I've been having a lot of trouble focusing in school lately. I day dream a ton. Ill be listening to a lecture and just totally blank out and have no idea what the teacher is talking about.

I never do homework. I cant seem to get into it. Ill try and do my calculus, and after about 15 minutes of getting no where I'll just start to cry out of frustration.

So I finally decided to try adderall. It was actually vyvanse, 50mg. Basically 20mg adderall XR. It was incredible.

The entire day just felt so good. I always knew what I was doing, and I was always doing something. During class I was totally focused and engaged. I found my chemistry class and calculus class to be extremely enjoyable. When I got home, I instantly started to do homework. Not because I had to , but because I wanted to. Homework was actually fun! (I've always enjoyed math and science but the frustration of learning new things always turned me off) The difficulty of the task this time, however, was not an issue. I had total focus and felt in control of my life. And I loved it.

Ever since that day, I've been trying to figure out how I can get that feeling permanently. Because if I could, my life would be perfect.

What do you guys think of this. Am I addicted? Does it mean I have adhd? I know my future is seriously gonna change in someway because of this.

You're chasing a high that's going to go away inevitably. Don't know if youre an addict or if you have adhd, but as your body gets used to it the euphoria will go away. Don't try to get it back, you'll only end up having to take more and more and finally you'll not be able to get that feeling no matter the dose.

I've been having a lot of trouble focusing in school lately. I day dream a ton. Ill be listening to a lecture and just totally blank out and have no idea what the teacher is talking about.

I never do homework. I cant seem to get into it. Ill try and do my calculus, and after about 15 minutes of getting no where I'll just start to cry out of frustration.

So I finally decided to try adderall. It was actually vyvanse, 50mg. Basically 20mg adderall XR. It was incredible.

The entire day just felt so good. I always knew what I was doing, and I was always doing something. During class I was totally focused and engaged. I found my chemistry class and calculus class to be extremely enjoyable. When I got home, I instantly started to do homework. Not because I had to , but because I wanted to. Homework was actually fun! (I've always enjoyed math and science but the frustration of learning new things always turned me off) The difficulty of the task this time, however, was not an issue. I had total focus and felt in control of my life. And I loved it.

Ever since that day, I've been trying to figure out how I can get that feeling permanently. Because if I could, my life would be perfect.

What do you guys think of this. Am I addicted? Does it mean I have adhd? I know my future is seriously gonna change in someway because of this.


It is good, you could function properly. I may think you have adhd. But, please do an evaluation with a professional regarding this matter.

Also, make a notice that adhd drugs are not long term treatment. They build tolerance as your body get custum to the drug and you are not going to feel the same effect, otherwise the doctor up the dosage. It is why people take it when is necessary or they take a break from the meds, or they keep changing drugs all the time. So, be responsible when you take this medication.

Later.

Don't jump the gun too quickly. You’re enjoying the sensations that you first experienced, like everyone first experienced, when they tried amphetamine. In short, it’s a onetime thing. You don't get that same feeling back another time in the future; no matter how long you wait, no matter how high of a dose you take. Now that I have that clearly outlined to you, I think you need to recognize what this all really means.

Obviously everyone who tries Adderall thinks at first, “wait, you know, I may have ADHD,” or something of the sort. But you need to go beyond that, because in reality, the drug is going to do 'about', not exactly, but somewhat the same thing where it helps some people calm down, and feel relaxed, sometimes too little or too much but usually enough to get work done and have a little kick in the pants type of motivation. But there are also people who take it and it feels like a really great auto-focus mechanism coupled with pure stimulation, and excitement, euphoria (everyone usually gets some amount, long-term use can cause onsets of depression at times when nutrition is bad or because of stress), and the feeling that they need to *do* something, anything - exactly what you had experienced. Now, I'll say this, and I have to warn you that I am a bit stoned as I'm writing this, and I took my Adderall today as well, but you need to realize that the whole excitement about going and figuring out your life, making organized plans, and getting everything you ever wanted to do done, it’s not all going to be like that.

