Selling Ritalin: Making ADHD look like a joke

[alisno1fan]

So....
Before I start I want to make it clear that there is no disrespect intended towards yanks/Americans. I've been and I loved it.

It happens in every western country, but America being larger, more advanced in certain health areas etc I dunno it's more known I guess. ADHD has become increasingly (sometimes ridiculously) over diagnosed/wrongfully diagnosed in children and even adults.

So the story is, I recently found out that there were younger year American exchange students (again no disrespect to my fellow ADHD US brothers n sisters) who have been selling their Ritalin (or maybe Adderrall which Aust doesn't have) to other students. When I heard this I was ******!! First of all if you have ADHD you wouldn't be selling your medications that you have to get from America, that you need to function. You wouldn't have any spare if you really needed them. Secondly, not having ADHD and selling our medications is a huge slap in the face to those with REAL ADHD! People look at them and think 'hmm there's nothing wrong with them ADHD is a load of sh#t' OR 'ADHD can't be that bad, they don't have any problems at all'. And that would be because, they DON'T have ADHD. Which now just further pushes the mainstream view of ADHD being a bulls#it condition. Because its not already hard enough for us.

And last but not least, ADHD medication is not curative or completely resolve ADHD symptoms. Therefore, even on medication we are still not equal in neurological functioning and ability to those students without ADHD. So answer me this. Why in King Kong hell would I want to give them even MORE of an advantage than me? Why would I want to increase that already existing gap?? And keep in mind our exams are marked on a bell curve based on the cohorts average mark etc.
I had to take these freakin tablets when I was a kid. Sneaking away or hiding so no one would no I was a freak. And as an adult ADHD is basically not accepted. So when I was a kid I was a psycho/skitzo/freak and as an adult I'm a load of sh#t, but now you want to use some of my tablets?? In simple terms 'you can go suck on a giant scorpion infested cactus!'

So I went to the head of school and I dobbed them in. Well I don't know there names but there's not a lot of American exchange students in # year, on ADHD meds.
I wasn't going to initially, but the more I though about it. The more I thought. Enough is enough!

Rant over.

[Fortune]

So are you suggesting that someone with ADHD would act with 100% forethought and never act impulsively for short term gain at the expense of long term benefit? You're making a no true Scotsman fallacy there.

Anyway, I have yet to find any empirical evidence that supports the assumption that ADHD is so overdiagnosed. Most existing evidence I have found supports underdiagnosis.

[Fortune]

I am not, btw, defending the selling of medication. I am against it.

I just think that it's not so clear cut as all that.

[Fuzzy12]

i don't know if adhd is over diagnosed or not and i agree with fortune that adhders could do something impulsive like sellin their meds. However, it's illegal, unethical and could do quite a bit of damage besides portraying adhd in a bad light so it's good that you told your uni about it.

[Fortune]

I agree with everything Fuzzy12 said.

[alisno1fan]

It's a catch 22. Many ADHD people are not diagnosed. But there are a large number of people who are diagnosed and don't have ADHD. I have 17 brothers and sisters all with different forms of ADHD. (My parents fostered since I was young, but we were raised as blood) and this is not impulsive selling. It's hard to explain the circumstances without divulging too much but this IS one of those cases of not having ADHD with an ADHD diagnosis. Like I said I can't explain all the circumstances. But yeah I know you don't have too be outward hyperactive or symptomatic to have ADHD. But when you also make some of the remarks about ADHD that they have as well, it's not cool.

I can see how my thread may have sounded. But it just irritates me that people without ADHD can use it to get meds and as an excuse etc. and laugh about it. I don't think it's fair people can do that and I have to deal with it.

[Plognark]

I'd cut a ***** to keep em away from my meds.

Of course, that's because I know that I'll get fired if I go off of this medication.

On the overdiagnosis thing, I think that it's both over and under diagnosed. I think people with more internalized traits are seriously under diagnosed, while any sort of overt behavioral issues or acting out gets over diagnosed.

For example, in my group of friends, there are three of us (including myself until a bit over a year ago) with undiagnosed ADHD. We're all combined H/PI or something like it. Now that we're older (mid 30's), one friend has a daughter who is exhibiting ADHD traits, and the other can't hold down a job and is completely frustrated as to why he keeps making the same stupid careless mistakes.

In school we were all quiet, socially awkward types who grouped together wtih all the other D&D geeks. None of us got diagnosed.

The gregarious, overactive jock and athletic type kids with overt H type? Most of them got diagnosed, and maybe half of them actually had it. Most of them "grew out of it" by the time they got to highschool.

It's not that ADHD is less common than people think, it's that our society still sucks at identifying these things. Kids from families with less resources get overlooked much more easily than the rest.

And from our perspective, we were white kids from lower-middle class families. We weren't poor or minorities or anything like that, and we still got completely overlooked. I can't even wrap my head around the difficulties people in tougher situations must face.

