Adderall - ADHD/ADD - The Smart Drug ??

Doing some research on the web and found that many college students are now taking ADDERALL to aid in their studies. It appears this substance helps to focus attention on their school work as well as increases memory capacity.

Does anyone have experience with this drug and its effects?

I am most interested in hearing form those who use it for this particular purpose.

It is clear it is primarily used to address ADHD/ADD in kids.

However according to a recent news report I saw on FOX or CNN, college students are using it during their studies.




Mod Edit: title

[edit on 10-5-2006 by kinglizard]

I'm in college and I'm also prescribed adderall. Yes it does immensely help concentration and memory. You become very involved in whatever task you're doing without submitting to outside distractions. It has made school so much easier for me and I enjoy it a lot more now. Although I don't plan on taking it after college. I honestly don't like being semi dependent on something to help me study. I'm a fairly intelligent individual but have difficult accomplishing certain tasks. I don't mind it while I'm in school but would like to stop once I'm finished. I'm also not sure about the effects of taking a mild amphetamine a few days a week.

There are a number of college students using adderall and other add/adhd medications to study. The effects are heightened in people who do not have one of the conditions. It may make a normal person appear to be 'hyper' but calm someone with add/adhd down. It's a stimulant but it stimulates the areas of the brain that control motivation, concentration and a few others. So as they become more focused they have less 'free' energy. I don't think everyone should be using it but I also think that schools shouldn't be set up to teach rote memorization that is as quickly lost as it's learned. However, it's no excuse for students to abuse prescription drugs. If you have any questions concerning it I'd be more than happy to answer. Hope this helped.

EDIT: I'm not sure if I'd call it a 'smart' drug but I'd check out neutropics if you're interested. They are drugs created or marketed towards increasing intelligence or memory capacities. Although I'm not sure if any are legal yet in the US.

[edit on 8-5-2006 by cedargrove]

Thanks, cedargrove, for the reply.

Are there any other side effects to the substance, like hearing things, maybe thought processes from others. Does it increase sensitivity to those types of capabilities. I personally believe there is something out there with that capability.

Well, I have ADD and it's a curse, imagine not being able to achieve any of your dreams, only because you are on to the next interesting thing before you master the last one.

The world loves a specialist, not a generalist.

I want to start a business relating to what I do now for work, I am afraid that unless I go on meds I'll be living from pay to pay for a long time to come and I will never be independent.

For those who do not have ADD, AD/HD, imagine the career you have now, imagine your favourite hobby, imagine if you never achieved your career because you got helplessly bored with it before you even persued it.
Imagine dropping your hobby because it failed to interest you anymore.

ADD for me is a constant struggle to maintain interest.

World issues is my favourite topic though, it's dynamic, always changes and I never bore of it.

Should I try adderall? What about side effects?

Toadmund,

There is a lot of info on the web pertaining to Adderall, and it appears to help many with ADD/ADHD, you should do some searching. It also appears to help students concentrate, who do not have this problem. It sounds like the key is to get the dosage right; start with smaller dosage, and work your way up. Hope you work this out.

Toad I totally feel ya man...you are the first person I have ever heard(saw) describe how Adhd affects me. Its exactly like that....it why I love the internet there is soo much information that its not as easy to get bored. but because mine is AdHd and not Add i get the added bonus of multi-stream thought.....like multiple lanes of traffic....not fun at first but great in the long run.

My parents didnt believe in medicating me so i had to learn how to control my Adhd and once I came to college I found Adderol....whenever I have to study, take a major test, or just really need to focus....Adderol all the way...Its like having a magnifying glass over all six lanes of traffic in my mind.....I can focus on something totally while focusing on smoething else totally....On the downside unlike most other stimulants it doesnt bring me down....it hypes me right up....but the mental bonuses are far worth the hyperactivity.

Janson....I have had no extra-mental "powers"(sorry for the cliche word) from this particular Med....however The focus was WONDERFUL.....I did notice however that at smaller doeses the cognitive boosts remained intact albiet for a shorter duration but the hyperactivity was greatly reduced.

