Adderall - long term addiction and tolerance?; better altern

i would suggest trying to get your tasks done without the use of prescription medication. after months and years of usage you will not even be the same person.

Hi,
I would highly recommend that you do not start taking adderall. What they say is true, tolerance builds rapidly and dependence is very likely. If you are anything like me, you will eventually come to the point where you are completely unmotivated to do anything (from laundry to hanging out with friends) without it. Every month I struggle for at least a week because I take my prescription too quickly or have to "pay people back" for borrowed pills. In fact, the only reason I'm sitting at home on a Friday night is because I have no desire to socialize without it. Granted I am going through the immediate withdrawal phase, but my point is, don't start on an addictive and dangerous medication unless you want to experience what I do every month.
Why don't I just take my prescription as recommended? My tolerance is too high and my doctor isn't comfortable prescribing a 24 year old more than 40 mgs per day.
As far as what happens 20 years from now, I'll still have to be taking adderall because I cannot imagine or fathom life without it. The days I suffer without my prescription are absolute hell. I will be taking my adderall for life. These are just my experiences, but I hope you find this information helpful in making your decision.

I've been prescribed adderall 30mg 2x day since I was 15 (9 years) and I never had a problem with it until I started nursing school. I began having to take it every single day, even weekends, because of the unbelievable study/work load. I started noticing that it wasnt working as well as it had previous years. I went to the doctor, and she switched my meds to strattera and focalin...none of which worked. I told her to just forget about the problem and put me back on adderall (i was falling behind in my 8 hour lecture days and 12 hour clinicals without it). To manage my 12-16 hour days she said I could take 60 mg of XR early in the morning and then 1 30mg in the late afternoon. I did this for about 6 months before THAT stopped working. Im very upset about all of this because I know that I can't possibly increase my dose anymore (there are so many heart and hypertensive issues that go along with a stimulant) and I'm falling behind in my studies, and its literally impossible for me to sit still in a lecture hall for 8 hours a day without annoying everyone around me. My work is not nearly as good as it used to be and I pretty much just dont hear what the instructors are saying during lecture. I also have signs of dependence because when I dont take the medication I feel very fatigued and lazy. The last time I didnt take it was a month ago only for a day that I didnt have any studying to do.
But I want you to know that between 30-60mg/day did work very well for me for several years. It worked through high school and college. Im all over the web looking for alternatives for myself now but cant seem to find any that have the same effect as adderall.
Best of luck!

If you're gonna take adderall, understand this: if you need it for more than a couple of years, insullfate (snort) it, are "addicted" or have formed habits (you know you have a party to attend to so you take extra), these are all BAD signs. I have an ex who went straight from years of crystal meth into snorting adderall, and it was sickening to see. I admit, I abused it for about a year and a half in my younger days, but luckily I never became really addicted and still have enough natural energy that it's not tempting to get back into the daily use of it. I'd say, use it for a few months at a time, if that. If you are addicted to soda with caffiene or coffee...I'd stay away. If I was a caffiene addict I'd probably be an adderall addict, too. I think I just don't have a real addictive personality, luckily, but I wish I could say the same for my ex. I'm sure, even in his mid-30's, he's now sitting somewhere tweaking out with his nose full of orange pill-crushed powder. And sad because he got skinnier and skinnier and aged about 6 years over the 3 I knew him.

I take 30 mg of adderall daily. I started a year ago at 20 mg and the year before that I was taking 20 mg of ritalin. The ritalin didn't really help so I switched to adderall and it was a world of difference for me. I'm 23 years old and I also have a sleeping disorder (excessive sleepyness); idiopathic hypersomnia is what my sleep doctor calls it. But I also believe that I have ADD so adderall helps with both. Over time the medication does wear off but that's how your body works; it become custom to usually anything-even a workout routine! So, yeah it's kind of scary to think about what will happen when you keep increasing doses and they keep wearing off but I have had two doctors tell me it's okay to swith medication when that happens and then switch medication again when that one wears off too. And you can always go back on adderall again after switching to another medication. You wont become addicted if you don't abuse it. Some days I don't take it when I know I can lay around and not do much but there's always a slight form of addiction with every drug. That's just how it goes. That is why you wean yourself off medication and not just stop cold turkey.

