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Anyone manage to kick adderall and opiates?

I have been battling addiction for 3 years now. It started out with tramadol, then I got a script for adderall and was taking both of those together.  Then it progressed to taking DHC (DiHydrocodiene) because I built up a tolerance to tramadol.

I have always thought that the opiates are the main thing I need to stop because that causes the physical withdrawals and requires you (in many times) to miss work, but whenever I try to stop opiates I don't want to take the adderall because my stomach is already churning, my depression is already bad enough, and I can't sleep as it is.  However, my body is used to those endorphins that the adderall gives me every morning, so when I stop both I feel way too low and depressed, almost to the point I wish I was dead (I wouldn't actually kill myself).

Sometimes the adderall helps during a detox and sometimes it makes it worse, I never get past day 4 without caving.  Right now I haven't taken any DHC since last Thursday (today is Tues), even though I will take some tramadol to help with the withdrawals, I always feel like crap for a few days after I stop the DHC because its stronger.  I mainly get depression and really gassy with stomach issues. I have been through a tramadol withdrawal so I know how bad it is but its hard to take that final leap off.  I feel like I do step down with the tram, but I don't know if I should try to stop the adderall at this point and keep on the tram while I gradually taper (I don't get any high from the tram anymore), or if I should cut the tram before I take too much and hopefully the adderall will at least lighten the depression during the day when I work.

I remember taking adderall a few times before I ever took opiates and I really didn't like it.  I mean I like the euphoria and speediness in the beginning but it made me really depressed when I came off.  Plus I used to workout like a mad man and it screwed up with me eating correctly and I didn't feel right in the gym.

I feel like I am trapped between these two polar opposite drugs.  My biggest fear is not being able to function at my job and being really depressed for a long time.  I have a good job but its stressful and it requires me to use my brain.  So many days I just want to quit and take a month off and re-enter the job market.  Unfortunately where I live there are not many opportunities in my job field which would require me to move and would pile on unnecessary stress.  Plus I am a consultant for this company so I don't have a bunch of benefits like vacation time, they pay me well but I need to be there helping them out.

I have tried Suboxone and I will say it works but I don't want that hanging over my head that I will have to detox from it eventually too.  I just want to be healthy and stop wasting away years I will never get back.

I am going to wake up tomorrow and just take an adderall and see where my anxiety levels are, I take the tramadol when I wake up with bad depression or anxiety and it helps.  Everynow and then I get lucky and wake up ok.  I have also been getting back in the gym which has done wonders for getting back to my pre-drug routine and getting my confidence up which I think is important before you start a detox.
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5986700 tn?1380791380
This is an old thread Alex.  Start a new one of your own and tell us a bit of your back story.  It depends on many factors, such as...how long you used, how much, what type, your age, your general health, etc...

Are you currently trying to detox yourself ?  Are you planning it in the future?

Spider, ((((8))))
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, i was  wondering how long the process to feeling "ok" took for u?  Bc i know in the beginning, life feels to cease bc u have no energy to go  to work or get ready for the ready for the day so ive always wondered how long that suffering phase lasts until youre able to get up n about drug free, happy, and natutally energized?
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Avatar universal
Hi, i was  wondering how long the process to feeling "ok" took for u?  Bc i know in the beginning, life feels to cease bc u have no energy to go  to work or get ready for the ready for the day so ive always wondered how long that suffering phase lasts until youre able to get up n about drug free, happy, and natutally energized?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, i was  wondering how long the process to feeling "ok" took for u?  Bc i know in the beginning, life feels to cease bc u have no energy to go  to work or get ready for the ready for the day so ive always wondered how long that suffering phase lasts until youre able to get up n about drug free, happy, and natutally energized?
Helpful - 0
4522800 tn?1470325834
Hi this is a Bad combo and it is one he11 of a detox. Very Hard & different in some ways from the other opiates. I went c/t from Adderall (no ADHD) and Methadone & Benzo over 19m ago and it was no walk in the park.