[edit on 10-5-2006 by Elsenorpompom]

I've decided to try and get a run on adderall even though I vowed not to use these drugs. I just have to make an appointment with the Psychiatrist I left a phone message with.
I found out that adderal has like 4 different types of stimulants in it. It does something to the dopamine (or seratonin, I confuse these two) re-uptake, where it slows it down, whereas the ADD AD/HD mind sucks it up too quick, leaving the person craving stimulation and not finding it.

Elsenor, we are not that different, I know exactly the multiple lane highway thing, I just have to pick a lane and drive to where that ONE LANE leads to, instead of swithching lanes and having no goal or focus.
'Cept tright now that one lane is excruciatingly dull.

I always wonder how someone can specialise in something and never tire of it, really I do, those people are succesful. However, if somebody needed a creative consultant I'd fit like a glove, a racing mind is a creative mind.

Good luck. I have two children with ADHD and a husdand. It certainly isn't easy, but if you can find the right med, it will make all the difference in the world. GOOD LUCK.

Toad I know what you mean. I Love my work but get sooo easily bored with it...just like everything in life...No matter how much I loev something I can never do it for like more than a year, and only with things I REALLY like, with most other things it can be a matter of days or even hours. it really blows.

My prob with the Multiple lane thing is that I cant focus on just one....So its almost like cognitive "noise" all the time. Like living next to an LA freeway....you can hear individual lanes but can also hear all of them and be unable to distnguish one lane from another.

And you were looking for serotonin reuptake inhibitors.....By regulating the inhibitors it helps to regulate brain chemistry....

I know a ton of people who'd take the stuff so they could stay up as long as they wanted. It was for the most part used as a study aid from what I remember. I'm a little older now, but this was still in the past couple of years.

I tried it once; only way I can describe it is 'cracked out'. Felt totally uncomfortable the whole time and was all skittish. Absolutely hated the feeling.

i heard someplace that adderall caused suicidal feelings.

From what I know, these stimulant meds, like ritalin and adderal affect the intended recipient (the ADD AD/HD person) differently than it does regular brained people.

Crappy, I found out that this psychologist is not covered under medicare, oh well, I'll try a regular doc, they are usually covered.
I want to try adderall, I've read good things about it, I need focus, I need to accomplish one thing, self employment. But I need a boost.

Well look at it this way 35% of American secondary school graduates are quasi-illiterate. Perhaps taking less drugs and focusing more on studies etc. might actually bring their marks up. Adderal taking in decent quantities because it's a stimulant may infact let some of these over partied kids stay up longer. Besides if your not smart enough for university and you don't think you can make it with out the help of pills perhaps you should re-think what type of education you want if you can't keep up.

Well Doc. I will be 37 in a less than a month, I am quite literate and I am also smart enough for university.
But you see, I have this problem, and even though I have avoided help because I did not want meds, I have heard on TV and on the net about adderal in particular.
If something like that can keep me on the road and out of the ditch (smelling roses), well, that's worth a try.
But alas, I have not since called another Dr., other things on my mind .

The crappy thing is, is that if folks who do not need it, abuse it, it can ruin it for the people it was created for in the first place, that stinks.

Originally posted by The_Doctor
Well look at it this way 35% of American secondary school graduates are quasi-illiterate. Perhaps taking less drugs and focusing more on studies etc. might actually bring their marks up. Adderal taking in decent quantities because it's a stimulant may infact let some of these over partied kids stay up longer. Besides if your not smart enough for university and you don't think you can make it with out the help of pills perhaps you should re-think what type of education you want if you can't keep up.