I think that if your a grown man, and you truely think you need a stimulant to help you out for a little while, id say go with adderall. But, if ur planning on having it around for quite some time, i would look elsewhere, because it does screw with you after a few years. A small amount of time on adderall can definetly make a difference and help u see your true potential, just make sure u don't start relying on it because it is habit forming. Ive been on adderall for 10 years now, and im only 19, i feel like im 40, my childhood was kinda raped from me...but i think that if your an adult, and you know what you want out of the medicine, its pretty safe. AND the tolerance issue is a little bit of a problem, it depends on what kind of person you are though...theirs many answers for every individual person

I know the original post is years ago but I see people have been adding to it over the intervening years and I just found it looking for answers myself so I thought I'd add my two cents and maybe it will help the next person seeking answers.

I have been taking Adderall for over a year and have found it makes a world of difference for my with my ADHD. All the people around me know the difference between when I am medicated and when I'm not, even if they don't know I have ADHD. (They say things like 'you have been kind of off lately.') I am up at 6:20 AM where I am because I just started back on it after an unintended hiatus for about a week or more. That's because I forgot to get an appointment for med clinic to get a new prescription. But anyhow ordinarily Adderall doesn't impact my sleep unless I take it very late at night or combine it with caffeine (then I really DON'T sleep). Since I am wide awake despite being up all night I started seeking answers about tolerance.

I have not found any issues with addiction at all. I have never felt withdrawal from it when I have an accidental hiatus like this. I notice the ADHD comes back full force and I end up apologizing to close friends (sorry, I'm not medicated) when I do things like take off across a store to check out something interesting. For the original poster saying that they are totally unable to do anything without Adderall I don't think that is a drug dependency issue so much as a coping with ADHD issue. But that said, if the person is running out of pills because they are taking more than they are supposed to that is a different issue. I think that is also true of the person who spoke of an ex who snorted it. Those are Adderall abuse issues. Granted I seem to have the opposite issue from the original poster since I seem to forget my second dose more often than I remember it. Maybe because my first dose wears off before I take the second?

Now in response to the comments about "weaning off." This is such a short acting drug that it is out of your system in only 4-5 hours for the immediate release and 8 hours for the extended release. So I think it's always "cold turkey" so to speak because it doesn't remain in your system long enough to require a physical weaning. Maybe a psychological weaning.

I have felt at times that maybe I was becoming tolerant but then I am not sure if it's because I have become used to the 'normality' that it brings to my ADHD life or if it is true tolerance. Perhaps I haven't been truly tolerant because I am not terribly consistent in taking it as prescribed (2 short acting doses) and I forget to get a new prescription in time every 2 or 3 months.

Hope that helps someone.

DO NOT TAKE THIS sh*t! RUINED MY LIFE!!!

