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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Withdrawals are coming, I'm afraid. Advice Please!

Asparagus_Prince

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 19, 2021
Messages
203
Oh my god I had a massive epiphany last night and I have this board to thank. I think it helped me realize that I’ve been struggling with Adderall withdrawals lately. It’s like a big light bulb went off. I’m sorry because I feel like I’ve been posting about Adderall and myself too much lately. I think this might be the last time.

For the last 4 or 5 months I’ve been in a routine of getting my Adderall refill, blasting through it in 12 days or so, and then waiting the next 18 days until the next refill. Those binges were usually around 70 mg per day (historically I’ve taken 15-30 per day). It was also around 4 or 5 months ago that I began feeling extremely exhausted during my Adderall breaks. Somehow my dumbass didn’t attribute it to Adderall. I thought the exhaustion was caused by something else and that it was simply smoothed over a little during my Adderall binges. My Adderall usage hadn’t changed on a per month average, so I don’t know… I was thinking the 18-day breaks were a good idea in their own way.

But my most recent break, which was throughout late November and early December, came after my most aggressive binge of all. I took about 100mg per day for a 7-day span and stopped. My follow-up “break” wasn’t just exhaustion this time, it was a little scary. I was feeling so tired and not in control of it. The scariest occasion was around Day 3 or 4 or so of that detox… I was almost nodding off in unsafe situations. The next day I stayed home and in bed all day. After that I never had any more “scary” moments to that extent, but for the next 3 weeks my exhaustion was on another level. It was nothing for me to sleep 12-14 hours, and then throughout the day take another 4 hours worth of naps before I’d go back to bed for another 12-14 hours. When I’d finally rouse it would take a while for me to get oriented. I’m not typically an energy drink person but I was drinking a lot of them. Nicotene gum and stackers too.

Then last night I was browsing this board and came across a fairly recent thread “Adderall Withdrawals- Please Help”. As I read what that guy was going through my jaw just about dropped… it sounded a lot like what I’ve been going through too! My heart almost beat out of my chest.

Now I’m afraid because I know another period of exhaustion is probably coming. I’m very concerned, actually. I have a few very important things coming up at work that could probably jeopardize my job if I’m feeling the way I did early on during the last detox. That last detox was the worst one yet, does that mean this one will be even worse? If so, I may be fucked.

I feverishly counted my pills and I have three 15mg left. I’ve been thinking about the best way to utilize them or stretch them. As I type now it’s been 16 hours since my last use, and I am starting to feel tired again but I’m functioning ok.

My next really important work day is Tuesday. That will be Day 4 and I need to be on my game for about a 5-hour span. I’m thinking about taking one 15mg then. I doubt it will make a massive difference but I’m thinking it’ll be just enough to prevent the scary stuff.

Then my next really important day is three days after that on Friday, followed by another important day 3 days later on Monday. The fact that these important days are all spaced 3-4 days apart might work out ideally, actually. I’m hoping.

During the last detox my only symptom was extreme exhaustion and lack of motivation. I can’t say I felt sick, exactly. In fact, the sleeps were always pleasant and it felt so good to stay in bed. So I’m not worried about alleviating any classic withdrawal symptoms like sickness. I just don’t want to be falling asleep on the job. I read through the other thread and I know I need to accept the restfulness, eat healthy, and try to stay active. But I absolutely have to make exceptions for those 3 days I referred to.

It’s not like I was “craving” Adderall during my previous detox periods. I think that’s why it never occurred to me that it was withdrawal. Doesn’t withdrawal always include an intense craving for whatever it is your body is wanting? I thought so, but perhaps not. My only experience with withdrawals was trying to quit cigarettes cold turkey and oh my god… I would have killed for a smoke. But I wasn’t feeling that way about Adderall. Don’t get me wrong, I would look forward to my next refill so maybe it would lift me up some. But it’s not like I ever thought that that was what my body was needing. This is the only thing that makes me think maybe it’s not Adderall withdrawal. Sleep apnea, perhaps? But surely not. Too coincidental.

What do you all think? Definitely Adderall withdrawal, right? Any suggestions? Does my plan for the final 3 pills seem about right?

I am prescribed Gabapentin and I only take it rarely. I was reading how it might help with Adderall withdrawal, but I can’t imagine it helping with the tiredness and nodding off. That’s the only thing I want to alleviate. But who knows… maybe? I feel like it’s too risky to “try”.
 
