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Stimulants If I go 5 days without Dex w/ No WD does that mean I'm not dependent?

Mycophile

Bluelighter
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Messages
4,285
So, I've been using low dose Dexadrine (prescribed, instant release) WAY too much for a few months now. I didn't take in on Monday and did not notice WD, but I was on Kratom so maybe that could have masked it.

Before that, it had been about a month before I'd gone a day without.

I think about a month ago I went 2 days in a row without any and did not have WD, but I have used it most days for the past 4-5 months since July or August, which honestly makes me nervous cause that's too much...

BUT...I never dose more than 10mgs, and a considerable number of those days I only dosed one time, which only lasts 4 hours, but many of them I also dosed 2 or 3 times.

So it's not like I haven't had PLENTY of time throughout those months when I have not actually been on it since it doesn't last all day long, but the thing is, I don't know how long it lasts in the system, so that's why I figure I will need to go several days IN A ROW without to be sure I am not physically dependent, so that is my plan.


So that's what I'm wondering: 1) If I am able to 5 days in a row without taking any and don't notice any withdrawal symptoms, would that be enough time to know if I am physically dependent?

2) If I DO notice certain WD symptoms, but then I just continue to go without until they are no longer noticeable, do you think that would also mean I was no longer dependent and had gotten over it?


I won't ask if anyone thinks I am physically dependent now as no one can know, but me personally, I think it is more psychological than physical.

I know people CAN and have gotten some bad Dexadrine/Adderall/Vyvanse dependencies, but they are generally not the norm, and my psychiatrist even said that many of his patients use it 5-7 days a week and notice no WD when they stop....and my average dose is about 5mgs which isn't THAT high, even though I do sometimes go up to 10.

3) Also, how long does instant release Dexadrine stay in the bloodstream?

How long would I have to go before it was no longer in my body?

(Edit: I just read that the half life is 12 hours and 5 half lives = out of the system, so it seems like it would be out of my blood stream in about 56 hours or 2 1/2 days give or take.

That would SEEM to indicate if I can go TWICE that amount of time without taking it without WD symptoms I'm probably not dependent right?

Thanks
 
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Anyone?

I mean if it's out of my system in 2 1/2 days and I don't notice WD in 5, then I'm probably not physically dependent right?
 
amps really cause more of a psychologically dependence. You may feel a bit sluggish discontinuing after long term use but most dont really experience physical withdrawals .

Have you ever experienced any physical symptoms in the past?
 
amps really cause more of a psychologically dependence. You may feel a bit sluggish discontinuing after long term use but most dont really experience physical withdrawals .

Have you ever experienced any physical symptoms in the past?

Not to the best of my knowledge, but I never went that long without taking a break.

I mean about a month ago I went 2 days in a row without and had no WD so that might mean something.

The other day I was tired when I didn't take it and decided to take it, but honestly I was probably just tired from a caffeine crash and that's not necessarily enough to say I was experiencing any WD.

I know it is not common but I've heard some horror stories, though they are rare, and I know I shouldn't be using it daily, so I just want to know that IF it WERE to happen, would it start to happen most likely within 5 days of abstainance?
 
You're overreacting. Amphetamines don't cause a physical withdrawal. You might feel fatigued and depressed for a couple days but you'll be fine. Your dosage isn't even high
 
You're overreacting. Amphetamines don't cause a physical withdrawal. You might feel fatigued and depressed for a couple days but you'll be fine. Your dosage isn't even high

I know my dosage isn't high and I"m not overreacting, I'm not really worried, I just want to know the actual answer to this question but it seems like you don't know so that's ok.

No offense, but you are wrong that amphetamines can NEVER cause physical withdrawal, and in fact, the symptoms you are listing ARE WD.

That was thought to be the case a few years ago, but recently it's become more common knowledge that they can be, that it's just rare and you generally have to really abuse them for a while.

Mild WD effects are even listed on the pamphlets the meds come with.

I've spoken to a number of people on this board and read a number of accounts online of people who took either large doses for a period of time or moderate dosages for a very long period that actually DID experience very severe WD, one or two people mentioning WD symptoms that lasted over a year.

Now...those are RARE cases (especially them lasting a year...), BUT...lets be real here, caffeine is physically addictive and I myself find caffeine WD to be unpleasant enough that I've never been able to kick the habit, so if coffee can cause WD then don't tell me Dexadrine can't.

