<p>a stimulant is made to calm a person with adhd down. i have never met a person with either adhd hyperactive, combined or innattentive who got more energetic on a stimulant. if the person has a legit case of adhd it will not make you more talkative or hyper. it does affect everyone differently but it affects most people with adhd a certain way and people without adhd may be affected differently </p>
<p>i would just first get a diagnosis, then talk to your doctor and decide what medication will fit your needs and see how it affects you. you can always stop so don’t over analyze it. also, medication is not the only answer.</p>
<p>^^ Agreed. Everyone I’ve witnessed who has ADD and takes a stimulant becomes more focused, calm and alert. Those I’ve seen without ADD who take the meds to study start bouncing off the wall like they just drank a ton of coffee. They are all over the place and just wont stop talking!</p>
<p>****ers are making me want to go buy some speed</p>
<p>anyway if you take a lot you’ll feel a bit robotic after the initial euphoria wears off, when you come down it can be a bit weird especially if you haven’t slept for a couple of days</p>
<p>One of my friends was prescribed Adderall. The dr. thought his depression was linked to ADD. He’s not depressed anymore. I can’t give you any first hand experience.</p>
<p>^I can relate to that. I do have depression but I have found when I have medication it is much more manageable, in large part because I am less stressed, and in part because it just feels SO MUCH better to actually feel alert-- which is why I think it makes me a bit more outgoing and social. By what I said before, I didn’t mean it makes me hyper, but when you’re not trapped in a mental fog and unable to function, it is a lot easier to keep up with what’s going on around you and be engaged-- I can disengage and focus easily, but it is also easier to be “in the moment” so to speak IN GENERAL, which means both academically and socially. It isn’t as though it forces me to focus focus focus. It just makes it so that I /can/ focus, on whatever I want. When you have ADD it isn’t as though your symptoms only affect your schoolwork, it affects everything you do.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a chemical component too there but I don’t know much about that. Your friend and I could also be flukes, but that is my experience for whatever it may be worth.</p>
<p>I don’t think I have ADD, I might though. I’ve been taking it without a prescription for the past few months and its such a life changer. Before I was constantly tired during the day and unable to focus on anything. Now I can be alert and confident. It changes my personality from a quiet kinda depressing person into a cheery, happy, do anything kinda guy. I love it.</p>
<p>I love how people justify amphetamine abuse as some sort of cure for their unique personal problems. Most people feel tired and stressed a lot of the time. Most people often have trouble concentrating on things they should be doing. Most people lack confidence and many are shy. This is not illness - it’s human nature.</p>
<p>Speed temporarily alleviates these problems by abnormally boosting the concentration of serotonin and dopamine in certain parts of the brain. That’s why you feel confident and happy. It’s not fixing a problem, it’s simply shutting off the switch that normally regulates your brain chemistry. It’s just like doing a bump of cocaine or smoking a joint or throwing back a few shots of jack. Why people think using adderall is different just because it’s produced by a pharmaceutical company completely baffles me.</p>
<p>That said, I really don’t have any objections to people using amphetamine. I use it, I enjoy it. But I’m honest about what I’m doing.</p>
<p>@Emaheevul07
fair enough. i don’t mean to attack you or anything and I know absolutely nothing about you to assess whether or not you have it. What i am trying to say is that the majority of people will not get more hyper on in. Maybe it affects a small percentage of people differently but chances are if the op has adhd and takes it they probably won’t get more hyper but there is always a chance.</p>
<p>People who takes amphetamines: have any of you been diagnosed with bipolar? or think you might have it? What is your reaction to adderall/ritalin/vyvanse/whatever, and do you take it in conjunction with other medication(s)?</p>
<p>Doctor’s are not advised to give stimulants for people who are bipolar, because it can incite a manic episode. They will prescribe other types of meds for poor concentration, but are reluctant to give out adderall or ritalin. It is similar to how they prescribe anti seizure meds as mood stablizers- meds that serve other purposes than its original intent. However, people who are bipolar are more likely to have ADD than the regular population. Try to google it or go to the bipolar forum on MD Junction and ask around. </p>
