"I've been meaning to write this post about how Adderall changed my life"

I love science. My drug changed my life...it's an anti psychotic and I use it to treat "mixed episodes". If you don't know what that is, it's when a person has depression and mania at the same time. Scientists thought for a long time that depression and mania were just opposites of each other, but as it turns out the brain churns these emotions out independently of each other. So that means you can have both of them at the same time. Quite fascinating but it's not a pleasant experience.

By the way, I've always been deathly afraid they do not have my drug at the pharmacy for me. If you do not take it in your regular doses it can unhinge you and drive you to the ER. Very scary.

Another byproduct of the failure that is the 'war on drugs.' Make it harder for folks to get drugs they need because it somehow makes it less likely that folks who abuse them will get them? Seriously?

End this bullshit. Legalize and tax them, with the same restrictions as the people in power's favorite drug, alcohol. Spend the wasted money on education and health care, maybe?

> Spend the wasted money on education and health
> care, maybe?

People I respect like to say the response to drug abuse should be education and treatment rather than law enforcement. And law enforcement is a monster: For all the evil it's brought to us within our borders, it's made things even worse overseas. It's ruined the United States' relationship to entire continents.

But the thing is, "education and treatment" don't count for much. A large component of drug use involves character and discipline— as with not driving drunk. Most of us regarded it as a great step forward for civilization when drunks who wiped out school buses full of teenagers on the way to church camp were no longer permitted to mutter something about 'not meaning to hurt anyone'. And as MOST of the country struggles to resist socialized medicine, it's a weird time to affirm that we're going to take responsibility for each others most personal bad habits.

My son takes Adderall and it helps him tremendously. We had a shortage too awhile back and I couldn't find it at any pharmacy. He went for two weeks without his medication and there were noticeable differences. My friend recently had trouble finding it as well. The fact that its being purposely done is disgusting. It causes a negative impact for people who really benefit from it and then can no longer get it.

On a different drug company note, I had a problem when quinine became regulated. It helps me tremendously with a nueromuscular disease I have. A small inexpensive dose was all I needed and literally I was saying, "I can walk" as if I had been saved. Now it is only available by prescription, which costs $300 a month and the dose is so high it causes facial tremors.

Gotta love the FDA!

Remember, The State is not your friend.

This is the kind of shit the establishment Republicans and Democrats want to continue doing, which is why we're having Mitt Romney forced down our throats.

This type of scenario is definitely happening more and more often. For the last year my mother has been fighting a bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma. It is a painful disease that causes large lesions in your bones. She missed two chemotherapy sessions because there was a nation wide shortage of her chemo drug and at one point had to wait over a week to get the type of pain medication that her doctor prescribed since Washington State had already used its "quota" for the month. I am not sure what caused the chemo drug shortage, but the pain medicine "quota" system is ridiculous. If your doctor is willing to prescribe a medication, it shouldn't matter to the state how many pills have already been used that month.

>> My drug changed my life...it's an anti psychotic and I use it to treat "mixed episodes". If you don't know what that is, it's when a person has depression and mania at the same time.

Please tell us more about this Purplepen. I know someone that has this exact condition, but denies it and won't seek treatment. What drug do you take for it?

Wow Amy- so sorry you're going through all this. Can you get your prescription called up here to Idaho, and I could fedex it down to you? My pharmacy said no problem, they just need to know the dosage and quantity.

> blames the companies and the market (the DEA
> can't control what they make and sell).

THERE'S NO LIMIT TO THE AUTHORITY THEY WILL ASK FOR.

Has any government service in your life, at any time ever, gone as well as they promise the market's will work once they're given control?

Here's the truth: The American people want this to happen.

Do you understand this? People have no faith in ANYthing larger than themselves except government power. They want to have this single point of exchange with the outside world.

This is not a clever metaphor: The communists won.

(Best wishes Amy. Eric is a good friend, as is his pharmacist, who probably risks prison, whether his offer is illegal or not.)

