Please excuse my posting here as I take Adderall for depression (treatment resistant) and not ADHD but I REALLY NEED HELP with my Adderall tolerance and no one in depression forums knows anything about this medicine.
I'll try not to write a novel. Hard to condense my experience with this drug but will try. Initially (6 months ago) I was prescribed 60mg extended release (I have always needed the maximum dose of all meds I've tried, so doc started me on that) and my life went upside down for a couple months. Nothing had ever elevated my mood like this before!! - certainly no antidepressant and I've tried almost all of them. But I missed work and ignored important things. Fast forward.
I resumed regular work and got a handle on things while taking the Adderall early in the morning and all was well for a while.
Then it stopped working.
And I eventually starting taking more than prescribed per day, causing my script to run out too early. This made me stop abruptly and I experienced severe fatigue/excessive sleeping/ thick brain fog/weakness that kept me home from work until my next prescription refill.
I'm ready to throw in the towel on the only medication that I've ever felt happy/optimistic/outgoing/confident/productive on in my life and go back to being a depressed blob. ššš
The 'crashes' are just too difficult. I may lose my job. And I don't see the point in taking it if I don't notice a change in mood. ( I only feel a change in mood when I take too much now.)
Does anyone know of an effective way to use Adderall without developing a tolerance?
(My research suggests there is no way and a week and 1/2 without the med does nothing.)
All replies genuinely appreciated!
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GoldenYellow
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The withdrawal you described, are just every day ADHD symptoms. This was my every day until I was near 20. It sounds like a hard withdrawal, or you have ADHD. Don't know, possibly.
60mg is a high dosage. This family of medication isn't lightweight, as it's highly addictive and highly controlled. Starting at max dose, I bet initially you felt like a bloody rainbow.
It's a stimulant, like coffee, but generally intended for specific use. The high feels good, and boosts motivation and mindfulness. Increasing brain activity to feel closer to the norm. Realize there is no antidote.
It's slow release, not cocaine. Relax.
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Depression meds:
For anyone following, depression meds have a much harder withdrawal. They play with your mood. And when they don't work, you feel crazy and not OK.
I can't judge you for trying something different.
----- Advice ------
Treat your body like a temple. You are what you eat. It helps no matter what your health condition.
Sit down: reflect and be mindful. Plan your day. Be thankful about something. It's naturally self medicating to set your head right. Think the way you want to feel.
If your tolerance is built this high, don't increase. It is what it is to some extent.
Although, you could play with time. Maybe 40 in the morning, next get exercise or get productive, and then 20 at lunch for a boost until supper... Or try 30 then 30. There is some flex.
For better sleep, less procrastinating, better medication results:Reduce screen time.
No screen time after 8pm. Limit usage. Get your ass to bed and get it routine.
Eat brain food, vitamin b, physically move and exercise. You have be your best too. You have to do.
honestly I canāt believe they would give it for depression bc the only time you would feel a change in mood is when youāve taken too much. Or when you are actually high. And when you take too much or get high on it is when you have the big crashes. Years ago I abused my Adderall for years and I know all about the euphoria and fatigue, more like deathly tired, Iāve never experienced tiredness like you experience when you are addicted to adderall and then suddenly have to go without. It is literally unbearable, your eyes will just shut. To this day no legal dose of adderall while work on me for my adhd bc the thing with stimulants is (Iām a long term stimulant addict - the adderall addict led me to cocaine ruining my life then meth addiction which somehow I controlled pretty good- go figure) with stimulants. Once you hit a dose or threshold consistently your brain remembers it and thatās your tolerance and from then on no other amt lower than that will ever work again or make you feel the same again. It may be working but not giving you euphoria which we think we have to feel to be happy.see with adhd we are not supposed to feel the medication working when itās working. We are just supposed to notice we can read better, concentrate better, not get so distracted, etc. if we feel the euphoria the dose is too high. When you feel that, thatās when you can easily become addicted to theM. Same with pain medication. Pain meds are supposed to be given at the lowest dose so the pain is relieved and no euphoria is felt. Once our brain feels that it wants more. They may be why you donāt think antidepressants are working. It takes them a good 4-6weeks in your system to even start working and itās pretty subtle. Itās just like one day you notice damn I smiled without faking it. I got out of bed without forcing myself, I feel different yofay, itās not like you feel this extreme happiness. Or I never have. I gave major depression and am one 2 strong antidepressants at high doses with other meds and Iāve never felt extremely happy all the years Iāve been on them. But I use to be in bed all day everyday and not be able to stop crying so itās better than that. And most days I want to live.
Drug jokes donāt bother addicts, we make them ourselves. We, addicts, all have a kinda sick sense of humor other people donāt get because unless youāve experienced addiction you canāt understand it. Itās impossible to make someone understand completely what we have been thru or most of us still go thru daily. But we usually canāt joke about it until we are on the other side of it if that makes sense.
I used to be a speed freak myself and now I have a script that mostly sits on the shelf... the first step for me to get on top of my habit was to admit that amphetamines are very powerful stimulants and admit to myself that I could easily lose control. Now when I use the medication it's for a predetermined huge project and predetermined length of time and then I know I have to go back to dealing with my own brain chemistry. I think this is more functional for me than trying to use it as a day-to-day mood enhancer. To be honest I can't think of a much worse strategy than relying on amphetamines for controlling my mood šI had to bite the bullet and learn to work with my brain for my baseline happiness. There are a LOT of mood enhancing and dopamine enhancing strategies that really work and yeah a lot of the are the cliche things (sleep, exercise, relationships). Something that helped me a lot recently was just letting go of a lot of things be they grievances or worries... I think this is part of just me maturing and putting my happiness first. Anyways.
