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MedHelp Member's Question

Adderall for ADHD Signs of Addiction?

by CollegeStudent23, Dec 24, 2006 12:00AM
Tags: Addiction
I've always done horribly in school due to the inability to focus. Four months ago at the age of 23 I started taking 20mg of Adderall and went from failing all the same classes for the third time in a row to straight A's (I just got my grades back). Problem is I really really like how Adderall makes me feel and I went up to 60mg in three hours a couple times after the first month. I can't study at all without it but I'm worried about addiction. My mom is an alcoholic and my dad is severe bipolar with long periods of depression so I know the genetic tendency toward addiction is there. I haven't taken the drug in 10 days but I'm going to start again after new year when school starts.



How can I tell when I'm addicted? Is it normal for people with ADHD to enjoy the high that Adderall gives? Is it normal to feel tired without it? Will I always have to take Adderall to make me focus?



Last question: is there a way to deal with the severe decrease in appetite? Can I drink liquid calories instead of solids to keep my weight up?



Thanks in advance.
Member Comments (10)

by Grog, Dec 24, 2006 12:00AM
I don't know much about adderall except my exhusband was addicted to it and was not ADD.  I found out later he had been taking it because he had given up cocain (at least cut back) of which I was unaware as he was also an alcoholic.  LOng story short...you are wise to look at your family history and be concerned.  I would talk to someone (professional) in the addiction area.  Also, there is a good book called "addictive thinking" that helped me understand addictions.  In growing up in that environment, you know that additions are more than physical addiction, it affects behavior and the addicts "reality" of life which is skewed.  Both of my kids are college age and one of them is showing some signs of alcoholism of which she is aware.  As a parent, I can only model behavior (which i had some help with in support groups for people who have lived with addicts, I am now divorced from their father).  My daughter is educating herself on addictions and I have given her some reading material.  My best advice would be to talk to a physician or therapist who specializes in addictions and specifically adderal.  You have much insight due to your family history and there may be something else or study strategies that you could substitute.  Best of luck to you and Merry Christmas.  Hope this helped some.

by CollegeStudent23, Dec 24, 2006 12:00AM
Thanks for the advice. I'm worried though that if I talk to a psych about it they might say "oops you could be addicted, I'm taking you off of it". Then I would go right back to failing in school and being tired all the damn time.

by Grog, Dec 25, 2006 12:00AM
Did a doctor prescribe this for you?  I think you can be honest with them and tell them.  Find one you like and trust.  If you don't like what one has to say, find another one.   You may want to talk to a friend or family member who could recommend someone to you.  Merry Christmas and Good luck.

by ChasChanel, Dec 26, 2006 12:00AM
Adderall is by far, in my opinion, the worst thing someone could ever take. I was prescribed to Adderall six years ago and became quickly addicted. My mother realized there was a problem when an entire bottle would be gone long before time to refill. She informed my doctor and I was taken off of it. I began to illlegally obtain it from friends, which has only spiraled into more and more problems. Adderall is terrible. It may be helping you do well in classes, but I would highly suggest an alternative before you become dependent upon Adderall. After awhile you will become so horribly paranoid that any noise you hear will be immediately assumed to be someone or something coming to kill you or break into your house. You will develop tics that are uncontrollable and embarrassing, trust me, I know firsthand. Taking it everyday for six years has made me feel like a worthless person. I want nothing more than to be able to function like a normal person without Adderall. Getting off of it is so difficult. Losing weight will seem great at first, but after awhile your body will become emaciated. You will only wish you could eat, and you will struggle to gain weight. Eventually, Adderall will become the only focus of your life and everyday will be a hunt for the drug. Psychotic behavior and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder will arise and only worsen with use of Adderall. Please take my advice and ask your doctor for an alternative medication. I promise you will be so much happier in the long run without it.

by cakegirl, Dec 27, 2006 12:00AM
Hi, I am also prescribed Adderall, I admit at first, I really enjoyed it, it helped my symptoms of ADHD, which was not diaganosed until I was in my early thirties, and for all the other "benefits". I over took it some days, and for a short time, really over took it. I found that after awhile, I got bored with it, and didn't want to be flying around constantly. I found it made me more tired because I was doing everything all the time. I lost weight, and still have a hard time with putting it on. As for my intake, I take 1 some days, or 1/2, or none, or I take 2 20mg pills my prescribed dose. I know you get tired the first few days, but you can get off these, and you will survive. you will get your appietite back. good luck

