• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Hi, I'm desperate

C

contradictionary

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
16
I'm here for advice about complications and options for treating OCD and ADD at the same time. My prescribed methylphenidate helps with both but I've recently developed tolerance despite never using it recreationally. So I've got to use it more sparingly, but I will lose my job and any hope of keeping any job ever, if I don't successfully treat the ADD at work. SSRIs can make ADD worse and don't seem to work very well for most people anyway, and it'd be weeks or months before I'd know if it did that or worked, and my doctor will insist I do CBT before she prescribes them anyway, but there isn't any available in my area and I'm not capable of CBT right now, I know I wouldn't be able to comply. If I lose the ability to treat the ADD, I'll be unable to support myself and probably kill myself. If I don't treat the OCD I'll also probably kill myself.

My idea at the moment is to first of all take time off work and reverse my tolerance to the methylphenidate, which is what my first question will be about, and then when my prefrontal cortex is back to baseline (don't care about the rest of the brain at this point, it's just imperative that PFC responds to methylphenidate again before I go back to work) then I'll see how cannabis works for the OCD. I just been researching its use for anxiety disorders but have never taken it before. Need to ask about that because I'm concerned about a few things including cross-tolerance due to its effect on dopamine. Then of course I'll have more questions and I can contribute my experiences with therapeutic use of methylphenidate and 5-HTP if they're worth anything to anyone, but hopefully this gives a good enough picture of why I'm here.

Thanks for your interest if you're still reading,

Sasha
(Not my real name, but if you want a proper name to address me with, I pick that one)
 
Welcome, contradictionary!

Since you mentioned you're prescribed methylphenidate, I recommend you ask your pharmacist those very questions.

I could give you my unprofessional, but somewhat educated answers, but would prefer that you spoke with a professional, especially since you've mentioned your life is on the line.

Good luck! And seriously, talk to a professional.
 
Hi and thanks. Would most pharmacists know about DXM and magnesium for tolerance reversal? I wouldn't have thought that's the sort of thing they study at university, I'd have thought that's something that they'd only learn about through personal interest. I thought some of the people on this website with a formal background in related sciences might be more help, as they seem to know a lot. Also, I think a pharmacist is unlikely to give me honest answers or advice about cannabis, for liability reasons, and if I tell them I want to buy DXM for any reason other than what it's approved for, I'm afraid they won't sell me any more of it.
 
Be that as it may, a pharmacist might have a substitute for methylphenidate while you off-cycle and lower your tolerance again.

I feel you -- I was a self-medicator for years. I couldn't assume anything about cannabis since legality varies throughout the world. Dextromethorphan and magnesium are both common, and any pharmacist should know their stuff about them. I supplement with magnesium-citrate three times a week. Don't mess with the magnesium-oxide, since most of it isn't absorbed and useful. I've used 5-HTP to good effect in the past, to raise serotonin levels.

There are some focus-forums in Bluelight that a question like yours might better be answered.
 
Just A Guy said:
There are some focus-forums in Bluelight that a question like yours might better be answered.
Click to expand...
I've asked whether my DXM product's alcohol content could worsen down-regulation of dopamine receptors in the Basic Drug Discussion forum. Do you think I should move or copy it to Other Drugs or something?
 
I'd say Basic Drug Discussion is the best place for it. I'll ask a New Member Introductions moderator to move this entire thread over to save you time and keep tidy. Good luck, CD!
 
IME cannabis only exacerbates anxiety. If MPH is not working for you anymore, then you should tell your doctor and explain your situation. It is likely, then, that he or she will prescribe Adderall or Dexedrine (both forms of amphetamine).
 
Dresden said:
IME cannabis only exacerbates anxiety. If MPH is not working for you anymore, then you should tell your doctor and explain your situation. It is likely, then, that he or she will prescribe Adderall or Dexedrine (both forms of amphetamine).
Click to expand...
According to my research, it depends on dosage, and ratio of CBD to THC, and individual differences of course. The more CBD and the less THC, the more likely it is to reduce rather than worsen anxiety. But even THC-rich strains make many people feel relaxed if they don't take too much, and cannabis reduces inflammation (it can increase it in certain circumstances so I've read, but most material about it talks about anti-inflammatory properties), which appears to be good for mental health long-term.
 
