Stimulants Has anyone here quit Dex/Adderall, how long did it take and how bad was it?

[DopeyOpey94]

It was hell for me, but only for the first week. After that it was manageable. DO NOT GO ON GABAPENTIN. I got stuck on that 3 years ago and haven't been able to get off because the wd's are 10x worse than benzos and the seizures are insane, not to mention new government studies are coming out proving that Gabapentin & Lyrica prevent the brain from forming new synapses (which explains why I've become so fucking retarded since starting it).

Get off the Dex first. It'll suck psychologically for the first few days to a week, then you'll be able to exercise again intermittently and start feeling better. WAIT to taper off the Klonopin. Doing both at the same time is a terrible idea if you have to work in a few months. But from personal experience, it is a good idea to get off Klonopin eventually to help your GABA receptors take a break and to keep yourself from being physically addicted to it. You'll be fine brother. Just take it one step at a time, keep yourself hydrated and fed, and take supplements to help. Keep us in the loop, having a good support system is one of the best things you can have to help yourself. Feel free to message me if you need to vent or have any questions or trouble. I've been through all this before, even if my words aren't helpful o always have an open ear and sometimes it's just good to have someone that knows your situation that will listen to what you're going through.

 

[Giga IV]

Ok you took a lot more than me.

In general my worst days were about 55mgs a day and it took a long time to get there, and I've only been on it 1 year and started off first at 10mgs a day but that was a year ago and it escalated quickly.

How long did you take that much for?

And how long did it take before you didn't feel so tired and depressed?

I was taking them for 2 years.

I didn't get much depression, and I was only really tired for about a month or so. Lots of coffee/energy drinks.

I decided to stop because as you stated amp tolerance escalates quickly. I have read horror stories of 400+ mgs a day, which I could have reached by now.

 

[Mycophile]

I was taking them for 2 years.

I didn't get much depression, and I was only really tired for about a month or so. Lots of coffee/energy drinks.

I decided to stop because as you stated amp tolerance escalates quickly. I have read horror stories of 400+ mgs a day, which I could have reached by now.

Ok, so if you took that much more than me for 2 years and I took lower doses for 1 and it went away in about a month or two I shouldn't have TOO much to worry about, although I hope it doesn't last at this level of fatigue for a month or more..hopefully it'll be gone in a few weeks if I'm optimistic, but I haven't yet gone more than 5 days so we'll see.

Did you get yours prescribed?

Would you tell your doctor to stop prescribing it if you were me?

Cause it's like, I'd prefer not to have ZERO access to it but I need to stop using it regularly.

I could keep picking up my prescriptions and giving them to a friend but I wonder if I would have trouble resisting the desire to take them, but it would probably take a while if I break the dependence to get dependent again cause I think that takes a while...but still I don't want it to happen so I don't know.

 

[Giga IV]

Ok, so if you took that much more than me for 2 years and I took lower doses for 1 and it went away in about a month or two I shouldn't have TOO much to worry about, although I hope it doesn't last at this level of fatigue for a month or more..hopefully it'll be gone in a few weeks if I'm optimistic, but I haven't yet gone more than 5 days so we'll see.

Did you get yours prescribed?

Would you tell your doctor to stop prescribing it if you were me?

Cause it's like, I'd prefer not to have ZERO access to it but I need to stop using it regularly.

I could keep picking up my prescriptions and giving them to a friend but I wonder if I would have trouble resisting the desire to take them, but it would probably take a while if I break the dependence to get dependent again cause I think that takes a while...but still I don't want it to happen so I don't know.

Mine were prescribed, and I had access to another illicit script each month.

I simply stopped picking my script up. But if I ever wanted them I would get them. (This would be my 3rd return)

^Depending on how confident you are with
Your doc, you may try that^

Worst case scenario, you lose access to them and the problem solves itself.

 

[Mycophile]

Mine were prescribed, and I had access to another illicit script each month.

I simply stopped picking my script up. But if I ever wanted them I would get them. (This would be my 3rd return)

^Depending on how confident you are with
Your doc, you may try that^

Worst case scenario, you lose access to them and the problem solves itself.

What do you mean "it would be your 3rd return?"

With my pharmacy they will only hold the scripts for 2 weeks and call you and if you don't pick them up they eventually throw them out.

