What Is Adderall Abuse

Last updated: December 14, 2014
By: Dominick Giammarino

Adderall Abuse is something everyone should be aware of. Adderall was first introduced as a prescription medicine for treating Attention Deficit Disorder in both children and adults. But now, the FDA warns people against its extensive use. Some terrible consequences following the long term non medical use of the drug triggered panic nationwide. Few consumers, especially the college students and shift workers, started taking the medication to increase their concentration and over-perform. According to the defending statement of some of its users, the drug worked like a mental booster for them.

However, it didn’t take them too long to develop some odd drug addiction. These people were unaware of the consequences that the long term and short term use of the drug could produce. After a while, this prescription medication was found to cause moderate to severe side effects in the consumers. Some of the side effects were very critical. For example, reports of child death and evidences of severe cardiovascular problems were enough to prompt the FDA to take abrupt action. It’s important to know signs of abuse to Adderall. If you are not recognizing Adderall Abuse then you must begin to recognize the signs.

Adderall Background: The Launch and The Hype

What is Adderall? This was one of the several ADHD treatment drugs that hit the US market every year. However, the database, evidences, statistics and facts that we could recover show patient’s physical and psychological dependence on this drug were much more than any other similar category medications available in the market.

Does that mean that this medicine’s active and inactive ingredient formula was unbelievably dominating? It could really alter a patient’s state of mind and mental abilities? Here is the fact –

The FDA approved the official launch of the drug in the year 1996. This medicine is based on a very specific form of amphetamines. As per the records collected from the authorized sources, the United States Congress passed an Act in the year 1970 to control the use of amphetamines. The reason for this movement was clear – amphetamines could cause cocaine like effect in the consumers, which was obviously very dangerous. You will find out a lot about this drug http://www.iflr.msu.edu/uploads/files/Student%20Papers/Geist_Focusing-on-Adderall.pdf

Many teenagers and adults thought the drug would help them get high without compromising their health safety. They were wrong. Misunderstandings like Adderall is a ‘safe alternative to cocaine’ influenced many adults, who were not ADHD patients, and thus gradually increased the risk of drug abuse.

The Stimulation Mechanism that Impressed the Youths

You need to understand the http://www.hightimes.com/read/adderall-americas-favorite-amphetamine working mechanism of the ADHD treatment drug”</a>. The medication is kind of a stimulant. It has a mixture of amphetamine-based salts. It controls the central nervous system, reduces hyperactivity and controls the attention span in children undergoing treatment of ADHD. This is how this drug works in the ADHD patients. This was also the first reason why the FDA granted the use of Adderall as a prescription medication for treating ADHD in children.

Everything seems fascinating from this perspective. However, let’s not forget, the same function of the drug became a threat to the well being of the people who continued taking the medication without its real requirement.

adderall-abuse

Adderall Abuse – The Start of Adderall Epidemic

The drug dependency starts with its constant and unsupervised use. The drug is addictive by nature. When you start taking an overdose of this medication thinking that it will improve your mental focus and help you become an over-achiever, the epidemic begins right from there. An easy accessibility to the medicine has made things far worse. US adults and teenagers, who use this medicine extensively, might have managed it from a friend who already have a prescription for it, or they have been able to convince the physiotherapists to issue a prescription for it. The bottom line is – any of these situations are potent enough to risk the future of the Nation’s youths and children.

No Story, Only Facts

The addiction potential is too high for this medicine.
Withdrawal symptoms can range from sleep deprivation, inability to focus, irritability, and sometimes extreme agitation.
The use of this medicine among the US civilians was strikingly high in 2010.
Over 18 million Adderall prescriptions were issued in the same year.
One of the biggest consumers was the military.
Recreational use of this medication causes respiratory problems, toxic shock, psychotic episodes.
This drug was never meant to be used as a cognitive performance booster.
The increased consumption of this medication can pose death threat to people with no ADHD problems.
A mix of this drug and alcohol can allegedly increase dehydration and depression.
A reputed source reveals that Google search activity for this prescription medicine has increased steadily over the years.
The use of this medicine without a prescription is presumed illegal.

The FDA Guide

It’s true that the FDA made the drug accessible to the civilians of the US, but, the purpose was different at that time. The drug was a mean to fight ADHD complications. Children and adults suffering from ADHD symptoms are supposed to take the prescribed dosage of the medication under supervisor’s observation.

If you read the http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm085819.pdf FDA guide, you’ll understand what type of effects the different variation of the drug can cause in one person. For your convenience, we’ve listed a few vital points here –

If you’re an ADHD patient and this medication has been prescribed to you, try to keep it in a safe place to prevent drug abuse.
If you’ve heart problem, eye problem, anxious nature, hyperthyroidism, or you’re sensitive to allergy, you should not take this medicine.
You must talk to your doctor to know if this stimulant can be taken with any other medicines.
Similarly, talk to your doctor if you’re already on this drug and want to start a new medicine alongside.
No one other than a physician retains the right to suggest the medication to someone.
You should not take the medicine if a friend or colleague suggests it to you.
Be aware of all types of side effects like headache, drop in weight, dry mouth, mood swings, decreased appetite, etc.
The FDA suggests contacting a health supervisor immediately if you notice any of the above mentioned side effects.

