Alright as much as I hate saying this right now, back in 2002, I hung out with a few troubled people who smoked meth. Well there was 2 times when I did it with them pretty much due to peer pressure I guess.

Now here is were it gets kinda weird. I remember after smoking that foil the first time, I immediatly noticed zero anxiety, I was talking to people, I felt really focused, I was no longer afraid to express emotion, such as talking about some personal things that i would normaly keep quite. I also no longer got those headaches that I would normally get after talking to someone for atleast 5-10 minutes. It was actually a really good experience for me as I actually felt somewhat normal for the very first time as long as I can remember.

So yea, this is another one of those things that makes me think I am actually suffering from ADD and not just depression/social phobia like the family doctor claims. As I have said in my first post on this forum, http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41887 I have been on Zoloft for over 7 weeks and I have noticed an decrease in depression but my Social Anxiety has not changed at all. Also I have noticed the Zoloft has made me even more forgetful about things and has also made me more inpatient and even more less focused.

On September 4th, I will be seeing the phyciatrist for the very first time and I am afraid to mention this experience I had because I do not want them to think I am some drug seeker. But I almost feel like I had found a medication that worked for me all by myself without the docs help LOL.

I have not done meth since 2002 when I found out I had a daughter on the way and I knew the penalties for meth possession and did not want to put myself at risk.

I just wanted to get this out of my system. Hopefully I did'nt bore you people to much. :faint:

A lot of people accidentally discover that stimulants help them.

For example, people who took the Phen-Fen or other Rx diet pills (phentermine) and over the counter non-drowsy cold remedies (pseudoephedrine) will find that these amphetamine 'cousins' help them focus and concentrate.

Stimulants will help anyone concentrate better. The ADHDer will find that their sub-par concentration and focus is improved to a more even level with 'normals'.

Well-trained ADHD Psychiatrists will know that experimentation with drugs is common among those who have out of whack brain chemicals.

ADHDers are also 'stimulation seekers'. Our alertness centres are understimulated, so we try to keep ourselves awake.

If you had an Anxiety Disorder, stimulants should probably make your anxiety 'worse'. Speediness *usually* makes anxious or panicky people feel more anxious and panicked.
The fact that it relieved your Anxiety, suggests to me that speed paradoxically calms you: and ADHDers often respond paradoxically to drugs. (e.g. Wellbutrin puts me to sleep.)

I wouldn't mention that at all to any doctor, psychiatrist or anyone for that matter other than friends. I think your best solution is to explain to the psychiatrist and tell him how you've been doing research and your positive it's ADHD, and that you feel that it would be the best route to be tested for that rather than the depression.

An experienced ADHD Psychiatrist will know that ADHDers have high rates of drug use and experimentation.

In fact, it adds to the symptom profile.

I would not necessarily tell a non-ADHD informed doctor or psychologist, however.

Exactly because what if they would think that this person is a drug user? I mean I see no problem that you used it, I think it's fine and have no issues with drugs but I've noticed the perception of drugs especially that higher of marijuana is often bias and without reason. Anyways I guess lead him/her on and find out what their views on the drugs are. Listen to QueensU_girl though best advice ever!!!

If you had an Anxiety Disorder, stimulants should probably make your anxiety 'worse'. Speediness *usually* makes anxious or panicky people feel more anxious and panicked.
The fact that it relieved your Anxiety, suggests to me that speed paradoxically calms you: and ADHDers often respond paradoxically to drugs. (e.g. Wellbutrin puts me to sleep.)Welbutrin was the first Anti-depressant I was put on back in 2004 when I asked the doctor about drugs to help quit smoking. Welbutrin gave me mild headaches and made me feel drowsy. Noticed no other changes, although I stopped taking it after 2 weeks.

Thats exactly what the meth did to me, I noticed my friends were alot hyper on it and doing weird things like drawing pictures for hours. I did'nt do any of that weird stuff, I just basically started talking to people without any anxiety and worrying and was much more focused. I was Also nice and calm, compared to my friends who were jumping off walls. lol

Be careful about telling your doctor, you may be out of luck getting any stims from then on.