In successive order your original goals and plans, little tasks on your to-do list, etc, will start to get overlooked, and you'll get obsessive about more specific things – less of a vague field where your trying to do everything. You'll start to see problems where you *have* to do something, or feel like you *need* to. Problems similar to OCD type of things. Not serious, but simply because when you’re taking amphetamines and you’re doing it at a high enough dose to cause you to focus as much as you were originally (or anywhere in that range really) that the way you were obsessing over tasks and projects, and getting everything started at once, it all eventually creates the obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms. But they aren't necessarily permanent always, but they do seem to come up as you continue similar dosages where it’s high enough to make you 'hyper-focus'. Just be aware of that.

Also, you'll notice things like your physique starting to deteriorate. You need to be careful here especially. Just as I said nutrition can be a variable that leads to depressive stages on amphetamines, it can cause your body to start shifting itself into a glycogen-burning (sugar stores in muscles) mode. Survival mode essentially, where your body burns the small amount of carbohydrates you have stored in your body – ie: the glycogen stores in cells. You’ll start to see less effectiveness from dosages, not attributed to tolerance like you may think at the time, but it is actually attributed to how your blood sugar levels are and how many calories you had available to use. Your metabolism will slow down despite the usual assumption that when you’re taking amphetamine or other stimulants that it actually increases your metabolism. The assumption is true under certain conditions – when your body is healthy and adequately being fed. But when you’re not eating much, even though amphetamine’s ability to cross the blood-plasma barrier is increased, there isn’t enough resources in your body (to refrain from going into what some figure to be fascinating details, I agree, but it’s too much to go into in this post) to sufficiently allow your body function optimally. The signals from the brain as a result of the drug, telling everything to increase the blood sugar, increase the heart rate, increase respiration, and flood cells throughout the body with energy, will in turn not be acted upon as they would normally through the signal transduction pathway, and while you may have some effects from the drug, they pale in comparison to what you would get if you were healthy. Also, when your body’s metabolism starts to slow, and your food intake is decreased (limited to sugary drinks, empty calories, and limited amount of solids, fiber deficiencies, vitamin and mineral deficiencies – calcium, magnesium, B vitamins, zinc, etc), you’ll start to notice that you get “flabby.” Your muscles, from sitting still for excessive periods of time when you hyper-focus (everyone experiences this at some point), examples would be when your reading something, on the computer, watching TV, sitting staring at something, you can think of your own others. This will lead to the breakdown and shrinkage of your muscle mass. Don’t think that you’re experiencing massive cell loss, that’s not what is happening; but what is happening is your cells are going to get smaller, become catabolic, and you’ll see noticeable loss in strength, size, and sometimes flexibility (stiffness). You may have started out with some defined features, but they will degrade over time if your appetite remains suppressed for a long period of time. You’ll also find yourself getting extremely pale, oily skin (you’ll feel like you have dry skin), acne, ingrown hairs (usually occur on your legs; I’ve not gotten any, but some people do), blurred vision, issues with night vision. And furthermore, you’ll start to get anxious a lot. You’ll have social deficits when in conversation; you’ll either talk too much, or get extremely introverted, and not want to talk at all. You may experience issues with looking people in the eye, anxiety where you have a hard time just saying a few words to someone (going through a checkout counter and not being able to look at someone when you say Thank You, and you may even say it very softly, or loud, with differences in your voice’s pitch, and tone- this can happen, but it usually doesn’t occur except when you’re stressed already, your coming down from the drug, sleep deprived, malnourished, or you had problems with social anxiety before that either disappear altogether, or become linked into the aforementioned OCD traits and lead to heightened social anxiety).

Note-- Everyone should know what they can expect if they do certain things. I’m not against anyone taking any drug, I care about why they are, the harm they can avoid if they are stop traveling blindly, maximizing the benefits, and for the most part, helping everyone reduce those obnoxious side-effects so they aren’t distracted by anything that would take away from the betterment of themselves.

