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Worried about long term effects of Adderall
I have been reading about the effects of Adderall. I have noticed in my son and step-son both that they have dispayed some signs of Autism. I was wondering if it was a possibility that it could be another long term adverse effect of the Adderall? They have become very nervous and fidgety, neither were before taking this medication. My step-son has the most severe sypmtoms.
Stimulant medication isn't for everyone. I would probably talk to the doctor about bringing them off this medicine. I am 36 and couldn't tolerate Adderall, i was nervous, almost paranoid, moody..and it eventually seemed to make my ADD worse. I'm off it now and feel a thousand percent better. It took me about 5 months though before my body started making enough of it's own dopamine and I stopped feeling fatigued and depressed (it was progressive though). I take 5htp now and L tyrosine, both can help with ADD. I personally don't think kids should be on the stuff but that's just me.
Please listen to me.... By the way, I can't believe that I’m actually on one of these discussion sites, I was just looking for solutions to my problem, and hope to stop you before you create one for yourself.
Regardless of the fact that I am anonymous, I want you to listen because I hope to save people from this terrible addiction one day; I hope to save lots of people. It’s such an unintentional addiction for the people that start taking it , and these people are the naive sweet and innocent, who are made to believe by society that we need to transform our lives to live up to a certain social standards, or ideals. These are also the people that are being suckered into the addiction by our nation’s ******* government’s lack of drug regulation. Certain doctor’s have corrupted their ability to utilize their educations in a way to harm people, and people need to take it upon themselves to do what you did, EDUCATE YOURSELF, and ask questions before you believe that people’s claim is ultimately the truth. With enough information you can determine what’s right for you. The only reason I am here taking the time out is to inform those that if they are addicted they aren’t alone, and if you’re not, which I’m sure you are if you are on it for more than a month, to get the hell off!!
I am a 23 year old woman. When I was a child, I was tested over and beyond my intelligence range in comparison to the children my same age bracket, in turn, had a physiological chemical off -balance. I was diagnosed with OCD, ADHD, ABC, DEF, you name it!!! I had it. My mother wasn't for putting me on medications; she was afraid of the damage it would place on my liver. I was extremely young when I was diagnosed by the way. Growing up I was an amazing athlete with lots of drive, I played soccer, in addition to always party with my friends. I was also a great student; I practiced cognitive behavioral therapy, at the University of Pennsylvania, which promoted a Holistic approach of looking at typical disorders that children are labeled with. The majority of what they did for me focused on correcting problems that coincide physiologically and physically as opposed to taking a pill.
About 2 1/2 years ago, I started taking Adderral XR 10 mg twice a day; I am currently taking 30 mg of Adderral XR 2 times a day. XR stands for Extended Release. Sometimes, if I have that paper that I have been putting off due tomorrow, I’ll pop an extra. But recently whether it’s a paper, late night of drinking, extra computer time, , I’ll take one before bed and 2 the next day, note that is 150 mg in my body on occasion…”Where is my doctor in this picture?” you ask. Right, the one responsible for monitoring me, making sure that I am ok with the side effects and such, picture this.
I am currently a Business major, in school still, finishing up in may/June. I have now been prescribed 60 mg of adderral XR a day for the past 2 years. Maybe I’m in denial, or maybe I don’t know, but I have never been addicted to anything in my life, not drugs, not cigarettes, and now I’m stuck on both.
When I hit college I had just started seeing this new doctor. He was funny and energetic (probably b/c he was prescribing himself a thing or two) Well, naturally I liked him. He made me trust him. He started me off on Straterra , to correct my never dissolving issue of ADHD. I personally knew nothing would work, except me working on myself. According to everyone else, nothing had worked, as I’m sure he was already aware of, oh yeah, did I mention I didn’t and still don’t have health insurance, and he was charging a college kid almost a hundred dollars a visit, so that he could do “follow ups”,? **** ups is what he should have called all of those visits.
Next, came the big BANG!!!!!!!!!! This was essentially the biggest downfall of my life. I am emotionally mentally and physically crippled because of this man. He wound up hooking me into this addiction, made tons of money off of the college girl for himself and the Pharmacy industry of good ol’ America. I had to work an extra job in college just to pay for all the meds, and in the moment, thought truthfully that I needed it to make me better, but by the time I realized what it was doing to me, I was so sucked in that I didn’t have time to think or worry about what to do to make me better. “Where is he now”? You ask?
He began cancelling apts. To the point that I would have to just show up there, and the drive to his office, is in my hometown, 2 hours away. I never knew how crazy it was to have to drive all the way to his office to get him, because I never stepped outside of myself, or outside of my box, self centered is what I am, but not in a selfish non giving way, in a way that I worry so much about myself. This drug has created so many added problems with my disorder and with me that I absolutely cannot move out of bed without it. You have no idea what withdraw from this drug is like. I feel like a crack head, and yet I never asked for any of this. I have never voluntarily took this to get messed up, because I don’t have an addictive personality, but when a doctor prescribes you meds at 20 years old, you want to believe what he is giving you is legitimate.
This has been a growing issue in everywhere in my life. I don’t have the same feelings I did before this drug. I find it really hard to be happy. I used to always smile, and laugh, my last episodes of this behavior where before this drug came into my life. I have no interest in sex, boys, and by the way, I am good looking, I can say that, because trust me, it’s not a feeling of satisfaction, in fact, I have boys throw themselves at me, and don’t care, nor want to associate with them.
I think of suicide a lot, I mean at least like twice a day, the only reason I don’t do it is because I think of what it would do to the people I matter to. I mean the real people like my mom, my family, my friends, just because I can’t feel doesn’t mean they can’t.
I am crying while writing this letter right now, but that’s the only emotion that I seem to possess anymore, feelings of fear, worry, failure, and my future. I don’t care about things women my age are doing, I care about how I’m going to make the most money, have the nicest things, but really I have never been that way. The drug has made me manic, but subconsciously I know that, so I keep myself in check. If you don’t want Jeckle and Hyde to argue inside of your brain with you as the middle man in, then stay away from this ****.
I have to end this by telling you that this doctor refused to take anymore appointments from me. I felt like I was a drug attic whose drug dealer was running away from them. He would tell the secretaries in the office to say that he wasn’t there. I would be in bed for days on end waiting for my mother, who by the way was never aware of the severity of my addiction, nor the existence, to go to his office and pickl the prescriptions up for me, because he made me feel like a lunatic. I knew I needed the prescription but did not have the knowledge, courage, or dignity to go myself and tell him how I felt.
I am now with another doctor up at school, who just today told me that my doctor sent him a letter stating that I corrupted the prescription and he had to dismiss me as his patient. (Not in fact the truth) This is the news that I received about a half hour ago. So, I’m sure this is just another issue I need to deal with. STAY AWAY ANYONE WHO READS THIS….
