Struggling

[koali777]

After a psychotic break and stay in the hospital, I was taken off of my 10 mg Adderall twice daily. I feel so listless and am on so many sedatives...I agree it might make the psychosis worse but I'm so upset to have lost the Adderall. I barely have the motivation to get dressed, let alone work and be a functional member of society. Was this a fair move?

[jt07]

Stimulants can induce psychosis or make psychosis worse so I think your pdoc was justified in taking you off the Adderall. I think your body will adjust and it will get easier to get up and dressed in the morning, but it probably won't be completely the same. Nevertheless, it is possible to live without stimulants. I regularly have to go off my Ritalin when I can't afford to pay for it (it is, unfortunately, the med that I give up when the going gets tough), and I survive without it. 

[Mirazh]

I am profoundly hampered by my ADHD without stimulant therapy. I'm oon my mobile - are you Dx'd with ADHD as well or is it at least suspected? Because if so, that would likely also be contributing to the current problem.

Stimulants certainly can aggravate psychosis. There are similar concerns for giving stimulants to people with bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders - I have both.

It can be a difficult question, and everyone's answer will be unique. Some folks with psychosis are able to be successfully treated with stimulants as well, we have members here on CB and even a few mods who have some sort of psychosis in their Dx list and are also on stimulant therapy. Some folks, sadly, may be too sensitive to stims aggravating their psychosis, even with the support of other medications.

ADHD or no, there may be other medications that could help you out. Or a smaller stim dose, or a different stim. You need to go to a professional and take a careful and thorough look at what symptoms and/or effects are hampering you, how thoroughly, what might be possible to alleviate even slightly, etc. Need to figure out some sort of balancing act between risks of certain meds and treatments, and management of symptoms and/or effects.

I've had to go without my stims for long periods many, many times. Just got back on my Dex again a few days ago in fact. Yes, I can survive. I used to tell myself that although it wasn't ideal, if I needed money for other things then I would just make do without stims for a while. Well, no more, for me. I don't notice how much the stims help me when I'm on them, kind of the point really, but the difference is incredibly obvious when I'm off them. I am profoundly effected in a negative way. I struggle to function at all.

Your mileage may vary. There may be some things you'll have to continue to live with, somehow. There may be ways to alleviate some of your problems without aggravating your psychosis. It might take time and med fiddling to find something workable. But your current arrangement might not be the only option or the best, y'know?

I hope some sort of better solution can be found for you.