Getting a Dr to give ADHD meds when you have past drug use

[kaylastewart]

Not sure if anyone here has had this problem-- I am a past drug user & I have been treated for ADHD with stimulants before. Now, all of a sudden I am having problems getting my psych to write them. Anyone got any tips on what to say or what to do? Thanks in advance!!

[kaylastewart]

Oh.. and I also binge eat. That's the main reason I want back on Vyvanse. But I have no clue what to try to begin to tell the doctor!

[pschoess in reply to kaylastewart]

Hello Kayla.

A great book that could help you understand the food and our minds is Bright Line Eating. REALLY good - I just listened to a chapter that finally helped me understand my mind's sabotaging reaction to elements in my life - food and emotion. When I add in a lack of focus or direction, no wonder I feel life can be so much work!

As a career and college/life success coach, who works with ADHD clients, I'm so thankful for more and more understanding of the real science of our brains.

[Ibshopin in reply to kaylastewart]

When you take Vyvance you had less of an appetite? I was on Vyvance and my weight stayed down I was switched be to Adzenya and since then I am hungry all the time and have gained weight[,. I have aso been putting[ on steroids for my RA so I thought that was why, but imaybe itt was the Vyvance

[Lovinit]

Did you abuse you medication? What if you ask your doctor to prescribe it one week at a time.

[Elphaba- in reply to Lovinit]

Mine does is two weeks at a time. Works great, no problems, over a year sober.

[Lovinit in reply to Elphaba-]

Congratulations! I am on that path right now

[Elphaba- in reply to Lovinit]

Thank you!! It really helped me get my needs met by showing my psych that I understood my addiction, and took sobriety very seriously. I would have done that no matter what anyway, but he is able to trust me and knows I’m responsible. I hope you get the help you deserve.

[Lovinit in reply to Elphaba-]

Thank you! It’s a long process for me

[WSCURRIE]

So your main reason to get on Vyvanse is because of your binge eating?? Yeah, i wouldn’t know what to “say” to your doctor. You should try a therapist for your addictions.

[happyhermit in reply to WSCURRIE]

There's a "heart" button, but there needs to be a "thumbs down" button. Keep your judgement to yourself, dude. She said she had been on stimulants for ADHD before. Addictions of all kinds are very common outcomes of ADHD, in which people **lack impulse control.**

[PoppyWithADD]

I ended up getting prescribed the non-stimulant type of ADHD med for this reason. (They consider me a drug user for marijuana, although this was before it became legal to use recreationally in my state). I like the non-stimulant variety and I do think it cuts down on binge eating as well; I feel like I get a satisfied feeling after eating a meal, that I imagine is what a lot of "normal" people get when they eat.

[Agustinbebe in reply to PoppyWithADD]

My husband is going thought you same situación. What is the med that is nom stimulant?

[Hidden]

Don’t tell them about your past drug use. It’s in the past. I’ve never ad problem with addiction other than cigarettes, but I would think if you were addicted to meth or stimulants, you were trying to self medicate. You don’t have to tell your doctor everything, they don’t have answer to everything, and sometimes they are dead wrong and don’t have a clue. I don’t think people that have never had any addiction, like most well educated doctors have a clue what that must be like and all the complications that come with it.

[Halem1982 in reply to Hidden]

I had a major addiction to meth and I was honest with my psychiatrist and he told me I found the wrong stimulant first. He asked me to stay sober for 4 weeks before he evaluated me and prescribed vyvanse for me. I’ve never once abused vyvanse. I completely turned my life around and I was sober for 4.5 years until my meds stopped working. Never having gone to rehab at that point, I didn’t learn obvious things like not to hang out with people who use drugs. I ended up relapsing but I wasn’t taking vyvanse anymore because it literally did nothing for me. Meth took over my life again for a year and a half before I finally made the tough decision to go to a dual diagnosis rehab, and it was the best decision I ever made. I’ve been sober for a little over 3 years now and I’ve been taking stimulants the whole time. They are controlled substances and practically impossible to abuse unless you don’t need them to function and you’re just taking them to feel a high. They make me feel normal, not high but I’d imagine there are a lot of dipshit dr’s who wouldn’t agree.

[Ami00 in reply to Halem1982]

Been addicted to everything I could get my hands on over the last 20 plus years. Managed to stop evrything too except for the weed and cigs. But the weed doesn't help any more. Officially bipolar and depression but no freakin ADHD diagnosis yet. That was 3 years ago. Gave up on trying to stay in a job, have a life or anything else to be honest. My psychiatrist kept going on and on about me stopping weed. On most days the first joint is the high point of my day. Another useless day learning useless but momentarily interesting info that I will almost never use it because at the latest once I've gone through the book or whatever, I lose interest.

[Hidden]

For example, even though I’m addicted to nicotine, doctors don’t consider me an addict at all. It’s kinda stupid, because I am addicted to nicotine, just like other people are addicted to other substances.

[Halem1982 in reply to Hidden]

I’m addicted to nicotine too. No wonder we love to smoke cigs since nicotine is a stimulant

[HadEnuf]

Depending on where you live, your doctor may have no choice: some jurisdictions prohibit dispensing controlled substances to anyone with a drug offense on record, for any purpose.

Great for surgical pain management in California—not; but legislators never have been good at understanding medical reality...probably because they tend to be lawyers, not medical doctors.

[HadEnuf in reply to HadEnuf]

There are likely better choices for binge eating, regardless: anything appetite-suppressant carries a risk of “flipping” into anorexia; and there's also a heightened danger associated with eating disorders and use of any medication that can lower seizure threshold.

[Marygr66]

It seems to me that so many people with ADHA are either alcoholics or addicts. I have told many people in the mental health field etc.. and will stand by it 100% and will not back down! I am a recovered alcoholic. I have been sober for 14 years. If I would not have been taking Adderall, Vyvanve etc..I would have never gotten or stayed sober. It is not because it replaced to booze. It is because it changed my brain function. I finally could think like a normal person.

[lillymagot]

its is a well known fact that people who have ADHD would of self medicated with drugs before I was completely honest when they asked me about this and I only took drugs to make me cope I didn't get high because they didn't have the same affect as someone without adhd I would explain that this was a coping mechanism for u and by being refused medication then u would be forced to self medicate hope it will works out for you x

[hyperfiddler]

I'm 19 years sober in AA, and I have been prescribed Adderall XR for ADHD since earlier this year. I was completely open about my history of substance abuse with my family doctor and the psychiatrist he referred me to. I also had honest conversations about my background -- and my concerns! -- with my AA sponsor and my husband. I had a using thought the first time I took the stimulant, for the first time in years. I again was open and upfront about it with my team. No problems like that since.