Adderall: College Students' Best Friend-- Or Worst Enemy??
Attention deficit hyperactive disorder is a neurologically based behavioral disorder that afflicts children and adults alike (1). Characterized by inability to pay attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive actions, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or ADHD for short, this disorder has become a popular diagnosis for students who claim that they are unable to concentrate or focus on their studies (2). Much research has been done in recent years regarding ADHD, its neurological basis in the brain, and how to treat it effectively (1). Many prescription drugs have been released onto the market that effectively target the levels of certain hormones which in turn enable one to counteract the symptoms of ADHD (3).
However, drugs such as Adderall, which were developed solely for those properly diagnosed with the disorder, are beginning to be used recreationally by those whom admit to not having ADHD, but either find that they perform better with its aid or simply enjoy the high of the prescription drug (4). What does this mean for college students? Is recreational use of this drug dangerous physically? Mentally? Does the use of Adderall by those not diagnosed with pose the threat of an addiction? Is an addiction to a drug that seems to make you more efficient a bad thing?
To begin to answer these questions and more, one must understand a few of the basics of the neurobiology behind the disorder ADHD and the science behind drugs that treat it. Like many neurologically based disorders, scientists are not 100% sure of all of the complicated functions that play a role (1). However, by using state of the art brain imaging techniques, several studies have deduced that brains afflicted with ADHD malfunction in the frontal cortex (1). The frontal cortex is involved with primarily executive functions like reasoning, planning, focusing, and problem solving (1). It is in this part of the brain that dopamine, an important neurotransmitter, has been found to be deficient. Without proper concentrations of dopamine in the frontal cortex, these executive functions suffer (5).
To treat this disorder, prescription drugs like Adderall may be prescribed to patients. Adderall is a cocktail of several active ingredients that include amphetamine salts, an active ingredient in many ADHD medications. These amphetamines are thought to treat ADHD by blocking the reuptake of dopamine from the neural synapses and increasing the uptake into subsequent neurons. The increased dopamine flow in the frontal cortex then allows the brain to carry on its executive functions as a normal brain would, thus counteracting the effects of ADHD (6). But what happens when a brain whose executive functions work properly is treated with such a powerful stimulant?
The answer to this question lies in the 1 in 5 college students that admit to using this drug and not having ADHD (7). Why? Athletes have steroids, depressives have “happy-pills”, and those who wish to do it all, and do it fast, have Adderall. A person with a perfectly normal, functioning frontal cortex and dopamine levels will experience a heightened sense of motivation, focus, and concentration. Presumably this is the perfect mood to pull all-nighters, read hundreds of pages at a time, and write pages and pages of that final paper (8). “I didn't feel like I was becoming smarter or even like I was thinking more clearly. I just felt more directed, less distracted by rogue thoughts, less day-dreamy (7),” states Joshua Foer, a journalist who, after consulting many doctors, decided to try Adderall for himself. “I felt like I was clearing away underbrush that had been obscuring my true capabilities (7).” Before performing his experiment, Foer discussed his decision with psychiatrists who informed him, to his surprise, that when taken in small doses, irregularly, with or without a prescription, Adderall is most likely harmless (7). Other scientists beg to differ, and it is these accounts that are of particular interest.
The general consensus is that stimulant amphetamines like Adderall do indeed increase performance in those that do and do not have properly diagnosed ADHD. The promise of a better GPA with less effort is promise enough for college students across the board to obtain Adderall by any means necessary. Many students admit to actually seeing doctors and purposefully exaggerating symptoms of ADHD to acquire medication. Others simply pop a generously donated pill from their pals (8). The danger lies in the possibility of dependence and the rarely considered effect of the drug on those that have preexisting medical problems that can deteriorate with prolonged use (8).
Since many students assert that they use Adderall only for studying for large tests and completing important assignments, the risk of dependency is high. “I don’t think I’m addicted…..I just can’t imagine not taking it (8),” says student Susan. Says student Steve: “I attend a major university….I take two pills when I have a ton of work to do….Without Adderall I failed one class….I began to take Adderall again and saw a huge improvement (9).” The long term effects of using Adderall in this manner are relatively unknown, however it is well known that those that use amphetamines in larger doses by snorting or inhaling can very well be diagnosed with addiction. Just one example of an amphetamine of this nature is speed (10).
Other side effects of this drug include being irritable while under the influence (8) and feeling as though one’s creativity has been stifled in the name of creating order out of disorder and doing the one task at hand (7). “These medications allow you to be more structured and more rigid. That's the opposite of the impulsivity of creativity,” says Dr. Heiligenstein of the University of Wisconsin (7). Is this just a small price to pay for an “A?” Can one sacrifice their creativity for a few hours in the name of passing Chemistry?