Regardless of the fact that I am anonymous, I want you to listen because I hope to save people from this terrible addiction one day; I hope to save lots of people. It’s such an unintentional addiction for the people that start taking it , and these people are the naive sweet and innocent, who are made to believe by society that we need to transform our lives to live up to a certain social standards, or ideals. These are also the people that are being suckered into the addiction by our nation’s ******* government’s lack of drug regulation. Certain doctor’s have corrupted their ability to utilize their educations in a way to harm people, and people need to take it upon themselves to do what you did, EDUCATE YOURSELF, and ask questions before you believe that people’s claim is ultimately the truth. With enough information you can determine what’s right for you. The only reason I am here taking the time out is to inform those that if they are addicted they aren’t alone, and if you’re not, which I’m sure you are if you are on it for more than a month, to get the hell off!!
I am a 23 year old woman. When I was a child, I was tested over and beyond my intelligence range in comparison to the children my same age bracket, in turn, had a physiological chemical off -balance. I was diagnosed with OCD, ADHD, ABC, DEF, you name it!!! I had it. My mother wasn't for putting me on medications; she was afraid of the damage it would place on my liver. I was extremely young when I was diagnosed by the way. Growing up I was an amazing athlete with lots of drive, I played soccer, in addition to always party with my friends. I was also a great student; I practiced cognitive behavioral therapy, at the University of Pennsylvania, which promoted a Holistic approach of looking at typical disorders that children are labeled with. The majority of what they did for me focused on correcting problems that coincide physiologically and physically as opposed to taking a pill.
About 2 1/2 years ago, I started taking Adderral XR 10 mg twice a day; I am currently taking 30 mg of Adderral XR 2 times a day. XR stands for Extended Release. Sometimes, if I have that paper that I have been putting off due tomorrow, I’ll pop an extra. But recently whether it’s a paper, late night of drinking, extra computer time, , I’ll take one before bed and 2 the next day, note that is 150 mg in my body on occasion…”Where is my doctor in this picture?” you ask. Right, the one responsible for monitoring me, making sure that I am ok with the side effects and such, picture this.
I am currently a Business major, in school still, finishing up in may/June. I have now been prescribed 60 mg of adderral XR a day for the past 2 years. Maybe I’m in denial, or maybe I don’t know, but I have never been addicted to anything in my life, not drugs, not cigarettes, and now I’m stuck on both.
When I hit college I had just started seeing this new doctor. He was funny and energetic (probably b/c he was prescribing himself a thing or two) Well, naturally I liked him. He made me trust him. He started me off on Straterra , to correct my never dissolving issue of ADHD. I personally knew nothing would work, except me working on myself. According to everyone else, nothing had worked, as I’m sure he was already aware of, oh yeah, did I mention I didn’t and still don’t have health insurance, and he was charging a college kid almost a hundred dollars a visit, so that he could do “follow ups”,? **** ups is what he should have called all of those visits.
Next, came the big BANG!!!!!!!!!! This was essentially the biggest downfall of my life. I am emotionally mentally and physically crippled because of this man. He wound up hooking me into this addiction, made tons of money off of the college girl for himself and the Pharmacy industry of good ol’ America. I had to work an extra job in college just to pay for all the meds, and in the moment, thought truthfully that I needed it to make me better, but by the time I realized what it was doing to me, I was so sucked in that I didn’t have time to think or worry about what to do to make me better. “Where is he now”? You ask?
He began cancelling apts. To the point that I would have to just show up there, and the drive to his office, is in my hometown, 2 hours away. I never knew how crazy it was to have to drive all the way to his office to get him, because I never stepped outside of myself, or outside of my box, self centered is what I am, but not in a selfish non giving way, in a way that I worry so much about myself. This drug has created so many added problems with my disorder and with me that I absolutely cannot move out of bed without it. You have no idea what withdraw from this drug is like. I feel like a crack head, and yet I never asked for any of this. I have never voluntarily took this to get messed up, because I don’t have an addictive personality, but when a doctor prescribes you meds at 20 years old, you want to believe what he is giving you is legitimate.
This has been a growing issue in everywhere in my life. I don’t have the same feelings I did before this drug. I find it really hard to be happy. I used to always smile, and laugh, my last episodes of this behavior where before this drug came into my life. I have no interest in sex, boys, and by the way, I am good looking, I can say that, because trust me, it’s not a feeling of satisfaction, in fact, I have boys throw themselves at me, and don’t care, nor want to associate with them.
I think of suicide a lot, I mean at least like twice a day, the only reason I don’t do it is because I think of what it would do to the people I matter to. I mean the real people like my mom, my family, my friends, just because I can’t feel doesn’t mean they can’t.
I am crying while writing this letter right now, but that’s the only emotion that I seem to possess anymore, feelings of fear, worry, failure, and my future. I don’t care about things women my age are doing, I care about how I’m going to make the most money, have the nicest things, but really I have never been that way. The drug has made me manic, but subconsciously I know that, so I keep myself in check. If you don’t want Jeckle and Hyde to argue inside of your brain with you as the middle man in, then stay away from this ****.
I have to end this by telling you that this doctor refused to take anymore appointments from me. I felt like I was a drug attic whose drug dealer was running away from them. He would tell the secretaries in the office to say that he wasn’t there. I would be in bed for days on end waiting for my mother, who by the way was never aware of the severity of my addiction, nor the existence, to go to his office and pickl the prescriptions up for me, because he made me feel like a lunatic. I knew I needed the prescription but did not have the knowledge, courage, or dignity to go myself and tell him how I felt.
I am now with another doctor up at school, who just today told me that my doctor sent him a letter stating that I corrupted the prescription and he had to dismiss me as his patient. (Not in fact the truth) This is the news that I received about a half hour ago. So, I’m sure this is just another issue I need to deal with. STAY AWAY ANYONE WHO READS THIS….
It sounds like you have addiction problems. ADHD increases the likelyhood of drug and alcohol problems. I am currently taking Adderall at the recommended dosage. I never take more than I'm supposed to. I have found it to be extremely helpful for a problem I've suffered from my entire life, without knowing what it was. If it is not abused, it is a great help. But, you should take into consideration the fact that it is a drug which is used recreationally, I should say, abused recreationally. You should not assume that everyone who is taking this drug is addicted. You may be scaring people who really can benefit from this medication. You should consider getting help. I personally am an alcoholic and drug addict. I attend 12-step meeting every day (almost). I have found peace and a new way to live. I needed to work on the underlying problems. Addiction is a problem that will destroy your life. I now know that I can use the medications that I need, correctly. I go to therapy, and AA meetings, and take my medication. It does what it is supposed to. It doesn't get me high, I don't take it to get high, or to stay up all night working on a paper. I take it as directed. I understand how tricky it can be. I was addicted to Percocet and pot and alcohol. I abused my medications to get through the day.
But, you can learn a new way to live and manage your life. And, you can take medication! Some people may not be able to tolerate Adderall. Don't take it! But, many of us have found it to HELP us with the addiction problems and personal issues that ADHD had caused in our lives. I am proof of that.
Not treating ADHD is not a very good option. Find another doctor. Talk to a therapist. Get help.
