adderall and depression

[usermatt9628]

Hello, I am 50 years old, never done illicit drugs, never even tried pot. Dealing with life threatening depression for 8 years. After 7 and a half years of no help with 2 docs I went to a John Hopkins doc. I am self employed, successful [ although I am not very productive anymore] money not an issue, so I am lucky there. Wife 2 kids. Tried, wellbutrin, seroquel, lexapro, lithium, ECT, buspar, abilify, , currently on zoloft, seroquel lithium, busper, just start remeron yesterday. I cant get more then 20 days of feeling normal under my belt at a time. Right now doing poorly, may do hospital check in for the 3rd time.
Anyway, doc want to try effexor next, I want to try adderall, i am always dragging , I need a lift, thyroid and testosterone level in check.
I have had pain killer opiates in the past they instantly lift my depression, not sure name of them think it was percoset or similar. Worked perfectly small doss for a couple weeks then I would run out. Depression back. I even had another doc last month, write a script for Butrans pain patch 20 mcg/ hr, had no effect!!!!. This docs believes in opiates for depression, but after years he cant write scripts do to DC medical board paused his license.

Anyway, back to JHopkins doc yasterday, remeron trial begins. I want to try adderall prior to effexor, I had read everything about it on the net, I an willing risk addiction, whatever to feel better. I am fifty, if I can squeeze out 10 or 15 years as an addict of some sort and feel ok then die I am fine with that.
I know opiates , like the tramodal er] the opiate pdoc wanted my to try will lead to issues quickly. I want to try adderall, with or with out my docs help. suggestions? comments welcome

 

[usermatt9628]

145 reviews, not a single comment, just wondering anyone experience of adderall for depression. My doc is a bit uneasy , but I willl ask for a couple days trial. I have a bunch of butrans patches that I bought, did nothing for depression.

 

[Vonshudo]

Adderall may work on depression for some, while others it will make it much worse in a relatively short amount of time. Honestly, there are definitely better options, but given your situation, I guess it is worth a try. Daily adderall usage will quickly take a toll on your body and you will find yourself significantly more depressed when not on it. Personally, when on adderall I tend to feel good for the first couple hours, and then feel very anxious, it really varies from person to person. If you aren't dead set on a downward spiral, I would suggest trying mindful techniques such as meditation or yoga to try and relief your depression.

Diet and lifestyle have just as much to do with depression as genetics. If you aren't exercising everyday then you aren't doing yourself justice. If you are eating like shit, you are going to feel like shit. If you want to take a real hold of your life, I suggest visiting curezone.org and read absolutely everything you can. Start at the depression board if you want, but read everything on that site, it will at least give you some insight and perspective on how chronic illness like depression work and what you can do to better yourself that isn't just taking more drugs. Wish you the best mate.

 

[thebesttussin]

yah, i hate to say it, but if you think your depression is bad, you havnt withdrawn from adderall before. Youll either kill yourself, or redose and end up addicted.

 

[usermatt9628]

There are tons of posts and forums with people having success with adderall for depression. Many people have been on it ten years or more. Addiction is likely, but it no different then say paxil addiction/ withdraw or benzos. I mean I could certainly try adderall or ritalin for a day or two to see if it give me relief. Ive done ect no help, thinking of TMS , decent chance of that helping, 15k out of pocket price tags, cheap price if it helps.
Started remeron 5 days ago, I feel little better. If n o success with remeron over the next 6 weeks, then move to effexor. This drug has it own set of problems.
Is your adderall comment from your own experience?
I dont have any anxiety issue, so a stimulant may not hurt me as bad.

 

[KJL]

Adderall is horrific! The only one left worth taking is Desoxyn. Dexedrine is okay. Problem is - you will have crash and be more depressed then ever. Desoxyn - as long as you don't redose and stay up 36 hours+ is the easiest transition back to normal - but you still suddenly feel a little bit down - but nothing like with the others. If I were you I'd look up the anti-deppresant effects of Ketamine - related compounds.

 

[Effect]

Not gonna lie I feel like a dick cause I didn't read every bit of the post, but just wanted to share my thoughts. If I take adderall on days that I'm feeling depressed certain effects of the drug take away much of the depressive feelings. However at the end of the day when the dose has worn off I have experienced some of the worst feelings of sadness in my life. The only ways I have been able counteract the shitty feelings is to have some benzos on hand or opiates if thats your thing.

Again I'm sorry if my post wasn't truly relevant, I just am on stims right now and enjoy posting

 

[freshzive]

I would avoid. You will feel great when you're first prescribed. You will need more to reach that same "good" feeling. You will run out.

Dopamine withdrawal makes even those of us not depressed feel like ass. I would just avoid.