Advice While I'm Tapering Off Adderall & Other Meds?

[kieranperez]

Could use guidance/advice right now. I'm tapering off of Adderall now and have been for the last month after 17 years of being prescribed ADHD medication. I'm also slowly tapering off my the following other meds by taking them every other day:

• Prozac
• Abilify

I'm just so tired all the time. I take half of what I've been taking for Adderall for years now (20 mg XR, now at 10 mg Immediate Release). I'm really struggling right now with working on my emotions and consciousness work and just being productive in general. I don't have any patience or concentration AT ALL. I thought my attention span was already much similar to that of a squirrel while on Adderall but man... now that I'm off, it's just incredible and mind-blowing how little attention span I have now. I can't read books or anything. I feel like an emotional wreck. I don't feel suicidal at all, so I'm not like a crying mess all day. I just am all over the place. I feel so much more vulnerable to my emotions, especially when I'm doing my athletic training as a runner which is huge for me. I have a lot of psychological work I need to do in my running as I have a lot of trauma there and emotional blocks that I need to get over and now when I run I get so easily overrun by strong negative emotions. 

Has anyone gone through this and made it through the other side? What sort of mindsets should I be cultivating? Personal-development work is so much more hard now that I'm going through this. 

[star ark]

Has it gotten better over the last month at all?

Has your halved doze ever improved in effectiveness or are you simply going nowhere?

Put personal development on hold until you resolve this very serious problem. Yourself will still be here afterwards to develop, and isn't getting off drugs an even bigger personal development than cold showers and going "OM"?

[kieranperez]

3 minutes ago, star ark said:

Has it gotten better over the last month at all?

Tapering off 17 years of Adderall is a long haul process. The short answer to this is no.

4 minutes ago, star ark said:

Has your halved doze ever improved in effectiveness or are you simply going nowhere?

Gotten me nowhere so far.

4 minutes ago, star ark said:

isn't getting off drugs an even bigger personal development than cold showers and going "OM"?

Not following that last part lol

[kieranperez]

6 minutes ago, star ark said:

Put personal development on hold until you resolve this very serious problem.

To what extent do you mean by this? Are you referring to just reading books and stuff? Or are you actually saying to stop being productive and doing all that I need to get done because the latter just isn't realistic nor doable. I can't just put my life on hold if that's what you're saying.

[Sahil Pandit]

@kieranperez Sounds like you're overcomplicating things just a bit. What is the ONE thing you want to focus on? How about opening up your time horizon? Being more patient? Trusting the process? I mean you're already off the meds, thats something to celebrate.

[star ark]

45 minutes ago, kieranperez said:

To what extent do you mean by this? Are you referring to just reading books and stuff? Or are you actually saying to stop being productive and doing all that I need to get done because the latter just isn't realistic nor doable. I can't just put my life on hold if that's what you're saying.

I don't know what life you are putting on hold? Personal development is a very vague term, saying you personally develop all day could mean anything, saying you can't focus when your brain and body are in complete turmoil? well perhaps your PD is helping but because you're withdrawing so bad you don't realize it?  I may have spoken too soon but I was imagining the girlfriend or wife leaving, the boss getting ready to fire you or the university getting ready to kick you out. I thought i was offering practical "don't lose everything and end up homeless" advice, I don't have specific amps withdrawal advice regarding 17 years of use other than 17 years is about 6200 days, habits form in a couple of months, you probably don't remember being 5 so how you felt for virtually your entire life has been taken from you. 

6200 days of taking medical amps along with other things meds, personally i think you're probably doing better than most people who try and taper after as long as you. But that's just a guess of course. Look to any small improvement and know that it improved because of the time and effort you put into it. 

I'm sorry but lots of people take adderall, if the solution was out there you would have found it somewhere else on the internet. 

 

 

[pluto]

It may be wise to supplement with herbal supplements or adaptogens that work in a similar manner than the chemicals you were taking because the withdrawals are going to be harsh because such a long history of use. (Pycnogenol) Pine Bark Extract is said to be a good replacement for ADHD meds, Rhodiola is another although herbs are not everything but they do help reduce the crash and withdrawals.

I would also supplement with Omega 3, Magnesium and Vitamin D if you are not getting enough sunshine and maybe small amounts of melatoin to help optimal sleep/repair. Meditation and Exercise daily will speed up healing and recovery as well.

https://www.cognitune.com/best-natural-adderall-alternatives/

Few lifestyle changes, healthy whole food diet and following these guidelines should speed up recovery significantly.

 

Edited January 7, 2018 by pluto