You don't have to stay in pain.
And for those out there looking to get help with ADD/ ADHD, know the risks, follow the direction of your doctor, and then make up your mind.
My life is 1,000x better after taking adderral. And it helped me to quit drinking and abusing drugs. I seek the help I need. Pills alone won't fix it.
But, you can learn a new way to live and manage your life. And, you can take medication! Some people may not be able to tolerate Adderall. Don't take it! But, many of us have found it to HELP us with the addiction problems and personal issues that ADHD had caused in our lives. I am proof of that.
Not treating ADHD is not a very good option. Find another doctor. Talk to a therapist. Get help.
You don't have to stay in pain.
And for those out there looking to get help with ADD/ ADHD, know the risks, follow the direction of your doctor, and then make up your mind.
My life is 1,000x better after taking adderral. And it helped me to quit drinking and abusing drugs. I seek the help I need. Pills alone won't fix it.
Im currently on 30mg xr daily and i couldnt be happier. I was on this same dosage for 3 years in middle school, then I dropped in High School for w/e reason. Now im In college and started up again. It keeps me from taking the excessive naps i usually take on a daily basis (about 4 hrs worth a day w.o meds...i know its fked up). My GPA is the highest its ever been, and seriously you've never felt more confident in yourself and your abilities on this pill. Sure, i could just blow 2 fat rails of coke and get the same effect, But the XR is the seal of approval that you'll feel awesome for 8 hrs. As much as i want this to be a joke im 100% serious and if someone constructs a petition to get this **** thrown in the water supply my john hancock will be the first on the list.
But, what if you were to reduce your dose? Say take 20mg instead. How would you feel? Or what happens on a day when you forget to take your 30mg? My guess is that you would begin to feel lethargic and not want to do anything...then you'd have irritability/who knows what else. Until you took your 30mg, then you'd be fine. My guess is your addicted. I don't recommend suddenly not taking your 30mg...you could throw your body into withdraw. But, what if you took just 20 one day or for two days?
I've been taking Adderall for 10 years + and don't know what the **** some of you are ranting about! If Adderall is having some horrific effect on you may I suggest that you may have been misdiagnosed as ADHD and your brain isn't affected by it like mine is. I've gone without this drug for weeks at a time over and over and, though I wasn't in top form obviously, I never EVER had any frantic cravings for it, etc. that would cause anyone, including myself, to think I was an "addict".
Genuine203. Have you ever considered that you are in fact bipolar and not ADD? The symptoms are identical in many ways but your deep depression, your paranoia, apathy, etc. would seem to make that diagnosis make more sense. After all, Adderall is a stimulant and the way it affected you seems extremely peculiar to me. All four of my children are diagnosed with ADD as well and have been on it for periods of time depending on their individual needs. There were some side effects such as difficulty falling asleep at night and a lack of appetite. My two older boys didn't like the way it "changed their personalities" but their teachers and I did. They were later diagnosed with other mental illnesses which made their statements more understandable. My youngest son is most badly effected by this disorder and, at the age of 12, he refuses to go to school without taking his meds. Don't rule this drug out for those of us who are correctly prescribed it and for whom it is working.
Stimulants are too widely prescribed and ADHD is usually the first diagnosis doctors make on the way to the right one.
Genuine203. Have you ever considered that you are in fact bipolar and not ADD? The symptoms are identical in many ways but your deep depression, your paranoia, apathy, etc. would seem to make that diagnosis make more sense. After all, Adderall is a stimulant and the way it affected you seems extremely peculiar to me. All four of my children are diagnosed with ADD as well and have been on it for periods of time depending on their individual needs. There were some side effects such as difficulty falling asleep at night and a lack of appetite. My two older boys didn't like the way it "changed their personalities" but their teachers and I did. They were later diagnosed with other mental illnesses which made their statements more understandable. My youngest son is most badly effected by this disorder and, at the age of 12, he refuses to go to school without taking his meds. Don't rule this drug out for those of us who are correctly prescribed it and for whom it is working.
Stimulants are too widely prescribed and ADHD is usually the first diagnosis doctors make on the way to the right one.
i was forced to take adderall XR for ten years with varying dosages. before i started taking it and at first i was in the upper range as far as intelligence goes and my grades in school were great. i would be near the top percentile on any standerdized tests i took and things were fine. but after taking it for about 3 years things went down hill. i went from all A's to all D's and became lazy or unmotivated. the medicine still helped me concentrate but that was about it.
so basically my grades suffered. Later after almost failing year after year but still being quite a smart kid things got even worse. it started to make me depressed and anti-social, and bad thoughts were of course running through my head, i felt like i was going crazy. my thoughts were always jumbled and i could never think straight. So i decided ill tell my doctors, they'd fix this. Their bright idea was to up the dosage! i can honestly say this period was one of the worst times of my life.
After basically falling into a deep hole of depression i decided enough was enough. After ten years i quit taking my medicine. i had to pretend to take it in front of my parents then throw it out when i got to school. the withdraw was horrible but lasted only a month. so i continued to throw away the meds and little by little i started feeling better until i felt like a normal person, as much as possible.
at this point i told my parents what was going on, i dont know if they believed me or if they thought, hell he went through this much trouble just to get out of taking it lets not waste our money, but they stopped making me take it.
everyday i wonder how life would have been if i wasn't forcefed adderall for ten years. i know it messed me up, i still find myself having delusions and freaking out like i did when i was on the meds but it barely ever happens. i wrote this not because they should stop prescribing it but because doctors and patients should listen to the children. i hated hearing my doctor say time and time again, "its not the medicine, its just you" parents listen to your children, and do some research when you decide to give your child a drug that is molecules away from being cocaine.
I wish i would have never taken the drug because i can honestly say it ruined my life in some ways, but the drug does do good for some people, just not me. I still have problems in school, i have a 2.0 GPA in college. i know i could do better but things just dont click in my head like they did when i was younger. i understand everything i go over but dont have the drive to do anything with it. i just sit there and stare at a computer instead of doing the work.
i know all this sounds crazy but thats partly because i stumbled upon this website and its really late and i have class tomorrow and im super tired. just live above the ignorance and talk to your children!
so basically my grades suffered. Later after almost failing year after year but still being quite a smart kid things got even worse. it started to make me depressed and anti-social, and bad thoughts were of course running through my head, i felt like i was going crazy. my thoughts were always jumbled and i could never think straight. So i decided ill tell my doctors, they'd fix this. Their bright idea was to up the dosage! i can honestly say this period was one of the worst times of my life.
