4 ms·

This is false. I was diagnosed ADHD by a psychologist twice (this is the full ADHD test where they put you through IQ and other cognitive testing). My ADHD was

by kar5pt 5y ago

This is false. I was diagnosed ADHD by a psychologist twice (this is the full ADHD test where they put you through IQ and other cognitive testing). My ADHD was severe enough that I qualified for accommodations on the SATs. I was still able to get high on Vyvanse/Adderall often enough to get addicted to it. Drug companies lie to make these medications seem safer than they are.

adhd-thrwaway-0 5y ago
Yep. As someone who has been taking these medications for over a decade, I can say the danger of physical and mental addiction is very real. I've also stopped medication several times over this period and the withdrawal can last weeks or months.
- texasbigdata 5y ago
  Have also done breaks and it’s hard, but it’s confounded with the accompanying massive drop in life functioning. I’d argue it’s 50/50 but anecdotally. The research on street addiction of amphetamine (think homeless not Ivy League SAT prep) and recovery is fairly robust. Doable but hard.
msrenee 5y ago
That's really interesting to me. I take methylphenidate as a (doctor prescribed) stimulant and don't get the euphoria much at all. Maybe a little bit the first time I take an increased dose. 5 mg made me feel drugged and tired the first time. At 10 mg, I very nearly puked at about 2 hours and 4 hours after the dose the first week but no euphoria. I just had a more normal amount of energy compared to how tired I am naturally. 15 mg and I'm pretty bright and alert, but wouldn't call it euphoria by any means. I don't know what a recreational dose is. I just got my prescription upped so that I've got a couple 20 mg doses available. If I have a suspiciously lovely day, I'll let you know. I'm definitely not addicted. I feel no need to take it except when I know I need it to get through the day. What did give me euphoria and hypo-manic behaviors was Nuvigil at 250 mg after having been off it for 2 weeks. That was an inexperienced mistake on my part, but it was really fun.
kls 5y ago
I just don't see how people become physically addicted to these drugs. I am on Desoxyn have been for years and at a pretty high dose for a clinical dose. 35mg twice a day. I have went weeks without taking my medication with no ill effect. Not a single withdraw, the only thing that happens is the foggy head comes back and I cannot seem to put one foot in front of the other to get things completed. there is only one company that makes Desoxyn and it always has to be ordered, so I have times that my pharmacy does not have it and no pharmacy stocks it by default because it is pharmaceutical Methamphetamine. I do not take anywhere near a recreational dose, but I cannot for the life of me, understand how people on prescriptions for these class of drugs get junkie level addicted. I don't have any literature to back it up, but I would assume by the street drugs, if any of these meds would be the most addictive, it would be the one whos active ingredient is methamphetamine. I just go oh well it's going to suck for a week and not much will get done. Recreational meth users are generally taking anywhere from 100-200mg at recreational doses. For me to take that my months prescription would be used up in about 8 doses. certainly not enough time to develop dependency. So where are these people getting such high doses that they can continually take, to develop physical addition. I also have no idea why anyone would want to abuse something like Adderall. The levoamphetamine targets the bodies nervous system rather than the brain. On very low therapeutic doses it cause all kinds of peripheral physicals problems for me. It is also good to keep in mind ADD/ADHD meds have one of the highest success rates in the pharmacological field of psychiatrics care. It's one of psychiatrics success stories and there is a mountain of evidence that supports it. It is sad that it is still stigmatized as just wanting to get high. I avoided treatment for years due to that. Not accepting the proven track record of stimulant based treatment for ADD/ADHD is doing a lot of harm to a lot of people. Is it over diagnosed sure, but that does not negate that it does work for people who suffer focus disorders.
- kar5pt 5y ago
  Oh, I wasn't physically dependent. But taking it at a young age contributed to a polysubstance abuse disorder. I have no issue with adults taking ADD meds by the way. I just don't like the way it's prescribed to kids so frequently (I was on it when I was 9). I'm not sure why the fact that it's evidence based matters because I never questioned that it works (I've taken it more than enough times to know that it works, lol). I'm questioning whether the pros outweigh the cons from a holistic, social perspective.

