Could Adderall Be Causing Depression?

I felt it, too. It is definitely the adderall. Bad stuff. I wonder if things will ever be better, but at least they get easier.

im 25 and have ADD, ive been on adderall for like 5 years or so, wow.. just writing that i guess i never really thought about how long ive been taking this drug.

Without a doubt i know im addicted, i honestly can't imagine doing anything in my life when im not on it. On and off i do get depressed, like really depressed and terribly horribly lonely. I never really thought for some reason it could be the adderall that was doing it... I have an absolutely beautiful former model girlfriend, a great family, i have many people that care about me but i get so ridiculously depressed despite it all. After reading some of these posts i realize its probably the adderall doing this to me.

When im on the drug and when im off it im 2 completely different people. I was always known as a funny guy my whole life, but for some reason when im on it, its like i become a social retard. I can't make anyone laugh to save my life, ive changed into an introverted person over these last years i realize. The number of friends i have are dwindling, i never lash out at anyone or anything like that, but when im coming down i can get extremely cranky and pissy though i never show it to people. I hide my depression from everyone and live in a mask, if told some of my friends or family i was depressed like this they would probably think i was kidding. Every now and then i do actually feel like ending my life but i know i could never do that. I just couldn't do that to my family ever.

I guess im writing all this as a kind of therapy for myself, the anonymity of the internet i guess.... Thing is, even with this realization about the medicine and the self loathing i have developed, i dont think im capable of stopping from taking the medicine. Pretty sad huh?

I will close this pathetic confession with some advice for others, DONT F*****G GET STARTED! Ask yourself this, what good are high marks in school or nailing that presentation/report at work if at the end of the day all you want to do is curl up in a ball and wallow in your own loneliness?

Don't be like me, f*ck Adderall.

I have been on adderall for the past two years and over the past year, I have lost all of my friends, have no money, no dates and do not feel like leaving the house to socialize. Well...as a blessing..since I ran out of money, I could no longer afford my adderall...and after about 3 days with no adderall...suddenly, it was like a fog lifted and all of a sudden, I felt like my old self again. I didn't even realize that my old self had gone until my old self came back! Now, I get it!!!! I was depressed! Butm when I was in it, I had no idea. I would even ask my therapist (who I'm firing this Thursday) "Why has my life become so terrible?" "Why don't I have any friends?"...and her answer was...."I don't know." Uggghhhh, if you or someone you know...has lost all of their friends, doesn't want to go out, isn't making money or able to pay bills....do whatever it takes to make them realize..THEY ARE DEPRESSED! I wish you all the best and please do yourselves a favor...get off the adderall, because having focus and conceration isn't worth loosing yourself.

Wow, I can totally relate with all of this. I guess most of us came across this by searching 'adderall' and 'depression.'

I'm not sure about the not having money thing in the previous post because I've always experienced the straight killin' it side effects at work. However, I do know that it will de_stroy your social skills. It's like day and night when I'm on and off the stuff. That's what it's made for.

If you're going to take it day in and day out, you will get addicted and the come down is going to be f*****g harsh. The shitty come down will make you want to take more, and it'll bring you right back up and your zombie-productive-self will return in full force.

I'd suggest taking a week long vacation somewhere nice and warm and leave your prescrip behind. The first two days of withdrawal can be counteracted with rest and relaxation. Then, proceed to get your natural focus on and realize you can survive on only 10-20mg/day for only what you absolutely need to concentrate on.

I hope this helps some that are feeling down. I know how hard it can be to 'snap out of it' when your on a drug that fixates you on whatever occupies your mind. Cheer up and get back to work! :-)

I have started taking adderol at night while doing homework. I couldn't take the emotional and social sacrifices that I got from it during the day. I remember the year before I started taking adderol I was extremely social, witty, and happy-go-lucky. Now over a year later of taking concerta, Adderol XR and short acting adderol, I am only mildly social. I only have the friends I have had for years and feel almost incapable of making new friends. Friend retention has also been a problem with me. I have found that by taking herbal supplements for depression such as Sam-E (entric coated tablets) and Fish Oil it has curtailed the negative aspects of adderol, but only for a certain degree. If you want to have bomb ass grades, take adderol, but it will have an expense on your social relationships with others.

I am a sophmore in high school right now. For as long as I can remember i've taken adderall. I think I was in 2nd grade when I first started. But I used to not take it and just told my mom I took it because I hated the "weird side effects". My freshmen year I started taking it seriously because i've always gotten bad grades and I wanted to be taken seriously. I started not eating and also became OBSESSED with staying thin... I was already thin then (120) Then when I took the adderall I got down to 106. Which I LOVED. But it was hurting me.

