Meth use and ADHD?
 

First post.. Thanks in advance to those who take the time to read this.

So my councilor recently made the suggestion (on my first visit to her) that she thought it would be good for me to talk to my doctor about getting on some sort of ADHD medication.

While I've always been kinda a fidgety person that must always be moving something, usually my leg, and I tend to talk very fast, I have never had issues learning, or concentrating on things (even REALLY BORING ONES).

She thinks that maybe the meth doesn't actually hype me up very much, but act more like riddelin does and focus me.

So it kinda got me thinking, is it possible? Am I an undiagnosed ADAH case? Could I have developed it due to 6 years of meth use? I mean admittedly it does make me focus more, too much more if you ask me. I work in IT and when I'm using, I'm like a machine. I can sit there an bang out tickets like nobodies business, but when I'm not using(even after 4 months clean) I cannot find the motivation to do more than a couple at a time before I feel like I want to do something else for a little bit.

Or is this lady crazy?

Oh my goodness....your story is MY STORY, except I was a meth addict only 4 yrs not 6. Lets see....I went to see a psych cuz I was stressed out at work and kind of unable to focus. He prescribed me ADD meds. IMMEDIATELY I started to abuse them. (they were vyvanse) NO JOKE w/in a day or 2! Granted I had been clean off meth for over 21 yrs. I ran out in 20 days instead of 30. I was able to manipulate him and switch meds telling him the vyvanse caused weird reactions. So he switched me to methiphenidate. Within just a couple of weeks I was snorting them. Everytime time I would get a refill I would snort them up in 6-7 days. My relationship w/ my husband became so strained cuz he had NO IDEA and I didn't want him to know...I hated it when he was around. This went on from August to December 2010. I quit my REALLY GOOD job and isolated BIG TIME! I lost 2 GREAT friends from church cuz of my WEIRD behavior (incessive talking and meanness) and I was so paranoid I almost had a heart attack.

Really as far as ADD goes let me tell you my theory. "control and manipulation" this is true in MOST cases. You want what you want when you want it, screw everyone else. I don't wanna listen. I interrupted people constantly...I was always bored....I was rude and unkind. All I needed to do is grow up.

I got clean and sober on Dec. 28, 2010. I am so thankful I didn't die.

Think long and hard before you (a former meth addict like me) gets any Rx's for ADD meds. Allow your body more time to come around. Remember you are only human, NOT a machine. Your brain needs to re-wire a bit more and watch your sugar intake. Eat healthy and you will feel amazing! Lots of fruits and veggies.

Blessings, Lily

Well, most ADD medication is stimulant based believe it or not.
So your theory on it working almost the same is true, BUT you are causing tremendous damage using meth.
Plus it gives you the rush every addict craves.
I suggest staying away from practicing your theory. In the not-so long run you will do more harm than good.
Your not only putting your health at risk, but you are endangering your family relationships, placing your self in a situation that could get you hurt or put in jail.
Try to stick with the prescribed medication. They DO have ADD medication that supposedly un-abuseable and contain no stimulants.
Meth over time will just eat you away until your living off the streets.

ADD and ADHD is different in everyone. Stimulants help the brain go in a strait line instead of zig zagging all over the place. Talk to your doctor if you think you may need medication. Heck, it might even keep you off the meth as long as you are not abusing it.

...also:

I'm in IT as well, soon as I read "Tickets" I rolled my eyes into the back of my head.
I used to have to fill my quota, and being dope sick at work was nooooo joke.

Imagen having 3 hours left in your day and you have 3 tickets requiring an OS reinstall and 4 tickets left for LCD replacements ALL WHILE DOPE SICK. Ugggghhhh!!!

Meth will cause bad mood problems it will keep you going for days and then boom you have to sleep for a day or to. 6 years of use probably has messed your thinking up. Adhd is Attention deficit hyperactive disorder that kids from drug addict parents are born with. If you would leave the meth alone your mind would return to normal 6 years is not that bad but you are crossing the line and the damage that meth does is unreal the life span of a hard core meth addict is only 50 years and some dont make it to 50 so get into rehab to save you from your addiction. Let go let God or a higher power.

No no no.. I must have worded something funny cuz you all are sounding like you think I'm doing meth instead of taking ADHD medication.

Quite the opposite is what I want! I'm not currently using and am just at a point where I just think there's got to be something I need to get me to that supposed magical year-ish mark of meth sobriety that seems to make all the difference. I am just demotivated to do anything, I cannot focus at work, I have to force myself to do anything, even the (what used to be) fun stuff..

If this is what I've needed and that's what kept me coming back to meth, then it will be a godsend!!!

But that's why I'm asking about it. Like lily said (and thank you for posting lily) I too am nervous about taking a stimulant based Rx. Even though I've always been a fairly light user (I guess light compared to the folks I would see when I get the ****) so I don't see myself snorting anything. I've always liked the whole "my cloud beats your cloud" part of smoking it so I have only snorted it like twice and don't care to do it any other way.