Okay so i am 16 and i take adderall for my ADD. I just recently found out that i have it, and it runs in my family. I feel focused, and by the end of the day i dont feel like i am crashing, like some people say. I take 60mg in a day and it works great. I stay focused and on task all day, and by about 6 or 7 in the evening, i just feel relaxed and calm. I also have friends who buy adderall to get high. Everyone says it is supposed to make you calm and focused, but if you do not have ADD or ADHD, it will make you hyper and anxious because it is like speed. These friends i have do abuse the drug, and they are willing to pay a lot of money for ONE pill that lasts only a few hours. People say that they have been addicted to adderall and that can happen but you just have to take it only if a docter prescribes it and you must use it how he or she has directed. Dont just take more because you feel like it. Also talk about if you are allowed to skip days when you dont need to be extremely focused, because this will make your body not as dependant on the drug. Also the effect of the drug will be much different for people without ADD or ADHD because it is doing nothing to help your body feel normal like it does for us. Oh and the guy that said adderall ruined his life? uhh yeah if you dont use it correctly or too much. That makes your body more tolerant to the stimulant causing you to "need" more of it. Do some research and be careful. I honestly am so much happier. I focus in school and i feel motivated to go to school. The change in how i act in school has made me decide to do full time running start because i feel like i can do it. I thought i was stupid for the longest time because school was difficult for me and i just felt like i didnt know anything. That was because in class i wouldnt pay attention, was always talking or just not listening. ADD makes it so it is difficult for you to focus on something you arent interested in, but you will hyper focus on things you like. There are other medications for ADD and ADHD if you arent comfortable with adderall. But parents, if your kids have trouble focusing and paying attention, see if they have ADD because the treatments really work. I hope this helped (:

you should try concerta:)

Hello ER1221. I take Adderall 20mg 1x to 3x daily(my choice per my doc). I have been perscribed as much as 4x daily. Again, my choice 1x to 4x per my doc (he trusts my 60 year old judgement). I have also at times been perscribed Rit, Concerta,. Focilin, and Strattera. Strattera did nothing whatsoever and neither did the Foc. If you really want to control your ADD or HD exercise, eating right, focusing and memory aids, and life style changes are the actual and safest way to go. To control Add or Hd if you cannot adhere to the safest ways to control them, then the hard stuff is the only way to go. It is addicting, especially if you have that particular trait like I do, and you have to be careful and exert a lot of personal self control while under the guise of these 'helpful' drugs. Trust me, especially being a child of the freewheelin' culture of the 60's, it's a stuggle at times to exert the self controls I just relayed to you. But, for the most part . . . I do. Is my focus and all the other symptoms of Add or Hd under control? Yes, of course! This is the hard stuff. Sure, it works and works well. But, they (the drugs) are extremely addictive . . . if you allow them to be. Just like anthing else (alcohol, grass, chocolate, cetera, et cetera) if you allow it to be. Good luck. Peace and be well.

How long did you take adderall before being addicted?

I can't recall, but I'm 29 now (amazing how much time has passed since I created that post) and my situation hasn't changed.

Hello,

I've been taking Adderall for 10 years on a daily use of 30mg (Not taking it on weekends) and the long term effects started to happen to me. First of all I've done reserch since I have a psychiatrist on my family. Well for the last couple of months I've experienced tachytardia faster heartbeat almost all the side effects and now im changing prespcription, this becouse starting on a new drug helps you becouse it lowers the side effects you feel. For noticing if you have long term side effects this can include: tachycardia, faster heart beat, blurred vision occasionaly, mood swings, after the dosage has worn off oyu get angry by any type of reason, ect... (Remember everyone can experience different types of symptons, worse or better than other people) Those are the most commons done in a research I made on teens with my uncle. Any questions about Adderall just post here or email me privately and I would be glad to answer. (If you feel any worsening symptom make a list of how many times a day does it occured, does it get worst, does it comeback or just happens once and for how long have this symptoms have been occuring, make and appointment with you're psychiatrist and explain to him the list and he will help you with this symptons that dont go away) Taking Adderall early in the day and later on nigth lets say, "You took it at 8:00 am and then took it at 9:00 or 8:00 pm if you take it on a daily basis a HIGH DOSAGE do not take Adderall again at nigth, because you will experience a type of OVERDOSE that you will feel almost some side-effects like 100% STRONGER" (Study done from 8/21/12-9/25/12 on 2 High Shool teens, and 3 College students) This study I made showed that High School sudents almost uses it on a 1 a day basis, but the College student when he had and exam or something that caused him stress or anxiety whill take a HIGH DOSE of Adderall 1 in the morning as usual and 1 after 6-8 and this made them had STRONGER side-effects.

Have a nice day!

Adderall Doctor