Aa
prozac xanax and adderall
hi i have been on prozac and xanax since march 3 2010.my dr added adderall for refractory depression a little over a week ago,,,,i can tell not much difference....and im still having the slow unsteady walk from before the addderall...does anyone know how long it will take the adderall to help my depression,,,he is usinfg it off label....i lowered my dose of adderall because my heart raced so the the fourth day of being on it but its ok now i may have ti up it again,,,,has anyone else treid adderall to help depression,,,,im not even feeling nomore energy
you really don't know what you're talking about. giving "medical" advice using the right buzz words could be lethal to people with mood disorders and anyone needing benzos and/or add/adhd meds.
I know several people on these exact 3 medications (fluoxetine, amphetamine/dextroamohetamine and alprazolam) and all were prescribed by a top psychiatrist from Harvard med school. He also works for perhaps the best mental hostipital in the world.
Adderall is often used to treat depression, as one of the major symptoms of depression is low motivation and excessive sleepiness. Adderal also increases blood pressure and heart rate and can also cause intense anxiety in many users. Doctors will sometimes prescribe a benzodiazapine like xanax or a beta-blocker to counter these effects.
Nearly 90% of people with depression have combroid anxiety disorders which benzodiazapines are most commonly prescribed for. So it isn't rare for a patient who is trying adderal to help treat depression to already be prescribed Xanax, Klonopin or Ativan.
Xanax and adderal often work well together as the benzo can relieve the anxiety and jitteriness caused by the adderall which in turn keeps the patient more focused and awake, as Xanax is used for insomnia and can make many users groggy.
The idea that uppers and downers are bad for you is a myth. Downers can actually keep the blood pressure and heart rate of someone on stimulants from rising to unsafe levels. The reason people think they're bad is because people like Chris Farley and Jon Belushi mixed the downers morphine and heroin respectively, with cocaine (all injected intravenously). The cocaine wore off before either of the opiates did, which caused respiratory depression that killed both great comedians. Infact, more cocaine administered to either one after passing out, likely would have stimulated their CNS enough to breathe again, saving their lives (similar to the way someone mentioned a patient overdosing on meth at hospital would be given Ativan).
The biggest risk in taking adderal and Xanax together is addiction, as it is a sort of "speedball" though not nearly as dangerous as heroin and cocaine. The best way to prevent getting hooked is to find a effective, safe, continuous dosage of the two drugs and discuss it with your doctor. In the early stages of treatment one's tolerance and thus dosage will likely increase but should eventually level out. People run into issues when they can't "level out" and take more and more of the drugs to keep trying to get the same high.
My advice for you is if the adderal isn't stimulating enough, talk to your doctor about raising the dosage although your're already at 45mgs a day and getting a rapid heart beat. My advice is to ask to switch to Ritalin which should have very similar effects but works differently in the brain.
Provigil (modanafil) which someone mentioned is also a possible solution. It is a wonderful drug that doesn't get much attention because its only FDA approved for things like narcolepsy. However it has similar dopaminergic, seritonergic and noradrenergic properties adderall and Ritalin but it also has been shown to work on neurotransmitters called orexins and histamines (anti-histamines like Benadryl make you tired, while Provigil stimulates histamines that promote wakefulness). These are the likely reasons provigil has less side effects than adderal or Ritalin in general.
Adderall is often used to treat depression, as one of the major symptoms of depression is low motivation and excessive sleepiness. Adderal also increases blood pressure and heart rate and can also cause intense anxiety in many users. Doctors will sometimes prescribe a benzodiazapine like xanax or a beta-blocker to counter these effects.
Nearly 90% of people with depression have combroid anxiety disorders which benzodiazapines are most commonly prescribed for. So it isn't rare for a patient who is trying adderal to help treat depression to already be prescribed Xanax, Klonopin or Ativan.
Xanax and adderal often work well together as the benzo can relieve the anxiety and jitteriness caused by the adderall which in turn keeps the patient more focused and awake, as Xanax is used for insomnia and can make many users groggy.
