Posted by AndrewB on August 22, 2001, at 3:27:36
In reply to Taking stimulants - so why am I exhausted??, posted by Cindylou on August 19, 2001, at 14:37:28
Cindy,
Cindy,
What you are experiencing is amphetamine poop-out. It is sooooo common. For me, adderall poops out in 3 or 4 days. At first I have great mood, energy, motivation, and sociability. But soon, too soon, I am left more tired than ever, irritable......down in the dumps.
What to do? Adrafinil is definitely a good option for arousal and has helped many people. Provigil, adrafinil’s cousin can help some also. Some people find that lose dose selegiline (i.e. 5mgs/day) gives good arousal. Other take drug holidays from amphetamines, say weekends off, and find this renews the effectiveness of the amphetamine. But the downside is that the days off will have you feeling sluggish, or worse yet, like a slug.
But let me explain specifically what is happening to you. The adderall has caused the NMDA receptor (a sub-type glutaminergic receptor) to become overactive. This will not only cause the poop out but also induces a more generalized neurotoxic effect on the brain and glutaminergic projections. One such projection is to the inner ear. Excess activity at the NMDA receptor in the ear causes ringing in the ears, tinnitus. The racing heart, I’m not sure of the mechanisms here, but amphetamines also cause stimulation of the peripheral norepinephrine system. This stimulation will often result in an increased heart rate. It is an effect of amphetamines that doesn’t tend poop out as quickly. It is quite possible the poop out of amphetamine for you includes poop out of actions that moderate this heart rate effect of amphetamines.
By the way, if adrafinil or other arousal agents don’t work for you, you can return to adderall and enjoy its initial good effects by combining the adderall with the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist Memantine. This should allow you, as it has allowed me, to, experience the positive mood, social confidence, motivation and energy effects of adderall on an ongoing basis. It also smoothes out and lengthens the effects of adderall. Memantine has another benefit, it keeps glutaminergic activity within safe physiological norms, thus protecting you from a variety of neurotoxic damage.
Memantine can be ordered with a prescription from www.daair.org, a non profit buyers cub in New York.
Remember for all those who take amphetamines that it prudent to take low dose selegiline (1mg. every day or every other day) and N-acetyl Cysteine (dosage: 1000mg. morning and evening, preferably b-4 meals). These will effectively counteract the harmful production of free radicals by amphetamines. One should consider taking these two med/supplements regardless of whether they take amphetamines or not. They act as antioxidants that are able to penetrate inside individual cell (very few antioxidants do), generally promoting greater health of the brain and body over the long-term. There is good evidence that such supplementation can invest one with greater health in old age, preventing the development of a myriad of diseases (i.e. Alzheimer’s) and, possibly, even increase one’s lifespan.
Best wishes,
AndrewB
poster:AndrewB
thread:75592
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010814/msgs/75899.html