adderall, aggression and potential withdrawal affects

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am333, you really do need to get a doctor to prescribe adderall. a) because it's heavily regulated and requires a special kind of prescription b) because you need to be monitored in case of side effects and c) of course they need to evaluate you to be sure they agree with your ADD diagnosis. You could try calling a local psych and explain you don't have insurance; maybe they can give you a cheaper rate or suggest a doctor or clinic who can. As for requesting specific meds: in my experience, doctors are quite responsive to listening to what you've taken that has and hasn't worked well for you.

To everyone discussing aggression and rage: me too! My doc just tried switching me from short-acting generic adderall to adderall xr, thinking I might have fewer withdrawal effects each day as it wears off. But instead, I have *different* effects... now instead of getting super-tired and scatterbrained as it wears off, I get really angry and scatterbrained... The strange thing is without meds i sometimes get angry and scatterbrained too, but I always thought I was just getting frustrated at my scatterbrained behavior. Anyone else find that the rage problem maps to one type of adderall and not the other?

BTW, I am female. I would have guessed that the aggression side effect might just happen to males, but apparently that's not the case.

Upton O'Goode · Silver Member Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 172

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I have been on adderall for eight years. Started with regular release then eventually a tolerance built up and at eight years on the stuff I'm prescribed 60 mg! I am not working, extremely depressed, extreme paranoia, One minute I'm irritable and the next I'm really happy, and sometimes I experience symptoms damn close to schizophrenia symptoms. All of which I believe is due to taking Adderall. I'm not completely against adderall in some cases but for me it has destroyed my life! I'm totally dependent on it and I'm not even working! I need it just to get out of bed! If you are thinking of taking adderall... it is definitely not for those with addictive tendencies! Look this is what will happen: If you take it everyday for years your body/and brain will expect it to be in your system! Thats physical addiction! Long term it will change the way you think and eventually stop working (it now makes my add worse! The opposite of what it should do!)! You'll up the dose over the years to feel the way it used to make you feel! And find yourself addicted to amphetines! The physical part withdrawl wise sucks. There is no way around! I suggest that you sleep for the first week! Now comes the hard part! Learning to function again without it! The longer you take it the harder it is to stop! I know! Your brain will still expect and want it for months! I can't function now. I take an antidepressant (tried them all) and addreall and a mood stablizer (tried three different ones) I have so many problems from taking adderall long term that I'm telling you unless its a special case, unless its extremely needed (Iwant to tell you all not to take it but I can't make that call) Use extreme causion and at the first signs of addiction stop before its too late! Its not worth what you will loose! what will you loose? yourself! your life! Its just not worth it! You take it and someday you will have to stop! Someday it will stop working! And you'll have to do what you could already have done!.... Learn to live your life without it! You'll most likely one day have to anyway!

healthmatters · Newbie Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 2

I am very confused by this last post. Is this person serious? The artist who posted said that she wanted to know how to get a "prescription" or how to speak to a "doctor" about it. She stated that she did not have insurance. Has this person, "Guest" ever been in a predicament where he or she did not have insurance? I can remember my husband and I driving in circles in the icy parking lot of an emergency room at 3AM with our 3 month old son buckled into his carseat in the back of our vehicle, listening to his every breath, trying desperately to decide if we should take him in and incur an unGodly hospital bill (we had no insurance-my husband had been layed off when his company moved out of state, and the insurance had not yet kicked in for his new job.) My son had seemed ill, but as usual, by the time we got to the hospital, he was asleep. Until you have to live without medical insurance, please do not judge others who do not have it. It sounds like Adderall was at one time prescribed for this individual and she was diagnosed by a medical doctor with ADD. Classic symptoms of ADD (not ADHD). Shame on you, "GUEST".

