Stimulants Sensitivity to stimulants and ADHD?

[morphine-dreams]

So I've never tried any recreational stimulants (unless nicotine counts) because of how strongly I react to nicotine and pseudoephedrine. Cigarettes (so long as I don't smoke habitually) give me more of a rush than iv morphine. The amount of Sudafed in my zyrtec d affects me to the point of blown pupils and being noticeably "on something". I also have pretty severe and, up until this point, untreated ADHD, and I have anxiety which is "treated" with mirtazapine (doesn't work though). My psych wants to put me on a stim, though she hasn't mentioned specific ones. So, I have a couple questions:


1) do any of you have a similar sensitivity to stimulants? Do you know why? It's worth mentioning that my natural tolerance to downers is very high. Could it just have to do with the anxiety and ADHD? Also, how do you react to stronger stimulants like Adderall?


2) If you are sensitive, do you notice more severe cardiovascular effects? Have you had any cardiovascular problems as a result of [responsible] stimulant use? For what it's worth I'm in good shape physically and it's not like my heart starts pounding in response to cigarettes or allergy meds.


3) For those with ADHD-which stimulant do you find helps you the most in day-to-day life with the least side effects? How about when you need to be productive? I really don't enjoy this feeling but my ADHD is also BAD. I wouldn't even have written out this entire post if I wasn't on Sudafed right now.


Thanks

 

[T. Calderone]

I don't react well to stimulants because I'm bipolar. Mirtazapine is an antidepressant that helped me with sleep but not really meant for anxiety. Personally, I would be hesitant to start taking stims if you have marked reactions from nicotine and Sudafed.
(Homeless ------ > Other Drugs)

 

[Sprout]

I don't react well to stimulants because I'm bipolar. Mirtazapine is an antidepressant that helped me with sleep but not really meant for anxiety. Personally, I would be hesitant to start taking stims if you have marked reactions from nicotine and Sudafed.
(Homeless ------ > Other Drugs)

Interesting ^.
I'm on the spectrum (Dx keeps shifting from BP1 with psychotic features to Schizoaffective) to quite a severe degree and I certainly experience stimulants very differently to anyone I've observed who is of a more stable mental state. They don't so much induce Mania (slight hypomanic tendencies are elevated after a binge but don't develop further) as they do give me all the bits of the upswing that I love. My illness is part of me and that includes the being able to do 6 months of work in a week like a charismatic ubermensch as much as it does the recurrent depths of the depressive chasm. I've found stimulants massively addictive to such an extent that even my caffeine consumption has reached 3g+/day at some points, I don't know if the euphoria I experience from getting my DAT poked by any stimulant is more than others do but I do know that if there's no tolerance I need wayyyy less than most people to get geekin' and have massive redose compulsion in comparison.

OP:
Mirtazapine has been pretty frequently reported to amplify the "nicotine rush" from smoking, there is the potential for Mirtaz to potentiate the peripheral effects of stimulants (like the massive dilation) through latent inverse adrenergic agonism.
Don't take my word for it, but I would certainly suspect an interaction and discuss with your P.Doc.

 

[weekend addiction]

I'm sensitive to stimulants as well. Too much coffee can fuck me up. I've been diagnosed with ADHD but I think its a bullshit diagnosis and the real problem is laziness from being an addict. Its soo much easier to snort a line and feel good than to finish a community college class or something more important. Anyway all the stimulants fucked me up bad because I'm bipolar. I'd be manic high in the morning from vyvanse or whatever and by night time I couldn't drink\smoke\shoot enough to calm down.

I felt like I had high bp (actually didn't) and felt like I was gonna have a heart attack or just general irrational anxiety all the fucking time on that shit. 40mg of vyvanse and I could take shit tons of benzos all day still felt like a walking panic attack. If your sensitive to stimulants...you probably don't need them. They are beyond addictive though I should have stopped the shit at 18 not 24. I wouldn't take the shit if you paid me to these days.

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

How do you react to pseudoephedrine? If I take too much of it I get vasoconstriction which is not fun so when I take it for allergies I just cut a 120mg or 240mg pill in half. I did not always get vasoconstriciton on it but that was when I would drink alcohol and smoke herb on it.