The idea that uppers and downers are bad for you is a myth. Downers can actually keep the blood pressure and heart rate of someone on stimulants from rising to unsafe levels. The reason people think they're bad is because people like Chris Farley and Jon Belushi mixed the downers morphine and heroin respectively, with cocaine (all injected intravenously). The cocaine wore off before either of the opiates did, which caused respiratory depression that killed both great comedians. Infact, more cocaine administered to either one after passing out, likely would have stimulated their CNS enough to breathe again, saving their lives (similar to the way someone mentioned a patient overdosing on meth at hospital would be given Ativan).
The biggest risk in taking adderal and Xanax together is addiction, as it is a sort of "speedball" though not nearly as dangerous as heroin and cocaine. The best way to prevent getting hooked is to find a effective, safe, continuous dosage of the two drugs and discuss it with your doctor. In the early stages of treatment one's tolerance and thus dosage will likely increase but should eventually level out. People run into issues when they can't "level out" and take more and more of the drugs to keep trying to get the same high.
My advice for you is if the adderal isn't stimulating enough, talk to your doctor about raising the dosage although your're already at 45mgs a day and getting a rapid heart beat. My advice is to ask to switch to Ritalin which should have very similar effects but works differently in the brain.
Provigil (modanafil) which someone mentioned is also a possible solution. It is a wonderful drug that doesn't get much attention because its only FDA approved for things like narcolepsy. However it has similar dopaminergic, seritonergic and noradrenergic properties adderall and Ritalin but it also has been shown to work on neurotransmitters called orexins and histamines (anti-histamines like Benadryl make you tired, while Provigil stimulates histamines that promote wakefulness). These are the likely reasons provigil has less side effects than adderal or Ritalin in general.
I think what M4 is gently telling you, I'll say more bluntly -- just because someone is a doctor doesn't mean they know much about anything. This is especially true with mental illness. Some are just better than others. You always have to do your homework on what your docs tell you to make sure they aren't hacks. Sad, but true, and I think we all learn this the hard way.
Fast heart beats and headaches are common side-effects of amphetamines. Yes it damage your heart and it's upping your pressure. The good new is that the Xanax in someway is reducing those undesirable side effects related to heart and blood pressure.
Prozac can still take some time to work in contrary to the Adderall so give it time as it's true that your anxiety level is very high.
You say
''why would my dr put me on it knowing the xanax would affect it when he prescibed the xanax and prozac''
Because he wants to raise your dopamine and norepinephrine levels while you are addicted to benzos and he's not a pharmacist.
M4
Prozac can still take some time to work in contrary to the Adderall so give it time as it's true that your anxiety level is very high.
You say
''why would my dr put me on it knowing the xanax would affect it when he prescibed the xanax and prozac''
Because he wants to raise your dopamine and norepinephrine levels while you are addicted to benzos and he's not a pharmacist.
M4
people say they can hear the depression i sliftng out of my voice and i guess im a bit better,the pharmacy say addderall affects people different imstill getting some fast heart rates and headaches...but will speak to my dr on tuesday......im still puzzled by my walking but that started with the prozac and xanx.....as i said i have been on benzos 20 years..so i can only try to cut back..i thought of upping the adderall back to original doseof 15 mg 3 times a day instead of two,,but im afraid it will hurt my heart,,,so many people say it can............why would my dr put me on it knowing the xanax would affect it when he prescibed the xanax and prozac/...and i drank 6 non alkie beers the other night and felt like i got a buzz that is odd i have drank the stuff for 2 1/2 years with no effect..pharmmist said it might be that im on higher dose of xanx then i was the ativan.......or it was in my head a botttle has less thn 0.5 percent alchol by volume......or maybe its the combo of meds i dont know
You've been on so many meds, and your anxiety level is so high about everything, that it's become very difficult, I would think, for you to tell what's happening. A week is too short to tell what a med will do for or against you, generally, but at some point you'll have to settle down with something and see how it goes.
