Adderall: College Students' Best Friend-- Or Worst Enemy??

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?

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!

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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 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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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. ;-)