I have also been diagnosed as having ADD and 5-15mg of Adderall/Dexedrine helped my ADD and I was able to concentrate but I had effects from it that most people get at more moderate or high doses like sweating, teeth/jaw grinding, loss of appetite, and strangely enough sometimes I did take the medication and I would fall asleep on it or easily be able to sleep that night even if I had taken it in the late afternoon/early evening.

 

[morphine-dreams]

Interesting to know about the nicotine, I didn't really start smoking until I was already on mirtazapine, but I remember trying a few cigs in high school and they didn't do much for me then. I always figured it'd only potentiate downers because it's fairly sedating.

Sourtulip-I guess what I was asking was, where do the most common rx stims fall among the spectrum of stimulants? Like if 240mg of Sudafed is uncomfortable for me, am I unlikely to fare well with stronger stimulants, or is it just a case of pseudoephedrine having more side effects?

Priest-basically, I react like how I'd expect to react from a much stronger stimulant. There was some euphoria at first but then it was just jitteriness, anxiety, twitchiness, not being able to really fall asleep all night despite a combo of medical kush, benadryl, and mirtazapine. Dilated pupils and "crazy eyes". I'm still feeling the effects too and it's been 24 hours, though it was an xr version so maybe that's normal. There aren't any particularly troubling symptoms, it's all what you'd expect from a stimulant, just a lot stronger. I definitely was on the edge of a panic attack after the first few hours too but a few bowls fixed that.

I do tend to get pretty wired off coffee too, and it exacerbates my anxiety pretty badly, but I used to self medicate with it anyway.

 

[Hiltoniano]

If you have only been consuming adrenal stims like coffee, nicotine(less so) , and caffeine, that may mean ur sensitive to NA selective cns stimulation. But if u tried a stim which is mainly a dopamine releaser like amphetamine or specifically dextroamphetamine, u may find u react a bit more normally. My dad can't take a 120mg psuedophedrine anytime past 5pm and sleep, but he takes 70mg vyvanse daily and seems fine and not at all affected. So maybe start low and cautiously with the more serious , non-otc stims and let us know how that works out.

Only you can tell us how it will effect you once u have tried, we can speculate all day but since this is about your own unique body chemistry and life circumstances and such, it really is all guessing . Be safe and I hope u end up finding what ou are looking for.

 

[Wilson Wilson]

I have ADHD and anxiety. I'm definitely more sensitive to stims than most. My script for 30mg Vyv is strong for me even though that's only 8.9mg dex. When I first started taking it I felt like I was blasted into another dimension then I had a panic attack when I was coming down. I have much more tolerance now so it's far more bearable but I still get a strong stimulant effect from the same dose.

I think I have a higher tolerance to sedatives than most people though. I'll go out to a party on a load of benzos and feel energetic. People are like how are you not asleep?

I'd never abuse a stim, it'd just give me a fucking panic attack. I don't consider stims very recreational at all. Useful, yes, but not my idea of fun.

 

[ohboiii]

So I've never tried any recreational stimulants (unless nicotine counts) because of how strongly I react to nicotine and pseudoephedrine. Cigarettes (so long as I don't smoke habitually) give me more of a rush than iv morphine. The amount of Sudafed in my zyrtec d affects me to the point of blown pupils and being noticeably "on something". I also have pretty severe and, up until this point, untreated ADHD, and I have anxiety which is "treated" with mirtazapine (doesn't work though). My psych wants to put me on a stim, though she hasn't mentioned specific ones. So, I have a couple questions:


1) do any of you have a similar sensitivity to stimulants? Do you know why? It's worth mentioning that my natural tolerance to downers is very high. Could it just have to do with the anxiety and ADHD? Also, how do you react to stronger stimulants like Adderall?


2) If you are sensitive, do you notice more severe cardiovascular effects? Have you had any cardiovascular problems as a result of [responsible] stimulant use? For what it's worth I'm in good shape physically and it's not like my heart starts pounding in response to cigarettes or allergy meds.


3) For those with ADHD-which stimulant do you find helps you the most in day-to-day life with the least side effects? How about when you need to be productive? I really don't enjoy this feeling but my ADHD is also BAD. I wouldn't even have written out this entire post if I wasn't on Sudafed right now.