After basically falling into a deep hole of depression i decided enough was enough. After ten years i quit taking my medicine. i had to pretend to take it in front of my parents then throw it out when i got to school. the withdraw was horrible but lasted only a month. so i continued to throw away the meds and little by little i started feeling better until i felt like a normal person, as much as possible.
at this point i told my parents what was going on, i dont know if they believed me or if they thought, hell he went through this much trouble just to get out of taking it lets not waste our money, but they stopped making me take it.
everyday i wonder how life would have been if i wasn't forcefed adderall for ten years. i know it messed me up, i still find myself having delusions and freaking out like i did when i was on the meds but it barely ever happens. i wrote this not because they should stop prescribing it but because doctors and patients should listen to the children. i hated hearing my doctor say time and time again, "its not the medicine, its just you" parents listen to your children, and do some research when you decide to give your child a drug that is molecules away from being cocaine.
I wish i would have never taken the drug because i can honestly say it ruined my life in some ways, but the drug does do good for some people, just not me. I still have problems in school, i have a 2.0 GPA in college. i know i could do better but things just dont click in my head like they did when i was younger. i understand everything i go over but dont have the drive to do anything with it. i just sit there and stare at a computer instead of doing the work.
i know all this sounds crazy but thats partly because i stumbled upon this website and its really late and i have class tomorrow and im super tired. just live above the ignorance and talk to your children!
adderall is NOT very close chemically to cocaine. sure they're both stimulants but actually ritalin would be closer to coke, and adderall is close to methamphetamine. not that it makes it any better...
kids are obviously the target market for Shire Pharmeceutical, which i think is awful.
i agree with woozy that kids should not be on this stuff, unless it's the absolute last resort. it's given out to toddlers and grade-schoolers like fuggin' candy! guess what, they're KIDS, being inattentive is what they DO! anyway i just don't like the fact that it seems so many more children are quickly scripted amphetamine before other methods are tried, while adults with ADHD are often dismissed. my former insurance company said they stopped covering ADD medications for anyone over the age of 18, which is ridiculous!
i'm not bashing the drug. i'm 25 and have been on it for 4 years straight and it gets me thru the day at the office, but if i run out i fall asleep at my desk and have gone home early a few times simply because i cannot turn my brain on. yeah, that *****, but i know i'm a thousand times more productive than i would be without it, and that's fine with me. people who have such terrible side effects that make them hate it so much and blame it for ruining their lives should've stopped it sooner or taken less.
kids are obviously the target market for Shire Pharmeceutical, which i think is awful.
i agree with woozy that kids should not be on this stuff, unless it's the absolute last resort. it's given out to toddlers and grade-schoolers like fuggin' candy! guess what, they're KIDS, being inattentive is what they DO! anyway i just don't like the fact that it seems so many more children are quickly scripted amphetamine before other methods are tried, while adults with ADHD are often dismissed. my former insurance company said they stopped covering ADD medications for anyone over the age of 18, which is ridiculous!
i'm not bashing the drug. i'm 25 and have been on it for 4 years straight and it gets me thru the day at the office, but if i run out i fall asleep at my desk and have gone home early a few times simply because i cannot turn my brain on. yeah, that *****, but i know i'm a thousand times more productive than i would be without it, and that's fine with me. people who have such terrible side effects that make them hate it so much and blame it for ruining their lives should've stopped it sooner or taken less.
... Adderall will make anyone do better on a test, get more work done in the office, keep you more awake during the day, make you enjoy organizing... but honestly it is over prescribed.
People who truly have adhd and add will feel centered and have control of there life when they take adderall. anyone can claim they can not concentrate in school, but that is not add or adhd that is life. I have adhd, which many people do not relize that people with adhd also have delayed reaction time and/or short term memory. This affects everyday things, not just when you are trying to be productive. Taking adderall makes me able drive alot better,( i am more alert to the other cars, signs, and my thoughts are on the road.), keeping up with my things, before adderall i would loose everything!!! and when i do not take my adderall i will notice a difference even when i just go to the mall.( the other day i did not take it and when shopping and left my cell phone in 4 stores, and left my wallet in 2.) yes a purse would fix this problem but i will leave my purse places too.
my over all experience on adderall is positive, i do not annoy others with my forgetfulness and lost items, i am more controlled, and of course i do better in school....
People who truly have adhd and add will feel centered and have control of there life when they take adderall. anyone can claim they can not concentrate in school, but that is not add or adhd that is life. I have adhd, which many people do not relize that people with adhd also have delayed reaction time and/or short term memory. This affects everyday things, not just when you are trying to be productive. Taking adderall makes me able drive alot better,( i am more alert to the other cars, signs, and my thoughts are on the road.), keeping up with my things, before adderall i would loose everything!!! and when i do not take my adderall i will notice a difference even when i just go to the mall.( the other day i did not take it and when shopping and left my cell phone in 4 stores, and left my wallet in 2.) yes a purse would fix this problem but i will leave my purse places too.
my over all experience on adderall is positive, i do not annoy others with my forgetfulness and lost items, i am more controlled, and of course i do better in school....
Dunno if this will be received since the posts date back to Nov 2007. Hope genuine203 made it out ok.
The following is just my opinion as a 30yo patient of 2 mos. who's been doing some light reading and is new to the world of psychiatric medicine/psychology altogether. Currently not on meds.
From what I've concluded, the prescriptions work by effecting your neurotransmitter production. These neurotransmitters effect the responses throughout your body, how it functions, not just your emotional health, alertness etc. I feel this is heavy altering they're doing here and the science is "fairly" new, many of the products definitely are. According to my new and now old psychiatrist they do not know the long term effects of altering YOUR body's way of naturally producing its neurotransmitters. Who's to say that the imbalance is a result of your brain trying to balance or being effected by something else in your body that currently needs more attention.
There are cases when prescriptions are appropriate, sometimes the only way, I get & support that. Please take them. I just wish they'd actually do some scientific testing on the production levels of these neurotransmitters in YOUR brain before diagnosing and treating you. Why aren't they monitoring serotonin levels for 15 min a week? Can they? For what we are altering here I wouldn't mind monitoring it as frequent as diabetics monitor their insulin. Serotonin seems to play just as big a role, at least in my life I am told. Checking levels would be much more accurate than "I think you seem to fall into this category over here maybe a little dash of this and some of that which may or may not be just a side effect of the others that I just diagnosed you with."
The following is a bit of a rant i apologize, I'm still frustrated with the inconclusiveness of this whole process:
I lost confidence in my pscyhiatrist when I told her after a week on Ritalin that it was the equivalency of having a coffee and just as destructive for me(makes me a space cadet!) and she returned "well lets put you on 20mg SR then". Really? I'd rather buy the coffee and space out or better yet avoid caffeine, which I do.
So I say, thank you but I'm very much not interested, lets finish the OCD testing from the previous week. I test into lower severe category for this which wasn't a surprise because I've been self-conditioning this for years. Apparently, having both ADD and OCD is no good treatment wise. The stimulants aren't so good for the OCD & racing thoughts she tells me and has to talk to her adviser.
I am presented with zoloft as and option at our next 15min session. This is an antidepressant that treats OCD because it seems all they use for OCD currently is antidepressants. I kind of like my OCD (intrusive images and the need to prove myself are a mildly irritating). My frustration spawned off a good number of questions on zoloft and I have to say there were a lot of i dunnos in there as responses. Very disappointed with the session and the info I couldn't gather from it I left with a thank you for your services.
