does adderall work and can it lead to an amphetamine addiction?
2010 March 19
i have 2 sons in college that tell us almost everyone in on adderall to make better grades. i’ve been told it works but should we risk turning them into speed freaks or meth heads.
I’m not exagerrating here. I myself have absued the stuff and it certainly does work; for a while. It’s perscribed for ADHD and in the form of adderall or ritalin in safer than straight up speed; which is lethal, but when used above and beyond the therapeutic dose over a long period of time, it can lead to tolerance, which leads to higher doses which in turn lead to unwanted side effects and inevitably dependence. From a psychological perspective its also not good, because if they need that chemical boost at this stage, they’re going to need it forever and apart from the physical compromise of functionality in the future, if they don’t have it – it will also seriously bruise their confidence in all aspects of life.
If you have ADHD and are prescriped to it, then do what your doctor says.
If you’re not, and are just taking it to help out with school, listen up.
It is an amphetimine. It can get addicting. Very addicting. It’s like a very very small dose of Meth. Without the harmful additives.
If you can take it here and there on big test nights, and have the disipline to stay away from it otherwise, I would say go ahead. But be weary, it can become a problem very quickly.
I’m currently working on my bio-psych doctorate and I also have ADD and obsessive compulsive disorder. Adderall isn’t like speed, it is speed, it’s a smaller dose of amphetamine than most people use and it works for ADD and ADHD better than probably any other pharmaceutical but the important thing to remember is that pharmaceuticals aren’t meant to be used by themselves. Behavioral therapy should also be used, just like after a car accident a person might need physical therapy and pharmaceuticals, but if you just use pharmaceuticals then it becomes a crutch and you will never be able to walk again without them.
People with ADD have a neurochemical imbalance that is corrected by adderall, if you look at a brain scan of someone with one of these condition then you will see diminished activity in parts of the brain. After the medication a brain scan will show that much of the imbalance is corrected, but if you are a regular person and you use it to concentrate then you’re speeding up the brain, heart and nervous system. In the same way if I take an adderall in the evening then I can go to sleep and actually sleep better, but if most people take an adderall in the evening then they will be up extremely late.
If your children have serious cases of ADD or ADHD then adderall does work but it has some potentially dangerous side-effects, but if they don’t have one of these conditions or they aren’t mature enough to use the medication properly then it’s highly addictive and leads to further drug seeking tendencies.
Of course, it’s always a good idea to use psychiatric medications to rid ourselves of our minor weaknesses. Ah, the medicalization of discomfort.
Since adderall is amphetamine, yes it can lead to amphetamine addiction. All you have to do is get addicted to it, physiologically or psychologically.
Tell your sons to learn some discipline and study. Adderall will help anyone. Some people view it as cheating. It’s unethical in the least. This is the kind of thing that makes people who actually have serious problems look like lazy slobs.
It is best used for a chemical imbalance for adhd or add. People are now using adderall for weight loss and other issues. It isn’t supposed to be used that way. I think working on good study habits works best since it’s addictive.
Meditator
Addiction Info
http://www.drug-and-alcohol-rehab-info.com/addiction/