Adderall Side Effects wrote @ September 15, 2008 at 2:53 pm

My name is Benjamin Mardell and i would like to show you my personal experience with Adderall.

I have taken for 1 years. I am 46 years old. This drug completely changed ny life. I no longer feel constantly irritable like I’m about to explode. I can focus and complete tasks, I’m nicer to people. I just had my performance review at work and my boss said my work had been exceptional and wants to promote me to a senior policy advisor positiion. My compulsivity has also been reduced- I don’t overeat and rarely drink anymore. I also sleep better and no longer need a sleep aid.

Side Effects :
Brief euphoria when I first started taking it and hypersexuality. Both sx have since moderated.

I hope this information will be useful to others,
Benjamin Mardell

  Megan wrote @ September 2, 2009 at 5:15 am

I know this is an older post, and I don’t know if anyone will read this or not. I just wanted to say a bit about the emotional withdrawal symptoms from adderall cessation.

My first experience with it was over about a month and a half period. I was going through a divorce, a total upheaval of everything in my life, and I’d treat myself with some Adderall about once a week or so. The euphoria I got with it was amazing, and even after the drug wore off, I felt more hopeful about life and my situation, like I really could get through it. Also, when I was on it, I got soooo much done. Whether it be work on my college classes or actual around-the-house projects, I could always count on accomplishing a great deal while on it.

I had previously been a binge drinker on weekends. It was my social lubricant. While taking Adderall, drinking was the farthest thing from my mind. I was able to go out to bars with friends and just socialize. I’d outdrink them with cup after cup of water, but no booze. This was just great.

Unfortunately though, my supply ran out and I wasn’t able to get anymore. What ensued after that was the worst bout of depression I have ever experienced. All I could think about was Adderall. Crazy ideas about stealing it from people would pop into my head. I felt convinced that life was totally empty… after experiencing life on Adderall, reality was just not something I wanted to have to go through. I withdrew from social contact, spent a lot of time crying, fumbled and failed through a brief stint at a new job, and wound up in my therapists office just shy of threatening suicide. I was put on an anti-depressant, Celexa. I took a vacation to Florida, managed to only lose one full letter grade in one of my classes over it all, and was also given clonazapam for anxiety.

Slowly but surely, this concoction got me feeling happier. I did a LOT of self-talk during this time. I tried daily to look at the positives of life, and constantly reminded myself that I was doing things, Adderall free. I started out going to the grocery store, or driving to get gas, and these things felt huge to me. Over time, I built my life back up to normal. It took months to stop the obsessive longings for Adderall, but the suicidal feelings stopped as soon as the other medications started.

A few months later, I got a surprise supply of Adderall. I decided this time going into it that I was not going to view it as a “party drug”– or an aid to the kinds of social activities that I do not naturally enjoy– but that this time I’d use it simply for focus and productivity. I also decided that I was NOT going to let myself despair when it ran out.

This year, my supply has been pretty sporadic. I’ll have it for a few months, then have a few months without it. But none of the withdrawals have been nearly as bad as the first one was, mainly because of the mindset I’m forcing myself to be in. Also, I think the Celexa and Clonazapam have done wonders.

If you know you’re going to run out at some point and there’s nothing you can do about it, work on your mindset. Stop thinking of it as a crutch, and don’t use it to do things you wouldn’t normally do. Go several days in between using it, since the tolerance thing quickly develops and you’ll just end up wasting pills if you keep taking them day after day. Try to get a prescription for an anti-anxiety med like Xanax or Clonazapam (I highly suggest the latter).

And when it does run out or you have to stop taking it, make lists everyday entitled “Things I did today without Adderall”. Include the smallest things, like brushing your teeth and tidying up your bedroom. Take pride in everything you do solo. Eventually you’ll stop thinking about it and start living again!