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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by rjlockhart98 on July 2, 2005, at 14:50:16
I have been on adderall 40mg, at one time 60mg for ADHD.
I am growing older now, since im 18 and i can cope better with things, such as work.
Right now i am only on Clonazepam 4mg daily for severe anxiety. But i get very low, but still a nervous wreck.
Dexedrine i know was used in the 1960's for Depression, and ADD.
Adderall kept my mood leveled, i didnt have emotion swings, mental slowing. It had a more direct effect, I was on Wellbutrin 450 mg for a trial for about 4 months back around august 2003. I stopped it becuase i had a siezure.
What i worry about is taking it for long time. Change in thinking, perception. I worry about these things.
Please give me what you think is best.
Posted by rjlockhart98 on July 2, 2005, at 15:59:10
In reply to I need to talk about Dexedrine Treatment, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 2, 2005, at 14:50:16
Whew, i just got a big lift, i am proud of my self, i feel alot better. Lets get it going.
Forget what i put im fine.
MATT
Posted by paulbwell on July 2, 2005, at 17:26:27
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 2, 2005, at 15:59:10
> Whew, i just got a big lift, i am proud of my self, i feel alot better. Lets get it going.
>
> Forget what i put im fine.
>
> MATTWhy did you quit Adderall, and why you wanna go on Dex?
Posted by rjlockhart98 on July 2, 2005, at 21:48:46
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by paulbwell on July 2, 2005, at 17:26:27
Becuase i wanted to get off it and live normal. No Fluctuations.
Dexedrine has less side effects in periphial, cardio, respitory, systems. I got sweats, adrenaline anxiety.
You have asked about dexedrine many times before, do you know anything about it over adderall?
Posted by Phillipa on July 2, 2005, at 22:33:36
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 2, 2005, at 21:48:46
Matt, Maybe you don't need something for ADHD since you're getting older. You seem agitated. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by portage on July 3, 2005, at 3:16:20
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything » rjlockhart98, posted by Phillipa on July 2, 2005, at 22:33:36
Posted by Declan on July 3, 2005, at 22:14:43
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything » rjlockhart98, posted by Phillipa on July 2, 2005, at 22:33:36
Hi Matt
My experience with benzos has been that the more you take the worse you feel eventually, even if you need them. I was in a bad way when I was taking the equivalent of 30mg/d (probably) Valium. Agoraphobic, I guess. Big time fear. So for me even when benzos calmed me down they also did the opposite, or something like that. I wonder if Klonopin can aggravate instability of mood.
Declan
Posted by utopizen on July 6, 2005, at 14:28:41
In reply to I need to talk about Dexedrine Treatment, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 2, 2005, at 14:50:16
> I have been on adderall 40mg, at one time 60mg for ADHD.
>
> I am growing older now, since im 18 and i can cope better with things, such as work.
>
> Right now i am only on Clonazepam 4mg daily for severe anxiety. But i get very low, but still a nervous wreck.
>Inattentiveness related to anxiety and mood is commonly, although not necessarily exclusive to, depression.
Keep in mind, it's common, according to my doc, nowadays to use RITALIN (keyword: not Adderall, which is harder to rationalize unless ADD is also diagnosed) at a moderate dose to keep your energy activated enough so you can follow the routine and schedule your therapist has you do-- exercise, meet friends, go to work, enjoy a movie, etc. (Anything is better than lying in bed, you know that).
That said, I'm worried about you. Your mood was one way one moment, another the next. How realistic do you think it is to expect yourself to persist in your mood as you last reported and never float back again into your prior, unmotivated mood?
There's no problem in taking a small dose of Ritalin as a booster in the morning or so to get you out of bed, doing the things that lead you to get the motivation to keep doing other things throughout the day, until that little passing cloud called depression everyone is so convinced is as perpetual as it is to see in Seattle fades away over time.
In the meantime, get out of bed by placing an alarm clock so far away and hard to shut off you have to wake up and find it buried somewhere each morning so you're up by the time you shut it off.
Then, take a shower before you let yourself philosophize over whether you can afford to expend the mental energy to turn the bathroom facuet on.
Then, go outside as soon as you're dressed and eat breakfast somewhere outside of your place, as an excuse to relocate yourself and walk outside before like 3PM. It will make you feel better. iPods enhance this effect ;)
Finally, exercise. Pick something you love to do, in my case, riding my bike, and do it so often each day it's hard for you after a couple of weeks to imagine NOT doing it a single day.
Bad habits can be replaced with good habits just the same, trust me.
Posted by utopizen on July 6, 2005, at 14:40:04
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by Declan on July 3, 2005, at 22:14:43
> Hi Matt
> My experience with benzos has been that the more you take the worse you feel eventually, even if you need them. I was in a bad way when I was taking the equivalent of 30mg/d (probably) Valium. Agoraphobic, I guess. Big time fear. So for me even when benzos calmed me down they also did the opposite, or something like that. I wonder if Klonopin can aggravate instability of mood.
