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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Adderall side effects OR Mental disorder??????
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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Adderall side effects OR Mental disorder??????
by mark1965, Aug 17, 2006 12:00AM
I'm not sure what to do at this point. My wife started taking Adderall about three months ago. She started with 20mg tablets and within a few days she said that they weren't helping her enough so she went back to her doctor and he increased the tablets to 30mg, two times a day.
Then after a week, she came home one day and started accusing me of doing things that any logical person would see would be impossible to do without her knowing.
Her behavior grew increasingly aggressive and more paranoid. She continued on this spiral until I had to finally move out. I stayed at a friend’s home with their family. They witnessed her outrageous behavior.
To put in a nutshell, she's accused me of the following:
1-Being gay
2-Communicating with a man on the Internet
3-Emailing ecards to hundreds of women
4-Having an affair with a local woman
5-Having 100's of pictures of women on my computer AND my cell phone.
6-Being part of another religion (We are very active in one religion)
7-Being into witchcraft
8-Being into sorcery
9-Being part of a secret society
10-Putting her through hell as an initiation into some secret group
11-(HERE'S THE ONE THAT I REALIZED SOMETHING SERIOUS WAS GOING ON) She said that she read on google news that I was trying to secretly help to fund NASA.
12- She said that I had written articles on msn news, abc news, on all the major news websites
13- she thought that I was going on to message boards (this is the first) and posting messages about her and her family
14- thought that I was trying to communicate to her through messages online
Then once I left to stay with my parents about 1500 miles away, then her paranoia turned from me being blamed to someone is trying to steal her identity and that her house, car, computer and workplace are all bugged so the “someone” can hear every conversation she’s having.
Anyway, that’s not the end of it, I can go on but I think you get the picture. She’s experiencing extreme paranoia, hallucinating, aggressiveness and she doesn’t think that the Adderall has anything to do with what’s going on in her life.
She’s ready to lose her job from calling in late all the time, she’s almost lost me (her hubby) and her church calling has been ignored through this whole thing.
I’ve told her from the very beginning that all I am asking, is that she gets off of Adderall and onto something else. Also worth noting is that she had used Excedrin w/caffeine on a daily basis for almost three years. I believe her issue is not ADHD but that it’s depression. She used the caffeine to get her “lift” for three years and then started on Adderall, which is speed for those who don’t have ADHD. She’s often made the comment that she needed to take something to get a “lift”.
My question or confusion is that I’m not sure what to do at this point. I love her and don’t want a divorce but I can’t put up with the everyday emotional roller coaster ride that we’re on.
Please help!!
M
Then after a week, she came home one day and started accusing me of doing things that any logical person would see would be impossible to do without her knowing.
Her behavior grew increasingly aggressive and more paranoid. She continued on this spiral until I had to finally move out. I stayed at a friend’s home with their family. They witnessed her outrageous behavior.
To put in a nutshell, she's accused me of the following:
1-Being gay
2-Communicating with a man on the Internet
3-Emailing ecards to hundreds of women
4-Having an affair with a local woman
5-Having 100's of pictures of women on my computer AND my cell phone.
6-Being part of another religion (We are very active in one religion)
7-Being into witchcraft
8-Being into sorcery
9-Being part of a secret society
10-Putting her through hell as an initiation into some secret group
11-(HERE'S THE ONE THAT I REALIZED SOMETHING SERIOUS WAS GOING ON) She said that she read on google news that I was trying to secretly help to fund NASA.
12- She said that I had written articles on msn news, abc news, on all the major news websites
13- she thought that I was going on to message boards (this is the first) and posting messages about her and her family
14- thought that I was trying to communicate to her through messages online
Then once I left to stay with my parents about 1500 miles away, then her paranoia turned from me being blamed to someone is trying to steal her identity and that her house, car, computer and workplace are all bugged so the “someone” can hear every conversation she’s having.
Anyway, that’s not the end of it, I can go on but I think you get the picture. She’s experiencing extreme paranoia, hallucinating, aggressiveness and she doesn’t think that the Adderall has anything to do with what’s going on in her life.
She’s ready to lose her job from calling in late all the time, she’s almost lost me (her hubby) and her church calling has been ignored through this whole thing.
I’ve told her from the very beginning that all I am asking, is that she gets off of Adderall and onto something else. Also worth noting is that she had used Excedrin w/caffeine on a daily basis for almost three years. I believe her issue is not ADHD but that it’s depression. She used the caffeine to get her “lift” for three years and then started on Adderall, which is speed for those who don’t have ADHD. She’s often made the comment that she needed to take something to get a “lift”.
My question or confusion is that I’m not sure what to do at this point. I love her and don’t want a divorce but I can’t put up with the everyday emotional roller coaster ride that we’re on.
Please help!!
M
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Aug 28, 2006 12:00AM
, Aug 28, 2006 12:00AM
Your wife is obviously suffering from a psychotic reaction, and probably to the medication, which definetly can do this. If she won't stop voluntarily, you may have to go to the mental health authority in your community to see about getting her admitted to a hospital for a short stay, and they will take her off the medication. What does her doctor say, does he know what is going on, and can't he cancel the medication? Same for pharmacist who can refuse to fill the medication with proper authority.
Your wife actually believes all this stuff that she is saying and without proper treatment she could get worse or maybe even hurt herself. It could be something other then bipolar, and even if it is, there is help for her. But please, when you get her the help she needs, make sure it includes counseling (it's so important and try to keep her interested in her faith and attending Church regularly, that's just as important)
I wish you the best and I think you are doing a good job as a husband.
I feel it’s either the Adderall or Bipolar disorder. I’m leaning a little more towards Adderall, as she’s never had the bipolar type symptoms until she started taking Adderall. I was also told that the onset of Bipolar usually starts a lot younger, she’s 39 yrs young.
Her life is falling apart around her, as she’s sooo paranoid that someone’s out to destroy her life; it consumes almost ALL of her attention.
She absolutely denies that Adderall has anything to do with what’s going on. “That” is the hardest part. I feel like all I can do is just sit and wait to see if she ever pulls out of this. She won’t tell me the doctor’s name that prescribed her the Adderall; otherwise, I would call and warn them of what it’s done to her.
Thanks for responding,
Mark