I have been fatigue, depression, anxiety, irritability, stress, etc. for years. Just in the past 4 or 5 years, I have been having trouble with leg cramps, especially at night. I noticed it more when I would drink caffeine. I used to have IBS really bad, about 6-7 or more years ago, but I believe that has been under control due to all of the depression medication that I have been on over the years. (Which is just about ALL of them).

I had REALLY bad cramps after having my tubes tied in 1997. They were so bad, all the way into my legs and ankles. I had a tremendous amount of blood loss too. I had a hysterectomy in 2005, but the leg pains are still there.

Anyways my pain has become so severe that I can barely handle it. I started nursing school in September and didn’t make it through the first quarter. I had to withdraw because my grades were so low. I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t remember what I studied and I couldn’t concentrate during lecture. I am 32 years old and had to convince a doctor to put me on medication to help me concentrate. I had never taken medication for ADD/ADHD before, but I had all of the symptoms. I told the doctor I was failing and needed to act fast. He put me on a combination of 80mg of Straterra and 20 mg of Wellbutrin, The next 3 weeks were HELL!! I did just a little bit better in school, but I was a monster to be around and was wanting to kill myself. He lowered the straterra to 40mg and I stopped the Wellbutrin on my own. The symptoms were still there. He took me off of Straterra and put me on 10mg of Adderall. I had already flunked out of school, or was too far gone, so I just withdrew.

I have continued the Adderall because I want to see if it helps my concentration. I want to return to school next year and I want to get this under control. I don’t mind the Adderall, but I think I need a different dose. I don’t know if it is too high or too low of a dose, but it gives me energy, but that’s it. I find myself sitting for 8 hours at a time surfing the net. (Like I am now). Sometimes if I can get sidetracked into cleaning, I will clean the house from top to bottom. But it has made the procrasination side of me become much much worse!! I don’t want to get anything done.

So about my pain…it is horrid!!! From my lower back down, hurts. All the way into my toes. I can tolerate it through the day, barely, but at night it is extremely aggravating. I never sleep through the night and I have continuous muscle spasms. Actually a lot worse than a muscle spasm, but that is the only way I can describe it. Day and night my joints and muscles are stiff. I have these spasms that travel up and down my legs. I can even sit here wait, I know when it is going to happen. It will start in my knee, travel down my calve and go into my foot and out my toe. It even moves my toes. And when it is doing this, it is like I have dry heaves or something, the pain is so bad, I almost gag until it stops. It is the most uncomfortable thing I have ever experienced. I have these painful twitches all over my body. Sometimes, they travel, sometimes it is in one place like needles going into my skin. And, my feet are always cold.

I also have really bad dry skin on my ears and scalp. It is quite embarassing. I believe the Adderall makes the axiety worse and I scratch my scalp and ears a lot.

I noticed I was having a lot of diarrea before I started the Adderall, but I think that is controlled by the Adderall now. It is so frustrating not being able to sleep. Caffeine intensifies the pain so much more. I have almost completely cut it out of my diet. I have always avoided pop since I had kidney stones in 1996, maybe one pop (diet or regular) per week, maybe not even that much.

If I do have Fibromyalgia, ATLEAST I still have the energy to do things. I am still able to excersize right now. But until the Adderall, I was having to take a 2-3 hour nap every day.

I read online where this is stress related. I notice that it is worse when I am stressed. Especially the dry skin.

I don’t know if I have it or not, but I would just love to find out and get some relief!!

*BTW, I know this seems like a lot. I feel like a hypercondriac just typing it all, but it is the truth and I am just searching for answers!!!

~Thank you in advance for any help! =)
LOL At the person who said "Get off all of that medication and see a psychiatrist".

Maybe you should learn how to read. Adderall is the only medication I am taking. If I was NUTZ, I would be taking all of the meds that they have tried putting me on.

Technorati Tags: adderall, adhd, ankles, blood loss, Caffeine, concentration, depression anxiety, depression medication, fatigue, fibromyalgia, first quarter, hysterectomy, irritability, leg cramps, leg pains, legs, little bit, medication, monster, nursing school, straterra, stress, tubes, wellbutrin

How much are we spending on healthcare to treat diet-caused illnesses?

From the book Eat To Live by Joel Furhmen, MD:

.."People are completely unaware that most illnesses are self-induced and can be reversed with aggressive nutritional methods. …The medical-pharmaceutical business has encouraged people to believe that health problems are hereditary and that we need to swallow poisons to defeat our genes. This is almost always untrue.

"…My clinical experience over the past ten years has shown me that almost all the major illnesses that plaque Americans are reversible with aggressive nutritional changes designed to undo the damage caused by years of eating a disease-causing diet. ….These conditions…can be effectively prevented or treated through superior nutrition. As their medical problems gradually melt away, patients can be slowly weaned off the medications they have been prescribed."

"Dietary-Caused Illnesses with High Prevalence":

–acne
–appendicitis
–atherosclerosis
–diabetes (adult)
–fibromyalgia
–gout
–high blood pressure
–irritable bowel syndrome
–macular degeneration
–sexual dysfunction
–allergies
–asthma
–constipation
–diverticulosis
–gallstones
–headaches
–hypoglemic symptoms
–kidney stones
–musculoskelatal pain
–stroke
–angina
–arthritis
–colonic polyps
–esophagitis
–gastritis
–indigestion
–lumbar spine syndromes
–osteoperosis
–uterine fibroids

"Not only are common disorders such as asthma associated with increased body weight and our disease-causing diet, but in my experience these diseases are also curable with superior nutrition in the majority of cases. Asthma is an exampleof a disease considered irreversable that I watch resolve regularly. My patients routinely make complete and *predictable* recovery from these illnesses, predominantly through aggressive dietary changes. …Diseases that are considered irreversible I see reversed on a daily basis."

Technorati Tags: Acne, Adult, allergies asthma, clinical experience, daily basis, diabetes, Diet And Disease, dietary changes, Diseases, fibromyalgia, gallstones, Genes, gout, health problems, high blood pressure, Illnesses, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, kidney stones, lumbar spine, macular degeneration, medical problems, nutritional changes, pharmaceutical business, Plaque, poisons, polyps, Prevalence, quot, superior nutrition, Swallow, uterine fibroids