Also, once your physical dependency is broken, how long do you think it really takes to form one again if you mess up?

I think it took probably a couple of months of taking it before i was dependent, but I want to break the dependency and not build up another again.

 

[Giga IV]

3rd time prescribed, I have a good doc.

Amphetamine is extremely addictive, there is no telling how fast you will become dependent again.

You will likely find that every time you break the cycle of addiction, it takes you less and less to get stuck again. And before you know it you're rationalizing your amp habit entirely because of the addiction it self.

 

[Mycophile]

3rd time prescribed, I have a good doc.

Amphetamine is extremely addictive, there is no telling how fast you will become dependent again.

You will likely find that every time you break the cycle of addiction, it takes you less and less to get stuck again. And before you know it you're rationalizing your amp habit entirely because of the addiction it self.

Well I don't plan on letting it happen again, and really shouldn't pick up my scripts anymore either.

The only thing is I don't like the idea of having ZERO access to it, or pretty much anything.

It's ADDICTIVE yes, but that's mental, how PHYSICALLY DEPENDENCE FORMING it is is more the question I was asking.

Most here seem to say it's not that bad really, and you seem to be saying that PHYSICALLY speaking it wasn't really that hard to stop...but that PSYCHOLOGICALLY it was, and sort of keep going back and forth between the two, so I can't quite get a rid on whether or not you think this is going to be really hard for me to overcome or not...

 

[Giga IV]

There is no physical dependence. It is 99% in your head.

The few physical symptoms you experience are due to malnutrition, and lack of sleep.

Psychologically, if the pills are anywhere within your reach it will be very hard to say no.(I kept mine on a entirely different floor so I had to think about re dosing)

If you truly want to stop you can and will, but leaving your Rx at the pharmacy may be your best option.

 

[Wilson Wilson]

It was hell for me, but only for the first week. After that it was manageable. DO NOT GO ON GABAPENTIN. I got stuck on that 3 years ago and haven't been able to get off because the wd's are 10x worse than benzos and the seizures are insane, not to mention new government studies are coming out proving that Gabapentin & Lyrica prevent the brain from forming new synapses (which explains why I've become so fucking retarded since starting it).

Take this advice OP. Gabapentinoids are far worse than benzos. I'm on clonazepam too and used to be on pregabalin. Clonazepam is by far the lesser of the two evils even at the 2mg dose. Pregabalin made me straight up retarded, wiped my memory way more than benzos, and the withdrawals were like benzos and opiates combined.

 

[Derschieber]

I have never used benzodiazepines.
From what I read in countless threads, these drugs are abominations.
Yes, yes, what do I know? Nothing first hand. But there sure are a lot of people struggling with these damn pills.
If they vanished from the face of the earth, there would be tumble weeds rolling in these forums lol.

 

[Wilson Wilson]

As with many other drugs, the issues come from abusing them, not the substances themselves. Therapeutic benzodiazepine use need not cause any major harm. Side effects sure but not the horror stories you see online, those come from people who abuse the shit out of them and take way above the recommended daily dose for extended periods of time.

I am very thankful for benzos because I have anxiety and they wipe it out. The right benzo can even stop a full on panic attack dead in its tracks.

 

[DopeyOpey94]

Take this advice OP. Gabapentinoids are far worse than benzos. I'm on clonazepam too and used to be on pregabalin. Clonazepam is by far the lesser of the two evils even at the 2mg dose. Pregabalin made me straight up retarded, wiped my memory way more than benzos, and the withdrawals were like benzos and opiates combined.

PREACH. I was told Gabapentin was a "safe, unabusable alternative to BENZOS that I could quit anytime and FUCK they were wrong. It's actually taken me through 4 different psychiatrists just trying to find one that believed me about how bad/scary the wd's are and how retarded its made me (used to be a 4.0 Gpa student, now I flunked out of Community College because I couldn't think or read straight enough because of it). I'm praying I can successfully taper this time because I'm tired of being an idiot and not being able to retain any new information. I've been on Klonopin for 10 years at 2mg's and had way less side effects and much easier wd's than Gabapentin for 3 years.