I just wanted the opinion of people who have used or been around those who have used amphetamines for considerable periods of time, whether or not 5 days without is enough to know if you have no dependency.

I'm not freaking out, I just want to know.

Thanks.
 
I know my dosage isn't high and I"m not overreacting, I'm not really worried, I just want to know the actual answer to this question but it seems like you don't know so that's ok.

No offense, but you are wrong that amphetamines can NEVER cause physical withdrawal, and in fact, the symptoms you are listing ARE WD.

That was thought to be the case a few years ago, but recently it's become more common knowledge that they can be, that it's just rare and you generally have to really abuse them for a while.

Mild WD effects are even listed on the pamphlets the meds come with.

I've spoken to a number of people on this board and read a number of accounts online of people who took either large doses for a period of time or moderate dosages for a very long period that actually DID experience very severe WD, one or two people mentioning WD symptoms that lasted over a year.

Now...those are RARE cases (especially them lasting a year...), BUT...lets be real here, caffeine is physically addictive and I myself find caffeine WD to be unpleasant enough that I've never been able to kick the habit, so if coffee can cause WD then don't tell me Dexadrine can't.

I just wanted the opinion of people who have used or been around those who have used amphetamines for considerable periods of time, whether or not 5 days without is enough to know if you have no dependency.

I'm not freaking out, I just want to know.

Thanks.
I'm not going to argue with you but you're wrong. Feeling fatigued and depressed is a comedown, your brain is depleted of dopamine & other receptors that are responsible for pleasure. So you're incorrect don't tell me I'm wrong, physical withdrawal is when the body gets dependent on a substance and essentially goes into shock when that chemical no longer is saturating those receptors. Not the same at all dude
 
It kind of is in long term heavy users, if you dont have it, you cant function. For most people, there is no stim withdrawal, but long term users definitely do experience it.
 
I think your WD's are going to be quite mild if at all, although I think the more pertinent question is whether or not you will develop any lingering PAWS. Even if this were a foregone conclusion I still think it would be very mild considering the dosage you were at, though I will of course defer to those with more experience in situations similar to yours.

Some food for thought while waiting for more replies:

Amphetamine withdrawal symptoms

"...complain of fatigue and inertia, an initial period of hypersomnia followed by protracted insomnia and an onset of agitation, usually within 36 hours of cessation, that exists for between 3 - 5 days.The degree of mood disturbance, while influenced by the previous level of consumption, ranges from dysphoria to severe clinical depression. "

The most frequently reported withdrawal symptoms in the Cantwell and McBride (1998 ) study were irritability (78% ), aches and pains (58% ), depressed mood (50% ) and impaired social functioning (46% ).



These people were on MUCH higher doses and some using by IV, but I think it lays out a vague timeline for initial WD symptoms, seeing as you're 5 days in and doing well I'd say things are looking quite good.
Hope it's uneventful & mild MycoP.
 
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Its arguable what is and isn't a "withdrawl" symptom, but withdrawls as most people recognise the term i.e. as it pertains to opiates, alcohol or benzos doesn't really occur with stimulants..

I think this is the point that @ovo1024 is making....
 
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If you have only been using 10mg per day, 20mg max, you should be fine. Contrary to popular believe, amphetamines do have some physical withdrawals but they aren?t entirely hell-esque like opiate withdrawals for example which can resemble an extremely bad flu. However, never the less there are physical withdrawals aspects too them after prolonged daily use.

The withdrawals include depression, severe fatigue, increased need for sleep, sometimes a massive appetite, bad mood and mood swings, short temper or snapping and letting your emotions control you more then if you hadn?t done it, and the list goes on, including of course a craving for more speed.

From a dose of only 10mg a day usually though you should be fine, that?s almost the lowest prescribed dose. So it makes sense that the withdrawals weren?t much for you.


You are on the right track, the key to amphetamines is to dose very low just to get that slight focus and mood boost. Never redose to chase the high, and don?t increase ur dose from 10mg. The comedown and side effects are minuscule at 10mg but work your way up to 50-100mg a day and you will be in for a world of hell.

But anyways, ur good as far as withdrawals go if all you were taking was 10mg a day most days. If you went 5 days with minimal or not even noticeable withdrawals, you?re probably good.

Cheers

Edit: grammar fix for random ??? (Question marks) in place of what was initially I typed out as an apostrophe. Here is an example -> you?re <- . You should see that the apostrophe becomes a question mark for some reason instead of an apostrophe.
 
