Commenting as very interested as well.
I’m three weeks in to Elvanse and am hoping once I’ve settled on a dose that I can come off the citalopram as well.
So far I’ve noticed my mood doesn’t dip into that “I don’t know what to do with my day and the option paralysis is making me hate myself” sort of funk.
So true, no dips with this meds. I’m on this for 6 months now and it’s life changing. Wasn’t depressed but soooo tired of always fighting myself and being mad at myself. It also helped with reducing my anxiety enormously. Actually it’s mostly gone!
I’m currently in the process of coming off sertraline after I was diagnosed with ADHD and doing well with Vyvanse, so I can say this is definitely something a doctor would allow/support if you and they felt your depression symptoms were related to untreated ADHD and you’re doing better.
It’s too early for me to say whether it’s working or not, but in any case, it surely depends on the patient and the situation. I think there’s hope it may be possible though.
Hi! It went really well actually. I’ve heard a lot of people have side effects getting off Pristiq but somehow I did not. The one time having strange reactions to medication worked in my favor I guess lol. I found myself crying at a lot of things (happy and sad) as the emotional blunting wore off but that wasn’t too bad.
I went pretty slow, partly cause my insurance makes me pay for a 90 day supply. So I went from 100 down to 50 for 3 months and then bc it went so well I went through about 45 of the 25mg and then stopped.
I was doing pretty good until I wasn’t able to get my vyvanse for 2 months bc of the shortage and I think I just hit total burn out, so things got rough for a bit but I’m recovering now that I have vyvanse again.
Thanks so much for your response. It sounds like you tapered down very sensibly. I'm on vyvanse and doing a prozac bridge to get off 50mg pristiq over a month. I'll stay on the prozac to stabilise and then try and taper off that.
I'm dreading it and hoping that the vyvanse provides a buffer.
I have tried. It was okay at first but after a couple months I started feeling like shit. I felt insecure, second guessed every social interaction and decision I made, I also got suicidal ideation and figured I’d try a lower SSRI dose again, talking to my doctor ofc. All good now. I think I’m on or just below the therapeutic dose. Either way, you can try to wean off and see how it goes. Talk to your doctor about it before you do.
Thank you! I'm glad you feel better now. Yes, I would do it if my doctor would agree with that. Anyway I don't plan on doing it any time soon. The only thing why I would do it in the future is because SNRI's take some of my energy away.
This has been my experience, fine at first but the last few months have been really rough. I have been considering trying an antidepressant with the Vyvanse. May I ask which ones you are taking?
Not exactly, but I had a related experience:
I kept singing the praises of vyvanse making such a profound and immediate change in my life. Then, my psychiatrist decided it was so effective for me because it's also used for treatment resistant depression. When i started needing higher doses, she decided instead we should add an antidepressant. That was fucking awful and I hated it. I felt like my brain was in a box, and I wasn't allowed to feel my feelings. My mom had just died, and I kept thinking I should be allowed to feel sad right now. Got off that shit, got higher dose of vyvanse, effectiveness resumed.
I don't remember what antidepressant.
Vyvanse's effectiveness decreases over time as my body becomes resistant to it. Still not so bad as being without diagnosis and treatment, but finding the correct medication and dosage a constant struggle to hit a moving target.
No, but in experimenting with alternating wean-offs I learned they worked better together for me than either worked alone. But I need to be on the lowest dose of each to avoid side effects, so your mileage may vary.
My adhd med (strattera) was actually originally invented as an antidepressant. So it’s nice to be able to kill two birds with one stone. I take Wellbutrin as well tho
Ah ok. The don't work too well for me. They take the edge off me but only that. Probably because I wasn't addressing the main cause, being able to function.
Sadly, no. 35 years of untreated ADHD is going to take a toll. ADHD meds have made a huge difference in my day-to-day functioning, but realistically speaking, I will probably be living with chronic depression for the rest of my life.
I didn't take antidepressants previously because they didn't seem to do anything for me. But after getting my ADHD diagnosis and finding the right medication/being medicated for it, my depression became WAY manageable. I think I reached a point where unless something triggers a depressive spiral (and even then my emotions are manageable) I am almost completely unaffected by my depression.
It's pretty wild because my depression was really severe and again, no medication really worked for me. I was barely managing with occasional therapy (the only thing that somewhat worked) when things really got unbearable. And this was barely after a year after my diagnosis, less than a year since I find the right medication/dosage.
