<p>Hey guys, I don’t want to make this a discussion about the morality of using Adderall or anything. In short, I’m not doing this for an academic boost; I legitimately believe that I have ADD, and I’m considering getting tested. I’ve worried that I may have this condition since middle school, but work is only now becoming great enough in volume that I don’t feel that I can put off getting this checked out any longer. </p>
<p>I’ve stalled so long because I’ve heard that it can dull your personality, and this is what worries me the most. I understand the science of how Adderall works, and that seems fairly safe to me. I just don’t want to risk this if it will change who I am. Do any of you all have experience with Adderall, and have an opinion on its effects?</p>
<p>Thanks guys,
-Michael</p>
<p>It did not dull my personality. Neither did ritalin, strattera, or focalin. If anything it made my personality brighter because I was less stressed and bogged down and not constantly in a mental fog all the time. Don’t take adderall illegally. Get tested. Find out and discuss your options. If you try meds and you don’t like what they do to you, you can stop taking them and no harm done. You can try something else and may get completely different results, or you can just stay away from meds. You don’t have to commit to anything. But if you are concerned and are interested in getting help, get tested.</p>
<p>Yeah seriously get tested to see if you have ADD. It’s not that hard to get ritalin legally, it’s easier than getting medical weed in Cali.</p>
<p>Hmm I take adderall currently and I have to say it’s all in the dosage, but overall I don’t think it changes anything too much.</p>
<p>For example, I take 15mg now and it just makes me feel happy and focused. Sometimes when I’m “coming down” from it I’ll feel some minor withdraw, but nothing too bad. I don’t notice any personality changes. Once for a test I took 60mg (I know, I know) and it was INTENSE. I felt tingly everywhere. It changed my personality, but not for the worse. I just really wanted to get work done really badly.</p>
<p>^Whatever you do, don’t do what he did. <em>headdesk</em></p>
<p>Just get tested. It makes it easier. Plus, you won’t accidentally mix the drugs with something harmful. </p>
<p>Many colleges have free testing for that kind of thing.</p>
<p>60mg of Adderall is supposed to be insane? lol… You do realize that for some people, that’s their PRESCRIBED daily dose?</p>
<p>I doubt Adderall can “dull” your personality; if anything, it will do the opposite. <em>usually</em></p>
<p>So far as I know 60mg is the maximum dose, and going straight from 15 or comparable to 60 is a good way to eff with yourself.</p>
<p>I take 30mg ritalin ER right now, and others around me have noted a marked improvement in my interaction, and patience. I was very agitated before, and both my mom and psychologist have told me that I’m more talkative, more mellow, and have less lag in response.</p>
<p>See I think in people who actually have ADD, it doesn’t make them dull. In people who don’t have ADD, it does make them dull.</p>
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<p>she*</p>
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<p>I don’t think this is exactly true. I have a friend who has pretty bad ADD and doesn’t like taking his medicine because he thinks it makes him dull. I believe it’s all in the dosage.</p>
<p>I see, thanks for all of the responses.</p>
<p>I have a friend who did take it without prescription several times per semester (went to a demanding school), and he said that he preferred not using it much because it messed with his sleep habits. Is that something that your body gets accustomed to and adjusts for?</p>
<p>Also, in regards to appetite, I’ve heard a <em>couple</em> of people who take it say that they gradually regained their appetite after being on the drug for awhile, and it ceased to be a problem. Did/do any of you all have issues with appetite?</p>
<p>My mother said that as a child she and my dad didn’t know much about the drug, and knew a lot of parents who gave it to their hyperactive children just as a sort of “cop out” to disciplining their kids, so they were hesitant to give it to me. However, she thinks that it may be about time I get tested and see if my doctor thinks I would benefit from it.</p>
<p>If you only take it when you’re supposed to, usually it wears off long before you would go to bed. If it doesn’t, then you might try a different dose or a different medicine. If you are popping pills in the middle of the afternoon, yes, they will make it hard to sleep. I am prescribed ritalin at the moment and my dose wears off at like 7pm, I actually need to see about if there’s any way we can extend that so I can get my homework done. But it makes me drowsy anyway, not the other way around. If I ever took my adderall after noon back when I was taking that I wouldn’t sleep that night. So you do have to pay attention to when you’re taking it.</p>
<p>When I took ritalin and adderall as a kid they obliterated my appetite and it didn’t come back until I stopped taking the pills, which is why I was unmedicated for a while until now. Now that I am on ritalin again I am not having that problem at all. The only side effects I am experiencing are drowsiness when it wears off, and headaches which are already starting to go away and it’s only been a week or two. No problemo. And I am finding that for some reason it is ten times easier to socialize and participate in class discussions, a benefit I didn’t notice as a child. I had been considering going on anti-depressants and I feel so much better now just being able to focus and get my stuff done and not being stressed out all the time, I don’t think I need to go down that road anymore. So that’s cool.</p>
