Swearing Off The Adhd Drugs And All Psychotropes

I've decided to go off of my daily psychotropic stimulants forever. For more than 20 years of my life, I was diagnosed a make-believe disorder for being a hyperactive and creative toddler who was "a little too mischievous." For more than 20 years I was taking Ritalin, Adderall, and other ADD medications. For part of that time, I was even on anti-depressants.

I'm proud to say I'm doing very well after coming off of the psychotropes; I haven't taken one in more than 2 weeks. I was on them for more than 20 years because psychiatrists brainwashed my parents into believing that my creative and hyperactive mind was a result of ADHD. Now that I found out that psychiatry is a the biggest scam the medical field has to offer, I decided to go off of them.

For example: Psychiatrists will take a common personality trait like shyness, and rename it to Social Anxiety Disorder to make it sound like a terrible neuro-biological disorder that can be cured if you make psychiatrist appointments and take lots and lots of Zoloft. www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-disorders/ Psychiatrists actually VOTE medical disorders into existence. For instance, there used to be ADD and ADHD, then the psychatrists voted that ADHD is the only one and ADD no longer existed; they also voted Aspergers disorder out of existance and into the autism spectrum. http://www.cchr.org/quick-facts/disorders-voted-into-existence.html
I could go on and on about the evils of psychiatry. The fact that my sister is studying to become a child psychiatrist just kills me inside. My experiences with psychiatrists are horrible. They tell you that you have a clinical disorder and you are not normal. Apparently feeling depressed over a break-up or the loss of a family member could land you a Lexapro prescription. My psychiatrist who I trusted as a kid growing up, wound up making all my secrets transparent to insurance companies and to those who were doing an extensive background check on me.

However before I go further off topic, I want to say that some of the things I noticed about going off of the medication, is that my body has had a struggle to adapt to the change. I grew chemically dependent on psychotropic drugs. Since I stopped, I've been lazier and more forgetful of certain things in my first few days of getting off the daily dose of stimulants. I've struggled to stay motivated and keep going with my tasks and priorities. But I've kept a diary and thought reccord book that I call my "Captain's Log" because it sounds more badass than Diary. One of the more major changes I noticed was that I am now eating breakfast when I wake up in the morning; every day I would exclude the most important meal from the day because I had no appetite while on stimulants. I could get by in the day without breakfast on stimulants, for a while. Until the mid-afternoon crash. I am feeling better throughout most of the day. Another positive change I notice is my excessive sweating has been reduced. On drugs, the antiperspirant deodorant would not work very well and I'd always get embarrassing pools of sweat beneath my armpits no matter what. It made me very self conscious while out in public. I have greater sexual stamina as well.

I have decided that what really needs to be done, is to get myself on a proper and more healthy diet and exercise. ADHD medications are just a super-expensive temporary fix that inevitably cause major problems in the future. Your brain needs nutrition and exercise, not stimulants. Although I have new goals in mind for self improvement, by sticking it to those evil psychiatrist assholes who get kickbacks and benefits from the prescription drug companies, and all the money they stole from me, I think I still have a long way to go on my journey of detox.

Have any of you ever detoxed from a useless and harmful prescription drug before? If so, what kinds of diets and daily habits did you take up in order to transform yourself? Do you have any detox experiences you would like to share with us?

 

Well said, and great thread.

I, too, was diagnosed with ADD (not ADHD) in kindergarten. And who was I diagnosed by? The same person most children are diagnosed by: a teacher. And what expertise do teachers have to make such a diagnosis? Answer: none.

Truth be told, I have always been different than most people, and I have always hated school and never did well, mostly because it bored the hell out of me. Coincidentally (and quite ironically) I was also considered to be "gifted" and had an above average intelligence. This is likely also why I never fit in with my classmates and have always been looked upon as an outsider.

Little do the quacks we call doctors know, many of the symptoms of so-called Attention Deficit "Disorder" can be cleared up by simple changes to a child's diet. For instance, avoiding artificial colors and refined sugars, and supplementing with omega-3s. But no, in this sick, sad world we instead immediately drug children for every ailment, real or imagined.

There are many reasons a child might not pay attention in class or be hyperactive, yet in a world where drug company profits mean more than human life, everything needs to be labeled so it can thus be treated (never cured) with dangerous drugs.

Ritalin literally made me sick. I never wanted to eat, and was therefore super-scrawny for most of my younger years. It caused me a good deal of anxiety, and made me hypersensitive to certain stimuli. I finally got taken off of it when I was in the 6th grade. I still wonder sometimes if the drug caused any permanent damage and was the cause of my depression and alcohol/drug use throughout my teens and into my early adulthood.

