I was put on it in December of 2013 as a sort of last ditch anti-depressant. At the time, I was under the understanding I didn't need to take it every day, so I didn't. Maybe 2 times a week on average until early to mid March. I saw my doctor and she said, "How will we know if it's working as an anti-depressant if you don't take it every day?" So, I began taking it every day.
I also have moderate to severe anxiety. Most of the time it's controllable, but I almost always have a some degree of it. Lately, I've been waking up terrified, with that gut-wrenching feeling of dread. It's been getting worse. It's to the point that I feel like I am going to go insane. I have talked to my doctor. She put me on sleeping pills as I don't sleep well. I did some research on the Adderall and it seems that it can cause anxiety or make existing anxiety worse.
I've only been on it daily for a little over a month at 10 mg. I want to know if I can go off of it without serious side-effects.
Can I go off Adderall after a month at 10 mg? I have severe anxiety?
- Asked
- 21 Apr 2014 by chellebean
- Updated
- 28 August 2016
- Topics
- adderall, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, antidepressant
Responses (5)
Adderall can have that extra anxiety affect on some people, luckily for me my severe anxiety hasn't occured while taking my Adderall. You can totally go off this dose for a month, 10 mg per day is a very low dose, and if it's Adderall XR then the dose is even less. Since you've only done the daily thing for a month I can't imagine there being any bad side effects or withdrawal symptoms. Try it out on the days you don't work, just to be careful no bad feelings come up. I take 140 mg of Vyvanse with two 30 mg Adderall IR, and with that high of a dose there's definite withdrawal symptoms. You probably won't feel a thing, maybe just the need to sleep all day but again, you really haven't been taking it for that long. I wouldn't worry about it at all.
I have tried many, many antidepressants over the years. We are scraping the bottom of the barrel for me. That's why she was willing to try that. :)
I know this is an old thread but I just found this and I feel exactly the way you once felt. Ive been prescribed adderall for a few years but I only took maybe a quarter of a 20mg IR pill in the morning every so often and I could barely handle that. A few months ago I began taking daily and went up to 20mg a day. I ended up losing 30lbs very fast which Is bad when you are 5'8 and 130lbs down to 100lbs and I went from situational anxiety to almost daily panic attacks. I went back down to 5mg a day but the anixety and paranoia that everyone thinks Im too skinny and everyone is talking bad about me and my boyfriend is cheating on me is sending me to the brink. I did some soul searching this week and I never had these issues before so I think I was misdiagnosed with ADHD and it is really an anxiety problem made sooooooo much worse by this drug. Its scary how fast my life spiraled. I was okay taking very small doses as needed and never should have changed that.
I was taking clonazepam (Klonopin) as needed for anxiety, which was not too often. But all of a sudden the anxiety SPIKED. My doctor immediately put me on the drug twice a day, which made a wonderful difference. Later she added 10mg Adderall (not XR) for daytime fatigue, and I dropped to clonazepam once in the afternoon. When I started having problems, I went ahead and started taking clonazepam twice a day again, morning and afternoon. In spite of the fact that you'd expect Adderall and Klonopin to cancel each other out, they didn't.
Further Information
- Adderall Information for Consumers
- Adderall Information for Healthcare Professionals (includes dosage details)
- Side Effects of Adderall (detailed)
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Today is the 9th day off Adderall. I haven't had any problems that I can see. I saw my doctor again and she took me off the Ambien, also. I've had the sleep problem for nearly a decade so I don't really want to include another drug for something I'm dealing with.
Almost exactly a week off the Adderall I woke up without that gut-wrenching anxiety. As I stated before, I always have it to some extent but it seems to be diminishing. I also have noticed my muscle tension in neck and shoulders which I've also had problems with for years, has abated and for weeks I had been having a tic in my left eye. Guess what? Gone. :)
The Adderall did help for social anxiety but to my mind it's not worth staying on for that so I guess it wasn't the help we'd hoped it would be for the depression.
I start a combo of Zyprexa and Prozac next Monday. I've not tried very many combinations in my lifetime so maybe I'll get some relief from the depression and anxiety.
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer me. :)