How can you get addicted? | ADHD Information

Ok, so what if I did have an addiction problem, or what if I was susceptible to the stimulant 'high' - I still only have a 30-day prescription! That's what is confusing me - you only get so many pills with your prescription. A true addict is not going to gobble up all their pills in a few days and then be able to just sit around and wait until it's time to pick up their next 30-day supply!

That's why I'm so amazed that people (doctors especially) seem to focus on the 'addictive' aspects of these medications. The dosages prescribed for AD/HD wouldn't make anyone an addict and any addict wouldn't be satisfied with our piddly prescriptions! 

 You can't become addicted at the low levels they give you.

 If you abuse the pills and take 3 of them, then you probably might, but you would have to really try, and it would take that more than once. Maybe in 3 days at 6 times the dose you might. But it still would be doubtful.

 Most of us WITH ADHD are so preoccupied with trying to get back in control, we don't experience ANY high. and when we do, we don't like it. and shy from it. We want something that works, and we learn quick what does and what doesn't. So for you to become an addict, you would have to already have an addiction problem.

 So the ability to become addicted is low.


bugzappers38689.5598263889I agree totally about the public missunderstanding the abuse potential for us add's and our meds.  The problem is that even though drug companys are makeing meds that are getting harder and harder to abuse media and others don't care all they think about are addiction and thus stigmatize everything associated with the meds.  The most common comparison is between meds and cocaine.  I think this comparison is completely wrong and hurtful for us.  The meds don't work like cocaine, when taken orally and as prescribed.  In fact the newer extended release drugs are even harder to abuse, Adderall XR is not only just the beads that dissolve later but if crushed break into sharp shards that cut the nasal passage and supposely make the user not want to try it again.  Concerta and others similar to it have a outer shell of methly. and the inner time release part works like a pump.  water is abcorbed at the bottom of the pill and it pushes out the med through the top through pressure and this process takes a while and is continuously releasing the internal med.  If the pill is broken up then it is real clumpy and gray.  This makes it impossible to snort and be absorbed as a druggie would want.  The gray clumpy stuff is broken down in stomach acid and there for is no problem when taken orally.

They just don't care about that though.  All the care about is the stigma attached to stimulates and controlled substances

I would think the only way to become addicted to this stuff is to actually ground up and snort it so that it would give the immediate effect..

If on the Slow release version, I would think those little beads would be quite painful!!

I can sort of understand how an addictive personality could have a problem. When I first started taking the metadate I got a really big headrush that went from the top of my head to the tip of my toes.. scared the crap out of me

but then it leveled out and I don't get that anymore..  if I were a person with an addictive personality, I might try to increase dosages to try to get the headrush again.. I could see going to the dr and continually saying that its not working in  order to get higher dosages.. or going to different drs to get more perscriptions... different pharamacies... etc... then of course their's black market and downward spiral it goes.....

Now mind you, I said "sort of understand"  --- I find it quite a reach to comprehend why someone would want to screw up thier head with illicit drug use, especially when I am trying so hard to keep MY head screwed on

Sherry

My daughter, who is 21, abused drugs, mainly stimulants, but she did not use them as prescribed. In fact, she was never on stims for ADHD, although I now believe, in retrospect, that she has it. She got addicted by buying the meds from friends who had ADHD or by other peers, crushing them in a pill crusher and snorting them both alone and with cocaine. She had quite a hard time with withdrawals. She told me, now that she's clean, that the biggest ADHD med on the streets is Adderrall, but that all of them are used a lot and cost a lot to purchase. Aderrall, according to her, is a pill!