As for the person needing the prescription. If you have a prior diagnosis of ADD, then getting the script would probably not be the issue. Google community resources for your county or city. Look for community outreach programs, free clinics, or Community Action Programs. You may be able to see a doctor and get a script. It would help if you could provide medical records of your ADD diagnosis. If not, you will need to get a diagnosis from an MD or sometimes, doctors want a psychologist or counselor to diagnose it. Some MDs will not prescribe, and you need a psychiatrist to do so - still, you'll need a diagnosis from and MD or a counselor. Anyway, the prescription is not really the problem if you have ADD - it is paying for the medication. It is extremely expensive, and many free clinics will not dispense it. You will also have to see the doctor who prescribes the meds at least once/month or once/3 months, and you'll need help paying for the office call (try the free clinics if you can??)
You might look up Shire Pharmaceuticals. They are the creators of Adderall and some companies will give you free drugs if you have a valid script and are unable to pay. If no luck with Shire, look at the companies who make some of the alternatives, such as Concerta. They may have an assistance program for customers who are uninsured. Call United Way, they can give you a list of resources. There are a lot of resources out there for folks who are uninsured. Just need to be a research scientist to find them!!!! Good luck.

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Guest · Guest

Save yourself the rollercoaster ride and do not start on this drug. I took it beginning in medical to school to help me study. Over the next five years my dosage increased. Side effects increased and my life went to s*&t. I was in a competitive surgical field and thought that it could help me concentrate. You start a cycle of taking the medicine then being unable to sleep and taking more and more to get a clear head. Even though I was being "monitored" by a physician which was a joke in itself. He basicly was my drug dealer and not monitoring the meds. People around you need to be asked about side effects because you will not see them. Doctors call that loosing insight. After I lost my job I stopped taking the medicine which plunged me into the worst depression of my life. My sleep schedule was screwed insomnia mixed with hypersomnia during random times during the day. At the lowest point I had a Glock .40 caliber in my mouth about to end it all. My psychiatrist made no mention of withdrawal effects, axiety, mood swings and when I asked why I was having so much trouble sleeping his response was I can write you some ambien. In the end I went to a psychiatrist in the state that I was from who started me on the right medicine. Adderall effects every major neurotransmitter system in your brain. Serotonin, norepinephrine, and eventually dopamine. In the end effexor, and a dopamine agonist were the only things that helped bring things back to normal. In all of it I lost my job, career, girlfriend and my credit is screwed. If I could go back five years ago I would not have started taking this. A grade is not worth it. Problems concentrating can come from a variety of sources. Depression, learning style differences etc. Save yourself potential trouble and don't even start it.

Guest · Guest

I wish I could respond to every post I agree with the tolerance and withdrawal symptons. I had taken adderall (60 mg) for about 5 months in 11th grade and noticed exceptional changes in grades, motivation and drive. I admit the docs and parents cut off the RX after realizing pills were missing. (Immaturity led me to distribute on very small scale) At the time I never noticed the withdrawals agression wise then, just motivation and grades wise. I refused meds for depression or non stimulant ADD pills from then on I could care less about school. Day after I graduated at 17 I moved out. (Resenting my parents still.) Fast Forward 4 years after self medicating daily too such an extreme, depresssion, inattentiveness etc. were becoming an unignorable problem. Fortunately my parents insurance is still effective, anyways after seeing the increase in depression and decrease of motivation I begin seeing doc again and start taking adderall again and cymbalta. After 1 1/2 monthes my bf(of 2 years) sees the generic name for my Adderall which is Amphetamine salts and is instantly opposed. He took my RX and overnight I went from taking 60 mg ( prescribed by doc) to 0 mg. Since then I have experienced some of the worst aggression and lack of control I have ever had. He even knows I moved out of my really cool parents (now) house bc of they way they wanted to control everything.

