HOW to stop taking adderall without WEIGHT GAIN??

I recently stopped taking adderall. I'd been taking 90mg -60mg/day. I was prescribed 90mg/day since 2003. In addition to undiagnosed ADHD, I had also suffered from an eating disorder since my teens. For me Adderall was a miracle. Within a week I was able to focus and my eating disorder went away. I used to take enormous amounts of laxatives and diuretics and I was able to stop. It was like magic. Over the years my weight was pretty normal until I went ioff. I've gained so much weight in 3 months I can't believe it's normal. I look 9 months pregnant.

I just stopped taking it and my whole body feels different. Im 28 and have been taking it for 10 years. So much of my identity revolves around being skinny. Im terrified. But I'm going to see what happens

Hello,
Could you please tell me how you went about reducing the dose and how it worked out for you? How is the weight gain, if any?

When they stop taking the pills and start eating normally again, their bodies want to store as many calories in fat as possible in anticipation of another starvation period. The good news is that it is entirely possible to quit Adderall without gaining weight, provided that you are at a healthy weight on Adderall. 

My son is 16 and was on adderal from 3rd to 6th grade. He had major adhd and couldn’t focus. While I had so many people telling me what I should do or need to do I started adderal and his personality slowly went silence. He was funny, happy and smart but the distractions would win everyday I’m achool. My son went from class clown to winning every award possible. He was now happy that he was getting good grades but still not happy deep inside. It brought out major depression. Mental illness runs on his father’s side and doctors were soon telling me he had ocd and he was bipolar. Throwing more medication at him. The medication is a bandage. If you don’t train your brain and eat healthy to feed your brain the nutrients it needs to strive then getting off is going to be very difficult. Which leads to the addiction. My son would get in the car crying that he needed the medication because he was getting trouble in school and forgetting to raise his hand or forget to finish a test or turn in homework. He went from struggling A’s prior to medication to easy A’s on medication. Getting off he went straight down to D’s. Teachers were concerned and their opinion was to put him back on. I know this medication is not good for the body or the heart. We chose to learn to walk with out the crutches and he has done other treatments to make up for medication. We have changed his diet, we did a few rounds of neuro feedback. Which a lot of people don’t believe in. It is expensive and most insurances don’t pay for it which sucks!!! But, my son is back to himself and not depressed and realized he has to study a little harder to get where he wants to be. I think when people come off and don’t do anything to substitute for it then your symptoms seem much worse and it does take your brain time to rewire itself. Everyone has their own story and what worked for us doesn’t work for the next so good luck in which ever road you travel but weight isn’t a reason to get back on it.

I know your post is over a year old. I wanted to see if you are still Adderall free? I am a 44 yr woman who has been taking Adderall for over 12 yrs. I currently take 60mg a day. I want to stop, but I fear the weight gain more than anything.

Hello! How has your experience been since this post? I appreciate the insight and encouragement provided through your post!

Old post but I’m 33 as well, considering getting pregnant in 1.5/2 years, extremely worried about weight gain after I stop. I take vyvanse, also like adderall but it’s not as addicting. I lost a tremendous amount of weight when I first started, through diet and exercise as well, but over time I’ve gone up a few pounds here and there but only because I don’t workout as hard. Which I can fix.


These drugs affect metabolism, that’s another reason why people gain after coming off. I am already absolutely terrified about gaining the weight back after I stop the Vyvanse, but my biggest fear is, will I literally become obese coming off the drug and then on top of that gaining pregnancy weight? How did it work out for you?

Hey!

Ok so I’m 29 and I have been on Adderall since I was 12. That being said I took an 18 month break from 26-27 and I gained 15ish pounds. That being said, I had no healthy habits. I worked out very irregularly and incorrectly. I am back on adderall but I take half as much as I did in my early twenties (15mg XR vs 30mg XR(, and I don’t take adderall on the weekends.

So here is my story. The bottom line is - develop healthy habits, and a routine and you will be ok.
Here’s the long and the short of what has worked for me:
1) go off adderall a few days. And track your consumption via myfitness pal. Being aware of what you are eating and the caloric composition of food is a useful exercise.
2) find an exercise you love, and one that has a good amount of strength training. I like the yoga sculpt class at corepower yoga and reformer pilates. I also can reccomend the kelsey wells PWR app.
3) focus your Food (Snacks especially) on vegetables and low calorie snacks. Ie- cucumbers or snap peas with lower calorie dips (Trader Joe’s has some great options) 3a) I try to eat balanced meals that curb my urge to snack, and also realize when I’m snacking out of boredom vs. need
4) don’t restrict too much, and don’t rely on cardio! I was a collegiate swimmer and I was determined that a 500 calorie spin session was better than 320 calories of reformer pilates. This lesson took me forever to learn. I only learned it after the two spin studios near me closed down. Building your muscle mass is so important, especially in your 30s!
5) don’t designate cheat meals, just try to be balanced and satisfy your cravings. You want a slice of pizza ? Have it. Just try to eat a salad with little dressing beforehand.
6) Intermittent fasting has really worked for me. I don’t eat till noon. I am super hungry when I first wake up, and I just have some coffee and water, and pick a simple work task to jumpstart my focus on something else.

I’m 5’10” and before my adderall break I was 136-138 lbs. My heaviest was 156. Now I fluctuate between 142-150 (holidays, traveling, time of month, etc), the addition of strength training has transformed my body. My body fat % is lower at 146 lbs than it was at 138 when I was adderall skinny fat, and I look 1000x better taking less adderall, being veggie focused, and exercising 4x a week.

When you go off adderall make a list of non-food activities to take on to curb your cravings - chores, a walk, late in the afternoon have a glass of wine and chat with a friend.

Ps. I was able to lose 10 lbs while off adderall. I didn’t get down to my previous weight, but I think that was not a natural weight for me. And over the years my body composition has changed, so despite being 5-8 lbs heavier all my skinny clothes fit and fit better.

Yes. I stopped in november around thanksgiving and boy was that a mistake. Christmas treats and winter made me gain 20 lbs in a month. I also noticed that my coworkers were frustrated with me- I kept missing an essential piece of information each meeting. I had to go back on it and now I'm here on this forum wondering if I stop taking it to get pregnant will I ruin my body and gain like 200 lbs.

Wow, almost the same story like mine. Adderall helped me to get rid of stress I felt when going to college, it helped me getting concentrated, rid me of anxiety I had before every exam and overall I studied easier.

But that came with the great price. I became a nasty b**ch and people started avoiding me. It was a while before I understood what is happening and that is when hell started. I couldn't quit Adderall no matter what I was doing. I relapsed numerous times and every time it was harder to try weening off again. Finally, I started with lowering of dosage which did the trick but needed some time to work.

Then came the funny part. I haven't gained a single pound! I thought that's very unlikely because of my lifestyle. Maybe I just got lucky. My advice is to change meal plan after going off of Adderall, at least for a first couple of months to "calibrate" your metabolism. I think that can work for anyone.

How is your Adderall free journey now? Can you provide an update? My situation is very similar to yours and I hope you are finding success being rx free

Prescribed six 30mg ir (180mg) plus 60mg vyvanse and it doesn't meet the baseline I started at 15 years ago. Im screwed. Taking welbutrin and naltrexone for binge eating but still have gained 17 pounds in 2 weeks. Fml

this was super helpful because I am going through the exact same scenario thank you