wow thats interesting Jharman.. thanks for sharing that! So I'm guessing that an abuser would not want anything to do with any kind of extended release medication because there would be no way to ground it to the form that would help him get that "high"

makes sense -- I also know what you mean about the stigma attached to stimulants... my motherin laws first reaction to the fact that I take them is "isnt that addictive?"  I know she was speaking out of concern, and I promptly educated her... yes, in a NICE way

sherry

If a kid wants to abuse ADHD meds, it's out there. None of the folks in our town are rich, and the drugs are greatly abused. The easiest way kids get them is to fake ADHD, which isn't that hard since the dx. is given out easily, and then mix and trade with other teens. My daughter had no trouble getting it and, although it's expensive per pill, just like any abused drug, many kids are willing to share. The reason these meds are controlled substances are because they're so often abused. Heck, my friend is a Disabilities Social Worker and knows families who got their kids ADHD dx. then used the drugs for themselves. However, I agree that the drug has to be used in high doses for addiction. And that is exactly what addicts do. And if it wasn't Adderrall they were snorting, they'd find something else. Drug addicts even use OTC drugs. Epherine is a big one. All this from dd who used to use drugs!!!! I'm her naive mama who has never even been drunk in my life and was soundly fooled when she started using drugs! Glad them daze is ovah. psm090438695.9487384259

At prescribed doses, there is no real risk of physical addiction. In fact, most stim drugs, including cocaine, don't cause dramatic physical addiction. Withdrawels from abusive use usually consist of unusual fatigue, depression, and weakness, but physically it is nothing compared to opiates or tranquilizers and alcohol. The real risk is psychological dependence, and that can be huge. If someone has been abusing a stim for a long time (and I do mean ABUSING, not taking medically as directed) they deplete their stores of dopamine. As a result, they can go through a period of anhedonia following discontinuation of the drug. That means that for up to two years, they are incapable of feeling pleasure. Any pleasure... in anything. That's why relapse is so high... why stay clean if your life is miserable, right? 

In order for that kind of dependence to develop, one must use high doses for long periods of time. Really, the only way to do that with ADHD drugs is to doctor shop and fill multiple high dose prescriptions per month. Or to buy them on the street, but either way it's going to be economically difficult to build strong dependence on the drug. 

when my dosage goes up then i feel a litle lightheaden for some days bet then it's over and i don't have any of those kinds of efeckts anymore.

one time i was on a to high dosage then i did feel strange and i got reel emotional but those whare the only thing that happend then

Welllll, There are more ways than one to become addicted to this stuff.. Im in college, though-  NOT ADDICTED... anyway

 i live in one state and go to a college in a different state. My father just goes in an gets ithe perscription from the busy doctor. So basically i could have the perscription filled in my home town and then get a doc from my college to write it!.... I hope nobody gets any ideas from that.... but Addicted??

I dont see how someone would become addicted to it. People will ALWAYS see the bad in drugs, esp the ones helping people.

im a young adult in grad school who took adderall a few times
college to study. i never thought anything of it, except that my
psychiatrist told me it was bad for me. then i got a new doctor because
the other one was just not lisetning to my problems never helpd...and the
new doctor just asked "did it help you to study?"

So, i told him of course it did, but that I knew it helps everyone..well i
have a rx now. and i took way less than my dose - 10 mg - 20 mg day
for a year and a half. then school started and im up to very big doses.
My doctor says I will be perfectly fine on both the addearll and the
strattera...but i get out of breath easily. and my back hurts sometimes.

does anyone know what is safe? it seems like a late onset addiction is a
bit weird. it feels more like too much to do, tolerance, too little time to
think about what i need and too much medicine culture. anyone?

i think physically you'll be fine.  not adderall but stims have been around for ages and i'm with shakespeare here that i don't think they are physically addictive in the way that opiates are or anything like that at all...

maybe just get through grad school then consider tapering the dosage down a bit and looking into some complementary/alternative rememdies if you are feeling concerned about being on stims long term.  there is always annidagostini's book Stopping ADHD - by o'dell as a consideration too.

i don't know if the out-of-breath or back problems are typical symptoms or side effects but it is worth getting that all checked out to put your mind at rest.  and try to keep physically healthy, don't forget to eat and exercise etc. etc. if you can fit it all in!!!  good luck.  and don't worry!  talk to your doctor and i am sure people here will be able to put your mind at rest too....