Tell your doctor.

Be careful of the possibility that it will tempt you to justify using it more than prescribed.
 
I agree with the above posted. Be truthful with your doctor. Most doctors that are primary care docs still have a heart. Unlike er docs. Be honest. I can tell that you're not abusing and just want relief in sentence form. I'm sure a trained personnel will see if face to face. And welcome to this side of the planet.
 
In addition to the above replies, I'll just add that guanfacine is sometimes prescribed for ADD, either alone or with stimulants. Look into it.
 
Thanks for the above suggestions.

I will speak to my doctor as soon as I can, and hopefully she'll refer me for a telephone appointment with the specialist too. Based on other people's experiences, surely they'll just tell me to take a longer break if this one doesn't work - which I can't do because I need it for my job - or try a different stimulant or Strattera, but that seems stupid because there will obviously be cross-tolerance as they all increase dopamine and epinephrine levels. Other people have said even when they try a new stimulant, the cross-tolerance appears rapidly after an initial successful day or two.

Guanfacine only helps with hyperactivity. My serious problem is the "inattentive" cluster of symptoms.
 
^ i second Intuniv. (Guanfacine). -personal note on INTUNIV (ER) ONLY: I found it worked better than ADDERALL XR (15mg) and IR (5mg) COMBINED for me, personally for the 'brain cloud / fog' part of ADD/ADHD... however, as quick as the relief came (in about 2-5 days) the relief disappeared almost precisely 2 & 1/2 WEEKS later... literally, could feel the cloud coming back in my brain over a 2-day period.... I had titrated from 1mg to 2mg to 3mg to avoid orthostatic hypotension. This relief was ONLY aquired with INTUNIV and was definitely *NOT* able to be replicated with immediate-release guanfacine sadly. I plan to try Intuniv again for the first time years, and see there is a note stating the generic guanfacine IR (immediate release) is not indicated for ADHD/ADD and only the extended-release (ER) is.... FWIW. Also, one last thing - it can cause depression in the same way that blood pressure meds can do...
 
OP you are in the UK right? So no amps are available i believe (unlike the US which has 50 diferent more powerfull amp based ADD meds)...

However like where i live, you probably have Modafinil on the market (which is easier to get prescribed than Ritalin normally), you could try switching to that, see how that goes, and maybe switch back to Ritalin (as low a dose as possible) by the time your tolerance has lowered, unless the Modainil works better.. or you could add some Modainil, and reduce the Ritalin, taking them both, but at lower doses...

I am unfamiliar with OCD treatments though, sorry

Good luck!!!
 
I take anafranil for OCD, 50mg (that's a low dose) and it seems to be helping. I take Adderall for ADD 60 mg a day. I take Klonopin and propranolol for generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. I take Wellbutrin XL for depression. Best combo I've ever been on.

Was on Methylphenidate, but the peak plasma concentration came too quickly, I'd feel the need to take my 60mg a day by 1pm. Adderall via oral administration peaks around 3 hours and keep chgging for....let's say 5 - 8 hrs as a confidence interval, depending on your metabolism. I take 8 mg Klonopin a day, don't abuse it, and the propranolol is a B-adrenergic antagonist (non habit-forming, non-controlled) which means it helps with the shaky hands, sweaty, flushed face type of anxiety symptoms, it's a really useful drug to have around. Those don't seem to affect the other stuff, although I know benzos can make you feel "dumb."

Talk to your doctor/psychiatrist about and OCD/ADD combo - is there a particular reason he/she wouldn't treat it? If He/she is stingy with the pills and that is the kind of doctor you want, find another doctor. But pills don't solve problems on their own. Talk to someone!
 
60 mg of adderall is a high dose, but 8 mg clonazepam a day? Is that a typo? That's an insane dose. If you haven't been on that dose for too long, I'd seriously recommend cutting that down while you still can.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top