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Ive abused amphetamines for a decade. Never had the first Physical withdrawl symptom going off them. The main symptoms are sleeping a ton and depression.

Amphetamine withdrawal isnt even close to opioid / benzo / alcohol withdrawal, where youre body becomes dependent on the substance and has to have it to function properly. Amphetamine withdrawal is purely Psychological.
 
I'm not going to argue with you but you're wrong. Feeling fatigued and depressed is a comedown, your brain is depleted of dopamine & other receptors that are responsible for pleasure. So you're incorrect don't tell me I'm wrong, physical withdrawal is when the body gets dependent on a substance and essentially goes into shock when that chemical no longer is saturating those receptors. Not the same at all dude

Ok, it may not be the same, but yes, you are wrong if you believe that no one has ever experienced actual physical withdrawal from prescription amphetamines.

I do not think I'll be one of them most likely, but I've talked to those who have experienced it, and all I wanted to know is, for those who HAVE experienced it, is 5 days enough to know.

Believe it or not, people have even gotten actual physical withdrawal from weed.

It's VERY hard to make it happen and you need to smoke a SHIT TON and even then it is usually mild, but generally speaking, other than maybe certain psychedelics like shrooms or acid, it is possible to get actual physical WD from most substances and I don't believe Dexadrine to be an exception.
 
I think your WD's are going to be quite mild if at all, although I think the more pertinent question is whether or not you will develop any lingering PAWS. Even if this were a foregone conclusion I still think it would be very mild considering the dosage you were at, though I will of course defer to those with more experience in situations similar to yours.

Some food for thought while waiting for more replies:

Amphetamine withdrawal symptoms

"...complain of fatigue and inertia, an initial period of hypersomnia followed by protracted insomnia and an onset of agitation, usually within 36 hours of cessation, that exists for between 3 - 5 days.The degree of mood disturbance, while influenced by the previous level of consumption, ranges from dysphoria to severe clinical depression. "

The most frequently reported withdrawal symptoms in the Cantwell and McBride (1998 ) study were irritability (78% ), aches and pains (58% ), depressed mood (50% ) and impaired social functioning (46% ).



These people were on MUCH higher doses and some using by IV, but I think it lays out a vague timeline for initial WD symptoms, seeing as you're 5 days in and doing well I'd say things are looking quite good.
Hope it's uneventful & mild MycoP.


THANK YOU.

Actually finally a good answer and what I expected.

I haven't gone 5 days YET, but within the next few days I'm planning on going on a 5 day break just to be safe cause I haven't gone more than a couple days without in a few months and I think that is just smart just to be sure, and just so I won't be concerned in the future.

I don't expect I'll experience much if anything, and i think if I do that it will probably be psychological in nature and not lasting very long.

I'm just being cautious and not freaking out or anything, I just wanted to know if that's enough time, cause if someone was like "no, you probably wouldn't know for 2 weeks", then I'd take 2 weeks off.

I think some people assume it is IMPOSSIBLE to get withdrawal from a number of substances that, while they don't USUALLY cause withdrawal, can.

I remember reading a thread on here where someone argued that perhaps a person could even go through vitamin withdrawal lol, and while I would say that's a bit far fetched and would probably not be real WD but just your body adjusting to not having what it is used to...to an extent...you could argue that A) having to reset a normal baseline from abstainance from a drug or supplement and B) actual physical withdrawal, are really not all THAT different.

Sure, I'm not bio-chemistry genius, but when the body gets used to something, even something that isn't a drug, and then it is suddenly removed, unpleasant stuff often happens, and for someone wanting to know how long it lasts it doesn't matter much what you call it.

I don't care for semantics of whether or not it's technical WD, but if it's side effects or whatever, I just wanted to know how long would be enough to gauge.

Thanks.
 
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It kind of is in long term heavy users, if you dont have it, you cant function. For most people, there is no stim withdrawal, but long term users definitely do experience it.

Yes, I've unfortunately heard it can be true and it's good for people to know.

I think I'll be fine and experience little if any discomfort and if I do then for no more than a few days, but I have used it most days fro the past few months so a break is just smart.

I've spoken to people on this forum who got bad Adderall/Dex WD, and unless they are lying, which I don't think they are, then it's legit, and they were saying after effects/WD lasted over a month, which I don't think is just some kind of "receptor shock".

If it is, that would still suck...but in the end, would it matter?

I'm not interested in discussing technicalities, just "if X--type of negative effects were not to occur in 5 days would that mean they probably would not later?"