I used to use meth and cocaine.

I was diagnosed with depression, ADHD, and anxiety.

Ive taken Ritalin and Vyvanse for it. I also take Celexa for depression When i am taking meds as prescribed, it makes me not want to do drugs. I do not abuse my meds. It honestly has decreased that urge.

There are nonstimulant ADHD meds. Strattera and Wellbutrin. Ive tried both. Neither helped me but they do work for many. Ive tried many antidepressants and Celexa works the best for me.

I do better with a stimulant med. I do not crave illicit drugs when medicated. I do not "feel" my medication or get high from it. At all. If you dont think you can trust yourself have your wife hold and dispense your meds. My husband did that for a year til i felt trustworthy. Also Vyvanse cant be crushed and snorted as it has to go through your GI tract to work. It turns into a small dose of dexedrine that is released very slowly. I found it to be effective for 8-12 hours. Unfortunately it interfered with my sleep so i am back on Ritalin and Celexa. I want to try it again though or something like it. I liked once a day dosing.

I am sure i could get high from it. If i took a bunch. But i dont want to. I dont feel as crazy in my brain and i dont have that urge. Some times i will miss it but there is so much i dont miss. Plus if i done that i would run out and be a ding dong! That would be bad!

For some maybe these meds are a bad idea but they have been a Godsend for me. Just be careful. If you think you will abuse them and still want to go ahead with it have someone hold them. Try the non stimulants first.

It is not like meth because the dose is so small. I used as much as a gram of meth a day. My med i take ORALLY, 40-60 mg a day. I take a little pill and go about my day. Some days i do not even need my pill if it is a weekend (but i ALWAYS take my antidepressant). A little 20 mg Ritalin pill or 50 mg Vyvanse capule is nothing like when i used meth. I do not act shady and feel paranoid. I do not feel any joy or pleasure from taking my med. It is a little pill I swallow, not a bunch of rocks i hide in the bathroom and smoke! Its a lot different. I cant feel it. Other people can tell it is working and i can stay on task better.

I wish id have been diagnosed and tried meds first. My life would have been way easier. I could do without some of the knowledge i have and the things i have seen.

I wish you luck. Meth SUCKS.

AddictedHusband,
First and foremost, you need to visit a licensed Psychiatrist. He/she will assess you and make a diagnosis based on you and you alone.

I'll give you a little history on me,,,
I'm a chronic pain person under the care of a GREAT Pain Mgm group but I got addicted to the pain meds and went through the roller coaster of stopping/starting the meds...
I was diagnosed as ADHD as a child but never took any meds because my parents didn't want me "medicated" - long story... My youth was a bitch typically associated with hyper kids. As an older adolescent, I kinda found a way around it through sports, work outs, adrenaline pumping activities... I joined the service after high school and that put me right where I needed to be... Super high physical activity and yes EXTREME adrenaline "things".
After the service I was in law enforcement, later I was in computers with large corporations (and working out 5-7 week for 3-4 hours a day).
But see, 4-5 years ago I was diagnosed with some serious physical ailments that forced me to stop all the extreme activities I was accustomed to. I nearly went crazy until I was prescribed pain meds. Holy cow! It was like a small miracle. My mind slowed down, I was no longer restless and agitated, I could focus on things (somewhat despite being "high"). But then after a few years on the meds, my life slowly descended into a small hell. My life revolved around pills and I was no longer the brick $#!^house of a man I used to be.
I stopped/staeted the meds several times.
I finally went to a shrink on the advice of my doctor. I was hesitant to do so but realized that it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I never realized how much "baggage" I carried from my life, etc, etc. Getting things off my chest was HUGE! But alas, my shrink did diagnose me after performing several tests. Eventually I was placed on a non narcotic ADHD med.
My world changed again... My constant anxiety was calmed down, I was able to slow down my mind and focus on things, I had energy but not "too much". I also noticed my pain was chronic pain was more manageable without pain meds. I also no longer felt that incredible urge to use pain meds like I used to. Personally, I attribute some of it to the fact I was less anxious all the time. Now, the other half of that was my personal effort to not use. Further more, I had my pain mgm doc lower my pain meds to a third of my previous dose. I haven't used a pain pill since last weekend!

Here's the bottom line, you need to do what is best for you and believe me when I say that there are LICENSED professionals out there that can help you make choices that are best for you. Here's the catch though! You need to be brutally honest with yourself and your doctor. You CANNOT hold back! So do yourself a favor and get some help.
The ONLY medical advice I can give you here is to see a professional. You'll be glad you did. Heck, there's a reason they went to school for a decade and racked up hundreds of thousands in tuition... So they can make decisions based on what's best for YOU and you alone.

Finally, I went to a shrink in Feb.