ADD Medication For An ADDict

[smithxi]

I've been through AA and NA, and I'm a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. I've been diagnosed with ADD, and am curious what medications they give recovering addicts that need help with their attention.

[Imnapl]

This is off the cuff, but I've heard that Ritalin is a good choice.

[smithxi]

what is off the cuff?

[william tell]

I can relate ,but is not surprising that you have adhd and abuse mind altering substances ,I mean we are prone to it .
I take adderall and can think clearer ,and am much more motivated now .If you have been clean for any length of time it probably will not be an issue.

[casper]

what part of wisconsin u from?

[mctavish23]

Hi,

I am a recovering addict. My Recovery birthday (clean time date ) is 3-25-88.
My docs, my work, my medical file at the clinic and even my dentist know I'm in Recovery.

I took Wellbutrin for over 10 years and it worked great until the Summer of 03. Somewhere in between I also took Effexor, but that was probably 15 years ago.

When Wellbutrin quit working we tried Straterra, which promptly put me in the ER for 4 hrs one pm and cost me 2 weeks of work.I had an allergic reaction to it.Quite frankly, I tried to hang in there too long before getting so sick I looked lke I was dying ( I turned pewter colored.).

You know you're sick when your doc says....."Omg.You look like ****."

After talking things over with the world's leading authority on ADHD at a week long conference,my wife, my NA sponsor and both docs (medical & psych), I started methylphenidate in the Fall of 03.

It worked fairly well until Thansgiving when it quit working. I started real Ritalin LA in Jan of this year and it worked thru maybe April or May.

The situation at work got so bad for me that I literally couldn't do my job (from a cognitive/paperwork standpoint).

The irony here is that I'm a child psychologist who specializes in ADHD. Simply put, my executive functions were "shot."

For the first time im my 28+ year career, I was missing deadlines, finding 1/2 finished reports that I didn't recall, losing activity sheets and/or finiding them a month late, as well as falling behind in productivity and dictation.

I have great accomodations at work in that people watch out for me and give me feedback along the way, as to how I'm doing. A week ago yesterday, it hit me that I either get a med change to something that worked better or look at disability or even retirement.

I take so much pride in my work and have worked so hard to show others that ADHD'ers can be among the best at what they do, that I simply would not/ will not allow my work to keep going downhill.

My diagnostic and clinical skills are fine.No problems. But as I tried to explain to my boss, "My brains not working right.I feel trapped inside my head."

The only med left for me that had a chance of working was Adderall. Years ago I had abused dexedrine and have always been up front about that , cocaine & pot as my main drugs of choice.

I didnt want to try Concerta because I knew that it would work at first and then quit at some point. I go thru hell every time my meds quit. It's like my brain is "exhausted" at the end of the day. You know how it felt when you'd cram for a test or take some long exam and then afterward you were "fried?" That was the way I felt at the end of every workday. I couldn't take that anymore.

My NA sponsor , who is a judge and a very wise man, reminded me about the chapter in the NA book entitled "More Will Be Revealed." It talks about how taking a medicine for a legitimate reason from an informed physician is okay. You just have to have some safeguards in place and remember that your body doesn't know the difference between a drug to get high and a legit med.

After speaking with my boss ang getting support from my wife,who knows me better than anyone, I started Adderall on Thurs.

My psych doc was okay with because it was and still is an emergency for me. He knows me (and my reputation) well and knew I was in trouble. The other thing is that I've gone to such incredible lenghts to try and avoid having to do this, that this is really all thats left for me personally.

So far, I'm doing okay. Right now my mind feels like the equivalent of trying to reboot a computer. Ritalin put me in a fog and this is helping to clear it.

I realize that everyone's situation is uniquely their own in spite of the similar problem.
I would just encourage you to be up front with everyone in your life and make sure they're all informed as to your Recovery.

I'm not a medical doc, so I don't know what they might give you.Either way, please keep working your program and talk to ypour sponsor and "keep coming back."


PS

For those of you who don't think this is a "disorder," you need a wake up call. The definiton of a "disorder" is...."impairment(s) in major life activities."
My professional career certainly qualifies as one.

[stanzen]

Smithxi, are you currently attending AA or NA meetings? Do you talk about meds and ADHD with AA or NA members?

In order to remain sane and sober while taking meds, having ADHD and recovering from addiction, requires good face-to-face support from people you can identify with and from your doc(s). I've assembled a good support group out of my AA membership. That's worked well. The support helps and stabilized me enough so that I can take the meds without reprecussion that really help the symptoms of ADD.

My psych doc was okay with because it was and still is an emergency for me. He knows me (and my reputation) well and knew I was in trouble. The other thing is that I've gone to such incredible lenghts to try and avoid having to do this, that this is really all thats left for me personally.

I have been a drug addict and basket case for much of my life. Getting clean and sober was great, but I still had major problems (lack of executive functions) related to ADD. I absolutely avoided taking any drugs until last year when my pdoc prescribed WB and then other anti-depressants.

With support from my wife, doc and AA members, I tried ritalin, and that worked well, but the rock and roll of its fast action and fast decline bothered me and I switched to adderall. Adderall works great, allows me to be patient, attentive and focused and actually work, at work.