As with many other drugs, the issues come from abusing them, not the substances themselves. Therapeutic benzodiazepine use need not cause any major harm. Side effects sure but not the horror stories you see online, those come from people who abuse the shit out of them and take way above the recommended daily dose for extended periods of time.

I am very thankful for benzos because I have anxiety and they wipe it out. The right benzo can even stop a full on panic attack dead in its tracks.

Agreed. I would be non functional without Klonopin for my Agoraphobia & Panic Attacks. It's getting harder and harder to get though (at least in Oregon) and it's making me so depressed. Everyone treats me like a drug seeker when I say I need it to function because of how bad my various anxiety disorders are. It's the one drug I ACTUALLY need no matter what to function in our society.

I agree that It's definitely the drug user and not the drug that causes the issue. Therapeutic doses of benzos can be extremely beneficial with minimal side effects for people with chronic anxiety disorders compared to other drugs (and trust me, I've tried almost all the "safe" alternatives and ended up with permanent side effects).

Just like some people can use Oxycodone or Fentanyl for chronic pain and not have any issues, then some crazy fuckers have to try injecting the shit and OD'ing or nodding out in public and suddenly no one can get them anymore and they're labeled as "horror drugs" or "last line of defense drugs" no matter your need/condition because of a handful of people who ruined it for everyone else. More than likely, the "safe" alternatives are more dangerous than the "dangerous" drugs. If you treat a drug with respect it will treat you with respect more often than not. Eat healthy, take supplements, get adequate sleep, take your drugs/meds in moderation and through less addicting ROA (oral or sublingual if possible), take them only as needed and try to avoid taking every single day to avoid wd's, and you'll be just fine. It took me many years to learn this but im 24 now (started abusing drugs at 12, started on medications for just about every diagnosable condition by 14-15) and happy to say I have learned A LOT over the years and no longer deal with wd's, Chronic addiction, and few side effects (besides Gabapentin, which I am actively trying to taper down on before either checking myself into the ER or an equipped rehab to safely fully wd from because I refuse to be a slave to a pill ever again after how many classes of drugs I've been addicted to in the past).

Be safe man, do your body a favor and take breaks, supplements, get sleep, etc. If you feel you're able to control it enough I'd wd from Dexedrine yourself and not tell your doctor because it's damn near impossible to get back on once you're pulled off nowadays. But if you can't control yourself, tell your doctor. One of the best things that ever happened to me was getting pulled off cold turkey 4 years ago on a BS technicality because my doctor hated me, but I also wish the situation turned out different because I miss being able to take it occasionally when I really need to knock stuff out. Good luck!

 

[Gearhead19]

I had a thread about this before but I've been taking Dexadrine now for almost a year and I know I need to stop and I'm totally starting tomorrow and HOPE I won't need a taper...

I started at like 5mgs-twice a day 11 months ago but have steadily increased my dosage and not used it as would be recomended (yes I "abused it", though I only very rarely insufflated and usually took it orally) and it has escalated a lot and I've been taking 27.5mgs twice a day for the past week or so, before than 25 twice a day (50), before that 20--22.5 twice a day)...SOMETIMES only once a day, RARELY 3 times a day....you get the point....escalation.

But in 11 months of using I only once made it 5 days without (a couple weeks ago and I still had BAD WD on day 5)....and only once made it 4 days,...a few times 3, but 1-2 day breaks several times.......basically, I have USUALLY had it in my system for a year, and now I am really worried about how long it will take to stop and how bad the WD will be.


I know I have talked to people here who say "oh, it's not bad, it doesn't last long", but I was just talking to someone who knows a lot who says it CAN be VERY bad and take months to years for the brain to recover, and on a number of sites they say that for people who really abuse it like I have for over 6 months it can very often take months or even years to feel normal again.....and I don't know who to believe.

I know that the few times I have taken days off I have ZERO motivation or energy, BAD depression, can't get out of bad but also have insomnia and then sometimes sleep a lot, hunger, irritability.

I have a feeling you guys who have told me it's not bad are only comparing it to benzos, opiates, and other hard drugs and that might be why you think it's not bad.

But i do NOT want this to last months or years!!

Some sites recommend tapers, but someone here said getting a taper would basically be ridiculously unnecessary (I like the idea it might be so easy, but many sites say it is NOT so easy....)


