I have a question. My son is taking Adderall XR. I have caught him smoking, he is 18, and I was just wondering, does smoking affect how the adderall works? I mean, will it reduce how good it works for him? Tomorrow he has an appt. with his doctor because I think he needs a stronger dose. Just doesn't seem to be helping. His grades aren't great, mostly because he doesn't get things handed in. He isn't doing things he should be, forgetting, etc.... So, just wondering if anyone here knows if smoking will affect the adderall. Thanks.

Just bumping up to see if anyone can respond. Thanks

Adderall is not prescribed as an anti smoking medication.

- from my own experiences smoking does nothing to the adderall. Thing is adderall makes you want to smoke more.. pretty much like any kind of medication out there that messes with your brain, anti depressants etc..

- Sometime i do notice tho if i smoke too much my nerves start jittering to much and my adderall cannot control it, and i become nerve wracking.

it seemed to make it more effective for me... or at least cover-up the low points. i was on 20mg per day when i was a smoker. when i quit, i was moved up to 30mg, and it's still not as effective. the adderall went from being near-perfect to being unpredictable. many things could have had an affect, but smoking was the biggest change.

could have just been me.

OK, thanks. My son had his doctor appt. today and is now on 30 mg of Adderall XR. So, we are hoping to see it work better. It is just so frustrating to see it not doing what it had been helping him with before. He says he rarely smoked anyway, just did it cause all his friends did and they are always hanging out. But he says he hasn't in awhile. Not sure I believe him though.

This may be too late to help, but I definitely felt smoking reduced the effectiveness of Adderall. Smoking's effects on dopamine in the brain are well-documented, which is why it is helpful to Parkinson's patients. I also dropped a ton of weight when I combined the two, even though I ate like a trencherman. If mainstream America caught wind of this approach to weight loss, the whole country would be on Adderall.

I have no problems. My doctor told me that almost 90% of adults with ADHD are smokers, or were former smokers. Don't know where those numbers came from but WOW!

nicotine use is a form of self medication for many. I read a study that said that the nicotine patch was as effective as ritalin for adhd. Nicotine helped a goup of adhd individuals as well, even better than ritalin with normal inhibition response.

I would never encourage someone to use nicotine, it is highly addictive and has side effects(nausea,b.p,etc).

I will have to let my son know that it is possible that the smoking, if he is still doing it at all, could be affecting the Adderall. Thanks.

This may be too late to help, but I definitely felt smoking reduced the effectiveness of Adderall. Smoking's effects on dopamine in the brain are well-documented, which is why it is helpful to Parkinson's patients. I also dropped a ton of weight when I combined the two, even though I ate like a trencherman. If mainstream America caught wind of this approach to weight loss, the whole country would be on Adderall.

oh man! same. i came back home for thanksgiving and i weighed myself 30 pounds lighter than i was in august high190s to high160s. i wasn't even trying to lose weight. it seemed like i was eating constantly. i've been trying to put the weight back on. currently in the 180s. it was kind of scary.

OK, thanks. My son had his doctor appt. today and is now on 30 mg of Adderall XR. So, we are hoping to see it work better. It is just so frustrating to see it not doing what it had been helping him with before. He says he rarely smoked anyway, just did it cause all his friends did and they are always hanging out. But he says he hasn't in awhile. Not sure I believe him though.

this sounds alot like me and my brother. i would say that more than likely he isn't telling the truth. i know that we weren't. the problem is that he will probably have to figure it out for himself. if he is a rebellious kid, then try and find a way to make his environment tell him that smoking is bad. find ways to make smoking be entirely too difficult or sound awful. but don't do it directly. that, as most of us know, will only make him want to do it more.

good luck,
z

I have no problems. My doctor told me that almost 90% of adults with ADHD are smokers, or were former smokers. Don't know where those numbers came from but WOW!

my doc told me the same thing. i can see it. my ability to function in a public environment skyrocketed once i started smoking. the problem is that the body adapts to nicotine something terrible, and seems to always be in need of more.

Zacharry, He isn't rebellious, but I do think he isn't completely honest with me. I have explained to him about smoking and it's effects. I also have told him that by smoking, it may be making the Adderall not work like it should. We did go in and have his dose move from 25 mg to 30 mg, so hopefully that will help. Without being with him 100% of the time, I really can't do any more that what I have done. He is 18, and needs to make decisions. I will not allow it in my home, just like when my mom visits. She has to go outside. It is hard to believe this kid smokes. He always hated it when we went to my moms due to her smoking and his reaction to it. Oh well, really not much more I can do about it I guess.

I lied to my parents about smoking too. I told them it was my friends and that I would just pretend when I was out sometimes. And I've read that adders were more likely to smoke. I know it gives me an opportunity to take a time out when my inner dialogue or environment get too overwhelming.


When my meds first kick in I want to smoke like crazy. I am a little worried about being able to quit while taking adderall. *I am supposed to be quitting on Monday the 8th. :-( *

I know my son started out telling me he didn't smoke, that the smell was his friend cause they all smoked. Then one day, I stopped at the gas station, he was there with his friend, and I caught him smoking. I confronted him. Later he apologized and said he doesn't smoke much. But his friends smoke and he feels stupid hanging with them and not smoking. He later said that he only smokes once in awhile, and now doesn't at all. I still smell the smoke, ask him and he swears he isn't. Not really sure what to think. He is of age though, so what to do.

Let him figure it out, I guess.
My non ADD sister started smoking when I did but stopped before she even left high school.

Let him know it's not okay around you, but I would suggest that you refrain from contempt or anger. Rather, sadness and sympathy were more effective for me and my sister. The fact that I am too ashamed to smoke around my Dad is a strong motivator to quit even though I am 28. If he were contemptuous or disparaging I might have been more defiant and refuse to quit just out of defensiveness. (I've quit many times now)

Just two cents from someone who was just like your son (at least from what we've discussed here ;-)).

It seems to me that nowadays, it's cooler not to smoke; like it's not so rebellious but simply stupid. But I am neither a teenager nor as subject to peer pressure, so that could be just another erroneous observation from the outside looking in.

Like many Narcotic stimulants, Ritalin and Adderall can increase the desire to smoke simply because it is something to do. When one is stimulated internally, it is only natural that that stimulation roll over into the physical. I have taken both, and I must say it definitely increases my desire to smoke. It is similar to alcohol and cocaine in that manor.

Reading threads about smoking and Adderall make me want to smoke more than taking the Adderall. I no longer feel my medication so I doubt it increases my desire for a cigg. I have also read where nicotine can have a stimulent effect on the brain but it isn't the same as perscription medications, just like cafine is a stimulent but it isn't the same thing.

If it doesn't have the same chemical name, the same molecular properties it isn't the same drug even if it does fall in the same classification .

H20 is water - if you all one atom it will read H2O2 - hydrogen peroxide. Water drinking necessary for life the other is poisonous to drink. They are both liquids used for cleaning stuff but they do not have the same molecular properties. So before we begin lumping and making assumption of chemicals in the same class please do realize that is a fatal flaw in logic.

If one thinks two things are the same because they are of the same class must also believe lead and gold are the same thing, yea you are that far off! If some one finds my response annoying I apologize but I do feel the need for accuracy when it comes to discussions about medications.