My doctor was fine about my drug use and I used a lot more stuff than you by the looks of it.

I would say tell the truth and if he gives you any trouble try and find a doctor that specializes in ADD

good luck

I would not say that my Dr was ever fine with my drug use, but that never prevented me from being honest about my drug use with him.

I feel that my honesty about it allowed for a much better Dr. patient relationship to develop over the years. I think my Dr appreciated the honesty, and I remember that I often used to ask him, "now this is just going to stay between you and me right?" before I would ever discuss something like my recreational drug use. I asked him that question for a couple of reasons. Reason 1) I wanted him to know that it was not something that I felt comfortable discussing, and reason 2) I wanted him to know that I trusted him enough to make the best diagnosis possible given all the information I could provide.

I guess I was more interested in finding a proper treatment than I was interested in getting a prescription for stimulants, and that spoke volumes for me considering how much self medicating I had been involved in. :o It's been 15 years this year since I was initially diagnosed, and my Dr has been willing to prescribe any stimulant medication that seemed like a the next best step in trying to treat my ADHD.

I remember before being diagnosed with ADHD I was trying to get a prescription for some sleeping pills to help with a severe episode of insomnia I was enduring at the time. My Dr wanted me to try trazodone to which I replied, "oh man, that's not even a controlled substance," as if it was useless for me to even try it. I will never forget his response to me, he said "it does'nt matter if a drug is controlled or not, what matters is whether or not a drug works for you or not." Well, as usuall he was right. Turned out that the trazodone worked so much better than I thought it would, and it was just what I needed at the time.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the path to finding the right drug can be (and often is) a very long path, and it takes quite a bit of trial and error for most folks to find the right drug, and the proper dose of said drug. That being said, the more trust you show your Dr by respecting whatever they decide to prescribe you, will carry a lot of weight in the whole building of trust thing between you and your Dr. It can be very hard to initially trust a Dr enough to tell everything that he/she might want to know about you, but it's important to remember that it can also be very hard for a Dr to be able to trust a patient when schedule II controlled stimulants are involved in the equation. It's unfortunate that Drs have to be so paranoid these days about patients who might be exhibiting drug seeking behavior, but that's the world we live in. Trust begets trust, and since your relationship with your Dr potentially might last decades (like mine almost has), it's best to get the trust thing started ASAP. ;)

PS My Dr. is a psychiatrist, and I am honestly not sure if I would have been as honest with a general practitioner, or another non psych Dr. I only say that due to the fact that psychiatrist are specialist when it comes to this condition, and other Dr's are not. That being said, there are some absolutely super terrific GPs and other non-psych Drs who are not only qualified to diagnose this condition, but are up to date on it too. In the end it just depends on whether or not you feel like you can trust the other person to either tell them what they want to know, and whether or not you will try out what they suggest trying out for treatment.

PSS Sorry for such a long post, but I recently quite drinking, and I am having periods of increased mental energy as a result that's not typical for me at this hour of the night.

I would not say that my Dr was ever fine with my drug use, but that never prevented me from being honest about my drug use with him.

I feel that my honesty about it allowed for a much better Dr. patient relationship to develop over the years. I think my Dr appreciated the honesty, and I remember that I often used to ask him, "now this is just going to stay between you and me right?" before I would ever discuss something like my recreational drug use. I asked him that question for a couple of reasons. Reason 1) I wanted him to know that it was not something that I felt comfortable discussing, and reason 2) I wanted him to know that I trusted him enough to make the best diagnosis possible given all the information I could provide.

I guess I was more interested in finding a proper treatment than I was interested in getting a prescription for stimulants, and that spoke volumes for me considering how much self medicating I had been involved in. :o It's been 15 years this year since I was initially diagnosed, and my Dr has been willing to prescribe any stimulant medication that seemed like a the next best step in trying to treat my ADHD.

