I actually have been going to an ADHD Center here in MD, and I asked them this question. Apparently it's a myth that stimulants work differently on people who're ADHD. He didn't elaborate much, but he did say that it makes anyone focus (which is true, hence why people use it during college when they don't actually have the disorder). And higher doses make anyone hyped up.
I think that maybe the issue is that the level of focus that it gives non-ADHD people is all extra while the level of focus it gives us ADHDers is necessary to organize ourselves into functional people. I will say, however, that caffeine definitely calms me down (as opposed to making me hyper like my friends) and that the first time I took adderall I took a nap (which seems odd). So next time I go in, I'll ask some more questions and report back. These guys are definitely experts in the field though, so they'd know. (If any of you have heard of Kathleen Nadeau, this is her clinic).
It's speed. All the ADHD meds are abused by teens and my daughter was one of them. Adderrall was crushed in a pillcrusher and snorted. It does affect people without ADHD differently. A family doctor once gave me Ritalin for what he thought was hyperactivity. It was bipolar instead. The Ritalin shot me to the sky and made me very high, then the drop was devestating. It put me into a serious depression that didn't go away for months. I never took another Ritalin, yet it affected me very much. It depends on what you have and your own body chemistry. That's why correct dx is so important. the difference for me is that if I take more than my 5mg of adderall 2x day then I feel kind of high. Lightheaded unfocused but slightly euphoric, then I get let down really hard and become extremely irritable. In short not productive at all. The lower dose actually gives me energy, focus, concentration and the ability to actually remember things without writing everything down. I think I may be oversensitive to these meds too, because its taken me a couple days to get adjusted to this generic adderall I got a couple days ago.Adderall isn't speed. It's a stimulant, and so is speed, but they're different. Meth is a MUCH more powerful stimulant that hits quickly. The high is from the increased strength and the speed at which it affects the nervous system. Adderall, for example, is weaker and hits the nervous system slowly, avoiding the addictive high. Snorting it bypasses that and allows it to hit the nervous system too quickly, causing a stimulant high that is dangerous. Very high dosages taken orally can produce the same effect.
It's dangerous, but using that kind of analogy ends up making it appear to be far more dangerous than it really is. And it totally avoids the reality that adderall actually curbs drug use in ADHD people. That's also a key difference. Speed doesn't do that.
My daughter, who is now 21, was addicted to Adderrall. That is the most abused stim in the teen scene (I don't know about elsewhere, but daughter gave me the lowdown after she quit--and she did have withdrawals). However, she did not take the med as prescribed---she and her friends abused it illegally. She claims it made her high, but, again, she and her buddies crushed it with a pillcrusher and snorted it, sometimes alone and sometimes with other drugs. So, yes, it was different. She could not sleep and had the up and down effects that even kids get. I was never against stims until I found out from her how badly they are abused. Now I wonder if the cure is worse than the fix, so to speak. Adderrall allegedly goes for /pill and kids are stealing from sibs and faking ADHD themselves to get it. But that doesn't negate the good effects some kids get. To be hoenst, I don't use drugs at all and don't know the diff between Adderrall and meth. I just know both are abused and that Meth has no health value at all, but stims allegedly help ADHD. I also heard that stims usually affect everyone the same way. They make everyone more productive and focus, just like an immense amount of coffee. But not everyone needs meds to pay attention. Not a black and white issue. OlderMom38831.5667939815[QUOTE=star8]my doctor said that these stimulants make "normal" people hyper and speedy while those with adhd will calm down.[/QUOTE]
i was wondering if it's true that adhd medication (ritalin, adderall, etc.) affect people without adhd differently? my doctor said that these stimulants make "normal" people hyper and speedy while those with adhd will calm down.
ritalin makes me very tired, but i can't believe it wouldn't do the same to normal people..? i have heard that the meds help those without adhd to study better too.
i guess my question is, have there been any studies on this? or have any of you had first hand experience on it? i'm new to all this (just diagnosed with adhd 2 months ago) and well, i just want to make sure that i really have it. thanks in advance for any help =)
my doc described it like yours did star, I think when the dr. said that they would be more calm it would be better to replace that with the word focused and replace hyper with the word un-focused. But I guess it is all relative to the person taking or not taking the meds as to decribe what they are feeling.Hi Star. I am not ADHD or ADD however I took my son's Ritalin once by mistake. It gave me more energy. I was up all night! When I tried to lie down, I couldn't sleep. I did laundry. So some people without ADHD do become more hyper.
bosox, hmm focused and unfocused are great ways of describing it, thanks.
lovemyboy, that's really interesting.