Perfectly legal Crid- I was very truthful with the pharmacist and as long as they can verify the prescription with Amy's doctor, no problem.

Aw, Amy posted the exact same rant in the previous blog item.

> was 19 and took a women's studies class in
> college and they told me all men were rapists.

This is a rerun, but it's sooooo on point.

> Sorry. Not sure which you mean

Not at all, I was just embarrassed to see that you'd covered the ground of my comment so perfectly. We elect these people, giving them more and more money and more and more power. Many many Americans want government to have all this authority.

It often seems like a new American servility is the worst thing in history... As if we'd made things too good for people to appreciate. The animal impulse to assume the pain in life comes from stronger figures, rather than from our own corrupt hearts, has caused us to bounce off of civilization's glass ceiling... And it's all downhill from here.

DrugStore com apparently has Adderall, but as a class II need the actual prescription mailed in by your doctor. For less-restricted 'scrips, Fax or EMail is OK.

I have used them in the past, and yes they accepted my insurance (which in turn did pay).

Also, I persuaded my doctor to prescribe a three-month supply, saving some hassles. He explained he normally prescribed one month worth of drugs because a number of insurance companies insist on it- huh?

Amy. I had the same problem with Concerta earlier this Summer. I was in a huge panic as well. Fortunately, the shipment to the pharmacy unexpectedly showed up a couple of days after I needed the refill, so I only had too suffer through a single day of "brain death". Quite traumatic, to say the least.

And yes, as Class IIs, the pharmacies need to have the script in hand. Your Drug War at work for you.

I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.... ;-)

i use a different prescription for my adhd, but have run into a few times where the pharmacy won't have any.

Very frustrating, especially since i can remember the "before" times...

Good luck, and keep the coffee handy...

This whole situation is outrageous.

I just sent you via email the telephone number- I spoke with a technician there this morning, I think her name was Jill. I know my wife has a prescription she has to hand deliver every month, so I hope I didn't give you a false hope.

PS- My prozac is 40mg, but it gave me a headache so I had the pharmacist double the number of pills at 20mg, so it works out as the same price for two months worth!

Wow, Amy. So sorry to hear you are having such trouble getting your medication. Hope your persistence pays off soon.

Please, please, understand the consequences, everybody, of voting in candidates who are for Big Government.

The unfortunate thing for voters is finding anyone who isn't in favor of this particular type of big government. Most of the laws that make getting Adderal difficult are drug war laws, and few members of Congress whose last name isn't Paul are willing to take the risk of being known as "soft on drugs".

I read the other day they've developed (approved?) a new drug-which is actually just hydrocodone without any mixers- much stronger and with less chance of liver damage than vicodin. My question is why? The drs will be too scared to prescribe it anyway. I have occasional migraines and what works best on them is vicodin. But to ask for it, you"d think I was looking to score crack instead of 20 pills once a year.

Amy, I don't know how well you tolerate SSRI's. But Effexor might somewhat work as a short-term fix if you run out of Adderall. Just don't stay on it too long because high blood pressure is a common side effect.

Amy, just wanted to say I'm really sorry you and others are going through this. It hurts my heart when decent people whose lives have improved thanks to meds are forced to worry about access, or much worse, deprived. Wish there was something I could do. When I lived in the states, I had good experiences with Canadian online pharmacies and drugstore.com, though that's probably zero help to you. Good luck.

> many of whom answer with the voice of someone
> with dead eyes.

I've had comically good health for nearly 53 years. Given the dicey genetic stock whence I sprang, it's a cosmic joke. I've eaten more bad food, hung out with more bad people, done more dangerous sports, and, um, tempted fate vis-a-vis more substances (wink-wink, nudge-nudge) than anyone you know. But I will fall asleep tonight faster than you will, will dream better, more colorful dreams, will wake up with a firmer boner and charge into a foamy shower with more wind in my chair-lovin' lungs than you'd think possible.