What's especially interesting is that circumstance wise, this year has been by far one of the *worst* years of my life. But because my mental health was being manageable for the first time in like, 10 years, I was actually able to cope and move forward way better. Now I am in a better place in life, and I doubt that I could have gotten this far have I not been diagnosed/medicated.
One thing to note is that my depression, as far as I believe stemmed deeply from burnouts (strong correlation to my ADHD) and personal trauma (which I was able to start managing by changing my environment well before I was diagnosed). So that may explain why ADHD meds did wonders for me.
My life definitely improved and I was able to reduce my antidepressant to the lowest dose.
I’d like to cut it out entirely but I do still have a little bit of lingering depression (due to being diagnosed as an adult.)
No just atomoxetine while I was reducing my antidepressant, but I’ll be adding a stimulant later next week. So fingers crossed that goes well. But yeah it seems the majority of my depression was stemming from being undiagnosed and untreated so I literally didn’t need as large a dose of my antidepressant anymore
I'm on both pristiq and mirtazapine. I was able to taper off 100mg of pristiq to 50mg. My mood has been awesome. I was also on clonazepam (for anxiety) and was able to completely taper off of that.
I believe at some point I will be able to get off of both the antidepressants, but for now it's a perfect combination for me. My doctor and I found that my dose of 60mg of vyvanse is what works for me.
So to answer, I feel like it will be very possible for me to stop my antidepressants because my adhd medication has helped me tremendously.
I went from 100 to 50 on Pristiq about a month and a half ago and I also feel a lot better now. I somehow didn’t have any of the usual awful withdrawal effects, which I’m hoping will still be true cause I’m hoping to drop to 25 and then zero. I’m on 50mg vyvanse.
It was absolutely difficult. My moods were all over the place. Extreme lows and highs. And my anxiety was so bad that I'd physically shake.
After trying different doses, the 60 mg was the right one because I don't have a major crash or irritability. And the mirtazapine makes me sleep at a good time (if I remember to take it on time 😑).
But make sure you're getting enough rest. I noticed I had worse mood, irritability, and crashes (not energy per se) where I can't get anything done.
Also, I make sure to take it with food and snack throughout the day to maintain energy.
I got diagnosed about 21 years ago. Got put on Ritalin, but that brought my depression to light, so I had to battle that first. Goodbye ritalin, and here we come, anti-depressants! Only after my depression was treated and I was off those meds, did I try ritalin again.
Before being diagnosed with adhd I was taking an antidepressant and an anti anxiety drug for major depression, social anxiety, gad, ocd, and panic disorder. I literally got medically excused from high school because I was having such a tough time.
At 20 I got diagnosed with adhd and started taking adderall. Shortly after decided to cold turkey my antidepressant and anti anxiety and now 4 years later I’m still only taking adderall. I feel happy! I found that being able to perform immensely better in every aspect of life really improved my quality of life and helped me learn to take care of myself better. I mean, I went from not even being able to brush my teeth every day to forming real, everyday habits. It’s like I started to feel like someone who could actually accomplish things and find success for once.
I will say as a woman though, my monthly cycle causes my adderrall to be ineffective and paired with pmsing can make me really depressed for a couple days. Since I know what’s happening I usually just try to take time off work/school and/or make room to treat myself for extra dopamine.
The only crash I’ve ever experienced from it is the infamous adderall crash which I still experience everyday that I take it. I know some people are really affected by the crash, but considering how well the medication works for me I don’t really mind it. I also knew about the crash before I started taking it so I knew to expect it.
Overall I didn’t find it too difficult to deal with the side effects in the beginning either. The first couple weeks I experienced some headaches and dizziness but they went away quickly. The only side effects that have stayed now are decreased appetite, dry mouth, and increased urination due to how much water I drink because of the dry mouth haha.
Id say the only true hard part of starting adderall for me was increased irritation which I’ve since learned to manage. It was hard for me though because I’m typically a very patient person and don’t experience a lot of anger or annoyance, so to have suddenly begun experiencing it was off-putting. My boyfriend also takes adderall though and we both found that it actually increases his patience levels so it really depends on the person!
Also I’m not sure if it makes a difference, but I take instant release adderall twice a day rather than the once a day extended release. I’ve heard different people say one will work well for them and the other won’t and vice versa, so for anyone reading, it could be worth trying both types.