 

And what's up with your sig pic showing Jimi Hendrix with Bob Marley's name written under it?

 

Comedy?

 

So I was supposed to laugh?

 

ADD is the outdated term for ADHD. The medical literature switched over to the term ADHD and added several subtypes. If you were a child today, they would have called it ADHD.

Also, it's interesting to hear that your teacher diagnosed you. Teachers really aren't supposed to diagnosed students as they have no authority on the matter and this is considered inappropriate, at least here in the states. Did your teacher tell your parents to get you tested or something? I know that it happens fairly frequently.

I'm not really convinced that ADHD is a real condition. I've noticed a lot of students who have been diagnosed with ADHD, and, given the right circumstances, they can focus and learn just as well as other students. I think that the traditional US education system caters to one type of students, and if a kid doesn't fit, we try to make THEM conform to the system by giving them medication. I'm not sure why we don't ask how we can change the education system to fit more students.

Oh, and you make a good point about the diet changes. Kids with a meal of Lunchables Pizza (the cheese doesn't even have cheese in it, it's actually an oil derivative!), Oreo Cookies, Hi-C juice and a piece of candy. And you wonder why your kid is bouncing off the walls! Ack.

 

good for you. I agree wholeheartedly that most "disorders" are merely uncommon personality traits considered undesirable by most of society.

I've taken Adderall recreationally and therefore its insane to me that they feed that crap to children. Its a pretty powerful stimulant.

 

Yep, there are a lot of issues with the psychiatry system. I don't really see why changing the definition of mental disorders is necessarily a bad thing, though. Just like any other science, medical science is a product of it's time, to an extent. Homosexuality used to be considered deviant behavior. Asperger's has always been considered a form of autism, by many professionals. And as I mentioned earlier, ADD was replaced with a more broad ADHD, which is an umbrella term which contains sub-diagnoses. A child who was diagnosed with ADD several years ago might now be diagnosed with ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive Presentation. In some ways it's just semantics, as a lot of changes in research and science tends to be.

On the other hand, I can relate to your issues with psychiatrists. When I was younger, I suffered from debilitating anxiety (still do, from time to time), and no matter who I talked to, they all insisted that I go on anti-depressants. It frustrated my endlessly and I absolutely refused to go on any type of medication. When I asked for actual therapy and natural ways to deal with my anxiety, they told me there was nothing they could do unless I was medicated first. What the fuck.

If I were you, I would talk to your sister and tell her the things that frustrated you about the medical system. You don't have to hate her for her decision, and maybe you can use your experience to help change the system. Now, she will be more aware of what it's like to be on the other side of the prescription pad. Be the change, right?

 

I don't know if there is a test for it (perhaps you do), or at least there wasn't when I was "diagnosed", which would have been around 1986-87.

So it goes like this. The teacher says I am not paying attention in class and tells my parents to talk to the pediatrician, and the pediatrician knows it's basically his duty to diagnose and prescribe medicine. Technically the teacher does not make the diagnosis, but in a way he/she does since the doctor's diagnosis is based on the teacher's observations. I am not sure if it's still done quite the same way, but it was when I was a kid. I am almost certain I was given no test.

 

If you had a sense of humor, yes.

 

This is how it goes, pretty much. A doctor would probably talk to your parents and/or observe you, then consult the DSM to see if you fit the diagnostic criteria. They might suggest medication, but your parents can choose not to accept it. There's no mandate. Unfortunately, a lot of parents just listen to their child's doctor, because, well, they are a doctor! Some parents don't want to medicate and so they seek out doctors who are open to alternative treatments, which is a nice thing to see.

Here is the DSM diagnostic criteria for ADHD with inattention. It's pretty general, I think, and could be applied to any student if you twisted it the right way:
(1) inattention: six (or more) of the following symptoms of inattention have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:
(a) often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities
(b) often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities
(c) often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
(d) often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish school work, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions)
(e) often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
(f) often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework)
(g) often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools)
(h) is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
(i) is often forgetful in daily activities

 

I understand that. Obviously my parents were naive and uninformed (though I am sure well-meaning).

 

Yea, that happens a lot. As mentioned by you and the OP, some of the side effects of Ritalin are horrible. I've witnessed some of them in real life, and others in documentaries. At least parents now have the internet, where a lot of contrary information is readily available. Before that, it was much easier to take a medical professional at their word.

