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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

#81

Post by always_good »

kazagistar wrote: post #66
bob_theslob646 wrote: post #35

Author does a decent job of going through some things, but this statement did not sit well with me. >I don’t think there are good data here, but my intuitions and personal experience is that “addiction” of the sort you get with heroin or tobacco is very rare, at least when responsible people without a personal or family history of addictive behavior take stimulants as prescribed. Most people agree the risk is lower f…

I have taken Adderalls twice in my life for longer periods of time, and both times it was no problem to stop. I stop taking it cold turkey, I feel a bit shitty for a week, and then its fine. If anything, it feels less addictive then caffine, which has worse physiological symptoms.

I've taken 20mg Adderall XR or 50mg Vyvanse for over a decade and have no issues quitting it which I regularly have to do when I run out while living abroad. Agreed - much easier to skip than caffeine.

That said, when I meet other people taking these meds, their doctor frequently has started them out on heroic doses. Like 80mg XR + 2x IR tablets a day to bump. Absolutely insane. And I reckon those people have a harder time quitting, especially psychological. The difference between an unmedicated and medicated day is just so extreme.

I've certainly met many people in uni who just can't control themselves with stimulants and quickly find themselves spiraling down the toilet bowl, and those are people I always worry about. Like the person who can't just take one, instead eating them over a 3-day spurt of zero sleep.

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

#82

Post by empath75 »

jasonlotito wrote: post #62
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…

Do you actually have ADHD? > I've used it to get ahead in software for the past ~8 years No, you don't. At least not from how you are describing your use. You don't take this medication to get ahead. You take this medication to get to an even playing field. To get some control over your life. So yes, if you are abusing drugs, don't. That's generally good advice. Don't abuse drugs.

If most people are stronger than you, and steroids make you stronger, does taking steroids to ‘even the playing field’ constitute abuse or just taking medicine? How is that substantively different from taking adderall?

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

#83

Post by DannyBee »

sambe wrote: post #40
DannyBee wrote: post #36

This article confusingly talks about atomoxetine in several places, but atomoxetine is very different than Adderall, in particular, because it's not a stimulant.

The article itself doesn't, some of the quotes from relevant papers do. It seems likely that studies are often done comparing treatments, and at least one of the quotes has context supporting that idea.

No, it very clearly mixes anecdotes from the papers about atomoxetine with those of amphetamine variants. It also lumps in "adhd drug" risk studies (which include plenty of non-stimulants) into a discussion about adderall and it's variants.

Given the papers clearly state that some of these risks/issues are only appreciable for the amphetamine variants (and some only appreciable for the non-amphetamine drugs), this is, imho, a disservice.

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

#84

Post by rdtsc »

PoachedSausage wrote: post #43
walshemj wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand it ADHA is one of those spectrum conditions like Dyslexia so a single diagnostic test may not be enough. For example I have a stellar reading ability but my written work and spelling is awful.

I've often wondered if Dyslexia and attention deficit disorders are connected and/or occur together. I was diagnosed with Dyslexia when I was quite young but it was before the greater awareness of AD-disorders. I've not tried Adderall but have tried Modafinil which worked as advertised.

Someone I know was diagnosed with both as well. You might be on to something there.

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

#85

Post by CydeWeys »

_m7bj wrote: post #71
CydeWeys wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A better system of tracking tasks is useful for everyone, not just ADHD. Try setting a calendar entry for a date on which you'll follow up if you haven't heard anything back, and use something like Google Keep (key point is it has a mobile app and webpage) to organize to-do lists.

>Try setting a calendar entry for a date on which you'll follow up if you haven't heard anything back Thanks for the advice, but surprisingly I have actually tried just not having ADD. This simple advice doesn't work very well for me, which is why I'm attempting to pursue medication again. The calendar entry goes off, I try to contact the doctor, maybe they're not in today, it's half way through the work day, I go to…

The point of a to-do list (or reminder in Google Calendar) is that it's constantly staring at you until you actually complete it. It sounds like you're using one-off calendar entries.

I'm not suggesting that "try not having ADD", just suggesting you use mechanisms to remind you to do stuff that are persistent and thus work.

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

#86

Post by rdlecler1 »

I was high school dropout turned Yale PhD. I was prescribed for either Adderall or Ritalin for about 20 years starting in my second year of University.

