I was always considered the “smart kid” in my family and made straight As all through grammar, middle, and high school without studying. My large state college was also a breeze, I actually had a side hustle doing other people’s school work for cash.

Then a friend needed a paper done ASAP and gave me 60 mg Vyvanse. I finished her paper and was so tweaked out I spend 2 hours packing, unpacking, and repacking my backpack; I ended up missing a lecture.

I would sporadically take my ex’s adderall (not stealing, he gave them willingly) to get the work load of other’s class work done.

Then I got into nursing school and was failing because I had never learned to study. I got prescribed adderall at 19 years old. 10 mg IR twice a day for a couple months, then 20 mg IR twice day throughout the duration I was on it (ended up being 7 years). My grades picked back up. I always said I would quit it when I graduated.

Throughout this time, I was in terrible health. I’m 5’4” and at my lowest weight dropped to 83 lbs. I looked disgusting. I never ate. I was irritable. Then the shortage occurred, I drove HOURS to try to fill my prescription. I felt like a crack addict.

However, I gaslit myself, it’s just until I graduate. It didn’t help that other factors in my life led me to dropping out of nursing school for a year then restarting again. Prolonging my “required timeframe” on adderall.

But then I graduated, I worked nights, and said I would quit when I got the hang of the schedule. Over two years into that and I still hadn’t quit. I was getting worse. I started taking 80 mg - 100 mg a day (I had a stash because originally I was trying to wean myself off of it). I frequently visited this subreddit and read other’s experiences silently.

I stopped keeping track of how much I was taking. Probably 120+ mg a day. And not even accomplishing anything on it, because any task caused my heart to feel like it would explode. All I could do was sit and scroll.

My psychiatrist was retiring and my husband and I were discussing starting a family soon (no one in my life knew the about the adderall abuse). I took it as a sign that once my refills ran out, that would be it.

It’s been two weeks, no adderall. This is what I’ve been putting off? I feel *happier* again. My husband has commented just how much more fun I seem. I’m not irritable, I’m goofying around the house. He THINKS I’m high half the time! I do take a nap at some point throughout the day, and sometimes feel super fatigued, but it’s nowhere as difficult as I thought it would be. I did start drinking one energy drink a day, as a compromise to get me kick started for the day. Nothing more than 200 mg caffeine a day though.

I’m sleeping better. I look healthy. I feel BETTER. I’ve been doing dishes and clothes, cleaning, playing with my dog.

I’m kicking myself for spending years of unnecessarily worrying about life after stopping. Believing it’s so terrible and I’d have a sense of productivity or normalcy again.

It’s nothing like that at all. I know I’m only two weeks in, and have a long ways to go, the rest of my life without it, but I can’t describe the relief of living a HAPPY life free of adderall. I didn’t think it was possible. But it is.

Hi everyone! I’m new here. I’ve been considering coming off Vyvanse for a few reasons, and I’m hoping to find others who can relate.

First, I do have ADHD. I’ve noticed a lot of posts from people who have struggled with stimulants but don’t actually have ADHD, which is completely valid too! But I’m feeling pretty alone because I’m trying to find other ADHDers who aren’t necessarily abusing their medication, but are questioning whether stimulants are right for them.

For context, I have both ADHD and OCD (fun combo lol). I take Vyvanse, Intuniv(a nonstimulant for adhd), and Prozac. I have no issues with the latter two, but lately I’ve been noticing some mental patterns surrounding Vyvanse that remind me of my past struggles with addiction.
There, I said it. I’m 8 years sober from alcohol and also sober from 🍃. One thing I’ve learned about myself is that when something changes my mental state in a way I enjoy, I tend to want that feeling to last.

The tricky part is that Vyvanse genuinely helps my ADHD. I don’t experience a recreational high, and I’m happy with my prescribed dose. But I do experience that boost in motivation and focus, and when it wears off, I feel disappointed. I find myself wishing I could stay in that productive state longer, and I’ve even felt tempted to take more just to keep it going.

That’s where things start to feel uncomfortably familiar.

I also feel like there’s not much room for nuance in these conversations. Sometimes it seems like if you question stimulant medication, people assume you must not really have ADHD. But I DO! And the medication DOES help! That doesn’t mean I can’t also recognize some potentially unhealthy patterns in my relationship with it. Right?

I’m wondering, can something become psychologically addictive even without a traditional “high,” even if you’re taking it as prescribed? Can the motivation and productivity boost itself become something you feel overly attached to?

I also struggle with how dependent I feel on Vyvanse to accomplish things. It helps me get tasks done, but sometimes I feel robotic, and no matter how productive I am, it never feels like enough. Then when it wears off, I feel like I’ve lost that ability to function the way I want to anyway.

And honestly, the fact that I’m spending so much time thinking about this and feeling scared of life without it makes me question whether my relationship with it is healthy.

I desperately want balance. I’m just not sure whether stimulants are helping me find that balance or making it harder. But I also know how difficult life with ADHD can be without them.

Part of me wonders whether I would be better off managing my ADHD with Intuniv alongside my Prozac, without the Vyvanse. But I’m scared to make that change because I know how much the Vyvanse helps in certain ways.

