Does anybody take Xanax and Addorol together?

Page 1 of 1 [ 10 posts ] 

cyb0rg
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jun 2008
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 61
Location: USA

21 May 2010, 5:40 pm

I am on xanax for hypersensitivity, and it has helped a LOT. Before I was on it everything was all noise all the time to the point that I could no longer function. I started on xanax and it has made me feel human again (it's like somebody turned a volume knob in my brain down from 11), but it has also made me not care about anything and has also made me tired all the time and unable to focus. My roommate started taking addorol for ADD and since then she is always doing something and has lots of energy.

I did take part of an addorol once with xanax and I was able to focus and the xanax still made the noise levels bearable (I am not going to say where I got the addorol but it wasn't from my roommate).

I am aware that addorol can be highly addictive, but so is xanax (which makes me a little scared to have both) but if I can have at least a semi-normal life because of it maybe it is worth doing. I want to ask my doc but I just switched docs and this one seems a bit inept so I will be looking for a new one (and I am not sure I want to tell him that I have taken addorol that wasn't prescribed to me).



astaut
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Sep 2009
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,777
Location: Southeast US

21 May 2010, 7:10 pm

I have both...they are safely tucked away because I hate how either makes me feel. Xanax makes me feels loopy, and it can lower blood pressure so that can make you a bit tired feeling. I take prozac for anxiety. I was strongly opposed to it at first because I don't like anxiety drugs, but it has helped a lot. No side effects.

I also have a prescription to ritalin (I was thinking it was adderal, sorry) but rarely take it. It makes me feel restless and often stay up late at night, sometimes to two AM. I run around the house tidying and cleaning, just generally trying to find things to do until it wears off. I think taking them together it pretty pointless, and I'd sort of be surprised if a doctor prescribed them both to you at the same time. I would try an anti-anxiety drug that you take daily. I try to save drugs like xanax and adderal for special occasions, not for everyday.



Apple_in_my_Eye
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 May 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,420
Location: in my brain

21 May 2010, 7:36 pm

I was on Adderal + Xanax for at least 5 years, but currently am not. I found the combo helpful, but got tired of wondering how "drugged" I was constantly. And also, tolerance and subsequent dosage increases were making me nervous. So I went off them (taper) both a few years ago.

It wasn't too bad, though it was definitely unpleasant. I think YMMV a lot with that, though. Some people seem to have a really tough time coming off either or both of those. My natural anxiety level is limited by CFS (or something fatiguing), so that might've made it easier for me.

I think the biggest thing is being an informed patient, which it sounds like you are trying to be. I was amazed to hear that some people don't know that Xanax can be tolerance-building or addictive.



Claradoon
Supporting Member
Supporting Member

User avatar

Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,966
Location: Canada

21 May 2010, 11:42 pm

cyb0rg, I identify so much with everything you say. My life experience has been very similar to yours. My experience with xanax is the same as you describe. I would add that from time to time I taper *down* (not off) to correct the resistance which would otherwise necessitate a larger dose.

That being said, I have to say that I know nothing about Adderal.

A few months ago, under doctor supervision, I tapered off xanax completely. It took about a month to clear my system, and then I went to hyper-hysterical-screaming meemies-irrational-randomly directed meltdown fits. I went back on xanax and now I'm okay again. The experience was useful - I found an ancient lode of lava-hot rage coursing deep in my emotions. With that info, I'm doing EMDR therapy again and making great strides.

I hope you will find your way; I admire the work you've done.



cyb0rg
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jun 2008
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 61
Location: USA

22 May 2010, 8:13 am

Apple_in_my_Eye wrote:
I was on Adderal + Xanax for at least 5 years, but currently am not. I found the combo helpful, but got tired of wondering how "drugged" I was constantly. And also, tolerance and subsequent dosage increases were making me nervous. So I went off them (taper) both a few years ago.

It wasn't too bad, though it was definitely unpleasant. I think YMMV a lot with that, though. Some people seem to have a really tough time coming off either or both of those. My natural anxiety level is limited by CFS (or something fatiguing), so that might've made it easier for me.

I think the biggest thing is being an informed patient, which it sounds like you are trying to be. I was amazed to hear that some people don't know that Xanax can be tolerance-building or addictive.


Yeah I don't like having to take pills either, I try to take the bare minimum I need to get by. I try to stay informed because most of the time it seems like doctors aren't. I don't trust doctors because they are a business and more often than not they just want to make easy money. I think it's amazing how unintelligent a lot of doctors are.

Claradoon wrote:

A few months ago, under doctor supervision, I tapered off xanax completely. It took about a month to clear my system, and then I went to hyper-hysterical-screaming meemies-irrational-randomly directed meltdown fits. I went back on xanax and now I'm okay again. The experience was useful - I found an ancient lode of lava-hot rage coursing deep in my emotions. With that info, I'm doing EMDR therapy again and making great strides.


Argh that's what I want to avoid but I know it is inevitable :(



Claradoon
Supporting Member
Supporting Member

User avatar

Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,966
Location: Canada

22 May 2010, 12:10 pm

Not sure what you mean - what is inevitable, meltdowns or EMDR?



cyb0rg
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jun 2008
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 61
Location: USA

22 May 2010, 8:08 pm

Claradoon wrote:
Not sure what you mean - what is inevitable, meltdowns or EMDR?


Xanax withdrawals.



Claradoon
Supporting Member
Supporting Member

User avatar

Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,966
Location: Canada

22 May 2010, 9:10 pm

I took it very very slowly, and at my own pace. It took months. I can't give a reading on how miserable I was or wasn't - I don't really know.

Anyway, now I'm satisfied with my prescription. Also from time to time a taper for a week, to get ahead of the resistance building up.

I'm convinced that other therapies do help, although it took quite a while to find which ones. Are there other healing paths for you?



cyb0rg
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 28 Jun 2008
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Posts: 61
Location: USA

23 May 2010, 7:45 am

Claradoon wrote:
Are there other healing paths for you?


Before I started on xanax I found I didn't get the BAD BAD panic attacks as often if I drank a lot of tea. I know it sounds strange but I think that keeping myself in a very low-level caffeine panic state kept the disorder from spiking as bad. This was before I knew that the anxiety was caused from hypersensitivity and asperger's. I still drink a lot of tea, and my former doc said it wouldn't interfere with the xanax so it's ok. She did recommend I stay away from coffee, though (which is fine by me since I don't like coffee anyway).



Claradoon
Supporting Member
Supporting Member

User avatar

Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 4,966
Location: Canada

23 May 2010, 7:56 pm

You know, for decades I drank pots and pots of tea, all day long. Now I realize there may have been a good reason for it. I stopped when a friend told me it was annoying that I never did anything without saying, "First, a pot of tea."

I've got a nice little history with green tea (the "real" kind) - and I bought some today. It's 30C here, so it's iced tea time.