6 ms·

those ADHD meds are exceptionally addictive and long term damaging to your body/heart/mind. be careful.

wizzwizz4 2y ago
I imagine it depends on the meds, but I haven't heard about any "exceptionally addictive" ones. Source?
_yb2s 2y ago
There are a ton of different classes of ADHD medications that are all very different. The most popular- stimulants like adderall and ritalin are probably the most well studied psychiatric drugs in history, and not without some risk of adverse effects, but overall are quite safe even for young kids. Untreated ADHD itself is far more dangerous than any of the medications: high rates of mortality, suicide, addiction, job loss, relationship difficulties, car accidents, etc. There is also some evidence that giving children stimulant medications for ADHD can make it less likely that they will continue to have ADHD as adults.
- astrange 2y ago
  The non-stimulant ADHD drugs actually all have worse side effects than the stimulant ones, and they're harder to stop taking. You can quit Vyvanse cold turkey or take it as needed and be pretty OK, but if you quit Strattera it takes weeks to work again once you start it. And you can't quit Intuniv without titrating off for a week or two or you'll feel pretty sick.
jauer 2y ago
Maybe addictive to people without ADHD… They are so unaddictive to people with ADHD that remembering to take them can be challenging.
- _yb2s 2y ago
  I think it has a lot to do with the dose and delivery method... if you take massive doses or inject/snort the medications like people trying to get high on stimulants, the rate at which the drug takes effect causes euphoria, which is addicting. There is no euphoria with properly taken low dose stimulant medications for ADHD- they aren't "enjoyable."
  - utensil4778 2y ago
    Partly, but the main effect is simply the different neurology. Neurotypical people actually get a kind of high from amphetamines, whereas ADHD people just get balanced. The drug just has a fundamentally different effect on people with ADHD.
    - _yb2s 2y ago
      I'm pretty sure that is a myth, and it only appears that way because the circumstances are different: People with ADHD are treated on a very low dose, and slowly titrated up which makes you much less likely to feel high. People without ADHD that are illegally using stimulants aren't getting treated by a doctor, and aren't going to slowly titrate up the dose, or take it consistently in low doses over a long period of time. People with ADHD sometimes do feel a small high or euphoria for a short time when they first start a new medication. People without ADHD but using adderall illegally, e.g. as a "study drug" are not getting a high or euphoria if they consistently use a low dose like an ADHD person. I have clinically diagnosed ADHD, but even the lowest possible dose of adderall makes me extremely high in an uncomfortable way and unable to sleep for days. Most likely, I also have a liver enzyme mutation that causes me to not metabolize amphetamines properly. Ritalin I metabolize quickly, and don't feel a high at all. You can't diagnose ADHD by giving a medication and seeing how people respond. Even people with ADHD respond very differently to the same medications. There is also the fact that medication with ADHD can give people executive control over hyperactive physical movement, so they may seem to be "slowing down," which kind-of looks like the opposite of a stimulant effect, especially to adults watching hyperactive kids calm down. But that is basically the opposite of what is actually happening- the increased stimulation allows the brain to regain executive control of behavior. Here is a journal article reviewing the evidence and debunking this idea: https://www.nature.com/articles/1301164 https://www.nature.com/articles/1301164
      - jauer 2y ago
        I'm normally on a very minimal dose. I have, prior to getting timer tops and forgetting that I'd already taken med, taken >100mg of dextroamphetamine without feeling high and without titrating up. Instead, I got very focused and methodical to an uncomfortable degree, but there's absolutely zero high or euphoria. Across ~4 doctors (1 PCP, 3 pysch), none have titrated up. They've ballparked and said things like "let me know and we'll reduce if you can't sleep and increase if it doesn't work. If you want, try doubling up or cut it in half (for non-XR)". Given the variation in dosage visible in the literature (such as this case report of megadosing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407707/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407707/ ) I'd suggest that there are multiple underlying physical causes for the condition described as ADHD to the extent that sweeping statements like that aren't accurate. E.g. my (very different) experience and your experience being different indicates that we probably have different underlying causes, not that one is a myth or misperception and the other is the real take.
utensil4778 2y ago
No, they are not.
astrange 2y ago
None of those things are true. ADHD people are pretty bad at being addicted to anything, and therapeutic stimulant doses are actually neuroprotective. Just watch your blood pressure, but you should do that anyway.
- zeroonetwothree 2y ago
  Wait what? It’s the exact opposite. ADHD tends to be correlated with addiction > Research has shown that those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have an increased risk for addiction disorders like alcoholism and substance abuse. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4403287/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4403287/
  - kayodelycaon 2y ago
    Every mental disorder I know of that impairs function has an increased rate of addiction.
  - astrange 2y ago
    Taking ADHD meds reduces the chance of substance abuse though, and it balances out to forgetting to take them being more likely than being addicted. Wait, I forgot to take mine.
llamaLord 2y ago
At therapeutic doses this is literally the opposite of true. There have been studies done that show therapeutic doses of amphetamines over a multi-year period actually INCREASED the level of dopamine receptor expression in the brain. It was by a very small amount, don't get me wrong (3-4%). But it absolutely debunked this entirely assumed theory that long term therapeutic amphetamine use would result in some kind of pseudo-addiction.