You got it we have to first admit we have a problem and the drugs are actually a symptoms of our problem. Or the desire to repeat whatever is making us feel the high at first is because itās taking away some pain we have inside us. We need to figure out what our problem is before we can recover. Itās really hard especially some pain we have to feel in our life and ADHDers are more sensitive than most peoples. Thatās why we tend to like the feeling alcohol and drugs give us.???
Iām not a doctor but this is partially why I do not agree with using a substance that is highly addictive at its highest recommended dose for depression. Itās just asking for someone to get addicted. Itās kinda like here try this cocaine everyday whenever youāre feeling down and let me know if your depression gets better. Yeah it makes you think youāre happy temporarily as do all addictive, then youāll need more of the substance to get get the same effect, then eveetually it will quit working and you will be worse depressed v
Oh man I hadn't even thought of it that way, it is pretty much like giving a depressed person cocaine or something š¤¦š¼āāļø I'm not by any means anti-speed. I like it too much and I know it but I also appreciate it's utility and wants it on deck for every now and then but yeah after years and years abusing it I just could never go back to seeing it as the main fix for my mental issues that's like asking to burn out terribly!!
Iāve found having adhd as an adult is much harder than I ever remember it being as a child. I struggle so much with adulting itās not even funny. I donāt see how people make it look so easy. I canāt even remember Iām washing clothes. No matter what I try. It takes me a whole day almost to do a load or two of laundry beginning to end. And that may be all I accomplish that day. Medicine helps a little esp with my memory, not with me being able to figure out time, or planning. When Iām off meds my anxiety and depression are 100% worse because my adhd symptoms are worse for one but I also have alot of trauma that just wonāt go away. Iāve done years of therapy and multiple therapist and have never been able to get through one specific thing. But as Iāve gotten older Iāve learned you have to make yourself happy. Itās a choice if you want to be happy or not. No drug is going to or person or concert or place. You have to decide everyday if you want to be happy. Happiness is part of depression but not all of it. Depression is not a choice. Itās a chemical problem in your brain, as is adhd and anxiety. Some people are actually mentally ill and so meds donāt work as they should. They are just not happy. They need to decide they want to be happy.
You are 100% right about happiness! I believe itās a choice as well, but a difficult one to maintain for many of us. However, once you decide thatās what you want over the heaviness or the sadness we can feel, that in itself becomes the motivation. You then need to ācreateā a routine and/or process that aligns with that goal. God blessā¦šš¼ā¤ļøšš»
I think this is why some people donāt take it on the weekends or on holidays. Also, if you could take a different medication for a while, sometimes your immunity goes down and you can take it again. I would ask your doctor for a similar med for a while and then after a few months go back in adderall. Also, you could try immediate release instead of extended release and see if you have the same issue. It doesnāt last as long but you get more of the med right away.
Look into taking Alpha Lipoic Acid, 60mg is a high does otherwise I would say you need to increase your dosage. ALA when taken approx 20 mins prior to medication helps to smooth the medicated transition as well as clean your body of the "buildup". When I feel my 50mg of Vyvanse is not as effective I take the ALA and it helps bring my absorption back into check after a few days. Good luck.
Hi NateV, Thanks for the heads up on taking ALA. If I understand correctly, you take the ALA "as needed" not on some form of maintenance schedule, correct? How much ALA do you generally take? Thanks.
If you take the adderall to FEEL a mood, you are taking it for the wrong reasons. Iām not a therapist but have education as a CHADD leader. I also take 40mg of generic adderall XR.
Generics based on the manufacture act different with different people. One time I had a dose where I was focus, focus, till I was almost late for work. Then transitioned and chaos happened juggling responsibilities and about 5pm I felt a feeling where I couldnāt think anymore and needed a break. That was my crash. My doctor has me take 2 short acting generic adderal in the morning so I donāt have the crash when I take my regular dose at 1130am. Some take 1 pill in the morning and 1 about noon to counteract a crash. Only your doctor or therapist who has experience with this medication would know. Also talk to your doctor about how it affects you and the consequences of taking too much. Itās not a drug to feel high on, itās a controlled substance that when taken correctly will calm a brain with racing thoughts.
Hi Golden Yellow, My situation, with managing changes in the effectiveness of taking adderall, might have some baring on your difficulties. I took adderall for quite a long time (10 years?) and it worked great. During that time I was also doing a fair amount of exercise (swimming) so that was also a great help.
Two years ago all that changed abruptly. I had a really bad fall with head injuries (no damage to spinal cord thank goodness) and the neurologists took me completely off the adderall. That was OK cause my ADHD behaviors were greatly reduced, but I experienced strong mood swings into anxiety/depression.
After 2 years however, the anxiety/depression started to decrease, but my ADHD started to reemerge. I restarted taking adderall but at a reduced dose of first 10mg/day then 20 mg/day. The adderall seemed to work as before, except due to the trauma of the fall and related medical issues, I was still prone to quite a lot more episodes of stress, anxiety and depression. When these episodes occurred, the effect of the adderall went real screwy, and I felt much better during those periods if I stopped taking any adderall at all. After the stress anxiety and or depression declined, I would start taking adderall again but at half my previous dose. As long I manage my anxiety/depression the adderall seems to work OK for the ADHD.
This is still working itself out, so unfortunately, I don't have an ending (good or bad) to my story.
Best of luck to you. Hope your situation improves.
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