What do you define as a 'secondary school'? I was kicked out of highschool freshman year and sent to one of these 'secondary' places. Mind you, it is not the same as an 'alternative' program. I spent the next five years in a secondary program, didn't learn a single thing and had more than enough credits to graduate - but was never given the mandatory classes. I basically did the same thing year after year after year until I signed myself out. I bought a ton of books and learned how to code. I immediately went to work and at the age of 22 got my GED. I am now 26 and am moving on from being the technical director at my last employer to my own business ventures.

90% of the kids in the school slept all day. 1% would become the 'publicity students' and the other 9% would end up dead or behind bars through the course of the year. The purpose of attending was to be there and not accumulate disciplinary write-ups. There was a point system implemented, similar to the level system used in many prisons to determine a student/inmate's behavior and what benefits they should be allowed.

E.g., you cannot be part of the 'honors' class, the only class in the 50-person school where you might actually learn something, unless you have reached level 4-B. That means you made it from Level 2, Day 1 (30 days per level, levels were 1, 2, 3, 4, 4-B and 4-C) to Level 4-B, Day 1. Each teacher for every class was to assign a zero for each thing a student did not do according to the teacher's instruction. If you received more than four zeros per day, you did not advance that day. You could accumulate up to 8 zeros per class.

And they expect the kids to learn under those conditions? I can tell you that if my father hadn't been involved in the computer industry all my life, I don't think things would have worked out for me like they did. That school did nothing but waste years of my life.

ive taken adderall for over 2 years now and i feel like i can relate to and understand what some of you are saying. first, for those of you who abuse adderall...you dont need it, your actually very lucky so quit abussing it before you ruin it for those of us who actually need it and depend on it to get through the day.
throughout my whole life i have struggled with adhd. in elementary i tried a million different drugs to help me like, ritalin, concerta, cylert (sp?), adderall, stratera, dexadrine and the list seems to go on. I stopped taking meds in jr high because i didnt like the side effects that occured when i was coming down off the drugs. anways...i started taking it again when i got to college because i knew without it i would get the same results as i did in high school....poor grades, im just simply not motivated enough, and honestly school is NOT by any means easy for me. its a daily stuggle even now when i take the adderall it doesnt make it simply easy for me. but it does make it EASIER. i can actually sit and listen and comprehend what my professors are saying without being distracted from the little things like, clicking a pencil all the way across the room, the door opening and closing, people talking, someone kicking their chair etc....
i wouldnt necessarily call adderall the "smart drug" because it does not make you any smarter. but what i can tell you about adderall is once i started taking it again i noticed a huge difference. i finally realized that i love to learn. when i can actually sit and study and see end results in my tests it feels so good because ive never been able to see a difference. another factor is memorization. it seems to help me when it comes to memorizing also, although thats probably not so much the drug itself as it is the drug helping me and my ability to retain the information if i dont take my adderall my friends can definitely notice a difference im bouncing off the walls like crazy, there are a few "types" of ad/hd and i have the one most common in males, aka add combined type. theres ton of information on the web about adderall and ad/hd. trust me its out there you've just gotta look for it. and if anyone has any questions about ad/hd dont hesitate to ask... and if can relate to me then all the better! your not alone out there, dont let ad/hd hold you back!!!

