Mental Health Wired on Dexamphetamine (adderall) my entire childhood.

[legal_hi]

As a child being diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, as all psychiatrists would, I was prescribed Dexamphetamine to help treat my 'condition'. From what I remember (not alot, my memory is very poor, probably linked..), my primary school days were often spent sleeping in class and being extremely exhausted from not being able to sleep until around 4am each night and would wake up feeling unbelievably exhausted and was late everyday to school. The dex also made me extremely angry and violent spinning out of controls and breaking into tantrums. Strange things I also remember doing such as pulling out all my eyelashes with tweezers (must have had some sort of gratification from doing this.. sounds meth-head like).

My thought and worry is about what sort of damage may have come from living for years like this as a young child? (maybe 7yrs old, up).. The thought of chronic sleep deprivation as a kid tends to worry me.

At the current point in time I don't feel that I am psychologically impaired, although I believe that i may be manic depressive (bipolar) which my mother has been diagnosed for. Also recently (past months) My short term memory has become extremely bad, possibly due to moderate cannabis use and rare dexamphetamine use? Thoughts on this also would be appreciated.

Ps. my 'tollerance' for lack of a better word is very low, meaning that after not using dex for a long period of time.. 2.5-5mg of dex can produce very speedy effects and eurphoria. (I find this quite strange, no-one I know is like this at all.. I even can greatly feel the effects of coffee if I have not consumed caffeine in a while, although tolerance to such drugs builds rapidly)

 

[pasha]

Your thread revolves around your mental illness, and the long lasting psychological issues that can arise from long term amphetamine use. I'm going to move your thread over to The Dark Side where you can get some insight and support.


BDD---->TDS

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

Hi legal,

It's sad that so many children are 'diagnosed' with ADD/ADHD these days (I'm not inferring you were). I don't think there has been any significant studies into the long term effect of stimulants on children, but I do believe that it may be the reason behind some of the 90's generations issues.

Are you still seeing a psych about your condition?

As for your reaction after abstaining from dex for a while. You might be more sensitive to drugs (Stims in particular), which no one would have taken into account when you were younger.

 

[herbavore]

The long term effects of stimulants in very young children is documented. Here is one site that talks about them. The good news is that you can, over time, reverse or mitigate the lasting effects.

Your best bet is staying away from stimulants altogether and eating a very healthy diet rich in omega-3's. I notice a marked difference in my symptoms when I do this and when I don't. Sometimes I just slip out of what I know is good for me and my brain starts feeling like a pinball machine.8)

Here is a good book to read by a psychiatrist who has ADD. I think it is up to all of us to educate ourselves as much as possible about this very controversial subject and decide for ourselves what we believe is the best course of action. Life changes and adaptations are always preferable to drugs IMO. Since the diagnosis of this is exploding exponentially every year, it is imperative for our children that we look deep into this.

 

[xxpurplehazexx]

For how many years did you consistently take Adderall? Was it Adderall and not purely dextroamphetamine? I've been taking Adderall for over 3 years and think I may be developing some memory issues, plus I take Klonopin to sleep every night. I can't imagine taking Adderall without Klonopin, sounds pretty miserable. Sorry I'm of no help

 

[legal_hi]

The long term effects of stimulants in very young children is documented. Here is one site that talks about them. The good news is that you can, over time, reverse or mitigate the lasting effects.

Your best bet is staying away from stimulants altogether and eating a very healthy diet rich in omega-3's. I notice a marked difference in my symptoms when I do this and when I don't. Sometimes I just slip out of what I know is good for me and my brain starts feeling like a pinball machine.8)

Here is a good book to read by a psychiatrist who has ADD. I think it is up to all of us to educate ourselves as much as possible about this very controversial subject and decide for ourselves what we believe is the best course of action. Life changes and adaptations are always preferable to drugs IMO. Since the diagnosis of this is exploding exponentially every year, it is imperative for our children that we look deep into this.

Thanks for the great info. Ill have a look into the links you posted.

For how many years did you consistently take Adderall? Was it Adderall and not purely dextroamphetamine? I've been taking Adderall for over 3 years and think I may be developing some memory issues, plus I take Klonopin to sleep every night. I can't imagine taking Adderall without Klonopin, sounds pretty miserable. Sorry I'm of no help

Was purely dextroamphetamine not the racemic mix of adderall. (only put adderall in brackets since people from the U.S. are quite familiar of that name). Not sure how many years.. ive been on and off it, I will have to find out.

