Adderall... Does It Work?

The majority of people on this site must be super smart, going to top schools, or extremely dedicated. Everyone has heard of adderall, the drug that can supposedly make you concentrate like a god and just "get in the zone".

With the hours in banking and the crazy study that you do in school, have any of you guys taken it? What was it like, what were the side effects, if any?

27 Comments
 

side effects

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

If you have ADHD then yes (lol).

If you don't have ADHD, you'll just become super hyper/euphoric which will give you worse performance (reference to Yerkes Dodson Law).

Array
 

Assuming you don’t have ADHD and just want it as a stimulant to study/ be productive:

There are better alternatives. It makes me jittery, paranoid, and generally unhappy and completely unable to sleep. Sure, I can get a lot done. But the paranoia is a huge turnoff. Plus the lack of sleep will carry into the next day or two because it’s compounded by the come down.

Plan your studying better and do it incrementally rather than cramming. Eat healthier and work out and you’ll be more alert.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

One example is I took too much one time. My heart was pounding and I was staring at my beagle (in my profile photo) thinking he was going to report me for taking adderall. I haven’t ever touched adderall since that day haha

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 
Most Helpful

It's not like Limitless. As someone diagnosed with ADHD, I went through 8-10 months with the doctor to trying alternatives and dialing in the dosage.

It's different for everyone. Do I think you should take it if you're not diagnosed? No, it's fucking meth.

Before treatment, my mind would constantly wander, I'd leave projects 80% finished, and I couldn't pay attention in meetings. I put off seeing a doctor for the longest time because I saw it as a weakness. Someone once compared seeing a doctor for ADHD to getting glasses if you had bad vision. That was the turning point for me and when I did something about it. Afterwards, there's a noticeable increase in my work productivity.

People who complain about jitters, not sleeping, or paranoia aren't taking the right amount for them or not the correct medication (assuming they've been properly diagnosed).

 

For someone with ADHD ill honestly say it helps tremendously. I think a lot of people justify excessive adderall intake by convincing themselves that they do in fact suffer from adhd and its just undiagnosed, but for me I know thats not the case....throughout middle school and high school, there were instances where i'd be daydreaming so hard that the teacher would call on me and i didnt even hear their voice because I was so tuned out. If you actually consume it safely and are properly diagnose it is a game changer.

It was honestly enlightening to take adderall for the first time and experience its effects...I could digest what I was reading and it made me feel like I had wasted my prior years of education because up to that point I wasn't learning anything...i was just being exposed to information, but couldnt do anything with that exposure.

Always knew I was a pretty good thinker, but I just had such trouble putting it all together that it made me feel like i was a really dumb kid who would never be able to compete in a high-level work environment because I just couldnt pay attention to shit. Since I was diagnosed my grades have increased tremendously...was able to transfer from a non-target to a target and currently sit in the top 20% of my class. Never thought i was capable of doing so.

However, I also recognize that this is not a safe drug to abuse and sometimes get discouraged at the idea that I might only be able to get good grades because I'm on adderall..kinda feels like a cheat code and I dont know how sustainable it is to take throughout the school week.

Idk, Im pretty ambivalent towards it. Hate that im dependent on it for anything that requires a degree of intellectuality but love that it completely reshaped my perspective on learning. I just cant fully articulate how cool it is to be able to read a book and actually take knowledge away from it.

 

I have Indulged in the orange pill (20mg) during 600 level physics. It has set personal records in finalizing quantum mechanics and theory. Most have difficulty in these four courses. I did not crash as many seem to fall into that category. The magic is taking it with food in the morning.

Plastic straws were second nature to have in the arsenal. Powder under the tongue, digestion and a nice orange line to vacuum. These three combinations gave me tunnel vision on some heavy modeling in mathematics and designing facial recognition before LiDAR hit its peak. So with this said. I have felt invincible, flat affect to others needs, and the ability to outdo many coworkers in abstract thinking. I don't work o. Wall Street or in the financial sector period. But I am certain that any mathematics I used or still use are related to your field. Still use the 20s and it is very important to hydrate, I mean forced hydration. Back during my military career some would take the risk of popping one in ranger school. GODSPEED to them if they didn't get recycled or kicked backed to their Legg Units. It must suck for those who crash. I was dxd at 15 so my brain is hard wired for them.

You want to lose weight, you should clean yourself for a month prior to popping one again. You can shed weight fast.. Too fast and look gaunt that your sweaters show your shoulder blades. I can't stress enough on stopping your straw inhales before 2pm and eat protein lean protein... And pound the H2O all fuckin day..

It's a great drug. Also, if you feel jitters and cold sweats.. You taken too much. And a Benzo does not impede this feeling.. Just pound the fucking WATER MATE... 

 

hydrohomie

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

At first. Like anything though you build tolerance and it has its drawbacks. 

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 
Funniest

For those without ADD, what it really does is give you a burst of euphoria so you could be doing something you normally find boring as hell (ie, studying) but be out of your mind joyful and motivated about it. In that sense it helps you overcome apathy/laziness but I always found it made me take waaay longer to complete assignments because I would go OCD and focus in on small elements to a massive extent. That said, 20mg + Grizzly Mint chewing tobacco + a problem set to dig in on feels better than sex.

 

I have never felt some effect that makes me feel energetic. It is a push to focus at the Neuron level and it is all chemical alterations within your Brain. If you have a comorbidity of say OCD, I could assume this amplifies this to a point that one is in a perpetual cycle of non productivity. Sucks to be you. No offense..

Don't knock the water intake as a joke. You will get dry mouth and dehydrated. Between this and the lack of decent meal, attributes to many crashing at 6pm...

 

I also see many software weenies popping Nuvigil. This medicine sucks ass... I have tried it for three weeks and I couldn't sleep for 48 hours one time. It doesn't work for AADD. I felt aloof during work and had that 1000 yard stare during meetings. I threw that shit out. 

 

Unpopular because its contrary to conventional feedback but I fuckin love it. Current college student with no ADHD, I take 25-50mg *only* during exam periods. They have certainly helped me ace my exams, no doubt about it. Definitely better ways to go about managing a stressful workload, but I do love this one. I attend an ivy (thus pressure cooker environment) so they're just as easy to get a hold of as candy.

 

I am too old to be on this thread. 

PhD Plasma Physics / laser application.

Northwestern University 1995

Stony Brook University 1999.

I had three Quant interviews in 2007.

I found the work environment non research and lackluster personalities. I preferred as a doctor in science to work at BNL.and Bell labs prior to Nokia acquisition. I have no regrets for two offers that I turned down. Typical layout of a panel interview, knowledgeable of various Parameterics, PDFs, extrapolating TOIs,uncertainty principles, random, dimensionless numbers, write a script on a Stat Arb model. Simple because every single one of your paid courses can be torrented for free if you lazy. Or you take the initiative to learn software i.e. C#, python, Javascript and work in VS2019 IDE. Get the Murrals book one c# in Visual studio 2015.. You will thank yourself to take suggestions from a stranger.

Anyway, I don't need text companions and feel I am not young enough for this hungry crowd.

Godpeed to you all.. (I am not religious) but it is a pleasant statement to mention. Anyway

Take care and brush ya hair. 

 

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