I even have ambition now. Who could imagine.

[smithxi]

you have ambition only because without it you wouldn't be able to get away with the legal high you get from adderall. meaning you would stop getting your meds without performing. stop relying on a medication to perform.

[mctavish23]

smithxi,

I'm not sure I understand your last remark.

I do understand ADHD though, and in terms of taking meds to "perform," people with ADHD have a legitimate neurobiological disorder/medical condition.

To name just a few, our brains are "wired" differently ,especially in the front part of the brain, our brains are often smaller, have structural differences that impact the Central Nervous System, and have glucose imbalances.

Therefore, in order to "perform" to our full capabilities, we have the option of taking medication(s).

I wish you luck and welcome to the Forum.

[smithxi]

Edited by moderator

[stanzen]

I didn't get your remark either smithxi,

Taking meds for ADHD is like wearing glasses if you're nearsighted. You can choose to enhance your performance by wearing them so that you don't walk into so many walls.

Wearing glasses doesn't make you sprint faster, it helps you keep you feet from running off the track.

[smithxi]

yeah thats exactly what these big drug companies and rich doctors want you to think.

and to say you were correct. that these drugs to help. they help at what cost? the cost of people dying? heart inflamation? blood vessel damage? what? you tell me?

if thats a price you want to pay, fine, but not me. healthy eating and good excercise, along with proper hygeine will get my body and mind to the place it needs to be.

[mctavish23]

Ah,

The proverbial hidden agenda.

There's more than one post here that deals with "the proof" of ADHD.

The funny thing is none of the critics ever bother to read any of this.They just repost what you posted or answer a question with a question.
That way they never have to admit being wrong by looking at real research.

Several years ago, a lawsuit was brought in New Jersey claiming that the Swiss drug maker Novartis was conspiring with the US Govt to create a "fake " disorder to hook people on drug, That was promptly thrown out as it is total BS.

You people had your day in court and got your asses kicked.

The Scientolgists have been caught red handed threatening researchers with cutting off their funding if they didn't fudge(fake) their data to comply with their beliefs.

You want to talk about "fraud?"

The history of ADHD is well documented. I believe scuro posted a link to wikipedia that did an excellent job of defining it and documenting the history.


The definitive research article on the exisitence of ADHD is.....................International Consensu 2002.It's signed off on by over 80 of the world's leading scientist's documenting the existence of ADHD.

Most importantly, it contains Rutger's ethics researcher Jerome Wakelfield's definition of a "disorder" as a "harmful dysfunction."

Also contained within that journal article is the statement about ADHD being recognized asa a "disorder/medical condition by the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics."

That article is available at www.chadd.org or at Russ Barkley's website.

I hope that you can come to some resolution of your conflict and I wish you well.


good luck

mctavish23 (Robert)

[Nucking_Futs]

Originally Posted by smithxi

and to say you were correct. that these drugs to help. they help at what cost? the cost of people dying? heart inflamation? blood vessel damage? what? you tell me? Every med or chemical in the world has a reaction whether it be positive or negative is based on an individual basis. I have high blood pressure and am prone to bleeding ulcers should I stop the use of those meds as well? My heart med can cause kidney failure if not taken properly and watched closely by my physician and my ulcer med has its own horrible consequences but the fact remains that this is my life and my choice and I choose quality of life over longevity.

if thats a price you want to pay, fine, but not me. healthy eating and good excercise, along with proper hygeine will get my body and mind to the place it needs to be.I choose to treat my ADHD/OCD/PTSD/Depression by excercise, proper diet, hygeine, talk therapy, coaching and sheer will. As I've said its my body and my choice that does not give me the right to tell another that their choice is wrong. How do I know that I am just not at a higher functioning level then they are? The first thing I was taught in long term care is that I can and probably will never be able to feel another's pain or distress so I am never to doubt its existance and are to treat it as if it were your own pain and suffering.

quit taking that stuff dude. its addicting.Depending on the type of personality everything can be addictive. Caffeine is addictive, can raise your heart rate and cause serious bodily harm but nobody thinks about cracking open a coke or ordering coffee now and then do they?

To medicate or not is a personal choice that should be treated with the utmost respect and telling another that they have made the wrong choices is an abuse of the forum guidelines in my honest opinion. I could careless if you wish to open a debate on whether to medicate or not in the debate section I only ask/demand that everyone make the personal choice to respect the rights of other posters and their choices.

Thank you,
Cherity

[mctavish23]

As far as the use of stimulants and the potential for Substance Use Disorders (SUD) goes, I recently posted abstracts from 3 research studies covering over 13 years of research that show the risk Decreases with stimulant treatment for ADHD.

The obvious assumption is that the people taking them have ADHD.

You can find that in the Adderall omg thread.

As I stated in an earlier post within this thread, we have medication as one treatment option available to use.

ADHD is the world's most widely researched childhood disorder. As of the Summer of 2003, there were already over 6k research articles, professional papers and books confirming it's existence as a medical condition/disorder.


To paraphrase Happy Bunny: Deal with it.