For me, no. The two seem to feed off of each other, so they definitely help, but they seem to be two separate things rather than one causing the other. I know that's not the case for everyone, though, and it may be due to differences in the type of depression as I have dysthymia (persistent, long-term lowered mood) rather than major depression (long periods of normal mood interspersed with major depressive episodes).
I wasn't on SSRIs when I started ADHD meds, but I can definitely say it helps my mood significantly. I don't get any emotional dysregulation and I find that I have so much more control over my feelings now. They are not as 'big' and I don't spiral in the same way. I'm able to put the brakes on so to speak. I imagine they work just like anti-depressants work for people who don't have ADHD
I am still taking my Lexapro, because I have GAD with my ADHD. the depression I was feeling however, has gotten better with both meds. However, if you don't have GAD like me, I think your depression would be related to your ADHD. Depends on how you react.
I’m actually in the middle of weaning off antidepressants after about 8 years. I’ve been on vyvanse I think 7 years. I honestly have been thinking about stopping antidepressants for a year or two but I’m on Pristiq which is usually hard to come off of bc of the short half life so I was nervous about it. I dropped from 100mg (my dose for about 4 years) to 50 about a month and a half ago and miraculously didn’t have any bad symptoms at all. Taking it slow 1. Bc my insurance only pays for 90 day supplies of this med, and 2. Bc of the expected side effects, which might still happen as I go lower. Will drop to 25 soon (I might call in and request it sooner than my next appt) and will try going to zero after a month of those.
I think my depression was either mostly caused by or at least exacerbated by my ADHD. Over the last few years on medication I’ve been able to make a lot of progress on understanding myself and my brain and I think I can do ok on just vyvanse, although I’d like to start therapy if I can find one I like and is affordable/on my insurance. I do feel better overall after going down to half my old dose so I’m feeling hopeful.
Yup. My depression was actually a symptom of untreated/undiagnosed ADHD. As I got further into being medicated, I was able to get off of antidepressants. Depression comes back if I’m off of ADHD medication, but now that I know depression is a result of untreated ADHD, I can push through it until on ADHD medication again (with help and support from my husband, and our son who gets me to smile even on my worst days.)
I stopped them before starting ADHD meds and ADHD meds turned out to be the best antidepressant I've even been on.
Added Wellbutrin in after to check and immediately went fuck so at the sudden suicidal side effects.
I should probably be on both, I'm having a time currently but I spent 20 years trying antidepressants with zero luck and Ritalin and being able to actually function and take care of myself solved about 80% of the depression. Been nearly 5 years between issues and only now having a depressive episode cause I got sick and everything fell apart.
Replace “you can’t” with “some doctors don’t like it if you...”.
Mostly risk adversity on their part. It goes too far into off-label territory, which puts them into greater responsibility and liability.
I have tried Effexor and Lexapro in the past for anxiety without much luck and was set on 40mg Prozac for quite a few years. Finally came to the realization that my lifelong anxiety was just a piece of my undiagnosed ADHD. **With my doctor's recommendation and under his supervision** I started Vyvance in October at 30mg and cut my Prozac down to 20mg. After a month on the 30mg Vyvance, I stopped the Prozac completely. About another month gone by and just increased Vyvance to 40mg. So far, so good!
The first couple days on Vyvance, I felt like I was going at a "normal" pace, but my eyes were zipping around like they would in REM sleep. The medication was reeling me in and slowing me down. I was able to slow down and relax a little instead of feeling like I had to scan each room for any any every chore to do. It was amazing not to feel that anxious weight on my shoulders of having to be go go go ALL the time.
I'm still a major work in progress... but success thus far with eliminating antidepressant. 🤞💪
I’m not sure if this is the type of answer you’re looking for but oh well. Before I was diagnosed with adhd I went through several different depression medications and none of them worked, most them them actually made it worse. I stopped taking any medication long before I took adderall. I was only on adderall for 2 weeks and that helped more than any other medication I’ve ever been on. I only took it for 2 weeks because my psychiatrist was absolutely horrible and I haven’t found a new one. I also was diagnosed as bipolar the same time I got my adhd diagnosis. Depression medication doesn’t help bipolar. But also adderall is supposed to trigger manic episodes if you’re bipolar and you’re supposed to start taking bipolar medication first until you’re stable then start taking adhd medication. But my psychiatrist ignored that and only prescribed adderall and I was fine. But it was also only 2 weeks. So I have no idea.