 

I can totally relate. I was diagnosed at age 4 or 5 because I would block out other people who tried to tell me what to do. I was hyper active and would not sit still when the power hungry kindergarten teachers insisted all us kids sit cross legged with our backs straight; no leaning forward or slouching for several minutes while she read a boring kids book. My parents said I threw temper tantrums and would yell nasty things and somerimes threats that scared people.

I was never a scrawny kid for some reason. Yet I did have a lot of nervous anxieties and tensions.

It's a good thing you got off Dexedrine when you did. I took it from age 8 or 9 to age 29. And for part of that time, the same doctors who put me on Dexedrine put me on anti depressants to counteract the side affects. That was a disaster, I'd say the most depressing years of my life were while I was on that shit, ironically. Whenever I got angry or frustrated, I would get intense migraine headaches that were sometimes painful enough to bring me to tears. I got off that at age 21 despite the concerns of my parents and psychiatrist. That was a tough one to detox from.

I'm convinced that these drugs messed me up. I think I have partial Tourette's syndrome in that under my breath I will utter profane comments despite the fact there are other people around. It's embarrassing. I'm sure I'm messed up in ways that I haven't even found out yet.

It's meant to confuse the younger generation that watches too much MTV to know any better.

 

one the kids I taxi to school . he comes out the house biter cold morning slurping on a fast food drink, eating a donut or candy for breakfast. hes trouble getting up, and his motivation is like shit every single day. his parents are drug dealer and hes probably inhaling second hand blunt smoke on a regular. other than the parent paying cash to get him to school.. there isnt anything positive in his life.

 

Yeah your psychiatrist problems sound all too familiar. Nothing you can do unless you're medicated first is pure bullshit. I'm glad you didn't buy into it. Anti-depressants messed me up pretty good. And I was taking them with dexedrine every morning.

I last saw a psychiatrist almost a year ago. I told him about the stresses in my life about having to move out of my nice apartment and a lifestyle downgrade I had to face. He immediately asked if I was depressed and I told him No (never tell a psychiatrist you're depressed). That didn't stop him from giving a sales pitch for Lexapro, an anti depressant and writing me a prescription. I took that paper and threw it away after the appointment.

Other doctors and health scientists don't get together in a high counsel and vote diseases in place. So why should psychiatrists be able to get away with it?

My psychiatrist I last saw told me that an ADHD patient without his dexedrine is like a diabetic without his insulin. BULLSHIT! You can determine if a person has diabetes through blood tests and lab work. There is no clinical way to prove ADHD even exists. And some diabetics have seizures and wind up dying without their insulin.

I definitely want to talk to my sister about it. However after a huge argument I had with her about psychiatry confidentiality, I'm afraid she's brainwashed. In my past, my psychiatrist leaked medical records about my marijuana use and depression I faced after my first girlfriend broke up with me to insurance companies and anyone who wanted to do an investigative background check on me. I told other doctors about my pot use and depression, but they kept silent about that. When she told me this was OK and my psychiatrists had the right to do so, I totally lost it. However it's still worth a shot to at least talk with her about it rationally. I would like to see her actually counsel her patients rather than come up with pretend disorders and throw drugs at them.

 

Yep that list is all too common. When I sought counsiling for my ADHD, I filled out a check list every single week that had the DSM criteria list where I could check the answers (Always) (Often) (Occasionally) (Seldom) (Never) for each of those bullet points. And I find that I know plenty of people who have lots of these symptoms, and nobody ever thought to diagnose them.

Yeah 1987 was the year ADD was coined into existence, and around that time the drug companies were crazy about assigning diagnoses to personality traits. I got my first diagnosis in 1990-91. If Leonardo DaVinci, Wolfgang Motzart, Albert Einstein, and many other great minds were born in the late 20th century, they'd probably be diagnosed with ADD and given psychotropic drugs as well.

 

I figured I'd pitch in before this turns into a full blown shit-flinging contest towards the medical field in general, as I've been lucky enough to have a generally positive experience and am well aware of the many flaws - and, yes, chief among them are an over-reliance on drugs being a first option. It's better money to stick someone on a prescription and let them sit there than actually treat them. That said, if you enter into therapy but tell them that drugs are out of the question, you're liable to find entirely different results, depending on the open mindedness of the doctor. First of all, drugs when used properly were actually meant to simply supplement an overall therapy plan, not become it. Second of all, diagnosis in this field are rather unreliable, as everyone is different. It's been pointed out in this thread, by my therapist, by plenty of other people. Diagnosis in psychotherapy should be little more than flexible guidelines, instead of a wall of "disease" to hide behind. I know this from first hand experience a little too well - my cousin was diagnosed with ADHD when he was young (around five or six), just like you, and was on an equally potent cocktail of drugs until he was fourteen... which is when he was arrested. I'm not gonna go into the details of what he did, but he was a real wreck, and he kept blaming the meds and an unsupportive environment. People actually did listen, because despite his troubles they all knew he was smart. He was reevaluated by someone more trusted and they said that he was merely suffering from anxiety disorder, and the drugs were in fact a major unbalance in his life. They took him off, started him in several different programs and a very light dosage of meds for anxiety instead of throwing him in prison. It's been three or four years since then, and I wouldn't recognize him as the criminal and delinquent he once was. Yeah, he's still different, but he functions now - he's composed instead of hyperactive and inwardly tortured, and I would even go so far as to call him a good man.

