[darleenjshannon]

Along with bipolar, my pdoc seems to think I have ADHD so I'm taking Abilify and Adderall daily. I know a few people who took Adderall as pre-teens and they have nothing good to say about long term use.

Does anyone else take Adderall? I'd like to hear about other folks' experiences.

[BlueInanna]

I have add dx too & bpII dx... Adderall really helped me focus. I ran a company (still am, but really close to quit the biz at the moment), raised 3 kids single. Took adderall off & on for the past 6 yrs or so - I'm 40 now. Pdoc requires me to take a mood stabilizer with it. I go through periods where I quit all meds. If I do go back on meds, something addressing the add is important to me, I'm interested in the non-stimulant. If I didn't have to work or raise kids I think I could make it med free.

[thickntired]

I was also diagnosed with ADHD which is common in conjunction with bipolar. I have an addictive personality and adderall is addictive, but I've rarely felt like abusing my prescribed dosage. The pdoc I see now reduced me from 40mg to 20mg as he said it can cause a person to relapse and 40mg was too high. I also take a drug vacation meaning on the weekends or for 2 consecutive day I don't take my adderall. This stops me from building a rapid tollerance to the medication and needing an increased dose. After the 2 days are over the adderall is always stronger than if I took it 7 days in a row.

It helps me to focus and calms my fleeting thoughts, but if I'm manic it is a drug I quit taking asap. Some pdocs are afraid it will induce mania in certain bipolars, but I never had that problem over the 7 years I've been taking it.

Peace,

TnT

[darleenjshannon]

Originally Posted by thickntired

...I also take a drug vacation meaning on the weekends or for 2 consecutive day I don't take my adderall. This stops me from building a rapid tollerance to the medication and needing an increased dose. After the 2 days are over the adderall is always stronger than if I took it 7 days in a row...

Did your doctor tell you to skip the weekends or did you decide that for yourself? Maybe I should give that a try.

I'm more worried about long term physical side effects like heart problems, etc.

[thickntired]

Originally Posted by darleenjshannon

Did your doctor tell you to skip the weekends or did you decide that for yourself? Maybe I should give that a try.

I'm more worried about long term physical side effects like heart problems, etc.

It was my pdoc's orders, but my current pdoc didn't tell me to skip days. I absolutly think it is a good idea and promotes the medication to work better. I always skip Sat and Sun.

[Scout Annalee]

Originally Posted by thickntired

I was also diagnosed with ADHD which is common in conjunction with bipolar. I have an addictive personality and adderall is addictive, but I've rarely felt like abusing my prescribed dosage. The pdoc I see now reduced me from 40mg to 20mg as he said it can cause a person to relapse and 40mg was too high. I also take a drug vacation meaning on the weekends or for 2 consecutive day I don't take my adderall. This stops me from building a rapid tollerance to the medication and needing an increased dose. After the 2 days are over the adderall is always stronger than if I took it 7 days in a row.

It helps me to focus and calms my fleeting thoughts, but if I'm manic it is a drug I quit taking asap. Some pdocs are afraid it will induce mania in certain bipolars, but I never had that problem over the 7 years I've been taking it.

Peace,

TnT

Hi. How did you learn of your addictive personality? I'm afraid my college son has an addictive personality and have been googling and it doesn't help. You are real and managing it which gives me hope for him) would you mind sharing your experience with me?
I can tell you more about my son. He is currently in a psych ward after taking a large amount of 25i for the past ten days. It's a new drug I think of it like Molly) and similiar to LSD, but with euphoric, spiritual like experiences. I can share more, if you hv time.

[thickntired]

Hi. I've never heard of 25i but I guess it's like spice or K2 if it's smoked. I think Molly is like heroin mixed with extacy maybe?? I'm too old to know; I was a dead head lol. But I have heard of ppl using Molly and Roxy which is I think pain pills.

I used for years and knew in the back of my mind I was an addict. There were many red flags like ppl telling me I should check myself. The only thing is until I hit bottom or got sick and tired of being sick and tired I couldn't get sober. My advice is don't enable your son. Don't give him money, lock up your meds and anything that can be pawned. If his lips are moving assume he's lying. I was also in rehab in my twenties but I wasn't ready. Unfortunately, many ppl have another 20 years of drugging left inside. Alanon may be of help as well. I wish I could give you more uplifting advice, but addiction isn't pretty.

Tnt ♥

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[MilitaryMech]

I was dx with ADD back in the late 80's as a little kid. Really it was probably more just how I was coping with my Depression.

When I went back to college, I asked my family doc for some meds because I wanted to make sure I could study...... She gave me Adderal. Well studying went out the window. I was so "amped" I couldn't focus for more than a second on anything. I was like a dog chasing squirrels, unable to focus on one without tearing off after another.

On the up-side, my house and garage got REALLY CLEAN!!!! ;-)

[cool09]

I've tried atypical anti-psychotics (and older APs) for agitation/irritability and had a hard time tolerating most of them. My present Doc decided to try adderall with me because he said with some people it does the opposite of stimulating: it relaxes a person. At times 5 mg or less would help but when it wore off (~ 8 hrs) I would feel agitated, flush, nervous, hot flashes so it wasn't worth it. I've also tried ritalin with mixed results. When I get relief from agitation/irritability I feel more focused and concentration is much better, socializing is much easier but relief is very rare.

No other Dr. over 25 yrs has ever talked about using psycho-stimulants with me to relieve agitation, etc. so that shows you how much Psychiatrists use their brain. They shirk their duties, imo. Analyzing patients thoroughly is the least thing on their mind.

[Nightside of Eden]

I take Dexadrine for ADD and it also helps a little with my BP II depression, mostly because it focuses my mind which helps keep depressive thoughts from creeping in as much during the day.

I'm not sure about Adderall, but I know Dexedrine is just fine for long-term use, as I was on it through most of my teens without any problems other than needing to slowly increase the dose because of building up resistance.