Posted by BrightEyed+Blueberry on June 5, 2008, at 2:34:48
In reply to Re: Does anyone have Avoidant Personality Disorder, posted by cedar on May 28, 2008, at 15:00:35
I know you said Adderal worked for you but you have concerns/issues with substance abuse...what about Adderal XR? Aren't the extended release formulations of these stimulants supposed to help to avoid abusing (abusing the Adderal?) in some way? Or is it only effective if you take the med properly - for instance, if you break it in half or crush it, it loses its extended release properties, and basically becomes ....basic-release Adderal. And at that point, when its in your face, it's hard not...to swallow...insufflate...over do it--as addiction behaviors take over?
I know some "forward" (or risk-taking?!) -thinking pdocs will prescribe Adderal XR, and probably others in that class, to adults with substance abuse problems-- of stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine! BEcause through the medical intake, they see many ADD-like symptoms, which I believe is problems in the brain in the prefrontal cortex area, making it difficlut to concentrate, focus, be motivated, be organize, to be self-directing....Maybe they take some brain scans first, to see where the problem areas are (a la the Amen Clinics brain pix), and if they can see its...prefrontal cortex, then that person is a good candidate for a proper, regulated, medical grade stimulant - Adderal XR, Ritalin, Strattera, Focalin, desoxyn even?...etc. etc.?
..instead of street drugs.
Self-medicating behavior has its reasons....
Anyway, I digressed, but I hope you find your way out of the isolation / depression. Maybe you could give an MAOI like NARdil a try - that's the gold standard for Social Anxiety Disorder, as I understand...which seems a close fit to your sitch. And of course its an anti-depressant....Have you thought about starting with ..an MAOI-lite? Like EMSAM? It helped me esp the first 6 weeks go out and do things and it at least kept me from myisolating behavior, and I started to be able to approach projects and concerns that I had been avoiding because of...well, the more and more I avoid, the more daunting an otherwise rather "simple" tasks becomes. Or I avoid issues cuz of fears I can't face, esp if I'm overwhelmed and in a depression. And then the anxiety builds up, from putting something off so long...or there are issues of low self-worth involved with some issues I avoid...ugh, now I need to see my counselor tomorrow. My EMSAM has seemed to sort of "slow down" or gone a bit "dormant".
Well, hope something in here makes sense. I need to sleep - sleep is my personal savior/healer, and sometimes hard to get on EMSAM, unfortunately for me. its phasic though, we will see how things go.
b+B
> For many years I suffered from what I considered to be just anxiety and depression, with a pretty strong component of social anxiety. After leaving my job a year ago, however, I began to spend more and more time in the house and stopped reaching out to friends entirely, because I basically felt like as an unemployed recluse, I had nothing worth saying to anyone. It really became a downward spiral--more avoidance led to more self-doubt led to more avoidance. If someone asked me what was going on in my life, I would basically mumble and grow visibly uncomfortable and try to change the subject to something else quickly. I am slowly working on getting out more, although I stick to the least intimidating situations possible, and there are still days where I can't face other people. I hope to return to the workforce soon, and think this will be helpful, although extremely challenging at first.
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> I'm wary of personality disorder labels in general, but I really identify with the AvPD label in way that I don't with other personality disorders.
>
> I've now been on various medications (over 30, and countless combinations) for 13 years (I recently went through 6-month period of clearing out my system of all meds totally recently, which I'm quite proud of, and now take only a small dose of wellbutrin and klonopin, and am slowly withdrawing off the klonopin). While I think it is a personal decision and something you need to decide for yourself, I tend to caution friends who are considering medication for the first time because it can lead to a long and frustrating road ahead.
>
> That said, if you are interested in medication, the best ideas I can think of are adderall (which was incredibly helpful to me but I cannot take anymore because of substance abuse issues, so be careful if you have a history of this), and possibly Nardil. I haven't taken Nardil, but it seems to be a huge help to many people once they get their doctor to agree to an MAOI, and the main side effects I know of, weight gain and sexual dysfunction, do not seem to be concerns of yours.
>
> I don't know where you live, but here in NY there are groups designed for people with general public speaking anxiety and more specifically for social anxiety. I know AvPD is different than social anxiety, but the way these groups work might be helpful (I think it is basically a 12-week program--the first week you sit silently and just observe, the next week you say your name, etc., and build up slowly over the weeks in a supportive group that knows what it feels like to experience discomfort of one kind or another in social settings.) It sounds a bit weird and I can't vouch for the efficacy of it, but it is something I've considered giving a chance (they offer the opportunity to observe a couple of sessions for free before committing.)
>
> This is my first post on Babble, though I've been reading posts for the last few months, so I apologize if this is not helpful or off topic.
>
> Best of luck to you.
poster:BrightEyed+Blueberry
thread:288792
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080528/msgs/833022.html