I'm seeing a psychologist who's broken-record response is to sleep more and gain self-respect(2mos now). I am a FT mom who works FT Fri - Mon and is quite busy. Who wouldn't love to get more sleep?
I'm currently searching for a doctor who enjoys teaching their patients(maybe a retired professor?) about every little detail before moving forward. Someone who acknowledges the patients environment and history as an additional factor with a good amount of weight to it.
When they find an easy way of physically monitoring what is being produced in my brain on a regular basis I think I'll be more comfortable with the quality of the diagnosis and treatment. In the meantime I'm eating lots of salmon, dairy and sesame covered almonds. heh.
One more thing, on the subject of administering anything to an early ever-changing brain, I'd need to know what type of effect altering the brain's course so early on would have 10/20 yrs down the road before even considering. In using treatment to repair/ease tissue damage I am accepting of ideas. In persistent, severe cases of mental instability likely leading to suicide prescriptions are favorable.
If anyone knows a credible web source for health research I would appreciate links, researching online leaves me susceptible to biased material.
The following is just my opinion as a 30yo patient of 2 mos. who's been doing some light reading and is new to the world of psychiatric medicine/psychology altogether. Currently not on meds.
From what I've concluded, the prescriptions work by effecting your neurotransmitter production. These neurotransmitters effect the responses throughout your body, how it functions, not just your emotional health, alertness etc. I feel this is heavy altering they're doing here and the science is "fairly" new, many of the products definitely are. According to my new and now old psychiatrist they do not know the long term effects of altering YOUR body's way of naturally producing its neurotransmitters. Who's to say that the imbalance is a result of your brain trying to balance or being effected by something else in your body that currently needs more attention.
There are cases when prescriptions are appropriate, sometimes the only way, I get & support that. Please take them. I just wish they'd actually do some scientific testing on the production levels of these neurotransmitters in YOUR brain before diagnosing and treating you. Why aren't they monitoring serotonin levels for 15 min a week? Can they? For what we are altering here I wouldn't mind monitoring it as frequent as diabetics monitor their insulin. Serotonin seems to play just as big a role, at least in my life I am told. Checking levels would be much more accurate than "I think you seem to fall into this category over here maybe a little dash of this and some of that which may or may not be just a side effect of the others that I just diagnosed you with."
The following is a bit of a rant i apologize, I'm still frustrated with the inconclusiveness of this whole process:
I lost confidence in my pscyhiatrist when I told her after a week on Ritalin that it was the equivalency of having a coffee and just as destructive for me(makes me a space cadet!) and she returned "well lets put you on 20mg SR then". Really? I'd rather buy the coffee and space out or better yet avoid caffeine, which I do.
So I say, thank you but I'm very much not interested, lets finish the OCD testing from the previous week. I test into lower severe category for this which wasn't a surprise because I've been self-conditioning this for years. Apparently, having both ADD and OCD is no good treatment wise. The stimulants aren't so good for the OCD & racing thoughts she tells me and has to talk to her adviser.
I am presented with zoloft as and option at our next 15min session. This is an antidepressant that treats OCD because it seems all they use for OCD currently is antidepressants. I kind of like my OCD (intrusive images and the need to prove myself are a mildly irritating). My frustration spawned off a good number of questions on zoloft and I have to say there were a lot of i dunnos in there as responses. Very disappointed with the session and the info I couldn't gather from it I left with a thank you for your services.
I'm seeing a psychologist who's broken-record response is to sleep more and gain self-respect(2mos now). I am a FT mom who works FT Fri - Mon and is quite busy. Who wouldn't love to get more sleep?
I'm currently searching for a doctor who enjoys teaching their patients(maybe a retired professor?) about every little detail before moving forward. Someone who acknowledges the patients environment and history as an additional factor with a good amount of weight to it.
When they find an easy way of physically monitoring what is being produced in my brain on a regular basis I think I'll be more comfortable with the quality of the diagnosis and treatment. In the meantime I'm eating lots of salmon, dairy and sesame covered almonds. heh.
One more thing, on the subject of administering anything to an early ever-changing brain, I'd need to know what type of effect altering the brain's course so early on would have 10/20 yrs down the road before even considering. In using treatment to repair/ease tissue damage I am accepting of ideas. In persistent, severe cases of mental instability likely leading to suicide prescriptions are favorable.
If anyone knows a credible web source for health research I would appreciate links, researching online leaves me susceptible to biased material.
Sorry just read this.
My son was on adreall back in 2004 and it made him sleepy and worse off and then the doctor changed his medicine because his teacher said it was not working.so we changed to conerta .
and now then in 2006 after telling his doctor about things the school was telling me,he sent my son for an egg and thou it would come back fine.Well it didn't and my son is now 10 and having 3 different kind of seizures and has tried 7 medicines witch have not worked ,and he is still hipper and cant learn and the medicines he is on now for just his seizures witch are 5 still dont stop him from having seizures.and on June 24th he had the VNS surgery and they just turned it on yesterday.
you see I was told once you have the side effects you can't make them just go away.but try and take medicines to fix the new ones that are added to what you already had.
I will not put my son back on any add or adhd medicines and the doctor said if we did it could make his seizures worse because the medicines they give go to your brain.
I would take them off them slowly and ask doctor how to go about do it and also ask doctor about getting them each an egg and sometimes even with an egg they don't show up like my son do.
My son was on adreall back in 2004 and it made him sleepy and worse off and then the doctor changed his medicine because his teacher said it was not working.so we changed to conerta .
and now then in 2006 after telling his doctor about things the school was telling me,he sent my son for an egg and thou it would come back fine.Well it didn't and my son is now 10 and having 3 different kind of seizures and has tried 7 medicines witch have not worked ,and he is still hipper and cant learn and the medicines he is on now for just his seizures witch are 5 still dont stop him from having seizures.and on June 24th he had the VNS surgery and they just turned it on yesterday.
you see I was told once you have the side effects you can't make them just go away.but try and take medicines to fix the new ones that are added to what you already had.
I will not put my son back on any add or adhd medicines and the doctor said if we did it could make his seizures worse because the medicines they give go to your brain.
I would take them off them slowly and ask doctor how to go about do it and also ask doctor about getting them each an egg and sometimes even with an egg they don't show up like my son do.
My experience:
I am 23 yrs old, just graduated with a double major from a top Art School, I am a freelance artist, and I take about 30 mg of adderall a day. I was prescribed it about seven months ago (starting at about 5mg twice a day), and my life has been dramatically changed for the better. A part of me wonders why I didn't get treatment earlier for ADHD (college would have been much more productive) and a part of me wonders what I'll be like ten years from now when I am still wanting/needing the drug because I don't want to go back to being lazy, tired and lacking motivation. I don't like putting drugs int my body, but man, this stuff helps! Also, I have a close relationship with the nicest Dr. in the world who I trust, but I also know he is quick to whip out a prescription for any problem.