by kar5pt 5y ago

adhd-thrwaway-0 5y ago

Yep. As someone who has been taking these medications for over a decade, I can say the danger of physical and mental addiction is very real. I've also stopped medication several times over this period and the withdrawal can last weeks or months.

texasbigdata 5y ago
Have also done breaks and it’s hard, but it’s confounded with the accompanying massive drop in life functioning. I’d argue it’s 50/50 but anecdotally. The research on street addiction of amphetamine (think homeless not Ivy League SAT prep) and recovery is fairly robust. Doable but hard.

msrenee 5y ago

That's really interesting to me. I take methylphenidate as a (doctor prescribed) stimulant and don't get the euphoria much at all. Maybe a little bit the first time I take an increased dose. 5 mg made me feel drugged and tired the first time. At 10 mg, I very nearly puked at about 2 hours and 4 hours after the dose the first week but no euphoria. I just had a more normal amount of energy compared to how tired I am naturally. 15 mg and I'm pretty bright and alert, but wouldn't call it euphoria by any means. I don't know what a recreational dose is. I just got my prescription upped so that I've got a couple 20 mg doses available. If I have a suspiciously lovely day, I'll let you know. I'm definitely not addicted. I feel no need to take it except when I know I need it to get through the day. What did give me euphoria and hypo-manic behaviors was Nuvigil at 250 mg after having been off it for 2 weeks. That was an inexperienced mistake on my part, but it was really fun.

kls 5y ago

I just don't see how people become physically addicted to these drugs. I am on Desoxyn have been for years and at a pretty high dose for a clinical dose. 35mg twice a day. I have went weeks without taking my medication with no ill effect. Not a single withdraw, the only thing that happens is the foggy head comes back and I cannot seem to put one foot in front of the other to get things completed. there is only one company that makes Desoxyn and it always has to be ordered, so I have times that my pharmacy does not have it and no pharmacy stocks it by default because it is pharmaceutical Methamphetamine. I do not take anywhere near a recreational dose, but I cannot for the life of me, understand how people on prescriptions for these class of drugs get junkie level addicted. I don't have any literature to back it up, but I would assume by the street drugs, if any of these meds would be the most addictive, it would be the one whos active ingredient is methamphetamine. I just go oh well it's going to suck for a week and not much will get done. Recreational meth users are generally taking anywhere from 100-200mg at recreational doses. For me to take that my months prescription would be used up in about 8 doses. certainly not enough time to develop dependency. So where are these people getting such high doses that they can continually take, to develop physical addition. I also have no idea why anyone would want to abuse something like Adderall. The levoamphetamine targets the bodies nervous system rather than the brain. On very low therapeutic doses it cause all kinds of peripheral physicals problems for me. It is also good to keep in mind ADD/ADHD meds have one of the highest success rates in the pharmacological field of psychiatrics care. It's one of psychiatrics success stories and there is a mountain of evidence that supports it. It is sad that it is still stigmatized as just wanting to get high. I avoided treatment for years due to that. Not accepting the proven track record of stimulant based treatment for ADD/ADHD is doing a lot of harm to a lot of people. Is it over diagnosed sure, but that does not negate that it does work for people who suffer focus disorders.

kar5pt 5y ago
Oh, I wasn't physically dependent. But taking it at a young age contributed to a polysubstance abuse disorder. I have no issue with adults taking ADD meds by the way. I just don't like the way it's prescribed to kids so frequently (I was on it when I was 9). I'm not sure why the fact that it's evidence based matters because I never questioned that it works (I've taken it more than enough times to know that it works, lol). I'm questioning whether the pros outweigh the cons from a holistic, social perspective.