 

[Woodsong]

It's funny (well, not really), my 10-year-old little sister got put on Adderall recently... The effect it has on her is to get her so overwhelmingly wound up that all she can do is stare off into space or focus so intently on one task and one alone, so that it paradoxically makes her seem absent-minded, and godspeed trying to get her to listen to you -- kind of the opposite of intended, if you ask me...

Then again, she's on 30mg a day... I'd be up for a damn week on that much...

I don't think she has ADHD, I think she's a 10-year-old kid with no discipline whatsoever and finds school boring. Big shock... Same with my step-nephew.

 

[herbavore]

^ You don't know how sad this makes me. Our country/culture is going to pay dearly for this mistake. I work in an elementary school and I see the way this is headed every day.

 

[ad lib]

Doctors are so quick to "diagnose" these days and hand out prescriptions like they're candy.

Do you still take the drug? Have you tried talking to a doctor or therapist about your feelings to see what they think?

 

[xxpurplehazexx]

It's funny (well, not really), my 10-year-old little sister got put on Adderall recently... The effect it has on her is to get her so overwhelmingly wound up that all she can do is stare off into space or focus so intently on one task and one alone, so that it paradoxically makes her seem absent-minded, and godspeed trying to get her to listen to you -- kind of the opposite of intended, if you ask me...

Then again, she's on 30mg a day... I'd be up for a damn week on that much...

I don't think she has ADHD, I think she's a 10-year-old kid with no discipline whatsoever and finds school boring. Big shock... Same with my step-nephew.

That's so sad. You should point out all the negative effects its having on her to your parents (if they'll listen, of course)

 

[Woodsong]

@herbavore/xxpurplehazexx
It is sad... Hell, they tried to stick me on antidepressants as a young teen, but I wouldn't have any of it. I was luckily smart enough by then to know I didn't need the damn things and wasn't about to alter my brain chemistry just so mom and dad might have an easier kid to deal with. But her? It isn't right to push something like that one someone who's not old enough to understand what they're taking or why they're taking it...

And the parentals? Well, that's a long story, but I've said my peace plenty of times to the people involved...

 

[DrunkardsDream]

As a child being diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, as all psychiatrists would, I was
prescribed Dexamphetamine to help treat my 'condition'. From what I remember (not alot, my memory is very poor,
probably linked..), my primary school days were often spent sleeping in class and being extremely exhausted from not
being able to sleep until around 4am each night and would wake up feeling unbelievably exhausted and was late everyday
to school. The dex also made me extremely angry and violent spinning out of controls and breaking into tantrums.

Strange things I also remember doing such as pulling out all my eyelashes with tweezers (must have had some sort of
gratification from doing this.. sounds meth-head like).

My thought and worry is about what sort of damage may have come from living for years like this as a young child?
(maybe 7yrs old, up).. The thought of chronic sleep deprivation as a kid tends to worry me.

At the current point in time I don't feel that I am psychologically impaired, although I believe that i may be manic
depressive (bipolar) which my mother has been diagnosed for. Also recently (past months) My short term memory has
become extremely bad, possibly due to moderate cannabis use and rare dexamphetamine use? Thoughts on this also would
be appreciated.

Ps. my 'tollerance' for lack of a better word is very low, meaning that after not using dex for a long period of
time.. 2.5-5mg of dex can produce very speedy effects and eurphoria. (I find this quite strange, no-one I know is like
this at all.. I even can greatly feel the effects of coffee if I have not consumed caffeine in a while, although
tolerance to such drugs builds rapidly)

You are fine and are overreacting. It's not as though you were taking methamphetamine which is 1,000 times stronger than a low dose of Adderall/Dexedrine is, meth is more neurotoxic, and meth is completely made out of poisonous chemicals or whatever the tweaked out cooks have on hand. You were also monitored by doctors which is not something that people who take Amphetamine recreationally or meth are. Actually what you are describing with the 2.5-5mg of Dex/Adderall being a stimulant and euphoria does happen and it happens to adults but not teenagers or children, and it will happen to an adult who takes a low dose of Dex/Adderall and who has no tolerance. Also what you are describing about feeling the effects of caffeine when you drink coffee but have not drank it in awhile are normal too. Go to a medical doctor or a psychologist/psychiatrist if you think you are bipolar they will be able to tell if you actually are or are not. Be honest with them about your drug use. If you smoke pot regularly your short term memory is going to be effected and it will be like this if you drink alcohol as well. I also read posts of yours where you wrote about taking research chemicals, MAOIs, and Cannabinoid RCs so those are all going to effect your memory. What you described with pulling out your eyelashes and eyebrows has to do with compulsive behaviour and it is not caused by someone taking Dex/Adderall. Likewise the tantrums and spinning out of control with violence have nothing to do with taking Dex/Adderall and they could have just been regular temper tantrums that some people get or even kids/teenagers and some adults get, or you could have been highly manic IF you are actually bipolar.