ive taken adderall for over 2 years now and i feel like i can relate to and understand what some of you are saying. first, for those of you who abuse adderall...you dont need it, your actually very lucky so quit abussing it before you ruin it for those of us who actually need it and depend on it to get through the day.
throughout my whole life i have struggled with adhd. in elementary i tried a million different drugs to help me like, ritalin, concerta, cylert (sp?), adderall, stratera, dexadrine and the list seems to go on. I stopped taking meds in jr high because i didnt like the side effects that occured when i was coming down off the drugs. anways...i started taking it again when i got to college because i knew without it i would get the same results as i did in high school....poor grades, im just simply not motivated enough, and honestly school is NOT by any means easy for me. its a daily stuggle even now when i take the adderall it doesnt make it simply easy for me. but it does make it EASIER. i can actually sit and listen and comprehend what my professors are saying without being distracted from the little things like, clicking a pencil all the way across the room, the door opening and closing, people talking, someone kicking their chair etc....
i wouldnt necessarily call adderall the "smart drug" because it does not make you any smarter. but what i can tell you about adderall is once i started taking it again i noticed a huge difference. i finally realized that i love to learn. when i can actually sit and study and see end results in my tests it feels so good because ive never been able to see a difference. another factor is memorization. it seems to help me when it comes to memorizing also, although thats probably not so much the drug itself as it is the drug helping me and my ability to retain the information. and yes adderall will increase anyones attention span so if you do not have ad/hd and take adderall it will work, but it doesnt mean that you have ad/hd, so quit thinking you do..... if i dont take my adderall my friends can definitely notice a difference im bouncing off the walls like crazy, there are a few "types" of ad/hd and i have the one most common in males, aka add combined type. theres ton of information on the web about adderall and ad/hd. trust me its out there you've just gotta look for it. and if anyone has any questions about ad/hd dont hesitate to ask... and if can relate to me then all the better! your not alone out there, dont let ad/hd hold you back!!!

I thought that drug was only for mathematics study but i made a mistake,,

Thats ADD,EM,ALL.. Sorry

Originally posted by janson0202
Doing some research on the web and found that many college students are now taking ADDERALL to aid in their studies. It appears this substance helps to focus attention on their school work as well as increases memory capacity.

Does anyone have experience with this drug and its effects?

I am most interested in hearing form those who use it for this particular purpose.

It is clear it is primarily used to address ADHD/ADD in kids.

However according to a recent news report I saw on FOX or CNN, college students are using it during their studies.

Mod Edit: title

[edit on 10-5-2006 by kinglizard]

i have taken this drug recreationally 3 times. the third time i took 4 1/2 pills at one time of Adderol. its effects were negligent on me, which is why i tried 4 1/2 pill my final time. it is supposed to be an amphetamine. the only effect i had was that everything got brighter in color(lasted 4 hours or more) and i was more talkative(lasted 20 minutes to 30 minutes). even though i feel i have ADD because i ramble thru thoughts daily and find it extremely hard to concentrate while reading and my memory seems like a failure, this drug did NOT work on me whatsoever. as a matter of fact, coffee has a much MUCH greater effect on me. while drinking coffee i think clearer, i am on point, and a remember a little bit more than usual.

Adderall = A single entity amphetamine product combining the neutral sulfate salts of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine, with the dextro isomer of amphetaminesaccharate and d, l-amphetamine aspartate monohydrate.

AMPHETAMINES HAVE A HIGH POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE. ADMINISTRATION OF AMPHETAMINES FOR PROLONGED PERIODS OF TIME MAY LEAD TO DRUG DEPENDENCE AND MUST BE AVOIDED. PARTICULAR ATTENTION SHOULD BE PAID TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SUBJECTS OBTAINING AMPHETAMINES FOR NON-THERAPEUTIC USE OR DISTRIBUTION TO OTHERS, AND THE DRUGS SHOULD BE PRESCRIBED OR DISPENSED SPARINGLY.

MISUSE OF AMPHETAMINE MAY CAUSE SUDDEN DEATH AND SERIOUS CARDIOVASCULAR ADVERSE EVENTS.

Let me give you two fine examples of people who 'benefitted' from amphetamines:
Hitler and Elvis

During World War II, over 72 million amphetamine tablets were given to soldiers on both sides of the conflict to keep them alert and awake. The amphetamines also caused psychosis-like aggression in some soldiers. Hitler was also known to have taken amphetamines daily, by injection, which probably increased his psychotic aggressiveness, as well.
Source

A Brief History of Amphetamines
most importantly follow the money

In 1965 all amphetamines became illegal in the U.S. unless a person had a doctors prescription.

In 1970 The Controlled Substances Act severely restricted the legal production of injectable methamphetamine.

In 1971, there were 31 amphetamine preparations being distributed by 15 pharmaceutical companies. Legal production was over 12 billion pills a year.