Hey Folks. Hope all are well. Thanks for having me. I'll tell you right out of the gate...I'm kind of a weirdo 
(but not the creepy dangerous kind!) lol
Anyway - my deal is sort of complicated but I'll try to summarize in as few words as possible. I have narcolepsy (neurological sleep disorder) and one of the ways the condition is treated includes the frequent ingestion of stimulants. Naps and such are part of it too but that's for a different forum. My symptoms are either getting worse OR my medication is becoming less effective. My gut tells me it's a simple issue of tolerance...and since my doctor always trolls me by saying "you take enough speed to kill a horse, it's unbelievable!"...I'm not interested in taking MORE medication.
I'm hoping to learn specifics related to two basic issues...1) diet - how does what/when I eat impact the effectiveness of the medications and what are things I could benefit from eating that I'm not already trying & 2) I'll call them "hacks" for lack of a better term...for example, "if you take your meds while you stand on one leg while crossing your eyes and sticking out your tongue & hopping in circles on a silk gold rug then your meds will work two times better than usual." You guys know what I mean.
So it's adderall IR all day all day all day as well as one 250mg Nuvigil in the morning and a 200mg Provigil in the afternoon when I lie down for my longest nap of the day. ideally, I'd like to take fewer naps & use way less adderall. narcolepsy is not known to be a progressive illness, yet, I used to feel fantastic many years ago at a time when the frequency of falling asleep was half what it is now despite never having heard of Nuvigil or Provigil. this why I blame tolerance for making things so challenging today.
Lastly, in full disclosure...bare with me...I am a recovering alcoholic and addict. I've been clean since Dec. 18, 2010. Before you say "how can you be clean if you take speed every day?" I'll save you the trouble & clarify right here and right now...and then I don't intend to address my recovery on this forum again unless someone in need specifically reaches out to me. It breaks down like this...I don't abuse my narcolepsy drugs, never have...and given the nature of my condition I'm not certain I'd even be able to get high off stimulants if I wanted. This is not a medical opinion, but I have a hunch that my heart would explode waaaay before I'd feel high.
I went to an 8 week rehab clinic in Jan 2011 where my doctor and the rehab staff stayed in close communication around administration of my meds, results of urine screenings, etc and when I successfully completed the 8 weeks of treatment I had the option to enroll in weekly outpatient treatment at the same clinic that was in the form of 2 hours of group therapy & a urine screen every Wednesday night for as long as I wanted to come....so it's literally been 120something-ish weeks in a row that I've been participating in that outpatient group. I saw all of this because, obviously, I fail every drug test (lol) but my doctors and case managers are still able to verify that I'm not using other drugs, not drinking & not showing amphetamine levels that are alarmingly inconsistent with levels in all of my other screenings on file. So in other words - its carefully managed. Im also a very active member of a particular 12 step fellowship where I have a sponsor, I chair a meeting every Friday & pretty much don't go any place where there might be drinking or drugging unless it's like a family wedding or 50th anniversary celebration or some other major event. like I said, I don't intend to so much as make further allusions to this topic for the remainder of the time I spend on this forum because a) it's totally irrelevant in 98% of circumstances b) I'm a little afraid that I'd be trolled & people might tell me to f off or something. I'm not judgmental at all, if anything I'm jealous! some people can use in moderation & I am not one of those people. Some people can use without incurring highly significant negative consequences...but I'm not one of those people. So for everybody who is able to use for fun - more power to ya! (seriously, seriously, jealous of you) But I don't want to have to make a qualifying statement or defend my "coolness" so as my recovery has nothing to do with the above mentioned two goals/reasons for joining - I'm just going to stay focused on that.
If you've actually read all the way to this point then you must be a true friend already
ha! For real, I'm looking forward to participating on this forum & learning interesting things and having some laughs. I've read over some stuff from time to time before joining & it's all been good stuff. so les do dis
(but not the creepy dangerous kind!) lolAnyway - my deal is sort of complicated but I'll try to summarize in as few words as possible. I have narcolepsy (neurological sleep disorder) and one of the ways the condition is treated includes the frequent ingestion of stimulants. Naps and such are part of it too but that's for a different forum. My symptoms are either getting worse OR my medication is becoming less effective. My gut tells me it's a simple issue of tolerance...and since my doctor always trolls me by saying "you take enough speed to kill a horse, it's unbelievable!"...I'm not interested in taking MORE medication.
I'm hoping to learn specifics related to two basic issues...1) diet - how does what/when I eat impact the effectiveness of the medications and what are things I could benefit from eating that I'm not already trying & 2) I'll call them "hacks" for lack of a better term...for example, "if you take your meds while you stand on one leg while crossing your eyes and sticking out your tongue & hopping in circles on a silk gold rug then your meds will work two times better than usual." You guys know what I mean.
So it's adderall IR all day all day all day as well as one 250mg Nuvigil in the morning and a 200mg Provigil in the afternoon when I lie down for my longest nap of the day. ideally, I'd like to take fewer naps & use way less adderall. narcolepsy is not known to be a progressive illness, yet, I used to feel fantastic many years ago at a time when the frequency of falling asleep was half what it is now despite never having heard of Nuvigil or Provigil. this why I blame tolerance for making things so challenging today.
Lastly, in full disclosure...bare with me...I am a recovering alcoholic and addict. I've been clean since Dec. 18, 2010. Before you say "how can you be clean if you take speed every day?" I'll save you the trouble & clarify right here and right now...and then I don't intend to address my recovery on this forum again unless someone in need specifically reaches out to me. It breaks down like this...I don't abuse my narcolepsy drugs, never have...and given the nature of my condition I'm not certain I'd even be able to get high off stimulants if I wanted. This is not a medical opinion, but I have a hunch that my heart would explode waaaay before I'd feel high.
I went to an 8 week rehab clinic in Jan 2011 where my doctor and the rehab staff stayed in close communication around administration of my meds, results of urine screenings, etc and when I successfully completed the 8 weeks of treatment I had the option to enroll in weekly outpatient treatment at the same clinic that was in the form of 2 hours of group therapy & a urine screen every Wednesday night for as long as I wanted to come....so it's literally been 120something-ish weeks in a row that I've been participating in that outpatient group. I saw all of this because, obviously, I fail every drug test (lol) but my doctors and case managers are still able to verify that I'm not using other drugs, not drinking & not showing amphetamine levels that are alarmingly inconsistent with levels in all of my other screenings on file. So in other words - its carefully managed. Im also a very active member of a particular 12 step fellowship where I have a sponsor, I chair a meeting every Friday & pretty much don't go any place where there might be drinking or drugging unless it's like a family wedding or 50th anniversary celebration or some other major event. like I said, I don't intend to so much as make further allusions to this topic for the remainder of the time I spend on this forum because a) it's totally irrelevant in 98% of circumstances b) I'm a little afraid that I'd be trolled & people might tell me to f off or something. I'm not judgmental at all, if anything I'm jealous! some people can use in moderation & I am not one of those people. Some people can use without incurring highly significant negative consequences...but I'm not one of those people. So for everybody who is able to use for fun - more power to ya! (seriously, seriously, jealous of you) But I don't want to have to make a qualifying statement or defend my "coolness" so as my recovery has nothing to do with the above mentioned two goals/reasons for joining - I'm just going to stay focused on that.
If you've actually read all the way to this point then you must be a true friend already
ha! For real, I'm looking forward to participating on this forum & learning interesting things and having some laughs. I've read over some stuff from time to time before joining & it's all been good stuff. so les do dis 
