I think that many of us who are taking medication for our conditio are going to have to pay a heavy price for it later. it is nessacary for all of us to take meds but deep down i think taking medication for anything overall for so long is not good. this worries me a lot and i often wonder what kind of fatal desease mental or physical i will get due to all of these drugs i am putting in my system. but eventhough i worry about this, i know my life will be a mess without them. Life can really suck sometimes.

What do you all think?

I can speak about my mother's experience of taking Ritalin for 40 years for narcolepsy, she hasn't experienced any problems as a result.

I can speak about my mother's experience of taking Ritalin for 40 years for narcolepsy, she hasn't experienced any problems as a result.
well that is good news. i can now ease up a little. thanks.

Rasberryrum,

I don't know if this is reassuring but I know exactly how you feel. I wonder if I'm not permanently messed up from my meds already. I have a strong desire to stop them but I don't know what kind of support is out there for me if I do. I also have an ethical dillema on this issue. I take drugs for alot of reasons. But it's scary to think of my self without them. It's easy to forget who you are when something has had that much presence in you life for such a long time.

I've been on Prozac for about 12 of the last 14 years, and am not aware of any problems.

I've been on Prozac for about 12 of the last 14 years, and am not aware of any problems.
there is only one way to find out man push it

All the bits I've read about Dexedrine are remarkably clean on long term use.
Cheers! Ian

I totally wonder what ill be like.... like another post says its soo difficult and scary to think of how it would be without meds, i was perscribed to addreall for a little more then a year and developed an addiction towards them and now im taken concerta(1 month) and i just dont feel right or the same cuz they have two different effects. I feel we are all covering up our problems with the medications but what would we do without it??? Theres no turning back after you've experienced it, (maybe so but , my opinion) More support should be offered for us people who know we need to get off the meds

All of these posts are the reason I will never take meds; particularly stimulants for my ADD. If I went 38 years without them, why start now? I also had a letter from an oline Doctor who told me Dexedrine was NOT known as to it's long term effects.

I'll try to find it. :) But from watching Andrei struggle, and now be clean of all stimulants, he is far better off without them, ADD included.

I think the meds could be useful for some ppl short term until they apply behavior modification and learn skills that will enable a relatively normal life, and then get off them and do the hard mile. ;)

I also really resisted starting medications. As Blue states, I made it so long without. However, life doesnt always cooperate and I found my self becoming increasingly "out of control" with my hyperactivity, chaotic life, and depression. Add to this that I have 2 ADHD children and we were all losing it.

I have been taking medications now for about 6 months and am so relieved to have the help. I am a better parent because my ADHD doesn't interfere or agitate my kids. I am calmer and more positive. Both my psychologist and psychiatrist agree that my need for medications is, most likely, temporary and that when the "incredible stress" of the family situation is gone (they do grow up!) I'll be able to go back to medication-free.

As I said, sometimes life just doesn't go the way we want it to. I hope I can continue to be self-aware and open, but without the medications I only hurt myself, my family, and those around me from trying to cope with willpower what isn't possible right now.

I think the choice to on whether to take meds a very personal choice and each person has to do what is best for him or her. Does the quality of like that ADD meds pay provide on the present out weigh the unknown problem that may or may not happen in the future?

It's true that there hasn't been any research on long term use of stimlulants in adults. But, most of the current data suggests that there are very few side effects and any problems can be reversed once people go off the stimluants.

To tell you the truth I'm a lot more worried about all the toxins in the environment and all the other crap we put in our bodies. Ritalin has been around since 1937. How long has nutri-sweet been around?

When I got diagnosed my doc said that medication was not a life sentence. He said the purpose of medication is to teach you how to manage it so that eventually you can learn what you have to learn and go off them. I've been off my meds now for a couple of months after 4 and a half years and so far it's going well. I realise that there are some things I can't do too well off meds (like understand things properly) but at this point in time it's better for me not to take them.

WHen I got diagnosed nearly 5 years ago I really needed to be medicated. I had no social understanding or social skills. I've learned a lot since then.

Tara is correct - it is a personal choice. Maybe you really feel like you need to be on them now but maybe if you have a break in 5 years time you might discover that you can get by without them.

