I remember hesitating taking Adderall for the first time. I even tried researchng negative side effects on the internet 10 yrs ago and only found possitve literure concerning theses drugs. However, the therapist and the doctor’s prescribing the medication had convinced me it was the best drug ever. I would notice an immediate change in how I viewed college because I would finally be able to focus and prioritize the important things in my life.
Well this never happened. I dropped out of school and started taking more and more adderall. I have become withdrawn and anti-social. I used to get excited about going on vacations and spending time with my friends but not anymore. Sure the drug gives you a false sense of achievement because that’s what dopamine does to your brain. I can't remember when the last time I felt excited about something naturally. I have become a habitual robot with no real feelings, followed by, over exaggerated out bursts of frustration.
Why didn’t the pharmaceutical companies warn the public before they caused an epidemic addiction problem? Does ADHD/ADD really exist or is this a sick way for drug companies to make more money?
The large pharmaceutical companies are making billions off of innocent people, while destroying their lives. It’s the drug companies that should be paying for rehab, not the innocent victims. YES, we are all VICTIMS not criminals like the DEA wants to label us as.

Well I have been taking stuff for ADD since I was 5 years old. Started with Ritalin, then adderall, then concerta, then adderall again, etc.. Stayed with adderall for 10 years straight. I suffered from many side effects from adderall but I really didn't care. As long as I was awake and productive I really didn't care what my friends or girlfriend thought. I wasn't really myself. It has been like 6 months since my last pill and I can tell you that it has been HELL. I am energy less and always falling asleep. I have gained like 40 pounds and sometimes I get depressed. Some days like Today I just think about giving up and taking it again. But I know that inside me that is not really what I want. I drink like 3 cups of black powerful coffee everyday and it still is not enough. I am drowsy all day and sleep long hours. Sometimes I sleep 12 hours and still can get up. When I was taking adderall I had an alarm clock one hour before I really wanted to wake up. When it rang I just extended my arm to my table beside my bed and drank the pill. One hour later I was already waked up automatically. I can say it was fun and felt good, but it was just so wrong. I also was overdosing everyday and can say that adderall is something that your body gets used too and you need more and more overtime. Anyways each day I feel better and know I am getting back to normal. It hasn't been easy but anything you commit yourself to do IS POSSIBLE. I plan to stay sober (adderall) for the rest of my life. I wish the worst to pharmaceuticals for giving people a drug like this. This is no medicine it's poison. ADDictive Poison. They should make WEED legal compared to this medicine. Amphetamines mixed with salt!!! Come on!! It is a real drug just with a friendly name!!! Don't try it!! Because once you do you will want it again and then again.. until you get your own prescription. I feel bad for all my friends that now take it because of me. It wasn't my intention to get them into that but I really didn't know what I was into. Just because something is legal doesn't mean is good. This is just as any other illegal drug (exclude MJ).

I have ADHD and have been looking for a medication that would help me concentrate. Adderol has been one of the medcations mentioned to me. From what I have read on various web sites like this one, there are a lot of negative side effects to Adderol. But has it helped anyone. Many of the people writing on this site and others mention abusing the drug. But what about someone who has takes just 10mg a day or 20mg a day? Is the problem that the effects wear off and one is required to up the dosage?

Yes you get used to it and you will need to increase dosage. Basically the majority of people who start taking it like they are supposed to, will end up abusing in the long term.

The first 3 months my parents made me take adderal I would try and throw it away and dreaded taking it, and without intentionally abusing it 4 years later I found myself doing hundreds of milligrams a day just to make it through the day

Tennessee,

I know how difficult it’s been for you. However, you have to take control of the situation if at all you want to help your friend. There is no point sulking and doing nothing. You need to talk to your friend about the situation without being rude to her. Recognizing the problem is the first step in her recovery. Also, there are ample places where you can get help on this.

My sister had been using Adderall (as far as I know)for about 6 years. Talk about change in behavoir...She Graduated from college with an MBA and had a great job with Wachovia. She got got into a bad relationship with someone who tooks pills and next thing you know - Her personality changed, she started acting crazier and crazier, then she lost her job, house, friends, and now she has seemingly COMPLETELY lost her mind. I have bailed her out of jail, had too kick her out of my house, now I have an agent calling me about her "Doctor Shopping" for so she can get multiple prescriptions. I have tried to help, but it is impossible. She has guilt-tripped my Mom and I for years now into feeling bad for her, giving her money, and making us feel like we are somehow the problem. She is unrecognizable. I wish I knew what to do...ANY input would be appreciated.