i'm not on meds so i'm just going by what i've read here pretty much - but others have a whack load of experience!

cj 

 

     I think the addiction comes in when you don't have ADHD.  Our daugther at one point was taking 30mg  of Adderall XR and my husband was on a med at the time also for an infection.  The bottle were right next to eachother and both were capsules.  He took hers by mistake and called me about half way through the day and asked me to check her bottle and his and then describe the pills.  He said he had taken one by accident and noticed something was up because he was having the best day of his life.  He had tons of energy and was ready to go.  Said he got more work done that day than he'd done in two.  He said he could understand why it was addictive.  BUT....that is for someone who doesn't need it.  So it's not the people who need it who are in danger of addiction, it's those who would abuse it.  The same people that are now abusing over the counter cold medicines, or what ever else they can find.  The fact is, if someone wants to get high they will find a way.  Those who need the meds and benefit from them and use them correctly shouldn't suffer because of the wrongs of others.

.IMac38947.5072685185[QUOTE=shakespeare]

At prescribed doses, there is no real risk of physical addiction. In fact, most stim drugs, including cocaine, don't cause dramatic physical addiction.

[/QUOTE]

Yikes!!!! Here we go again with this drug propaganda!!!! As you ALL know, these drugs are addictive in ANY does, and as they Physicians Desk Reference at any local library clearly states, this has NOTHING to do with how much you take OR whether the amount you take is the prescribed dose. As we all know, there are many cases where people are prescribed drugs that they become addicited to -- at the prescribed dosage. And the comparison of cocaine and Ritalin or Adderral is a non-comparison -- yes they are both classified as addictive in the same category by the FDA -- BUT -- one (cocaine) is psychological dependency while the others are PHYSICAL dependency.

And no, you won't feel your addiction if you are taking 30 pills in thirty days if that is what is prescribed -- UNITL YOU STOP TAKING THEM. There are three kinds of drugs -- non-addicitive, psychologically addictive, and PHYSICALLY ADDICTIVE (like Ritalin, Adderall, etc.).

Get real folks, look it up!!

yikes  Cynthia, I think you meant "bump"?Itsy bitsy  YawnZzzzzzzzzz

Hi Parritthead,

I think this is where people who are against medications get their "research" from and try to spin it to the negative.

You are right - the stimulants in the normal dosages prescribed really can't lead towards addiction. However (and this is where the anti's will pounce on me, I know), if a person has a low tolerance for stimulants - then any dosage could be dangerous for them.  Add that to someone who may have an addicting personality and will do whatever they can to obtain the drugs so that they are taking higher dosages than prescribed and that can lead to the substance abuse.

I have spoken to several dr's who give me opposing opinions on this and the ADHD person.    I have heard that a person with adhd who takes stimulants won't experience the "high" (unless the dosage is too high itself) and therefore won't become addicted.  The people who don't have ADHD are susceptible to the stimulant "high" therefore it can become addictive. (but then another dr said that this wasn't necessarily true - thus the opposing opinions).

Also, the longer lasting versions (like concerta and adderall) don't peak out after 3 hours so there is no feeling really good for a short period of time and then dropping dramatically.  the longer acting pills keep you more even keeled throughout the day.

So, I would agree with you here.  I can't wait to hear how "misinformed" I am by the anti-drug people.  But at least you and I will be on the same page. 

This has been puzzling me for some time - how the heck does a person with ADD get 'addicted' to stimulants? My prescribed dosage isn't even close to what an addict would need. My 30 day prescription lasts me 30 days. An addict, I presume, would go through a 30-day prescription in less than a week - then what do they do? Go through withdrawals for 3 weeks until they get their next prescription filled? Seems highly unlikely to me.

Whenever I read a post about avoiding stimulants because they're 'addictive', I think, "What are they TALKING about???"

As far as I can tell, the 'addicts' either DON'T HAVE AD/HD or are buying their stimulants illegally.

Am I missing something?