I was a little shocked as all this was happening because I had similar problems, though they never grew to the point where I hurt someone because I slipped into depression instead of going hyperactive. I was on steroids for a immune and dermatological genetic disorder as well, which made everything worse - the anxiety was more edgy, the depression sank me lower. I said no to meds and found a good therapist (although, and I think this kills my case for psychiatry, he's not a licensed psychiatrist, he's one step below and functions as a therapist in general... lolz), and we've done quite a lot to turn my own life around from where it was going as well. Anxiety and depression aren't made up, and are very serious. Mental exercise is just as important as physical. I've been forced to eat healthy in general because I was a born with a weird immune system, so I can't say that I've done anything to change my diet because I can't, but I have found more constructive things to do with my mind, or just plain exercise as well. I've applied myself to learning jazz guitar, and as I'm still in high school, making a career out of it, as it is both a love, a creative outlet, and an applied activity which has no limits; as well as a huge challenge. I take at east an hour a day to either write creatively or think about myself and life and the universe, but I also force myself to pace myself so that anxiety cannot step in. It's like an exercise in self control and awareness, and in developing my theory of mind. This is where my therapist is most helpful. I did all of this myself - he adds an outside perspective that I can trust, talk to, discuss and go over things. I find a more grounded opinion than my own to be invaluable - I still have far to go, but forcing myself to take small steps seems to be helpful. I also do run and have a set of ten pound weights by my desk for whenever I get bored and/or distracted - just do a bunch of reps, then get back to work. Admittedly, I've been lazy with both recently as it's the middle of winter. I've been getting distracted too, but I am AWARE and I know I need to work on it, what to do, how to schedule times that I CAN let my mind just wander. Posting on hipforums seems to be a bit detrimental to this whole thing though I wouldn't miss it for the world, though. Anyway, I've done a lot, and while I don't claim to be an expert, I have progressed far and wanted to share since you asked...

Which brings me to the purpose of my response overall - first, don't assume there's no one who's gonna help you without looking to benefit themselves. Because some people still try to counsel you instead of tossing drugs on, or they simply use drugs for brief added affect. You can't let them take control of your treatment. And you have to find someone you click with in general. Daunting, perhaps, but there are a lot of people out there, so you gotta look. Important: if you don't know what theory of mind is, look it up. It is very important to be in the know about it. And watch out for self-deception. It's easy to tell yourself something that isn't entirely true. In terms of eating healthier... well, if you're responsible for yourself, you should just choose to eat healthy anyway. Like other things, it is merely part of a whole - in overcoming your own problems, well... the easiest way to put this is that eating healthy isn't gonna save you. But it will help, and will likely give you a psychological edge as well. Just don't put faith in it. It's a small part of a much larger whole that requires commitment on your part - and I mean commitment even after the excitement of something new and free fades, because it will. Otherwise you're helping yourself overall as much as the drugs were.

Good luck. And maybe someday we can both just... relax

 

BTW I didn't mention that the drugs are still filtering out of my system. I read the data sheet on the last bout of MAJOR meds I was on last February and it said right on there it would take about 2 years before my system fully cleared. Actually, it implied it, because it said women shouldn't get pregnant before two years after coming off the drug. I was only on it a short time, though, and I'm still young, so it's probably less for me. But I can tell they're leaving my system because of how I feel - there is a difference between drug-caused anxiety and natural anxiety, and I can feel both coming down. So, with patience, it's been about a year, in another year I should only have to worry about one kind of anxiety

One parting piece of advice; if you haven't already: CUT OUT CAFFEINE. My only caffeine is from tea, where it is such low concentration that it won't give me a migraine or increase anxiety. But I'm a tea freak. Just cut it down as much as you can

 

People who have serious disorders like to have a name attached to their conditions. I don't deny that many people are misdiagnosed with conditions and drugs are overprescribed.

I don't really know bout ADHD but I've seen a kid with autism and it's definitely a condition that would not serve well in being able to function in society.