<p>it makes no sense to be posing this question to us. have yourself evaluated, and if your doctor prescribes adderall, or some other ADD medication, have him/her address your concerns, not a bunch of anonymous people with little expertise.</p>
<p>^I am inclined to agree. I am just hoping that perhaps if we allay some of his fears he’ll be willing to consider getting tested. Like I said before, you don’t have to commit to taking meds if you are diagnosed or even if you try them. You can always go off if you don’t like it. I was diagnosed when I was eight and tend to do 3-5 years on and then 3-5 years off, just by coincidence going off of how I feel.</p>
<p>It’s still interesting to know! But for anti-depressants, I believe you have to be careful with those… They sometimes can have you feeling worse off once you try to get off of them.</p>
<p>My appetite is not as big when I’m on adderall. If I take it for a few weeks straight, this side effect will go away. If I stay off it for a few days to a week and go on it again, usually I won’t be as hungry for awhile.</p>
<p>Even if you’re afraid of how it will make you act, it’s worth a shot. If you are diagnosed and try ADD you don’t have to keep taking it. It has really, really helped me in so many ways and I think if you’re having issues it will really help you too.</p>
<p>Is there a marked difference between adderall and ritilan? Is one better than the other for add? Why would a doctor prescribe one over the other?</p>
<p>Significant differences b/w those medicines. They are both stimulants, but the method of action and halflife can be quite different. Most of these meds kick in fairly quickly after starting, but side effects often fade with consistent use and many people find better results with daily use rather intermittent usage…</p>
<p>Both work well, but not always the same for each individual. Some people do well with one, some better with the other, side effects can differ depending on the individual and often that can be a trial/error determination. Cost can also be quite different depending on your insurance. Different dosages and length of effect can be quite variable from individual to individual so it can be tricky to fine tune the med/dose to maximum benefit.</p>
<p>In general terms:
Ritalin is generally fairly short acting, Adderall has both short/medium compound. Concerta is a dual release form of Ritalin (quick acting component combined with a time delayed compound. Adderall XR is similar dual release. </p>
<p>In very general terms, Ritalin and particularly Concerta seem to have less rebound as the med wears out of the system toward the end of the day. Many Adderall users report noticing the med wearing off more dramatically and sometimes with agitation at the end of the day. </p>
<p>Vyvanse and Focalin are newer stims with some different details of their use.</p>
<p>Straterra is a non stimulant which in general has been fairly disappointing in replacing the stimulant compounds, but has found a niche often in combination therapy with people with combined disorders (ADD plus another problem). This med does take time to equilibrate in the body (possibly weeks) and intermittent use is discouraged.</p>
<p>The dulling effect (“Zombie effect”) is very individual and often a sign that the dosing is incorrect or another med may be a better choice. Most people should feel better, more in control, and more alert not less if the med is working properly. Much of the Zombie reports originated back in the days where Ritalin was equated by many groups with Lazy Parenting or ‘Shortcut to Discipline’ (see comment above) and almost always from people with little if any direct experience with real life appropriate use – see the history of the Church of Scientology slander campaigns which essentially equated Psychology/Psychiatry and most particularly the use of Psych meds as the 20th Century version of Spanish Inquisition. So much misinformation/dysinformation/and outright lies were tossed around in those campaigns that it was nearly impossible to separate fact from fantasy.</p>
<p>yes it does affect your personality. I have adhd and have taken medication since i was a kid. i have taken tons of different types but they all have a similar effect. it will make you quiter and you usually will lose your appitite. sometimes you will have other side effects. i always had a lot of side effects but it still helped me enough to be worth it. my worst problem is ready. it will take me 8 or so hours just to read one chapter from a text book. i just start reading and then i start thinking about something else and then don’t know what i read. i have to read everything 2 or 3 times to process it. when i take medication i can often get through a chapter in 3 hours. get a diagnosis and then go from there. but yeah if you end up taking stimulants prepare to feel very antisocial like you just can’t think of anything to say and don’t want to talk</p>
<p>^Mine makes me less quiet and much more outgoing. Sometimes I have to remind myself to shut up. It doesn’t affect everyone the same.</p>