Is weight loss with Adderall normal?

Hi, I want to try taking Adderall for weight loss, but I don’t know if it is safe. Sudden lose of weight is promised, is it normal?

Adderall is combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. It is originally used for improving attention span, concentration, and overactive behavior. Mainly, it is prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy, an illness of sudden falling asleep. Rarely, it is used for weight loss. It is not the right approach to losing weight, you should spend more calories and intake less, in order to stimulate burning of accumulated fats. I suggest you to start with mild exercise to stimulate cell metabolism, you will feel much better and all your efforts will pay of.

Look I take adderall for my ADHD. I strongly advise against using this for weight loss. I have done all types of medicattions for weight loss, such as ephedra, ephedrine, guarine, caffeine, etc.. and using pills to try to lose weight is very detrimental to your health. Adderall works as a suppressant and thus will slow down your metabolic rate which is why you do not feel hungry. If you slow your metabolism down like this, upon discontinuation of the medicine, you will rapidly gain the weight and most likely enter into a state of depression and wind up binging because your body is so used to having a stimulant in it.

slice wrote:

Hi, I want to try taking Adderall for weight loss, but I don’t know if it is safe. Sudden lose of weight is promised, is it normal?

Please do not take Adderall for weight loss. This drug is intended for people with ADD/ADHD. It has very different effects on people who do not have it. People w/ ADD have an imbalance of chemicals in the brain & the stimulants help those chemicals maintain a proper balance.
I have to be monitored w/ an EKG at least once a year. This drug increases your heart rate & blood pressure. If I get nervous, my heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest.
I have ADD & have no choice but to take this medication, as it helps me focus, keeps me from being frustrated, being forgetful, etc. It also helps my relationships w/ people. Basically it helps me function like someone w/o it & I'm very happy, so the side effects are worth it too me, & I actually don't have to many of them, as you would probably have a lot more since you don't have ADD/ADHD.
Sudden weight loss never is healthy, & usually always comes back. Eat right, work out, & you will feel so much better. The weight loss is slow at first, I know I have been there, but it becomes much easier to keep it off. Plus your natural endorphins make you feel like you are on top of the world. For your health's sake do not risk serious side effects to loose a few pounds. It's not worth damaging a beautiful life.

I've been on 15 mg of Adderall since last Sept. I'm 37 and was just recently diagnosed with ADHD. I can't believe how great I felt when I started taking it! I actually felt and sounded intelligent at work. It's like going through life not being able to see clearly, and then being prescribed eye glasses. It's like "so THIS is what it's like to be normal!!" Totally amazing. I do also take Effexor for anxiety, and I will tell you that in the morning when I take both meds I feel like I love everyone and it's a great day. I don't really like this because it's not reality. I do like the fact that my mind is clear and I can prioritize. I don't forget things.

Now about the weight loss ... I do need to lose about 30 pounds, and when I first started taking it I lost 15 pounds in about 6 weeks. Then it balanced out and though I wasn't losing, I wasn't gaining either. Then my husband suggested that I stop taking the Adderall because I was more aggressive. I stopped for about 4 weeks and my mind went back to mush again ... and I gained about 10 pounds. I'm now back on the 15 mgs, and I feel better. I don't care so much about the weight loss because that will come off with WILL POWER, HEALTHY EATING AND EXERCISE.

Sorry this is so long, but some advise for those who desperately want to lose 20 pounds or more ... just adjust your lifestyle. don't think to do something "to lose weight" because you won't keep it up. I decided to exercise Mon - Fri because it helps my body not ache. I have 2 small kids and 3 sets of staircases in my house. I ACHE! Eventually it will come off. I just use the adderall to function like a normal person.

