<p>I’ve determined I’m totally naieve about these ADD drugs. So many of my kids friends take them. So many of our friends have their children on them. I thought they were NBD (no big deal)…especially since some of these kids have been taking these drugs since elementary school. Who would give their 8 year old something potentially harmful? I kind of put them in the cateogry like allergy pills or Tylenol - sure the schools want to pass them out and regulate them - you can OD on Tylenol I suppose - and the kids can’t have them in their locker - but really just not a big deal. Now on the parents thread it sounds like one of our posters children is in deep dark trouble over ADD pills (or at least that is the presumption). My college son says, yes some students take them during exam times “to stay awake”. (So what’s wrong with No-Doze, high caffeine sofa and coffee anyway!) Ok so I’m dumb and unknowledgeable about ADD - I would have never thought in a million years that you would give a drug to a hyperactive child that hgih school and college kids take to stay awake. Are these ADD drugs addictive - why are the schools so upset about them and what are the consequences to the health of my kids if they take one (or more) of their friends’ ADD pills without my knowledge? Do the kids load up on them - like take 10 to stay awake? How addiciting can they be when my kids have friends who sometimes take them and sometimes not depending on “how they feel”? I’m looking for the scoop on these drugs and why the alarm and what the dangers are of the kids taking these drugs (that aren’t prescribed). Also so someone who is taking ADD drugs regularly doesn’t need them to stay awake for exams??? None of this seems logical to me…How widespread is this problem and why are people not being prosecuted if it is such a horrible problem … I’m really feeling grossly behind on this whole topic 
and I’m a mom who flushes leftover Vicodin down the toilet because they are so strong and I don’t want any of my family taking them more than they need to.</p>
<p>I want to point out one thing (slightly off-topic, but brought up in the original post): there are better ways to dispose unneeded medications than flushing them down the toilet. Many drugs pass through sewage purification systems unchanged and end up in our waterways. Disposing them in the solid trash in a manner unappealing to users (eg mixed with cat litter or dog waste) is the new school of thought:
[Agency</a> Touts Old Medicine Disposal Idea](<a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/11/05/national/w105416S19.DTL]Agency”>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/11/05/national/w105416S19.DTL)</p>
<p>Hit Wikipedia and read the pages on Adderall ([Adderall</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderal]Adderall”>Adderall - Wikipedia)) and methylphenidate (the active ingredient in Ritalin and Concerta - [Methylphenidate</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritalin]Methylphenidate”>Methylphenidate - Wikipedia)) for general background.</p>
<p>To answer your questions to the best of my knowledge:</p>
<p>ADD pills are pretty serious stuff - much more serious than Tylenol. They are all psychostimulants, many of them amphetamines. Speed, basically. That’s why there’s the controversy about them being prescribed to young children.</p>
<p>Kids take them (generally in no larger than the regular dose - there’s no loading up on 10 pills or anything) for their dual properties of massively enhancing concentration and keeping awake and energetic. The energy part can be achieved with caffeine, but (personal experience here) it tends to leave you a bit more frayed - you’re mentally pretty awake because of the caffeine, but you know that you’re very tired - while on the other hand ADD meds basically just wake you up - it’s as if you’re back to full energy. The concentration aspect is why they’re used for ADD: they can allow someone with the disorder to focus much better than they normally would be able to.</p>
<p>The pills also (sometimes) see recreational use. They’re not particularly popular, though - most recreational stimulants include some kind of euphoria in their high, and these drugs are actually not that pleasant. They do see some use in the same arenas as ecstasy, though, for partying at raves and stuff.</p>
<p>Since they are stimulants, they can definitely be addictive, though they are significantly less so than many other stimulants.</p>
<p>ADD drug use is quite widespread at Princeton - I can’t speak for elsewhere, since I suspect the widespread phenomenon of wanting to study more than one physically can is more common at top schools than otherwise - and I suspect at least at a middling level at most colleges.</p>
<p>I don’t consider it a particularly horrible problem, though - most kids just use the drugs for exams, and it’s not some hollow-eyed addiction. The reason everybody is so up in arms about it is because these drugs represent an incredibly widespread use and diversion of controlled substances. Even though they’re not particularly ridiculous or harmful themselves, the scale on which they are illegally used displeases a lot of people - especially in government.</p>
<p>Hm. I don’t agree with many of the elements of the above post.</p>
<p>My DS has been taking ADD medication since fifth grade. He just had a stellar frosh year at Williams and could have chosen an Ivy instead, but he wanted the LAC experience. I am only bringing this up to say that he could not have accomplished this at all without his medication.</p>
<p>It is quite a tedious story to describe the difference between his non-medicated and his medicated self. If you are really interested, PM me and I’d be glad to go into it. It was a struggle to get him diagnosed because he does NOT have the hyperactive part.</p>
<p>Okay – about meds. In my understanding, they are not additive. S can go on and off at will. He can skip a day, a weekend, a week, a month with NO withdrawal symptoms or side effects beyond the return of ADD symptoms.</p>
