Posted by Ritch on September 20, 2002, at 22:41:29
In reply to Re: i think i need to get off adderal, posted by Craig Allen on September 20, 2002, at 14:39:10
> > > i was taking 300mg of effexor xr and i've now been off of it for 4 weeks. i've been on adderal (20mg 3x per day) for about 9 months. since i went off of the effexor, the adderal has really been turbo-charged. which is great when it is a calming, productive turbo but miserable when it goes into agitated, angry turbo. i'm now at the point where i think i need to go off of it and i'd appreciate anyone else's experience doing this. i'll be working with my pdoc on this, she'll probably start me on wellbutrin as i go off the adderal. my concern is that, due to the rebound depression effect of the adderal, it'll be impossible to do without doing it cold-turkey. if i take one, even half of one, it will leave me feeling miserable. i think i'm better off just stopping. anybody know what works here? thanks.
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> > I found that the *presence* of an SRI such as Effexor quashed my anxiety MORE than a stimulant such as Adderall created any *additonal* anxiety. I have tried to *completely* withdraw from SRI's previously with NO success. So, I am stuck with them (albeit at a low dose). However, I have found that adding a stimulant to an SRI *can* solve both problems (ADD sx, anxiety sx). If you are on a stimulant and you maintain it and quit an SRI, you may have these type of troubles. The "agitated angry turbo" thing you describe could be a bipolar response. It is possible that an antimanic agent added to stimulant/SSRI could be helpful.
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> > it's frustrating. i was on lamictal (400mg/day) with effexor and adderal for several weeks. the lamictal didn't do anything. i had the same experience with depakote, although at the time i was on prozac and no stimulant. the only time i have ever felt sure i was hypomanic has been on the stimulant, so i don't know if that makes me a candidate for mood stabilizer meds or not. my doc has suggested i give lithium a try with an ssri and i guess it couldn't hurt. but with no effect from the lamictal and depakote, i have a hunch that the lithium will do nothing also. incidentally, i'm now about halfway done with my first day of going off the adderal. at about 1:00 i got hit with a nasty wave of nausea. i had to leave work and now i think i'm going to sleep for a while. my whole life is adjusting to meds or getting off meds and none of them seem to work that well. and every psychiatrist i see seems to know as little as the last one i saw. sorry about the bitching. frustrated and i feel like vomitting.
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>It sounds to me like you may be having a bad reaction to the *Lamictal*. The idea of lithium +SSRI may be a good one. I was on lithium+Prozac for several years with no med switches.
poster:Ritch
thread:120467
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020914/msgs/120580.html