New Member Beckamay, have Adderall questions...Please HELP!

[Beckamay]

Hi, I'm new to your forum since I was doing extensive searching online and came across results for reducing Adderall tolerance in this site. The thread I came across was from two years ago so maybe there's new info now?
I was prescribed Adderall over three months ago by my psychiatrist. I am also on Klonopin for social anxiety and Zoloft (although I haven't been taking the Zoloft since I've read that it can have bad side effects when taken with Adderall).
My tolerance is very high, I only feel the "feel good" effect and the super increase in energy for like the first two days and I usually end up taking more than my prescribed dose each day and then crash hard.
So I was extremely interested in the research of supplements that were listed in this forum and went out to get some of them. I took the recommended doses of Zinc, B Vitamins, CoQ10, magnesium, 5-htp and milk thistle in the afternoon after I had already taken my Adderall. All that happened is that I felt extremely nauseous, had horrible diarrhea and vomiting, gas, a headache and I was very lethargic. Did I take a wrong combination? Or at the wrong time? Did I miss a major supplement that I should have included? What is the right combination to take and at what time? Morning (before or after you take Adderall) or night?
I did take DXM three nights in a row, first night 60 mg, second night 40 and last night 20 mg and I noticed that I don't wake up groggy anymore which I think is connected to the Adderall. Can that also be taken during the day? Before or after your Adderall dose?
Lastly, tonight I went out and bought a product called "Focus Factor" which is manufactured by Synergy. Does anyone know anything about the safety/effectiveness of this supplement and if it can be taken with Adderall to get past the tolerance or should it only be used as a substitution for Adderall? I want to try it with the Adderall to see if I get the speedy feeling back but I'm hesitant. Suggestions? Thanks in advance if you can help me at all!:D​

 

[ThePharmacist4925]

I just want to say that I don't know if you had eaten prior to taking all those vitamins and that many vitamins/supplements on an empty stomach can lead to severe nausea/vomiting, bowel problems, gas, headaches, basically feeling like shit. This is likely to be the case if you take the supplements/vitamins you mentioned on an empty stomach with no tolerance to them. I would not mix DXM and adderall, I see nothing advantageous about mixing those two chemicals besides diluting your adder all experience.
I've been prescribed adderall before, ultimately it did nothing good for me, but I will say that no amount of vitamins/over the counter supplements is going to make adderall magically work a ton better. I've been prescribed Provigal/Modafinil with my Vyvanse(also an amphetamine, but works rather differently than adderall), which works great for my ADHD, and modafinil + Vyvanse was a fantastic combination in my personal opinion. That being said, good luck getting a psychiatrist to prescribe you both, the only reason I was given both was due to special circumstances.
Focus Factor is in my opinion, basically a scam, granted that is my opinion and maybe some other members will have different opinions. This being said, no it will not help with your adderall tolerance and no it is not a substitute for adderall or other amphetamines. If you are going to try and get high off adderall, which I will not advocate (when you do things like that it makes it harder for those of us who need ADHD medication to get it), your best bet is simply to use it only one or two days a week and save up your pills and allow for your tolerance to drop on other days.
If you are going to try and use supplements and vitamins you will probably want to take them regularly as recommended by the manufacturers or reputable websites and wait until you build up solid levels of those vitamins in your body, they don't work like psychoactive drugs, they take time to have any effect and you may or may not ever notice the effect, you probably won't otherwise lots of teenagers would be stealing vitamins from pharmacies to get high on them, fact.
Also, do not discontinue your Zoloft without consulting your psychiatrist, they prescribed them both at specific dosages in a way that they view is unlikely to have bad side effects for you, they would not have prescribed both of them to you if they thought it would be a problem. Discontinuing an SSRI like Zoloft without tapering down can lead to an FDA indicated SSRI discontinuation syndrome which has bad effects such as flu-like symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, sweating), sleep disturbances (insomnia, nightmares, constant sleepiness). Sensory and movement disturbances have also been reported, including imbalance, tremors, vertigo, dizziness, and electric-shock-like experiences in the brain, often described by sufferers as "brain zaps". Mood disturbances such as dysphoria, anxiety, or agitation are also reported, as are cognitive disturbances such as confusion and hyperarousal.
If you have a bad time coming off adderall take your klonopin to make it not so bad, but don't abuse the klonopin either.