There is even more to this issue than menacing side effects, however. What is it about academics today that have students popping pills to succeed? And is it fair? Athletes that use steroids are kicked off their sports teams because they are assumed to have an unfair advantage—so isn’t this the same general principle? Many students, especially those that actually suffer from ADHD reply “Yes.” “It’s the kind of medication that can help anyone,” says ADHD afflicted student Josie, “For people with ADD, it just makes them normal, and for people without ADD, it makes them above average. If both me and someone without ADD were both on Adderall, I could never outdo them (8).”
So, as a stressed out college student striving to succeed in school and boost my GPA, I sit here wondering how much faster and more efficiently I could have written this paper had I been taking Adderall. A nagging suspicion tells me that yes, maybe I would have finished before 2 am. Maybe I would have stopping pausing to check my e-mail and Facebook. But my gut tells me that this is the wrong thing to do. Not being afflicted with ADHD, I do not have a good reason to take a pill to succeed other than to counteract my own inability to “get down to business”, as they say. My motivation for writing this paper was to find out whether or not unprescribed use of Adderall was dangerous. It appears that though it is not. The risk of dependency, however, is real, and can be seen in those students that can no longer finish assignments without the help of this drug. My question now is whether or not it is morally correct for college students to continue taking this drug as a stimulant—a question that is up to the reader to decide for his or herself.
Works Cited List
1. http://www.adhd.org.nz/neuro1.html
2. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm
3. http://www.adderallxr.com/about_adderallxr/about-works.asp
4. http://www.adrugrecall.com/news/adderall-abuse.html
5. http://www.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/plomdevelop/genetics/01febgen.htm
6. http://www.answers.com/topic/adderall
7. http://www.slate.com/id/2118315
8. http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/ohe/library/drugs/adderall.htm
9. http://www.thecitycollegian.com/artman/publish/article_409.shtml
10. http://amphetamines.com/adderall/classroom.html
Good Stuff
I am 26 years old and just got my first prescription to Adderall. I have always had ADHD but was able to get by. I had a lot of disciplinary problems in middle and high school. I did my undergrad in engineering and did a masters part time after I started working full time. However, I was always frustrated in school because it was so difficult for me to pay attention to what the teachers were saying. I rarely learned anything from class and had to teach myself almost everything. About 90% of all mistakes I made on my tests and assignments were from what would be called "careless mistakes." For instance, I would often miss words like "not" or read "28" as "8" (my vision is perfect). As I got older I structured myself and tried to minimize the effects of my ADHD with some success. Long story short is that I finally pushed myself to see a psychiatrist and got the prescription. I am in grad school again part time and I redid some of my old homework that I originally did when I wasn't taking Adderall. I found a lot of those careless mistakes (used wrong numbers that were given in the problems). Now everything is much clearer and I am not making those mistakes.
I love this stuff so much and only wish I had it before. There are a lot of details I am leaving out of this story for the sake of being brief but Adderall is changing my life for the better, a change I wish I did earlier.
Necessary
I'm a junior engineering student at a top ten school. To the people that say that it's cheating for a college student to take adderall, you don't have the slightest clue of what is required of college students. I suspect that college students today are bombarded with a workload greater than any other time in collegiate history.
I am very aware of the dangers of abusing prescription drugs; my brother went to rehab for an addiction to oxycontin. Thus I was extremely hesitant to try adderall. I went through the first two years of school without doing it, even though everyone around me was doing it. Finally, I caved. It was literally either a choice between using adderall, or failing out of the college of engineering. It is preposterous to claim that anyone would choose the latter. Adderall is a necessary part of the modern college students life, and I will make no apologies for using it.
I'd like to note that at this time, I've only done adderall three times. Never more than one pill ingested orally. I would never use adderall to help me finish a few homework problems. I use it to help me study for important tests and to help me stay focused when writing extremely technical papers (it's very easy to lose your focus when the subject matter is, by its very nature, incredibly dry).
I've never felt the urge to abuse adderall, although I have seen my share of adderall abuse. A couple of my old roommates would snort adderall nearly every weekend. But it's not realistic to think that these are the consequences of using adderall every once in a while to help study. I'd blame that problem on sheer ignorance about the dangers of any drug that effects the central nervous system.
The truth is, adderall works. Extraordinarily well. The difference between studying on and off adderall is profound. I find that I retain virtually all the information that I have studied when on adderall; its not like I can only remember the information when I take another pill. Don't expect to see college students stop using it any time soon.
Adderall = Amhetamine(Speed)
Now again, long time ago to be diagnosed as ADHD person means, that you(for example) forget to go to toilet to do things. Or you can't read even three words, cos you started to think about bananas. Or you forget to go into bus, cos when bus arrived you was thinking about woman boobs and so on. In this case doctor gave amphetamine(now it's called Adderall, they are really similar). Are you really do the same things I just described? :))
Absurd
How ADHD people can study in the universities and then get responsible job? It's like monkey driving school bus. Who gives possibility to ADHD people study in the universities?