Right From Expert’s Desks

Psychologists believe the rat race of professional and academical accomplishments is only going to make the situation worse in the future. According to them, people are not able to understand that Adderall is not a day to day performance enhancing medicine. Its stimulating mechanism controls the function of the central nervous system of the people who have been diagnosed with ADHD.

But the over enthusiastic teens and highly ambitious professionals think the medicine is a short term route to success. What’s more tragic that some of the doctors are unable to find out if teenage patients are actually a serious victim of ADHD or not. Some teens easily fool the doctors because the symptoms of ADHD can be found on the internet. Doctors believe parents should take this situation in their hand and talk to their children openly about this ADHD drug and its dangers. The science of this medicine is convincing, but, it’s definitely not suitable for any general use. This medication has the tendency to develop an addiction for sure. Parents should try to find out signs of depression in their children, before their children find out a way to escape the situation with the help of this medicine.

Heartbreaking Unexpected Teen Deaths

The death of a bright teenager http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/adderall-psychosis-suicide-college-students-abuse-study-drug/story?id=12066619&singlePage=true#.TwKv-WDWZ97 Kyle Craig was a serious consequence of drug abuse. He committed suicide by stepping out in front of a passenger train. Kyle’s parent mourn their child’s unfortunate death only at the age of 21. They never realized that their child was going through mental trauma as they always thought Kyle was a bright, hopeful, achieving and cheerful person.

After a little investigation, it became clear that Kyle was one of those thousand’s of teenagers who easily become a victim of Adderall addiction. Kyle managed to get a prescription for this medicine by pretending to have ADHD symptoms.

Many children like Kyle suffer from depression due to extreme pressure of academic achievements. Sometimes parents fail to identify the lack of confidence and social withdrawal in their children. Experts think the use of the drug in children, who have no ADHD, creates an euphoria. The same reason also increases the risk of addiction. The sales record of this medicine showed an overall hike. This definitely raises the safety concern of the children in the US. The drug is banned in Canada. Snorting Adderall is just one way young children are abusing the drug. Adderall Psychosis can occur if children and adults are not taking the proper amounts, and if they are not carefully monitored.

How Adderall Reacts When Used By Non ADHD Patients?

Doctors or psychologists have different point of views regarding the use of this medicine. Some say the drug has no different effect on the brain of people who don’t have ADHD than in patients with ADHD. Check out a video here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62eDbOS9r8I.On the other hand, some of the doctors, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/01/health/more-diagnoses-of-hyperactivity-causing-concern.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Dr. Hallowell, for example, who assured that this drug was safer than aspirin, are now taking their statements back.

When teens and young employees use the drug to find clarity of thoughts and an edge in the workplace, the countdown to destruction starts. The same thing happens to the youths who use the medicine to be high during the party. The medicine helps them stay awake longer. But when they mix this medicine with alcohol, the impact of the drug gets worse. We will discuss the interaction of the drug with alcohol in a different section.

How the Drug Misuse Can Raise Your Concern?

Lack of sufficient information about the drug can cause a huge loss. Some students used this medication as a study aid. They thought the medication was fast to increase their cognitive functions, ability to read comprehension and memory. According to doctors, these students were not aware of the physical consequences that this medication could trigger.

What was the effect thereafter? The craze continued and it gradually turned into an addiction in no time. Doctors think patients and their guardians need to change the way they look at their problems. Medical conditions like depression can be handled without any prescription drugs. The result of the excessive use of this ADHD treatment drug can be devastating. The brain’s natural ability to think or project thoughts might decline. There can be permanent brain damages as well.

adderall xr

Adderall Abuse and the Fall in Adderall Craze

The craze for this medicine has dropped for sure. However, there is a need for awareness. People need to be told about the drug, its ideal use and the dangerous consequences. People, who are really concerned about the drug, its benefits and serious consequences associated, must do a research before they start taking it. We’ve listed the FDA guide, showed you the horrible effects of the drug when it’s not used the appropriate way for your convenience.

Additionally, you must not get enthusiastic if you come across any advertising of this medicine anywhere. The FDA has requested to stop aggressive marketing of this product. Parents are now requested to get their children correctly diagnosed for ADHD. Withdrawal of this medicine is not as easy as the teenagers think. Before you take a decision, understand the science. Try to understand how this medicine works. The moment you realize how dangerous the long term consequences of this drug is going to be, you won’t feel the craze for it anymore.

People have been repeatedly warned about the deadly outcomes of drug abuse. When a prescription drug is taken for non medical use, or without following the prescribed dose guidelines, it reacts in an unfavorable way. The same was the story of Adderall. The teenagers and office employees, who used this prescription medicine to get sustained focus for long hours and improve memory power, had to experience deadly drug side effects.

Our natural mental and physical abilities should not be drug dependent. The human mind is unbelievably powerful. Hundreds of evidences are out there that show our subconscious mind can do many impossible things. Adderall chaos was a disaster. Many more like this will again distress the future of mankind. This is why, do not let some laboratory produced chemical recipe control your neurological system. Try to grow your brain power naturally, before it’s too late.

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Adderall Abuse - Addiction and Side Effects