Medications being limited due to history of substance abuse
I'm 19 and have 9 months sober. I have a lot of health problems and many disabilities causing me very bad physical pain, stomach problems, exhaustion, and insomnia. I'm also very smart but I have very bad ADHD and do horrible in school. I can't focus on any of my passions at all, and my distraction and inability to focus and be motivated is also fueled by all my health problems on top of the ADHD. Right now I'm on pregabalin for pain and I'm trying to quit Seroquel for sleep, because I have been sleeping 14 hours everyday for the last 2 months. I want to try different pain medication because I can't do anything. I haven't hung out with friends in months because I hurt so bad and I'm so tired all the time, but my doctor said that I'm "uneligible for pain medicine". It's very frustrating that I can't try any other pain medications, because I can't function in life and I will never be able to support myself or do anything enjoyable. I also only sleep about three nights a week whenever I'm not on the Seroquel, and it's killing me, I feel horrible. I would also like to try some real sleep medicine like the z drugs because I've tried every single other off-label sleep medication and nothing fucking works. I used to be on stimulants for the ADHD but quit them due to the side effects and how addicted I was, and now I'm wanting to try some instant release dextroamphetamine because I've read that it has less side effects than the mixed salts, and I can't do methylphenidate because of emotional side effects. And I want the instant release so that the side effects don't last as long. All of these medications are off limits to me and I want to go back to medicating myself and I feel lost because I want to be sober, but getting sober has been nothing but horrible besides the improvement of my mental clarity and being able to deal with bad thoughts. I just don't know what to do. I chose to transfer to a recovery high School and redo my senior year and now I'm doing a second senior year because I missed so many days of school due to the health problems the last 3 years. Like I'm just stuck in life and I can't do shit just because I used to do drugs. I'm very involved in being sober and in the sober community and have no desire to go back to addiction, but I want to treat myself. I don't even know if anyone could give me advice on this, I'm probably just venting
Posted Sep 5, 2025, 9:46 AM UTC