Stupid students
Believe me, when you make pauses after adderall, you feel yourself like twice stupid. That's the side effect. After all you get addicted, like amphetamine user. And amphetamine users usually live short lives.
“For people with ADD, it just
“For people with ADD, it just makes them normal, and for people without ADD, it makes them above average. If both me and someone without ADD were both on Adderall, I could never outdo them (8).”
This is ridiculous... So if someone really wants to be successful in sports but genetically they are unable to put on size or strength (common, there is no denying that genetics play a major role) they should be allowed to take steroids because it makes them normal, compared to the genetically blessed athletes.
Its partially the schools fault too, that it has gotten to this. Here engineers are notorious for copying.. but it's because the workload is insane and some of us have to work part time, ect... Now when profs find out people are copying they make the assignments even longer and harder. When you have that much to do, and are copying half of it you're actually learning very little. It would be way more beneficial to have less of a workload and more measures to prevent copying.
Moral?
Being a freshman in high school I could care less if the Adderall I occasionally pop are moral. I'm a straight "A" student not thanks to the help of Adderall, but due to the amount of effort I put forth.
Now, where the Adderall use comes in. I'm on the varsity diving team at my high school. There are times when I don't get home from a meet until midnight on a school night. I then have to be up at 4:30am for weights in the morning. I don't feel like I'm being "immoral" just because I need a pill to keep me awake long enough to finish my homework.
Both of my brothers suffer from severe ADD/ADHD so I am fully aware of the disadvantages of people diagnosed with the disorder. I would NEVER take them before school or just to study for a quiz but, they are my once-a-month way to maintain my 4.0 and varsity spot.
Grade 9? Good Luck in Uni
I think the main issue is that you are in the 9th grade and are so concerned about maintaining a 4.0 GPA and varsity position that you will risk physical and mental addiction to do so. It seems to be a bit of a paradox. By the time you reach/encounter university, or even enter junior/senior year of high school I hope you have moved on past adderall, or else you're in for a sad existence.
don't worry he's lying.
don't worry he's lying. though if you wanna lie come up with something better than "varsity swimmer"
Adderall
It's too bad that there are always going to be people using others peoples medicines to get high.
I have always had ADHD and got dignosed 13 years ago. Fortunately I come from a family of very open minded and patient people. I suspect a few with attention deficits too. I walked to the beat of a different drummer but never caught flack from my family. According to myself I am perfectly fine but when I was in school my teachers always thought I was a problem, not bad per say but "difficult". I began taking adderall as a kid so I would be quiet and sit still in class(thus being less obnoxious to everyone else!)
There were times throughout the years I went on or off the medication. I got good grades either way, the only difference is that off medication it just took me twice as long to do everything. I accepted ADHD as a hand I was dealt. Even if I had to put in double the effort to get the same results I was going to do it because I had certain goals for myself. I wasn't going to use ADHD as an excuse not to try things that are hard. That being said there were many academic tasks or classes that despite my hardest efforts I could only ever get B grades in at the most.
Although prior to ever taking adderall I never desired to have better concentration, it does definately have advantages. I can do things that are boring and I don't like doing much faster and get them done with =) That means I have more time to do the things I enjoy or am interested in.
I don't think adderall makes you smarter at all, it just cuts out all the distractions so you can put your own intellegence to good use.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and I think the key to suceeding despite having ADHD is finding out what you like, what you are good at (and what wont bore you) and going in that direction. In my expirience being determined has beat out being distracted every time. Not that its not dificult and tedious.
No one besides my husband, immediate family and doctor know that I'm on medication. I don't tell people because I'm afraid they might try to steal it or try to buy it off of me (awkward). I have been on it for so long that I forget that it is an abusable substance to those without out ADHD. It affects us completely different than average people and that why we can take it for years and years with out ever becoming "weird"
Whether or not it is safe for some one non-ADHD to use it to study I don't know. My gut says it's probably not a good idea legally or physically.
People go to college to get a degree that it is required for the career they want to get in to. In many jurisdictions possession of a controlled substance is a felony. Having a felony will get in your way of getting the job you want regardless of whether you have a degree or not. Its ironic that the thing people say they need in order to get the grades, to get the degree, to get the career could be the very thing that prevents them from ever being able to have the career. Think about it. Its not worth getting busted over.
It shows up in your urine so if you get tested by your employer or coach you had better have a rx for it or else you may lose your job or get kicked off of a team.
From a health perspective it is never good to take things you don't really need. Even for people with ADHD it is not recommended for those with heart conditions, high blood pressure or history of anorexia.
Putting your self at risk to become addicted to something is foolish. Everyone says it could never happen to them. I would bet that if you ask people you know who have ever been addicted to something whether they thought they were going to become addicted at the beginning the overwhelming majority of them would say no.
