Tried Memantine a few weeks ago. 5mg/day
3 days into it I feel like it almost made my tolerance worse. I needed about 25% more amps than normal. That feeling you get right when the amphetamine kicks in is what I’m always chasing. I’m trying to always have that feeling and I can’t get anything done unless I feel it. I’ve tried so many things to counter act it. Only thing that helped me reduce tolerance was a very low dose opiate. Like 3mg Oxy.
Dr. had me add 2mg Abilify to my Lexapro. Worried it’s going to make me tired but at the same time as a partial D2 agonist maybe it will improve my mesolimbic pathway.
Hmm.
It sounds like you have very complex, very deep-rooted problems with addiction... I must admit, this is far, far from my speciality.
But, still, let's have a deeper look...
I found this particular brain-structure study, on people whom are addicted to Stimulants:
Abnormal Brain Structure Implicated in Stimulant Drug Addiction
http://m.ecnp-congre...ence (2012).pdf
"...gray matter changes in the dorsal striatum, together with abnormal inferior prefrontal cortical connectivity, underlie an increased risk for developing stimulant drug dependence."
Since your addiction is actually very specific - it's STIMULANTS - this actually narrows some of the research down. This gives a start - perhaps you can get an fMRI of you and your next of Kin's brains, to figure out if you at least have these specific changes to your brain?
If you and a sibling enter the EM-chamber and this is what can be seen in your brains, then you might have a decent clue...
You could also try to contact the authors of the study, or delve into their further research: do they have even fresher, BETTER data on what makes a stimulant-addict?
You'll never reach the kind of effect you want from stimulants - that's impossible, human physiology will fight you all the way.
But, perhaps you can look deeper into WHY your brain craves this feeling, and reprogram the whole loop? Alter your brain in a different circuit, that will make the craving a moot point.
Until you have the data, all I can do is suggest you continue with what you're doing with your Dr, and perhaps to add this:
Guanfacine (enhances prefrontal activity - might help with both emotion-control and impulsivity)
Buprenorphine/naltrexone (has shown efficacy in treating cocaine-addiction - kappa-modulating compounds in general seems to have efficacy in treating addiction - striking at the very core of addictive behaviour.)
https://en.wikipedia...hine/naltrexone
Memantine - this time, you go on a much, MUCH higher dosage! 20 mg or so. And don't try to increase your AMP-dosage while you do it - you have to tough it out! The brain-fog usually goes away in about 7-8 days - so JUST a few days longer than what you used it the last time...