Posted by Mitch on October 17, 2001, at 11:53:46
In reply to Adderall and Anxiety, posted by bryan Shift on October 16, 2001, at 13:43:58
> Two years ago I went to my regular doctor complaining of fatigue, the growing inability to concentrate and remember certain things, and a few other similar symptoms that I’d always attributed to my personality. He diagnosed me as depressed (a diagnosis I did not particularly agree with, although the comment in and of itself depressed me!). Since then he’s had me on a few different antidepressants. Most recently I’ve been taking Prozac. Most of these antidepressants have helped a great deal with my temper. I’ve also felt my mood improve slightly. Unfortunately I feel as though my body’s ‘hooked.’ If I miss a few days I develop a terrible mood; worse then before. So I obviously try not to miss a dose.
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> I was finally convinced the original symptoms I addressed by visiting my regular doctor were not entirely from depression if at all. I started having issues with my performance at work. My concentration and tendency to become easily distracted was unbearable.
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> So I swallowed my pride and saw a psychiatrist. He promptly tested me for, diagnosed me with, and began treating me for Adult ADD (I’m 27) and I’ve been taking Adderall now for a few months. I started with 5 mg twice daily and am now at 20 in the morning and 10 in the evening. I try not to take it when I don’t find it’s necessary, but it has certainly made a distinctively better difference in many aspects of my life.
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> Unfortunately last week I began noticing very minor bouts of anxiety (almost depression). Is this a common side affect? I have only had a few anxiety attacks before and those were over a year ago and associated with the loss of a pet I had since childhood. They’ve never reoccurred. It was an isolated incident.
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> I’d prefer to continue taking Adderall. Does or has anyone else had these ‘anxiety’ attacks or something similar? Would a different medication like Concerta or Ritalin possibly suit me more than Adderall?
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> Any help or input is greatly appreciated!
> Thanks.I went off antidepressants and onto Adderall+Neurontin a couple of years back. The Adderall worked fantastic for depression and my ability to focus. However, I had trouble with the anxiety with it as well. This developed into panicky feelings and a thyroid problem (runs in my family though). You may need to reduce the Adderall dose and possibly restart your Prozac (at a low dose) with it to settle down the anxiety. Also, it wouldn't hurt to get a thyroid profile (blood draw/test) done-just to make sure it isn't tweaking with anything it shouldn't.
Mitch
poster:Mitch
thread:81404
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011015/msgs/81483.html