Take this with a grain of salt.

I believe it is addy WD. You have been altering your brain chemistry pretty heavily as you have been taking a 30 day script in under 10 days. And you have been doing it often. It's all fun and games until the pills run out. Then you crash. And suffer.

Then it's refill time and the same thing happens. Month after month the script doesn't last and then we are right back in the shit. I am really super surprised that you aren't copping anything on the 20 days that you don't have the addies.

I did the same thing you did with pain pills. Month after month, year after year I had my fun for 10 days and suffered for 20. But I copped off the street and blew boatloads of money so I'm glad you aren't there yet.

The only solution is to have someone hold your pills and only give you your daily allowance. Otherwise you will continue in the cycle of binge...then go without and it will be groundhog day forever ( or until you start copping meth off the street to hold you when you run out of addies.

I couldn't take as prescribed. You can't either. Give the bottle to someone you love and trust,
 
The good thing is stimulants don’t really have a physical withdrawal syndrome. The bad thing is it’s entirely mental, which can be good and bad.

You’re in a vicious cycle of addiction where you’re just looking forward to the next script, and you gotta realize, life sober probably isn’t gonna compare to how your life is on adderall. The flip side of that is you’re glorifying all the good about the drug and not seeing the bad.

Adderall can lack of sleep, poor appetite, mental exhaustion, psychosis, loss of weight..amongst other things like brain chemistry changes, and I'm sure to some extent neurotoxicity I would think.

If you are unable to take it as prescribed and it is negatively impacting your life, as stated above give the script to someone who can help you or it maybe a good idea to get off the drug / enter a rehab. Just being real with ya.
 
I am really super surprised that you aren't copping anything on the 20 days that you don't have the addies.
Well like I said (and I know that post was a very long read), on my 20 days it is about extreme exhaustion. But not necessarily unpleasant exhaustion if I'm at home. But it isn't sustainable, of course.

It's been 24 hours. I got home 4 hours ago and thought I was feeling ok. And then bam I was out like a light for 3 hours. It felt great, but that's a weird time to nap from like 6pm to 9pm. So... here we go I think.

My mind is usually a hurricane but right now it's still and I feel weirdly content. I feel like those teenaged kids who complain about Adderall turning them into zombies. Or it's like I've had too much Xanax or something. Can't say I feel awful or anything. I just need to be able to function over the next couple weeks.

Thanks for caring/the response.
 
you’re just looking forward to the next script, and you gotta realize, life sober probably isn’t gonna compare to how your life is on adderall. The flip side of that is you’re glorifying all the good about the drug and not seeing the bad.
I understand your point. I'd probably think the same thing.

I didn't really understand what was going on. Even though I was blasting through the addies, I kinda thought the breaks were a good thing too. I always miss them when I'm out, but I never "crave" it as though my body is screaming out for it. So I just didn't appreciate what was happening. I didn't have much incentive to change anything. Now I have some things to think about.

Thank you.
 
You can always take ephedrine/pseudoephedrine to ease the withdrawal symptoms, just don’t overdo it. It won’t be nearly as effective as adderall, but it will be better than nothing.
 
Consider trying a binge first week, clean up what’s left next two.. so around half to a quarter normal daily dose for the 2nd and 3rd weeks. A week regroup and repeat. Sleep, exercise, eat, vitamins and anything else the use of amp has sprung you from. Please consider eating while binging. A nutrition shake even milk will do miracles.. just slam it down.

How can you change your use or behavior slightly to have a better time, get a better high and feel better?

Also a neurotransmitter precursor will do wonders and they are cheap.. mix it with exercise and you will forget you even thought you had a problem.
 
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Crashed for another 11 hours last night even after my 3-hour evening nap.

Still have three 15mg Adderall in my back pocket.

Found some ketamine/vitamin things that say they are all-natural. Wondering if it might be worth trying them. It would have to be better than the energy-drink/stacker rampage I went on during my last detox.

What the hell word am I looking for? When I'm on the addies it's a binge. When I'm off it's a... a... I keep calling it detox or "break" but that sounds stupid.
 
Crashed for another 11 hours last night even after my 3-hour evening nap.

Still have three 15mg Adderall in my back pocket.

Found some ketamine/vitamin things that say they are all-natural. Wondering if it might be worth trying them. It would have to be better than the energy-drink/stacker rampage I went on during my last detox.

