Adderall Miracle Drug for Anxiety, Depression

[b]After being prescribed some 6-8 popular anti-depressants in the last 18 months, I realized I cannot take anti-depressants, period. Unfortunately, it took months of anguish and sheer determination to convince my doctor of this; that anti-depressants make me feel awful, depression/anxiety become dramatically severe, not to mention many of the listed side effects. So, remember that it is true....some people just cannot tolerate anti-depressants.

Consequently, since I was suffering with severe anxiety, depression, and PTSD, manyof my symptoms matched ADD/ADHD symptoms. Only after begging and pleading for help to my doctor, I was prescribed 30 mg of Aderall XR once a day. This medication completely turned me around with no side effects. I immediately returned to being a woman who ould concentrate. I became highly-focused and hard-working.

Sadly, the doctors freak out over prescribing this medication. Too many fear that FDA investigators will snatch away their licenses when doctors prescribe multi-effective meds, like Adderall, because the drug's manufacturer is not marketing Adderall for the treatent of anxiety, depression, PTSS. As a result, prescribing doctors put themselves in a precarious position and we patients suffer needlessly.[size=18][/size][/b]

I agree with you...and I also think we have similar brain chemistry! Adderall is good medicine and so is methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta, Focalin). It can really improve the quality of life for people like us.

I suffer from bipolar disorder , generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. the anxiety and depression leaves me not able to concentrate on what i need to be doing because all i can think about is the anxiety when it happens. now i am on traditional benzodiazapine treatment for the anxiety and prozac (ssri) for the depression and zyprexa for the mood stabelizer. however friends of mine have said they think im add and have given me several of thier pills of adderall xr to try out... so i took them, if you've had mental health problems you know how it is and your willing to give anything a try to see if it works. so i took one, one day and it completely alleviated my anxiety. i didnt need a single ativan that day. not one. it also helped my depression. it did not get me "high". it just made me feel very level and stable. i could do things....i could study without having to read the paragraph over again twice to pull a meaning out of what i was reading. i didnt have that feeling of constant dread and impending doom that i have from my anxiety disorder that the benzos only partially mask. so i was wondering...have there been any studies for this drug being used to treat anxiety and depression? how would i approach my doctor about this? i really think this is a miricle medication and i keep a few that they gave me on hand for really hard days. i know your not supposed to share medication. but at the point i was at i was willing to try anything to get some relief. i just dont know how to approach my doctor about it. any ideas or comments would be extremely appreciated. also is anyone else in my same boat? does it help you with anxiety? how did you talk to your doctors about it? please let me know. thanks.
xoox.eryknv

eryknv, I am in a similar boat. I am in school and my job and classes teach me a good deal about psych issues and medications. I felt I was anxious and had some depression (confirmed by a psych). He wanted to give me SSRIs or anxiolytics. I have no interest in the side effects of SSRIs and I've tried a couple anxiolytics from friends who were on them and it made me feel dull and dumber. I tried Adderall, both XR and just regular and it alleviated all of my anxiety. I was not stressing myself over what was coming up down the road and consequently finished many of my tasks with greater ease. I don't want to go into my doc looking like a crackhead, but it made a world of difference. I also feel in a pinch.

-J.