[lalapin]

I can see why someone with ADHD would sell their meds: it's either because they need money asap to the extent where they have to sacrifice their own well-being, or because they are young adults/teens that are nit really motivated with school so they decided they just don't care anymore and why not make extra money while they're at it...

Either way it even if it's understandable they sell their meds it's still as illegal as selling other drugs and it's not a very wise thing to do when yo need your meds.

My fiancé sometimes asks if he can try one Concerta and I don't even let him try because I NEED them everyday (+ it could harm him who knows...)

[ana futura]

Originally Posted by alisno1fan

First of all if you have ADHD you wouldn't be selling your medications that you have to get from America, that you need to function. You wouldn't have any spare if you really needed them.

Do you have a PI diagnosis? I am curious, because PI people do not seem to have the same issues with ADHD meds that combined types do.

If anything I think having extra medication is likely a sign that you DO have ADHD. If you truly have ADHD, the medication's just not any fun. Being an adult is boring. If you are brash and impulsive, selling it might seem like far more of a thrill than taking it, and we do love a good thrill.

If you are mature enough to fully realize that medication makes you a better person, you're lucky. Every day I refuse to take my meds because instead of being a mature responsible person who wakes up at 8 and does their homework and is nice to people I would rather be a lazy jerk who wakes up at noon and yells at my partner and doesn't give a crap about anything. Just last night my partner told me that I am a much nicer person on meds. Do I care? Not really, my ADHD is often stronger than me.

I have encountered a lot of people with ADHD who despise taking their meds. I have never met an NT who dislikes stimulant medication. My friends have asked me for it in the past, and when I say "why? this crap sucks" they look at me like I am an alien.

[Conman]

im just putting it out there but i do have surplus 5mg Adderall XR since when i run low i keep getting a new prescription (i think it's a month's worth), and i keep finishing the one that's low before i start the new one, so i have a continuous surplus of roughly the same amount, how i dont have a surplus of 30's im not sure.

i wouldnt sell unless i was put in a situation where i truly/direly needed some cash, and even then id only sell to my closest of bros, cuz other people would start spreading word and the last thing i need is to be the campus Adderall dealer.

but considering i only have like one bro here on campus at the moment (aside from my highschool bros that are here, but obviously we've all drifted due to college and majors), i probably wouldnt sell while im here.

im Combo type for the record and so they do work well for me to make me function for about 5-6 hours of the day. i may need to talk to my doctor about an afternoon 5mg supplement since i now have class that may extend to 4 or 5 in the afternoon (vs getting out of highschool every day at 2:20).

i am not a dealer, and i will try my hardest to never become one. i apologize but these are my views on it. i do admit though it is demeaning to us AD/HD people who need the meds, but the same argument could be made for people who may be on prescription painkillers for legit reasons...and we all know how well those things sell anywhere at any given time

[ana futura]

Just to add- meds work awesome for me.

Every med I've been on does exactly what it's supposed to do - they calm me, make me less anxious, less angry, more mature, thoughtful and responsible, more concerned with how other people perceive me, make me on time to things, make reading and writing much easier, allow me to sit through a movie that doesn't have explosions without getting agitated, and on and on and on.

Yet I still hate taking them.

[tudorose]

My view is that if you give / sell your meds to someone and they die then you are responsible for their death. This is also what I have told my kids.

[lalapin]

Originally Posted by ana futura

Just to add- meds work awesome for me.

Every med I've been on does exactly what it's supposed to do - they calm me, make me less anxious, less angry, more mature, thoughtful and responsible, more concerned with how other people perceive me, make me on time to things, make reading and writing much easier, allow me to sit through a movie that doesn't have explosions without getting agitated, and on and on and on.

Yet I still hate taking them.

I don't really mind them, they only give positive results and they don't cause any side effects at all. I don't enjoy taking it but I don't hate either. I get what you mean that it's boring to be an adult etc and that you'd rather be yourself... I also feel like I have less unexpected exciting impulsive stuff happen since i'm medicated but I rather take that than to get screamed at by others all day long and feeling constantly like i'm not able to adapt to normal life. In 3 months I've skipped only 2 days (not in a row) of meds and I made sure it was days I didn't have important stuff or meeting with people or having to drive. I only skipped for a day at the beach and for one day where the plan was only to go to the gym with my fiancé. I don't mind taking my meds, it's not like they're keeping me from having pleasure etc...

[Conman]

interesting to note is that on weekends i dont do my Adderall, but it causes me to forget taking my other 2 meds (one's for allergies, the other is for hyperhidrosis). i mean i have absolute horrible memory that works in the weirdest way (borderline bad enough to be of medical concern), so i still forget things that actually make me staying alive more pleasant. i dont know why i forget...although waking up at a time thats past 9:30 or 10 on weekends and nonschool days may have something to do with it since it's different than my routine.

[Fortune]

Originally Posted by alisno1fan

It's a catch 22. Many ADHD people are not diagnosed. But there are a large number of people who are diagnosed and don't have ADHD.

And this is one I'd like to see the actual research on, not the version of the research the media reports.