Detox from Adderall

Should you detox from Adderall at home? What can you expect in terms of symptoms and time? We review detox from Adderall protocol here.

5
minute read

Detoxing from Adderall?

Are you trying to quit Adderall (amphetamine salts)? You need to be careful.  It’s possible that you will go through withdrawal from Adderall, and provoke serious or adverse side effects.   When you do withdraw from Adderall?  If you’ve been taking Adderall daily for more than a few weeks, you’ve probably developed physical dependence on Adderall. So as you detox from Adderall, you go through withdrawal and rid your body of amphetamines, which has chemically altered the central nervous system. In fact, Adderall dependency makes withdrawal a difficult process.

So, what can you expect during Adderall withdrawal treatment? Here, we review common Adderall detox symptoms, treatments, and the time it takes to complete detox from Adderall. Then, we describe ideal cases for at-home Adderall detox. Finally, we invite your questions about detox from Adderall or treatment Adderall addiction at the end. Please know that we try to answer all legitimate questions with a personal and prompt response.

Detox from Adderall symptoms

Adderall detox symptoms can be painful and uncomfortable, and it is never advisable that you quit Adderall cold turkey. Cold turkey Adderall detox can provoke serious and dangerous side effects. Instead, doctors recommend that you taper Adderall doses slowly over the period of several weeks to minimize the severity of detox from Adderall symptoms. But why do these symptoms occur at all?

After a period of chronic use, Adderall withdrawal happens during detox as a way for the body the figure out how to regain homeostasis. You see, the central nervous system adapts to the presence of amphetamine salts over time. And when Adderall is no longer in the system, the central nervous system’s adapted functions are still present, and only gradually normalize over time. As a stimulant, Adderall causes the body to over-produce depressant effects. So once you stop taking Adderall, these effects become noticable. Symptoms which can occur during detox from Adderall include:

  • abdominal pain
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • drug craving
  • dysphoria (intense dissatisfaction with life)
  • fatigue
  • increased heart rate
  • insomnia
  • mood swings
  • paranoia
  • panic
  • seizures

Detox from Adderall symptoms can be treated by a physician or on your own, depending on your preparedness and the severity of symptoms. However, it is important that you don’t take medications which are contraindicative and will react negatively in the system.  And if you’ve developed a high tolerance for Adderall, serious side effects are possible during withdrawal.  This is why Adderall detox should always be supervised by a medical professional, in either an inpatient or outpatient setting.

Adderall detox treatment

At the moment, no medication have been proven to help treatstimulant detoxification. Therefore detoxing from Adderall can be a little difficult to figure out. Below are three ways doctors approach Adderall detox treatment.

1. Reduction in dosage

High levels of stimulants like Adderall can lead to paranoia, hostility, seizures, and depressed breathing. To avoid acute symptoms of Adderall withdrawal, a better way to detox from Adderall is to slowly decrease doses. This will help manage acute symptoms while you can identify other modalities to treat pain and discomfort as they arise. Ask your prescribing doctor for a tapering schedule and be sure that you set up regular check-ins with an MD as you detox from Adderall.

2. Antidepressants

Because Adderall can cause depression and anxiety, some physicians recommend prescribing antidepressants to treat detox from Adderall symptoms related to mood. Antidepressant therapy can be started before a reduction in dose and continued during andafter acute Adderall detox, being careful not to replace one addiction with another.

3. Behavioral management and psychotherapy

Adderall use can get out of control if it’s being abused and used to the point ofaddiction. In these cases, it is not enough to simply detox from Adderall. Follow up therapy is needed. So while Adderall leaves the body, it is important to support the mental health side of the addiction. Therapy can help maintain and support the detox process and leads to more positive outcomes.

Detoxing from Adderall time

Dose reduction is the best protocol for detoxing from Adderall. This process, however, can take several weeks to a few months depending on how the amount of doses you have been using. Cold turkey Adderall withdrawal orstopping Addearll suddenly is not recommended because of the negative effects this has on the body. In sum, detoxing from Adderall starts within the first few days after your last dose. However, Adderall detox can take weeks to months to resolve.

Detox from Adderall at home

Can you detox from Adderall at home? Maybe. However, each case of detox from Adderall should be MEDICALLY SUPERVISED. This means that you can either seek Adderall detox in a clinic or that you tell a physician that you will be detoxing from Adderall at home. Your doctor can then advise you (based on your general health, age, Adderall use, and medical history) whether or not it’s safe to detox from Adderall at home.

If you plan to detox at home make sure you are in communication with a physician. Tell a doctor and request medical supervision, monitoring and guidance as you detox from Adderall. You will need a tapering plan and may need medical treatment should detox from Adderall become severe.

The best way to detox at home is to

1. Reduce your doses of Adderall over time.

2. Follow up with the use of antidepressants and psychotherapy.

Supporting the discomfort of coming off Adderall is important so that you don’t relapse into use again. Slowly, over time, you can get rid of the Adderall out of your system and begin to repair your body.

Detox Adderall questions

Do you still have questions about Adderall detox? Do youknow more about Adderall detox and what to expect? Do you have experience detoxing from Adderall and want to share some tips? If so, please ask any questions or share your comments below. We would love to hear from you. And we will answer questions you may have personally and promptly.

Reference Sources: Department of Mental Health in Utah: Stimulants
Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare
Drug Abuse: Treating stimulant addiction
About the author
Lee Weber is a published author, medical writer, and woman in long-term recovery from addiction. Her latest book, The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions is set to reach university bookstores in early 2019.
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