My doctor said that if I really became resistant to Adderall, then I would most likely become resistant to all stimulants. True?

Adderall seemed great my first month, but I didn't really ever skip a dose. I had started a new job and pounded (only as much as prescribed) 7 days a week to prepare for the Law School Admission Test for 2 months straight.

Now, I will study less for another LSAT and I have learned my new job enough to ease off. I'm trying a trial of a higher dose of Adderall and also trying a new prescription for Concerta.

Maybe I'm wrong for thinking stimulants are best for me academically speaking, but I just don't want to be resistant. I hope it's possible that less use now will decrease my resistance.

My doctor said that if I really became resistant to Adderall, then I would most likely become resistant to all stimulants. True?


First tolerance to a stimulant just means a higher dose would be needed. Though such a dose might not be available or safe at some point. Second
Undoubtedly there has to be at least two very different mechanism of actions
stimulants used to treat ADHD have. One effecting D2 dopamine receptors and
another effecting noradrenic receptors. Not sure on the noradrenic tolerance/ cross tolerance question but in the case of the dopamine D2 receptors I think your doctor is right.

Drug resistance (tolerance) normally happens with many psychoactive drugs.

In the body: just stop taking it for a week and your liver enzymes, etc. stop breaking it down as efficiently.

In the brain, with tolerance, stopping it and restarting means you get changes at the transmitter ('up regulation'/'down regulation'; i confuse the two), acting like a 'reboot'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upregulation

NB read the "example"

This is the theory behind 'drug holidays'.