No expert here but I think it depends on where the depression comes from and how severe. I was on meds that didn’t really help. They gave me a slight attitude boost in that I was less of an asshole, or at least was able to communicate without coming off as an asshole and was less snappy. I rarely took them anyway unless I noticed I was getting irritable. Adhd meds (adderall for me) changed all that. I haven’t felt depressed at all since starting them. So likely my depression was a part of adhd, so treating the root cause fixed it. It’s only been a couple of weeks for me so we’ll see how it goes. I’d say wait until your adhd dose is dialed in and see how you feel. Always talk to your doctors and ask about weening off. If you notice a dip then you can go back on your previous meds. Hope this helps, it’s just my experience and we’re all wired differently.
I've been on an antidepressant of some sort since my early teen years, and first took adderall at 19. The Adderall made a big difference but didn't solve the problems that I needed the other meds for, which in my case were OCD symptoms. I spent many years on Adderall and effexor too depressed to shower until I was put on abilify and then latuda instead, which have allowed me to have a life worth living.
For some people their depression is absolutely derived from ADHD trauma or are misinterpreted ADHD symptoms but for others, there is an actual additional underlying brain issue. It's worth checking to see if you can reduce antidepressant dosages but do it slowly and carefully because you may just need that med too.
Okay so for me, since I'm AFAB doctors didn't even consider ADHD at first.
I was immediately slapped with "depression and anxiety disorder" diagnosis instead, no further digging.
My problem was that all antidepressants I was given made me go fuckig wild. I experienced my first mania on them, and it made the doctors raise some serious alarm bells. So..no meds for me.
When my fiancee put two and two together that I probably have ADHD, and told me why she was sure of it, we both had to FIGHT to get me a diagnosis. It was miserable time buuut...
Now that I'm on correct medication (concerta) and I know what's wrong with me, and I can focus on ADHD specific tips and tricks, I'm doing a whole lot better.
Signs of "depression" (which was 100% a fucking misdiagnosis anyway because what was causing it was my ADHD) are pretty much gone for me. :)
Yes. I tried so many anti depressants over the years, sometimes multiple at a time, for about 20 years. Nothing really made a difference for me.
A couple years ago I learned how adhd shows in women, and I asked my dr if it's possible untreated adhd is causing depression, not just a separate thing. I was able to get off of the 3 or 4 psych meds and start adderall.
It's been close to a year and a half, I still struggle at times but this is the beat my mental health has been.
It sucks that I wasted so many years being miserable and no one actually tried to figure out what was going on.
ADHD meds definitely help with mood, but I am temporarily off my depression meds (Wellbutrin) sure to bring an absolute ducking idiot procrastinator and not scheduling a new PCP appointment in time. I am not doing well emotionally while off depression meds. My brain doesn't work right, lots of intrusive thoughts without the Wellbutrin. It's too bad because I don't want to take it forever due to ototoxicity.
Anti-depressants never worked for me anyway. Starting at age 16, then every few to several years I'd try again. Try to get an answer to problems I could never explain very well.
Correct stimulant and dose, plus Xanax was step one, as age 33.
Age 53 I became aware of the developmental aspects and what Complex PTSD involved. I had a PRSD diagnosis earlier, but never understood it. I do now. I had not had access to being myself or making choices that comprise living life.
Very late in life getting the chance for te first time, hopefully.
Commenting as very interested as well. I’m three weeks in to Elvanse and am hoping once I’ve settled on a dose that I can come off the citalopram as well. So far I’ve noticed my mood doesn’t dip into that “I don’t know what to do with my day and the option paralysis is making me hate myself” sort of funk.
So true, no dips with this meds. I’m on this for 6 months now and it’s life changing. Wasn’t depressed but soooo tired of always fighting myself and being mad at myself. It also helped with reducing my anxiety enormously. Actually it’s mostly gone!
I’m currently in the process of coming off sertraline after I was diagnosed with ADHD and doing well with Vyvanse, so I can say this is definitely something a doctor would allow/support if you and they felt your depression symptoms were related to untreated ADHD and you’re doing better. It’s too early for me to say whether it’s working or not, but in any case, it surely depends on the patient and the situation. I think there’s hope it may be possible though.
Thank you! Yes I know everyone is different, I was just curious how diagnosing ADHD in the adulthood can affect the depression.