The two main side effects I had from Adderall were appetite suppression (which has the bonus side effect of intermitent fasting) and hyper focus. With hyper focus I could work like a machine for 14-16 hours, and would have to remind myself to stop and eat, but I couldn’t turn it off. When it came time to socialize I was still chewing away at my work. I was not present. To break myself from the work loop I would usually have to watch TV or go drinking with friends. The problem with the later is that you start to wake up with the dreads quite frequently, increasing your anxiety level. It also tires you out. I rarely (1-2/month) take Adderall now and when I do I take 5mg (down from 3x 20mg what I was originally prescribed for). Ritalin was a different story. Where Adderall was smooth and almost unnoticeable Ritalin would give you a rush, with effects lasting about four hours. I could take Adderall for my most boating early morning class and sitting in the front row I was excited as seeing a talk by novel prize winners. The problem with Ritalin was the anxiety and crash at the end of the day.

Prescribing stimulants to people with ADHD seems artificial. In most cases the risks are low and unless there’s abuse or the potential for abuse I think people should have the right to decide for themeselves what they want to take and how they want to live.

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

#87

Post by thrwaway657 »

dogles wrote: post #52
AJ007 wrote: post #49

Any other managers notice that workers on Adderall will spend enormous amounts of time on totally non-productive or completely unrelated tasks?

This is not necessarily related to the medication. ADD often represents as hyperfocus, to the detriment of the things you should be focusing on. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperfocus

Sorry but you're wrong, adderall is known to make people focus on inane things. This happens with ADD too, but it is more exaggerated and pronounced with adderall.

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

#88

Post by fragsworth »

png_hero wrote: post #75
astrange wrote: post #8

> There are occasional claims that magnesium or some other substance can help reverse Adderall tolerance. I went to a particularly expensive Silicon Valley psychiatrist who did of course immediately put me on Adderall, but also put me on NAC supplements to "avoid tolerance". It's been okay, they're cheap, never bothered not taking them to experiment. I can confirm feeling better after eating foods with magnesium, mos…

Hmmm, never heard of adding NAC. And do you supplement magnesium too? Your talking about things I’ve never heard of before, this does sound advanced. Any other things on your stack?

> Hmmm, never heard of adding NAC. And do you supplement magnesium too?

> Your talking about things I’ve never heard of before, this does sound advanced. Any other things on your stack?

The original article mentioned how society has determined it is "not okay for people with already-fine concentration to use it to become superhuman".

The way you talk about this, though. Being impressed about someone's "advanced stack" of drugs to maximize their potential. I get the impression you're using it to become superhuman.

I'm not sure if I am the only one with this reaction, but I feel like your attitude is kinda offensive and disgusting. How much money have you made by abusing drugs in our rat race?

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

#89

Post by wolco »

Curious if anyone is using weed flowers or extracts to treat these any related issues? Some strains are known to help focus the mind.

I found using some strains help the ability to switch to a new task and focus for a longer period of time. The problem is the next hour after the body needs additional rest.

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

#90

Post by chimeracoder »

CydeWeys wrote: post #85
_m7bj wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Try setting a calendar entry for a date on which you'll follow up if you haven't heard anything back Thanks for the advice, but surprisingly I have actually tried just not having ADD. This simple advice doesn't work very well for me, which is why I'm attempting to pursue medication again. The calendar entry goes off, I try to contact the doctor, maybe they're not in today, it's half way through the work day, I go to…

The point of a to-do list (or reminder in Google Calendar) is that it's constantly staring at you until you actually complete it. It sounds like you're using one-off calendar entries. I'm not suggesting that "try not having ADD", just suggesting you use mechanisms to remind you to do stuff that are persistent and thus work.

> The point of a to-do list (or reminder in Google Calendar) is that it's constantly staring at you until you actually complete it. It sounds like you're using one-off calendar entries. I'm not suggesting that "try not having ADD", just suggesting you use mechanisms to remind you to do stuff that are persistent and thus work.

No offense, but from what you're saying, it's pretty clear you don't understand how ADHD works. ADHD is a disorder that affects executive function; the whole problem is that the system you're describing will fail for someone with even moderate but untreated ADHD, let alone more severe cases.

Maybe you don't mean it this way, but it's actually rather insulting to say that these mechanisms "are persistent and thus work", or that OP try a to-do list because "it's constantly staring at you until you actually complete it". ADHD means that you can't assume that those systems work, and it means that "constantly starting at you until you complete it" isn't actually a viable solution.

Hence, that's why OP read your post as "try not having ADD", because you're literally suggesting solutions that presume that they not have ADHD in the first place.

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