I totaly agree with Tara and Tudorose.
Im not big fan of meds, but I am looking forward to taking getting them.
My plan is to stay on em for as long as needed and then move on.
The days I was medicated last year I noticed that the effect didn't totaly subside after the meds are out of my system.
The effect kind of echoed afterwards and even for weeks I could somehow still connect to this different thinking and feeling.
So, yeah, I hope I it's not permanent and I don't think it's too hard of a prize to pay.
Oh, and I am smoking chain again now, and I just know that I can't stop smoking AND function properly (or even better) without the meds. There really isn't an option for me. :)

ADD is a truly painful disorder for some. Our medical community cannot even agree whether or not ADD really exists or if it's just another excuse made up by people who don't want to take control of their life. You mean we have a choice? I can just choose to control my life and my thoughts and my actions and it'll all fall into place? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Then you add in family members, friends and aquaintances who tell you "it's just a hoax". Stressed yet?

The first time I gave my son his med I asked myself "what will this do to him later?" but I've finally come to see that without the med he doesn't have a lot of hope on learning to function with ADD. Meds do not have to be forever if your willing to work very hard to find the resources whether it be therapy, coaching, excercise, etc.

Now, I ask myself "would I deny him heart meds if his heart didn't work right?", "would I deny him insulin if his body didn't produce enough?". While one is physical and one is mental does not lessen how important they are. You need a healthy mind to maintain a healthy body, they are very much hand in hand. My son experiances less anxiety, stomach aches, headaches and less depressive episodes while on meds then without.

Don't deny yourself that piece of mind. But, do keep yourself educated on medical advances and new stradegies on coping.

Good luck,
Cherity

well, we can never know for sure, I think the preservatives in our food, and heavy alcohol consumption would be worse than normal dosage of PX drugs, but I do know, the liver regenerates, and so do our cells, so I wouldnt worry. Just eat well, & excersize.

Also, we have to consider the long term effects of the alternative, stress & possible harmed relationships.

This turned out to be a really good thread. There were alot of good opinions on the subject. I think what I hate the most about taking medications is that drug companies are very manipulative and it's a huge money making industry. I feel like I'm being had by someone else. Especially when medications like stimulants which in general are habit forming may be prescribed unecessarily. Notice how they don't play the commercials anymore. Of course they are effective in the areas where those of us with ADD need help but they'd also show improved performance and attention in a non ADD person. I guess my feelings on this issue are that I've been neglected primarily by my physician because I've been prescribed a drug it works and thats good enough for her to keep writing out the little scripts every 4 or 5 months. The fact that I've talked to this woman for a grand total of probably two hours in the last five years and that she thinks she knows my mental state well enough to put me on this medication is wrong. Just because something works doesn't always mean it's right. I feel like I've been supressed and sedated for the last five years. Some part of me was lost with adderall. It was really nice to impress people for awhile but I don't like living up to other people's standards. I want to find my own peace of mind without it being clouded by drugs that influence my behaviors and attitudes. I'm at an age where my identity is being formed. I'm a junior in college. I'm an art major but I don't feel like one. It's like all these things are happening to me but I'm not really participating in them. I'm just there acting my part like I'm supposed to. I just want my voice to be heard hell I wanna hear my own voice.

Then Jane I'd say start researching alternative treatments. Yoga, excercise, diet, talk therapy, aromatherapy, zen, anything to make yourself more comfortable in your own body would be worth it. You have to know who you are to help yourself and if you feel your meds rob you of your identity then there is probably something to it.

big hugs,
Cherity

I have to admit I have the same anxieties about stimulant meds. I recently saw a study done on caffeine that proved that after long term regular use, peoples brains did not function as well without caffeine as they did before they started drinking coffee regularly. Why would Adderall or other stimulant meds be any different? I can't help but recall what my high school biology teacher always said: "If it ain't pure, ain't natural... it probably ain't good!"

...but then their brains readjusted. caffeine clears out of the system in less than a week. Trust me, Im all for natural first, but I do know, I thank God every day for "unnatural" drugs and lifesaving medicines, they may save my child one day.

I have to admit I have the same anxieties about stimulant meds. I recently saw a study done on caffeine that proved that after long term regular use, peoples brains did not function as well without caffeine as they did before they started drinking coffee regularly. Why would Adderall or other stimulant meds be any different? I can't help but recall what my high school biology teacher always said: "If it ain't pure, ain't natural... it probably ain't good!"

You also have to remember that too much of a good thing can hurt you in the long run as well.

We have a 52 yr old man who was completly body consious. Ate right, excercised right but killed his liver and kidneys by taking too many vitamins. yes, it's possible. I agree with you the more natural you can go probably the better but you do have to follow guidelines so that you don't over do it.