Stimulants Adderall withdrawal causing seizures?

[TheJenna]

I’ve been on Adderall for over a year and a half. I’ve always taken more than I am supposed to, and by the end of the month I’m on one a day instead of 3 (I am prescribed 3 30mg IR a day due to having gastric bypass- I do not absorb correctly- any advice on that would be appreciated too). In October I ran out and started the withdrawal process like I had dealt with in the past and after a few days I started to feel better and was getting back to normal. Decided to go with a friend to take our kids to the park and in mid sentence I dropped to the ground my legs and arms stiff and my body was jerking. Eyes rolled into my skull- the whole 9. I seized for 3-4 minutes. Fast forward to two months ago, I had another large seizure at home. I also have these things I call Blips which last half a second, just enough to startle me. My neurologist thinks they are tiny seizures. I get my EEG results tomorrow.

Has anyone ever had seizures withdrawing from Adderall?

Side note: I was on Gabapentin for nerve pain in my leg and we stopped it because it made me violently black out and caused more of these “blips” than I care to count. I’ve had over 100 of those.

I am also currently on the following:
-Fentanyl 25mcg patch every two days
-Oxycodone 15mg 4x a day
-Wellbutrin 300mg 1x daily
-Effexor 300mg 1x daily
-Abilify 20mg 1x daily
-Robinul 2mg 2x daily
-Vimpat (not sure of the MG- this if for the seizures)
-Adderall 30mg 3x daily

My husband is a pharmacist and he has never seen anything like what I am going through.

 

[Xorkoth]

Wellbutrin does lower the seizure threshold, so it makes it more likely to have seizures. Also gabapentin withdrawal can cause seizures in extreme cases, and certainly would be the likely culprit, if you have just recently stopped taking it. I haven't heard of anyone having seizures from amphetamine withdrawal, but you're on a lot of medications so it's hard to say.

 

[Chris42393]

Do you have a history of Epilepsy? Gabapentin, being a seizure medication as well can cause seizures if stopped suddenly (just like all seizure medications).

I noticed you're on Vimpat, did your doctor just put you on that? I have a history of seizures and take that medication as well. Sometimes when coming off certain medications or if I get sick, my seizure threshold lowers and I end up having to take extra seizure medication throughout the day. 3 x's instead of 2 (under the guidance of my neurologist).

I'm not a doctor/neurologist but if you have a history of seizures and are having smalls ones ever since you stopped taking the medication/s, id personally take extra throughout the day (even if it's just half a dose), till you're done WD'ing. Obviously talk to him about that first, if you think it that might help and see what he has to say.

Good luck. Seizures are nothing to mess with by ANY MEANS. Ive responded to 3 deaths already, that have been caused by seizures. Be careful and good luck.

 

[TheJenna]

I got my results from my EEG today and I have Primary Generalized Epilepsy. Thank you for the comments. They really helped. I’ve apparently been having a lot more than we thought but it was not until I had my first tonic clonic seizure that we knew I was having them.