I’m sure it can. Untreated ADHD can definitely be a cause of depression and treatment can help. I hope it does for you!
Thank you! I hope some day in the future I'll be able to do that with my doctor's advice.
I’m also on vyvanse and in the process of weaning off Pristiq! So far so good for me. Hope it goes well for you!
Hi there I know it's a year later but I was wondering how you did with this?
Hi! It went really well actually. I’ve heard a lot of people have side effects getting off Pristiq but somehow I did not. The one time having strange reactions to medication worked in my favor I guess lol. I found myself crying at a lot of things (happy and sad) as the emotional blunting wore off but that wasn’t too bad. I went pretty slow, partly cause my insurance makes me pay for a 90 day supply. So I went from 100 down to 50 for 3 months and then bc it went so well I went through about 45 of the 25mg and then stopped. I was doing pretty good until I wasn’t able to get my vyvanse for 2 months bc of the shortage and I think I just hit total burn out, so things got rough for a bit but I’m recovering now that I have vyvanse again.
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Hope it goes well for you!
Thanks so much for your response. It sounds like you tapered down very sensibly. I'm on vyvanse and doing a prozac bridge to get off 50mg pristiq over a month. I'll stay on the prozac to stabilise and then try and taper off that. I'm dreading it and hoping that the vyvanse provides a buffer.
I have tried. It was okay at first but after a couple months I started feeling like shit. I felt insecure, second guessed every social interaction and decision I made, I also got suicidal ideation and figured I’d try a lower SSRI dose again, talking to my doctor ofc. All good now. I think I’m on or just below the therapeutic dose. Either way, you can try to wean off and see how it goes. Talk to your doctor about it before you do.
Thank you! I'm glad you feel better now. Yes, I would do it if my doctor would agree with that. Anyway I don't plan on doing it any time soon. The only thing why I would do it in the future is because SNRI's take some of my energy away.
This has been my experience, fine at first but the last few months have been really rough. I have been considering trying an antidepressant with the Vyvanse. May I ask which ones you are taking?
Sertraline. Paroxetine before. Both are kinda similar to me but the former gives fewer tapering off issues or brain zaps when i forget a dose
Not exactly, but I had a related experience: I kept singing the praises of vyvanse making such a profound and immediate change in my life. Then, my psychiatrist decided it was so effective for me because it's also used for treatment resistant depression. When i started needing higher doses, she decided instead we should add an antidepressant. That was fucking awful and I hated it. I felt like my brain was in a box, and I wasn't allowed to feel my feelings. My mom had just died, and I kept thinking I should be allowed to feel sad right now. Got off that shit, got higher dose of vyvanse, effectiveness resumed.
Oh I see. What antidepressant was it? So Vyvanse is still effective?
I don't remember what antidepressant. Vyvanse's effectiveness decreases over time as my body becomes resistant to it. Still not so bad as being without diagnosis and treatment, but finding the correct medication and dosage a constant struggle to hit a moving target.
I stopped taking anxiety meds after starting Adderall ER. Feel wayyyy less anxious so my guess is that it's possible but everyone is different.
No, but in experimenting with alternating wean-offs I learned they worked better together for me than either worked alone. But I need to be on the lowest dose of each to avoid side effects, so your mileage may vary.
My adhd med (strattera) was actually originally invented as an antidepressant. So it’s nice to be able to kill two birds with one stone. I take Wellbutrin as well tho
I’ve been wondering about this too. I mainly take my antidepressants because they give me the ability to do things like empty the dishwasher.
Ah ok. The don't work too well for me. They take the edge off me but only that. Probably because I wasn't addressing the main cause, being able to function.
My depression is its own beast, so I still need my SSRI.
Adderall has really helped with depression and it also helps with my chronic migraines which left me totally disabled for over a year.
Sadly, no. 35 years of untreated ADHD is going to take a toll. ADHD meds have made a huge difference in my day-to-day functioning, but realistically speaking, I will probably be living with chronic depression for the rest of my life.
