I've just been diagnosed with ADD and am looking to see my doctor next week to talk about possible treatment. I am currently taking Lexapro and Wellbutrin XR for depression, which is a combination that has worked well for the last 2 years. However, I am also a recovering alcoholic and addict with over 2 years of sobriety. I am a little concerned with the addictive nature of some of the meds used to treat ADD fitting right in with my addictive personality and wanted to see if anyone out there is in the same boat or has had some success with this issue.

Congrats to you on staying sober for 2 years!!

I am a recovering alcoholic 2 and 1/2 years sober...

I know from my personal experience that when I tried Ritilan it made me anxious and angry and even though it did this to me I still craved it. My psychiatrist took me off of that and put me on Strattera and Wellbutrin SR. The two have worked wonders.

You really should talk to your psychiatrist of your concerns and see what they think about addiction and medication.

I personally was actively addicted to Xanax and that class of drugs and I now take dexedrine and the only reason I can safely according to a doctor's standards take that particular med (i.e. amphetamines) is because of the lack of reinforcing "high"... I was a polysubstance abuser and never stayed with cocaine because it made me "feel like a zombie" so I definitely don't have the chasing the high mentality there not to mention I am considered a compliance issue with it but I am mega hyper and if anything else would help i would take it but it doesn't... still consider my sobriety date 9-22-2003 so I don't care whether or not it is "speed" by society's definition but if I was a bipolar alcoholic lithium or depakote would be okay... I get attitudes about my meds with sponsor's I have had in the past but I feel stable rather than wound up and I take less of my meds most of the time so don't let an ignorant 12 step attitude ruin treating what the issue leading up to the addiction even if you need ritalin or adderall to help it or else you'll eventually go right back to Day 1 and you know what I mean by that

Sara,

Congrats to you as well! My sobriety date is 4/7/04 so we're close in age, though mentally I'm still about 8. ;)

Thanks for the info - it's been a while since I've been to see an actual psychiatrist; now I get my meds from my regular doctor. Not sure if that is good or bad but I got ****ed at my psych for charging me for an appointment that I missed that they had rescheduled the day before (oh, those resentments!) and haven't been back. Just had to reschedule my appt with my doc next week for next month so it might be till then that I get to talk about it.

Only have 2 cats collected here right now...

mspen1018,

Thanks for the help. My sponsor is one of those who looks down on meds because of his own personal experiences with a roommate and his mom but he keeps his opinions to himself. I actually tried weaning myself off of my Lexapro last year when I had a falling out with my psychiatrist, but it didn't work out too well. Kept my sobriety but found myself getting choked up at the drop of a hat when discussing anything even remotely happy or sad. Even the big book says that some of us may need medical or psychiatric help outside of the rooms so I don't think anything of anyone else's attitudes about my meds.

Cocaine was the only drug that I was able to stop on my own in the face of others doing it around me. I just hated what it did to me when I was coming down. Xanax is the only prescription drug that I have ever had in quantity before that was potentially addictive and despite my nature, I never abused it. Can't really say why and just having it handy was almost as good as taking it alot of the time. It's been a long time since I've had the kind of anxiety that required it, especially since getting sober.