Stimulants How to stop mis-using stimulants i am prescribed for 2 conditions

[littlesmg88]

I was diagnosed and prescribed adderall 13 years ago for inattentive ADD. It drastically improved my grades!
Shortly out of highschool I somehow began taking them more than prescribed, the details are fuzzy there as to why etc. but its been 7 or 8 years now of the same montly vicious cycle. I get my script, I take them more often than I am supposed to ( a few times a day because I always feel they wear offf to quick and my genesight tests showed I metabolize them quickly and my docs refused to up my dosage anymore due to me getting older) So I run out after 2 weeks. Spend a week sleeping NON-stop- unable to function, miss work etc. The the other week I'm functional but can't stop binge-eating, then I get a refill and it starts all over again.
I have been researching and asking advice all over the place for years on how to get a control on this crap but I have gotten too good at finding a way to overcome any obstacle to get to my meds when I want them. I am currently on Vyvanse and Strattera. I had the courage to swap the adderall for the strattera in hopes of changing my habit somehow. But I still ran out early.
previous to that, starting last year, I was on both adderall and vyvanse because not only do I have ADD but a sleep test showed I havea circadium rythm disorder with hypersomnia aka daytime sleepiness, so I need a stimulant in my medication regimen not only for ADD but to keep me awake because without them I've literally almost fallen asleep walking around work or driving. Tests are working up to prove a sublayer of narcolepsy but..........
I feel like theres no more options... in the end the only person who can fix this is me- willpower- self control- which I have no idea how to get!
I plan on going to an NA meeting next week.... I'm scared of anything else, anything changing because for literally HALF of my life this lifestyle/ habit/ addiction is all I've known! PLEASE HELP!






I still havn't gone to NA yet because I ran out of meds the day I started this thread and just got my script filled and obviously couldn't function enough to go to NA.
I did get a job that pays well but its 12 hour shifts, I start in 2 weeks. But I'm worried if I'll be able to keep this job because of how much medication I'll take just to function at work let alone off work= I predict I'll burn through it in a week as opposed to my normal 2 especially since I am now only on ONE stimulant and the stratterra doesn't seem to help me much ( I know it's not a stimulant but I was still hoping that it would produce stimulant like properties like wakefulness or something).
I have been on 40mg Strattera for almost 3 months now and when I started the strattera I had to swap it out for my 10mg adderall so I was only left with 50mg vy (I've been on all strenghts). Honestly, since getting the vyvanse last year, I split the capsule as equally as I can in hopes to stretch out my script longer but that doesn't work.
Last dr appt I was allowed to be prescribed 30mg vy to be taken twice a day, I had hoped that this would make my meds last longer once again and I even split most of those but still ran out at the same time! Thats basically 120 capsules of 15mg vyvanse and still couldn't make it last!
It has gotten to the point that even when I try to ration myself and control my dosages- no matter how I do it it doesn't work!
I should add that when I explained I take them more than prescribed, it is still under what I feel is a safe dosing regimine (a small amount etc. every 4 hours, sometimes 2 hours but no sooner) Because I'm not trying to harm myself I just am trying to keep it active in my system and not let it wear off until I want it to.
I also want to say that I do take them the way I do because I literally cannot function without them. I'm a single mom with a life yanno. & I used to get that "euphoria" in the beginning but I HONESTLY have NOT felt ANY type of euphoria or excitement or high from my medication in LITERALLY 6 years and that was only when I went back on them after giving birth to my child.

 

[cj]

Youve built a tolerance. That's why the dose is rising while the effect is falling. Unfortunately that's a never ending cycle if you use any kind of stimulant everyday. Further the higher the dose the faster tolerance rises that's why the extra pills didn't alleviate the issue.

I'm not trying to be unkind but your addicted to speed. The phychological compulsion is causing you to be unable to control your use. Taking extra strattera is pointless because it works by upping your dopamine over a long time period you get no instant dopamine release by taking more. Further by running out 2 weeks early your getting no effect at all because it takes at least 2 weeks to start working. So try to remember that when the compulsion to redose happens.

Far as the Vyvanse goes it's likely you'll never be able to control your use. That's just addiction unfortunately. You could try having someone else dispense them too you I guess or have your doctor write 2 week scripts instead of monthly but that's just a bandaid on a gun shot wound.

There are no wuick fixes here. The best outcome is you quit Vyvanse. It will suck. You'll have depression weight gain sleep issues ect. But you will gradually feel better and after a couple months you can see what you want to do in the future. But get off the roller coaster now. I know running out early sucks!

 

[acklac7]

Your biggest focus right now should be titrating off the stimulants. At this point it's going to be nearly impossible to use them as prescribed, due to your tolerance. You must now focus on going off them in a productive manner. Titrating the dosage as you run out of the script will have a remarkable impact on your overall health and well-being. Say you're taking 3 pills a day for 10 days straight and you're about to run out. Take 1.5 on day 11, 1.5 on day 12, 1 on day 13 then .5 on day 14.

I was on Adderall for 13 years (6 of which I spent rampantly abusing it, I mean staying up for 5 days straight taking 200mg/day). Going off of it completely is possible, but you're going to gain substantial weight and be about 40% as productive.