Adderall increases dopamine activity in the brain and brings the levels of ADHD people from low to normal. When normal people take it their levels go from normal to high. High dopamine levels are associated with psychosis. Thats why meth users get all crazy and paranoid. I imagine the same thing could happen with adderall if someone took enough of it. Either that or an OD.
I guess all in all, I think its a bad idea to take it if you dont need it medically.
Big Risk
I am currently finishing up my first year of college at a fairly large university. Finals are currently being taken and many of my friends and peers have been taking pill after pill of Adderall to help focus while studying. This concerns me because, along with any other type of drug, I know that their are side effects that can be potentially deadly. Earlier this evening I was informed that a sophomore girl down the hall from me overdosed on Adderall and died. I am now trying to learn as much as I can about symptoms and long term affects because I care about my friends and even my peers that I don't know very well. Is a GPA really worth your life? I understand that people want to make the most of their time in college and succeed, but can you say that taking a drug, that enables you to preform better than you would normally, is ethical?
LAZY SOCIETY
This is sick there's always a easy way out of doing something..EVERYTHING! Its lazy to pop a pill instead of taking time to actually learn material! After taking aderall do you think you could of passed the test with YOUR OWN Natural BRAINS?not strung out on DRUGS? NO its just like saying that someone's nose is better than mine's and they got a nose job! or someone's boobs are bigger than mine after they got a boob job! RIDICULOUS! BE REAL,BE NATURAL!
LAZY SOCIETY
I take it you have never taken adderall. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 13 and prescribed adderall (now I'm 19). It sounds like you think adderall is some kind of miracle pill that makes the user smarter. I don't know where you got this idea but the fact of the matter is that people with ADD or ADHD need this type of drug, weather it be adderall or some other kind of methamphametine, to be able to function in everyday life. I remember before I was diagnosed, I would try to complete homework assignments up in my room, and having no TV or computer, I would play with my pencils and pens after I lost focus, pretending they were action figures. How out of touch do you have to be to do that? After I started taking adderall my grades didn't improve, BECAUSE I STILL HAD THE SAME BRAIN IN MY HEAD, I was only able to focus better with my schoolwork. So don't say that using adderall is an excuse for being lazy when it comes to school because the only thing wrong with me is that my brain doesn't produce enough dimethylaminoethanol (the chemical that enables one to focus), so I have to add adderall to give my brain a kick-start. Using adderall with a prescription is just like taking insulin for diabetics, in theory. So please don't come in here and act like you know what you are talking about because until you have used adderall you have no right to say that users are lazy.
College
I am a college sophomore who takes Adderall to study for exams and to write long papers.
For everyone out there who thinks that they can just 'get by' in college without taking Adderall, obviously hasn't been in a competitive college's class lately. Teachers nowadays expect more than is naturally capable from their students. Just because I take Adderall, does not mean that I am addicted to it; I CHOOSE when to take it. Also, I have not had I had any adverse reactions to the drug.
When your taking six 4-credit courses at an Ivy League institution and working part-time to pay the $55,000 a year tuition like I am, Adderall becomes almost a necessity. All nighters would be impossible without it. However, once again I want to stress that I am not addicted to this drug. (It's called willpower, people!)
In college, it is a matter of who wants to success more than the next person. If I chose to stay up all night, read a 300 page book, and write a 10 page essay that receives an A, knowing that it will put me ahead in life, why wouldn't I? Everybody wants to reach their full potential and with Adderall, the possibility of doing so is actually tangible.
Welcome to life, guess what
Welcome to life, guess what its not fair. Be it sports academics or any particular endeavor, there are those who excel in their respective areas and there are those who do not. You will never see somebody with inferior genetics make it into any professional sport, steroids or not. Period. Life simply didn't deal them that hand. There are those who must work to support themselves during their academic careers, is it fair that they are unable to have their financial needs provided for them? Quite simply, no one starts on equal footing, and in a world where only results matter in the end, can anyone blame anyone for taking something that will improve their performance in any area in their life?
adderall
How can anyone think that taking mind altering drugs can enhance their education. They are going to be the folks who will be taking anti depressant drugs later in life. The whole generation will be suffering from prescription addiction!
ADD and me
I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 5 years old, and took Adderall for it up until I was in 8th grade. I think, more then it having me lose weight it gave me a mental addiction to it. It was hammered in my head that I NEEDED this drug to help me do well, so I was never able to think anything I did right I could do on my own. It was very hard for me when I was little dealing with that thought.I always thought there was something really wrong with me, and I was incredibly embarssed of any of my friends finding out. When I was in 10th grade I was briefly put on a kind of focus-patch, at my own request. I thought it would help me with my math I was struggling with. I soon got off of that and it was until the end of my senior year of highschool that I requested to be put back on Adderall. It wasn't hard at all to do, I just walked into my doctors office and asked for a new prescription.