****To the 29 year old professional: post your request for Adderral on Craigslist under the For Sale/ Wanted. I'm sure you'll get a couple replies. I'll give you another professional suggestion, look under psychiatrist in the Phone book.

pillpoppinnation · Newbie Joined: 10 Feb 2008 Posts: 1

For this post; My physician did not have a system in place for people that unexpectedly come up short on meds for whatever reason...lose, damage, etc. He was out of the office for two days and did not update my records to show I was eligible for renewal. After one day I started really getting aggressive and rage, my only recourse was to drink, which only compounded my aggression. Especially after not touching a drop of alcohol for almost 3 years. By the second day he was back and filled the script, only my insurance company wouldn't fill it for 3 days, so back to the doc for another script for the 3 days. By the time I got my 3 pills, I was drunk, pissed and aggressive as hell. My impending divorce and everything that was acceptible to me became unexceptable and I flew into a rage. My mind was still in tact not to harm anyone but my actions did not appear that way. Long story short when I wasn't getting return phone calls or text messages after 4 hours (to make sure my kids were okay due to some of my wifes apartment issues) I went to there apartment. I don't know what happened prior to that but I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and in this county, someone goes to jail when the PD are called and it looks like it could be domestic. It wasn't but "guilty until proven not guilty".

So the moral of this story is YES ADDERALL CAUSES SEVERE WITHDRAWAL EFFECTS SUCH AS AGGRESSION AND RAGE. However, it depends on the person I'm sure. Our medical and pharmaceutical world pushes pills on us for ever flippin' thing and they need to start being held accountable. With the $$ comes responsibility and when a doctor repeatedly doesn't update records or pushes a pill at you before you even get the symptoms out of your mouth it's time for them to realize that they are dealing with lives and stop looking at how many kick-backs they are getting from the pharmaceutical companies. Which, by-the-way, have a new work force...young, fun and full of hormones in OD. That says something right there.

SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FEW DAYS BACK UP PILLS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

lindy.dimascio · Newbie Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Posts: 1

been on it since april 07; not even adhd. psych put me on it to counter bipolar meds "dopey" effect. it is contraindicated for bipolar individuals by the fda, by the way. i've had horrible migraines since changing my bipolar treatment to topamax, which is also a migraine blocker; i feel it is since adderall works on known migraine receptors, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine, which the topamax have been trying to block. blood pressure has been through the roof (158/9 Cool

, so psych told me to go cold turkey on friday. headaches are worse, i'm nauseated, chills, irritable, wanting more of my xanax than usual. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG!!!!! there are better alternatives out there. adderall, in both forms, is nothing more than amphetamine, which is speed, closely related to cocaine. when you do get a legit rx, they cannot give you refills; you have to physically go into the office monthly for a new rx. that is how regulated this drug is. i trusted my psych to look out for me and he did this. and when confronted about my headaches, he told me neither drug COULD cause headaches. Rolling Eyes

genius. just stay away.

Guest · Guest

wow "guest" a little dramatic and totally incorrect. i dont blame anyone without insurance for trying to get the medicine they need another way- without insurance an adderall script is $200 a month. i know, although i get mine LEGALLY my insurance doesnt cover it. oh and the testing for a diagnosis is about $700 WITH insurance. Tijuana Mexico is, from what i've heard the best source. you can legally buy over the counter antibiotics, painkillers etc. if you're in cali its just a day trip from LA...

by the way, as a university student surrounded by classmates who take adderall recreationally/dont have ADD or ADHD i'll tell you how they get it- their parents. yup. rich mommies and daddies pay thousands of dollars to get an ADD/ADHD diagnosis for their kids so they can take the SATS untimed and get a better shot at princeton. once kids have that diagnosis, its too easy for them to get a psychiatrist themselves a year later when they are 18 and tell the doctor that they want to try medication for their fake ADD/ADHD. The other way they get it is by kids who do get it perscribed selling their perscriptions- I've been offered $10 per pill for mine. So just to recap, she's nowhere close to the reason children are dying- and they're not children either they are college students, young adults who are old enough to research the risks themselves. If you would like them to stop dying from medicine they arent supposed to be taking, then you should effort to stop our high pressure higher education system- these kids wouldnt be taking it if not for our superachiever winner takes all culture. with kids prepping one year prior to starting kindergarten for that all important kindergarten screening, with parents pushing toddlers into lessons in chinese and violin; how else do you expect them to deal with the pressure that increases every year? by the time kids get to college, they're ready to explode from the stress of it.

adderall, aggression and potential withdrawal affects

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