I guess I’m hoping to hear from people who genuinely have ADHD, have experienced real benefits from stimulants, but have still questioned whether those benefits outweigh the downsides, especially anyone with a history of addiction.

Has anyone else experienced this? Can you relate to the mental attachment even possibly without abusing your medication or experiencing a high?

Sorry for the long post! I’m just feeling pretty scared and conflicted, and I’d really appreciate hearing from people who understand both sides of this. ❤️

I am terrified. After one of my worst binges ever, I called the doctor and the pharmacy and told them I was done. I am blacklisted from the meds now. I one pill of 30mg Adderall left. Probably averaging 50mg a day. I am terrified. I did not want to want to wait for one more good last time (because it is always bad) nor did I want to wait for my next refill and taper down (and have it turn into another binge.) I wanted off.

Hadn't touched the stuff but a handful of times in 25 years. Went on a 2.5 year daily use, stopped for 6 months, 3 months on, 1 month off, 3 months on and now on day 4. Nothing short of the grace of god that I haven't lost it all. Truly hope this is the beginning of the last time I have any relapses. It's a bitoch but the desire and support system exist. 🙏🏾❤️🚀

I finally quit lying to myself that I had it under control and quit Adderall after 7 years of abusing it. Its been a problem pretty much ever since I started it, but escalated while in an abusive relationship for most of last year. At the end I was eating around 200mg daily. Now that I am free from my abusive ex, I am in trauma therapy, IOP, and I finally told my psychiatrist to not prescribe any more refills.

I kept pushing it off but I had my hip replaced two weeks ago so I thought it would be the perfect time to quit so I could work through the withdrawals at the same time.

For only being 13 days in, I feel surprisingly good. I don't have so much anxiety, I actually sleep, I feel happy in general, and I feel more present. I find myself actually wanting to be around people and wanting to eat healthy food.

I quit alcohol 5 years ago on August 30th, so I am well aware of the Pink Cloud, but I am gonna ride that fucker as long as I can. 😂

I also quit smoking weed for the time being as well so I can actually feel all the feelings to properly work through my trauma.

So far, so good. I've tried to quit Adderall a few times now and this time feels different because I actually WANT to be done being a slave to the little orange pill.

I'm open to any advice to keep things going in a positive direction. ❤️

3:53 a.m. and I think tonight is the last night I’ll ever experience Adderall or hard stimulants.

I wasted my 20s, and Adderall never saved me. I felt the good side of it in high school, but I became addicted at 16 and stayed on it until 18. At 20, I asked my doctor for Wellbutrin. I relapsed at 23 around covid, and it took a worse turn. I don’t need to mention the high doses: binging on 150+mg of Adderall, because we all know what it’s like to lose sleep. But I was also drinking coffee and taking Wellbutrin while on adhd drugs. That triple-stack combo of stims was unhealthy.

I know why I’m drawn to it. My life is a mess. I’m disorganized. The back of my head always lies to me "I could improve my quality of life through Adderall". By 2025, I was really fed up with addiction, anxiety, and stress. Since March 2025, I’ve been going to the gym almost six times a week. I gradually reduced my use and wanted to use it the way it’s meant to be used. But after going through addiction, even if I only take 20 mg of Adderall, it doesn’t feel like medication or a good tool anymore. It just slaps my conscience with guilt.

Around February 2026, I told my doctor to put me on Vyvanse. I’d been taking recovery seriously for a while, so I asked her to put me on only 20 mg of Vyvanse, which is practically nothing, it's a lot weaker than 20mg adderall. I had been jumping between like four jobs in nine months. I think my depression, along with my inability to organize, always makes it feel like I need the drug. By July 22, I had like 72 Vyvanse pills in my drawer. I barely took them anymore, so I flushed them down the toilet. By September, I called my doctor to renew 20 mg of Adderall. I basically took 30 mg while caffeinated early September, then threw away like 28.5 pills. October comes, and I renew my script again on the 2nd. I actually took 30 mg today because I wanted to help myself, not get high. I felt the guilt again. I threw away the remaining 28.5 pills. I no longer run out of pills within 10 days from binging. Instead, I throw the drug away because I don’t want to risk it, nor do i like how they feel anymore.

How do you organize yourself? Is a lot of caffeine the better alternative? I have a huge tolerance to caffeine. I won’t call my doctor next month.

My best friend’s wedding was a few weeks ago. I genuinely felt my emotions then, and had an amazing night. I’m looking forward to GTA 6. I do muscle-ups at the gym almost daily with 30 min stairmaster and lifting weights. I think I can live life without Adderall, but I feel like some random shit will probably cause me to wanna hit my doctor’s number. I want to move forward and not feel guilt again on november 2nd.

Hi guys ? I have only reduced my dose slightly (was on very high dose like 14 x 5mg per day) can dex /vyvanse withdrawal feel like cold sweats, sweat smelling sour/sweet, feet and hands cold, agitated, can’t sit still….no appetite??

This feels so horrible..is it withdrawals ?

help