I was entering college as a music major and had been up all night practicing and practicing and studying music theory. I was doing fine without it, up to 6 hours everyday after school and work ended! But I sincerly thought that the reason I wasn't where I wanted to be was because there was something wrong with me and I NEEDED Adderall to help me. That no matter how hard I tried to do something on my own, that there was something wrong with my brain and I would be able to do much better then how I was doing with the stimulant.
The first few weeks I was back on the drug, well DrugS, the doctor had given me a prescription not only for Adderall but for a lower dosage of Amphetemine salts to take if I felt the Adderal was wearing off, things sort of continued as normal. But then in the course of only 2 months I went from 5'6 and 126lbs to 5'6 and 108lbs. I was depressed all the time and started chain smoking, sometimes I would sit in my room and cry for no real reason. I really just wanted to die. I had never been so sad, and for no reason, in my entire life. I knew what it was doing to me but I was willing to accept the side effects because I thought it was going to give me a cutting edge when I entered College in the fall.
during the summer I went to my new doctor complaining of chest pains,how I couldn't sleep at night anymore.. I got an EKG which told me my heart was going way too fast. I'm a vegetarian, and eat mostly organic foods I cook myself, so they didn't understand why this could be happening. When I told them I was on Adderal and the salt tablets they said I had to stop taking them, because I was putting myself at risk for serious heart problems at only 18 years of age. Well, I didn't stop. I often wonder if Adderall has a real dependency risk, because I feel terrible when I'm not on it too! It's nothing like the jitters and high-strungness I get when I'm on it, just more like the terrible crash that ensues after. But I'm still afraid I wont be able to do well without it. I also started taking it on those "I feel fat and disgusting and my bikini looks gross on me" days, because I knew it would help me lose weight.
I only have a few pills left and I'm going to try and have this be the last of them. I want to be able to do well without stimulants, I don't want to think I can't do well without drugs anymore.
I think it's just disgusting how younger and younger kids are being diagnosed with ADD. I think there are alternate solutions then to just drug them up. If you're a parent reading this, please please please take it from me, don't let them drug your kids! You have no idea the kind of shit it brings them down the road.
I'm still scared I wont be able to do well without this drug, but I'm more scared of my EKG results, of losing all my friends to the wall I put up when I take it, and to never know what it's like to be free of stimulants and to just have a normal day.
Don't have your kids go through the shit I'm going through now. It's not worth it.
Adderall
I have had ADD all of my life, but I have not taken any drugs for it. Does it really help as much as everyone is saying? I am scared of the side effects... I am a real nervous person and I heard that it can cause anxiety attacks.
Adderall
It rarely causes anxiety attacks. If you have never taken any drugs for your ADD, i strongly sugest trying it, but only if you have been diagnosed with ADD, and you are not just guessing at it.
prescription please
I'm really against those without ADD receiving stimulants to enhance their performance. I was diagnosed with ADD in first grade, then again in 5th grade, in high school and now I'm a freshman in college. I never had to study at all in school, like literally never did homework or read, but I did not lack intelligence in the least bit. I was president of math club, got 4's and 5's on AP tests and did very well on the ACT's (even though i fell asleep during the reading portion of it). What really irritates me is my friend who does not have ADD took Adderall and got a perfect ACT score and was a national merit finalist. Now he is a very intelligent kid himself but he was much more focused on test day than anyone I have ever seen. Finally I went to college and I was once again diagnosed with a series of tests that required me to visit my doctor 5 times. He gave me the prescription and I didn't fill it, I don't like the idea of taking drugs. I did great the first semester and got straight A's. Then the next semester rolled by in which I worked, pledged for a Fraternity and went to classes that I never took in high school. I finally went back to my doctor and got my prescription filled and I became well normal. I don't look up my book every five seconds, i'm not as fidgety, i'm not the last one to finish my test, and i can concentrate on things other than those that I obsess over. Adderall has helped me be like many of my peers in high school but it irritates me when people take it without a prescription or who don't have ADD. All they do is overstimulate themselves with dopamine and study like a computer. Being a pre-med student that greatly puts others at a disadvantage. Sure some are naturally smarter than others but that is just how they are. ADD is a disorder and just like someone who can't walk needs a cane to walk we use medicine. Most of the non prescribed users have been girls from my observations. Walking down the library at Kansas University I often hear sorority girls saying, "Did you take your adderall yet?" "No I'm gonna wait till I have to study for my chem test." You know they were not prescribed it otherwise they would not have to worry about when they will take the limited quantity of pills that they have. I know i wrote kind of an essay, but it really irritates me to people have so much more of an academic advantage than those without the disease. And yes it does not seem like I have ADD from my last semester grades, but you would do well too if you retook all the classes you took in high school in college.
