everywhere else but on that one spot and thinning hair also does not run in my family at all. I'm also too young to have thinning hair anyway. It took 4 years to lose hair in that area. Maybe it will take another 4 to grow it back? I guess I'll update on this once it does. I have considered multivitamins but my central nervous system is sensitive right now due to quitting a benzodiazepine as well. The skin issues are also really frustrating because I had great skin before Adderall. For anyone that loves their skin and hair, I recommend you get off these pills asap before more damage is done. Mentally, I am doing great. I have symptoms lingering from Benzo's but not the Adderall. I think I'm pretty healed from the Adderall. It really did get easier once I passed those 12 months. Then life started speeding by and you suddenly have two years down.

Hi all! It's been a minute, I hope you're all doing well! I hit 2 years off of Adderall about a couple months ago. (Really proud moment But I'm still dealing with some health issues it left behind, skin and hair issues are the most noticeable. So its been 2 years already and my hair hasn't fully grown back around my temporal lobe area. There is hair in the area but it's thin and hasn't fully "filled out". I'm starting to get a little freaked out, could Adderall cause alopecia? Has everyone gotten their hair back after quitting and how long did it take? I also think Adderall caused me to have a Candida overgrowth in my gut and it has affected my entire skin. I am currently battling that as well and its been a pain in my butt.

Oh wow!! What a similar post! Crazy! & it didn't even matter to us that it was just a couple of pills. So happy that you also disposed of it quick and didn't cave! <3 Great post.

I am so happy to read you that you had some kind of faith in me! Thank you!

I need to go read your post. Exactly, I just realized it with this experience...not safe to have it around ever in any form! I am still not "immune" to its pull! Thank you!

Hello all! I've been away from a minute but decided to come back and share a recent event that happened to me involving Adderall. I am 20 months off now and one day came across two Adderall pills in a old purse. Instead of immediately throwing them away, I decided to leave them there. Maybe subconsciously I was saving it as a "just in case", "maybe one day" type of thing. Well that was a bad idea because I started to think about them frequently and even crave it. After being off this long? That's crazy! So I decided to once and for all, throw them down the toliet immediately. There was no way I was going to ruin my progress. It created such a mess in my life and made me so unhealthy, It would be a big slap in the face at how far I have come and all the hard work I have done towards self improvement. So I flushed them down and here I am writing my experience.....it is definitely not safe to have any Adderall laying around, ever. I feel much better now.

I'd say get off the meds though because it's not working to begin with. Your grades are not improving and it's making you feel cranky. I do want to mention that just because you had the ADD diagnosis does not mean you have to take Adderall or any other drug. I would personally suggest taking your own life into your own hands and doing whats right for you, regardless of what the psychiatrist is saying. You could work with your ADD without the Adderall. I agree that being on Adderall and joining the military is just not a good idea and you will have to be honest with them, so maybe that's another reason to quit.

I think we're in a good spot right now. Not quite there, but not too bad!

Congrats on making the choice to get off of all medications! I was once on anti depressants and I think getting off of those is a lot easier than getting off of Adderall. I dealt with brain zaps and hot flashes, but I think I got over those symptoms really quickly. I'd say I was okay 3months later maybe less. Adderall was much more difficult to get off of so I would personally recommend getting off of the anti depressant first and then the Adderall.

@elizabethryella; Thank you! I really wanted to write this post for others struggling! There is hope! I was originally on 20mgs but by my third and fourth year I was taking 60mgs IR a day.

@doge; It is, thank you! You are already up to 7 months! Incredible. I still remember when you were on the 1st! Happy healing!

For your anxiety there are is an all natural magnesium supplement called "Natural Calm" that you may want to look into. They say that some of us are anxious because we're magnesium deficient. I use it myself and it definately helps.

Hi all! I wanted to write a quick update on my healing 15 months off Adderall. One of my first posts on here I was at 9mths off Adderall and sleeping regularly since also quitting Klonopin but I still had no energy to do anything. I was really struggling and depressed. Shortly after I started experiencing severe insomnia and months later now that it's begun to clear up a bit, I have noticed I have lots of energy I did not have before! Recently I was able to go to multiple stores, make many stops...and I went out to dine. I couldn't do this before, I would have been too exhausted. I'm still short on energy but I'd say I'm a good 80% healed from Adderall. Not quite there yet because I'm still healing from the other med but I'm in a much better place than at 9 mths and even 12 mths. I think every single month off counts! Stay positive because you WILL heal and your energy will come back! I'm still learning to be patient, time is everything, and to remain as positive as I can.

Congrats on your quit Carpediem! Welcome, and I hope to see you around the boards!

Yes, this happened to me as well. Adderall worked great for almost a year and then it wasn't as effective as it used to be. I began going up miligrams too to try to achieve the same effect. I went on to take it a few more years...always trying to get it to work like it used to but it never really did. With time all I did was give myself more health issues by continuing. What I wish I could have done differently is quit as soon as it stopped working...it might be something for you to think about. Best of luck!

Hi Resilantcat! Thank you for sharing your story and welcome to the boards!

i was on it for 4yrs began at 20mgs and ended at 60mgs.

@thomas ; I am still going through the same thing. I had a close group of friends...I also missed a lot of their events. I'm a year off now and I still haven't reconnected with them because they are also busy with their current lives.. I have also thought of telling them about my experience but I don't think that would fix anything at this point for me. (It's incredibly personal and I don't think they will relate anyway?) I feel that the "Adderall you" becomes you for so long that people tend to forget what you were like. This is incredibly heartbreaking and I can completely relate. I often too feel sad about it. I have currently chosen to bond and strengthen the relationships with all the people closest to me and around me first. I feel that the people closest to you who never left are the most important. When you feel you are ready perhaps you can contact one friend first and have a one on one get together with them and maybe you can go from there? Maybe someone else will have some good insight for us.

Love this!

Well the hangover part is bad! lol....but getting rid of the Adderall is the best thing you could have done and so worth it. Congrats!

The brain fog disappeared for me around month 10 and it still comes around now and then but it's not too bad....a nice cup of coffee usually helps! I also truly believe that exercise helps your body recover too. Head outside or to a gym and do a nice power walk and get some of that natural energy. I was doing long walks within the second week of quitting, its difficult but I found that it helped make my recovery a lot easier. I didn't have enough energy to do anything except walk, so I walked places that had great scenery! It will get better before you know it because time with fly by fast! Feel better!

I was reading this like "yes...yup...that happened to me too." ..."Oh i know what that feels like!" lol! Yes! I struggled through so many of the same things. It was fabulous at first wasn't it? You're almost invicible..you can do anything and even better...with a smile on your face! So when it started to work against you and not work anymore, it's confusing...."maybe I need to increase..." etc etc its the Adderall road to the crash and burn. Thank goodness we escaped it. How does your hubby feel about having the old you back? I'm sure he and the kids are extremely happy to have mom back!

Congratulations on one year Heather, you did it!! Here's to many more future celebrations! woo hoo!

exercise, read, draw.

Welcome to the forum! I think telling your wife that you may not be as active for a while may be good. Maybe have her read some of the articles on this website so she can get a good idea on what to expect and how she can help you. I think deciding to quit is a great idea, especially for your family. I also agree with Greg above, go to work but don't expect to be a superstar. Try to relax and be patient with your lack of energy-it will come back it will just take a lot of time. I also think everyone will appreciate the new you! I'm wishing you the best of luck!