Couple of questions and drug combos

[Maddog9696]

So i was recently prescribed Zoloft 25mg once per day for general anxiety. Im not depressed and hate taking zoloft for anxiety, i think there are a lot of better choices. But anyways, after one month of use my anxiety seems to be a bit more manageable. But i feel as tho its been getting better because i started talking about it with friends/family and relising theres a problem there and trying my best to fix it. I am a relativity smart kid but find focusing at school close to impossible. Homework never gets done and if it does its at the very last minute possible. Thoughts always race around in my head making focusing hard. I will completely zone out thinking, in almost every class im in. I have always had tons of energy to the point people would joke with me telling me MAN YOU MUST have ADHD. Its becoming apparent to me that i have it which is why i have moderate anxiety.

That being said i have experimented with adderall to see if it helped anything. BINGO it solved the focus issues and anxiety. I felt like myself again at school. I started talking with people, making friends, having more confidence and just the willpower, patients and focus to get shit done. The three times i used adderall it was dosages never exceeding 40mg once a day.

What i would like to do is switch to adderall or another amphetamine of the sort instead of the stupid zoloft which is causing slight mental fog and tiredness. Before making the switch i would like to take magnesium, DXM or another NMDA antagonist for a week before starting adderall to stop a tolerance from forming. The only reason im questioning the switch is because im scared to stop zoloft for a week and get all my anxiety back and face any withdrawal from the zoloft on top of the anxiety. However, magnesium is know to help fight anxiety so i think i could manage for a week from that perspective. Normally i just take zoloft at night and when im trying adderall i use it in the morning. But to continue the use of adderall and prevent abuse i want an NMDA antagonist too. Course zoloft (SSRI) cant be mixed with DXM and isn't good to mix with meantime or magnesium either because of the possibility's of causing Serotonin Syndrome.

So here's my questions:
1. Would taking such a low dosage of zoloft for a month cause any withdrawal if slowly eased off or stopped completely?
2. Would a doc ever keep me on Zoloft for anxiety and prescribe adderall for ADHD too?
3. If i do end up stopping Zoloft how long should i wait for my first 30mg DXM dosage?
4.What do you guys recommend for me (high school student BTW)?

Any suggestions or help is appreciated!

Thanks in Advanced,
Gary

P.S: if the post is in the wrong place, or i did something wrong sorry, first post on here!!

 

[Swimmingdancer]

1. Would taking such a low dosage of zoloft for a month cause any withdrawal if slowly eased off or stopped completely?
Everyone's different of course, but you really should not have that bad of withdrawals after only taking it for a month, especially if you gradually taper off of it.

2. Would a doc ever keep me on Zoloft for anxiety and prescribe adderall for ADHD too?
Completely depends on the doctor.

3. If i do end up stopping Zoloft how long should i wait for my first 30mg DXM dosage?
Taking DXM and magnesium just for a week before you start Adderall is not going to prevent you from getting a tolerance to Adderall. You'd need to be taking magnesium all the time while on Adderall. I would just not bother with the DXM personally.

4.What do you guys recommend for me (high school student BTW)?
I would recommend you keep the Adderall dosage as low as possible, only use it when you absolutely need to, and only use it as a tool as part of a larger treatment plan that includes self-help (like reading books about ADHD), therapy, diet and lifestyle changes, supplements, and other psychological/social/environmental measures. Adderall doesn't cure ADHD, it simply masks it, I really feel that you need to do other things at the same time.

 

[Maddog9696]

Thanks for your input i really do appreciate it! I was unclear in my first post. I meant i would take DXM for a week to build it up in my system as well as get a week break from adderall to also lower any existing tolerance. The DMX/Magnesium will help me sleep as well.

Any other help/opinions is appreciated!

 

[pillboxskid]

I to have risidual A D H D i currently take concerta xl.It last for 12 hours basicly slow release low dose of speed in a pill.I find it benefits me in the way that i dont have to keep redosing every 3 -4 hours like ritalin .Just take it in the morning and controls your sytoms threw out the day good luck!!!!!

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Thanks for your input i really do appreciate it! I was unclear in my first post. I meant i would take DXM for a week to build it up in my system as well as get a week break from adderall to also lower any existing tolerance. The DMX/Magnesium will help me sleep as well.

Any other help/opinions is appreciated!

Oh, you said "to stop tolerance from forming", so I thought you meant that you thought a week of DXM/magnesium before starting Adderall would prevent you gaining a tolerance to Adderall in the future. Have you already been using Adderall frequently? I think taking magnesium every day is a good idea, and magnesium is good for you for so many other reasons too. Chelated magnesium (magnesium attached to an amino acid) is the best, but if you can't find one or it's too expensive then magnesium citrate is better than magnesium oxide.