Hey guys,

I've caught myself up on many of these posts. It has definitely been helpful. I just need some advice... and I know my situation isn't as severe as some, but I fear I might end up there.

I started taking adderral as a prescription about a year and a half ago. I'm 22 now, finishing up my 4th year (going 5 to finish my honors degree before law school) and I started using it last year when I first took it from some friends to get some studying done. It was amazing... it worked well... and I've never felt so productive in my life. I got a prescription for it... starting taking 10's and now I'm up to 20's.

I'm at the point now where I have to take it each day or I just feel like sitting around and not getting anything accomplished. I really don't remember how to study without it, and where I use to work out, if I don't take it now, I have no motivation to go.

I use to settle for just taking one a day... but now in order to get the feeling I use to get the motivation to study that use to come along with it... I have to take 40 or so. Some days I've even jumped up to 60 to 80, and when I run out, I buy it from a friend.

I've gone through the withdrawal many times... as my prescription constantly runs out and I can't afford to pay for it until the insurance covers it... so I normally expect to go through 5-6 days so of no motivation... something of a downtime... but I immediately get back on it as soon as I can.

I know that my problem is no where as severe as others... and I do believe I had adhd... but I'm just wondering it anybody else out there noticed a gradual progression like this when they originally started taking it... and where you ended up.

I like to think I can stop taking it at will... but for now, I don't want to try. However, if some of you have horror stories or recognize this as being some of the signs you first went through... please let me know. I really don't like the idea of taking a medication that is going to seriously screw my life up in the future.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to get everything off my chest and I feel this is really the only place that I can turn to for advice. Thanks again.

I am an adderall addict currently and I am so tired of being tired and wired! I just hate feeling depressed and lethargic when I don't have them! If I can't get them for a bit, I will get Hydrocodones which my doctor prescribes me! I take those for a few days which is how long 30 of them last for me! I actually will take one or two at a time and then an hour later i will get few more not realizing I just took some, and also not caring because my tolerance is up and therefore I can just keep taking them all day! Then i will get my Addys and use those either instead or sometimes in combination with lori's not to mention the ativan, soma and paxil I am prescribed! I will take like 45 to 60 mg of Addys on a day when I just feel I need them more because I have to work or I'm tired or hungover! They seem to "cure" everything for me including my mental status as far as what state of mood I am in from one min to the next! Adderall alot of times has been my tool for studying harder, feeling more alert, more energized and more fun to be around. Now after almost four yers of off and on use, which has been steadily on for a year and a half now, has sent me into a more depressive state and I don't actually enjoy it as much. Then again I am jobless now and done with school, so i don't do as much to make me want to use more often. When I do use without a task for the day, I just feel so bored and miserable! I have been incredibly depressed! Anyways, I want to quit, but I am so scared to go back to work without my energy drug. I feel almost incapable of doing any task without complaining, being tired, and just simply feeling down with body aches and everything, unless I take it. I am hoping this time off can give me a break from them long enough to start over without those symptoms! I just need to start my plan to get better now. I understand how bad this addiction is,and I know I can't do it forever! My first pill overdose was when I ws 15 and I took 24 dramamine. I siezured, choked on my gum (while driving) and lost consciousness! I was very damaged in the brain after that and still, i chose to abuse pills even 10 years later!

I think the hardest part is just trying to live your life at a normal pace after getting used to such an abnormally high energy lifestyle. Everything is so much easier with all of that energy, but you can't have it forever unless you're willing to cut your life in half. In the end, you're always going to have to pay for taking the quick fix that's just disguising the real problem. It's frigging cocaine with a different name. The tole it takes on your heart is life threatening. I stopped taking it and feel like a lazy piece of crap, which I'm sure I could fix if I would get off my ass and work out. On another note, physically I FEEL much healthier (my heart doesn't beat so fast, I eat normal, don't chain smoke, don't have dry mouth everyday, etc). I think slower...which I can't stand. America is lazy, period, and that's why this drug is key. It's like cheating. On this drug, I would hate knowing certain things achieved were all to blame on the upper and never felt proud of myself. Psychiatrists are evil man.

