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Wife stopped Adderall cold turkey and it is taking a toll on relationship
My wife was advised by her sister about 2 months ago to get off Adderall completely because she said it had horrible long term effects. She took a high dosage (as I understand for Adderall) of 20mg x 2 daily. She hadn’t spoken with her sister for over 3 years due to a riff but once reconnected they talk constantly. Her sister is a CNRA and as such regularly dispenses medical guidance which my wife follows with little reservation. Based on her sister’s recommendation to stop Adderall she quit it cold turkey almost 2 months ago and it has been difficult since... she is quick tempered now, VERY short, and almost can’t hold a conversation during the day without some “playful” verbal jab. She goes to bed because she says she is exhausted by between 7:30-8:30 yet says she is always sleepy. It’s taking a toll on us.. she doesn’t want to hear anything about treating her ADHD and if I bring it up she says “why don’t you like me for me!” Any advice is greatly appreciated!
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I looked up the letters to be sure as I used to be a non nursing caregiver and a few in the agency were CNA, certified Nursing assistants. I know RNs are Registered nurses. The biggest difference in a CNA from me was that they could insert a urine catheter, empty the bag, but when a shift needed to be covered when the regular CNA was going on vacation and someone like me filled in, they could show me how to empty the urine bags, bath a person, move and immobile person in bed, do their ROMS, range of movement excercise with limbs, answer their calls or a bell,cook for them and I did stuff like that with para plegics, wheelchair bound and such on occasion. I can tell you that we had to yearly take the latest classes to continue our certification but non of them were about anything other than taking care of basic needs. There was no training on mental health, medications, and such. A person with an RN license working in a care giving type situation might possibly be called an certified and registered nursing assistant, or CRNA but I never came across someone like that when I was doing the care giving job. Basically they are trained to do just the basics with knowledge of basic medical procedures, and I was close friends with one of the CNAs with Nursing background. She was trained in lots of things but never could take the role of a persons doctor and tell them what to do, what to take or stop taking and mental health doctoring was not taught, only how to handle a client with mental health issues if they have a mental melt down. I had one such client and I could not giver her mental health advice, only take her to her mental health appts, call in her prescription when it ran out. This sister could be reported for what she is doing. Its bad enough she did so with your wife but what if she is doing the same with other people. We were told if we ever came across people who were care giving for someone, and doing something that they are not allowed to do by law, to report them. Mishandling or outright abuse of people unable to complain or ask for help is a big thing and there are laws. I also know that unless there is some obscure area in which a medical professional can give medical advice, as far as I've heard, a person is not allowed to treat or give medical advice to relatives. I don't think that in her state, without meds, your wife is going to listen to you to see her Doctor, as long as her sister is in the picture. I would first try researching, and see if this sister has even taken any re certification yearly as is the law and find out what the initials mean and call agencies to find out what the worker with those initials can and can't do. Then you could ask if such a person is able to give medical advice and tell clients to take or stop taking anything, even drugs. You will then know if you have legal ground to stand on to report the sister. Let your Doctor know as well what is going on, the details of what this sister does and what her credentials are and ask the doctor for help. They may have names of people or agencies you can turn to for help.
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Each person who has ADHD has a different set of circumstances and requirements for medication and totally different dosages and reasons for taking it. What may not have worked for your wife's sister with Adderal doesn't have a damn thing to do with how your wife's situation and need for it is.
Only a doctor and the one she is seeing for this can determine the course of treatment and take care of your wife's needs. It doesn't matter any if the sister is a CNRA she ought to know better that everyone is different and only the doctor treating a person should be the one listened to not her.
I'm not one for attacking people but I would talk to the sister and point out to her that she is NOT your wife's doctor and that it's inappropriate not to mention harmful the advice she has given which has led to your wife quitting the proper treatment.
Also, if your wife's moods, temperament and mental health have started suffering try to keep her away from this person and insist that she re-visit her doctor with you and talk about what has been happening and that she quit the drug. Nothing your wife is currently experiencing or doing is remotely in the realm of normal behaviour. Let her know you like her a lot and that's why you have to step in here and get her proper help or you wouldn't be doing the right thing. Her sister needs to know that what she's done is dangerous.
The problem in a situation like this is that the sufferer doesn't see themselves as sick or that anything is amiss but you have to try to get her back to obeying the doctor and correct treatment and may need to recruit other members of her immediate family to convince her that she's in trouble.
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