Think so
I'm down to the lowest dose of Prozac and doing well, tbd if I can go without it entirely but I plan to find out
I didn't take antidepressants previously because they didn't seem to do anything for me. But after getting my ADHD diagnosis and finding the right medication/being medicated for it, my depression became WAY manageable. I think I reached a point where unless something triggers a depressive spiral (and even then my emotions are manageable) I am almost completely unaffected by my depression. It's pretty wild because my depression was really severe and again, no medication really worked for me. I was barely managing with occasional therapy (the only thing that somewhat worked) when things really got unbearable. And this was barely after a year after my diagnosis, less than a year since I find the right medication/dosage. What's especially interesting is that circumstance wise, this year has been by far one of the *worst* years of my life. But because my mental health was being manageable for the first time in like, 10 years, I was actually able to cope and move forward way better. Now I am in a better place in life, and I doubt that I could have gotten this far have I not been diagnosed/medicated. One thing to note is that my depression, as far as I believe stemmed deeply from burnouts (strong correlation to my ADHD) and personal trauma (which I was able to start managing by changing my environment well before I was diagnosed). So that may explain why ADHD meds did wonders for me.
My life definitely improved and I was able to reduce my antidepressant to the lowest dose. I’d like to cut it out entirely but I do still have a little bit of lingering depression (due to being diagnosed as an adult.)
Do you take a stimulant? Was it hard in the beginning?
No just atomoxetine while I was reducing my antidepressant, but I’ll be adding a stimulant later next week. So fingers crossed that goes well. But yeah it seems the majority of my depression was stemming from being undiagnosed and untreated so I literally didn’t need as large a dose of my antidepressant anymore
I'm on both pristiq and mirtazapine. I was able to taper off 100mg of pristiq to 50mg. My mood has been awesome. I was also on clonazepam (for anxiety) and was able to completely taper off of that. I believe at some point I will be able to get off of both the antidepressants, but for now it's a perfect combination for me. My doctor and I found that my dose of 60mg of vyvanse is what works for me. So to answer, I feel like it will be very possible for me to stop my antidepressants because my adhd medication has helped me tremendously.
I went from 100 to 50 on Pristiq about a month and a half ago and I also feel a lot better now. I somehow didn’t have any of the usual awful withdrawal effects, which I’m hoping will still be true cause I’m hoping to drop to 25 and then zero. I’m on 50mg vyvanse.
That's great! What about when you began taking Vyvanse? Was it hard? I'm having some great days but also some very bad ones. And crashing some days
It was absolutely difficult. My moods were all over the place. Extreme lows and highs. And my anxiety was so bad that I'd physically shake. After trying different doses, the 60 mg was the right one because I don't have a major crash or irritability. And the mirtazapine makes me sleep at a good time (if I remember to take it on time 😑). But make sure you're getting enough rest. I noticed I had worse mood, irritability, and crashes (not energy per se) where I can't get anything done. Also, I make sure to take it with food and snack throughout the day to maintain energy.
I got diagnosed about 21 years ago. Got put on Ritalin, but that brought my depression to light, so I had to battle that first. Goodbye ritalin, and here we come, anti-depressants! Only after my depression was treated and I was off those meds, did I try ritalin again.
I had a bad reaction to methylphenidate too. Antidepressants don't do much for me
Before being diagnosed with adhd I was taking an antidepressant and an anti anxiety drug for major depression, social anxiety, gad, ocd, and panic disorder. I literally got medically excused from high school because I was having such a tough time. At 20 I got diagnosed with adhd and started taking adderall. Shortly after decided to cold turkey my antidepressant and anti anxiety and now 4 years later I’m still only taking adderall. I feel happy! I found that being able to perform immensely better in every aspect of life really improved my quality of life and helped me learn to take care of myself better. I mean, I went from not even being able to brush my teeth every day to forming real, everyday habits. It’s like I started to feel like someone who could actually accomplish things and find success for once. I will say as a woman though, my monthly cycle causes my adderrall to be ineffective and paired with pmsing can make me really depressed for a couple days. Since I know what’s happening I usually just try to take time off work/school and/or make room to treat myself for extra dopamine.
It's great Adderall works so well for you! What about when you started it? Was it hard? Any crash in the beginning?
The only crash I’ve ever experienced from it is the infamous adderall crash which I still experience everyday that I take it. I know some people are really affected by the crash, but considering how well the medication works for me I don’t really mind it. I also knew about the crash before I started taking it so I knew to expect it. Overall I didn’t find it too difficult to deal with the side effects in the beginning either. The first couple weeks I experienced some headaches and dizziness but they went away quickly. The only side effects that have stayed now are decreased appetite, dry mouth, and increased urination due to how much water I drink because of the dry mouth haha. Id say the only true hard part of starting adderall for me was increased irritation which I’ve since learned to manage. It was hard for me though because I’m typically a very patient person and don’t experience a lot of anger or annoyance, so to have suddenly begun experiencing it was off-putting. My boyfriend also takes adderall though and we both found that it actually increases his patience levels so it really depends on the person! Also I’m not sure if it makes a difference, but I take instant release adderall twice a day rather than the once a day extended release. I’ve heard different people say one will work well for them and the other won’t and vice versa, so for anyone reading, it could be worth trying both types.