So, for anyone here who has used dexadrine or adderall in doses in excess of 30mgs a day for over 6 months, how long did it take you for pretty much most or all of your WD symptoms to dissapear, how hard was it, and was there anything you took in the way of supplements or drugs that helped, or anything you did like exercise (HARD to motivate myself while withdrawing from this stuff) that helped??

I hope this isn't bad and really is over in a couple weeks like some people say....even a month would suck, but more than that I DO NOT want.


Thanks.

The withdrawals themselves will last at most for 2 weeks too a month if you stop cold turkey. I was on 45 mg of dexedrine spaniels along with 40 mg of instant release Adderall. There were days that I took a hundred mg of dexedrine at once and I know how you feel, eventually the stims give you zero motivation you don't want to do anything...I used to stay up two or three days in a row sniffing dexedrine and researching random bullshit, glued to my phone for hours and hours. I've lost relationships to it along with friendships, I became isolated it's bad stuff man if you abuse it. I ended up going to rehab because I was on such a high dose of Xanax at the time, that I could not come off it myself safely. I honestly think that without some sort of intervention that I wouldn't have been able to come off these stimulants. I would run out go through hell for a week or two then refill my scripts start the whole process over again...month after month I lost a whole year and a half of my life that one by in a blur due too stimulant abuse. I wanted to stop, every time I did run out I would convince myself that I was going to get through it this final time and not refill my prescription, by the time my refill was ready, I already had a new plan on how I was going to safely take them this time around and not abused them. My intentions were in the right place, but the addiction was too strong even after mentally preparing myself to take them as prescribed, again and again I would just start abusing them all over within days of my refill, and go through hell all over again. Like I said the withdrawals will last about two weeks too a month tops but the mental attachment and craving unfortunately May last year's..i still have it after a little over a year. I choose not too go back on them because I know myself and I know what I went through.. If there a problem for you my only advice is to get off them and steer clear of stimulants. Good luck my man you gotta do what's best for you. Message me if you want too talk, I'll be around.

 

[ChemicallyEnhanced]

I went cold turkey from an all-day-every-day (I took Xanax every second night to sleep) 3 month binge. It was like I was nodding on an opioid. I went to bed and woke up 36ish hours later feeling totally fine. That was it.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

Well I'm already dependent on Klonopin and have been for years so we don't have to worry about replacing one with the other cause I already have both LOL.



Cause my problem is I HATE HATE fatigue, and I'm already constantly tired and have been for years which I think is a lot of it a side effect of the Klonopin and why I'm wanting to lower that or switch to gabpentin.

I'm someone who has had trouble quitting COFFEE cause I hate the WD, and also hate the lethargy from Kratom WD, so unfortunately if by "psychologically hard" you mean fatigue and depression (which I'm experiencing now...) then yeah, I know what you mean.

So as far as THAT is concerned, the fatigue and depression, especially THE FATIGUE, with it being too bad to even make myself work out, how long do you think that will last for me having been taking about 50mgs a day for the past 2 months, but less than that up until that point for the past year? (I can't really quantify, it escalated)

Benzo's are a bit dangerous, at least I consider them as such. But luckily they are not prescribed by dr's like they used to. Although I wouldn't say no when offert one.

But regarding the Fatigue. If there is a way to cover up the transition period it would probably involve tapering/ subtituting with less invasive stims, work-outs and diet.

Without knowin your age. You are on some med's that cover up the human progression of age. I myself am fatigued despite not being on a gaba-ergic, or opiod. While taking dex-amphetamin. 47 years old btw. But when you are on stimulants, opoids and / or gaba's. They cover up a lot, in the end it is hard to trace back what is what.