I felt zombie like... Like looking at everyone having fun and asking yourself... why cant i be like that... why cant i have fun and be silly. So my social life went down the drain. And my boyfriend always asked why are you so unhappy. And the truth was I had no idea. I remember crying all the time. When I went to bed I would cry. When my sister was anoying me I felt like she wantted me to be unhappy. And I felt like I was fooling everyone. And I started taking up to 3 tablets a day just to feel numb.

Ohhh did I mention I was getting STRAIGHT A'S.

Now I am not diluting myself for the chance of getting straight A's. Over trying to please my parents. I am going to do my best without the medication.

When did you decide to give up Adderall? Have yout aken it without doctor supervision to get off it? I hope that you're okay. Please let me know how things are going for you. Thanks!

I was just looking for information, cause my 7 years old son take the pill today first time. He come home from school as diferent person. He was very angry, crying, hiding from me... I had hard time to hide my tears. He has ADHD but those pills make it wors. I sow him for the first time in his life to trow toy in air . It is scary... o.O o.O %-)

I am a senior in highschool and I have always had a learning disability but did not get put on medicine untill this August. I make straight A's now, but that is not the only difference I have had. I feel like a different person, I rarley talk, never laugh, I am always sad.. While there are plenty of things for me to do, on Friday nights I usually choose to stay home. This was suppose to be an amazing year, yet I feel like I lost myself. I do believe it is the medicine but not taking it is not optional because when I do not take it, my grades suffer almost immediately. I have asked many of my friends if they thought that adderhol has caused depression in them and they say no. I think it can have different impacts on everyone, but I would not put anyone on it until they are old enough to choose themselves because it could alter their personalities forever.

good god, I'm glad someone around here can relate to me...

I'm seventeen years old, I've been taking adderall for almost two years. I really do feel as if I have lost myself. I don't know what happened to the social and bubbly girl that won homecoming court with her boyfriend of two years? It's a lose-lose situation, whether you want to be acedemically successful and drown in your social life. It hurts because I want to prove my parents wrong, get good grades and be successful (whatever people expect I DUNNO). Despite getting good grades the social aspect of school kills me. The thought of living kills me sometimes. I'm sad, and a loner. I can't handle myself in social situations, I'm scared. I cry all the time, I've cried so much I can barely even make the tears to cry now thinking about how different I am now. It's so not right, I can't stop taking it though. When I stop I don't do ANYTHING. I'm going to be a senior, I've got colleges to get accpeted to...it's tough. I could go on for a while about this, but I'll spare you all. I don't think people expected the bubbly little blue eyed girl on the dance team to end up like this. :'(

So basically, I would not reccomend taking adderall...it effects everyone differently. and I'd hate for anyone to feel sad and lonesome
like I do. I really am a sweet heart it's just hard to show it now. But I would like to say to everyone above me, sh*t ....best wishes to you all hopefully we figure it out. it's hard, and it's not fun to not know yourself.

good god, I'm glad someone around here can relate to me...

I'm seventeen years old, I've been taking adderall for almost two years. I really do feel as if I have lost myself. I don't know what happened to the social and bubbly girl that won homecoming court with her boyfriend of two years....honestly as far as I know, she's gone and so are my friends. It's a lose-lose situation, whether you want to be acedemically successful and drown in your social life. It hurts because I want to prove my parents wrong, get good grades and be successful (whatever people expect I DUNNO). Despite getting good grades the social aspect of school kills me. I'm sad, and a loner. I can't handle myself in social situations, I'm scared. I cry all the time, and I cry so easily. But at the same time I don't care enough to try to talk to anyone because I feel as if they really wanted to talk to me they would try to see what's wrong or something. Wow... It's so not right, I can't stop taking Adderall though. When I stop I don't do ANYTHING. I would love to stop taking it. But it's hard and I'm going to be a senior, I've got colleges to get accpeted to. I could go on, but I'll spare you.

So basically, I would not reccomend taking adderall...it effects everyone differently. but I'd hate for anyone to feel sad and lonesome
like I do. Although it will help you focus and do well in school, but you get so caught up I feel as though you forget about yourself and things that make you happy and you just become unhappy. I really am a sweet heart it's just hard to show it now. But I would like to say to everyone above me, honestly ....best wishes to you all hopefully we figure it out. it's hard, and it's not fun to not know yourself.

