Will they think I'm a drug-seeker?

I'm recently diagnosed bipolar, mostly depression. My mania presents as irritability, anger and insomnia. But I'm mostly depressed and apathetic. I'm wanting to ask my psych for adderall to counteract the total lack of energy and inability to concentrate, but I've never been prescribed it before, and I know some people abuse it. This is my first meeting with this shrink (the last one left), and I don't want to give a bad first impression.

I'm taking a Geodon now, 60mg/2x/day. Trazadone 150mg before bed, and .5 mg klonopin with the traz, just to help me relax. The sleeps meds have been wonderful, I'm getting plenty of sleep now, although I don't wake up refreshed. I have to drag myself out of bed every morning. Does anybody know of any reason why I couldn't ask for adderall?

Adderall isn't a medication I have any personal experience with. However, a quick online search seemed to be throwing up information saying that, as a stimulant, it's not recommended for people with bipolar and it's mainly prescribed for ADHD. Of course, some meds can be used 'off-label' and it may be one of those, but it's definitely worth asking your psychiatrist (pdoc) about it.

If I were you, I'd probably focus more on tackling your troublesome symptoms with your pdoc and see what they recommend, rather than going straight in with asking for a particular medication. I wouldn't worry about them thinking you're looking to abuse Adderall if you ask for it and, of course, you could ask if Adderall might be helpful.

For me the goal of my pdoc appointments is more targeting my symptoms and being open to what my pdoc suggests in terms of meds, but others may choose to take a different approach i.e. researching meds and asking for them. I think it's really up to the person.

Hope this helps and your next pdoc appointment goes well. Please keep us updated and let us know how it goes.

Thanks for the input. I see my therapist twice a week and she's well aware of my crushing lack of energy, and she's never suggested anything for it. Anytime a meds question comes up, she tells me to ask the pdoc, but I only get to see him once every three months, and then for barely ten minutes if I'm lucky. He's well aware too and has never suggested anything, which is why I feel like I need to be more direct and just come out and ask. I see him next Wednesday so we'll see how it goes. I didn't know that about adderall and bipolar, though. He'll prolly say no. Grrrr.

Regrettably, they are NOT going to give you Adderall. I've been trying to get my grubby little hands on it for years, just because I like the motivation. It's too addictive. Too likely to thrust you into a manic state. It would be easier to buy street meth, not that I'd recommend that since they cut it with too many other things.

If you're real lethargic, though, be angry and tell your pdoc that SOMETHING HAS GO TO GIVE. They will ignore your fatigue forever if you let them. Don't let them. Send emails, send letters, barrage your pdoc with your unhappiness with your lack of energy.

You can and should dictate how you're being treated. It's your LIFE. You deserve to be happy with it.

Rev678 wrote:Regrettably, they are NOT going to give you Adderall. I've been trying to get my grubby little hands on it for years, just because I like the motivation. It's too addictive. Too likely to thrust you into a manic state. It would be easier to buy street meth, not that I'd recommend that since they cut it with too many other things.

If you're real lethargic, though, be angry and tell your pdoc that SOMETHING HAS GO TO GIVE. They will ignore your fatigue forever if you let them. Don't let them. Send emails, send letters, barrage your pdoc with your unhappiness with your lack of energy.

You can and should dictate how you're being treated. It's your LIFE. You deserve to be happy with it.

Suddenly regrets everything about telling docs I'm also a mania addict.

I mean wut? Being sober after over 3 years is great! *repeats to self relentlessly*

^I'm not a mania addict, but I do enjoy it. I would never tell my counselor or NP this though.

Holodeck wrote:Suddenly regrets everything about telling docs I'm also a mania addict.

I mean wut? Being sober after over 3 years is great! *repeats to self relentlessly*

Oooh yeah. Never tell them you like mania...
I love mania. I'd like to be manic forever.
I tell no one.
Much hush. Very shhhhhh.

Holodeck wrote:

Rev678 wrote:Regrettably, they are NOT going to give you Adderall. I've been trying to get my grubby little hands on it for years, just because I like the motivation. It's too addictive. Too likely to thrust you into a manic state. It would be easier to buy street meth, not that I'd recommend that since they cut it with too many other things.

If you're real lethargic, though, be angry and tell your pdoc that SOMETHING HAS GO TO GIVE. They will ignore your fatigue forever if you let them. Don't let them. Send emails, send letters, barrage your pdoc with your unhappiness with your lack of energy.

You can and should dictate how you're being treated. It's your LIFE. You deserve to be happy with it.

Suddenly regrets everything about telling docs I'm also a mania addict.

I mean wut? Being sober after over 3 years is great! *repeats to self relentlessly*

Yeah, I'm not holding out much hope for it. In fact, I've decided to NOT specifically ask for it, but rather just make a really big deal about being tired of being tired. Tell him I need something to "motivate" me. .

Just ask. All they can say is no. I told my psychiatrist that I strongly suspected ADD and he gave me something for it. It just can't hurt. Not all doctors are the same.

I was on adderall for quite a while because I didn't like the stigma of BP so I went to a different doc and changed up my answers to get moderate depression and ADHD. I had my primary managing it and managed to finagle a ridiculous dosage. I was getting so jacked up I had to have a few drinks along with trazadone at night to get to sleep. This was not a healthy cycle. I came clean about the BP diagnosis and my primary switched me off the Cymbalta that was not working at all to lamictal and referred me to a psych practice to get the proper meds.

The conversation about adderall with the psych NP was really short, along the lines of "WTF?" - "I got nuthin'". I do have an attention deficit though. Since I have a substance problem, I get straterra now. It is working quite well while I am slightly hypo. It is very different than a stimulant. Stimulants give you a motivational kick in the butt; straterra helps you steer. It is a titrate up med that takes a couple of weeks to hit stride. It's weird; one day I started to notice that it was easier to stay on task and the next day it was laser focus. I do stuff in order completing one thing before I start the next; I tended to juggle tasks with adderall. Anyway, there is a non stimulant choice, but it doesn't seem to work for everyone, though I suspect some people give up on it or want the rush from adderall (even at the right dose there is a short buzz period a few minutes after you take it).