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It's false to characterize ADHD medication as "addictive". At prescription-level dosages, this just isn't true, and despite a lot of misinformation from scaremo

It's false to characterize ADHD medication as "addictive". At prescription-level dosages, this just isn't true, and despite a lot of misinformation from scaremonger writers who illegally tried their roommate's Adderall in college and thought they got high because their heart was racing, the folks that truly benefit from such meds actually experience the effects in quite the opposite way, because it provides a major calming effect on the mind of many people who have ADHD.

nicomeemes 3y ago
Amphetamines are addictive, regardless of dosage.
PaulHoule 3y ago
I've seen promotional material from the stimulant industry that makes it sound that by writing a prescription a doctor is doing some magic transforming a dangerous drug (as it would be to kids who shook you down for your meds) into something health-giving, much like the priest magically transforms bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Whatever else might be true about those drugs it is true that they are performance enhancing drugs for most people in many respects. There's probably nothing wrong with taking a Dexedrine and taking the day to clean your whole house from top to bottom but taking it for a lifetime is something else. I have a friend who was one of the earliest adopters of ADHD medication and he gets a bottle of pills each month that looks as much like a small trash can as a large pill bottle and has had his teeth all rot out. He says he can't get anything done without his meds but he can't get anything done with his meds. I'm certain he has problems of a wider scope than "ADHD" but so long as there is a system to tag kids that don't fit in with a label and that profits from a solution, other diagnoses will be neglected.
BriggyDwiggs42 3y ago
As a person with bad ADHD and years of experience on and off adderall, I have no clue how anyone can claim that the stimulant ADHD meds don’t genuinely get you high. They indeed are not physiologically addictive, but can be easily relied upon mentally because of how good they feel.
- svnt 3y ago
  I’m blown away by these responses. I took adhd meds and did not get a whiff of a high, but chocolate and even maca I can detect as getting me high. Now I wonder if people with adhd with different etiology are just “treating” it by getting high.
  - PaulHoule 3y ago
    Caffeine is really something, particularly if you don't use it every day. It's the substance that I've experienced the worst dependence and had the hardest time kicking.
    - taeric 3y ago
      Caffeine can really be something. It can also be... basically nothing for folks. I am very curious to know if there are larger studies that can quantify some of this. And I emphatically do not mean that some people have tolerances to it. Though, I do expect that a large enough dose will impact anyone. I suspect it is a lot like catnip. I think most people that have had cats have had situations where one of the cats just does not care about the stuff. At all. Versus many cats that get quite an extreme reaction to it.
  - BriggyDwiggs42 3y ago
    Really? First off, are they the stimulant variety? Secondly, was the dosage pretty low? Honestly that is nuts to me; I can’t imagine getting no whiff of a high without taking such a low dose that the meds do nothing.
    - skywhopper 3y ago
      Yes, really. It's pretty clear that a lot of people with ADHD have a specific physiology that processes drugs like Adderall very differently.
  - kjkjadksj 3y ago
    People wouldn’t be snorting adderall recreationally if it didn’t get you high
ShamelessC 3y ago
_Thought_ they got high? I have ADHD and you still one hundred percent get a high from it. Maybe if you’ve been on it for years it will be hard to notice or you’ll have grown accustomed to it. But c’mon.
- brandall10 3y ago
  In general people with ADHD are dopamine deficient and these drugs actually calm them down... if someone takes more than their effective dose it can. I was diagnosed by telemedicine with it, tried various doses of bother Adderal and Vyvanse and got fairly upbeat on them even on low doses, so I doubt if I technically have it from a neurochemical standpoint.
- true_religion 3y ago
  When I started taking it I felt relaxed and my mind was quiet. I would actually fall asleep easier on the meds than without it. I suppose this can be called a high because marijuana can make you fall asleep too.
- skywhopper 3y ago
  Maybe _you_ get high from it. If you do, I suspect it might not be the best meds for you. But I've never gotten high from it.
BaculumMeumEst 3y ago
ADHD meds, while they did give an amazing ability focus that I have never experienced before I took them or after I stopped, were most definitely euphoria-inducing stimulants, and they can most definitely be addictive.
- haswell 3y ago
  Individual/personal experience doesn’t generalize to all users. It’s useful to be aware of the potential for certain effects and addiction, but this is not an inherent property that impacts all users equally. May be better to frame this as: depending on your physiology, you may be predisposed to certain effects and/or resulting addiction. Similar things can be said about alcohol/cannabis. Physical or psychological addiction happens, but not all users are susceptible in the same ways.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

nicomeemes 3y ago

Amphetamines are addictive, regardless of dosage.

