Posted by ezekiel on June 19, 2008, at 0:26:27
In reply to Re: Struggling graduate student needs Adderall advice!, posted by elbee on June 18, 2008, at 23:04:03
Hi elbee,
Thanks for the concern, no I'm not hypomanic (yet!) lol - I'm just feeling apprehensive because I've never been physiologically dependent on a powerful psychoactive compound - ok I once smoked for several years and got off caffeine a while ago, but I don't count those :=)
I'm just concerned because I've read in numerous places that extreme lethargy & intense depression can characterize the experience of coming off pharm stimulants (same goes forthe illicit stims). So, the fact that I already have a propensity to various depression manifestations, i.e., sometimes it's dysthymia predominating my mood, then other times it's more troublesome like moderate depression.
This fact makes me a little wary of a powerful psychoactive compound that can help me like Adderall is at the moment, but in the back of my mind is the thought that the day of reckoning must inevitably come and you must pay the mental/emotional toll price for all the chemical assistance you've received from the drug, namely, a vicious withdrawal depression. That's why I posted here hoping that someone has traversed this road before me and can share their experience of how bad withdrawals can be (keeping in mind though everyone is obviously different in their response) and if there exists devised methods people have used to reduce the intensity of the stim withdrawal experience.
It would be comforting to know if there exists a way to withdraw from ADD stimulants that would lead to the least punishment on one's mind & body, e.g., a really slow tapering down approach, that would in effect minimize the depression withdrawal symptom. This was how I kicked a 16 year heavy caffeine use addiction, by slowly tapering down, and it worked very well. I just don't know if that approach would be successful with a far more powerful stimulant like Adderall.
Thanks for the feedback though - please keep them coming!!
ezekiel
poster:ezekiel
thread:835343
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080617/msgs/835395.html