Posted by 3 Beer Effect on March 20, 2002, at 2:09:17
In reply to Re: social phobia medication -JohnX, posted by geno on March 19, 2002, at 20:27:12
Geno,
Dexedrine could cause anxiety as I think it does in many who take it- I could just be an exception, but it is definitely euphoric & makes you feel "on top of the world" & confident/outgoing.Dexedrine, & even Adderall or Ritalin can sometimes be very (psychologically) addictive meaning that you won't be able to study or even get up in the morning without it. I think this usually only happens with those (like you & me) who have struggled with alcohol abuse or drug abuse. Dexedrine, Adderall, & Ritalin are very often abused since they cause a "flash" of euphoria very similar to cocaine (I think better) when snorted except they last longer, don't cause as many nosebleeds or numbness so you have to be careful, especially considering your problems with GHB addiction. To put it bluntly, don't ever snort your medications! I eventually found that snorting your medications is pretty dumb- for instance if you snort Ritalin it is only effective for 1 hour but if you swallow it it works for 3.5 hours. Only 30% of a drug is absorbed through your nose, so you are basically wasting a bunch of the pill & when you snort pills your tolerance rises ten jillion times as fast.
You might be better off with the long acting versions such as Adderall XR or Dexedrine Spansules since they are less addictive & almost impossible to crush up into a powder & therefore doctors seem to be more willing to prescribe these meds to adults. Plus you only have to remember to take one pill in the morning per day & it then lasts all day & causes less anxiety/crash/rebound than the IR versions. I am going to switch from Provigil 200 mg, which I have found to be fairly worthless, to hopefully Dexedrine Spansules (I believe Adderall may cause more anxiety than Dexedrine, but it still makes you just as outgoing, & often you find that you can't shut up half of the time!). For social phobia I would avoid Ritalin- i found it is better than Adderall/Dexedrine for ADD/Focus/Studying but turns you into a shy introverted geek for 3.5 hours after you take it.
I had two episodes of stimulant addiction to Ritalin & also a combination of Ritalin 40 mg & Adderall 20 mg & I can tell you being a 'speed freak' is not fun (basically it is hell). You end up staying up & snorting for days at a time, & basically become so paranoid that you lock yourself in your room & hardly ever come out. You lose a ton of weight & look like sh*t & stop eating because your appetite dissapears & all food tastes gross. And your tolerance to the drug escalates & spirals out of control until you run out of pills & then you experience a horrible withdrawl depression where you don't get out of bed for a week.But if you take your prescribed dose orally & do not escalate the dose on your own, none of those bad things (like paranoia) happen, the medications work better & last longer. But Dexedrine might work wonders for your social phobia or it could make you anxious- either way, it might be worth a shot. Klonopin didn't make me "mr. outgoing" either, even though everyone raves about it for social phobia. Zoloft 100 mg, Alcohol (3+ beers), & low dose Dexedrine IR 5 mg 2x per day are the only meds that ever made me "mr. outgoing/confident."
poster:3 Beer Effect
thread:98631
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020318/msgs/98974.html