We can call them whatever we want.

Anyways, I got my answer and I'm all good.
 
Ive abused amphetamines for a decade. Never had the first Physical withdrawl symptom going off them. The main symptoms are sleeping a ton and depression.

Amphetamine withdrawal isnt even close to opioid / benzo / alcohol withdrawal, where youre body becomes dependent on the substance and has to have it to function properly. Amphetamine withdrawal is purely Psychological.


I think this is the case about 90% of the time, but not ALWAYS.

I've read a number of accounts of SERIOUS amp abusers not feeling normal for months or even over a year, having effects like: never feeling properly awake, needing 12 hours of sleep every day for months or over a year, poor concentration lasting months, dysphoria lasting months, and other effects.

If they can last that long, whether they are TECHNICALLY WD or some kind of receptor imbalance doesn't matter to me, they are something to be wary of.

That said, I agree that these cases are very rare, and I don't expect to experience them.

What I find funny is the possibility that caffeine could be even more physically addictive than Dexadrine or Adderall despite the latter 2 being MUCH stronger stimulants you know? LOL

Like I am VERY physically addicted to caffeine and I can get addicted pretty quickly.

If someone were to drink 3 cups of coffee almost every day for 4 months like I've taken 5-20mgs of Dex every day for 4 months they WOULD be physically dependent and no one would argue the fact.

I've been trying to kick caffeine for YEARS and can't.

That said, who knows, maybe caffeine really IS more physically addicting than Dexadrine for some chemical reason I don't know since they are different and Caffeine is a Xanthine and not an Amphetamine.


I just think it's good for people to know it CAN happen and take a break if they have any concerns is all.
 
Phychological withdrawal is a thing. But if you can take extended breaks and feel ok things are fine. People have problems after long term high dosage use. Route of administration matters too I think.
 
I think this is the case about 90% of the time, but not ALWAYS.

I've read a number of accounts of SERIOUS amp abusers not feeling normal for months or even over a year, having effects like: never feeling properly awake, needing 12 hours of sleep every day for months or over a year, poor concentration lasting months, dysphoria lasting months, and other effects.

If they can last that long, whether they are TECHNICALLY WD or some kind of receptor imbalance doesn't matter to me, they are something to be wary of.

That said, I agree that these cases are very rare, and I don't expect to experience them.

What I find funny is the possibility that caffeine could be even more physically addictive than Dexadrine or Adderall despite the latter 2 being MUCH stronger stimulants you know? LOL

Like I am VERY physically addicted to caffeine and I can get addicted pretty quickly.

If someone were to drink 3 cups of coffee almost every day for 4 months like I've taken 5-20mgs of Dex every day for 4 months they WOULD be physically dependent and no one would argue the fact.

I've been trying to kick caffeine for YEARS and can't.

That said, who knows, maybe caffeine really IS more physically addicting than Dexadrine for some chemical reason I don't know since they are different and Caffeine is a Xanthine and not an Amphetamine.


I just think it's good for people to know it CAN happen and take a break if they have any concerns is all.

So I was a SERIOUS amp user for about 6 years. I'd go through 200mg+ a day of adderall, often staying up for 4-7 days on end. Once I'd successfully gone off of it I experienced all kind of issues (needing at least 10 hours of sleep, uncontrollable diet/weight gain, no self control, no energy etc) All that said I never really considered those "withdrawl" symptoms, as they don't really seem to get any better? I categorize it more along the lines of long-term brain damage? I mean as I was going off them I slept for days on end, and felt depressed. Those are withdrawl symptoms. They eventually got better. But never, ever, have I felt even 1/10th of the person I was when on stims.
 
Does anyone else note the contradiction with the people saying withdrawal is 100% psychological yet you will feel fatigued and sleep a lot?
 

I shot methamphetamine quite heavily to the point of puking/dry heaving each morning (probably 20-50mg each shot), about 3-8 times a day for like 9 months. When I quit there was no withdrawal.

There's people who fall into the psychological pull of addiction of "I must keep taking more" with things like cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine and others do not (like myself). It was quite easy to stop taking it. It felt amazing to stop, I just slept in for a while, started eating again and felt normal again in a few days. No cravings or withdrawal or anything.

From what I've observed from myself and almost everyone else is that methamphetamine or amphetamines are not physically addictive like opiates, benzos, alcohol are. Some people claim otherwise, and I'm not sure how to account for this discrepancy.
 
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