Adderall.

I read an article in W magazine about Adderall, a medication that treats ADHD, and it claims that many young, jet-setter women are taking it in order to keep their weight down, because it's a major appetite suppressant. Considering Nicole Richie's slim down, I think it could be a real possibility that some drug abuse is going on in Hollywood...

I guess I'm just curious if anyone has taken it, and any thoughts you might have on it.

I watched a show on MTV about it... my mom used to take it but not for ADHD but to help her sleep or something like that I forget... but anyhow... the show talked about how teenagers who took it often took more than they should/it more often than they should for the appetite suppression and how they would sell it to their friends and stuff... it's very addictive... I wouldn't doubt the possibility of drug abuse in Hollywood...

take care.

My son's ADHD and my understanding is that all ADHD medications have the side effect of appetite suppressant.

Yeah. Almost all ADHD meds do. Adderall is great though. A lot of college kids I know who went to the Uni of Kentucky had friends working in their psych research lab and would steal adderall to sell to college kids during finals week. It helped them focus and allowed them to stay up all night to study. haha

 have add and when I take my adderall, I get very calm and after a week or two, my appetite comes back anyways.

I think it could be a real possibility that some drug abuse is going on in Hollywood...

I'd say it's more than just a possibility.  I'm not just talking about Adderall, though.

i am OBSESSED with adderall/ritalin. I have never taken it and i probably won't, but seriously, MOST of the people in my law school class with the highest grades are on adderall or ritalin. i mean not all, but i know at least 4 of the top students...

Plus, everyone i know who goes on adderall/ritalin loses a gazillion pounds and accomplishes a ton of stuff. it just seems like a miracle drug but i'm very weary of mind-altering substances after i had a horrible experience with antidepressants. So i'm constantly re-attempting to talk myself out of making it a goal to get a prescription.

I do hear it can mess up your emotions...I mean it seems like only 1 out of 10 prescriptions go to people who actually need it.

But it sure is tempting...

Get skinny and get 4 points...become a beautiful, successful lawyer--OR struggle with my own will to lose weight and study in my own way...Obviously choice one is more appealing! but i guess I rather retain my sense of self....

bahh

Yeah don't go fishing for a prescription that you don't need. You don't want to be a dirty drug addict. Adderall can easily lead to meth.... easily. And when I'm on adderall, I admit sometimes I completely ignore my husband and become zombie like.

jordan, yeah that's how my friend is--when she is on adderall, she is almost sort of cold-hearted. I think it's more that she becomes entirely functional so she will disregard emotional sentiments in all their forms...But it always makes me want to see her less because she isn't the same--

i mean i'm SEARCHING frantically for a reason to avoid this medication. So i'm not at all criticizing you, it's more i'm constantly trying to talk myself out of going from doctor to doctor to get a scrip.

I'm terrified of meth. That's funny that it could lead to it--

what are the other bad effects of adderall/ritalin?

drugs for adhd, such as adderall, ritalin or an even stronger one dexedrine do work for appetite suppression....

however, there are many risks associated with the use (much less abuse!) of these types of drugs.

1) they raise blood pressure and heart rate and in long term use can cause serious heart health issues
2) they are extremely addictive...especially in the mental addictiveness side of things...esp when used to control appetite
3) sleeplessness is a very common side effect, causing many patients to start to abuse drugs to help them sleep as well.

most of all - abusing these types of drugs makes them much harder for people who actually need them to get them.

and most doctors realize there is a high abuse rate, and adhd is very rarely diagnosed for the first time in adult.

another gross side effect is it makes you sweat a lot and for some reason, i don't know why, it makes you smell really gross too. (like you need to take a shower twice a day to kind of not smell) so does meth. it's basically meth. so if you're afraid of meth, you'd be a hypocrite to ever swallow an adderall pill. same thing. 

my roommate last year used her boyfriend's ADD drugs to stay up to study before each midterm and final.  she didn't seem to have any side effects.  i kinda wish i could get the hookup like that seeing as im about to start upper division classes.

Don't do it, janellejaneiro.  Coffee.

Oh this is HUGE, HUGE, HUGE among the "mom crowd." Haven't you ever seen Desperate Houswives? They did a storyline with that. Also, Oprah? REGULAR people are doing this. You would be shocked. Yes, it's NOT a good thing at all. WHY get hooked on drugs JUST to be thin? Ruin your insides just so your outsides will look better? Harm your heart and God knows what else? Shorten your life? No thanks!

I don't think I will try it.  It has some pretty terrible side effects.  It would just be nice to have energy like that...too bad the consequences outweigh it.

In high school I used Adderall.  My friend hated taking his ADD meds, and so he would give them to me.  It is very addicting.  Yeah I lost a bunch of weight, but I looked like Skeletor.  I never had any hallucinations or anything on it though.  My sock drawer was exceptionally organized because I would be up all night with nothing else to do.  LOL  In all seriousness, I would stay far away from this.  It was hard to quit using. 

its cuz adderall is speed

crush that **** and snort it

good times

Yeah... ha ha... do any of these people tell you about amphetamine psychosis, about 2 hours of sleep a night, and what happens if (GOD FREAKING FORBID) you miss a day? Ugh, I had so many fewer problems before I got diagnosed with ADD, but it's a necessary evil. I'm a smart cookie, but school has always been hell for me. And it's not a situation of "Man up and do your f***ing homework," it's more like I sit down to do it, set everything up to focus on it, and get so frustrated after an hour I break something. My grades shot up and the housework got done, but I still would never recommend them. Since two of my friends who got suspiciously thin this year started trying to buy them off me, I can't tell anyone I'm on it either.

If you look for a prescription when you don't need one, you're already abusing it. Chances are it won't stop there. It could quite literally drive you insane and kill you, since it's just a really controlled-release meth.

i hate everyone on adderall which is the majority of my campus. i go to a pricey school in ny full of rich kids and ALL of them are on it. they party hard all week, but when it comes to an exam they pop it like its candy and do well. while im at the library out of SELF MOTIVATION studying. its almost like its a crime. all you have to do is act retarded for the psych dept. and have your parents sign off on the fact that you could use a little help with school work and bingo you are given a prescription for add.

 

AHHHH its sooo frustrating.

I actually took some yesterday because i heard it can help you feel more energetic and it did. BUT that also made my mood swings a LOT worse I would go from being really pissed one minute to being really sad that next. Granted it is TTOM but I am thinking it increased those emotions. shrugs not sure though. It sure as hell did not curve my appetite. Heck I was crying when I ate the sandwich and candy that made me go over my calories. shakes my head.. I really hater aunt flow.

Question - what happened to Ritalin?  My friend used to take that for her ADHD.