<p>They are powerful but they effect people with and without ADD differently. The brains of people with ADD are smaller in one part than normal. Sorry, I’m not a scientist to remember which part. It can be seen on brain scans. </p>
<p>The ADD medication stimulates that part of the brain but actually acts to calm the ADD person who is struggling with not enough ability to attend because of brain disfunction. So instead of stimulating the person, it calms them. That’s why it works for hyperactivity. It gives greater impulse control (lacking in ADD people) and the discipline to attend. People with ADD can get sleepy on these meds, or at least feel more relaxed.</p>
<p>For a person with a normal brain the effect is the opposite – the stimulant action is in full force. Thus, this person would be stimulated and kept up by the medication.</p>
<p>Hope this helps a bit.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is definitively incorrect. ADD meds are addictive, but that does not mean your son is addicted. Just like alcohol is addictive, but not all drinkers are drunks.</p>
<p>As for mechanism of action and effects on ADHD, the way these drugs work is not at all clear (nor, for that matter, is the cause of ADHD - it’s certainly not as simple as a part of the brain being smaller), but you are correct in them effecting people with/without ADHD differently - I should’ve mentioned that.</p>
<p>I have a daughter who takes Adderall and her experience has been similar to what mythmom describes. She generally doesn’t take it on the weekend, and sometimes forgets to take it. I’ve never seen anything that could be termed a withdrawl symptom. I was a naysayer on ADD meds, thinking people were overmedicating or not letting their kids be kids, until my own child had a problem. Adderall has made a world of difference to her, especially socially. She wasn’t hyper, she was just lost in class, and had issues relating to other kids. Now she’s engaged and happy. It’s unfortunate these are now drugs of misuse and abuse. For the kids who need them they are lifesavers.</p>
<p>I think the difference between mythmom and 1of42 is that the formers d/s takes them because they are prescribed whereas 1of42 is speaking about students at top schools taking them because you can study longer, concentrate more on tests, soak up more reading. Whereas in one case these meds are needed for kids to acheive the latter case is talking about using them even when you don’t need them to “extend” your capabilities.</p>
<p>Yes, LaxAttack, that is true. Nonetheless, the fact is that amphetamine is addictive. Using it as it is prescribed, once per day, is unlikely to lead to addiction or even mild withdrawal, but the simple fact of the matter is that amphetamine is an addictive drug. Not all addictive drugs necessarily make addicts out of all their users, but that does not mean they are not addictive.</p>
<p>This is all very interesting. Bunsen - any excess drugs are going with the cat litter I from now on I promise! It seems odd also to me that these drugs would specifically be targeted in a random drug screen since they are so prevalent and I’m not reading or finding out why they are considered such a problem. and why target students - on the surface I’d be more concerned about long haul truck drivers and third shift plant workers. If it is genuinely such a “huge” problem in our schools would not this behavior spill into the general public? I’m still contemplating all this. I asked son #1 about it again tonight since he’s home for the summer…his response - mom, I’d rather sleep than stay up all night cramming. Yup that’s why he’s a B+ kinda guy.</p>
<p>I was diagnosed with Adult ADD about 6 years ago. Adderal XR has been a God send for me AND my family. I can finally laugh at myself too. My youngest DS is extremely bright and has a fun disposition. In 4th grade he was one of 15 kids that were in the “gifted program” for reading and language arts. The teacher for the gifted program commented that while the other children could sit quietly during independent reading, my DS would be lying on the floor with his feet on the seat portion of his chair, humming while reading his book. She said that as long as my DS “stayed in his so-called box”, she was not to worry about it. However, she was concerned that as he moved up to Middle School (5th-6th grades) and beyond, DS’s behaviors would be more noticable and his traditional classmates may make fun of him. We eventually had DS start meds. Finding the right medicine and dosage was no small task! Finally we found that Adderall XR worked for him.</p>
<p>1of42: I know you are a very bright Princeton student, but not only do I have a PhD, I have consulted repeatedly with pediatric neurologists and read many studies in the field.</p>
<p>I am not saying I am right and you are wrong, but the assurance with which you post is puzzling. </p>
<p>I have been repeatedly assured that the medication is not addictive, and I have read numerous studies discussing brain size, some even suggesting that the medication “grows” this part of the brain.</p>
<p>Of course there can be controversy and disagreement, but the information I posted is believed by many of the professionals I have worked with in S’s life and deserves consideration. In addition it has been borne out by our experience.</p>
<p>mythmom: Had to spend 3 days reading abnormal psychology research literature, including a number of papers (research reviews and survey articles, as well as original research) regarding ADHD for a final last semester. Not to say you’re wrong, just that unless I completely misread the literature there is little agreement on either the causes of ADHD or on the mechanism through which ADHD drugs treat it.</p>
<p>However, there is one issue on which you are outright incorrect, and that is the issue of addiction. Amphetamine is an addictive drug - I mean, come on, we’re talking about the drug that is one methyl group off of crystal meth! This fact is unequivocal. Adderall is a mix of various amphetamine salts/isomers, and therefore is addictive as well. Whoever told you that the drug is not addictive was either lying, ignorant, or meant that the drug was unlikely to lead to active addiction in the quantities prescribed for medical use - which is true.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in finding out more about amphetamine addiction, there are any number of articles discussing the phenomenon. Do a quick Google search, or if you have access run through PubMed or Medline. There really isn’t ambiguity on this matter.</p>