Beyond the physical side-effects and the anxiety you need to be aware of what is probably the most important thing to avoid losing hold of. Your behaviors will change dramatically. You’ll feel empowered, and start putting yourself into situations that could be dangerous, or lead to unwanted consequences. You’ll start engaging in risky behavior. When you’re behind the wheel of a car you’ll turn up the stereo, feel the music, and let your foot turn to lead. You might even do what I did, which was talk back when I had been pulled over – leading to a ticket that included ‘driving to endanger’- it doesn’t matter if everything got dismissed, it’s the fact that you get put into those types of situations. I can tell you now there will be times when you’re not looking because you get focused on something else, distracted, whatever, and you get into an accident. I’ve been in a couple minor fender benders where I was paying attention, but I was focusing too much on one thing to check all my mirrors, be fully aware of everything around me, or be aware of any letting-off of the brake pedal by your foot (muscle tension, and stiffness can contribute to you not being fully aware of how much pressure your putting on the pedals or be able to do so steadily). You won’t always have some superhuman reaction time like you might have once had in the beginning when you started taking amphetamine. You need to be more careful, and not let distractions get to you on the road; you put yourself, your passengers, fellow drivers, and especially pedestrians into unnecessary danger. Be aware of how the drug affects you behind the wheel before you start letting your inhibitions get tossed aside while your speedometer tops triple digits on the highway. Your car’s condition and maintenance, or lack thereof if it’s the case, your insurance rates, your driving record, and everything else gets tossed into the equation. You could end up costing yourself money that you don’t have, or your parent’s money, or whatever. You also may find yourself drinking more (or with some people, they find they have no urge to drink at all), smoking more (cigarettes or marijuana), and you’ll be back to the restless energy state of mind, with no sign of composure, your body under *stress*, and you won’t be able to focus on anything. You have to understand that just as quick as you can make this drug do wonders, work for a very long time, and have it be almost as effective as it was on day 1 when it’s been a year or more since then; while on the other hand, just as quick you can make this drug become a thing you grow to regret, despise, but still feel drawn to. You can turn it into the worst thing that ever happened to you, where you change, where your health and sanity only faintly resemble what they once were. But if you’re smart, and you be safe, eat well, exercise (especially cardio – doing so without the drug; you don’t want your heart rate and blood pressure causing you to stroke while on the treadmill), and stay concentrated on the progress that can be made by allowing yourself to grow intellectually, and socially, with the assistance of amphetamine, then you’ll be fine. I don’t mean to scare people with what I wrote, but it’s all a possibility, and something everyone should watch out for before they lose grip of reality.

Happiness is not some temporary state of mind, some fleeting emotional condition, it’s the meaning of life. It’s not something you just get by taking amphetamine and thinking it will fix every problem. It becomes a crutch if you allow yourself to think of it that way. You need to evaluate what truly is the best dose for *you*, not what others are taking, or thinking an amount is too small without giving it a chance. You may even find, like has previously been pointed out in this thread, that you need to switch which drug you take to get the results you want consistently.

Hope that helps.

No offense DarkCode but you seem to be playing "i know what it will do to you".

Smoking cigarettes and pot? Talking back to cops? Getting flabby and going into Ketosis?

These are not side effects of adderall. These are behaviors that you are choosing to engage in. Don't eat right you'll get skinny, put a cigarette in your mouth and light it and you're smoking, put a joint in your mouth and light it and you're smoking pot.

Sheesh, speak for yourself man. Adderall has been lifechanging for me, the side effects have waned and the positive results have remained.

To the original poster though, taking a drug and then self diagnosing jmho sounds like a dangerous path, go see a therapist, talk to them about it, talk to them about what's on your mind and if they feel it's appropriate they will send you to a psychiatrist to talk about medication.

I agree that the poster is chasing a high. I had the same experience on the first day I tried it, and never again.

In terms of your flabby physique and bad risky behaviors are concerned.... yes that is obviously a personal choice. Adderall does not make you a risky driver or a loudmouth. Nutrition is important, and especially drinking water! Staying hydrated is extremely important. But aside from that and in terms of hyper-focus.... well, if you are focusing on such small things like the tension of your foot on the pedal, perhaps you are taking too much or abusing it. You should take the lowest effective dose, and that is VERY important also.