If you have to drug yourself
If you have to drug yourself to succeed in college then maybe college isn't for you. The world needs ditch diggers too (caddy shack)!
I never needed drugs in college just a lot of effort.
lets not get confused
Let remember there is a difference between dependence and addiction. If your addicted you will have side effects if you stop a medication. You can even get addicted to caffeine. Have you ever had a headache and feel like crap and then you drink your caffeine drink or pill of choice and all is great with world again? Addiction. Both depending and addiction in my book are equally not good. Think about it, who is suppose to be in control of you? You are. They have laws against giving prescibed drugs to a nonprescribed person. One-because you are not a physician and have no authority/certificate/mal-pratice insurance/schooling/knowledge of drug interactions, and two-you would feel aweful stupid if someone did go and abuse the Adderall and over estimating his drinking ability and get alcohol poisoning and die. Not to mention, is the student of dring age? Well how many laws are there here that would be broken anyway? I have ADD and diagnosis as an adult is hard. Adderall has changed my life. Not in a fog anymore.
I'm a junior at a University
I'm a junior at a University and I'm fed up with studying and writing papers. I just cannot handle it anymore. I think the problem is the expectations. It's ridiculous how much work they pile on you and it's useless. Professors create their syllabus with no regard for the student. Is it really necessary to write 2-3 research papers, each 10 pages long? Seriously, maybe if they realized that students actually have lives outside of the campus, we wouldn't have to be drugged up on pills so that we can focus on finishing those damn papers.
Alcohol and Adderall Response
T above^^^^ I don't know the long term effects, but I wonder if there's an increased risk of alcohol poisoning. If I take Adderall and drink, I stay up way longer than I could have without medication, and I end up drinking more. Because my mind still seems relatively sharp and I don't slur my words, often the people around me don't realize how much alcohol I've imbibed. Plus all the extra drinking leads to a full day of horrible gut wrenching "please god let me die" shivering hangover. There is no way that is safe, so I feel confident in recommending no one do it, unless you're self destructive like me, in which case get help! I am.
Drinking and Adderall
I really dont think people should be concerned as much with students taking adderall to study, as much as they should be worried about people taking it to go out to the bars. Alot of people on our campus do it for recreation before drinking just so they can stay up and drink more. I am guilty of this, alot, too, but I would really like to know the long term effects of that. Obviously everyone is going to freak out and say its terrible, but who knows. Guess ill know when I'm on my death bed and the doc says "yeah its from all the adderall and jack daniels in college"
I am a 29 year old graduate
I am a 29 year old graduate student. I have had ADD my entire life, I can remember having a terrible time paying attention and getting my work done as a kid. My teachers always said "Yes, she is very intelligent but doesn't pay attention". Back in the 80's and 90's ADD was a taboo thing so no teacher dared tell a parent that they thought a child was affected by it.
Now in graduate school, I finally got fed up with those "cobwebs" in my brain that none of my classmates seem to have. It has always taken me longer to read, do homework, and to complete tests than any of my other classmates, even though I love what I do.... I was prescribed Strattera several years back--It made me a zombie, all I wanted to do was sleep! So I just gave up for awhile and dealt with it.
My doctor asked me if I wanted to try to fix it again...I started taking Adderall last week, I am working on my masters thesis and was tired of it taking me so so long to be productive or to come up with anything that is worth saying. I take half a pill twice a day. I feel NORMAL. I don't take enough to get a buzz or a high...I made the mistake of taking a whole pill once and felt like I was going a million miles an hour...I didn't like that.
On my small dose, I can be productive and not feel distracted by ridiculous things that I once was distracted by. I work faster and more efficiently. I do NOT feel that my creativity is blocked, but feel just the opposite. I come up with ways to say things that I knew were always there in my head, I just could not get them out before. When reading, I do not have to re-read everything....it sticks, and I no longer fade out. For me, studying and working has always been pleasurable, but it was also very stressful. I have stopped at times and cried because I just could NOT think clearly, even though I desperately wanted to. I had a love/hate relationship with it. Now it is just love.
I used to also fade in and out during conversations with people, not being able to totally focus on what they were telling me because my brain kept changing channels. It was like "Oooh, look, a bird!"
I am very glad I found this solution. I can now work diligently and not be distracted by the TV of my roommates or the sound of a helicopter.
LOL I still check my facebook, but not as much!
before you rush into abusing adderall
Although something may seem like a good idea at the time after some time has passed looking back it didnt seem like such a good idea. I believe this can be true for adderall abuse. Adderall is beneficial in the right circumstance but harmful when it is abused.
