Thoughts on Adderall?

Had it prescribed for 4 months, got so much shit done, but hated who I was on it. Makes you so irritable and numb

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It will help you get stuff done, but it is AWFUL to get off of - you don't realize how dependent it makes you. If you are usually pretty productive I doubt you have ADHD, sounds more like anxiety tbh

Adderal won’t do anything caffeine doesn’t it literally just keeps you awake it doesn’t make you smarter. Stick to coffee and try more organic ways to improve your focus such as limiting distractions.

I'm sure your thoughts on adderall must be super focused, I mean that's the whole point right?

I was diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school but didn't start w Adderall right away. Learned how to keep focus and get shit done (it was hard af ngl) - having a stuffed schedule does help because you physically don't have time for slacking. I did eventually start taking Adderall during college and been taking it off and on ever since. It does make you dependent and comedowns are a bitch, but if you can control yourself to take it only occasionally, and have periods off, I think it's great. I take it 3 days a week tops, and every couple of weeks have a couple of weeks off. You can get it legally prescribed super easily using Telehealth services like Ahead or Cerebral, don't buy it on gray/black market for $20 per pill, that's just ridiculous. 

I´m very split on that issue. On the one hand, medication with literal speed is a disgusting and morally corrupt way of silencing people who were simply born to hunt and run and dance and not care about much else. On the other hand, the first 18 years of my life were impacted by an extremely strong case of ADHD in my immediate vicinity, and that is an experience I can not recommend to anyone. In the end, it all comes down to what society we want. Do we want a society where people are like trees, growing in their own manner, carefully and lovingly pruned, or do we want stones, hewn with force? In the latter, Adderall is an absolute must, since there´s a sizable amount of naturally born attention-deficit children at any time. That´s the reason I will send my children (who will have a high chance of having it themselves) to a Montessori or Waldorf school, plus a lot of natural activity. 

But for the record, it does make you get shit done - if you can stand the tremors, dry mouth, and heart racing.

I’ll chime in with a different viewpoint than most. I’m on Concerta, same idea different drug. It’s been life changing, completely 180’ing my schoolwork and eventually career. I had a terrible time focusing and fidgeting until I was diagnosed and prescribed. Obviously there are side effects that you should be aware of, for me it’s mainly appetite when I take a few days off of my dose or come back on after a break. Now I do agree with those who say it’s bad if not needed, as well as the sentiment that more and more are being improperly prescribed when they absolutely can focus. But if you genuinely need it and a doctor agrees, I think it can have a great impact. Use safely.

I can provide some insight, as I just got prescribed about 3 months ago. I’ve dealt with ADHD likely my whole life, and didn’t realize until I was an adult and got fired from my first real job. I couldn’t stay focused, had crippling perfectionism to where I couldn’t start a project or task if I didn’t know exactly how to do it. That has gone away with Adderall. I am quick to jump on a task, I can stay focused all day, and when I get home from work, I’m not so tired and lazy that I want to just lay down and look at my phone, but I actually want to help out around the house, when I usually don’t. I can also keep my thoughts straight and don’t lose my train of thought midway through a sentence. I do not get a loss of appetite (very hungry rn), and I sleep well at night.

Here’s my tip: I am prescribed 10 mg, and told to take it twice a day, one in the morning, and one right after lunch. However, I don’t always take 20mg. Sometimes I’ll take 5/5, 10/5, or I will maybe take 10/10 if it’s a really busy or long day. Also, I only take it when I need to. I don’t take it on the weekends, days I WFH (rarely ever), and days when I’m on business travel or at a conference. Basically, any non normal day, I don’t take it. This way I don’t get too addicted. I feel like I have a very good relationship with it right now, and I’m going to continue to monitor it.

So I had my summer analyst stint with undiagnosed ADHD, and it was a real struggle even though I didn’t know why at the time... Been on Ritalin since then and it’s black vs white. Helped with classwork and will help in work too. Just my experience.

I’m finishing my first year at a BB tech group and I have diagnosed ADHD. My opinion slightly differs from some of the others here in the thread so take it for what it’s worth. I think that adderall is a great tool when used correctly and fully understood. Below are personal rules for using it that have helped it be positive for me.

1. Only take it when I know I need to sit down and focus on a highly important task for several hours

1. Make sure that I force myself to eat food when I’m taking it (I lost a lot of weight my first four months because of the loss of appetite and amount of work I was doing)

1. Don’t take it as a replacement for sleep or when you are already exhausted or feeling terrible

1. Don’t take it before presentations, interviews or anything that might make you nervous as the adderall will amplify your body’s response to nervousness/anxiety

1. Don’t take it after 9pm (or after 4pm if you have the long-lasting dosage) even if you are going to pull a late night. You need to be able to fall asleep as soon as you finish your late night work to salvage any hours of sleep possible

1. Don’t get stuck in a mindset where you “need” it to do good work. Just look at is as an amplifier to do good work but trust that you can be fine without it as well

1. Drink caffeine as a replacement when the task isn’t very serious or long

Part of the problem is people getting prescribed Adderall when they don't really have ADHD, because they've been conditioned to think that any lack of focus or inability to work like a machine for 12+ hours a day is "bad." I thought I had this same issue, and when I went to the doctor he said it was a mood issue, not a focus issue (turns out I couldn't focus because I just hated my job at the time). Not to mention any time I had previously taken Adderall (even a tiny 2 mg nibble first thing in the morning) I'd get irritable and paranoid and would get awful insomnia, which I read later are all signs that one doesn't actually have ADHD. 

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