A couple of years ago, it was announced that more people die from prescription pills than car accidents. Studies indicate that Adderall and other drugs designed to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are being abused by those without a clinical diagnosis. Both women and men are putting their physical and mental health at serious risk. From what I have seen, this is life shattering and the denial is nearly unshakable-similar to that of a meth user.
Women that I have talked to say that they feel like 'superwoman' on this drug (or similar stimulants) and they get more things done...though their mood swings are consistently temperamental and their behaviors have been unpredictable. They also forget things they have told people, work is a blur and commitments are broken. This drug takes precedence over relationships even, all while creating a false sense of confidence. Isolation, drastic weight loss, lying, denial of abuse, lower bank account and self-esteem balances, loss of friends and sleep deprivation are also common side effects...from what I have witnessed. So where is the gain? It's in the high.
Doctors do not give a prescription of Adderall for weight loss in skinny/fit people, yet this is what many women say who are taking it and are at a healthy or low bmi. Men say it's for the performance and fun. Interesting. This expression in regards to this prescription usually is not written by a doctor, but rather shared or sold by people they know and street hustled at a value of $5-$10/pill. This is not recovery. This is blatantly addiction and it is, unfortunately, all too common and destructive.
It's abuse has directly affected loved ones who are close to me, women I've worked with, as well as affecting family/friends of my family/friends~this is why I write.
Adderall is a psychostimulant and contains many different ingredients which combine to increase the user’s dopamine and norepinephrine levels. The drug is used to make the user more awake, have more sexual desire, decrease tiredness, and increase focus and productiveness. It has most commonly prescribed to those, including children, who suffer from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), narcolepsy, and chronic tiredness. In rare cases, it may be prescribed to aid obese patients or those patients suffering from otherwise untreatable cases of depression. Depending on the patient’s needs, the drug may be prescribed in a wide variety of different doses and may be administered in instant relief or extend relief formulas. The wide variation of different forms of Adderall and the fact that many users have allergic reactions to some of the ingredients are only a few of the reasons using it without a prescription is so dangerous.
Even for users who have been issued a prescription, Adderall has a high potential for abuse and addiction. In the body, it acts as does the serious drug, methylphenidate, and can cause seizures, heart attacks, high blood pressure, stroke, and death. The risk for this is even higher when the product is being abused by someone who has not been prescribed it. This is because doctors will usually start patients on a small dose to see how their bodies will react. When the doctor is taken out of the equation, people can never be sure what dose they are getting or if it will send their bodies into shock. For these reasons, it is one of the most dangerous drugs to take recreationally.
The drug also has many potentially dangerous contraindications. These include, but are not limited to: Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors, and many other common types of drugs. Taking Adderall while you are on one of these can cause irreversible, permanent damage and may even be deadly in some instances.
Common side effects of Adderall usage or abuse include anorexia, dry mouth, chronic thirst, the development of sleeping disorders or generalized difficulty sleeping, chronic headaches or migraines, pain in the stomach, high blood pressure, sudden and unexplained weight loss, mood swings or other emotional changes, nausea with vomiting, sudden dizziness or fainting, a generalized feeling of weakness or tiredness, a sudden spike in heart rate, a higher risk of infections, unexplained fevers, heartburn, chest pains, and a slowing of growth in children. Those who use the drug for an extended period of time may also experience severe withdrawals, periods of depression, and with extreme abuse, amphetamine psychosis. While some of these side effects are normal, you should let your doctor know about any that you experience.
More adverse side effects that should be immediately reported include suicidal thoughts or suicidal actions, sudden confusion or a feeling of displacement, a tightness in the chest with pain spreading throughout the back and the arms, heart palpitations, the inability to breathe or shortness of breath, feelings of depression or despair, changes in behavior such as becoming more aggressive or more shy, performing actions you do not recall or do not understand, experiencing visual, auditory, or sensory hallucinations, feeling restless or constantly having the need to move about, seizures or “black out” periods, a sudden rash or the development of hives, and uncontrollable bodily movements, commonly of the head, mouth, or appendages. These side effects usually indicate that your body is not reacting well to Adderall and that you should seek medical assistance.
www.thisisyourbrainondrugs.org
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