Paranoid symptoms from adderall (Page 1)

It is my understanding that those with true ADHD rarely get addicted to Adderall.

However in your early 20's other mental issues can come out that manifested themselves as ADHD in earlier years such as bi-polar disease.

My suggestion would be if she is doing things such as removing the vent covers and exhibits extreme paranoia in your presence is to just have her committed for 48 hours and maybe she can get the help she needs.

Have you actually tried speaking to her about all of this?

My two sons were abusing Adderall. A doctor prescribed high doses to both (they are in their 40's and do not have ADHD). The oldest son realized how it was destroying his life and stopped. My younger son is so addicted that he believes hair is spinning around his head and ears and picks his skin constantly to "pick" the hairs out of his face. For some reason he believes he has Jeeps Disease. He has lost most of his business, his wife constantly is putting restraining orders on him and his kids have little to do with him now.
His posture is stooped forward and he is literally skin and bones. It breaks my heart. I tried talking to him but he gets angry and says he needs it because he has such long hours at work - not true. He also smokes pot a lot.

How should I handle him? I don't know weather to confront him with his mental illness or not. The shrink that is prescribing the drug has to have seen the detioration that is taking place. He does not care. He believes if his 'patients' are stupid enough to ask for drugs he will give them whatever they want. My son drives to DE to see this jerk as no ligetimate physcian will prescribe in the high doses he receives. I have reported the doctor but after investigaing they dropped the case. This doctor is banned in MD due to child abuse of his minor patients. That says a lot.

My two sons were abusing Adderall. A doctor prescribed high doses to both (they are in their 40's and do not have ADHD). The oldest son realized how it was destroying his life and stopped. My younger son is so addicted that he believes hair is spinning around his head and ears and picks his skin constantly to "pick" the hairs out of his face. For some reason he believes he has Jeeps Disease. He has lost most of his business, his wife constantly is putting restraining orders on him and his kids have little to do with him now.
His posture is stooped forward and he is literally skin and bones. It breaks my heart. I tried talking to him but he gets angry and says he needs it because he has such long hours at work - not true. He also smokes pot a lot.

How should I handle him? I don't know weather to confront him with his mental illness or not. The shrink that is prescribing the drug has to have seen the detioration that is taking place. He does not care. He believes if his 'patients' are stupid enough to ask for drugs he will give them whatever they want. My son drives to DE to see this jerk as no ligetimate physcian will prescribe in the high doses he receives. I have reported the doctor but after investigaing they dropped the case. This doctor is banned in MD due to child abuse of his minor patients. That says a lot.

Thank you for your reply! I have suspected that the Adderall has unmasked the bi-polar disorder. Yes, several people have tried talking to her, but she will not talk about her medication or her strange behaviors. She either changes the subject or leaves. How do you get an adult committed? Doesn't an involuntary committment require a judges' input/authorization?

Each state I believe will have some laws that are different call a local hospital with a good psyc ward and ask them for sure but you can call 911 when she is exhibting erratic paranoia type behaviors and they will evaluate her at the ER with a psyc consult. From there they can hold her for up to 48 hours (longer if she is deemed to be a threat to herself or others).

She may another mental health diagnosis, but as far as her medication goes: Adderall is a stimulant and acts similarly to methamphetamine in those who abuse it. There are TONS of people in recovery for abusing prescription stimulants such as Adderall, Dexedrine, and Ritalin. They are highly addictive. Many psychiatric medications aren't approved for long-term use (over one year), but most people who take these medications will continue taking them for years and years.

Stimulants in excess cause hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. It sounds to me like she is taking too much Adderall, and has possibly become dependent on it. She exhibits all the behaviors of someone addicted to methamphetamine or cocaine. While it's hard to commit an adult against their will, it might be helpful to talk to her about it in a non-judgemental way. Perhaps staging an intervention with a specialist would be a good idea.

Either way, I hope she gets the help she needs, and it's good that you are concerned about her. Best wishes!

Thank you for your response.

I recently found out that one of her doctors switched her to the extended release Adderall. But, then she let it slip (to me) that she was also taking Hydroxycut. I asked her why and she said for energy. That just leads me to believe that she isn't getting the high she used to get, so is "supplementing" the new pills.