Back to the original issue at hand. You can't get addicted from trying it once, but you definitely want that feeling again. Even if you get diagnosed ADHD, your experience will not be the same as the first time. You may or may not notice when it is working.

My first time I tried it, i was amazed. I was so motivated and just interested about everything. i had the patience to clean properly, to write an email all the way through, to play my guitar through one whole song. Everything was in order, in place, and in a straight line. I wasn't bored for once. Everything was *great*. I still felt myself, just sharper.

However, I am now prescribed adderall. The differences between taking it and not taking it on a daily basis are subtle. I don't take it every day. Its hard to pinpoint when it helps and when it doesn't sometimes, because you don't feel a rush... but I think a good balance of daydreaming and focus is important. When I'm focused, I lose sight of the larger picture, but daydreaming I forget my train of thought.

Since I take it all the time now, I still get bored occasionally.... I still DONT want to do my math homework, but now ...instead of not doing the homework because my cat is doing something cute, or because I'm stuck, I take a deep breath and think of ways to work through this. Priorities are different.

Other benefits are: i'm not as emotional (i'm an over-sensitive girl), things get done without exhaustion (mental and physical), I stay on one train of thought, stress level is reduced, my driving has gotten better, relationships have gotten better, the confidence in my work is increased, I can focus on conversations, i can remember details in conversations, i can balance work and personal life. The only thing that I have not noticed a good improvement on is my money budgeting :/ woops! But.... all of these aren't direct effects of the drug, its more like a tool that is aiding me in improving my life.

You need to decide what you want it to do for you.... give you a high or benefit you.

The feeling is great, it's called euphoria for a reason. It doesn't last and if you start taking adderall on a regular basis, you probably won't get that same feeling again. If you had that feeling 24/7 your life would be far from perfect, you might feel pretty good but all your problems would still be there.

If you want help in school and you think you have ADHD, go to your doc, describe your symptoms, and he or she will decide if you need it.

I think the majority of people here will attest to how adderall can benefit you but the little pill doesn't fix anything. It won't make you smarter, it won't make you the perfect person. It's just a pill. You're still you, maybe just a more focused you, but you're still you.

Chasing the "high" is very dangerous and can kill you. You still have to make good decisions and have initiative, adderall is just a pill.

I've been having a lot of trouble focusing in school lately. I day dream a ton. Ill be listening to a lecture and just totally blank out and have no idea what the teacher is talking about.

I never do homework. I cant seem to get into it. Ill try and do my calculus, and after about 15 minutes of getting no where I'll just start to cry out of frustration.

So I finally decided to try adderall. It was actually vyvanse, 50mg. Basically 20mg adderall XR. It was incredible.

The entire day just felt so good. I always knew what I was doing, and I was always doing something. During class I was totally focused and engaged. I found my chemistry class and calculus class to be extremely enjoyable. When I got home, I instantly started to do homework. Not because I had to , but because I wanted to. Homework was actually fun! (I've always enjoyed math and science but the frustration of learning new things always turned me off) The difficulty of the task this time, however, was not an issue. I had total focus and felt in control of my life. And I loved it.

Ever since that day, I've been trying to figure out how I can get that feeling permanently. Because if I could, my life would be perfect.

What do you guys think of this. Am I addicted? Does it mean I have adhd? I know my future is seriously gonna change in someway because of this.


lol No I don't think you're addicted. If you were addicted you'd be taking high doses and you wouldn't be able to stop. It doesn't really mean you have adhd either. Typically people who don't have adhd feel much more of an extreme experience on adderall than people who do have it.

I've noticed that adderall isn't as strong as it is within the first few days of taking it. That is what really sucks about it. I would never call what I experienced "euphoria" like so many call it though. I felt more motivated and more positive which to me was what I needed being I am a more negative person. I was for once thinking I could get out of my difficult situation, rather than thinking 'there is no way out of adhd hell' when I wasn't on it. It was a suttle change in attitude for me not this euphoric high. If you really think you have adhd I would get checked out and you can be put on medication for it. You must realize though that it is not like that every day. If you felt extreme happiness, that is sadly just a temporary side effect of adderall. If you want to ease symptoms of adhd it may help you though.