PaulHoule 3y ago

I've seen promotional material from the stimulant industry that makes it sound that by writing a prescription a doctor is doing some magic transforming a dangerous drug (as it would be to kids who shook you down for your meds) into something health-giving, much like the priest magically transforms bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Whatever else might be true about those drugs it is true that they are performance enhancing drugs for most people in many respects. There's probably nothing wrong with taking a Dexedrine and taking the day to clean your whole house from top to bottom but taking it for a lifetime is something else. I have a friend who was one of the earliest adopters of ADHD medication and he gets a bottle of pills each month that looks as much like a small trash can as a large pill bottle and has had his teeth all rot out. He says he can't get anything done without his meds but he can't get anything done with his meds. I'm certain he has problems of a wider scope than "ADHD" but so long as there is a system to tag kids that don't fit in with a label and that profits from a solution, other diagnoses will be neglected.

BriggyDwiggs42 3y ago

As a person with bad ADHD and years of experience on and off adderall, I have no clue how anyone can claim that the stimulant ADHD meds don’t genuinely get you high. They indeed are not physiologically addictive, but can be easily relied upon mentally because of how good they feel.

svnt 3y ago
I’m blown away by these responses. I took adhd meds and did not get a whiff of a high, but chocolate and even maca I can detect as getting me high. Now I wonder if people with adhd with different etiology are just “treating” it by getting high.
- PaulHoule 3y ago
  Caffeine is really something, particularly if you don't use it every day. It's the substance that I've experienced the worst dependence and had the hardest time kicking.
  - taeric 3y ago
    Caffeine can really be something. It can also be... basically nothing for folks. I am very curious to know if there are larger studies that can quantify some of this. And I emphatically do not mean that some people have tolerances to it. Though, I do expect that a large enough dose will impact anyone. I suspect it is a lot like catnip. I think most people that have had cats have had situations where one of the cats just does not care about the stuff. At all. Versus many cats that get quite an extreme reaction to it.
- BriggyDwiggs42 3y ago
  Really? First off, are they the stimulant variety? Secondly, was the dosage pretty low? Honestly that is nuts to me; I can’t imagine getting no whiff of a high without taking such a low dose that the meds do nothing.
  - skywhopper 3y ago
    Yes, really. It's pretty clear that a lot of people with ADHD have a specific physiology that processes drugs like Adderall very differently.
- kjkjadksj 3y ago
  People wouldn’t be snorting adderall recreationally if it didn’t get you high

ShamelessC 3y ago

_Thought_ they got high? I have ADHD and you still one hundred percent get a high from it. Maybe if you’ve been on it for years it will be hard to notice or you’ll have grown accustomed to it. But c’mon.

brandall10 3y ago
In general people with ADHD are dopamine deficient and these drugs actually calm them down... if someone takes more than their effective dose it can. I was diagnosed by telemedicine with it, tried various doses of bother Adderal and Vyvanse and got fairly upbeat on them even on low doses, so I doubt if I technically have it from a neurochemical standpoint.
true_religion 3y ago
When I started taking it I felt relaxed and my mind was quiet. I would actually fall asleep easier on the meds than without it. I suppose this can be called a high because marijuana can make you fall asleep too.
skywhopper 3y ago
Maybe _you_ get high from it. If you do, I suspect it might not be the best meds for you. But I've never gotten high from it.

BaculumMeumEst 3y ago

ADHD meds, while they did give an amazing ability focus that I have never experienced before I took them or after I stopped, were most definitely euphoria-inducing stimulants, and they can most definitely be addictive.

haswell 3y ago
Individual/personal experience doesn’t generalize to all users. It’s useful to be aware of the potential for certain effects and addiction, but this is not an inherent property that impacts all users equally. May be better to frame this as: depending on your physiology, you may be predisposed to certain effects and/or resulting addiction. Similar things can be said about alcohol/cannabis. Physical or psychological addiction happens, but not all users are susceptible in the same ways.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]