I AM significantly more productive and driven as an artist and in every area of m my life, and people compliment me more now than ever on my ambition and ability to achieve success at a young age. I can go constantly, produce artworks in no time, manage a successful modeling career AND a full time internship. I am able to accomplish all of these great things that I don't believe I could have done before...
However, I am a little worried about the future. Some of the side effects I am noticing now, after seven months, are starting to scare me. My memory is getting worse and worse, and I can't recall what I did the day before. I tend to lose my train of thought while speaking, and sometimes my mind will go blank. What does this mean? Occasionally, I will notice that my head twitches- only I notice it, but I am worried it would get worse or happen more often. My tolerance for the drug is also increasing, and I am needing more to have the same effects. I went from 5 mg to 35 in a day over the course of seven months- what will my tolerance have increased to in two years? Five years? What is this drug doing to my brain?
I don't want to quit taking Adderall because of how I've been able to take major control over my life and accomplish my goals. I am happy. I don't abuse the drug at all, and I've been able to go a week without it when I need to wait for a refill. If it works, why should I quit taking it? At the same time, I don't want to have some sort of a dependence and I am scared of long term damage to my brain. Sometime I feel like I am going to end up with Alzheimers by the time I am 40.
Last question: I drink tons of coffee every day, too combined with the adderall. Is that bad? Anyone else do that? It helps me get through nine hours a day sitting in front of Photoshop followed by modeling gigs twice a week after my internship and freelance projects until midnight every night. Am I killing myself?!!!
I am 23 yrs old, just graduated with a double major from a top Art School, I am a freelance artist, and I take about 30 mg of adderall a day. I was prescribed it about seven months ago (starting at about 5mg twice a day), and my life has been dramatically changed for the better. A part of me wonders why I didn't get treatment earlier for ADHD (college would have been much more productive) and a part of me wonders what I'll be like ten years from now when I am still wanting/needing the drug because I don't want to go back to being lazy, tired and lacking motivation. I don't like putting drugs int my body, but man, this stuff helps! Also, I have a close relationship with the nicest Dr. in the world who I trust, but I also know he is quick to whip out a prescription for any problem.
I AM significantly more productive and driven as an artist and in every area of m my life, and people compliment me more now than ever on my ambition and ability to achieve success at a young age. I can go constantly, produce artworks in no time, manage a successful modeling career AND a full time internship. I am able to accomplish all of these great things that I don't believe I could have done before...
However, I am a little worried about the future. Some of the side effects I am noticing now, after seven months, are starting to scare me. My memory is getting worse and worse, and I can't recall what I did the day before. I tend to lose my train of thought while speaking, and sometimes my mind will go blank. What does this mean? Occasionally, I will notice that my head twitches- only I notice it, but I am worried it would get worse or happen more often. My tolerance for the drug is also increasing, and I am needing more to have the same effects. I went from 5 mg to 35 in a day over the course of seven months- what will my tolerance have increased to in two years? Five years? What is this drug doing to my brain?
I don't want to quit taking Adderall because of how I've been able to take major control over my life and accomplish my goals. I am happy. I don't abuse the drug at all, and I've been able to go a week without it when I need to wait for a refill. If it works, why should I quit taking it? At the same time, I don't want to have some sort of a dependence and I am scared of long term damage to my brain. Sometime I feel like I am going to end up with Alzheimers by the time I am 40.
Last question: I drink tons of coffee every day, too combined with the adderall. Is that bad? Anyone else do that? It helps me get through nine hours a day sitting in front of Photoshop followed by modeling gigs twice a week after my internship and freelance projects until midnight every night. Am I killing myself?!!!
im a 23 year old male id just like to say that ever since i was diagnosed with ADD in the 5th grade which was legally the age/grade in which you could put a child on medications i was on that boat from day one i remember the tests leading up to the diagnosis as well as my first prescription of adderall all the weird questions from my parents and my doctor about how i felt if i felt funny during the day i was 10 years old i had no idea what amphetamines were or meth or drug addiction i had been warned about drugs as any normal kid would be but what ten year old really grasps onto what adults mean when they talk about drug addictions so anyway i guess i was all laced out but i didnt really notice as i got a few years older i noticed that when i would wake up id be tired as any normal kid would too tired to go to school but then once i popped that pill with in the first hour of being at school id be actually happy to be there, writing down nearly every word the teacher spoke just for the mere enjoyment of it all i took that drug all the way up until i was about to go into college so up until the summer after my senior year of high school and i made a concious decision to stop taking it and it wasnt because i had heard about how bad it was for you i mean i knew there were risks to your liver and things like that but i never really read into the drug to scare myself away from it or anything i just made a really simple concious decision to stop taking it and i did, there was no withdrawl i didnt have to take it some days or anything i just stopped i was actually curious to see how i would do in college without it because it honestly did get me through high school i mean i know you only get to go through high school once so theres no way to tell if being on drugs would have been any different than being off them i didnt even know who i was for the past 8 years cuz i had been on drugs when i say drugs keep in mind i only mean prescribed ADD meds well as i said college came around and needless to say i didnt do so well i would flake out of class alot and just not pay attention or just didnt have an overall enthusiasm for maintaining any sort of scholarly attitude i guess it comes with age you want to rebel against what your teachers are teaching you cuz you're 19 years old and you think you know it all it could even be related to the fact that i nor my family had a lot of money and i had to settle for a ****** local junior college that felt like a joke or high school part 2 that could have caused my lack luster appeal towardfs the college life but anyways i stuck with it for a while dropped out havent really been doing much with my life i have a few jobs here and there i play music tho thats my only true passion that gets anything out of me i have noticed a growing insomnia problem for the past couple years i dont know if its from being off the meds or maybe because i had my heart severely broken right around the same time i came off the meds so maybe im just really depressed but the feelings are still there whats funny is that my parents have noticed my insomnia problem and actually accused me of taking meth lol which i have never done nor would never do ive smoked pot and done some other stuff but not really addicted to any of it just experimenting and having fun im starting to grow out of all of that now i feel myself maturing alot more and just realizing the simple beauty in life all round me ive even recently started considering going back to school which is a good thing so i dont really have any life changing story about the meds its actually just sort of a weird passive story i was on them from being little up until my 18-19 birthday and then i was off them and my life kinda coincidentally fell apart not really due to the drugs but once again who's to say it wasnt i dont know all i know is that i got off of them with no problem and no withdrawls i do smoke cigarettes so i have an addictive personality but maybe i just got lucky but if anyone would like to talk more in depth about it id love to hear more peoples stories as well as share some more of my experiences with it that i havent mentioned in here my email is ***@**** thanks
I have off the charts ADD. I take 30 mg a day of Adderall. I take it for four weeks,then take two weeks off of it to keep my system balanced. It is a stimulant, and needs to be respected as such, but it helps me be much more productive.