I've just recently starting taking a generic form of adderall. It's been close to 4 months that I've been on the drug and I'm beginning to notice extreme differences in myself. I'm a senior in college and with that I know comes the normal stress of school and life and where will I be in 6 months in this economy... However I've noticed a significant decline in my sex drive. I constantly have feelings of sadness and overwhelming anxiety that I've never had before. I used to be so outgoing and bubbly and wanted to surround myself around people all the time. Now, I just seclude myself from everything. I feel so bad for my boyfriend. He's taken a big hit from this too. I have mood swings which never happened before and lately I've been crying all the time because I feel GUILTY--why? I feel guilty because everyone is praising me for my accomplishments and being so supportive. I feel like everyone is giving me way to much credit and in a sense; overestimating me... See?! I know it sounds crazy but I can't get a handle on it. I don't know whats wrong with me.
I will say, however, that the medicine has definitely aided in improving my grades and study sessions. I can study for much longer periods without it feeling like it's been all day when in fact, it has.
I just don't know if the good outweighs the bad in this situation. Doing well in school is very important to me, but I fear that these symptoms I'm having may worsen. I've only been on the drug for a few months so I don't know how long term they will be...

YES! YES! YES!



I recently started seeing a psychiatrist that actually seemed to know what he was talking about. He says he has found a link between ADHD, depression, and a specific carbohydrate-deficiency.



He has a book that's been published and claims he has tried many times to get his research published in the medical journals, but medical journals are sponsored by the drug companies. I thought he was crazy until I saw these posts.



This shrink I've been seeing is Dr. Jory Goodman and he is located in Beverly Hills if anyone is interested. He told me he has people that fly in from all over the world just to meet with him. Again, I thought he was full of ***edited by moderator*** ** inappropriate posting**, but maybe he isn't.



It might be worth giving him a call or checking out his website. I let him prescribe me Adderall, but I don't feel comfortable with him taking me off of Zoloft and Trazedone, which have kept me nonsuicidal since 2004. I still have refills on the later from the last shrink I saw. Anyway, he has a website: ***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed



Decide for yourself what you think about him.

Hi everyone. I wanted to take a second to share my personal experience with Adderall XR. I am a 26 yer old female and I've been taking Adderall for two years now. At first one 30mg pill was all I needed to stay calm, focused, and aware of what was going on and what I needed to be doing to be more efficient. It was GREAT. However, after about eight months, I no longer felt anything from the medicine. I would get the high in the morning right after taking it, but my noon, I was back to ADD mode. I told my doctor about this and he decides I need to up my dosage to two 30mg pills a day. One in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Now, two years later, I am an instable, emotional, suicidal basketcase. I explode in rages of anger over nothing, I am extremely sensitive to everything, I can cry at the drop of a hat, I have incredibly irrational thoughts, I even resorted to cutting my arms to relieve some of the emotional/mental turmoil I was experiencing. My thought have become incredibly obssessive and almost unbearable. I use to be able to take on any challenge, but now the slightest bump in the road and I'm torn up for days over it. When my actions caused my boyfriend to breakup with me, that's when I knew I needed help. Up until last week, I honestly believed myself to be crazy or bi polar. I thought I would be commited the second I went to the doctor. However, it wasn't anything like that. He explained to me that Adderall can actually stop your brain from producing seratonin (the chemical that allows you to feel happiness). He told me that after long periods on Adderall, this can happen to anyone and it's something that he sees commonly. So, what's the plan of action? He's given me three weeks to wean myself off the medicine. He gave me a lower dosage pill and a game plan to overcome what had unknowingly become an addiction to Adderall. I am going to back to see him in three weeks. At that time he is going to put me on anti depressants. He said this was necessary to trigger my brain to start producing seratonin again. He expects me to have to be on this medicine for nine to twelve months, but told me it would make a huge difference in making me feel normal again. The scary thing about all this is that I've been taking this medicine to help me overcome an issue that prevents me from functioning normally every day and then I find out that it's (in a way) killing me. I am so thankful that I went to the doctor when I did because if I had let this go much longer, it could have been worse.

Here is my story someone help. I found out I had ADD when I was a 16. The Dr. perscribed me Ritalin. The drug worked like a charm. I instantly went from a 1.5 gpa to a 3.5. In college I maintained a 4.0. I am now 33 years old an up untill a month ago have still been taking Ritalin for my ADD symptoms. Last month my insurance plan changed and so did my Dr. My new Dr recomended that I take Adderal and I agreed to try it. I am supper focused and my work peformace is better than ever. However I have become a total jerk, miserable, and depressed. Some times in the evening I feel so lost that I cant stop crying. Is this from the Adderall or am I just depressed. :-(