Honestly I don't know how much clearance is needed between Zoloft and DXM, and it would depend on the doses of each and how long you were on Zoloft. Cases of serotonin syndrome from mixing the two have normally been from using very high doses of DXM, but I can't confidently give you an answer as to what would be safe. Zoloft takes a very long time to be out of your system.

I to have risidual A D H D i currently take concerta xl.It last for 12 hours basicly slow release low dose of speed in a pill.I find it benefits me in the way that i dont have to keep redosing every 3 -4 hours like ritalin .Just take it in the morning and controls your sytoms threw out the day good luck!!!!!

Adderall comes in an extended release form too. I'm curious, do you find that Concerta doesn't last too long and affect sleep? I have trouble with extended release ADD meds.

 

[Maddog9696]

Oh, you said "to stop tolerance from forming", so I thought you meant that you thought a week of DXM/magnesium before starting Adderall would prevent you gaining a tolerance to Adderall in the future. Have you already been using Adderall frequently? I think taking magnesium every day is a good idea, and magnesium is good for you for so many other reasons too. Chelated magnesium (magnesium attached to an amino acid) is the best, but if you can't find one or it's too expensive then magnesium citrate is better than magnesium oxide.

Honestly I don't know how much clearance is needed between Zoloft and DXM, and it would depend on the doses of each and how long you were on Zoloft. Cases of serotonin syndrome from mixing the two have normally been from using very high doses of DXM, but I can't confidently give you an answer as to what would be safe. Zoloft takes a very long time to be out of your system.



Adderall comes in an extended release form too. I'm curious, do you find that Concerta doesn't last too long and affect sleep? I have trouble with extended release ADD meds.

Thanks agian for the reply!! I have used adderall id say about 5 times. Each time with much susses. It completely abolishes my SA to the point were i feel like myself again. The 25mg of zoloft that i take seems to make the SA more manageable but defiantly doesn't cure it. Iv been on Zoloft for just over a month now. Iv recently just been switched to paxil because of the ineffectiveness of Zoloft. TBH i don't like taking any SSRI's. They have been proven to show lots of symptoms such as memory loss and actually cause depression after long term use. I no first hand from my mom. :/

I would love to start taking Chelated magnesium but i was told that taking it alongside an SSRI was bad due to the risk of serotonin syndrome. This would probably be a hard question to answer but in your opinion, do you think with the low dose (25mg) of Zoloft (now Paxil), it would be safe to take magnesium. I cant stop taking my SSRI until i get a prescription for an amphetamine because i fear i will physch myself out and cause myself more anxiety because i stopped taking them. Unfortuanily i have to go see my psychologist a few times before any diagnosis for ADD/ADHD can be made. This will take a month or so.

 

[blight12]

^^ Woah, ok im taking chelated magnesium along with 50mg Paxil SSRI each day and have not had any issues so far. Please tell me this is safe and im not being an idiot? Thanks.

Otherwise OP you got some great advice there already in this thread. Good luck.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I would love to start taking Chelated magnesium but i was told that taking it alongside an SSRI was bad due to the risk of serotonin syndrome. This would probably be a hard question to answer but in your opinion, do you think with the low dose (25mg) of Zoloft (now Paxil), it would be safe to take magnesium.

Who told you this? Did they mean just chelated magnesium or any magnesium? I have never heard of that, my psychiatrist told me to take it while I was an SSRI. The only thing I can think of is if magnesium can perhaps increase the absorption of some SSRIs? Or if they were referring to a specific type of chelated magnesium that is chelated with a serotonin precursor or something (if such a type exists?)? I will do some more research on it as I'd like to give you a more definitive answer, but I have never had a problem with it and never had a doctor recommend against it.

 

[blight12]

Who told you this? Did they mean just chelated magnesium or any magnesium? I have never heard of that, my psychiatrist told me to take it while I was an SSRI. The only thing I can think of is if magnesium can perhaps increase the absorption of some SSRIs? Or if they were referring to a specific type of chelated magnesium that is chelated with a serotonin precursor or something (if such a type exists?)? I will do some more research on it as I'd like to give you a more definitive answer, but I have never had a problem with it and never had a doctor recommend against it.

Phew :D. I will look also, just in case.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Research so far:

Can't find anything online to suggest that magnesium is not safe to take with Zoloft ,or any other SSRI or SNRI, and can find many people saying it is safe or that they take it. Drug interaction checker said there was no known interaction between Zoloft and any form of magnesium (including chelated magnesium). I asked a different doctor who said it was fine. Why would magnesium put you at risk for serotonin syndrome?

Zoloft actually even contains a tiny bit of magnesium in it (*in the form of magnesium stearate though, which is not the kind you want for a supplement, it's just used a a lubricant or something in the pill manufacturing process). And we get magnesium from food, which the human body requires, so it's clearly not something that needs to be avoided.

Unless there is something I'm missing, like if magnesium can increase absorption of SSRIs or something? Still curious where Maddog9696 heard you can't take them together?