Thanks

i am also exactly like you. nicotine gives a huge rush and makes me have almost like a drug trip.
it also makes dysphoric, paranoid, socialy anxious, lethargic and cant concentrate on anything at all(not even movies).

caffeine makes me anxious and weird out i think.

a small dose of ritalin(0.5mg-1mg) make feel very alive, confident, conentrated etc.
same with amphetamines(but only very small dose).

however if i take 20mg or 10mg or ritalin, it gives me again paranoia, social anxiety, dysphoria etc again and ampliefies these effects.

i am not sure if these effects are from ADHD(which some people guessed i have and doctors) OR because i abused drugs.

my normal state(not on anything) is unfortunately much dysphoric paranoid, socially anxious etc.

anyhow thought i am the only one that is like that nice to know there are similiar people.

 

[ac360]

I have a strong reaction to psuedophedrine and caffiene, but stims have always calmed me down and reduced my anxiety (Ritalin, Adderall, Focalin, Vyvanse) bupronin is sometimes used for ADHD and smoking cessation too because it interferes with nicotine receptors so that would help with the smoking rush too. I've always needed stimulants but they burnt out on me and whem bupronin was added for depression it pretty much reactivated the Ritalin I was taking at the time. I have GAD too and I need benzos because of the severity but an SSRI would do you pretty good when it comes to anxiety. Vyvanse has been the best one for me because it has a very natural comedown to the point that I don't even notice it whereas the others - even in XR form give me a hard crash thats unbearable

 

[FrostAnNova]

Certian mental health disorders increase the sensitivity of stimulants. Bipolar and schizophrenia are two examples.

When they gave me Ritalin for depression, because of my catatonic symptoms, it kept me hyper-focused and up for three days straight. It was discontinued after only a month, but they had already turned me into a meth addict. I craved the hyper-focusing and appetite suppressant effects of the drug, and often wondered how to find meth to replace it.

Many years later, my abuser and rapist, Red Bird, introduced me to IV meth use in order to get me back in his possession. I jumped right on the idea of meth use because of my previous addiction to Ritalin. However, Red Bird wouldn't let me know where to get it, wouldn't even let me carry it even when I got it just for me, "loosing" it in the process. He conned my savings to buy bulk, saying he'd sell it and double my money, then slammed it all. I was sick of him, and nagged him about letting me meet all his plugs.

Eventually, we went and got high with an old highschool friend, Gnarko. I went behind Red Bird's back to get in contact with Gnarko. He started to accuse me an Gnarko of being an item. I encouraged his accusations and told him about my non-existent crush on Gnarko for shits and giggles.

After an adventure to PHX with Red Bird, Gnarko and his GF, JC's baby mama, and JP+wife, I opened up to Gnarko about the abuse, that I felt unsafe, and that I had been to afraid to interact with him because of Red Bird. He told me he knew about it and that Red Bird is sorry and loves me, but he didn't know the extent of the abuse.

As we got closer, he found out about the long history of rapes and beatings I endured, and how Red Bird had made sure I could only get meth from him so that he could keep me under control. I learned about ways he screwed over Gnarko, like an attempt to steal his Mustang. We decided we hated Red Bird and made a rule to not speak his name. Gnarko later decided we were just tripping and invited him to our hotel room, called him up, and invited him over.

Red Bird raped me when I was limp from all the alcohol I'd drinken, hallucinating, and speaking non-sentical strings of jargon. Red Bird told me later, trying to apologise, and I made him tell Gnarko and his GF.

Red Bird got banned from our group.

While living with him, Gnarko let me meet his plugs, but I was too shy to even talk to them. Eventually, I asked him to introduce me this "Kro" guy I heard about, and he did so without hesitation. He even told Kro how Red Bird was sheltering me from the game and not letting me meet people.

After realizing living in a hotel room supporting a jobless, dope addicted, fighting couple wasn't working out, I bailed on Gnarko, and left him with nothing but a collector coin to remember me by. However, I still needed to get high. I pulled up my big boy pants, faught my shyness, and began to see Kro for shit regularly, no strings attached. I met many tweaker friends who never screwed me over, and never asked for obscene favors. I no longer had to put myself into a warzone just to feed the monster Red Bird gave to me.

Now, hear I am, 3.5 years later, addicted to meth.

 

[Hezman94]

Before my bipolar came on I could handle stims better but I always had the worst comedown now if I take them I feel so low or anxious