<p>Crystal meth is quite different! Three days in an abnormal psyche class vs. a neurology residency and state certification. Hm. Whom am I to believe?</p>
<p>Poppy seeds are related to heroin. Ever have them on a bagel? They show up on tox screens for opiates. Maybe they’re addictive! </p>
<p>I know many young people personally and professionally on ADD medications and not one of them has experienced addiction, withdrawal symptoms or anything close to a reaction to an addictive substance. For one thing, ADD meds leave the system incredibly quickly.</p>
<p>Crystal meth is a related drug but not exactly the same.</p>
<p>mythmom, stop mocking me and go read the literature yourself. You. Are. Wrong. Amphetamine is addictive. It causes chemical and psychological dependency. Not in all users, and in the vast majority of medicinal users there will never be even a hint of dependency, but that does not change the fact of the matter.</p>
<p>You can keep making irrelevant comparisons to entirely different phenomena - the reason poppyseeds are not addictive is they contain only a minuscule amount of the raw material (opium) that heroin is made out of - but that will not change the fact of the matter.</p>
<p>[Amphetamine</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphetamine]Amphetamine”>Amphetamine - Wikipedia) - go and read the section on Dependence & Addiction. Then, go read the primary sources it cites. Then, if you’re still not satisfied I’ll go find some of the abstracts of amphetamine addiction research papers for you (unless you can access PubMed or Medline, in which case you can do it yourself).</p>
<p>“Addiction” as in causing withdrawal, is unlikely when taking stimulants orally and as prescribed, and I would say the major “euphoria” experience comes from snorting and injection. Psychological addiction (feeling as if you need more for the same " feeling"), in adults at least, is probably not uncommon. There are some side effects, even when taken as prescribed, with the very small cardiac risks, including sudden death, being in the media right now. I believe the real controversy lies in distinguishing normal variants from a “disorder” and balancing the risks of pharmaceutical treatment against the benefits, especially in the “gray” (matter…haha) areas.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap: A thoughtful response. I think you’re right. Most kids I know don’t experience psychological addiction either and go on and off their meds as the need arises – picnic with yummy food, off, math test on.</p>
<p>I have NEVER had a kid under 15 say they like the way it feels and “may I have some more please”… their parents are a whole different story! I did have one 13 y.o kid take several pills to “get his homework done really fast” and develop symptoms of delerium and psychosis that lasted several hours, but diagnostically, he was in a “gray area”.</p>
<p>[InfoFacts</a> - Methylphenidate (Ritalin)](<a href=“http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/Ritalin.html]InfoFacts”>Summary of Misuse of Prescription Drugs | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA))</p>
<p>I think it is a significant fact that ADHD and ADD drugs are rarely prescribed in other countries.</p>
<p>Any drug will alter a child’s natural development, either in a bad or good way. But, if the chance is that it may be bad, the alternatives should be thoroughly explored.</p>
<p>Whether or not one of these drugs is addictive can be argued by others. They do cause one to develop a tolerance, usually resulting in the need for the medication to be increased, altered, changed. It isn’t a one time visit to the MD. They are schedule 2 drugs, meaning a hard copy prescription is needed. Your pharmacist cannot call the MD to refill your prescription. You are getting involved with an ongoing relationship, that will be a permanent record in your child’s medical records, affecting future medical insurance eligibility.</p>
<p>Side effects, such as irritability and a general feeling of malaise, when the drug wears off each day, is common.</p>
<p>Sunnymamere,
My children already have a permanent, ongoing relationship with their MD – and if part of that relationship involves treatment for their ADD, so be it. I’d rather see the ADD treated than have them become depressed and act out. I was reluctant (to say the least) about my children taking meds, but I have seen the before and after, and it makes a big difference.</p>
<p>I have one child who takes Adderall XR and Concerta XR in combination – low doses of each; we have found that together they work better <em>for that child</em> than either one separately at a higher dosage level. My other child takes Strattera (non-stimulant) and Focalin XR. This child had problems with involuntary tics on Concerta and so we switched to Strattera. </p>
<p>The only side effect either child has is that it tends to suppress their appetites. Neither of them “crashes” or gets moody at the end of the day. During the summer, they both reduce their dosage. No withdrawal symptoms, no psychological or chemical dependence.</p>
<p>Pre-existing conditions can no longer be used as a pretense to exclusions from medical coverage as long as the patient has had continuing medical coverage. RE: Schedule 2 drugs – Tylenol with codeine is also a Schedule 2 drug. What’s the problem with that? My medical coverage, as I’m sure that of many others here, is set up so the strong economic incentive is to use the mail-order pharmacies anyway. (I avoid retail pharmacies excpet for emergency prescriptions – the copay is outrageous.) I always get hard-copy prescriptions so that I know when I sent it in vs. trusting an overworked nursing assistant to find time to get to the fax machine. The only pain about it is that I have to keep track of when it’s time to order.</p>