how often can i take stimulants without becoming dependent?

[g_dan1]

hello everyone,
I'm 18 y.o. 5'11, 145 lbs

I'm currently in my senior year of high school. Since about spring of junior year i ve been having trouble getting my work done. I am not sure whether it is ADHD, anxiety, lack of sleep, or simply laziness. I'm pretty sure tho that the lack of sleep is definitely one of the reasons.

Last spring i ve been using adderall and ritalin on some occasions, only when i have too much work or a big essay due the next day. I managed to get thru the 2nd part of junior year, but honestly it was a total hell. Its really hard for me to actually start working and keep doing my work. I also have a constant feeling of frustration when I'm working because I can't concentrate, that feeling that i just can't sit still and work.

Over the summer i didn't use any stimulants. Now its my senior year and i started using them more often. I noticed that now I take them before every single major assignment in school and on the weekends to finish my projects.
I usually take 10-15 mg adderall or ritalin before tests and about 20 on the weekends to study. I take it sublingually sometimes too.

I really don't want to get dependent or addicted to those meds. I just want to get the best results for my 1st semester and get a good ACT score.
I would really appreciate if someone can give me advice and answer some of my questions:

1) How often can I take stimulants without increasing my tolerance?
2) based on what i wrote above, am i on my way to becoming dependent or addicted? if yes then what can I do to stop that and still manage my work?
3) Is alternating b/w adderall and ritalin a good idea? will it keep tolerance down?
4) are there any supplements that would slow down tolerance?
5) should i take a small dose of xanax with adderall/ritalin to combat anxiety?

Thank you!

P.S. i was on ritalin when I wrote this lol

 

[HeadHigh]

For most drugs, as a somewhat generalized rule, 3 days off in between uses keeps tolerance down. Addiction and dependence are two slightly different things. Dependent is when your body needs the chemical to function, addicted is when your body AND MIND need the chemical to function. If you take anything every day or even every other day, you will eventually become dependent, and you will most likely become addicted depending on the substance (stimulants, especially adderall, are particularly prone to being addictive). Alternating is better than taking just the same drug every day, but i am not going to say that it is good for anything because you will most likely end up in the same place. Dont use another drug to stop the tolerance of a different drug. Also, xanax is just as addictive as adderall, except with a much more severe and prolonged withdrawal, so also not a good idea unless you can cut your use down to just one or two days a week.

If i were you, i would look into aniracetam (or any nootropic for that matter). They are generally non-addictive (except phenibut), and i can attest to the fact that aniracetam helps with concentration, anxiety, and motivational problems.

Stay safe

 

[g_dan1]

thanks for advice man! ill definitely try that out

 

[keeping]

as little as you can.

 

[g_dan1]

Thanks but i kinda knew that. It would be helpful if people share what worked for them and how often they took stims without raising tolerance or becoming dependt

 

[keeping]

Thanks but i kinda knew that. It would be helpful if people share what worked for them and how often they took stims without raising tolerance or becoming dependt

okayyy:

1) every time you're taking a stim you're raising your tolerance a little bit, as HealthHigh mentioned a 3 day break between sessions will significantly reduce any risks but it won't totally negate them. dependence/tolerance is a very subjective thing so no one can give you anything more than a rough estimate.
2) i mean the fact you asked that question says you could be on the way. maybe its time for a little self-examination. its really hard to tell that kind of thing over the internet, you'd really need a face-to-appointment or something like that.
maybe speak to a tutor or counceslor about time management on your essays and stuff? you don't need to do drugs to get good grades, you're an intelligent person.
3) i guess but only slightly
4) there's things like magnesium for gurning and stuff but for tolerance? no, at least none that i know of.
5) yeah you can do that but beware of benzo addiction - that is a proper, physical, life-threatening dependence so you really need to watch out for that one.

 

[Ksa]

I have taken Dexedrine for the past 10 years, sometimes in the worst possible ways, and have not developed any tolerance. I can even say my 15mg/day now feels way stronger than the first time. I honestly have no clue on what advice to give you, everybody is different. If your daily dose is 15mg, make sure you use 7.5mg to study and 7.5 to get your dick sucked. I mean it. It's super important not to use your entire dose to do fuckall. If you're laughing while reading this I urge you to stop and give it a serious thought. Your dick needs to be sucked, while you are on amphetamines, sucked slowly, with affection. It's super important to keep your body healthy and there's nothing to laugh about.

Most people use their daily dose to study, and when they get home to their gf they cannot. Dude, if you can walk out of here with just this clue, you're good to go. You need to have sex slowly, oral sex preferably, while you are on amphetamines, not while you're crashing. I personally have not applied any anti-tolerance methods, at least not consistently, not in a way that it would make a difference.

