help with prescription pill addiction?

Question by jen: help with prescription pill addiction?
I really need help.

I might be addicted to my ADD medicine. I don’t *have* ADD, I have a prescription that I lied to get. Because ADD medicine (I take 30 mg of vyvanse daily, which is the equivalent of 10 mg aderrall) helps me get stuff done, eat less, and be more outgoing. At least, it used to. Now I don’t get much more done than I did without it, I eat around 1700 calories a day, and I am not that outgoing, more like normal.

Basically, the medicine isn’t affecting me anymore except in negative ways. I am CRANKY all the time, and I HATE it. And I check my phone obsessively, and get really depressed super easily if I don’t feel like people like me enough (it makes me overly-sensitive). I feel kind of foggy headed, and can’t remember stuff as well as I should be able to. Like I can’t remember my boyfriend’s birthday unless I check his facebook and I didn’t know his middle name when my friend asked me in front of him, even though I’m usually great with these things. I never really feeel like doing anything but sitting around reading celebrity gossip/watching tv/mindless stuff.

It seems like it’d be as simple as stopping taking the medicine, after all, I am paying about $ 35/month for it. It isn’t that easy though, because what if I started eating 6000 calories a day if I stopped taking it? And what if I accomplished even less in my day without it? I always feel sluggish when I go a day without it. I want to go to a counselor about it, but I know they’d be like “This is serious, you need to go to rehab” or something.

What can I do to fix this myself?!?!?!?!

Also, I used to share the prescription with my best friend. Like we’d only have 15 each per month. Then I lied and said I couldn’t get it anymore so that I would have the pills all for myself.

I already know this is horrible of me, so please don’t guilt trip me.

Best answer:

Answer by Frank
You are addicted. You are experiencing what is called tolerance. The same dose has less of an effect on you.

Stop taking the medicine. You will have withdrawal symptoms when you stop (which you’ve already noticed), but this will go away within a week. Caffeine can help reduce these.

If you keep going, the tolerance will increase, and the withdrawal symptoms will be worse when you do stop.

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