I remember before being diagnosed with ADHD I was trying to get a prescription for some sleeping pills to help with a severe episode of insomnia I was enduring at the time. My Dr wanted me to try trazodone to which I replied, "oh man, that's not even a controlled substance," as if it was useless for me to even try it. I will never forget his response to me, he said "it does'nt matter if a drug is controlled or not, what matters is whether or not a drug works for you or not." Well, as usuall he was right. Turned out that the trazodone worked so much better than I thought it would, and it was just what I needed at the time.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the path to finding the right drug can be (and often is) a very long path, and it takes quite a bit of trial and error for most folks to find the right drug, and the proper dose of said drug. That being said, the more trust you show your Dr by respecting whatever they decide to prescribe you, will carry a lot of weight in the whole building of trust thing between you and your Dr. It can be very hard to initially trust a Dr enough to tell everything that he/she might want to know about you, but it's important to remember that it can also be very hard for a Dr to be able to trust a patient when schedule II controlled stimulants are involved in the equation. It's unfortunate that Drs have to be so paranoid these days about patients who might be exhibiting drug seeking behavior, but that's the world we live in. Trust begets trust, and since your relationship with your Dr potentially might last decades (like mine almost has), it's best to get the trust thing started ASAP. ;)

PS My Dr. is a psychiatrist, and I am honestly not sure if I would have been as honest with a general practitioner, or another non psych Dr. I only say that due to the fact that psychiatrist are specialist when it comes to this condition, and other Dr's are not. That being said, there are some absolutely super terrific GPs and other non-psych Drs who are not only qualified to diagnose this condition, but are up to date on it too. In the end it just depends on whether or not you feel like you can trust the other person to either tell them what they want to know, and whether or not you will try out what they suggest trying out for treatment.

PSS Sorry for such a long post, but I recently quite drinking, and I am having periods of increased mental energy as a result that's not typical for me at this hour of the night.Thanks for those words of wisdom. :D And thats all I really want to do is be honest with my Doc, because all I want is the proper help and I know its just going to make things harder if I were to start lying about stuff.

Lars that was great advice.

Everyone should always be honest with their physician/couselor etc. Most times we can tell when someone is trying to pull something.

And if I ever have a patient who tells me he's never used any illegal drugs I'm a little suspicious, because almost everyone has experimented with something at one time or another.

If you tell your doc the story just like you told us, you shouldn't have any problem.

- bob

I believe in being honest with docs too. If your doctor cannot handle honesty than find one that can. I had bad anxiety too, along with my add. I could not handle being in crowds, my kids classrooms in after school awards or just sitting in a barber chair, where I found escaping the restraining feeling difficult. I was placed on stimulants and this all disappeared. The best stimulant for this condition for me was meth amphetamine (Desoxyn), but I also use Dex when I have problems with Desoxyn. Desoxyn however is the smoothest of stims and will help pave the way to help you get use to stims without whacking out your anxiety. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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For me I had to fail on other stims before my doctor approved my suggestion to try Desoxyn. You may have to go down this road as well and it might be the best road, I have been on 7 or more stims. Be prepared for your doctor to ask why you want a certain drug and be able to back up that why, with technical reasons. The reason I wanted Desoxyn is because it affects Dopamine and Norepinephrine in the brain. I felt the Norepinephrine would help provide mood stability for me. In your search for the proper drugs do not be afraid to talk to drug companies, pharmacists, your Doc and dig a deep as you can on the Internet. Your doctor will more than likely appreciate your research and commitment to finding the proper cure.<o:p></o:p>

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Good Luck,<o:p></o:p>

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Tom<o:p></o:p>

My doctor was fine about my drug use and I used a lot more stuff than you by the looks of it.

I would say tell the truth and if he gives you any trouble try and find a doctor that specializes in ADD

good luck
err I should take that back my doctor wasn't exactly fine with my drug use. I think he realizes that self-medicating is a fairly normal thing for ADDers though and knows that I've stopped using.