Is there any cause for immediate concern regarding mixing the two?

Thank you so much!!!

I would be concerned about mixing the two. I was put on ritalin when I was 6 years old, and I have been taking adderall for about ten years. After Awhile, tolerance developes. I used to drink alot of coffee, take energy supplements, and take my adderall. After college I came to a stand still, and stopped sleeping, became paranoid, and delusional. I ended up being hospitalized. And I have been fighting with adderall addiction ever since. It is very hard for me to quit adderall, because I really like the way it made me feel, and kept me organized and on task, but at the cost of my eroding sanity. Just read more of these posts, becomming delusional, paranoid and even having hallucinations on adderall is not that uncommon. I was also very sure of myself and cocky. I find that relieving for me, and should be concerning for anyone who wishes to continue or start taking this medication.

Schizophrenia?

I myself ws uing adderall for around a year. I began to have delusions, hear voices, and became very paranoid. I thought it was all "Gods Plan" at the time and didnt tell anyone. I continued to take the medication and slipped into another world. It wasnt til my dad had me hospitalized and i came clean from the drug that i slowly began to be whole again. I am on Risperidal Consta currently for schizophrenia and still struggle with my thoughts, movements, and coordination. Now i still hear voices but i know what is real and what is not. Im back in the realm of normal. I have no doubt that it was the Adderall combined with my genetics that caused me to slip off into "another world." I would advise you have your cousin hospitalized so mental health professionals can evaluate her. When i went off the adderall i had terrible withdrawl, pain throughout my body and lower back, was hooked to intravenous pain medication during the time. Its been a long road back, still a struggle but i am 11 credits short on my Bachelors Degree and will be employed. Sekk help, think positive, and best of luck to you.

Ml1221, I keep reading and re-reading your message. My son is going through the same thing right now. He "was" in college, but became so paranoid he couldn't get to class without turning around and heading back to his apt. He had all of the symptoms you mentioned. He's currently in a rehab center. What shocked me most is that you are still recovering. I was hoping that he would be taking Risperidone just until it brought him back to "normal." From what you're saying, recovery is not like that.
Can you shed some light on what I can expect during his recovery?
It sounds like you are doing great, and I'm sure you're thankful your dad intervened when he did.
I wish you all the best.

Jabob,

Your story made me laugh out loud. Thats the same dumb crap i use to do but on a way more extreme level. Thats totally the effects of adderall for ya. I was on it for college as well, a steady 4 years.

I have been cutting back on adderall for the past year.

Reasons for quitting.

-Extreme sweat doing the smallest physical activity.

-Made me break out on my back.

-greasy oily skin. made me look tanner..cant explain why...

-I seem to lose muscle, size, and strength very fast on adderall. Not a good work out supplement.

-Extremely cocky "know it all" attitude.

-Very talkative and annoying.

- Cant keep a girl friend on this stuff. Makes you paranoid as crap.

- implants fake emotions in your head. You fall in love way too easily. Get attached way too much. There's this one story i read where a guy had to keep taking his adderall in order to stay in love with his wife..funny

-Gives you ocd behavior. example arranging stuff on your work desk making in completely perfect and aligned.

-Muscle spasms.

-coming down off adderall can make you down right nasty! HUGE mood swings. like a PMS'ing women. Its like menopause.

- hallucinations while driving! Id see black figures in the road. lmao

- time goes by too fast on this crap. Before you know it 4 years have past.

- It will make you look older a lot faster in my opinion.

- Causes you to sweat all over your sex partner... sometimes hot but usually not a great thing.

- You are always hotter(temperature) then everyone else.

- I dont think that feeling my heart beet is a good thing while doing normal activity. My normal heart rate on adderall was like 140+ beets a minute. I dont think that's good. My friends was like half that amount when we tested it.

My first attempt to quit lasted 30 days. First three days i slept pretty much all day. I ate a crap load and then went back to sleep. In a week i was going out again. The second week i felt happy for about a minute. third week was alot better. I began eating alot of healthy foods and began working out. My strength and muscle grew at record speeds. fourth week i was feeling soooo good i figured id take an adderall to feel even better!