I imagine it depends on the meds, but I haven't heard about any "exceptionally addictive" ones. Source?

There are a ton of different classes of ADHD medications that are all very different. The most popular- stimulants like adderall and ritalin are probably the most well studied psychiatric drugs in history, and not without some risk of adverse effects, but overall are quite safe even for young kids. Untreated ADHD itself is far more dangerous than any of the medications: high rates of mortality, suicide, addiction, job loss, relationship difficulties, car accidents, etc. There is also some evidence that giving children stimulant medications for ADHD can make it less likely that they will continue to have ADHD as adults.

astrange 2y ago
The non-stimulant ADHD drugs actually all have worse side effects than the stimulant ones, and they're harder to stop taking. You can quit Vyvanse cold turkey or take it as needed and be pretty OK, but if you quit Strattera it takes weeks to work again once you start it. And you can't quit Intuniv without titrating off for a week or two or you'll feel pretty sick.

jauer 2y ago

Maybe addictive to people without ADHD… They are so unaddictive to people with ADHD that remembering to take them can be challenging.

_yb2s 2y ago
I think it has a lot to do with the dose and delivery method... if you take massive doses or inject/snort the medications like people trying to get high on stimulants, the rate at which the drug takes effect causes euphoria, which is addicting. There is no euphoria with properly taken low dose stimulant medications for ADHD- they aren't "enjoyable."
- utensil4778 2y ago
  Partly, but the main effect is simply the different neurology. Neurotypical people actually get a kind of high from amphetamines, whereas ADHD people just get balanced. The drug just has a fundamentally different effect on people with ADHD.
  - _yb2s 2y ago
    I'm pretty sure that is a myth, and it only appears that way because the circumstances are different: People with ADHD are treated on a very low dose, and slowly titrated up which makes you much less likely to feel high. People without ADHD that are illegally using stimulants aren't getting treated by a doctor, and aren't going to slowly titrate up the dose, or take it consistently in low doses over a long period of time. People with ADHD sometimes do feel a small high or euphoria for a short time when they first start a new medication. People without ADHD but using adderall illegally, e.g. as a "study drug" are not getting a high or euphoria if they consistently use a low dose like an ADHD person. I have clinically diagnosed ADHD, but even the lowest possible dose of adderall makes me extremely high in an uncomfortable way and unable to sleep for days. Most likely, I also have a liver enzyme mutation that causes me to not metabolize amphetamines properly. Ritalin I metabolize quickly, and don't feel a high at all. You can't diagnose ADHD by giving a medication and seeing how people respond. Even people with ADHD respond very differently to the same medications. There is also the fact that medication with ADHD can give people executive control over hyperactive physical movement, so they may seem to be "slowing down," which kind-of looks like the opposite of a stimulant effect, especially to adults watching hyperactive kids calm down. But that is basically the opposite of what is actually happening- the increased stimulation allows the brain to regain executive control of behavior. Here is a journal article reviewing the evidence and debunking this idea: https://www.nature.com/articles/1301164 https://www.nature.com/articles/1301164
    - jauer 2y ago
      I'm normally on a very minimal dose. I have, prior to getting timer tops and forgetting that I'd already taken med, taken >100mg of dextroamphetamine without feeling high and without titrating up. Instead, I got very focused and methodical to an uncomfortable degree, but there's absolutely zero high or euphoria. Across ~4 doctors (1 PCP, 3 pysch), none have titrated up. They've ballparked and said things like "let me know and we'll reduce if you can't sleep and increase if it doesn't work. If you want, try doubling up or cut it in half (for non-XR)". Given the variation in dosage visible in the literature (such as this case report of megadosing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407707/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3407707/ ) I'd suggest that there are multiple underlying physical causes for the condition described as ADHD to the extent that sweeping statements like that aren't accurate. E.g. my (very different) experience and your experience being different indicates that we probably have different underlying causes, not that one is a myth or misperception and the other is the real take.

utensil4778 2y ago

No, they are not.

astrange 2y ago

None of those things are true. ADHD people are pretty bad at being addicted to anything, and therapeutic stimulant doses are actually neuroprotective. Just watch your blood pressure, but you should do that anyway.

zeroonetwothree 2y ago
Wait what? It’s the exact opposite. ADHD tends to be correlated with addiction > Research has shown that those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have an increased risk for addiction disorders like alcoholism and substance abuse. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4403287/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4403287/
- kayodelycaon 2y ago
  Every mental disorder I know of that impairs function has an increased rate of addiction.
- astrange 2y ago
  Taking ADHD meds reduces the chance of substance abuse though, and it balances out to forgetting to take them being more likely than being addicted. Wait, I forgot to take mine.

llamaLord 2y ago

At therapeutic doses this is literally the opposite of true. There have been studies done that show therapeutic doses of amphetamines over a multi-year period actually INCREASED the level of dopamine receptor expression in the brain. It was by a very small amount, don't get me wrong (3-4%). But it absolutely debunked this entirely assumed theory that long term therapeutic amphetamine use would result in some kind of pseudo-addiction.