Hi all, I am wondering what other users think about the problems that people have when trying to quit taking Adderall. I use to take clonazepam, for anxiety, and when I decided to stop taking the med my doctor advised me to reduce my dosage gradually, over and extended period of time. He suggested I reduce my dose a quarter of a dose, every week, until finally off the med. I was taking 0.5mg 2x a day, so it did take a while to do but I experienced no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Clonazepam is a schedule IV medication and Adderall is a schedule II, meaning the abuse potential and withdrawal potential are very very high.

My question is, those of you who have decided to quit taking the medication, especially after having been on it for a while and using it at the dose prescribed, did you do it gradually or "cold turkey"?

If you did do it "cold turkey" I can't imagine the side effects and withdrawal symptoms you experienced, especially those who have taken large doses. I also can't imagine your doctor not wanting to work with you as far as using a dose reduction schedule to quit the medication.

Hi all, I am wondering what other users think about the problems that people have when trying to quit taking Adderall. I use to take clonazepam, for anxiety, and when I decided to stop taking the med my doctor advised me to reduce my dosage gradually, over and extended period of time. He suggested I reduce my dose a quarter of a dose, every week, until finally off the med. I was taking 0.5mg 2x a day, so it did take a while to do but I experienced no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Clonazepam is a schedule IV medication and Adderall is a schedule II, meaning the abuse potential and withdrawal potential are very very high.

My question is, those of you who have decided to quit taking the medication, especially after having been on it for a while and using it at the dose prescribed, did you do it gradually or "cold turkey"?

If you did do it "cold turkey" I can't imagine the side effects and withdrawal symptoms you experienced, especially those who have taken large doses. I also can't imagine your doctor not wanting to work with you as far as using a dose reduction schedule to quit the medication.

I quit cold turkey, but that's because after several weeks it wasn't doing anything for me... I had no adverse effects when I did that. Hope this helps.

so what did you do after that stillfightin?

Clonazepam is a schedule IV medication and Adderall is a schedule II, meaning the abuse potential and withdrawal potential are very very high.
You trust the DEA on this? Scheduling is not just about how addicitive a medication may be. Some C-I (illegal) - C-III drugs are basically non-addictive. Translation: don't equate schedules how addictive a medicine may be or how difficult it might be to discontinue (in reality it's not about harm either, but that's a topic for a different forum), though it's a good idea to check with your doctor or pharmacist about the potential if you are taking a controlled drug.

In my experience (clonazepam 1mg for 2 months), discontinuing clonazepam cold turkey is significantly more difficult than Adderall 40mg. I would have no qualms about stopping Adderall (or Dexedrine, which is what I take now) cold turkey. Sure, I'd taper if I was planning to stop using it for a long time, but when the situation requires it (run out of meds, weekend off, etc.), it's not too hard to just stop (as long as I don't do anything for two days or so).

Sure, you'll feel it for a while, but it's not so bad. It's mostly being tired, lazy, etc.

so what did you do after that stillfightin?

tried a few different over the counter products, and surprisingly it helped.

You trust the DEA on this? Scheduling is not just about how addicitive a medication may be. Some C-I (illegal) - C-III drugs are basically non-addictive. Translation: don't equate schedules how addictive a medicine may be or how difficult it might be to discontinue (in reality it's not about harm either, but that's a topic for a different forum), though it's a good idea to check with your doctor or pharmacist about the potential if you are taking a controlled drug.

In my experience (clonazepam 1mg for 2 months), discontinuing clonazepam cold turkey is significantly more difficult than Adderall 40mg. I would have no qualms about stopping Adderall (or Dexedrine, which is what I take now) cold turkey. Sure, I'd taper if I was planning to stop using it for a long time, but when the situation requires it (run out of meds, weekend off, etc.), it's not too hard to just stop (as long as I don't do anything for two days or so).

Sure, you'll feel it for a while, but it's not so bad. It's mostly being tired, lazy, etc.

I'm so glad someone on this forum isn't a complete idiot. Exactly what fxfake said, don't assume that just because adderall is more tightly scheduled, it means it has more potential for addiction and withdrawal.
For example, marijuana is schedule 1, and you cannot get addicted to it (physically).

Clonazepam may be on a lower schedule than adderall, but stopping clonazepam cold turkey can kill you (literally, you can die from seizures). Stopping adderall cold turkey, cannot. Benzodiazepines are some of the most dangerous drugs prescribed due to their extreme physical addiction potential. If you snorted xanax and oxycontin twice a day, every day, for a week, at the end of the week you'd be addicted to xanax, not oxycontin.

I'm so glad someone on this forum isn't a complete idiot.

I'm touched. :D

tried a few different over the counter products, and surprisingly it helped.

Do tell which ones if you dont mind... :)

It seems that having drug holidays away from Adderall and other amphetamines is quite the norm. This in itself kind of makes you think that quitting cold turkey could and should be pretty easy. However, most 'holidays' seem to stay under a weeks time...I wonder what the average length of time is for the withdrawl symptoms if you were going to take a permanent holiday...

Do tell which ones if you dont mind... :)

i tried brain quicken, fish oil, and focus fast... brain quicken didnt do much, fish oil - messed with my stomach lol.. focus fast, im on that currently and it works great...

Thanks everybody for your posts. It is strange why the FDA would schedule benzos lower than Adderall. I always just thought the lower number the drug was Scheduled the more "caustic, harder, dangerous, etc.." the medication was. Jeffpuffer your absolutely right, marijuana is a schedule I, but it would definitely not have the same side effects, withdrawal symptoms, that clonazepam would. The main reason I found out about the gradual dose reduction was because after having been on clonazepam for a couple years I decided to quit cold turkey. Well...let's just say I found out the hard way you CANNOT !!! cold turkey it. After about two days I thought I was "crawling out of my skin". It was like having the worst panic attack you can imagine. I laugh about it now, but at that moment I thought I was going to meet my maker. Reducing the dose gradually, and over time, totally eliminated that. I still think clonazepam is an excellent medication, especially for anxiety, TOTALLY got rid of it, but just respect it or it will let you know it.

Thanks again for all the input. I always learn something new from everyone who posts.