No offense DarkCode but you seem to be playing "i know what it will do to you".

Smoking cigarettes and pot? Talking back to cops? Getting flabby and going into Ketosis?

These are not side effects of adderall. These are behaviors that you are choosing to engage in. Don't eat right you'll get skinny, put a cigarette in your mouth and light it and you're smoking, put a joint in your mouth and light it and you're smoking pot.

Sheesh, speak for yourself man. Adderall has been lifechanging for me, the side effects have waned and the positive results have remained.

To the original poster though, taking a drug and then self diagnosing jmho sounds like a dangerous path, go see a therapist, talk to them about it, talk to them about what's on your mind and if they feel it's appropriate they will send you to a psychiatrist to talk about medication.

I agree with your post. :)

I think Darkcode's post was well written and it's good to warn others about what could happen to some people. However the things mentioned are usually things that occur to those that are addicted to adderall, not people who take it responsibly. Chase the high on ANY drug and it will destroy you inside and out. Addicts like to blame adderall for their addiction but in reality THEY were the ones who were irresponsible. The adderall didn't just get up and fly in their mouths. I haven't experienced any really bad problems at all. Some do say it gives the urge to smoke but it didn't for me...my appetite is fine too.

Can't you achieve the effect again by not taking it for a long time? Months, years whatev?

Can't you achieve the effect again by not taking it for a long time? Months, years whatev?

Simple answer: no.

Simple answer: no.

sorry, have to disagree here.

If you don't take it again for a long time, the euphoria will come back, but it will be very short lived. Also, this would be "chasing the high" everyone keeps talking about. If you're taking it just to get that good feeling, then you are abusing it. It's that sort of behavior that makes it so hard for the rest of us to actually get the medication we need!

Now, some people may argue that the feeling you get after not taking it for a long time still won't compare to that first time, but it will be pretty close. Although trying to get that same feeling again is a great way to become a drug addict.

Be careful

sorry, have to disagree here.

If you don't take it again for a long time, the euphoria will come back, but it will be very short lived. Also, this would be "chasing the high" everyone keeps talking about. If you're taking it just to get that good feeling, then you are abusing it. It's that sort of behavior that makes it so hard for the rest of us to actually get the medication we need!

Now, some people may argue that the feeling you get after not taking it for a long time still won't compare to that first time, but it will be pretty close. Although trying to get that same feeling again is a great way to become a drug addict.

Be careful

Have you not taken it for a long time and felt the same effects you felt the first day after such time off? If not, then don't say it will. The vast majority of all persons, I'm talking about everyone except for very few (less than 1%), will never feel the same effects they felt on day one. This talk about amphetamine needing to build up in your system for a while for your body to "get used to it" like with SSRIs, etc, is all wrong too. You need to understand with any drug, the way you felt the first time you used it, is the best feeling you will EVER get from it, nothing will ever compare to that. No matter how much you take, how long you wait, and what not.

There is no wait long enough that you can take for the effects to be just like day 1.

The euphoria is always there to some degree. Its there because of the way the drug works, I won't go into that here. But I'm telling you, there is some facets of tolerance that just never go away. This is coming from 3 years of experience, and extensive research into the issue of tolerance.

Taking even years off will not bring back that initial feeling. That initial high. Every effect thereafter is on a decline.

As others have said, the initial feelings fade.

The medication wont do it all for you, but it will help.

I got to a point a week ago where I started thinking it wasn't working at all. I tried to take the day off and was utterly worthless. Then I realized it's helping me in the exact way it should...

I should feel like a normal person when I take Adderall, not a super human.

Have you not taken it for a long time and felt the same effects you felt the first day after such time off? If not, then don't say it will.


Hey there are nicer tones in which communicate thoughts and ideas , please do try one of them.

We are all different and react to medications differently. This is worthy of consideration when reading and responding to post about other's experiences with specific medications