 

[DrunkardsDream]

It's funny (well, not really), my 10-year-old little sister got put on Adderall recently... The effect it has on her is to get her so overwhelmingly wound up that all she can do is stare off into space or focus so intently on one task and one alone, so that it paradoxically makes her seem absent-minded, and godspeed trying to get her to listen to you -- kind of the opposite of intended, if you ask me...

Then again, she's on 30mg a day... I'd be up for a damn week on that much...

I don't think she has ADHD, I think she's a 10-year-old kid with no discipline whatsoever and finds school boring. Big shock... Same with my step-nephew.

It sounds as though your sister has ADD/ADHD since the Dex/Adderall calms her down, and has her focus. If she did not have ADHD/ADD the Dex/Adderall would not do that at all to her and it would be a stimulant.

 

[Venrak]

^Those are stimulant fx IMO.

Or maybe I just have ADD.

 

[Black Rabbit of Inle]

The only person I know who has ADHD goes straight to sleep if she has amphets.

Getting super focused on things is just a normal effect IME

 

[Lady Codone]

I always wonder why, when a medication is causing more problems than it solves, people continue giving it to their kids. I can't tell you how many stimulant-using kids got WORSE after being put on these meds, yet the doctors and parents continue to use them. People should learn to monitor the kid to see how he's feeling. If something is making the behaviors worse, stop using it and try something else!

As for OP, there are supplements that supposedly help the brain recover from amphetamines. R-ALA is one but I don't recall any others. The developing brain is fragile so there's no way of knowing exactly what--if any--effects this had on who you are today.

 

[China Rider]

It sounds as though your sister has ADD/ADHD since the Dex/Adderall calms her down, and has her focus. If she did not have ADHD/ADD the Dex/Adderall would not do that at all to her and it would be a stimulant.

I hear a lot of people say this, it's not true at all

add/adhd is very complex, unable to focus is just one symptom, a symptom not even required for having severe add/adhd, the disorder is massively misunderstood

I didn't think I had add/adhd, because i was unable to relate to other people who told me they were diagnosed with add/adhd(people who couldn't hold conversations, commit to anything, and overall just lacked conversational depth/longevity) ......but I took the test, and scored very high, even though I have a very strong short and long term memory, i am able to commit to doing certain 'busy' activities for long periods of time and am not easily distracted in social environments

adderall is 'speedy' for me, provides the mental kick in the ass i need, and instead of daydreaming while working i'll use my mind for positive and concentrated thinking

and that's why Adderall is a great medication for me, prior to taking it i struggled with disorganization and difficulty completing tasks(two factors that are just as significant as unable to focus)

honestly i just wanted the Adderall cause i liked the way it felt(i probably liked it cause it eliminated specific issues), but when i was first rx'ed it i abused it for a few days and it quickly lost it's magic....but it's when taken as prescribed, it it is a wonderful tool

just because someone has a collected and laid back demeanor, does not automatically disqualify their chances of suffering from moderate to severe add/adhd

 

[herbavore]

^ i agree that is a myth.

Here is a checklist to supposedly tell parents if their child has this "disorder". these questions could be answered by any parent whose child does not do well in traditional school. America diagnoses way more children than anywhere else and we diagnose far more boys than girls. There are definitely cultural things at play here! I don't like to see kids put on these drugs. As a teacher I can tell you that I have never once seen them improve anything beyond the first couple of weeks when the kids are feeling the euphoria and that speedy kind of focus to a task. But that wears off and then you have a very discouraged kid and confused parents (who were led to believe there was a magic bullet cure).

Basically everyone in my family fits the definition of ADD (not ADHD) though only two of us have been formally diagnosed. The diagnosis for my son was based on him getting bored and disconnected from boring and irrelevant schools (ours are 4th from the bottom in the U.S.) and the diagnosis for me was based on my own anecdotal complaints about my inability to stay focused and my susceptibility to distractions. Is this really a disorder? Or is this a personality and a brain "style"?


I believe that you can tailor your life to your brain. Choose work where you can be your own boss, have a flexible schedule, vary your tasks so that you are not bored.