Posted by JohnX on October 13, 2001, at 18:13:20
In reply to Re: Adderall addiction » meggles0019, posted by Mitch on October 12, 2001, at 21:22:57
> > i think i'm heading towards adderall addiction. i'm a junior in high school and taking a massive amount of honors and AP classes, in addition to attending a magnet school for art (i don't get home from school until around 6:30pm every day) and an online psychology course with a community college. i'm one of those obsessive over-achievers; a grade less than an A is reason for at least a week of depression (though school work has actually helped w/depression- i don't have time to be sad). my new psychiatrist ignored my previous diagnoses of borderline personality and depression, and within a half hour (and no testing or anything) decided i had ADD. i don't- i've never had problems focusing, i'm not hyperactive, etc. i've read the DSM criteria and its not me. the new psychiatrist prescribed 10mg of adderall and changed my prozac to effexor (b/c prozac was making me fat). though i didn't think i needed adderall in the first place, i decided to go ahead & take it b/c i've read that weight loss is a common side effect. now i skip doses on weekends and slack days so i can take 80-90 mg when i have a lot of crap to do. this week, i've slept about an hour each night and taken adderall to make up for it. what are the negative effects of adderall addiction? how much would i have to take at one time to hurt me, and specifically, what would it do?
>
> The maximum recommended daily dose of Adderall is 60mg for narcolepsy (sleeping attacks). The real danger is sleep deprivation (for a variety of causes-not just Adderall). Sleep deprivation can precipitate psychotic episodes or mania. You need to tell your doctor what you are doing with the Adderall. Obviously, you don't believe his diagnosis, it sounds like you need some help with your perfectionism and related stuff not ADD (you said you didn't have trouble focusing before the Adderall). You might think about seeing a different pdoc.
>
> MitchI'm with Mitch.
My feeling is that you are on a crash course.
Reminds me of an episode of Family Ties where
Michael J. Fox got a handfull of dexedrine and
abused it in a similar manner. I took Aderrall
and I don't think I'm ADD. It helped me with
depression, but after taking it for a while
(while not on an effective anti-manic med) I
was hardly sleeping and losing a lot of weight
really fast. Eventually I crashed. I felt like
a swarm of locusts had come in and sucked the
life out of me.Get a new doctor. Get off of Adderall. You are
smart. You know what to do. PS. I was a straight
A student, obsessive, etc., and guess what? If
you continue your obsessions to succeed and
don't take care of your body in the process
you will be history before the age of 30
and your hard work will have been for nothing.
So get some help and try your best to relax a bit.Good luck,
John
poster:JohnX
thread:80931
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011007/msgs/81238.html