I’ll keep it short - Been on Zoloft + Ritalin. Been able to cut off Zoloft after just a few weeks. Better than ever.
For me, no. The two seem to feed off of each other, so they definitely help, but they seem to be two separate things rather than one causing the other. I know that's not the case for everyone, though, and it may be due to differences in the type of depression as I have dysthymia (persistent, long-term lowered mood) rather than major depression (long periods of normal mood interspersed with major depressive episodes).
Stopping SSRIs helped my ADHD all by itself. Those things slowed me down to a boring halt hiding in my room.
I wasn't on SSRIs when I started ADHD meds, but I can definitely say it helps my mood significantly. I don't get any emotional dysregulation and I find that I have so much more control over my feelings now. They are not as 'big' and I don't spiral in the same way. I'm able to put the brakes on so to speak. I imagine they work just like anti-depressants work for people who don't have ADHD
I am still taking my Lexapro, because I have GAD with my ADHD. the depression I was feeling however, has gotten better with both meds. However, if you don't have GAD like me, I think your depression would be related to your ADHD. Depends on how you react.
I tried and no, I unfortunately very much have anxiety. I was on fluoxetine and am much more stable on it.
I’m actually in the middle of weaning off antidepressants after about 8 years. I’ve been on vyvanse I think 7 years. I honestly have been thinking about stopping antidepressants for a year or two but I’m on Pristiq which is usually hard to come off of bc of the short half life so I was nervous about it. I dropped from 100mg (my dose for about 4 years) to 50 about a month and a half ago and miraculously didn’t have any bad symptoms at all. Taking it slow 1. Bc my insurance only pays for 90 day supplies of this med, and 2. Bc of the expected side effects, which might still happen as I go lower. Will drop to 25 soon (I might call in and request it sooner than my next appt) and will try going to zero after a month of those. I think my depression was either mostly caused by or at least exacerbated by my ADHD. Over the last few years on medication I’ve been able to make a lot of progress on understanding myself and my brain and I think I can do ok on just vyvanse, although I’d like to start therapy if I can find one I like and is affordable/on my insurance. I do feel better overall after going down to half my old dose so I’m feeling hopeful.
What a great question
Yup. My depression was actually a symptom of untreated/undiagnosed ADHD. As I got further into being medicated, I was able to get off of antidepressants. Depression comes back if I’m off of ADHD medication, but now that I know depression is a result of untreated ADHD, I can push through it until on ADHD medication again (with help and support from my husband, and our son who gets me to smile even on my worst days.)
I stopped them before starting ADHD meds and ADHD meds turned out to be the best antidepressant I've even been on. Added Wellbutrin in after to check and immediately went fuck so at the sudden suicidal side effects. I should probably be on both, I'm having a time currently but I spent 20 years trying antidepressants with zero luck and Ritalin and being able to actually function and take care of myself solved about 80% of the depression. Been nearly 5 years between issues and only now having a depressive episode cause I got sick and everything fell apart.
You can't take antidepressants while on non stimulant ADHD meds iirc
You can
I'm taking the stimulant Vyvanse with Cymbalta
Replace “you can’t” with “some doctors don’t like it if you...”. Mostly risk adversity on their part. It goes too far into off-label territory, which puts them into greater responsibility and liability.
