Stimulants Dexampt. Etc for people with ADD/ADHD

[AussieSWIMer]

Hi all,

I have a young relative that has been prescribed Dex and am curious to hear from people who have used/are using Dex prescribed to them for legit reasons how it affects you and whether it has benefits or if it just gives you speed type effects? I have heard that if you do have add/ADHD it calms you and the opposite happens if you don't. Is that because of the euphoria or is it to do with how your brain works? Does it really help young kids to concentrate, if so, how? What do you feel?

If past users (/present) could elaborate on how it's helped you or affected you in a negative way it would really help me to understand how it can benefit or possibly disadvantage young (or even adult) individuals.

Thanks all!

 

[drgreenthumb00]

I have ADHA im presdcibed to adderall..... I want to try other medicines to see how it effects me but I don't want to lose my script to addys....


I heard the dex works good tho

 

[AussieSWIMer]

I have ADHA im presdcibed to adderall..... I want to try other medicines to see how it effects me but I don't want to lose my script to addys....


I heard the dex works good tho

If you don't mind me asking, in what way does it work 'good'? Recreational benefits or medical benefits? Does it help u concentrate or not get distracted or is that just the nature of speed? Not a big speed user

 

[DigitalUnicorn]

The doses indicated for ADHD treatment are much smaller than those of your average speed freak.

Having been prescribed dexdrine, myself, much of the negative side effects were mild (lack of appetite first few days), or from the dabblings in high-dose use every once in a while.

However, I've also experienced some of the more idiosyncratic facets of stimulant ADHD treatment. For instance, rather than go up, my anxiety levels dropped significantly after beginning adderall and then dexedrine, as did my need for sleeping pills. This is probably due to being able to manage decent grades and hold attention in classes other than those I was inordinately interested in without the epic struggle usually involved. It certainly helps me focus, and I can tell when kids have come to my uni classes on too much of the stuff. Chances are, they had enough dopamine and norepinephrine to begin with... It is believed stimulants work well on ADHD because people with the condition people did/do not without a bit of pharmacological aid.

I think that in cases of ADHD, stimulant drugs are only really effective slowly titrated up, and with a tolerance to the mild manifestations of amp's side effect profile factored in. I've broken this rule a bit, for the slight euphoria of taking say 10-20mg over a day without a tolerance. Generally, though, if a person has a legitimate need, and treatment is undertaken correctly, the medication will weave into the fabric of one's life without them really noticing it. Only difference will be the improvement of one's life in the areas that ADHD affected.

If you're concerned about your young relative, encourage him to be VERY open with his Doctor. You want to be able to catch some of the signs of trouble as quickly as they appear, if possible.


One last thing, I have a friend who has been diagnosed with ADHD for a long time. It can be very hard to be around him when he has not taken his meds, and it is obvious to everyone he hasn't, because he acts, well, like you would think a child on a large dose of speed to act, hyper, uninhibited, etc. This is a person who also has been declared deaf after having his hearing examined, although it has been decided that it's not a physical thing at all, but unmedicated much of what he hears simply does not make it to his conscious awareness, and on bad days it is impossible to hold a conversation with him, as his mind will be in a different place usually, he will not hear what you have to say, and will be relentless in steering the conversation towards what he is thinking about.

Medicated, however, he is much more calm, lucid, and reasonable, he works hard but in a directed fashion instead of the workaholic binges he had a tendency towards. I should note that like some others, my friend and I have found some aspects of unmedicated ADHD brain functioning to be appealing creatively or otherwise, hence the forgoing of medication at times. I'm unsure of how the Inattentive vs. Hyperactive metric works out there, but I'm sure it has bearing.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Amphetamine is more or less effective depending on how you use it.

If you avoid taking it daily, and avoid increasing your dose very much (10mg to 30mg should be avoided if possible, but 7.5mg to 10mg is a better dose adjustment). You want to take at least one to two or three days off periodically, because tolerance is hard to avoid when regularly taking amphetamine. However, if you are careful, it won't be too hard to still get good effects from your original dose.

There's numerous things you're going to have to do for amphetamines to best help you with ADHD. All of these things may not be options, or good things, for all people, but I have personally found all of them to work well.

4:1 EPA:DHA Ω-3 supplements (at least 1 gram per day)
magnesium (either as a supplement by itself or within a multivitamin)
a balanced diet (eating carb heavy food during the morning, eating a diet high in protein and fat, lower in carbs)*
exercise (daily - ideally cardio and muscular)
l-arginine (after done with amphetamine, or on the days I don't use it)

* some people have tailored diets which would contradict what I eat; learn what's right for you.

 

[AussieSWIMer]

Thanks guys, that really helped me to understand ADD/HD and the benefits of medicinal amphetemines alot better.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Thanks guys, that really helped me to understand ADD/HD and the benefits of medicinal amphetemines alot better.

No problem. I just also wanted to point out that there are negative side effects from becoming addicted to amphetamine/abusing it. I believe ADHD can be worse for people who abuse amphetamine.

Staying up multiple days in a row on amphetamine should be avoided. You should also make sure to eat before and after the effects, especially if you cannot during them.

You also want to keep yourself hydrated while on amphetamine, but you will also be dry mouthed. So drink water slowly and regularly. It's very easy to become dehydrated on amphetamine.

 

[TheFDA]

I have a huge amount of experience with Dexedrine, as well as every other ADHD medication. I feel like Dexedrine actually produces less bad side effects & 'causes much less of a "tweaked out" feeling than Adderall does. I remember the first time I ever took Dexedrine I felt really high, in like, a totally recreational way... & I'd been taking TONS of Adderall for months & months at that time.
Basically Dexedrine is all D-Amphetamine, which is the Amphetamine thought to be the "fun, recreational" Amphetamine. Adderall is half D-Amphetamine & half L-Amphetamine. While L-Amphetamine is actually responsible for most of the bad side effects people experience from those drugs, L-Amphetamine is also a less recreational & more of a "study" drug than Dexedrine.
Lots of people have absolutely horrible reactions to Adderall, mostly in a way that develops months after constant use, but have wonderful reactions to Dexedrine. In circumstances like this, I feel like Dexedrine is by far the best Med to be prescribed. However, I feel like people should start with Adderall -- preferably Adderall XR -- & only turn to Dexedrine if they have bad effects from the Adderall.
Dexedrine's a wonderful medication; it's also a wonderfully addictive medication. I'm a total & complete Dexedrine addict, & I KNOW that I wouldn't be if I wasn't prescribed such a high amount of Dexedrine for so long. For people with addictive tendencies or whatever, Dexedrine is NOT the way to go.
Oh, & the only reason I only mentioned Adderall & Dexedrine is because I feel like non-Amphetamine ADHD medications are generally inferior to the main Amphetamine medications.

 

[jonny87]

Dexedrine's a wonderful medication; it's also a wonderfully addictive medication. I'm a total & complete Dexedrine addict, & I KNOW that I wouldn't be if I wasn't prescribed such a high amount of Dexedrine for so long.

Do you mean that you take it recreationally and are addicted to doing so, or that you are addicted to taking is medicinally? Because I don't understand how this is addiction any more than a diabetic is addicted to insulin

Thanks
Jonny