5 ms·

I believe it's well-established that Adderall has a profoundly different effect on people like yourself who actually have ADHD, than on those who don't have ADH

I believe it's well-established that Adderall has a profoundly different effect on people like yourself who actually have ADHD, than on those who don't have ADHD. So when TFA talks about "abuse", I understand it as referring to people who do not have ADHD but are obtaining these medications illegitimately. It is unfortunate that the article mixes this up with the (presumably legitimate) increase in ADHD diagnoses.

schrodinger 10y ago
I thought that was a myth that has been dispelled. Do you have any research to back that up?
- justin_vanw 10y ago
  Yes this is a myth, it has the same effect on everyone.
  - Vraxx 10y ago
    Not trying to disregard this sentiment present in the thread, but I could easily see it having the same physical effects, but how exactly do they quantify how it affects your brain processes and how you feel. Anecdotally, I knew some people who took adderall in college that were not prescribed it and it seemed to cause them to have different behavior than myself. A similar situation, I would imagine, is how alcohol affects people differently. Maybe not physically, but you definitely see a wide range of actions and behaviors elicited among different individuals.
    - lfowles 10y ago
      It's probably all about dose. Just takes more for an ADHD individual to be affected the same.
      - Vraxx 10y ago
        Maybe, maybe not. My education is not in biology or medicine, so I cannot really speak well on the dominant factors in how a drug affects any given person.
      - falcolas 10y ago
        I believe so, the treatment dose is small enough that the physical stimulant effects are typically very minor, even for new users. I don't have numbers, but I recall that people abusing it for the stimulant effect use 3/4x the ADHD prescription dose, which results in very different effects.
      - ta_339393 10y ago
        Metabolism plays a big role in determining the effective dose. There are people who can take what are considered high therapeutic doses and feel very little effects because of the way their body metabolizes the chemical, which of course has nothing to do with whether they have ADHD or not.
        bpchaps 10y ago
        For sure. I take adderall and have an incredibly high metabolism to the point of needing to add 1500 calories per day in protein shakes to stay at a healthy weigh. 7.5mg (15mg in half) is my usual dosage, but it's strong enough to fill me with the energy you'd expect someone on a high dosage to have. When I talk a full pill, it completely screws me over. Others can take 30mg and be completely fine.
ta_339393 10y ago
That is a myth, the effects are the same regardless of whether or not you have ADHD otherwise we'd be able to test for ADHD by simply giving someone amphetamines and seeing how they respond. Almost anyone who takes low-dose amphetamines will experience enhanced cognition. It just happens that this enhancement also alleviates symptoms of ADHD. As you pointed out the problem with the article is that it makes no distinction between therapeutic low-dose usage and abuse level usage.
- Lewton 10y ago
  I thought giving people adhd meds and seeing whether it relaxes them was a pretty good (not perfect) indicator? Am I wrong?
  - ta_339393 10y ago
    That's not true, I have ADHD and I still feel stimulated when I take my medicine just like anyone else would. The difference is that it also gives me symptom relief as well. Over time you will develop more of a tolerance to these stimulating effects, at least to a degree, but the therapeutic benefits will continue for as long as you take them.
    - Vraxx 10y ago
      And therein lies the problem with making generalizations from single data points. Supposedly I have ADHD as well (I'm diagnosed such at least), and I generally become more mellow after taking adderall. I think the moral of this further anecdote is that generalizations should not be made on either of our experiences. Add into that the confounding factors of human bodies not being identical and having differing reactions to the same stimuli, and it becomes an even more dangerous game.
      - Lewton 10y ago
        I agree, I wasn't trying to imply that relaxation from stimulants would be -the- diagnosis for adhd, but if people with adhd tend to relax from the meds and people without adhd tend to not relax, then the claim that it's a myth that the meds affect adhd sufferers differently would be a lie

schrodinger 10y ago

I thought that was a myth that has been dispelled. Do you have any research to back that up?

justin_vanw 10y ago
Yes this is a myth, it has the same effect on everyone.
- Vraxx 10y ago
  Not trying to disregard this sentiment present in the thread, but I could easily see it having the same physical effects, but how exactly do they quantify how it affects your brain processes and how you feel. Anecdotally, I knew some people who took adderall in college that were not prescribed it and it seemed to cause them to have different behavior than myself. A similar situation, I would imagine, is how alcohol affects people differently. Maybe not physically, but you definitely see a wide range of actions and behaviors elicited among different individuals.
  - lfowles 10y ago
    It's probably all about dose. Just takes more for an ADHD individual to be affected the same.
    - Vraxx 10y ago
      Maybe, maybe not. My education is not in biology or medicine, so I cannot really speak well on the dominant factors in how a drug affects any given person.
    - falcolas 10y ago
      I believe so, the treatment dose is small enough that the physical stimulant effects are typically very minor, even for new users. I don't have numbers, but I recall that people abusing it for the stimulant effect use 3/4x the ADHD prescription dose, which results in very different effects.
    - ta_339393 10y ago
      Metabolism plays a big role in determining the effective dose. There are people who can take what are considered high therapeutic doses and feel very little effects because of the way their body metabolizes the chemical, which of course has nothing to do with whether they have ADHD or not.
      - bpchaps 10y ago
        For sure. I take adderall and have an incredibly high metabolism to the point of needing to add 1500 calories per day in protein shakes to stay at a healthy weigh. 7.5mg (15mg in half) is my usual dosage, but it's strong enough to fill me with the energy you'd expect someone on a high dosage to have. When I talk a full pill, it completely screws me over. Others can take 30mg and be completely fine.

ta_339393 10y ago

That is a myth, the effects are the same regardless of whether or not you have ADHD otherwise we'd be able to test for ADHD by simply giving someone amphetamines and seeing how they respond. Almost anyone who takes low-dose amphetamines will experience enhanced cognition. It just happens that this enhancement also alleviates symptoms of ADHD. As you pointed out the problem with the article is that it makes no distinction between therapeutic low-dose usage and abuse level usage.

Lewton 10y ago
I thought giving people adhd meds and seeing whether it relaxes them was a pretty good (not perfect) indicator? Am I wrong?
- ta_339393 10y ago
  That's not true, I have ADHD and I still feel stimulated when I take my medicine just like anyone else would. The difference is that it also gives me symptom relief as well. Over time you will develop more of a tolerance to these stimulating effects, at least to a degree, but the therapeutic benefits will continue for as long as you take them.
  - Vraxx 10y ago
    And therein lies the problem with making generalizations from single data points. Supposedly I have ADHD as well (I'm diagnosed such at least), and I generally become more mellow after taking adderall. I think the moral of this further anecdote is that generalizations should not be made on either of our experiences. Add into that the confounding factors of human bodies not being identical and having differing reactions to the same stimuli, and it becomes an even more dangerous game.
    - Lewton 10y ago
      I agree, I wasn't trying to imply that relaxation from stimulants would be -the- diagnosis for adhd, but if people with adhd tend to relax from the meds and people without adhd tend to not relax, then the claim that it's a myth that the meds affect adhd sufferers differently would be a lie