Could Adderall Be Causing Depression?

caroljean · Gold Member Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 356

My son is exhibiting signs of depression. He is on Adderall for his ADHD for almost a year. I decided to give him a break from it because he was not eating and since stopping the medication, he has smiled more and been a much happier child. My husband was against it. I couldnâ€™t look at him like that, depressed. I would like to hear from other Adderall users, could it be causing depression?

latrena · Silver Member Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 349

Hi there, my son was also on Adderall for a year and it worked well most of the time. However, lately he has wild mood swings which I believe are side effect from a drug. I believe that these meds are not safe for long term use. So, I decided to switch him to stratera and his mood has improved. Well, I think you answered your self on your question could Adderall be causing depression.

Yahalom · Newbie Joined: 04 May 2007 Posts: 1

Around my Junior year in high school, i was dating a girl who had ADD. I never really knew much about ADD or its effects, and frankly was really never too interested. One night, though, i was staying at her place. this was around the time that I was starting to practice for my SAT's. I got decent but pretty low scores, and i was talking to her about it. She gave me an adderall pill and said i should try it next time i take a practice test. Low and beold, my score went up 150 points just between one week and no studying between. It was a miracle!! I told my mom, and though she got pissed i took a drug that wasnt prescribed to me, she got me tested... low and behold i got my own prescription. Junior and senior year went by, and i tried to take adderall as little as i could...i didnt like the side effects; sweating, dry mouth, decrease sex drive...so i stayed off it as much as i could. But during this year, my first year at UCSD, school has been a lot harder. being on the quarter system makes things go very fast, and it seemed i needed adderall all the more. I didnt really mind the sweating and dry mouth and decrease sex drive, i was getting a 3.9 GPA my first quarter...i never even got that in high school! So i started taking it more and more, up to about 3 or 4, sometimes even more a week. Lately ive been feeling really depressed and somewhat bi-polar. Ive lost my ability to be social and ive become kind of bitter to the world. Grades are still great, and its hard as f*** to stop taking it.
So my question/reason im writing all this is to see if anyone else has gone through the same things from adderall. IM not sure if i changed from the adderall or from being in a new enviornment im unfamiliar with with people i dont know. If anyone has any comments on this, please let me know. Thanks a lot.

Guest · Guest

I too experience the same problems you have occurred with adderall. I am 30 yrs old and have lost my sex drive and lost my social skills. I was turning some stand up comedy circuits and on my way in that field, but since adderall cant even be funny, and cant stop taking the crap. The only thing I see it helped was my weight loss. I feel bi- polar , and can flip out on someone fast. My personality has changed and I feel hooked on it.

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Guest · Guest

adderall DOES cause depression.

Guest · Guest

Iv been using adderall for 6 years and i have to say its awesome it works but after the 4th and 5th year i feel strung out from it and am fully reliant on it and cant function with out it. I also have depression (might just be teenager stuff) it feels like as i don't get that push i get like i did in the beginning of taking it. Iv switched to higher dose but im just more strung out making it impossible to go to sleep but unable to really get stuff done as your on the down curve of the dose. The only time i enjoy adderall anymore is the time right after the morning high like 10 hours in cant really concentrate but can be a little less serious. It seems to blunt your emotions as well could solve the extremes but not having the option to feel them makes you feel like a hallow robot. So it might just be mild depression but it hasn't allowed me to feel happy in a while now.

Guest · Guest

I am a junior in high school and begginning to wonder if it is causing my depression, because I have been having random screaming fights with my mom and I am always confused why she is unhappy with me in the first place. Instead I feel like I don't have any true friends (which may be true), crying when I think I look good (very odd, you would think I would be proud), and feeling hopeless. Enough about me though. I never thought about adderall as an addictive drug, I hope I can stop taking it ok. The only problem is that I get severe headaches and stomach aches just from not being on medication in general. I had these symptoms before medication, but you could try gradually decreasing the dosage and substituting caffine. I am not a medical professional, this is just my opinion. I heard it pretty much does the same thing, but I figure if you gradually work yourself onto energy drinks or something you will hate the crash they give you and just stop taking them. I haven't heard of energy drink addicts. Also, they have an energy drink out that is a natural vitamin that supposedly doesn't make you crash. But this is just my opinion, you could ask a doctor or whoever proscribed you the adderall in the first place.

Could Adderall Be Causing Depression?

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