Don't worry, because it all comes back. No, you won't be high, but it all comes back. When I realized what was happening, I had been prescribed anti-depressants on top of the high dose of adderall... I smoked tons of weed for a while to leave everything else behind, which may have prolonged recovery time.

I recommend that only if real life isn't cutting it, but know that you CAN wait until nighttime. Eventually, weed gets in the way, too, and then you stop smoking that. Edibles could be better. Hash is cheaper for those. It's a better way to look at the world. Whatever you do, don't do THC and amphetamines at the same time; it's a waste of human potential.

So many people have been addicted to speed... If you stop, you get your life back. I hear it takes 2 years with adderall, before you can forget it. I am still waiting, patiently. Use those two years to discover yourself. For weight gain, look up trophology. Take digestive enzymes with every meal. Exercise will help with the recovery process.

Adderall is ridiculously addicting, and the knowledge of that is now part of who you are. It even made me more selfish. You can look at that any way you want. You might not forget how it felt, but the fact that you don't want it means you might be ready to stop. I like myself better off it, but get ready for some bullsh**t depression. I blame the doctors and teachers for their misinformation and laziness. Also, remember not to go back to the same people for benzodiazapines (like xanax or klonopin), or you'll have the same discovery.

But, know that the brain is capable of amazing things. The feelings aren't really the result of any brain damage, per se... The adderall is just forcing connections you would never make on your own. When people do have brain damage, however, the way their brain recovers is not by repairing, but re-wiring. Every day you avoid adderall (and maybe eventually weed) is your VICTORY. Your neurons are forming new connections, and that's how your motivation eventually returns. You don't have brain damage, you have a brain. Feel better yet? That's real. The mood swings are hard, but the way you deal with them is something to take pride in. In time, or no time, you could feel more creative than ever, but, more importantly, you can once again feel like your own person.

I have been taking adderall Sinc I was 10 to now, I didn't start overdosing till I was in my teens, and It went from Very bad side Effects to Amphetamine Psychosis. My Personality Changed, I am Aggressive to my Friends, Family and so on. I don't go thru a full bottle in 2 weeks, my doctor gives me 60 in a bottle and the dosege is 20mg a day. it last till my next fill up. out of the 60 I take 5 every day and I am high till I come down, thats the Scary part. Anger, Rage, Suicidal Thoughts, Voices in my head start to happen. then it turns to Motor tics, Uncontrollble body movement.

I am concerned that my father, who is aprox. 60 years old is abusing his adderal ADHD medication. He has shown a marked change in personality, mood swings, he gets sick often (flu/asthma) and he runs out of the Adderal VERY early. He claimed that the pharmacy must have 'made a mistake' or something to that effect. He admits to taking a few too many, but 'only here and there'. How can I help him?

How long has Adderall been FDA approved and on the market? I was reading 30yearuser's post and it occurred to me how little information I have on this prescription. Then I started wondering after reading everyone's posts, how much data in terms of history, anyone has. I realize it's part of the stimulant family and like Concerta & others, was developed as an alternative to Ritalin.. but when? And wouldn't there be clinical studies available that explain why the benefits outweigh the risks? I apologize if I seem naive but I've begun to notice things about myself and my life over the past two years I've been taking this medication that I'm concerned about (which is why I'm on here in the first place)- now I'm TRIPPING! I started out with 10mg and gradually moved up to 30mg which I've been at for the past year. When I take it properly & consistently, it works wonders on my ADHD but when I skip it or if I take more than I'm supposed to, to try to finish something I'm working on- I get completely WHACKED out... I'm like PMS on steroids!! I need some hardcore facts about what it is exactly that I'm taking. If someone knows where I can look at the medical research... I would so appreciate it.
Thank you all for sharing your stories and for being so candid!
Btw- I'm calling my dentist as soon as I get off the computer.
Sincerely,
Nikki

What you are taking is not okay to be on the market. It's not been tested very long, sure, but the fact is that doesn't matter. Check out the posts. It's good for no one, save very few cases, and even then...

All it is: meth without the small methyl group on the corner of the giant amphetamine molecule, and another stereoisomer of it(I believe), called dextroamphetamine, which is like an amphetamine molecule in a mirror (flipped over), messed with in a way that makes it feel more addicting than ritalin, at least to me.

The methyl group on meth makes it run through people more quickly which is why it's more addictive, but it's the same thing.

I've been off it for a while: only way to go.

A few of you asked if anyone is having a good experience on Adderall, and have accused the pharma companies of creating ADHD to sell these drugs.