by crk611, Dec 27, 2006 12:00AM
Hi,

I am not on adderall, I am on concerta.  I was diagnosed with adult ADD in the summer of 2005, at the age of 32, and I never experienced ADD symptoms my entire life through school, college.  Per my former psychiatrist, it was brought on by the onset of major life stressors, (I simply began to forget so much) and I took a questionnaire.  I have 2 little ones, now 4 and 7.  It was frustrating to not have control over my short term memory.  The thing is, is that, I take 3 18 mg pills a day (prescribed that way) and I never, I mean never, feel uplifted.  I don't even know if it makes me focus more and I just completed a portion of a graduate program.  The point I am trying to make is that I was told that if it does not speed you up, that the individual must actually have ADD.  I just moved out west and the docs here are so apprehensive to prescribe it though I still have a lot from my script back in the summer.  I just want to know if anyone agrees with that explanation, about not feeling energetic with an ADD med.  I don't even get an uplift in energy when I drink caffeine, or coffee.  The only thing it does for me is make me urinate an annoying amount.  Anyone have any comments?

by lwelsh444, Jan 10, 2007 12:00AM
Hi...my advise is to stop this drug as soon as you can.  I have ADD and was prescribed this about 6 years ago.  I have basically been addicted since day 1. Normal body functions (i.e.moving my bowels) revolved around my pills. Looking back I'm still stunned how this drug controlled my life and served as a catalyst for other addictions.

My story starts in college.  I was first introduced to them and the buzz was awesome.  I could focus and get so much done.  At the time I partied alot in college and drank a few nights a week. I graduated from school expecting to use them as presribed but that never happened.  

My mother was prescribed them as well so I began to steal hers because mine would run out.  I mentioned before normal body stuff wouldn't work without the pills...it seemed like my whole body would shut down if I didn't have them.  I would crash...be depressed and then go into periods of major anxiety.  Eventually I was taking more and more and my drinking was increasing right along with it.  I think I tried to alleviate the anxiety caused from the pills with the alcohol.  Fast forward a few years..I was doctor shopping, taking 100-120 mg daily and drinking at least 2-3 bottles of wine a day.  My hangover the next day could only be helped by more speed and more drinking(to stop my tremors).  If I stopped the adderral I could get out of bed, I couldn't go to the bathroom, I couldn't think; If I stopped drinking I would have tremors, could not sleep because of my adderall high, would have major anxiety, etc...Stopping both was out of the question...

I had the courage to check myself into rehab in August and I've been off the pills for the first time since 2000. I may seem like a was destined to have an addiction problem and that may very well be true..but this drug definitely expedited all of my problems and robbed me of quite a few years. I would seriously consider getting on something like strattera that is not addictive.

by TheClap, Jan 15, 2007 12:00AM
Yeah man, watch out for the adderall. I never experienced anything like the guy who said he had terrible paranoia and twitches from adderall, but I have had my battles with adderall addiction.



I would try concerta if I were you. Stratera just made me super depressed and didn't help with the ADD at all. But my sister swears by it, so to each his own.



Something that really helped me when I came off of adderall was lots and lots of exercise and a proper diet. For me, a low carb diet and lots of exercise helps me be more productive than adderall did.



...well not more productive than it did at first, but the initial superpowers of adderall quickly go away. Before you know it you find yourself "chasing" by taking more and more.



The other problem I found with adderall in the later stages was this: While I was studying or working, if I had to look something up on the internet, or in a book, and I accidentally came across something that was interesting to me I couldn't pull away for HOURS!! So I was less productive. Or if I was lost something and I couldn't find it, I would keep looking for it for HOURS! I couldn't make myself stop until I found it.



Be careful. If you have a personality that is predisposed to addiction you will get addicted. On the other hand, my best friend was on Adderall for about 7 years and never ran out of his prescription early. So just be careful.

by collegestudentX, Mar 06, 2008 05:46AM
I was prescribed to Adderall for about a year. And it didn't help. It felt good, and I lost weight, at first, but quickly I got addicted. I became so depressed, and kept on thinking about suicidal thoughts, which I have NEVER experienced before. My grades dropped, and I would obsess over the little things. It extremely slowed me down. I suggest, to STAY THE **** AWAY FROM ADDERALL. Honestly. It's a scary drug. I would try concerta.

by Rocket49, Mar 06, 2008 09:14AM
To: collegestudent23
I have a 12 year old son who is ADHD and was on Adderall for about a year and now is taking Concerta. We see a big differences in his focus at school and on his grades. The weight problem is common with any of those drugs but what the doctor told us is that a high protein diet really helps keep the weight on. Concerta is a more time release pill unlike Adderall which hits you all at once and then you hit the wall later in the day. Ask your doctor to presribe it for you, it really helped are son out.  Good Luck
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