...back to the drawing board.

i dont feel like writing anymore now...id have to pop an adderal to finish....oh, im on day three now. Maybe il be off for good this time.

This has happened to me... not quite as sever as your friend but bad.. I abused aderall very hard. I took a co op program in high school, and took extreme amounts of aderal throughout work. the fact that they were instant amphetamine salts is what helped me get hooked so fast... and i had been taking aderal along with other meds most of my life for adhd before this.. when i was abusing my personality severly transformed.. I lost connection with the world.. i stopped sleeping.. started having severe sleep paralysis and mixing dreams and reality.. I also started hallucinating, having delusions. one day i had lost it and started kicking in doors at my house and took about a 3/4ths full bottle of them.. i was rushed to the ER and put into a place for about a week.. i stopped aderal all together after all this.. but my mind feels forever wrecked.. and i show signs of skitzophrenia.. but the fact im aware of whats going on i havent surcome to full insanity.. I tilt my head strange too i dont understand why as well as i have developed severe social anxiety from the edgyness paranoia caused from the come down effects.. aderall should not be abused.. its stupid you dont want to live like this.

Hello,

I thought I would share with you some experiences my father has gone through, and is still going through. My father was a struggling business man but very smart. His drug of choice early on was cocaine, but was obviously pretty common in the 80's. He also smoked some pot frequently, but did a good job of hiding the habit for awhile (but you see where this is going). Anyways, things started getting tough financially, and through years of sports, and broken bones, my father was always in pain as well. He had two kids later in life (my half brothers) who are 9 and 14. So, with the stress came opiates, and heavy pain pills like vicodin, oxycodine, and percocet. Soon, he lost his business, and my step mother was disabled. He turned to medicare, foodstamps, and a low paying job working 12 hour days 5 days a week at 57 years of age to help raise my brothers.

This is where it gets a bit crazy....

My brother was prescribed Adderall at an early age for ADD. Unfortunately, he wasn't the one taking the medication I come to find out . My father had two back surgeries, and was in terrible pain at work, so when he got home, would sedate himself with opiates to numb his pain, and depekote, which is a mood stabilizer because he was diagnosed as Bi-Polar, and has a terrible temper. So, the miracle drug Adderall was introduced into my fathers blood stream, initially orally. He was a champ, and could not be stopped as he would have no issues making it through his 12 hours of standing at his place of employment selling goods (he did well, but wasn't paid much money) similar to a college student. Once he got home, he took the opiates (downers to count on for pain), then (my brothers) adderall in the morning to shoot him out of bed....

When Insane happens.....

Well, this wasn't going to last, because soon the adderall would lose it's potency, as my father's tolerance grew heavy. The next stage was taking adderall in it's most intense form aside from shooting it in your arm, and that was snorting a couple caps a day. Soon what followed was extreme paranoia and delusional behavior. My father claimed the feds were after him, recalling events from his past which were never discussed before. Also the discussion of "non-lethal" weapons being used on him by the government, because he knew information that nobody could possibly have the answers to. His room was made into a fortress (foil, a cage, radios and some pillows) so nobody could come close to burning him with electromagnetic pulses (he was pointing at places on his hands, but no burns were visible). When he heard a helicopter, they were after him, when the telephone fades, they are listening, and when a car stops by the house, where's the gun. The house was surrounded by cameras, and motion lights. My father is sick, and not well, and has passed the point of return. I truly think he's unable to change, until rock bottom happens, and it's approaching soon, I just hope it's not being able to make it to work anymore so he can accept our help. He thinks the sky is purple, and we can't convince him that's it's blue.

My father is a shell of a man now that I don't know, and adderall is the drug I hold responsible. He's been on this routine for 5 years, and if he stops now, he will die of withdrawal. He's removed himself from all family functions, including the involvement in my brothers lives which I try to fill that void from across the country. He sleeps, and is barely able to work, yet he won't take the families help, and chooses the drug that has destroyed his life. The doctor keeps prescribing the Adderall after countless attempts to stop him.

