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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

School, motivation. AD/Stimulants/MAOI/AAP/BZ

M4007

Greenlighter
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
2
Hi,

I'm looking for guidance or experiences any of you could have on the subject. I am looking to optimize my combo of meds for school with an accent on keeping anxiety at bay. I am currently taking 30mg Celexa and 15mg of Adderall. Respectively for Anxiety/Emotional and my ADD. I basically been around the block with many medications and would like to discuss the mechanisms of dopamine/serotonine and any alternatives. I'm scared I might've done damage in the past 4-5 years having alot of MDMA/Ecstasy weekly.

So far:
Adderall:
Has been very helpful with concentration and motivation, however I find stimulants as a whole kind of, hard on the body. Mainly muscle pain. I'd gladly go to the gym however, the motivation it brings makes me a little antisocial, maybe a bit of Social Anxiety, as in you know thinking what people might think or talk about you etc.

Antipsychotics:
Abilify and Latuda. Both caused some marked akathisia. That kind of feeling that something is just wrong and you just can't sit still and feel jittery and, well not good. Did seem to be a bit stimulant and kept those "anxiety/paranoia" feelings at bay, but the cost is too high. Seroquel and stuff, can't stand the weight gain. Maybe the Dopamine reduction is not something we'd like to do. Probably depends on the source of the anxiety but really It's just being on Stims makes me think everyone in the class knows I'm on it so I get nervous and agitated.

Celexa:
Didin't cause any noticeable side-effects, reduces social anxiety, general feeling of I don't care as much, which is good, but not perfect.

Ativan/Benzo:
Lot's of fun, feels kind of drunk, does mix well with Adderall but had it PRN, that it still an option like 1mg x15 per month, as discussed with my doctor.

Options:
Well I have many options that I've researched.

Here's a list of the approaches I've considered and would need an opinion on. It's something for long term, with the least side-effects, I'd like to keep my brain as sane as possible... I'm seeing my doctor soon and would like to have information on those combos before suggesting these changes to my treatment.

#1 - Switching from Adderall to Dexedrine to better control the anxiety it causes and reduce it's side effects, which may be cause by the Levo-amphetamine component.
#2 - Switching to a MAOI like Selegiline for Motivation and Concentration, keeping or removing Celexa. What is your experience with this, is it too much of a jittery combo, anxiogenic?
#3 - Adding something to help sleep/relax muscles at night and keep using Dexedrine/Celexa. Flexeryl comes to mind, Triazolam with it's very short half-life would probably knock me asleep at an earlier time, better sleep = less anxiety?
#4 - Betablockers like Propanolol to keep the physical anxiety at bay and help relax in class while doing my stuff.
#5 - Xanax/Ativan once a day PRN when too anxious in a class?

Thank you very much for any pointers you guys might have! Any experience is really appreciated.

M4007
 
Last edited:
What dose of Adderall to you take and is it regular release or extended release?

I would really try to take as few drugs in as low of doses as possible, just the bare minimum, rather than adding more drugs to cope with the side effects of the drugs you are currently on. This may involve switching your meds, lowering your doses and/or changing when you take them, etc.

Out of the options you are considering I would give #1 a shot first, many people do tolerate Dexedrine better than Adderall.
 
Ok switching to dexedrine will definitely help with muscle aches ans anxiety. Addy has levoamp in it which mainly acts as a pns stimulant, causes many side effects . Dexedrine is more tolerable.

Second, if I were you, I wouldbt fuck with anilify, ssris, seroquil, antipsychotics, ectt...they usuailly caused me to end up worse after stopping or during thatn I was before. These should be the last resort if everything else fails.

Muscle relaxers /benzos will definitely help with anxiety. I'd recommend klonopin because it is an excellent muscle relaxer and anxiolytic. Plus the long half life means that when you weaker up the next day, you will feel less anxious because some of the klonopin is still in your system. The amount will be just enough to stop anxiety while still being able to achieve wanted effects from dexedrine or addy.

Do NOT add a beta blocker to amphetamines. This can be very dangerous. I'd recommend a totally different class of drugs called pregablin or gabapentin these are awesome drugs, they help with anxiety and sleep and pain without causing much dependency or sedation.

I'd replace the xanax with klonopin, kpin has much better muscle relaxation while still providing anxiety relief without having serum levels spike up and down like xanax does.


DO NOT take maoi under any circumstances, literally these drugs are very dangerous and ate.almost never prescribed. If you were to take an maoi, you wouldn't be able to take aderall or dexedrine. Combining the two will cause a fatal syndrom called serotonin syndrome. These maoi could kill you. Very unsafe


Things to try....

From addy to vyvanse or dexedrine...
Klonopin....
Pregabalin or its predecessor gabapentin
 
In general when coming up with a scheme of meds that's going to work for you it's sadly more trial and error, as everyone reacts to things so differently. It's frustrating, but easier if you can find a good doctor that will help you through the process.

That said, as above always go for the least amount of meds possible. You want to aim for things that provide maximum benefits with the least amount of side effects. Then go for the lowest dose that will create this.

It took me a long time to get my group of meds and respective doses together that worked for me. Just don't get discouraged, and keep us posted on how you are doing.
 
Thanks all for your replies! It's been very helpful. It's the first time I hear about Pregabalin.

As for Celexa, I do find it gives a general sense of I do not care that much about a relationship failure whereas I would fall badly after a failure. Right now I have school to think about so It's probably helping keep my mind off love.. I'd rather not fall and loose motivation for school. But It's going very well right now so I might try to stop it this summer.

I plan on suggesting adding Lyrica. 150mg 3X a day seems good. However 2 hours to start working for anxiety would leave the morning bus ride uncovered.. Which is where anxiety is at it's peak. Would Xanax be useful for those 2 hours? I'd rather not be on a benzo for long, but if I'm going to feel rebound anxiety then?

For Adderall, it is Adderall XR. However I find it's not as useful as Vyvanse was so the Dexedrine seems like a good idea. (Since Vyvanse was a good 13-14 hours) Tablets instead, but that goes in 5mg only back here in Canada. What's the Dexedrine IR usual

So I'm looking at :

#90 100mg Lyrica (150mg 3x a day)
#90 5mg Dexedrine Tablet (5mg 3x a day)
#30 40mg Celexa
#30 0.5mg Alprazolam PRN

And, what about sleeping? Would you prefer something powerful and short-acting to knock you out asleep like Triazolam or something else more long acting? Non benzo alternatives also? I agree with taking as less things as possible, so I might drop the Celexa. However there's these three components, Sleep, Concentration and Anxiety that need control. Concentration being the main one. Emotions are currently suppressed a bit by Celexa.

Thank you very much!
 
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