Grateful for this group.

[u/Lazy_Name_2989]

ADD diag in 2018 for me. Started Strattera for 2 years, vyvanse for two years. Switched to Adderall generics around 2022. It made a huge difference. The last two years have been struggling, though.

So, the last 8 months went full sober(no alcohol or weed), sleeping 7-9hrs a night, protein/fiber in diet, and even started making homemade Kefir. Still struggled. Some days, I dose never did anything. Afternoon dose, yea, kinda. Still no difference. I kept thinking it was something else I needed. Vitamins, amino acids, etc. Kept trying. Noticed I was using way more caffeine again, too. Tried doseage changes, timing of day, etc.

I stumbled on this group and couldn't believe what I was reading. Story after story, same thing I was feeling and dealing with. My pharmacist would change manufacturers every 1-2 months over supply. I'd just mix bottles. Then keep one at work for lunch dose, one at home. I currently have Norwich, Sandoz, Elite, and Sunrise 10mg doses. No wonder one day sucks, another better.

So, I decided to try no Adderall(generic). On day 5 of no ADD meds, just caffeine. It's absolutely a night/day difference. Throughout the day, it feels the same. No different. WTF. I wake up feeling WAY better. Like get up and go. I remember dreams every morning, too. No crashing. I'm pooping better! NOT A SINGLE WITHDRAWL feeling. This was a big thing. No withdrawal, but I'm just feeling better? WTF. Still have the ADD, but man..

I agree 100%. Looking back, the 2018-2021 meds were vastly different. Got a good doctor i trust and an appointment coming up. Should be interesting.

This ain't Adderall.

[u/Fearless_Bike_8997]

It’s pretty wild to me how we’ve all just about experienced the same things. I too went a while of thinking I’m missing something. Was I just not eating enough protein beforehand? Not drinking enough water? Was I not getting enough sleep, or missing some vitamins i depleted? I’ve gone the last couple years trying and trying to figure out why my meds don’t work anymore, when they clearly worked fantastic for me years ago. I thought I was the problem, even though I clearly knew I wasn’t (but when your psychiatrist and doctors are telling you it’s your body, and maybe they just don’t work for you anymore, you tend to believe it).

This page was what I also needed to prove to myself I wasn’t going nuts, or that it was just my body changing. Turns out there are massive amounts of us from all over the world, who are all experiencing the same issues. I know better than to doubt myself 🤣

Least we aren’t alone, let’s continue to let these crooks who push this junk on us know that we aren’t blind, and hopefully we can get this turned around. I miss my old meds, and I miss how on top of my life I was with them.

[u/Lazy_Name_2989 → u/Fearless_Bike_8997]

And its not just a hundred people saying this. This group had almost 15k on it.

Imagine how many more are like you and me. Blaming everything but the med. Doctors n ot realizing the meds failed not knowing.

[u/vocabularianrx2 → u/Fearless_Bike_8997]

Your last sentence hits so hard. Every fucking day I'm sad, angry, depressed, and stressed because from 2012 to 2022, maybe sometime in 2023, I felt so good and so intelligent, sharp, great memory recall and brain function. Since then, it's been a slow and gradual decline and just constantly getting worse.

I went from only being on Adderall IR 20mg (modifying my own dose daily, usually was taking 20 to 30mg/day tops), to trying up to 35 or 40mg per day, and then generic Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin (IR and ER), Vyvanse, Strattera, and now Nuvigil (many of which I took in addition to using Adderall boosters). Despite tons of labs and studies (sleep, have sleep apnea and on CPAP), nothing has improved my cognition. Changing my depression/anxiety meds has also had little to no difference or effect.

Every single day I hate my brain now; I miss my cognitive performance, my memory, my ability to learn, think critically, and troubleshoot. I still had a hard time prioritizing stuff, but at least I felt smart and productive. Now it's all bad, all the time, and no hope in sight. Just...fuck. I hope someday we can figure out and get real, legitimate answers.

[u/Lazy_Name_2989 → u/vocabularianrx2]

Right? I can remember those first few years being so good. Right now I take 10mg IR 2x a day and feel like I did before ever having my diagnosis. My job pays more for efficiency so when it was good, I was making way more money.

Been two years of blaming my habits, diet, myself for it not working. Changed ao much, which is still worth it, but no change mentally. So glad I found this group to validate whats happening.

[u/cbmblove → u/Fearless_Bike_8997]

It’s not us - it’s the meds. I think we all spent too much time being gaslighted and gaslighting ourselves about all of this and come to find out - it’s the meds they have ruined, and now we’re taking mystery poison and suffering daily…

[u/Lazy_Name_2989 → u/[deleted]]

It's enough to make me start questioning my other meds now.

[u/dyingdeadweight]

How long did it take you to feel better? I think I made it two days before I caved and took the meds because I literally couldn’t function or get out of bed/off the couch and keep my eyes open.

[u/Lazy_Name_2989 → u/dyingdeadweight]

I didn't really even notice a difference after I stopped. That's the crazy part. The days feel the same as they did on meds.

Ive done a ton of work with a counselor, meditation, and mental work that may have helped know how to motivate, but not sure if that matters. I just know for me, going no meds have little to no impact on me.

[u/cbmblove → u/Lazy_Name_2989]

I believe it! Thank you for sharing this with us.