I find that I also need to adjust my diet in order to stay healthy. I avoid sugar,caffeine,artificial anythings,alcohol and processed flour etc: I find that when I eat a lot of brown rice, veggies, and simple proteins,and sweeten with agave ayrup, I stay a lot healtier. Adderrall can make my system acid and slow down my metabolism,so getting a lot of exercise and eating alkaline foods helps enormously.
There is a real risk of addiction. But moderation and common sense are your best friends here: Adderall is a tool, not an allpowerful monster. You have control over it. And if you don't, try not to adopt a "victim" mentality...remember that if the doctor you're working with isn't working FOR you, and is ignoring the symptoms yu're presenting (depression is pretty obvious), then you need to get a second and possibly a third opinion.
Good luck. Remember, any precription is like the old saying about fire: a good servant, but a bad master.
I find that I also need to adjust my diet in order to stay healthy. I avoid sugar,caffeine,artificial anythings,alcohol and processed flour etc: I find that when I eat a lot of brown rice, veggies, and simple proteins,and sweeten with agave ayrup, I stay a lot healtier. Adderrall can make my system acid and slow down my metabolism,so getting a lot of exercise and eating alkaline foods helps enormously.
There is a real risk of addiction. But moderation and common sense are your best friends here: Adderall is a tool, not an allpowerful monster. You have control over it. And if you don't, try not to adopt a "victim" mentality...remember that if the doctor you're working with isn't working FOR you, and is ignoring the symptoms yu're presenting (depression is pretty obvious), then you need to get a second and possibly a third opinion.
Good luck. Remember, any precription is like the old saying about fire: a good servant, but a bad master.
Stimulants do increase anxiety in some people, and anxiety is a big feature of Autism. That may be why they look like they are now showing signs of Autism.
Of course they are fidgety. They are on SPEED. Whoops! They only call it that on the street. You would be well advised to find a new doctor. And a word of warning. If you take them off Adderall, do it very, very slowly. They are addicted.
I took adderall illegally on and off for a while (buy it from friends). I would use it for studying and various long term attention needed tasks. While I agree it does work, its not what we need. What is ADHD or ADD other than people who can't pay attention? What does it take to pay attention? PRACTICING PAYING ATTENTION! Just like any other thing you want to get better at, it takes practice. In this technological age where commercials give stories in 1 minute and everyone's in a hurry to go finish another pointless task, I think we need to take a step back....slow down a little & really evaluate exactly where are problem derives instead of always finding a cover-up temporary solution. I am not saying I'm exempt, I am just as stuck as y'all trying to keep up. 27 yrs old, trying to pay rent with a dead end job, medical bills piling up, trying to maintain a social life, and finish college. It never stops. But I recently discovered meditation and it is really the only remedy with real results. So check it out. Its not a religious practice but more like training your brain to calm the **** down and let your relentless thought processes take a break. Thus enabling you to fully focus on what you choose and more importantly, feel apart of web of life and not outside of it.
-Dan
-Dan
Frankly you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm a 34 year old male involved in the real estate business. I was diagnosed with ADD/Discalculative disorder when I was 7 years old. At that point I was enrolled in an outstanding school, DePaul, in Louisville that catered to my learning needs. I tried Ritalin for a while when I was a kid but was taken off of it because of hallucinations.
Just recently I had a conversation with my doctor about my "absence seizures". General disconnects that I have with the physical world that can happen when I'm in a meeting as easily as when I'm driving down the road. It's like my eyeballs are disconnected from my brain and I'm inside my head if that makes any sense or like a diffused light vs. a laser beam of cognition. I can be sitting at a table going through numbers on a deal with 3 or 4 other people and suddenly be oblivious as to what is going on while at the same time "pulling" my mind back to the table. I KNOW that I need to be focused and WANT to and yet I'm unable. I'm sitting there going "Gawd#$@&, I need to be here, I need to be comprehending this discussion.." It also happens in everyday conversation or while I'm on the phone. I'm sure some folks think that I'm aloof or rude because I seem to be blowing them off social conversation when the reality is I simply can't pay attention to them.
I just started adderall last Friday and while I'm on the med I finally feel normal or as close to it as I have in a decade or more. My chief concerns are that when I come down from a dose I don't feel like myself emotionally prior to my introduction to the medication. I, like many others here, am concerned about the long term impact on my health chiefly because I feel like this may be a lifetime relationship for me. I had no idea it would impact me so heavily. I have had a bout of insomnia which I'll have to deal with and some tension in my neck. If there are ways to improve my ADD through diet I am more than open to suggestions. My ultimate goal would be to address my ADD as much as possible by other means and supplement with adderall not the other way around.
Just recently I had a conversation with my doctor about my "absence seizures". General disconnects that I have with the physical world that can happen when I'm in a meeting as easily as when I'm driving down the road. It's like my eyeballs are disconnected from my brain and I'm inside my head if that makes any sense or like a diffused light vs. a laser beam of cognition. I can be sitting at a table going through numbers on a deal with 3 or 4 other people and suddenly be oblivious as to what is going on while at the same time "pulling" my mind back to the table. I KNOW that I need to be focused and WANT to and yet I'm unable. I'm sitting there going "Gawd#$@&, I need to be here, I need to be comprehending this discussion.." It also happens in everyday conversation or while I'm on the phone. I'm sure some folks think that I'm aloof or rude because I seem to be blowing them off social conversation when the reality is I simply can't pay attention to them.
I just started adderall last Friday and while I'm on the med I finally feel normal or as close to it as I have in a decade or more. My chief concerns are that when I come down from a dose I don't feel like myself emotionally prior to my introduction to the medication. I, like many others here, am concerned about the long term impact on my health chiefly because I feel like this may be a lifetime relationship for me. I had no idea it would impact me so heavily. I have had a bout of insomnia which I'll have to deal with and some tension in my neck. If there are ways to improve my ADD through diet I am more than open to suggestions. My ultimate goal would be to address my ADD as much as possible by other means and supplement with adderall not the other way around.
COMMUNITY LEADER
ya, I agree with Louisville. You need to do a bit of research into what ADHD is. To say that something that can have the consequences of ADHD is just "a matter of not paying attention", really shows the need for more information. This is a good place to start:
http://www.medhelp.org/medical-information/show/2157/Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-ADHD
http://www.medhelp.org/medical-information/show/2157/Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-ADHD
Dr. 'WEEZEE',this first paragraphs dedicated2 you babe-->
Not quite sure why u came to this site in the 1st place but irrespective, just bc this isn't your disease doesn't make it non-existent! Obviously everyone has slight symptoms that ppl w. ADHD have but its to a muuuuuch lesser extent. Were on a f'kn website titled "Worried About the long-term effects of Adderall"-you see that's where we differ from u. We take it to get better& wouldn't put these drugs into our body if it wasn't necessary...but u take it illegally(which makes u super friggin cool by the way) &then all the sudden u become a genius who cured ADD with a dose of practice!!! **** how come I didn't think of that. Well I'm at it, I'm going to tell my sister who has SMA and is wheelchair bound that her disease is BS and that she can walk AS LONG AS SHE PRACTICES...HOW HARD CAN IT B RIGHT? You're most def preaching to the wrong choir buddy& should probably go meditate.