Adderall's effects are felt during the first day of using it. The question is do you like or support well amphetamines (Adderall in your case)?
It's not like you need a month to know if it'll help or not. Amphetamines are directly affecting your dopamine and noradrenaline levels and those effects are quite easy to see during even your first day using the drug.
The problem is directly related to your Xanax and Adderall combination. I will keep it very simple here but they basically cancels each others out. Your Xanax will limit the number of receptors to get the dopamine from the Addrenall first of all and it's a downer (Xanax) so yes it will lower your norepinephrine and dopamine levels which Addrenall is trying to raising but Xanax will top Addrenall so yeah basically your are canceling your Addrenall dose by taking Xanax at the same time. Some people here can argue that they don't really directly canceling due to the nature of both substances (I'm in a good position to tell you about the pharmacology and neurobiology of both) but the Xanax is most likely to have the significant impact which make the use of Addrenall kinda pointless if you are using both together (think of it like if someone would rush in to the ER on meth, they would give them a benzodiazepine like Xanax (would probably be Ativan) to send them home... Anyway you see the point).
You say
''has anyone else treid adderall to help depression,,,,im not even feeling nomore energy''
Yes it can help with depression and giving you energy but the energizing effect is way less prominent when combining it with Xanax.
I would see if you are really up for the Addrenall. If you are then I would use the Xanax as a come down from the Addrenall eg get to sleep. The trick is that some people are addicted to a 2 doses or even 3 doses of Xanax a day so this is why you must talk with you doctor first and plan a withdrawal from the daily dose to get you to the point of using it as a come down only before you go to bed. That is if you really want to stick with Adrenall. You can also try Modafinil which is not an amphetamine but it haves almost no side effects and researches are trying to proves it can help with depression. it's not really stimulating but it as far as know it haves to do with you glutamate and GABA neurotransmiters and some other actions. It won't affect you dopamine levels directly but will help with focus and staying awake with neuroprotective effects.
Have a good talk with your doctor about the options and what is most suitable for you.
M4
It's not like you need a month to know if it'll help or not. Amphetamines are directly affecting your dopamine and noradrenaline levels and those effects are quite easy to see during even your first day using the drug.
The problem is directly related to your Xanax and Adderall combination. I will keep it very simple here but they basically cancels each others out. Your Xanax will limit the number of receptors to get the dopamine from the Addrenall first of all and it's a downer (Xanax) so yes it will lower your norepinephrine and dopamine levels which Addrenall is trying to raising but Xanax will top Addrenall so yeah basically your are canceling your Addrenall dose by taking Xanax at the same time. Some people here can argue that they don't really directly canceling due to the nature of both substances (I'm in a good position to tell you about the pharmacology and neurobiology of both) but the Xanax is most likely to have the significant impact which make the use of Addrenall kinda pointless if you are using both together (think of it like if someone would rush in to the ER on meth, they would give them a benzodiazepine like Xanax (would probably be Ativan) to send them home... Anyway you see the point).
You say
''has anyone else treid adderall to help depression,,,,im not even feeling nomore energy''
Yes it can help with depression and giving you energy but the energizing effect is way less prominent when combining it with Xanax.
I would see if you are really up for the Addrenall. If you are then I would use the Xanax as a come down from the Addrenall eg get to sleep. The trick is that some people are addicted to a 2 doses or even 3 doses of Xanax a day so this is why you must talk with you doctor first and plan a withdrawal from the daily dose to get you to the point of using it as a come down only before you go to bed. That is if you really want to stick with Adrenall. You can also try Modafinil which is not an amphetamine but it haves almost no side effects and researches are trying to proves it can help with depression. it's not really stimulating but it as far as know it haves to do with you glutamate and GABA neurotransmiters and some other actions. It won't affect you dopamine levels directly but will help with focus and staying awake with neuroprotective effects.
Have a good talk with your doctor about the options and what is most suitable for you.
M4
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