I would just like to say that ADHD is real, over diagnosed maybe, but is a real issue for a lot of people. Adderall has helped me immensely, and I do not think it should be illegal. I've been taking it for a couple years now. I'm preforming better at work than ever before, and for the first time feel that I'm living up to my full potential.

I do understand that everybody is different, and reacts to medication in different ways so I'm not in any way downplaying anyone's struggle with addiction, and I do believe it can be addictive. I have however gone off and on Adderall over the past couple years, and have never had a craving for it, or felt symptoms of withdrawal.

I always refused ADHD medication growing up, and I now regret that decision. I struggled through school, and it was some of the worst, and most difficult times of my life. To this day I still feel stupid although I'm successful and my IQ is well above average. I just wish I had known that things could have been different. I realize with long term use, and being a developing child there may be other negative side effects, but to me it may have been worth it. Please excuse my long winded post, but I wanted to address the question.

Thanks

My son is 27 years old and addicted to Adderall.
He started taking it 10 years ago as a teenager-because his teachers complained that he had too much energy.
NIH diagnosed him as ADHD. He now takes his 30 days of 60 mg Adderall per day in a week. Got a job just to get health insurance. His new health insurance with Kaiser Permanente gave him 60 days of 60mgs & filled it on the spot. He took it all in less than 10 days. We had petitioned a judge to have the Sherrif's office take him to a hospital for evaluation. He has been to Baltimore, Utah and is now in Memphis, TN.-they think it may be co-occuring problem. He still doesn't think he has a problem.

My daughter is addicted to Adderall and it is making her whole life fall apart. It is tearing me apart to see what is happening to her family and to her. For months now she has been obsessed with picking her skin, she thinks there are some kind of bugs in her skin and is constantly picking the skin off. She has lost a tremendous amount of weight and looks horrible. She used to be so beautiful. She will not listen to anyone and has threatened to never speak to me again if I mention it to her. She cannot focus on her work any longer, she is a glass bead artist, even the gallery owner where she has her jewelry sent some of her items back to her and told her she thought that she is having a nervous breakdown. She let her car get repossessed, she forgot to make the payments. She very rarely ever sleeps, when she does she just keels over, then only sleeps for short periods of time. I could not get her husband to take it seriously until last night. I called an interventionist that told me that at the stage that she is in right now without help she will die. He was supposed to call the interventionist so he could tell him so he would understand more about it.

I am so upset over it and do not know how to handle it without help. Her children think that she has just lost her mind, no one seems to realize that it is the Adderall that is doing this to her. One of the worst parts of this situation is that now she has her son on Adderall and I know that he does not need to be on it anymore than she does. She has a doctor in a nearby city that prescribed this horrible drug for her. I have tried to call to talk to her about it and she will not even return my calls.

If anyone can suggest anything that would help, please, please let me know! I am desparate to help her, but cannot do this alone. It is literally making me sick worrying about her.

I started taking Adderall in college just to study for tests. I eventually took it more often and got a prescription from a doctor that was known for handing it out like candy.

This drug was AMAZING! The next year I had a 4.0 GPA. I lost 20 pounds easily and was very productive. I played soccer, went to school, and worked a part-time job and still found time to party and be social. Life seemed too good to be true.

I graduated from college and landed a really great job. The job can be sometimes stressful and I'm still taking it to this day. It's gotten me where I am today and I'm so thankful I finished school because of it.

I've considered quitting taking adderall multiple times, but I tend to gain 5-10 pounds back and my productivity drops tremendously so I'll get back on it. I can't imagine taking adderall for the rest of my life and eventually want to get off of it!

So how do you get off of this drug?? I've talked to my parents are really close friends about it, but they have no idea what's really going on and they do not consider it an addiction. (I looked online for some websites a few years ago and there was nothing about adderall!) I'm actually afraid that I will have to get up and move to a different state. My friends in Texas know me as the fun party girl, who's always down to go out. I'm not much fun when it's not in my system. It may be best to just leave and start over... any advice? I'm getting too old to be going to the doctor once a month to get these stupid pills!

To everyone that has a friend or family member addicted to this drug... it's their decision to get off of the drug. I would suggest tough love and being super supportive. I would love for someone to help me stay on track with a schedule and/or a meal plan. (When I'm not on it, I tend to eat a lot more!) Someone needs to keep them accountable. Good Luck!