Trams is a weak u-opioid receptor agonist. it is a Serotonin releaser and a reuptake inhibitor of the norepinephrine..SNRI

Adderall is a central nervous system Stimulant that is prescribed for ADHD as well as Narcolepsy..It contains amphetamine and extroamphetamine.
Adderall acts on the brain to increase the release of DOPAMINES (just like opiates) and Norepinephrine... Dopamine is a Neurotransmitter, which is responsible for coordinating the rewards and pleasure centers in the Brain, (Mid-Brain-Surival part) just like any Addicting thing we get hooked on. There is so much more but I would say taking all 3 of them (Trams is like taking 2 pills) you are still feeding the part of the Brain that we have to learn to deal with when we COME CLEAN.
The endorphins and serotonin are knocked down during drug us. So it sound like you are going UP & DOWN and ALL AROUND just like I did.
Please consider just trying to Taper off of one drug..Believe me you get the same bad w/d with Adderall if used at high doses and for a long time. The Trams are like 2meds you have to come off and it is just as bad as Methadone..Very synthetic. The w/ds from all 3 of these meds will be unbelievably intense and can go on for sometime..Well go figure what we did to the Brain and the Nervous System. SO I just hope that you stop this madness and get to one drug and taper. I do not want to sound mean because this is not me, but I do not want you to go through HE11 Like I did and/or many others here. Wishing you the Best
Bless
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the reply.  Honestly I never really liked the adderall before opiates, but the two of them together didn't bother me.  Sometimes I wonder if I can just get through the opiate part then I won't crave the adderall, however my body has had 2 years to get used to the adderall so it might not be easy.  I am not sure I could quit both at the same time unless I was in a rehab program, I just wouldn't want to do anything.  Unfortunately inpatient rehab isn't an option at this time.

Yea, I am basically doing this solo.  I live alone and only my mom even knows about all of this and she lives 2 hours away.  I looked at different outpatient programs but the one in town told me I needed to do inpatient and the one that allowed outpatient seems more like a suboxone/methadone mill and its an hour away which is a pain trying to make weekly meetings with my job.  The biggest obstacle in my situation is work, its stressful, it requires a lot of dedication and sacrifice, and I can't take more than 2 days off at a time without missing project timelines.  If I lost my job I don't know what it would do to my depression which scares me. There isn't many options for jobs where I currently live, I have climbed my way up the ladder and hold the best job in the area, so if I lost that I would have to pack it up and move.

The good news is I haven't taken my DOC in about 5 days and even though I have used tramadol to help with the withdrawals, I haven't been taking a lot because I know first hand of the withdrawals.  Thats pretty good considering my past.  I am back in the gym as well which is big for me because before my addiction to pills I had been working out for over 14 years straight, it was my stress reliever, it was how I gained self confidence, my life revolved around it, it basically defined me in a way, at least to other people.  Its why I am so depressed now because I let it slowly slip by over the last 2-3 years and can only wonder what people think happened to me when they haven't seen me for awhile.  Its hard to keep it a secret when your body changes like that.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hey,
I get what you're talking about. For a long time my drugs of choice were adderall and oxycontin, then adderall and heroin. I liked that they balanced eachother out and got super addicted to the combo of them. But yes, when I came off of them, I had severe depression. However, each day i stayed off of it got better. The thing is, I had to go to rehab or 12 step meetings for the support and teh community and so I was around other addicts who understood and so i made myself accountable to them. When I tried to stop on my own, i always caved because the opiate wd's mixed with the depression from the stopped adderall was just to much to bare on your own. But a meeting or some kind of support group allows you to get out of your head and distracts you and allows you to surround yourself with other people either going thru the same thing, or who have already gone thru it and can offer their support. Although recently i relapsed due to stopping working on my sobriety, I did get a good amount of time sober off both those drugs and i can tell u my happiness and life did eventually return. There are also some over the counter vitamin remedies such as 5-HTP that work as a natural anti depressant and would help me with the depression. Do you have a doctor that could help detox you? It is definitely possible to get off the adderall and opiates but you have to truly have a desire to be clean, stay strong thru the pain, and have a lot of outside support. This forum can help support u but its good to have people in person, face to face, in your life as well. Are you doing this alone right now? I definitely understand what youre going thru as ive come off adderall and opiates many many times. Feel free to msg me if u have any qyestions or need support. you can do this and although at first it may seem like its worse, thats just the drugs gettign out of your system and teh addiction trying to trick you into thinking you need them to survive, to function, to get by. But its not true, you will get your old self and even more back thru sobriety. I hope you give it a chance!
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