I share this story because I want to let the forum know what this drug is capable of doing to someone regardless of age. It's addictive, and should be taken off the markets. It's destructive to families, students, and children.

Feel free to reply, would like to hear your stories as well. Thanks for reading.

I was on adderalll, pills and extended relase. I thought everyone was out to get me, & i had a warnt for my arrest at the time. I tried to kill myself by taking 13 30 mg adderall the cap's. I thought the weirdest thing, and i actually believe it. My mom told me i needed to go check myself into the hospital, then later on that night i smoked weed. It got worse i kept looking out the window every 2 mins, littarly every two mins. Finally after the 3rd day, i chilled out. I haven't taking adderall in almost 3 months. I'm failing all my classes, and getting mad at people and blowing up none stop. I need my adderall, but im scared to take it. I seriously thought my family was shipping me away and sending me to rehabe, i was tripping hardcore&& i thought my bestfriend was setting me up. I thought all my friends were driving down the street, trying to set me up. I was freaking out. That thing isn't cool to take the high of a does.

Our 26 yr old son was prescribed Adderal for adult ADD.

After six months of ridiculously high doses, he had a complete psychotic break. Over the past two years he has disappeared three times and been hospitalized five times with psychosis. Finally after a thirty day involuntary inpatient order, he has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and is on mandatory Consta shots.

He had no family history, or signs of mental illness prior to taking the Adderal. Why is this crap still on the market? Six months of a prescription medication with life long consequences for the entire family.

This is crazy! i have been taking adderall for about three months now, three or four times a week. At first i loved it, i got all sorts of things done but then things got strange. This might seem silly but i feel like my personality has changed. I recently noticed this about a month ago, i didnt feel like the same outgoing girl that i used to be. At times i just felt paranoid and terrible about myself and the people around me.In all seriousness I literally felt like i was loosing my mind. My body has given me these warnings and i have to listen. I have stopped taking adderall because i truly believe that it has made me feel so disconnected with my self and the people around me. I do not believe that the FDA will take adderall off of the market only because of how much money it drives in, they do not care about the effects that it has on millions of people. If you are currently taking adderall, just my opinion, you must stop..

good luck to you all!!

love and peace

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I really understand these amphetamine paranoid issues cause I suffered them too. My withdrawal was sometimes painful and scary but manage to overcome everything. I strogly recommend everybody to get amphetamine withdrawal ebook It really help me to overcome my addiction!

Hope you best

I was on Adderall for about 10 years and have similar feelings about it that I am reading on here. It helped in the short term, but in the long term I would start to abuse it and get more side effects and it didn't work as well. It didn't feel like I had a choice but to abuse it and I had to quit it eventually even though I didn't want to because I'm sure it was terrible for my health, caused really dry mouth affecting my dental health, and made me sweat profusely. I've gained a lot of weight since I've been off of it for over a year now....

I cant make it pass 3 weeks and I give in !!

I just had my first experience with this stuff. My best friend is in court-mandated rehab for drug abuse. He's also a parole, also drug-related. His rehab just threw him out for 'some reason' and he's been with me for 3 days now. He's on this Adderall stuff too. Each night...looking out windows, seeing people who were out to hurt him, beligerant to me. Kept accusing me of plotting against him too. Last night he called the police as he thought someone was in the cellar. If I itched my nose he'd accuse me of "signaling" someone outside. VERY scary. And VERY sad.
When he's himself..great guy.

I just had my first experience with this stuff. My best friend is in court-mandated rehab for drug abuse. He's also a parole, also drug-related. His rehab just threw him out for 'some reason' and he's been with me for 3 days now. He's on this Adderall stuff too. Each night...looking out windows, seeing people who were out to hurt him, beligerant to me. Kept accusing me of plotting against him too. Last night he called the police as he thought someone was in the cellar. If I itched my nose he'd accuse me of "signaling" someone outside. VERY scary. And VERY sad.
When he's himself..great guy. I am wondering is this is something that he can recover from. This crap was prescribed 2 months by his rehab, so he hasn't been on it long. Also....he seemed to SNIFF his nose a lot...like he had a runny nose, but didn't. So does that mean he was snorting this stuff and the dosage was too high?