 

[Mycophile]

The withdrawals themselves will last at most for 2 weeks too a month if you stop cold turkey. I was on 45 mg of dexedrine spaniels along with 40 mg of instant release Adderall. There were days that I took a hundred mg of dexedrine at once and I know how you feel, eventually the stims give you zero motivation you don't want to do anything...I used to stay up two or three days in a row sniffing dexedrine and researching random bullshit, glued to my phone for hours and hours. I've lost relationships to it along with friendships, I became isolated it's bad stuff man if you abuse it. I ended up going to rehab because I was on such a high dose of Xanax at the time, that I could not come off it myself safely. I honestly think that without some sort of intervention that I wouldn't have been able to come off these stimulants. I would run out go through hell for a week or two then refill my scripts start the whole process over again...month after month I lost a whole year and a half of my life that one by in a blur due too stimulant abuse. I wanted to stop, every time I did run out I would convince myself that I was going to get through it this final time and not refill my prescription, by the time my refill was ready, I already had a new plan on how I was going to safely take them this time around and not abused them. My intentions were in the right place, but the addiction was too strong even after mentally preparing myself to take them as prescribed, again and again I would just start abusing them all over within days of my refill, and go through hell all over again. Like I said the withdrawals will last about two weeks too a month tops but the mental attachment and craving unfortunately May last year's..i still have it after a little over a year. I choose not too go back on them because I know myself and I know what I went through.. If there a problem for you my only advice is to get off them and steer clear of stimulants. Good luck my man you gotta do what's best for you. Message me if you want too talk, I'll be around.

Well I'm glad the physical WD won't last too long, and sorry to hear what you went through.

Your experience was certainly worse than mine, but I need to be careful and I know honestly I should not refill my scripts but we'll see what happens.

The thing is, I don't like having ZERO access to it, or really ANY drug that can EVER be helpful in any way to me, and I hate the fact that doctors control my access (since i don't know anyone on the street who sells it) but having access and using it are 2 different things...yet they are the same if you can't control myself, and I haven't really been able to and don't want to let it get as bad as you.

Funny thing is, it's not my drug of choice which is Kratom and which I love MUCH more than Dex, yet which I personally find to be MUCH more PHYSICALLY addictive in terms of WD.

I can see myself as similar to you though and have to not let it get as bad for me as it was for you.

My thing is I will usually switch to another drug.

I'll PM you if anything comes up.

Thanks.

 

[Mycophile]

Benzo's are a bit dangerous, at least I consider them as such. But luckily they are not prescribed by dr's like they used to. Although I wouldn't say no when offert one.

But regarding the Fatigue. If there is a way to cover up the transition period it would probably involve tapering/ subtituting with less invasive stims, work-outs and diet.

Without knowin your age. You are on some med's that cover up the human progression of age. I myself am fatigued despite not being on a gaba-ergic, or opiod. While taking dex-amphetamin. 47 years old btw. But when you are on stimulants, opoids and / or gaba's. They cover up a lot, in the end it is hard to trace back what is what.

Well everyone says benzos are dangerous, but truth is, I have to use them for my anxiety and have been on them many years now. If I can switch very slowly to something else I will but I might not even be able to and the social anxiety I have gotten when not taking them has been even worse than the side effects so I either find something else that works as well for my anxiety or I have no choice. Hopefully I can find something else though, and Gabapentin seems a possibility, which while also a GABA drug is not a benzo and may not be as bad.

i don't believe SSRIs or SNRIs or any of that or Buspar (bullshit drug IMO after trying it...at least FOR ME) will work for my anxiety.

I'm 39 by the way.

And how fatigued are you and do you also have depression and hypersomnia like I do?

I have depression and different anxiety disorders and can EASILY sleep 12 hours and still be tired which is considered "hypersomnia" but never had it before I was on benzos and when I was able to stop Klonopin for 9 months the hypersomnnia went away which was GREAT, and seemed to prove that SOME of it, if not all, was cause of the benzos, but despite my WD not even being bad (it was weird how easily I got off of it), my anxiety came back and I had no choice really but to get back on them which sucked. I hope I find another way to treat my anxiety.

What do you mean that the drugs "cover up the human progression of age?"

You mean not realizing you are getting older while on them?

That's an interesting idea, but can you trace it to any actual peer reviewed studies?

 

[Gearhead19]

Well I'm glad the physical WD won't last too long, and sorry to hear what you went through.

Your experience was certainly worse than mine, but I need to be careful and I know honestly I should not refill my scripts but we'll see what happens.

The thing is, I don't like having ZERO access to it, or really ANY drug that can EVER be helpful in any way to me, and I hate the fact that doctors control my access (since i don't know anyone on the street who sells it) but having access and using it are 2 different things...yet they are the same if you can't control myself, and I haven't really been able to and don't want to let it get as bad as you.

