Up, down and all around!!???!!

[Spinner416]

recovering drug addict with 3 years clean with the help of Paxil, Suboxone and Xanax. I'll prescribed by the same Doctor Who is aware of my past addiction issues. I myself wanted to cut out the benzo's and went for a proper diagnosis and sure enough my instincts were correct.

Diagnosis: OCD, ADHD, ASD. The last is a new one called autism spectrum disorder in the old DSM-IV it would've been called Asperger syndrome.

Since the age of 11 they threw SSRIs such as Prozac and benzodiazepines such as clonazepam at me. This was to help call me down but all it ever did was call my body down and my head still would race I ended up on an extremely high dosage of three different types of benzo's.

We have kept the Suboxone at 16 mg. Paxil at 60 mg added Adderall XR 60 mg a day ( two 30')

Interestingly I've only been on this medication since January and I've been able to cut my Xanax dose down to 4 mg a day from 8 with no increase in anxiety or any withdrawal symptoms that are
noticeable. The goal is to wean off of the benzodiazepine completely or to keep it between one and 2 mg a day. And yes you are right I was taking 8 mg a day that's for the 2 mg bars as recent as this December.

My concern is that I am simply replacing the useless Xanax with an amphetamine. Yes for the first time in my life I feel calm in my head. I realize now I never look people in the eyes I never looked at their lips while they were moving and miss so many social cues because my head was always racing. Adderall has allowed me to discover this. However I am concerned because I am taking a benzodiazepine an opiate and an SSRI.

Should I be? In your opinion. I went for an ECG blood tests , blood sugar tests,liver and kidney tests and a long x-ray and everything is fine I have no history of heart conditions but something about amphetamine scare me. Or is this just because of the bad press I'm just interested in your opinions. Also do any of you know a give who takes dosages this high?

[Oxymoron35]

I just want to comment on the Vyvanse.  I am also a recovering Alcoholic / Pain Pill addict and was recently diagnosed with Adult ADHD.  I was prescribed (by my Psych that was with me during recovery) Vyvanse.  I was scared as hell, rightfully so but so far it has changed my life.  I finally feel normal.  He also gave me a 10mg "booster" as the Vyvanse only seems to cover me from 7am to about 2pm.  I was on 100% d-amp but just yesterday switched to a new drug (Evekeo) which is 50% d-amp and 50% l-amp.. Will be posting a question on that as well...  I guess my point is I really like Vyvanse in comparison to the IR's in that it is MUCH smoother.  I have also dealt with anxiety and depression my whole life and am on 50mg Pristiq as well.  Basically Efexxor but has a different pharmacology.  When I got sober and was about 45 days clean I went into a deep clinical depression.  I've always had "depression" but this was the first time I had it like this.  It was the stimulant and ADHD diagnosis that saved me from this.  Best of luck to you!!!  Stay strong.

[Sandman2]

    The difference is that while the Xanax really helps for the anxiety,  it is not treating the cause of the anxiety.   That is what the adderall is doing.  Of course, not positive on that - but anxiety is a very strong co-disorder of adhd.  And, I feel it is even stronger in adult undiagnosed adhd.   So if you are now treating the possible cause of your anxiety - then that is good.  And, I have seen this reported many times with adults.  And yes, if you do not have adhd, amphetamines should scare you.  But, there is a lot of bad press as they don't seem to understand the difference between the brain differences (and thus the need) for them.
   Your Adderall dose is not that high.  But taking two xr is weird.  The duration of xr should be about 8 hours.  If it is much less then that, then its a good sign that you are underdosed.  If if is lasting that long, then a normal adderall with a duration of 4 to 6 hours should be fine.  Kind of doubt that you need 16 hours of coverage.  Just saying that cause the duration of a med is one of the best indications of over/under dosed.
     HOWEVER, the PAXIL will become a problem.   Dr. Charles Parker warns (page 72-75, New ADHD Medication Rules).  Prozac or Paxil will block the 2D6 pipes and the “amphetamines accumulate, with resultant anger, rage, mind racing, sleep deprivation and subsequent lack of control.”  It will take a bit of time for the stim meds to accumulate - so if you just recently started the adderall be really watchful for this.
  I would talk to your doc and get off the Praxil.  You could switch over to what Dr. Parker calls “clean 2D6 antidepressants” like Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, or Effexor, if you need to.  Oh, and it will take about a week to wash out the Prozac/Paxil from the brain due to the way it accumulates.  He has such a strong warning in his book about this drug interaction, that I would talk to your doctor as soon as possible.
     By the way, you might want to ask about Vyvannse.  It is a much longer lasting and smoother med, then the adderall.
    Hope this helps.  please post if you have any more questions.l