8 ms·

I have been plagued by issue after issue with getting my prescription filled correctly (dosage, timing, and shortages). I would prefer to come off of it complet

I have been plagued by issue after issue with getting my prescription filled correctly (dosage, timing, and shortages). I would prefer to come off of it completely, but my doctor has even managed to make that difficult. Any tips for just going cold turkey? I can't wait any longer for my psychiatrist to prescribe an alternative.

TechBro8615 3y ago
Not cold turkey, but if you can, taper off it. Then just be prepared to deal with groggy, slow, angry mood for three weeks.
- chasd00 3y ago
  If you’re talking about adhd drugs like adderall then how do you deal with untreated adhd? It’s absolutely exhausting to me and maddening to everyone around me when I have to go without for whatever reason.
  - TechBro8615 3y ago
    I don't, that's why I keep taking them... but I've had periods of time where I lived abroad or didn't have easy access to the medication, so I had to taper off it. It definitely sucks, and especially after you stop using it, you'll feel especially slow and groggy. You'll also gain a lot of weight. But after a few months you'll feel pretty "normal," at the cost of having all your ADHD symptoms return.
  - rolenthedeep 3y ago
    There is no good answer. Adderall is a miracle drug for people like us. To get by without, you have two options: incredible discipline and force of will, and overcompensating with other stimulants. Meditate, exercise, do anything it takes to force yourself into whatever structure fits your life. I'm talking to-do lists for your to-do lists and scheduling your daily time down to brushing your teeth. You have to force structure onto your life to contain your attention and energy. You have to make some truly profound changes in your life. Or drink way too much caffeine, smoke too many cigarettes and try very hard to not think about the damage you're doing. The only shortcut I know of is to get enough black market adderall for a couple of months and use that to keep yourself functional long enough to build the systems and habits that can keep you going without. See the Getting Things Done method, pomodoro, and find a good task management system. Write everything down, find a system for keeping notes. Also try keeping a diary. Also try to reduce your phone and computer usage. If your phone supports it, use monochrome mode. Push yourself to read more books instead of watching videos or playing games.
    - LoganDark 3y ago
      > Meditate, exercise, do anything it takes to force yourself into whatever structure fits your life. I'm talking to-do lists for your to-do lists and scheduling your daily time down to brushing your teeth. You have to force structure onto your life to contain your attention and energy. You have to make some truly profound changes in your life. This doesn't help when I try to get out of bed in the morning and my body does not move. Does not move. I can't do it. Happens with basically everything.
      - rolenthedeep 3y ago
        I understand, and I empathize. I'm not going to tell you that happy thoughts and a motivational poster will fix you. I will say that once you get past the stage you're in and have the ability to make those big life changes, this part will happen less often and you'll find it easier to break through. When you're generally healthy, it's easier to recover when you're sick. Applies just the same to mental illness as it does to an infection. Unfortunately, you're in the hardest part. Or at least it feels that way in the moment. I don't have any good advice other than to seek help and do whatever gets you to the next day. Try your best to make small improvements when you can. It is okay to not make progress every day, but you also have to not let that be an excuse. You really have to push yourself. It might be the hardest thing you'll ever do, but you aren't the first to have done it. Sorry all I have is the same pithy nonsense you get on Facebook. At the core, it's good advice, but you have to know the limits. There are some battles you can't fight. Sometimes you are in a truly impossible situation. No internet comment can help you with that, but you can find help if you can bring yourself to ask for it. Good luck
        LoganDark 3y ago
        > I don't have any good advice other than to seek help and do whatever gets you to the next day. Well... I did seek help, and ended up on dextroamphetamine, which helps me more than any routine possibly could. It's just that my tolerance got bad enough in just 3 months that now I can't take it more than once every few days, or else it completely stops working. I can't take more because my body already requires a dangerously high dose (30mg/day) and raising it any further causes heart issues. (I tried)
- soderfoo 3y ago
  Ughh... It's all too familiar unfortunately. I've gone without my meds for a week or two on occasion over the past year. I was hoping for "this one weird trick" life hack silver bullet to save the day. My wife and I are expecting our first child later this year. It's becoming apparent the only way to minimize my reliance on a capricious and inconstant system is to pull off the bandaid now and chart my path out of these woods.
- LoganDark 3y ago
  Just curious, is there a risk associated to stopping cold turkey? Every time I stop stimulants cold turkey I just sleep for 15 hours or so and then I'm fine. Maybe there are side effects I just don't get.
whalesalad 3y ago
Only tip is that it will be hard and you must persevere. No one in this life is coming to save you - you must do it yourself.
tstrimple 3y ago
I went cold turkey after a couple years of consist medication because I missed an appointment due to being sick and wasn’t able to get it rescheduled until I was unmedicated again. By that point I was back in the rut of useless executive function. Surprisingly I had zero issues just stopping taking it. Obviously the executive dysfunction came back quickly but I had zero withdrawal symptoms dropping 30mg XR. Maybe I was just lucky.

