3 ms·

I was prescribed approximately 25mg daily Adderall for 7 or 8 years, so here's my anecdotal answer to your questions... > I still remember my friend who ha

I was prescribed approximately 25mg daily Adderall for 7 or 8 years, so here's my anecdotal answer to your questions... > I still remember my friend who had a prescription for ADHD -medication, > and they cut off this medication, and he couldn't do nothing but sleep > for 3 weeks almost. Wow. That is really irresponsible of them to cut him off so suddenly. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. I definitely had a "crash" if I suddenly stopped taking it for a day, cold turkey. Would pretty much be stuck in bed. However, if I slowly weaned myself off over a couple of days (25mg-->15mg-->5mg-->0mg) or something like that, it was no problem. Currently I haven't used any in six months. > What kind of state does prolonged use of amphetamines put the user ? > Constantly being pushed to focus on one task, what kind of thought > patterns does that create in the long run ? Now that it's been six months past, I feel no long-term changes whatsoever. Mentally, I'm back to how I used to be before Adderall. There's no denying, though, that Adderall often made me a bit more prone to anger while I took it regularly. I also have to say that Adderall didn't really "push me to focus on one task." It helped my focus and energy somewhat, but I definitely didn't become some kind of extreme monotasker. > Are we being just taught by the culture around us to work, work, work .. > when we could be taking it more easy, having our thinking be more open, > and not so closed and focused on the tasks ahead of us? Absolutely, yes. I think what bothers me about America's workaholic mentality is that it's not even effective. In the long run I firmly believe that we get less work done if we constantly push ourselves to exhaustion. We try to treat our entire work careers like we're university students trying to power our way through an all-nighter. It just doesn't work. I continually remind myself of this... the hard way.

xenihn 10y ago
Mind if I ask why you stopped using it? And do you plan to start again?
- JohnBooty 10y ago
  I felt like it lost its efficacy over time. Whether I developed a direct tolerance for the medication, or whether there was something more indirect at work, I'm not sure. Also to be honest I found modafinil to be a lot more effective. I don't see myself going back onto Adderall. I wouldn't rule it out, but it doesn't appeal to me right now.
inDigiNeous 10y ago
Thank you for your well put answer. I have no experience with amphetamines, but have been thinking about this subject, but it's not something that is exactly being talked about in public. Sometimes I even felt it a little bit unfair as a programmer, that I am competing with people who are medicated. But I don't think like this anymore. And yes, I agree on the doing less is more, with highly intelligent tasks you just start banging your head against the wall at some point, and anything beyond this point can be time just wasted, when we could be just relaxing and resting, to be more in tune again the next day.
- JohnBooty 10y ago
  I'd feel the same way in your shoes - it would feel a bit unfair. But now that I've been on both sides of the fence I can safely say that it's not a big advantage. If programming was a footrace... on a long term basis I'd say that Adderall is more like a knee brace than a pair of roller skates. On a short-term basis it can be different. The first time you take it, you might be able to pull a very effective all-nighter. But you will have to catch up on sleep eventually. Much like caffeine, a person's body adapts to Adderall very quickly. There's no free gains with this stuff. The ideal usage pattern for Adderall might actually be closer to "take it sparingly 2 or 3 times a month" rather than "take it every single day."

xenihn 10y ago

Mind if I ask why you stopped using it? And do you plan to start again?

JohnBooty 10y ago
I felt like it lost its efficacy over time. Whether I developed a direct tolerance for the medication, or whether there was something more indirect at work, I'm not sure. Also to be honest I found modafinil to be a lot more effective. I don't see myself going back onto Adderall. I wouldn't rule it out, but it doesn't appeal to me right now.

inDigiNeous 10y ago

Thank you for your well put answer. I have no experience with amphetamines, but have been thinking about this subject, but it's not something that is exactly being talked about in public. Sometimes I even felt it a little bit unfair as a programmer, that I am competing with people who are medicated. But I don't think like this anymore. And yes, I agree on the doing less is more, with highly intelligent tasks you just start banging your head against the wall at some point, and anything beyond this point can be time just wasted, when we could be just relaxing and resting, to be more in tune again the next day.

JohnBooty 10y ago
I'd feel the same way in your shoes - it would feel a bit unfair. But now that I've been on both sides of the fence I can safely say that it's not a big advantage. If programming was a footrace... on a long term basis I'd say that Adderall is more like a knee brace than a pair of roller skates. On a short-term basis it can be different. The first time you take it, you might be able to pull a very effective all-nighter. But you will have to catch up on sleep eventually. Much like caffeine, a person's body adapts to Adderall very quickly. There's no free gains with this stuff. The ideal usage pattern for Adderall might actually be closer to "take it sparingly 2 or 3 times a month" rather than "take it every single day."