It doesn't matter.

When caring for an elderly senior a few years ago, I found out that the vast majority of people we deal with in conditions of illness –in both government and the private sector– are high school graduates. Not all those high schools were North American ones with firm-titted cheerleaders, schools issuing charming diplomas in excessively decorated binders. These are working-class people who are pissed off and are looking for someone they can give a hard time to. The fact that their target may not have the strength to answer them is unimportant.

Their eyes aren't dead. They're saving energy for a rape, or worse.

Yep, my pharmacy doesn't have any, either. My son's doctor just prescribed it for him. I have lost my prescription card, so I can't go to another pharmacy until I get a new one.

The federal government does not actually have the constitutional right to regulate substances, absent interstate competition with tariffs. If they did, then an amendment (or repeal of amendment) to the constitution would not have been required to start or end prohibition. It seems people knew more or cared more about their rights back then. It saddens me.

And anyone who thinks government regulated healthcare will fix this is an idiot.

"Please tell us more about this Purplepen. I know someone that has this exact condition, but denies it and won't seek treatment. What drug do you take for it?"

Eric,

I take Seroquel for it, though now I'm being weaned off of it due to the massive weight gain.

Regarding a mixed state, imagine all the thoughts/feelings that come with depression, for example crying all the time but with the energy of a thousand suns. Energy that you can not control or stop. Inability to sleep because you have TOO much energy.

Or the racing uncontrollable thoughts of mania, rage, flight of ideas but being depressed and unable to get out of bed. I tend to suffer the former.

Mixed states are the most dangerous. A big symptom is suicide because you have the energy to do it (mania) and the thoughts that idealize it (depression). Fortunately the idealization of suicide is not a symptom I suffer.

Smug DEA lady calls Amy "passive".

She must not read your blog...

In no fan of the war on drugs butt this thing you are hooked on is speed, give it a fancy name and you eat it up, very sad.

If they called it meth would you still take it?

No differnence ya know, or maybe you dint.

I don't take any drugs. Only if I'm in excrutiating pain, like after surgery. Yet, most of my friends are on antidepressants and/or ADD and/or bipolar meds. It's pretty amazing how much medication people are on. Some of my friends are like pharmacies.

My son was put on ritalin for about 6 months when he was around 10, but I weaned him off. He lost his appetite but, beyond that, I didn't see much effect. They also prescribed him prozac, but I also stopped that - found homeschooling was what he needed to get away from the bullies who were making him depressed.

He probably is ADHD, or was. I don't see much of that now that he's an adult. He smoked pot for awhile, though he can't now because he's a divemaster/captain, subject to drug tests, but I really think that helped his ADHD. And one of my gfs, whose husband has severe ADHD, says that, without pot, she couldn't live with him. It makes him calm and focused.

So, maybe you should try some weed, Amy. Can't you get it legally there?

"you are hooked on is speed"
No speed is a generic term for all amphetamines used for recreational purposes. Just like all steroids are not the same all amphetamines are the same.

"If they called it meth would you still take it?"
Not a chemist are you? Meth refers to crystal meth, or Methamphetamine. Which is just about the most potent street drug out there. Adderal is dextroamphetamine and Amphetamine. That's like saying grain and wood alcohol are the same. One will get you buzzed and may result in a walk of shame. The other will either blind you or kill you.

I'll bet the meth is easier to get. Not that I'm saying anyone should, it's a truly horrible drug, at least as used on the street.

I'll bet that were one to put his mind to it, meth, pot, or heroin could be had by dinnertime. Prescribed drugs from a pharmacy are scarce.

Interesting times.

The fact that so many people need this drug to keep up in a highly competitive society shows how miserable modern day America is these days. The drug while it can help you focus does have some rather nasty side effects and is neurotoxic at high doses. The more expensive Provigil in my experience is a superior drug, although its effect is not as obvious as Adderall.