<p>Adderall has helped a lot of people. Just like any drug there are downsides, and it is easy to abuse. I personally get annoyed around test time when people are desperate for stimulants. However, there are people who have serious cases of ADD. Two of my buddies, who are twins, have had their lives defined by it. When they were younger they would beat their heads against walls and pull their hair out. The decrease in inhibitions is also a serious issue. I think ADD has been stigmatized, and people forget that it is a serious medical condition. There are issues with any RX drug that is addictive or widely abused. There will be a backlash. There are already versions of ritalin that you can not crush, which is what is happening with oxycontin and the new OP version. I don’t think it’s a big issue when people take it as prescribed or to focus, but it is a problem when people blow it.</p>
<p>Okay, if you’re really concerned about adderall affecting your personality - you can try taking off days where you don’t take adderall. That way you can have the best of both worlds. Certainly there are some days when you need adderall more than others, and other days where you hardly need it at all.</p>
<p>This was posted in the LD section of the forum a few months ago and I wanted to share it, as it is relevant to this conversation. Unfortunately when I saved it I didn’t save who it was by.</p>
<p>Emaheevul07: That’s a good quote to direct to the people who are abusing Adderall recreationally (or to unfairly boost their grades)… but I wouldn’t say I’m one of those.</p>
<p>(in case you all forgot after 3 pages), I’m the OP. I did as you guy’s recommended and got tested. It’s a little unsettling how easy my Doctor’s test was to game- that is, WOULD have been to game. I didn’t try to manipulate, I answered all of the questions honestly, and then he discussed my symptoms in more detail with me. He decided that he believes that I have many indicative symptoms of ADD, though no hyperactivity. He prescribed me a month of Vyvanse because its a bit longer lasting, and less potential for abuse, yatta yatta. I researched it a bunch but unless you guys are curious about the detail of it, I’ll leave that out.</p>
<p>In any case, the point is that after taking this medication I’m more convinced than ever that I’m ADD. All the obsessive tendencies that I only <em>suspected</em> were a result of ADD (Picking my fingernails literally incessantly while doing homework, spinning a pen around my finger during tests, HAVING to whistle whenever I walk around the house or do a repetitive task), are now gone. Well, by gone I mean from the time the medicine kicks in to the time it wears off fully (~10 hours later) I don’t even look at my fingernails, or consider spinning pens. Its amazing. All the distractions are gone, my life is 10 times better.</p>
<p>I’m still wary of course of being on an amphetamine, so I’m going to ask my doctor if it would be healthy to just take it on days that I think will require a lot of focus, so that I can take it easy on easy days and not get too attached to the meds. Its really good though… if any of you guys have symptoms like mine I really recommend you give it a try.</p>
<p>I meant it more for others in the thread than you, however I thought you would benefit from seeing another account of someone who actually has ADHD and benefits from the medication without crazy side effects as well.</p>
<p>I am glad you have found that everything is working out for you. Depending on the way the particular doctor screens, some are harder to manipulate the results of than others. I have been tested on two separate occasions in which it would have been completely impossible for me to have manipulated the results even if I’d wanted to. Two others not so much, but I wonder if they only “tested” me in the way they did because I’d already had a previous history of diagnosis. <em>shrug</em> I haven’t ever taken vyvanse, my insurance doesn’t cover it, but I’ve certainly never had any problems with feeling “attached” to the meds when I’ve gone off, so I am sure you’re good to go. Enjoy your newfound freedom from distraction. :P</p>
<p>How is it “unfair” to take amphetamines to study/write/take an exam? What about drinking coffee or smoking a pack a day? Those things also give you a lil’ boost, you know. Amphetamines won’t make you smarter or give you motivation to do intellectual work. They’ll just give you energy and raise your mood. Papers written by people who don’t have ADHD yet take Adderall often tend to be way too verbose. Concentration, when you’re amped up, can be easily misdirected. It’s different for everyone.</p>