 

[Beckamay]

Thank you Pharmacist for the information and opinions. I actually do have ADHD, I just also have a very addictive personality maybe as a result of both parents being drug addicts/alcoholics. I don't know how much that factors into my own issues, but it's there. Before going to a psychiatrist, I couldn't sit through a movie or thirty minute sitcom without getting up numerous times to do other things. I finish everyone's sentences because I feel like they are taking too long to talk, or my mind wanders and I don't hear anything they've said. My husband was constantly having to tell me the same things because I couldn't focus. I couldn't do any mundane tasks without a ridiculous amount of effort after a prolonged period of procrastination. I would make doctor appointments for myself and my children, write them down, set reminders...and forget about them anyway. Then it would take me months to reschedule the appointments. And I would constantly lose my phone and other items all day long. Put them down for a minute and then completely blank out as to where I had just put them.
The Adderall helps me tremendously. I have made and kept appointments for my children and myself, when I make a list of reminders I actually remember them now. I'm much more productive. But the tolerance is tough to deal with, I guess I should take your advice and only take them on the days I have things to get done. The only problem with that is that I have an EXTREMELY addictive personality. It's hard for me to know that I have them and not take one. Even if I know it's not going to benefit me that day.
As for the Klonopin, I only take that when I have to work. Right now I'm not working so I will take one before a family get together or a party, or if I'm very upset like after an argument with someone.
The Zoloft; I've been on antidepressants on and off for 13 years as well, and I've recently tapered myself down. My last antidepressant was Wellbutrin and it had a horrible side effect of leaving a metal taste in my mouth day and night, every day. So I slowly weaned myself down but my psychiatrist put me on Zoloft. I'm sure I'll start taking it when I start to feel the familiar side effects of being off of antidepressants.
I don't know how to change my thought process. I repeat the same behavior over and over again hoping for a different result but the outcome is always the same. And deep down I know this. I guess I'm just insane or have an impulse disorder.
But thanks again for responding

 

[Beckamay]

Oh, and as for my ADHD, I totally avoided my voicemail and I didn't reply to any mail. Phone calls were very hard for me to make. I would hate having to sit and talk on the phone, or fill out forms/listen to voicemails that needed my attention. Those were very big problems for me.

Oh, and to answer your question; I probably haven't eaten before the vitamins. I haven't had much of an appetite and I have to force myself to eat some days. So I should keep taking them then? Should I take them at bedtime or in the morning?

 

[ThePharmacist4925]

Vitamins are usually best taken in the morning after you've eaten, basically because once you've built up their blood levels, then you want them to be at their highest (therapeutic) levels during the day to get maximum benefit. I'd recommend switching from Adderall to Vyvanse personally, 70mg of Vyvanse a day would give you between 8 and 14 hours of coverage as opposed to Adderall which works for much less time based on my experiences and the experiences of others and research. Vyvanse is less abusable as well, you cannot snort it, it won't work that way, and if I understand correctly taking more than a few of them would result in not getting any higher/recieving no more benefit. For example taking two or 3 Vyvanse would continue to increase blood plasma levels, but at some point you wouldn't be able to process any more of it and thus would probably not take any more knowing it would be a waste. Don't mind me though, I'm a huge advocate for VYvanse and I despise Adderall, I know adderall helps some people.... however I feel like it gets abused way more than it is properly used and thus it gets bad press and police attention and psychiatrists feel like prescribing all amphetamines less.
You need to sleep, just saying, if you get a good nights rest and then wake up and take your medicine, you will find it works much better than getting a few hours of crappy sleep and the relying on the medicine to keep you awake through the day. When you've slept enough to keep yourself awake and then take the meds while still having some natural energy, it works soooooo much better it is profound. In the same way you need to eat, I hate eating sometimes, but you will feel amazing if you eat well, not just junk and sleep, and take your meds, you will be productive like a champion.
I hate voicemails and my phone as well, but I am able to use it because of my Vyvanse so I understand getting behind on voicemails and appointments.
Knowing that you have an extremely addictive personality have you thought about having your husband handle your Adderall, he could give you one day at a time and take the bottle to work with him so you don't abuse it or take it on days when you know you don't need it. I have had my mother handle my meds at different points over the years so I didn't abuse them, like when I was prescribed Xanax and Vicodin, she handled them and I didn't abuse them, worked well. I handle my Vyvanse, Depakote, Gabapentin, Zoloft, Propranolol, etc... but ones that I know I might get carried away with, I leave to her because I live at home and she is willing to do that for me.
Make sure you take your Zoloft every day, missing days on anti-depressants will leave you on an emotional roller-coaster that you might not even notice until you get back to taking it normally, not worth it, taper yourself to where you need to be and then keep it there and take it daily, the smoother your medication/vitamin/supplement taking habits are, the smoother your life can be. It's hard to have a smooth ride when your chemical levels are bouncing around up and down all over the place.w
I'm not a rule monger even though it may seem that way, but there is a rhyme and reason to why psychiatrists prescribe the way they do, the good ones at least (and there are many bad ones), and trying to have an open dialogue with the psychiatrist about what works and what doesn't and why can be really helpful. Best of luck, you can keep this thread open if you have any more questions for me or shoot me a private message whenever.