What the hell word am I looking for? When I'm on the addies it's a binge. When I'm off it's a... a... I keep calling it detox or "break" but that sounds stupid.

I mean technically you’re not wrong it is a detox or a break, you could say time of abstinence, recovery period, counting down the days period lol.

You seem like an intelligent person man and I hope you figure this out.

Sometimes in life you gotta ask yourself what do you really want? And be grateful you still have the ability to chose freely because I lost that and I don’t know if I’ll ever truly get it back and it’s devestating.
 
Sometimes in life you gotta ask yourself what do you really want?
Yeah, you're right. I've been thinking about that. I haven't lost faith that I can get back on track because now I see what's happening and it pisses me off. Then again I'm sure people will read that and think I am lying to myself. I suppose that's possible, subconsciously or something. We'll see.

Someone else talked about how they're surprised I haven't bought them off the streets. It's funny because it did cross my mind. I know a guy that could hook me up. But I care about this guy and he has had problems of his own. It wasn't important enough for me to ask. The fact that I kinda thought about it concerns me. But it's not like rock-bottom desperation either. People that reach that level don't worry about inconveniencing others, it seems.
 
Tolerance break.. Could use that term.

Regroup.. script binge roundup..

@Asparagus_Prince if you stick to just your script I think you will be happier. The time off gives your system a chance to rebound from the binge. That’s healthy. It resets tolerance to prolong desired effect. What if you just just realize your going to have a short stint of recovery from a bing and accept that and enhance your recovery. So design and implement a cycle your happy with?
 
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I did the same thing you did with pain pills. Month after month, year after year I had my fun for 10 days and suffered for 20.

When it was refill time what was your mindset? Did you try to convince yourself you'd do better that refill? Or did you pretty much know what was going to happen?
 
Tolerance break.. Could use that term.

Regroup.. script binge roundup..

@Asparagus_Prince if you stick to just your script I think you will be happier. The time off gives your system a chance to rebound from the binge. That’s healthy. It resets tolerance to prolong desired effect. What if you just just realize your going to have a short stint of recovery from a bing and accept that and enhance your recovery. So design and implement a cycle your happy with?
Yes, thank you.

Adderall worked best when I was taking it 3 or 4 days per week. I want to get back to that. I'd rather it work well every time I take it, rather than it working well for the first half of a binge, then semi-well for the back half.

And I have to stop snorting it.
 
Yes, thank you.

Adderall worked best when I was taking it 3 or 4 days per week. I want to get back to that. I'd rather it work well every time I take it, rather than it working well for the first half of a binge, then semi-well for the back half.

And I have to stop snorting it.

Its possible, but regression to previous use and route of administration is often difficult.

Here is some good information on exercise and the brain. With prolonged or binge use we lose neurotransmitters. To heal we must make more and also regulate the complex system we manipulated to a desired baseline. A short period of aerobic exercise promotes both of these. So with a little exercise we heal mentally, are able to get much stronger and enjoyable effects if we use. Not to mention all the other dank shit that exercise gives us.
 
I think you shouldn't do cold turkey but rather taper down. In my experience, during withdrawal of many drugs even a little amount can help enormously. Like when you've been using 100mg, just take 20-30mg. Or do a gradual taper, start with 3/4 or so of your last dose for a few days, then reduce by 1/4, rinse and repeat this until you're down to a therapeutic dosage, or zero if you want to stop completely.

Yeah stim withdrawal is entirely mental as opposed to opiods which come with a heavy physical w/d but I know that stim w/d is no joke. I was using meth for a few weeks just in low doses like 20mg/d and got bad depression when I ran out. Didn't expect that cause from methylphenidate I never got depression.

Oh, that could be an option too. Getting a methylphenidate script, in my experiences this one is easier to taper off and it should substitute for the Adderall.

Other option which I like to recommend is dextromethorphan. Have you heard about? It's in OTC cough suppressants like Robotussin, and is used recreationally. In low recreative dosages, like 100-200mg, it behaves kinda like an euphoric stimulant and helps with many withdrawals. It's also a SNRI, blocks reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, the latter is good for you as it substitutes for the norepinephrine release of Adderall. What makes you so tired is probably a lack of norepinephrine.

