I know a person who gave another person a couple of capsules of a drug commonly prescribed for ADHD (I believe it was Adderall). The recipient asked for them because the recipient “has a test coming up” but has no diagnosis of ADHD, nor symptoms. I know both of these people. I restrained myself from delivering a lecture on the wisdom (or lack thereof), much less the legality, of passing around prescription drugs, especially those treated as narcotics.
But the question I am left with is will these pills even help the recipient? Can ADHD drugs improve the concentration of someone with no signs of ADHD? Can they turn an average person into a highly focused thinker? Or might they even have a negative effect on someone about to take a test?
Adderall and Ritalin are similar to caffeine in effect, but I was told (when consulting with a doctor over whether my sons should be given them) that the less towards the deficit end of the attention spectrum a person is, the less the drugs affect them. So, ADHD drugs presumably provide some benefit to alertness for non-ADHD sufferers, but how much and for how long I have no idea. These drugs also suppress appetite, which would likely be a negative for someone preparing for an exam.
Adderall, at least, is an amphetamine. If anything, it will more of a stimulant effect upon non-ADHD users.
I take 10mg 2x daily myself for ADHD, they do next to nothing apart from helping my maintain focus and stay on task, except for perhaps a lessening of sleep requirements on average…when I’ve been out of town and run out of prescription (it’s a bitch to fill, due to federal regs etc) I sleep 2-3 hours more per day and lose all focus.
My friends who have taken them recreationally/for ‘off-label’ use (not from me, btw) are far more affected as far as behavior patterns and energy levels. Pulling all-nighters with ease, writing immense papers and projects in single sittings, or just talking nonstop and drinking all night :rolleyes:
I have not been diagnosed with ADHD/ADD, although I suspect I am somewhere on that fuzzy border line. From what I’ve gathered I exhibit symptoms.
I occasionally take 10mg-20mg (can’t control since I don’t have a prescription… ) Adderall absolutely works for me. I am able to focus through the entire day on demand. I am much less easily distracted. But the biggest thing is lack of analysis paralysis. I don’t sit there and internally debate and second guess my decisions until the end of time. I analyze, make a decision and move forward with the actual doing of work rather then just thinking about the work. It’s a wholly different effect for me than high doses of caffeine.
for what it’s worth, I prefer the adderall XR(extended release) or vyvanse both of which are not ‘peaky’ like plain old adderall can be. I an also a fully grown adult, so i’m not worried about it affecting my brain development. But I note that the FDA has cleared this drug for use in children, so It can’t be that bad.
Most ADD medications are stimulants. They will absolutely effect someone who does not have ADD. They’re serious drugs.
The ADD medications that are most common in my anecdotal experience are adderal, ritalin, and concerta.
Adderal is an amphetamine. If taken in large doses, it could have effects similar to speed.
Ritalin and concerta are Methlphenidate. It is also a stimulant. It’s vaguely similar to amphetamine.
Taking these drugs often results in an intense sense of focus. Which is why they give them to people diagnosed with ADD. These drugs can can cause a plethora of other side effects, such as increased energy and insomnia, as well as some considerably nastier stuff.
These medications are commonly taken by people who are not prescribed them. People take them to stay up all night working or drinking, or to give themselves extreme focus while studying.
The sprog’s pediatrician told me that he uses Concerta as a trial for kids who are borderline ADHD. He’ll prescribe a few weeks’ worth, and if, at the end of the trial, the child shows significant improvement in his ability to focus, he’s got treatable ADHD and the parents and pediatrician begin to work on finding an optimal dose. If the drug doesn’t work, or if it sorta kinda works but not really, the child probably does not have ADHD serious enough to treat and finding another physical source for the behavior becomes the treatment goal, along with behavioral counseling.
It wasn’t relevant to my question, but I’ll mention that my daughter is being treated for ADD with Concerta. I had extensive conversations with the pediatrician before agreeing to try medication. The diagnosis is done strictly by behavior, there is no organic test. The doctor said that part of the diagnosis is to observe the response to the medication. They started her on a very low dose and increased it gradually. This industry standard at the moment. Not sure why you find it terrible.
However, being that i’m in graduate school now, I have very crappy “insurance.” that pretty much only lets me see the the school health centers singular psychiatrist.
The first thing this guy said to me was pretty much, the very fact that I graduated from university means that it’s unlikely I have ADHD/ADD. I suspect he sees 20 kids a day who think they have some sort of spectrum disorder. He was unwilling to prescribe any medication. Fair enough I suppose. In my case, I think I do in fact function well enough to get by without meds, in terms of my professional life. But the way I accomplish this lowers my quality of life dramatically. I have enough discipline to work very long hours, with work only actually being accomplished in 20-30 minute stints of focus with lots of time wasted with my wandering mind. As you can imagine, this is not a great quality of life.
I have not had time to go find a doctor which I can pay out of pocket. Being in graduate school kind of sucks all the time you have. It’s summer now, and I’ll be looking at doctors. I’m hoping that when I get an actual prescription that the consistent meds will help improve my quality of life.