Can you go into more detail about what withdrawal is like for you? I've been taking methylphenidate for ADHD recently and I want to know what to look out for.
Not OP, but have been on stimulants off and on for a decade (tried various ones, with Vyvanse and Adderall being most effective, but the former triggering mania so can’t take anymore).
YMMV, but “withdrawal” has never been more than a minor annoyance, even after years at relatively high dosage. Tired for a few days, a little bit lacking in motivation, definitely more difficult to concentrate.
The concentration part is usually the hardest, but is not necessarily worse than before the drugs, you just forgot why you went on them to begin with or how bad your ability to focus really was.
I will say, it can take some time to adapt to that lack of ability to focus though, as your coping mechanisms before you took medication are a bit atrophied due to no longer needing them.
The physical withdrawals themself really aren’t problematic though.
Not the parent poster, but I suppose an extra data point would not be a bad thing.
My main point of comparison for Adderall withdrawal would be caffeine withdrawal. I don't have experiences with other dependencies.
"Cold turkey" caffeine withdrawal was much more severe than Adderall withdrawal for me. Probably twice as bad. In both cases, I felt extremely fatigued. However, severe caffeine withdrawal went beyond "fatigue" and really made me feel like total shit.
Everybody is different but I believe this is consistent with what most people report.
Of course, there is no real reason to go "cold turkey" and quit suddenly. For both substances can just taper your dosage steadily down to 0mg over a week or two and you should be fine.
For me, it feels similar to when I'd go cold turkey from 2-3 daily cups of coffee (before I started taking medication). 2-5 days of shitty mood, then back to baseline pre-coffee. It sucks, and it will sour your mood when your ability to function drops significantly for a few days, but it passes.
For the life of me, I have trouble understanding why folks would do "cold turkey" for stimulants rather than tapering their dosage off over a week or two!
Personally, I have a hard time with moderation, and doing things gradually. I'm very much all or nothing, so it's easier for me to say "no caffeine in any circumstance!" than "okay just a little caffeine each day", because at that point it's easy to convince myself "well half a cup was fine, so just a sip more won't really make a difference."
Exactly the same for me, but also the approach to alcohol. Moderation is not something that works - either I 'forget' or the it snowballs. Therefore, decaf coffee (seems okay) and no alcohol.
YMMV, but “withdrawal” has never been more than a minor annoyance, even after years at relatively high dosage. Tired for a few days, a little bit lacking in motivation, definitely more difficult to concentrate.
The concentration part is usually the hardest, but is not necessarily worse than before the drugs, you just forgot why you went on them to begin with or how bad your ability to focus really was.
I will say, it can take some time to adapt to that lack of ability to focus though, as your coping mechanisms before you took medication are a bit atrophied due to no longer needing them.
The physical withdrawals themself really aren’t problematic though.