 

[AEMTwithMs]

I just want to say that I don't know if you had eaten prior to taking all those vitamins and that many vitamins/supplements on an empty stomach can lead to severe nausea/vomiting, bowel problems, gas, headaches, basically feeling like shit. This is likely to be the case if you take the supplements/vitamins you mentioned on an empty stomach with no tolerance to them. I would not mix DXM and adderall, I see nothing advantageous about mixing those two chemicals besides diluting your adder all experience.
I've been prescribed adderall before, ultimately it did nothing good for me, but I will say that no amount of vitamins/over the counter supplements is going to make adderall magically work a ton better. I've been prescribed Provigal/Modafinil with my Vyvanse(also an amphetamine, but works rather differently than adderall), which works great for my ADHD, and modafinil + Vyvanse was a fantastic combination in my personal opinion. That being said, good luck getting a psychiatrist to prescribe you both, the only reason I was given both was due to special circumstances.
Focus Factor is in my opinion, basically a scam, granted that is my opinion and maybe some other members will have different opinions. This being said, no it will not help with your adderall tolerance and no it is not a substitute for adderall or other amphetamines. If you are going to try and get high off adderall, which I will not advocate (when you do things like that it makes it harder for those of us who need ADHD medication to get it), your best bet is simply to use it only one or two days a week and save up your pills and allow for your tolerance to drop on other days.
If you are going to try and use supplements and vitamins you will probably want to take them regularly as recommended by the manufacturers or reputable websites and wait until you build up solid levels of those vitamins in your body, they don't work like psychoactive drugs, they take time to have any effect and you may or may not ever notice the effect, you probably won't otherwise lots of teenagers would be stealing vitamins from pharmacies to get high on them, fact.
Also, do not discontinue your Zoloft without consulting your psychiatrist, they prescribed them both at specific dosages in a way that they view is unlikely to have bad side effects for you, they would not have prescribed both of them to you if they thought it would be a problem. Discontinuing an SSRI like Zoloft without tapering down can lead to an FDA indicated SSRI discontinuation syndrome which has bad effects such as flu-like symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, sweating), sleep disturbances (insomnia, nightmares, constant sleepiness). Sensory and movement disturbances have also been reported, including imbalance, tremors, vertigo, dizziness, and electric-shock-like experiences in the brain, often described by sufferers as "brain zaps". Mood disturbances such as dysphoria, anxiety, or agitation are also reported, as are cognitive disturbances such as confusion and hyperarousal.
If you have a bad time coming off adderall take your klonopin to make it not so bad, but don't abuse the klonopin either.

I take vyvanse and provigal also. I have MS and I can sleep the night before but come 10am I can’t stay awake. So that’s how I got both. Neurologist prescribed one and doc the other

 

[AEMTwithMs]

Hi, I'm new to your forum since I was doing extensive searching online and came across results for reducing Adderall tolerance in this site. The thread I came across was from two years ago so maybe there's new info now?
I was prescribed Adderall over three months ago by my psychiatrist. I am also on Klonopin for social anxiety and Zoloft (although I haven't been taking the Zoloft since I've read that it can have bad side effects when taken with Adderall).
My tolerance is very high, I only feel the "feel good" effect and the super increase in energy for like the first two days and I usually end up taking more than my prescribed dose each day and then crash hard.
So I was extremely interested in the research of supplements that were listed in this forum and went out to get some of them. I took the recommended doses of Zinc, B Vitamins, CoQ10, magnesium, 5-htp and milk thistle in the afternoon after I had already taken my Adderall. All that happened is that I felt extremely nauseous, had horrible diarrhea and vomiting, gas, a headache and I was very lethargic. Did I take a wrong combination? Or at the wrong time? Did I miss a major supplement that I should have included? What is the right combination to take and at what time? Morning (before or after you take Adderall) or night?
I did take DXM three nights in a row, first night 60 mg, second night 40 and last night 20 mg and I noticed that I don't wake up groggy anymore which I think is connected to the Adderall. Can that also be taken during the day? Before or after your Adderall dose?
Lastly, tonight I went out and bought a product called "Focus Factor" which is manufactured by Synergy. Does anyone know anything about the safety/effectiveness of this supplement and if it can be taken with Adderall to get past the tolerance or should it only be used as a substitution for Adderall? I want to try it with the Adderall to see if I get the speedy feeling back but I'm hesitant. Suggestions? Thanks in advance if you can help me at all!:D

Adderall isn’t meant to be used like speed. It’s will stop the high feeling after taking it for a while. If you want the the speed effect the snort half a pill and take half a pill.