You don't need a pill to focus. Don't jump on that band wagon believing it is a miracle drug and that everyone is using it. Do you really want to be dependent on a drug? There are plenty of other ways to focus on school work that aren't harmful. Evaluate way you are having a hard time focusing. Stress, environment you're trying to study in....Maybe its time to work on fixing those things before you turn to adderall. Learn ways to relieve stress, learn new studying habits, study with another person, find a quiet environment to help you focus, prioritize your busy schedule, eat right, exercise and try to get sleep even though that may seem impossible with a busy schudule.Studying and good grades doesnt come easy for everyone and theres nothing wrong with having to work hard for your grades.
I just hope that before you rush into abusing adderall that you try other techniques and give them a shot because in the long run you'll regret you ever started relying on adderall.
i just took my first aderall about 10 minutes ago
our finals are coming up and me &all my friends are doing it so i'm test driving one for my first time.
so far im just hyper, and more focused.
No you aren't
How is that? It doesn't kick in for at least an hour, unless you snorted it or something...
I urge all people reading
I urge all people reading pages like this to take it all with a HUGE grain of salt. Scratch that, a SACK full of salt. It is absolutely critical that individuals apply their own personal critical thinking to the issue. Why? Because people are incredibly stupid. Sounds funny, but I absolutely mean it based on the elementary article and some rampantly ignorant comments I had to wade through to get down here.
I'm not going to get into all the reasons that nullify people's dumb points about how it's a controlling, physically addictive hard drug, or how people have some idiotic idea in their heads that it's intelligence in pill form, but I will point out what our entirely retarded pill-popping society is TEMPORARILY overlooking:
TEN TIMES OUT OF TEN, when an individual's heart rate is regularly manipulated by an artificial chemical stimulant, there WILL BE long term negative consequences.
That's why I personally guarantee that within the next five to ten years there will be a radical revolution in regards to doctors dispensing it like candy. If you doubt that at all whatsoever you're not alone, lots of people around the turn of the century held similar sentiments regarding cocaine prescriptions among other equally addictive and dangerous drugs.
Adderall
I have been on the pill for 10 years now. I only had one serious side effect and that came with the switching from 60 mg to 40 mg, i became very agitated and emotionally unstable. I do believe this pill beneficial to all. People might complain that one person outperforming them isn't exactly the fairest of circumstances. but lets look at the big picture. if some one can make them selfs smarter to succeed better, why not congratulate them?
Kids taking drugs to be smarter? What kind of moronic statement is that? I say this isn't a problem.
Idk i'm 19 and thats my personal opinion.
Why is it a problem
Why is it a problem to take a drug that can help you succeed or do better with whatever you need to? Seeing as how there are only a few downfalls, and the big one being "dependency", I dont see why there is any problem with using it as a tool for improvement. I'm not diagnosed with ADHD, nor exhibit any symptoms, but I have taken it a few times and I love it. I do a million times better in school and I just love life while Im on it. Im actually HAPPY to be at school when on adderall. The only thing that sucks is coming down, because I get pissed off sometimes, but the benefits are worth the cost.
Low IQ?
Then why not to take Heroin or Methadone? You will feel yourself much much better.:) Maybe you are not suffering from ADHD, but you're suffering from having a really low IQ considering your post.
You don't get dependent on
You don't get dependent on Adderall. I have used it on and off for years. And if I run out there is never withdrawl. You just don't have the benefits. It is no big deal.
That is not entirely
That is not entirely accurate. While I do understand that you mean 'you don't get dependent on adderall physically', people do become dependent upon Adderall. While it may be more rare for someone to become addicted physically to adderall, one becomes dependent on taking adderall in order to accomplish a task. A friend of mine honestly can't study unless she has an Adderall. If she doesn't have adderall she will procrastinate studying until it is too late. It is sad and pitiful but adderall dependency is nothing to blow off. The fact that many students use adderall as a tool to aid in their studying simply confirms that some students do depend on adderall whether it be once a day, week, month, or semester.
"There is even more to this
"There is even more to this issue than menacing side effects, however. What is it about academics today that have students popping pills to succeed? And is it fair? Athletes that use steroids are kicked off their sports teams because they are assumed to have an unfair advantage—so isn’t this the same general principle? Many students, especially those that actually suffer from ADHD reply “Yes.” “It’s the kind of medication that can help anyone,” says ADHD afflicted student Josie, “For people with ADD, it just makes them normal, and for people without ADD, it makes them above average. If both me and someone without ADD were both on Adderall, I could never outdo them (8).”"
This is an interesting question, but aren't we being misled by the analogy? Sports are an artificial constricted arena, which is specifically devoted to having no purpose but comparing abilities (and entertaining people thereby). If someone sets a record by running a 4-minute mile (with or without steroid help), it doesn't matter. No one is better off, no matter whether it was a 5 minute mile, a 4 minute mile, or a 3 minute mile.