TechBro8615 3y ago

Not cold turkey, but if you can, taper off it. Then just be prepared to deal with groggy, slow, angry mood for three weeks.

chasd00 3y ago
If you’re talking about adhd drugs like adderall then how do you deal with untreated adhd? It’s absolutely exhausting to me and maddening to everyone around me when I have to go without for whatever reason.
- TechBro8615 3y ago
  I don't, that's why I keep taking them... but I've had periods of time where I lived abroad or didn't have easy access to the medication, so I had to taper off it. It definitely sucks, and especially after you stop using it, you'll feel especially slow and groggy. You'll also gain a lot of weight. But after a few months you'll feel pretty "normal," at the cost of having all your ADHD symptoms return.
- rolenthedeep 3y ago
  There is no good answer. Adderall is a miracle drug for people like us. To get by without, you have two options: incredible discipline and force of will, and overcompensating with other stimulants. Meditate, exercise, do anything it takes to force yourself into whatever structure fits your life. I'm talking to-do lists for your to-do lists and scheduling your daily time down to brushing your teeth. You have to force structure onto your life to contain your attention and energy. You have to make some truly profound changes in your life. Or drink way too much caffeine, smoke too many cigarettes and try very hard to not think about the damage you're doing. The only shortcut I know of is to get enough black market adderall for a couple of months and use that to keep yourself functional long enough to build the systems and habits that can keep you going without. See the Getting Things Done method, pomodoro, and find a good task management system. Write everything down, find a system for keeping notes. Also try keeping a diary. Also try to reduce your phone and computer usage. If your phone supports it, use monochrome mode. Push yourself to read more books instead of watching videos or playing games.
  - LoganDark 3y ago
    > Meditate, exercise, do anything it takes to force yourself into whatever structure fits your life. I'm talking to-do lists for your to-do lists and scheduling your daily time down to brushing your teeth. You have to force structure onto your life to contain your attention and energy. You have to make some truly profound changes in your life. This doesn't help when I try to get out of bed in the morning and my body does not move. Does not move. I can't do it. Happens with basically everything.
    - rolenthedeep 3y ago
      I understand, and I empathize. I'm not going to tell you that happy thoughts and a motivational poster will fix you. I will say that once you get past the stage you're in and have the ability to make those big life changes, this part will happen less often and you'll find it easier to break through. When you're generally healthy, it's easier to recover when you're sick. Applies just the same to mental illness as it does to an infection. Unfortunately, you're in the hardest part. Or at least it feels that way in the moment. I don't have any good advice other than to seek help and do whatever gets you to the next day. Try your best to make small improvements when you can. It is okay to not make progress every day, but you also have to not let that be an excuse. You really have to push yourself. It might be the hardest thing you'll ever do, but you aren't the first to have done it. Sorry all I have is the same pithy nonsense you get on Facebook. At the core, it's good advice, but you have to know the limits. There are some battles you can't fight. Sometimes you are in a truly impossible situation. No internet comment can help you with that, but you can find help if you can bring yourself to ask for it. Good luck
      - LoganDark 3y ago
        > I don't have any good advice other than to seek help and do whatever gets you to the next day. Well... I did seek help, and ended up on dextroamphetamine, which helps me more than any routine possibly could. It's just that my tolerance got bad enough in just 3 months that now I can't take it more than once every few days, or else it completely stops working. I can't take more because my body already requires a dangerously high dose (30mg/day) and raising it any further causes heart issues. (I tried)
soderfoo 3y ago
Ughh... It's all too familiar unfortunately. I've gone without my meds for a week or two on occasion over the past year. I was hoping for "this one weird trick" life hack silver bullet to save the day. My wife and I are expecting our first child later this year. It's becoming apparent the only way to minimize my reliance on a capricious and inconstant system is to pull off the bandaid now and chart my path out of these woods.
LoganDark 3y ago
Just curious, is there a risk associated to stopping cold turkey? Every time I stop stimulants cold turkey I just sleep for 15 hours or so and then I'm fine. Maybe there are side effects I just don't get.

whalesalad 3y ago

Only tip is that it will be hard and you must persevere. No one in this life is coming to save you - you must do it yourself.

tstrimple 3y ago

I went cold turkey after a couple years of consist medication because I missed an appointment due to being sick and wasn’t able to get it rescheduled until I was unmedicated again. By that point I was back in the rut of useless executive function. Surprisingly I had zero issues just stopping taking it. Obviously the executive dysfunction came back quickly but I had zero withdrawal symptoms dropping 30mg XR. Maybe I was just lucky.