 

[BaconBoy]

Hey man, Im in a very similar situation to you. I'm currently in my final exams for my last year of school as well and i've always had a problem focusing. I bought some of my ADHD friend's dexamphetamine to try and use it for study. What i've found is that i take 5mg a day 3-4 days leading up to the exam and then have a break (roughly 3 days) until my next dex session. I've realised that they are a addictive for study but i've made the realisation of this and regulate myself accordingly.
What i recommend:
1. Tell a close friend you are using them and if he or she notices you are getting addicted or if they are affecting you outside of study, then give them the right to take them off you when they feel its necessary. (Maybe sign something or make a video to yourself. As dumb as that sounds)
2. Try to study without at them sometimes. It may be a placebo that you think you need them to study when really if you push hard to focus you may not need them
3. If you are using them a lot, take note of how much you used that week and then you and or your friend decide if it is too much, then try to work out a limit
4. tolerance breaks!

This has been working for me and is keeping me controlled despite my addictive personality. Hope i helped in any way.

 

[g_dan1]

I have taken Dexedrine for the past 10 years, sometimes in the worst possible ways, and have not developed any tolerance. I can even say my 15mg/day now feels way stronger than the first time. I honestly have no clue on what advice to give you, everybody is different. If your daily dose is 15mg, make sure you use 7.5mg to study and 7.5 to get your dick sucked. I mean it. It's super important not to use your entire dose to do fuckall. If you're laughing while reading this I urge you to stop and give it a serious thought. Your dick needs to be sucked, while you are on amphetamines, sucked slowly, with affection. It's super important to keep your body healthy and there's nothing to laugh about.

Most people use their daily dose to study, and when they get home to their gf they cannot. Dude, if you can walk out of here with just this clue, you're good to go. You need to have sex slowly, oral sex preferably, while you are on amphetamines, not while you're crashing. I personally have not applied any anti-tolerance methods, at least not consistently, not in a way that it would make a difference.

I lol'd while reading this haha. But let me respond to you man. I tried sex on adderall once and couldnt get hard at all. It wasnt even a big dose. My gf was so ready and it was just... soft... lol. I ended up just talking to her nonstop for 1-2 hrs

 

[Ksa]

I lol'd while reading this haha. But let me respond to you man. I tried sex on adderall once and couldnt get hard at all. It wasnt even a big dose. My gf was so ready and it was just... soft... lol. I ended up just talking to her nonstop for 1-2 hrs

If you try oral sex it's not going to stay soft for long trust, me, she just needs to get more creative. While it's soft like that, if you manage to somehow get it hard, you'll understand what I mean, just try harder. Actually you know what, instead of worrying about long term tolerance, worry about how to get it hard. Make this your worry. Leave the tolerance alone, if you manage to stay healthy there is no tolerance.

 

[JimRaynor]

1) How often can I take stimulants without increasing my tolerance?
2) based on what i wrote above, am i on my way to becoming dependent or addicted? if yes then what can I do to stop that and still manage my work?
3) Is alternating b/w adderall and ritalin a good idea? will it keep tolerance down?
4) are there any supplements that would slow down tolerance?
5) should i take a small dose of xanax with adderall/ritalin to combat anxiety?

How often you can take stimulants and avoid tolerance relies heavily on dosages. Some people take the same dose of adderall or dexedrine day in and day out for years without gaining tolerance (after the initial phase). On the other hand recreational users like myself can't use stims two days in a row because tolerance on day two is so high almost no quantity of speed takes me to where I want to be. But in small "therapeutic" dosages for studying I would say it is possible to use stims every third day or in other words two days a week without losing considerable efficacy in the long run.

You are already dependent in my opinion. Requiring/craving stims just to get schoolwork done is a major alarm clock. Tell me this, would you be able to hand in a major assignment without stims? If no, well that's dependence right there. There's something causing you to need these stims to function and that something is always going to be there until you do something about it. Using stims is only a dangerous and temporary solution.

Alternating between adderall and ritalin is unnecessary. Just use the one which is more efficacious in your situation and stick with it.

And perhaps my most important point. Please don't take xanax with your stims. Stims and benzos combined will put you on a highway to addiction. Believe me, because I, just like you, started using stims + benzos as a study aid. Led me into both stimulant and benzo addiction which have cost me alot to say the least. Xanax masks part of the effects from the stim, which allows you to take more stims which leads to a harsher comedown which leads to even more Xanax being needed. Dosages escalates, judgment gets impared from the benzo intoxication and you are addicted before you know it. Just keep the dosages low enough to not require a benzo in the first place. It will still help you get the schoolwork done.

I would strongly suggest that you find out what is causing you to suddenly need stims in school. Addressing those issues to get rid of them is a thousand times better than masking them with drugs. I was myself in a similar situation as yours when my stimulant addiction began. Mental issues prevented me from succeeding in school and I used drugs to cope. Only gave me addiction which I will struggle with more or less for the rest of my life and STILL having to address the issues causing the addiction in the first place. Very. Bad. Idea.