> DeclanDeclan:
Not really so much. Actually, Klonopin is well-established in the literature as a great adjunct to mood stabalizers. "Anything that slows the mania down," according to my doc, referring to his bipolar patients who he gives it to.
However, higher doses CAN induce extreme somnolence and lethargy over time, and 4mg of Klonopin is to me 1mg over the top. My 3mg is a lot to many, but it's understood it works for me and I've been on it for awhile and I'm fine.
I'd strongly advise just getting off the Klonopin, but ONLY with your doctor's advisement. He needs to wean you down, because at your dose, you're liable to get seizures if you don't taper down slowly.
Once you're off it, he can give you a different benzo. Don't listen to people who are hypothetical bookworms convinced "oh, no, tolerance to one benzo means tolerance to the benzo receptors." There's no actual evidence for that, trust me. It might be true, but it's not a reason to bet your life over, and switching won't hurt.
Try Valium, Librium, whatever. They're all the same. Stay away from Xanax, even Xanax XR, only because I seemed to get depression on that stuff, and plus, it's physically addictive, unlike Klonopin, etc.
ALSO, WAY MORE IMPORTANT: Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever take a benzo without taking an antidepressant. The two combined will likely prevent/help you get out of depression. Benzos alone will slowly slow your brain down and make you so lethargic you'll have so little mental energy you will get depressed in time.
Antidepressants help to prevent this common issue. If I wasn't so into the notion of "oh, no, doc, I'm not depressed, and Klonopin works, so why an antidepressant too?" I would likely have never gotten depression in the first place.
Keep in mind it's not the Klonopin causing your depression, but a combination of lifestyle factors, life stressors, and the lack of a long-term antidepressant to augment your Klonopin's effectiveness.
Klonopin is far more effective and powerful when it's not trying to fight your anxiety off as a One Man Army. Call in some back-up! It's surrounded by too many neurons, and there's only so much the poor GABA-A 1,4 benzodizepine antagonist can do on its own.
Klonopin goes halfway. A simple antidepressant, like Lexapro or Zoloft, can help pick up where it left off, and even reduce your Klonopin over time-- PROVIDED you COMBINE your meds with CBT. (Therapy).
Posted by rjlockhart98 on July 6, 2005, at 16:46:21
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by utopizen on July 6, 2005, at 14:40:04
Utopizen,
You havnet been here in a long time.
Listen i DONT lay in the bed all day, i have a job. If you have read all of my panic posts, i pace the house thinking of what im going to do next, this can go on for an hour. I jog about 2miles a day, but the only thing is it makes me even more irrtible. I sit alot thinking what is wrong with me, i get up and pace thinking what i need to do. THat is what i do besides my job at Blockbuster. I have bad panic disorder.
I have been withdrawn from Adderall 40mg after 8 years, at one time i was on 60mg, but i moved down becuase it had more psyhical side effects. Adderall helped me alot with staying together, but i stopped becuase i thought i didnt need it anymore since i am growing up.
I dont know what to do. ECT?
Thorazine?
Matt
Posted by rjlockhart98 on July 6, 2005, at 16:57:09
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 6, 2005, at 16:46:21
Will ECT help stimulant withdrawl?
Posted by rjlockhart98 on July 6, 2005, at 17:04:34
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 6, 2005, at 16:57:09
THis is my current medication:
Restoril 30mg nightly
Clonazepam 4mg
Discontinued:
Lorazepam 6 mg Daily, - Lorazepam did NOT stop panic attacks even at high doses for me. I was prescribed (2mg x 3) it did nothing. A high dose during a major hit 4mg would take the rough ride off, not the mental hell.
I dont know if i should continue with a Adderall but it had many side effects, such as rapid heart beat, tension. I read the "I" isomer had much to do with this. But besides that, i was mentally stable for a long time.
I know you mentioned you where on a psychostimulant, i long time ago. Dexedrine 20mg?
I need your advice
Posted by KayeBaby on July 7, 2005, at 22:57:22
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 6, 2005, at 17:04:34
Dex tends to have less effects on the body than adderall. I did not like the adderall but do very well on the Dexedrine-it is calming and focusing to me.
You definately sound hyper-how long have you been off the adderall? The withdrawel from stims is hell and chances are alot of your trouble right now is from that.
Peace,
Kaye
Posted by Declan on July 8, 2005, at 18:13:16
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by KayeBaby on July 7, 2005, at 22:57:22
Matt, Thorazine is just awful IMO, you won't like it. Perhaps it is acquiring a certain retro glamour these days.
Declan
Posted by rjlockhart98 on July 10, 2005, at 21:40:44
In reply to Re: forget dexedrine, i can do anything, posted by Declan on July 8, 2005, at 18:13:16
thats ok
i already have a miserable life that i cope with
Posted by paulbwell on July 11, 2005, at 9:36:17
In reply to Re: guess no advice utopizen, posted by rjlockhart98 on July 10, 2005, at 21:40:44
> thats ok
>
> i already have a miserable life that i cope withTry Ritalin its a 'mild stimulant' and easily tolerated IME
Good luck
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