Funny thing is, it's not my drug of choice which is Kratom and which I love MUCH more than Dex, yet which I personally find to be MUCH more PHYSICALLY addictive in terms of WD.

I can see myself as similar to you though and have to not let it get as bad for me as it was for you.

My thing is I will usually switch to another drug.

I'll PM you if anything comes up.

Thanks.

It honestly sounds like to me that you use them in a much more medicinal fashion I guess you could say but it also sounds like psychologically you don't want them anymore and its your addiction that's afraid to not have access. If you no longer have access what's the worse it's going to happen you're not going to feel like you do anymore I'm just looking out I believe ADHD can be treated and handled without stimulants.

 

[Mycophile]

It honestly sounds like to me that you use them in a much more medicinal fashion I guess you could say but it also sounds like psychologically you don't want them anymore and its your addiction that's afraid to not have access. If you no longer have access what's the worse it's going to happen you're not going to feel like you do anymore I'm just looking out I believe ADHD can be treated and handled without stimulants.

That's nice to say but I don't think I'm using them medicinally really, except that I have used them for a work a lot, but other than that I used them either to combat depression, which isn't what they are prescribed for, just to feel good in general, or out of fear of feeling bad if I don't take them.

Well, not having access would suck cause 1) I like the feeling lol, but not as much as NOT having them interfere with my life and make it worse 2) I deal with a lot of chronic fatigue and bad sleep patterns and habits and throw off my sleep schedule a lot and hate then having to do things like go to meetings or drive places and not have the energy to do it so well on caffeine alone and in some situations like that dexadrine/adderall can help, but then again, I had LIMITED access (not NONE...) over most of my life up until a year ago, and I made it ok, basically...

I'm probably going to switch therapiststs and psychiatrists soon for my depression and anxiety, but I've been convinced by someone who knows how this stuff works and in the mental health field that I am going to have to be honest with a future therapist about self medicating with dexadrine and so I probably will have to stop.

Whether or not it's a good idea to tell the therapist I've done that is a different story.

The person who I know who is telling me this is a life-long therapist and she says if I'm not honest with my therapist about everything he won't be able to help me, but I don't know that I'll be able to tell a new PSYCHIATRIST (as opposed to just a talk therapist) that I've abused a prescribed controlled substance when I'll at the same time be relying on him to continue to prescribe me another (Klonopin) which I need.

That doesn't sound like a great foot to start out on with a new psychiatrist does it?

"Hey, I need help with my depression and anxiety and need my Klonopin, and...oh yeah, well, I was prescribed Dexadrine but used it to self medicate my depression cause my anti depressant (Lexapro) wasn't working, and because I was so tired from my depression..."

But the person who's telling me this is REALLY adamant that if I don't at least tell the talk therapist about the improper use of Dex. that I might as well not be asking anyone for help anyways...

I don't know, what do you think?

You think a psychiatrist would necessarily cut me off from my Klonopin if he knew I misused my Dexadrine?

That's the fear I have.

I mean, if he did I'd go looking for a new doctor who prescribed Klonopin as I can't just be pulled off it cold turkey, but doctors act like assholes sometimes and pull you from one scheduled substance if they know you've misused another because they label you "a danger to yourself" and that's a BIG concern of mine...

 

[emkee_reinvented]

What do you mean that the drugs "cover up the human progression of age?"

You mean not realizing you are getting older while on them?

That's an interesting idea, but can you trace it to any actual peer reviewed studies?

Sorry about the depression and such you are dealing with. Have some bagage myself but couldn't find a dr, even when my live depended on it, willing to treat what I was experiencing.

So being in rough circumstances with loads of responsibility's I medicated myself mostly. The periods that I was under the influence of something were that long it is hard to pinpoint which was natural decay, so to say. And what was caused by the excessive use of drugs.

Did have a script for some Alprazolam once. But I considered it scarce and treated as such. The internet as info base came up. So the danger's were known during that time. So I played it safe, had an addiction to GHB prior.
When RC's became available I kept by that rule to never make it a habit.

Not like I can opt for professional help, that is my pers view by the way. Wish it would be otherwise but dr's are cowshit ime.