Good luck 🤞
 
When it was refill time what was your mindset? Did you try to convince yourself you'd do better that refill? Or did you pretty much know what was going to happen?
Every single month I would tell myself it was going to be different. That I would take them as prescribed and make the script last. As soon as I got the bottle in my hand all common sense and advice went out the window and I was back chasing the high instead of controlling my pain.. I had absolutely no control. It was very demeaning to know I couldn't control myself. Every time i opened the bottle for more I knew I was fucking up. I had to get kicked to the curb by my DR. ( for failing a drug test for benzos not prescribed ) to actually break the cycle.

Didn't break the addiction just didn't have my source anymore. Went to the streets ( back then people sold their real scripts, not pressed stuff ) so now I was spending boat loads of money on pills. It was horrible. I just couldn't stop doing it no matter how hard I tried. I hated myself but loved the pills. That was a couple years ago and I finally broke the cycle. Finally. It's so hard to stop doing what we like, even when it hurts us.
 
At the end of Day 3 and the extreme exhaustion continues. Slept 14 hours in a 15 hour span last night and into today.

But I'm grateful I saw that other thread about Adderall withdrawal. It's helped me to see what's going on so now I'm paying close attention to what is working and what's not. With previous withdrawals I didn't know what the hell was happening. I thought I had sleep apnea or cancer or something. I hope that other guy is doing ok. I recall he was hammering away even more heavily than me.

I've actually been awake for 4 hours straight, which is encouraging. I took 600mg Gabapentin about 3 hours ago and I think it's helping a little. I'm still in low gear but not feeling like a nap is absolutely mandatory. Today is a very low-maintenance day. If the Gabapentin backfired and made me even more tired that would have been ok... it's my day off. But so far so good. I also took a one hour walk earlier. So maybe that has more to do with the slight improvement. I kinda wish now I wouldn't have taken the Gabapentin because I'm curious if the improvement might have been more about the walk. (during previous withdrawals I NEVER took walks or exercised)
 
these are NOT withdrawals. amphetamine sulphate, even in large doses just produces a discontinuation rebound because you haven't been sleeping/eating properly and are wearing out your dopamine centers. It doesn't feel good, but I cannot stress to you how far it is from a deep physiological or mental withdrawal. If you are finding yourself this "out of control" in relation to adderall -- I STRONGLY suggest you never graduate to typical intoxicants with a really serious WD syndrome (ethanol, benzos, opioids, kratom, gabapentanoids, phenibut --- cocaine or methamphetamine too).

I took 60 - 300mg of amph salts daily for seventeen years vs ^^^ have withdrawn from those. It is a completely different sport.
 
these are NOT withdrawals.
Interesting. I suppose we could be splitting hairs with semantics. Withdrawals, post-use side effects, etc etc. But I get what you're saying. They're not withdrawals in a physical sense. You're not going to get sick or have seizures, etc. I've said many times on here that I don't necessarily feel "bad", just extraordinarily exhausted and that I can't keep functioning like this and expect to stay employed. If I could afford to lay in a hammock and sip lemonade for 3 weeks straight, I could almost say this feels kinda good.

I have noticed in recent days that it's not just exhaustion. I do feel achey in the body too, but nothing I can't handle.

I took Gabapentin on both Day 3 and Day 4 and that's been doing me wonders. I've never had an opiate problem (not that Gabapentin is an opiate) so that might not be good advice for someone coming off Adderall that has had an opiate problem. But for me they've actually lifted me up and helped me feel functional. I don't really understand this since they are not a stimulant. I've actually avoided them during previous Adderall withdrawals* for fear they would make me feel even more tired.

*you know what I mean

Now I'm wondering if it's "ok" to semi-regularly use Gabapentin to help me through this. Or, does my body kinda need to go through a process with as little "help" as possible?

Today is Day 5 and I took my first of 3 remaining 15 mg Adderall a couple hours ago. That is tempting me to snort more, but I'm not going to. A few days ago I threw away my favorite straw from its hidden location. Not that that means I can't snort, of course. But it's the same one I've been using for at least 6 months. I think/hope that shows have a new mindset and plan.

Note: I don't expect everyone to be interested in me talking about myself and I'm not going to keep updating this process forever. But if I discover something that might help a future reader (e.g. Gabapentin) then I might post an update.
 
Please don't go....even after you feel better. Your thread is really helpful for so many others and you simply have to keep coming back and letting us know how you are getting along.

After all , you are still going to be getting your refills and maybe we can help you with the first few days that you are craving to take more than prescribed.

So stay and post. Pretty please.. :cheer:
 
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