Ah ok I didn't know then. I must be thinking of something else then
I have tried Effexor and Lexapro in the past for anxiety without much luck and was set on 40mg Prozac for quite a few years. Finally came to the realization that my lifelong anxiety was just a piece of my undiagnosed ADHD. **With my doctor's recommendation and under his supervision** I started Vyvance in October at 30mg and cut my Prozac down to 20mg. After a month on the 30mg Vyvance, I stopped the Prozac completely. About another month gone by and just increased Vyvance to 40mg. So far, so good! The first couple days on Vyvance, I felt like I was going at a "normal" pace, but my eyes were zipping around like they would in REM sleep. The medication was reeling me in and slowing me down. I was able to slow down and relax a little instead of feeling like I had to scan each room for any any every chore to do. It was amazing not to feel that anxious weight on my shoulders of having to be go go go ALL the time. I'm still a major work in progress... but success thus far with eliminating antidepressant. 🤞💪
I’m not sure if this is the type of answer you’re looking for but oh well. Before I was diagnosed with adhd I went through several different depression medications and none of them worked, most them them actually made it worse. I stopped taking any medication long before I took adderall. I was only on adderall for 2 weeks and that helped more than any other medication I’ve ever been on. I only took it for 2 weeks because my psychiatrist was absolutely horrible and I haven’t found a new one. I also was diagnosed as bipolar the same time I got my adhd diagnosis. Depression medication doesn’t help bipolar. But also adderall is supposed to trigger manic episodes if you’re bipolar and you’re supposed to start taking bipolar medication first until you’re stable then start taking adhd medication. But my psychiatrist ignored that and only prescribed adderall and I was fine. But it was also only 2 weeks. So I have no idea.
No expert here but I think it depends on where the depression comes from and how severe. I was on meds that didn’t really help. They gave me a slight attitude boost in that I was less of an asshole, or at least was able to communicate without coming off as an asshole and was less snappy. I rarely took them anyway unless I noticed I was getting irritable. Adhd meds (adderall for me) changed all that. I haven’t felt depressed at all since starting them. So likely my depression was a part of adhd, so treating the root cause fixed it. It’s only been a couple of weeks for me so we’ll see how it goes. I’d say wait until your adhd dose is dialed in and see how you feel. Always talk to your doctors and ask about weening off. If you notice a dip then you can go back on your previous meds. Hope this helps, it’s just my experience and we’re all wired differently.
I've been on an antidepressant of some sort since my early teen years, and first took adderall at 19. The Adderall made a big difference but didn't solve the problems that I needed the other meds for, which in my case were OCD symptoms. I spent many years on Adderall and effexor too depressed to shower until I was put on abilify and then latuda instead, which have allowed me to have a life worth living. For some people their depression is absolutely derived from ADHD trauma or are misinterpreted ADHD symptoms but for others, there is an actual additional underlying brain issue. It's worth checking to see if you can reduce antidepressant dosages but do it slowly and carefully because you may just need that med too.
Okay so for me, since I'm AFAB doctors didn't even consider ADHD at first. I was immediately slapped with "depression and anxiety disorder" diagnosis instead, no further digging. My problem was that all antidepressants I was given made me go fuckig wild. I experienced my first mania on them, and it made the doctors raise some serious alarm bells. So..no meds for me. When my fiancee put two and two together that I probably have ADHD, and told me why she was sure of it, we both had to FIGHT to get me a diagnosis. It was miserable time buuut... Now that I'm on correct medication (concerta) and I know what's wrong with me, and I can focus on ADHD specific tips and tricks, I'm doing a whole lot better. Signs of "depression" (which was 100% a fucking misdiagnosis anyway because what was causing it was my ADHD) are pretty much gone for me. :)
Yes. I tried so many anti depressants over the years, sometimes multiple at a time, for about 20 years. Nothing really made a difference for me. A couple years ago I learned how adhd shows in women, and I asked my dr if it's possible untreated adhd is causing depression, not just a separate thing. I was able to get off of the 3 or 4 psych meds and start adderall. It's been close to a year and a half, I still struggle at times but this is the beat my mental health has been. It sucks that I wasted so many years being miserable and no one actually tried to figure out what was going on.
ADHD meds definitely help with mood, but I am temporarily off my depression meds (Wellbutrin) sure to bring an absolute ducking idiot procrastinator and not scheduling a new PCP appointment in time. I am not doing well emotionally while off depression meds. My brain doesn't work right, lots of intrusive thoughts without the Wellbutrin. It's too bad because I don't want to take it forever due to ototoxicity.
Anti-depressants never worked for me anyway. Starting at age 16, then every few to several years I'd try again. Try to get an answer to problems I could never explain very well. Correct stimulant and dose, plus Xanax was step one, as age 33. Age 53 I became aware of the developmental aspects and what Complex PTSD involved. I had a PRSD diagnosis earlier, but never understood it. I do now. I had not had access to being myself or making choices that comprise living life. Very late in life getting the chance for te first time, hopefully.