But with science, with math, with all the other college subjects and jobs: we usually are doing them for some practical purpose. A few ground-breaking mathematical theorems is good, but many such theorems is even better (regardless of how we accomplished them). We just want the results: the results really do make people better off. Pills are no more an 'unfair' advantage than anything else than raises math ability above the baseline - do we complain that computers are tools more easily leveraged by statisticians than number theorists and that this is unfair? No, we're just happy at how much better and faster our statistics are, how much sooner we get them, how they enable things like datamining (essential to Google, Amazon, Netflix, etc.). Fairness isn't really a concept that applies here.
As for the ADHD objection: well, so what? Why should the rest of us feel obliged to refrain from something just to let them catch up relatively? This is bad from a utilitarian point of view, and it isn't even fair - nobody insists able-bodied basketball players plop themselves down in a wheelchair, or that people who happened to win the genetic lottery in attractiveness or athleticism or intelligence or whatever take measures to equalize themselves with everyone else.
You are right, no one should
You are right, no one should have to supress natural talents just to be equal to everyone else, but the key word in the sentence is NATURAL. It is really sad that you think this way because if someone is naturally smart than I consider it a gift and I would never expect them to supress their ability, but it sure is a slap in the face of those with ADD when people say that we aren't able. We damn well are able it just takes us a little longer than everyone else!
Newly on Adderall
I was very sucessful in high school, now that i am in college it is a lot harder to focus. I have so much going on (like everyone else) work, paying bills, and on top of that doing homework! When I pretty much failed two concecutive quarters of college I went to my doctor and told her how I had so much trouble focusing. She put me on welbutrin for about three weeks. I went back and pretty much asked her if I could take adderall. She prescribed it to me. My doctor tells me only to take it when I really need to be focused. It does help, I think it can be very sucessful for many people.
My Perspective
Im on adderall right now and thanking God everyday that Im using it, ever since i started it my grads have improved. My goal in life is to strive to become the better me and that means doing the things i want to do when i want to, without compromising my time or effort. Since that is the case Im going to do that by any mean necessary as long as it is worth it to me. This drug and the supposed dependency factor behind it seem worth it to me. Im a sophomore in University and plan on going to medical school, which is something I am deeply passionate about. If this drug is going to help me further my accomplishments and reach my goals im going to definitely take it.
Further more i would definitely advise anyone that knows they have the capability for greatness and truly believes in their understanding of their own limits to take it. If you believe you might be addicted then by all means stay away, if not you might as well take it and reach your full potential.
Do you hear yourself??
Great example you're going to show to your future patients. Go ahead, take drugs that haven't been prescribed to you. If you can't get through medical school on your own, drug free, you shouldn't become a doctor. By the way... it is ILLEGAL!!
Why do you say he/she is
Why do you say he/she is taking it without a prescription?? Usually, when people say "I'm on...., that means they have been prescribed that drug.
My Perspective
I thank you for this very true comment and wish you the very best with your promising future. I also take Adderall and experience the same results. This is definitely a much needed aid for those who are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. It's good to see that we appreciate the greatness that this aid brings out!! See you in the future, FUTURE M.D!=)
crutch
personaly i think its completly natural to be distracted very easly but i dont want a crutch im fddiagnosed with adhd and choose not to use it. i feel that the diagnoss are simply a way too sell an uneccesary drug however since it doese have recreatinal purposes i dont think it should be banned and support those who rarely use it and DONT depend on it to get through lifes vast amount of problems you want to improve the real you s much as possable that way you dont depend on it.think of it from a adhd patiants point of view and then see how it almost makes you feel inferior to others around you.thats why i quit the "study pill"
Hey guys, I'm a 22 year old
Hey guys,
I'm a 22 year old male who been in and out of college. I understand what everyone is going through. I have a BAD case of ADHD. In High school I struggle so much with Math and English. So, one day while I was a junior in high school, I decided to do something about it. My doctor prescribed Strateria and for some reason it only made me sleepy in class. When I finally enrolled in college my ADHD gotten worse. I managed to pass my classes but I could never get the grade I wanted. Then one Saturday I watch true life on MTV. They did a special called "I'm on Adderall." It completely change my life and I felt that I still have hope to finish college. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure that I can accomplish stuff I never did before.
MTV
My name is David. I am the girls counselor in that episode. Up with hope, down with dope. The world is yours my 22 year old friend.
Retrospect....
I just happened to stop by Serendip and was very surprised to see the above comment on my paper. If this is in fact an honest statement, then I am pleased to see that my paper has been able to help someone in their quest for knowledge. Thanks for stopping in and best of luck in your future high school endeavors.
Well I am a freshmen in High
Well I am a freshmen in High School and ALL of my friends are doing it and I didn;t know what it was but now seeing this it has changed my mind I think you can get addicted and I am not wasting my life on it.
Meds:
Maybe if you were using Adderall, you would have corrected this gramatical error:
"Maybe I would have stopping pausing to check my e-mail...."
PS: I'm on Adderall right now and have been properly diagnosed with ADHD. ;-)
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