DOSE:	10 - 20 mg	oral	Amphetamines	(pill / tablet)
		smoked	Cannabis

BODY WEIGHT:

130 lb

I'm 21 years old, 5'9' and around 130 pounds. I started taking Adderall exactly one year ago.

All my life, I have been a nervous, fidgety, absent-minded person. Ever since I could remember I was frequently fiddling with my fingers, unraveling paper clips, or ripping up pieces of paper. I started to suspect that I had ADD or ADHD since middle school, but I didn't feel like I fit the profile of the 'hyper' kid, so I never considered ritalin or adderall or any of the standard prescriptions.

I consider myself a good student, but when college came around my wandering mind and inability to stay focused started to catch up with me. My grades suffered, and by the end of my sophomore year (June 2008) I was facing a 2.2 GPA and a received a warning that my financial aid would be cut off if I was unable to maintain a 2.0 GPA by the end of the Fall 2008 semester.

In July of that year, I finally decided to talk to my dad about my problem. I found out that he had been diagnosed with ADHD about a year before, and the symptoms he described were exactly like mine. I talked to a psychologist a few times, who eventually suggested I see my family doctor about possible medication. I talked to my doctor and was prescribed Adderall XR (10 mg/day) about a year ago this month. (That would be August 2008)

I had never taked any amphetamine before, so the 'rush' was a nice surprise. The effects were obvious from the very first day; my mind wandered less, I was less nervous and anxious about stupid little things, and I felt more confident about myself in general. The only problem was when the medication would wear off. After about 10 hours, I would feel drained, apathetic, and slightly depressed. To counter this effect, I would smoke a bowl or two, which made me calm and happy again until I fell asleep.

After a couple months, my doctor increased my dosage to 20 mg a day. Although the effects were amplified for a few weeks, eventually I was back in the same situation. I quit using marijuana at this point because of a good job opportunity available to me in a few months, and I wanted to be clean for the drug test. The come-down process was pretty difficult, since I was used to marijuana easing the whole process along.

However, after a couple more weeks I found that the adderall 'high' had completely disappeared, and along with it, the depressing come-down. Ever since then, 20 mg a day has been absolutely perfect for me. I no longer feel the adderall 'high', but at the same time I've stopped expecting to be high on something all day. My grades for the 2008-2009 school year improved dramatically, and I have become more confident and stopped over-thinking every little thing. I have had the option to increase my dose, but honestly I feel that I am fine with just 20 mg.

One last note, adderall caused a dramatic appetite decrease for me, so I have had to change my eating habits. Before adderall, I would always skip breakfast and eat a big lunch every day. Since being prescribed, I have found it's better to eat a full breakfast, take the adderall xr on a full stomach, and eat a light lunch. By dinner time, the effects are more or less gone and my appetite is back to normal.

Exp Year: 2008-2009	ExpID: 80507
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 21
Published: Jan 11, 2022	Views: 1,733
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Amphetamines (6) : Combinations (3), Retrospective / Summary (11), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Medical Use (47), Various (28)