Anyways! So I don't speak out much about my ADHD (consider this a treat), nor have I ever read other peoples personal life stories about how they cope with it-interesting stuff. I learned a lot reading through your entries like I did not know that my short-term memory loss was from Adderall! Literally all of the time my best friends bring up things(from not to long ago)& I'll have no recollection-makes me kinda feel better tho2 it wasn't bc i was to drunk(trying to think positive). I also don't know any celebrities names except my faves &I barley remember movies after I see them or especially their title. My mind is running wild non stop& my theory is that bc were constantly thinking up knew crazy things we don't have room for little insignificant details most ppl think is common sense. For me to remember your name, you've got to impress me or excite me otherwise I'm imagining something way cooler than u.I'm a 21yr old female from Chicago and have always had an excessive amount of energy& acted on impulse. My mom was in denial for a long time that anything was wrong me& didn't want me on meds. I always knew I was different bc ppl would say "your crazy".&when I would speak my mind ppl would be like"omg i cant believe u stood up to her or him"& i just couldn't imagine not saying something. Bullies in hs were afraid of me @105lbs bc I've never been afraid of putting ppl in there places when they're in the wrong. I use humor to lighten situations up. I happened to become best friends w. a girl in 8th grade who had ADHD and we were freakishly similar(&still college roomies!)Went on meds fresh yr of hs and wasn't a big fan of how they made me all serious& way less social...boooring.But the things I'm able to accomplish on them is like an out of body experience. In high school I didn't care so much about my GPA...the way I looked at it was like I could either be smart for a day but have no fun or I could skip the pill&tune out during class and talk2 every1 around me. One thing I really have a prob w/ is interrupting people or listening to what they're saying. You learn coping strategies along the way though like I can look at u smile nod& pretend really well that I care or have a clue what ur saying-when I'm thinking about 5,000other things. I've tried almost all the meds for ADD-concerta(blows),adderall,focalin..u name it& they all gave me insomnia. Every1s different though.The upside to that is being able to pull all nighters for tests which I did last night! But overall not fun.The guy who said he had slight OCD and ADD as well I am in the same boat brother! The only symptom of ADD I never had was being disorganized. I'm not sure how your case was but I'm pretty sure that I developed some OCD like behaviors as a coping strategy for ADD because I know that if everything's not in order or written on post-its and in my phone calendar etc...there's no way I'd ever remember it. It's also nice I've channeled a lot of my extra energy into cleaning. At college I take adderall about 2-3times per week (never on weekends)and in those couple days I get everything done. I think it's important to not ever lose touch of who you really are off the drugs bc these are 2 completely different people. I couldn't imagine life without ADD because we bring this zest to life& there's never a dull moment.(xcept on the meds when its time to get crackin) Good luck to everyone& try to have a crack free holiday ;)
<3
Not quite sure why u came to this site in the 1st place but irrespective, just bc this isn't your disease doesn't make it non-existent! Obviously everyone has slight symptoms that ppl w. ADHD have but its to a muuuuuch lesser extent. Were on a f'kn website titled "Worried About the long-term effects of Adderall"-you see that's where we differ from u. We take it to get better& wouldn't put these drugs into our body if it wasn't necessary...but u take it illegally(which makes u super friggin cool by the way) &then all the sudden u become a genius who cured ADD with a dose of practice!!! **** how come I didn't think of that. Well I'm at it, I'm going to tell my sister who has SMA and is wheelchair bound that her disease is BS and that she can walk AS LONG AS SHE PRACTICES...HOW HARD CAN IT B RIGHT? You're most def preaching to the wrong choir buddy& should probably go meditate.
Anyways! So I don't speak out much about my ADHD (consider this a treat), nor have I ever read other peoples personal life stories about how they cope with it-interesting stuff. I learned a lot reading through your entries like I did not know that my short-term memory loss was from Adderall! Literally all of the time my best friends bring up things(from not to long ago)& I'll have no recollection-makes me kinda feel better tho2 it wasn't bc i was to drunk(trying to think positive). I also don't know any celebrities names except my faves &I barley remember movies after I see them or especially their title. My mind is running wild non stop& my theory is that bc were constantly thinking up knew crazy things we don't have room for little insignificant details most ppl think is common sense. For me to remember your name, you've got to impress me or excite me otherwise I'm imagining something way cooler than u.I'm a 21yr old female from Chicago and have always had an excessive amount of energy& acted on impulse. My mom was in denial for a long time that anything was wrong me& didn't want me on meds. I always knew I was different bc ppl would say "your crazy".&when I would speak my mind ppl would be like"omg i cant believe u stood up to her or him"& i just couldn't imagine not saying something. Bullies in hs were afraid of me @105lbs bc I've never been afraid of putting ppl in there places when they're in the wrong. I use humor to lighten situations up. I happened to become best friends w. a girl in 8th grade who had ADHD and we were freakishly similar(&still college roomies!)Went on meds fresh yr of hs and wasn't a big fan of how they made me all serious& way less social...boooring.But the things I'm able to accomplish on them is like an out of body experience. In high school I didn't care so much about my GPA...the way I looked at it was like I could either be smart for a day but have no fun or I could skip the pill&tune out during class and talk2 every1 around me. One thing I really have a prob w/ is interrupting people or listening to what they're saying. You learn coping strategies along the way though like I can look at u smile nod& pretend really well that I care or have a clue what ur saying-when I'm thinking about 5,000other things. I've tried almost all the meds for ADD-concerta(blows),adderall,focalin..u name it& they all gave me insomnia. Every1s different though.The upside to that is being able to pull all nighters for tests which I did last night! But overall not fun.The guy who said he had slight OCD and ADD as well I am in the same boat brother! The only symptom of ADD I never had was being disorganized. I'm not sure how your case was but I'm pretty sure that I developed some OCD like behaviors as a coping strategy for ADD because I know that if everything's not in order or written on post-its and in my phone calendar etc...there's no way I'd ever remember it. It's also nice I've channeled a lot of my extra energy into cleaning. At college I take adderall about 2-3times per week (never on weekends)and in those couple days I get everything done. I think it's important to not ever lose touch of who you really are off the drugs bc these are 2 completely different people. I couldn't imagine life without ADD because we bring this zest to life& there's never a dull moment.(xcept on the meds when its time to get crackin) Good luck to everyone& try to have a crack free holiday ;)
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My wife decided 2 month ago to go cold turkey after taking 90mg of Adderall a day for the past 4 yrs. She says she doesn’t need help but she snaps on me and are family for little to no reason. The smallest little thing sends her into a rage cursing, yelling, throwing things across the room, even once becoming physically violent towards me. She's been going out and buying things, lying and sneaking to go out with her friends to the bar. It seems like shes suffering from every side effect I’ve read about. Does anyone have any suggestions how to get her some help before she destroys are family.
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