Guest wrote:

Look I take adderall for my ADHD. I strongly advise against using this for weight loss. I have done all types of medicattions for weight loss, such as ephedra, ephedrine, guarine, caffeine, etc.. and using pills to try to lose weight is very detrimental to your health. Adderall works as a suppressant and thus will slow down your metabolic rate which is why you do not feel hungry. If you slow your metabolism down like this, upon discontinuation of the medicine, you will rapidly gain the weight and most likely enter into a state of depression and wind up binging because your body is so used to having a stimulant in it.

Adderall INCREASES metabolism. It does not slow it down. You have no idea what your are talking about!

I am prescribed to adderall for ADHD, I took it for a few years and theres an initial weight loss but if you stop it comes back and it never exceeded 10-15 pounds. Yes it does help with my ADHD im much more focused at school and just in general. But to lose weight it isnt really that great, for 15 pounds it wouldnt be worth it, if youre desperate enough to take a drug to lose 15 pounds then you can probably lose almost that in water weight.

Ive lost 80 pounds because I exercise 5 days a week and changed my eating habits, it would not have happened with just adderall.

And whoever said it speeds your metabolism isnt necessarily right, it speeds your heart rate and in turn you burn calories (my resting heart rate at peak on adderall is my suggested fat burning heart rate) but it suppresses your appetite, which makes your body think it has to go into starvation mode and it slows your metabolism. no matter what youre doing you have to eat to lose weight!

I don't know about anyone else's experiences with adderall, but I took it for about a month awhile back. I was taking 20mg(one pill every morning) a day for about 40 days. I don't think it's a substitute for a healthy diet and exercise plan but it did help kickstart my diet and I was able to lose much more weight even after I stopped taking it than I was before I took it. I definitely don't think it's for everyone. My son's teachers think he should take it, but I refuse to put him on any kind of medication, especially at only 6 yrs old. I just thought I'd share my experience with it.

I started taking adderall for my ADD a few months ago. I had no idea it was supposed to suppress appetite or help with weight loss. As my doctor increased my dose, I started to notice my appetite was much smaller. I had been trying to lose weight anyways and had only been maintaining it. Suddenly I've lost 10 pounds in the last 2 1/2 weeks. I am eating healthy and I'm trying to make sure that there's food in my stomach just as with any balanced diet. Well, I'll continue with my good eating habits regardless. I suppose it might be unhealthy if I solely relied on the meds, but I'm sure my healthy eating only fuels the accelerated weight loss.

For almost my whole life, I have struggled with my weight being on the average of 40 pounds overweight. I could never have imagined a life where food wasn't either a source of consternation or obsession. But then two months ago at the age of 49, I was diagnosed with having ADD and was prescribed Adderall. What a difference it has made in my life. Not only have I lost a focus on food and the struggles with my weight, but it has made me devote my energies to truly positive things I want to change about causes that are important to me besides what the scale says.

Just prior to going on Adderall, I had lost about 10 pounds by skipping breakfast and lunch, but I was constantly hungry and thinking about food. Once I was on Adderall, I just didn't think about food. Prior taking the medicine, I had no idea that this was one of the side effects. I did get really thirsty the first two weeks but that went away after about two weeks. I also have lost weight very slowly averaging only about a pound a week. I have lost a total of 20 pounds and am in a size I haven't been in for years. The amazing thing is, I have no desire to snack and when I eat I only want to healthy. I can only eat small portions because I get that full feeling. For some strange reason, I have developed a craving for dark chocolate (70% higher cacoa). Maybe this is why I had the for the slower weight loss.

Do I recommend it to those not diagnosed with ADD? I don't know. Inspired by my success, my husband obtained a perscription for it and already after one day has had the same experience being on it. Well see how it turns out for him.

While it has been wonderful for losing weight, this isn't why it's my miracle drug. Unless you know what's its like to feel like your mind is full of static, and then to see things clearly, you can never truly appreciate the medical benefit of Adderall. With that being said, I still have never wanted a life on a perscription drug unless it was to sustain my life, so I don't know how long I will actually take it.

Good luck to those who use it and with losing weight, which in itself is a very mind-altering, positive experience.