Aderall 9 Years Ago

[HumanRocket]

So I think it's now common knowledge to doctors that Aderall can cause impairment too, or stunt the growth of children and pre-teens taking it. and that it can also effect the menstral cycle very negatively in some women.
At 12 and a half, a few months before starting my first period (and therefore pretty much at the onset of puberty) I was prescribed Aderall XR 30 MG. The dose was based on my weight.
After starting it I lost about 10 pounds a week for the next 6 months until I lost a total of around 60 pounds.
I got my first period about a month after starting Adderall, and then didn't have one for a few months. Then when it started again, it went on for three months straight getting heavier and more painful by the day until I finally went to the hospital because I felt like I was dying and there were clots the size of my fist coming out of me. I was given birth control pills, to fix the problem, and stopped taking Adderall for unrelatedd reasons soon after.
I sincerely believe Adderall perminatly stunted my physical growth. upon administration of Adderall, I stood at 5 and a half feet tall.
Today at age 21, I am still 5 and a half feet tall.
Both my parents are over 5 feet 6 inches tall, and it was prodicted on a growth chart by a doctor that I would be around 5 foot 5 by age 16.
Of course we can't for sure say that I wouldn't have turned out the same height anyway, but I am almost certain Aderall was at least a factor in my fialure to grow.
My question is, did doctors know 9 years ago what they know today regarding the possible negative effects on growth in children and the other bad effects in general? because if they did, my psych basicly was ok with the strong possibility of stunting my physicle growth and other negative effects.
I don't believe Adderal is something that people should be taking at the onset of puberty because of my experience. Thoughts?
Note: I have nothing against uppers, and have been a user of them myself. I was just wondering.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I agree with you that children shouldn't be taking stimulants like Adderall. I'm confused about why you think you are short though. You said you were 5'6"? That's normal. The average height for a woman over 20 in the US is actually 5'4". I also stopped growing at around 13 yrs old as well and I wasn't on Adderall or anything similar.

I'm sure most doctors don't know all that much about the possible long-term side effects of most of the drugs the prescribe. And 9 years ago they would have known even less. The info on the drugs is provided to them by the pharmaceutical companies, who have a financial interest in promoting them as safe and in not doing studies on the long-term side effects or side effects from long-term use. What side effects doctors do know about, they weigh against the potential rewards of the drug. In most cases the rewards are exaggerated and the risks are downplayed or unknown, so they feel it is an acceptable risk to reward ratio. Adderall was only invented in 1996, so in 2003 there would have been much less known about it than there is today. It's not like your doctor knowingly gave you something that he thought would harm you, he was just doing what he believed at the time (misguided or not) to be best for you and your family.

Like you, I also got really unpredictable heavy and painful periods. This is also very common. How is your period now?

It's impossible to know whether the Adderall played a role in these issues. If you were only taking it for a few months, I would be inclined to think it is fairly unlikely the Adderall played a primary role. Your perceived problems could be due to any number of things, look at the shit we eat and breathe in this day in age. The studies on how Adderall affects growth so far have found that it only temporarily slows growth and does not impact final adult height, but I'm skeptical of how they can make that claim - how can they really know how tall someone would have been if they did not take any Adderall? I guess they are just comparing their height to their family members or something. But I wouldn't worry about your height, that is a great height

 

[HumanRocket]

lol not 5"6 5"0
I never progressed beyond 5 feet.
My period now is normal
I have since had a child.
but since all my family members are beyond 5 feet 6 and I am still 5 feet 0, hence my logic that Adderll may have played roll. I took the stuff for about a year.
I just think that being at the onset of puberty while on it combined with the dramatic weight loss effected me.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Oh, lol, you said "at age 21 I am still 5 and a half feet tall"

 

[xxpurplehazexx]

So you only took the Adderall for 1 year between the ages of 12 and 13? I still think it might have impacted your growth, especially considering the amount of weight you lost. I have no idea what doctors knew about Adderall back then. I've taken it for almost 3 years straight (started when I was 19 and am now almost 22) so I had already reached my full growth potential by the time I started.

 

[Zarathustra1313]

Unfortunately parent height cannot really be used to determine offspring height accurate at all. My wifes father is 5'7 and her mother is 5'4". She is 5'1, her older sis is about the same but her younger sister is 5'9". My mothers brothers are 6'4" and the other is 5'6".

There's no rhyme or reason to it other than what your father contributed to the egg it met in your mothers ovaries. Purely chance really.