The shortage is for the cheap generic and not the more expensive XR version, that tells me something maybe the pharma companies want people to pay for the more unaffordable version. Most of us are not celebs and cannot afford Provigil which is around $300 to $600 for a month's supply and something these insurance companies do not like to pay for because of the price.

LS - if you didn't notice a difference in your son when he was on Ritalin, then he's not ADHD. He may have some other chemical imbalance, but not that one.

It's not a perfect test, I know, but what I suggest for a default ADHD test is to give the person a strong cup of coffee and see if they get sleepy. Total opposite of what it's supposed to do for normal people. Adults who have been late-diagnosed with ADHD have been reported as "self-medicating" with up to 20 cups of coffee a day. They didn't know why, but it helped their concentration.

The shortage is for the cheap generic and not the more expensive XR version,

What a strange thing to say, since NONE of the CVS pharmacies in my area have the XR version, which is what my doctor prescribed for my son.

"LS - if you didn't notice a difference in your son when he was on Ritalin, then he's not ADHD. He may have some other chemical imbalance, but not that one."

That might be true. He's highly gifted, and throughout his childhood, he managed to present as having various "disorders". ADHD, OCD, depression, and Aspergers just to name a few. It was a challenging time for me as a mom because I'd read and think he had a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

In retrospect, I think he was mostly just bored and frustrated. He was an adult trapped inside a kid's body. Now that he is an adult, he's doing just fine.

Likewise, you may find that your son grows out of his ADD. People who are diagnosed as adults usually have pretty serious cases of it, like Amy.

The fact that so many people need this drug to keep up in a highly competitive society shows how miserable modern day America is these days.

Whats your solution? Live like the Amish, hand to mouth, backbreaking daily labor, no art, no science, no traveling more than a few miles a day by foot?

Fuck that

I do have a question, though.

Why are autism, Asperger's, ADD, ADHD, and {insert acronym here} "modern" afflictions?

Can you explain what you're asking, Raddy?

They've probably existed throughout human history, and I don't actually consider my brain "afflicted"; it's just not well-adapted in its natural state for sitting at a computer for eight hours and paying attention to the work of researchers who are dull writers and unclear in the way they lay out their data.

My little friend S., who's 6, and Sgt. Heather's son, has an absolutely incredible brain. He's autistic, but a savant also. For Mother's Day, he gave Heather a book about the dinosaurs that he made. This kid (with his incredible systematized way of looking at the world that is common to autism) sucked up every feature of a book -- including ISBN number, acknowledgments, publisher information, price, and blurbs on the back -- and included it in this crayoned book for his mom. He also included dinosaurs I had never heard of...spelled correctly; I looked them up on my phone when Heather showed me the book. It was absolutely incredible.

He's into maps now, and I told Gregg, who brought him this huge laminated map he had in his storage. I gave it to him and said something like, "So...where's Belarus." He showed me. Took him about three seconds. He knows how many continents there are (he had that competition with his grandma, who lost), and lots more.

He also has had some challenges using silverware and about sense of his body. He likes me so he asks me to fix this caterpillar toy he has when I'm there, but sometimes he sticks it a little too close to my face.

Sure. The behavioral disorders have grabbed headlines recently, and there's not a lot of material to suggest they HAVE been around a long time. Maybe I'm expecting too much to have articles mention the history of the disease sometimes...

(As a joke on persons insisting that their religious stories are factual, I state that autism is a result of the Ministry of Magic suppressing underage magic. After all, their parents are quick to point out how exceptional their kids are. And only recently has Muggle technology threatened the wizarding world with detection. That would explain the recent news, wouldn't it?
Well, it gets the zealot going...)

A number of historiy's most acomplished names are often as 'odd' and 'obbsessive' in the writtings and journals of their contemporaries.

But given the way we are taught history in america we learn little of such peoplle aside from the dates, locations, and titles of historical events

very late to the conversation but I think the federal government has lifted the amphetamine quote in recent years.