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Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

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Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#101

Post by ma2rten »

stryk wrote: post #99

Adderall is amphetamine salts. It's f*king SPEED. Laboratory-grade SPEED. (yea, yea methamphetmine is delivered in higher concentrations when being abused, but I don't care Adderall is still goddamn SPEED -- and people give this shit to their kids!) It's not that far off from "meth minus the battery acid." Why on Earth anyone would want to give that shit to their own kids is beyond me, especially since it's often off…

In addition to lower doses like you said, effects of stimulates like amphetamines are completely different if taken orally than if they are sniffed or injected.

ADHD is one of the most well researched mental conditions. It is real and will cause significant impairment if untreated. Stimulants are the most effective medication in many but not all cases. Comments like that are harmful.

However, I agree with you that an ADHD diagnosis should not be given lightly.

Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#102

Post by eternauta3k »

garmaine wrote: post #48
ianai wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They want to measure the benefits of medication.

That’s missing the point. ADHD meds make everybody concentrate better, regardless of whether the person actually has ADHD.

I think his point was that the test saturates at a normal person's level of concentration. So medicating normal people does not improve their score.

Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#103

Post by ma2rten »

zschuessler wrote: post #51

If anyone here reading this needs the motivation or gentle reminder: you might not need Adderall anymore. I've used it to get ahead in software for the past ~8 years. I recently gave it up, but it was hard to realize that it was time. It might be time for you, too. The thing holding me back was fear. Fear I wasn't enough, that I couldn't be efficient. That I would get fired from my high position. Or even if I could m…

Have you considered other medication such as Atomoxetine?

Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#104

Post by emodendroket »

It seems to me like the biggest problem, if I'm to accept that Adderall is as frequently abused as described here, is the same one you have in sports with PEDs: if a bunch of people are on Adderall and establish the "baseline" level of attention you're supposed to have, then "just" being diligent gets you left in the dust.

Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#106

Post by ryanianian »

gh02t wrote: post #60
kanishkdudeja wrote: post #7

I felt extremely sad on taking Adderall and other similar stimulant medications like Ritalin. Maybe the sadness effect would have gotten less with continuing the medicine, but overall, I didn't feel like taking drugs since they cause a lot of other side effects like insomnia. Now I've been able to control my ADHD successfully. Atleast upto the point that it has stopped affecting my life and career so much. a) 0 sugar…

Interesting, Adderall always had the opposite effect on me. I have a tendency towards mild depression, which was a problem on Ritalin but which Adderall treated very well. It functions as a mild anti-depressant in many people (it was why my doctor suggested switching). However, even in low doses Adderall and Ritalin can cause psychosis in a small fraction of people. Is that what happened to you?

Same. Adderall (plus welbutrin more recently) have been enormously effective at helping with the mild depression that have plagued me my entire life. (Adderall isn't indicated to treat depression but it doesn't hurt and is particularly effective for me when combined with welbutrin.)

Ritalin made me angry, scared, and flat out unwilling to do work (although perhaps it would have helped the concentration had I decided I actually wanted to anything).

I hope adverse reactions to one of many possibly-effective medications don't deter patients from getting the help they need.

Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#107

Post by specialist »

I used Ritalin as a crutch after radiation. It helped. Sometimes quite a bit. Recovery time span was 6 months. Now the Ritalin helps less, meaning I barely feel it's effects; so now I'm taking one or two pills weekly.

I'd love to have some effective nootropics for improved focus, cognition. Mostly to mitigate aging, grogginess from the chemo, and so forth.

Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#108

Post by ryanianian »

Klathmon wrote: post #12
astrange wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're "ADHD" it affects having fun just as much as working - imagine you can't finish a book and you can't hold down a conversation with a stranger long enough to start dating them. There are pretty universal subconscious skills medication improves here.

This is what I have to explain to people, my ADHD doesn't only apply to things I don't want to do. Things like not being able to watch a movie, or even play some video games without missing huge parts of the story, or sitting through a conversation with a group of friends trying to constantly "catch up" to a topic that I missed a few minutes ago, or trying to be self aware enough to not change the subject on people t…

Same - for me the leading indicator of having "true" ADD is the inability to concentrate on the things I _want_ to do.

I recently chatted with a shrink who said that ADD patients typically _can_ focus on the things they want to do but struggle with the things they don't want to do. I strongly suspect he's mistaken - I don't know a soul who finds it easy to focus on filing their taxes (except sadistic accountant-type friends).

Nothing is more frustrating than having all the "motivation" and desire and curiosity for a task but none of the "ability" to make it happen.

Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#109

Post by ryanianian »

fny wrote: post #6
apostacy wrote: post #4

I really, really wish there was more discussion of this. This is something that is very present in my life and the lives of people I have worked with, but nobody talks about it. The two things that really stick out for me are the existential implications of taking a pill that rewires your brain, and the inevitable intersection of that with one's career choices.

I don't take adderall, but I'm not too convinced by the concerns listed here. The drug seems far less risky than alcohol on all counts, and I'm pretty sure all amphetamine users are aware that their playing with some sort of fire. I think the compelling question is why people feel so compelled to take a pill to sell their souls to a rat race? Seems like an almost Huxleyan Prisoner's Dilemma to me.

> I think the compelling question is why people feel so compelled to take a pill to sell their souls to a rat race?

This seems pejorative. The reason why many take "a pill" isn't to sell their soul, it's to do the work they want to do but are otherwise incapable of doing. You may consider this work that they want to do to be "rat race" work, but that's just your judgment of their desires.

Re: Adderall Risks: Much More Than You Wanted to Know

#110

Post by ryanianian »

aidenn0 wrote: post #105

I'm fairly severely ADHD, and Adderall does not work for me. As in I was getting psychedelic effects before reaching a therapeutic dose. Ritalin is better, and Focalin better still (same effect as ritalin, lower side effects).

It's surprising how the different medications can affect people with seemingly similar symptoms.

Ritalin (and Vyvanse) makes me feel angry and crazy. I've not heard of Focalin, but I may look into it. I've been on varying doses of Adderall for 10+ years and I find it immensely helpful.

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