Adderall, Ritalin, Dexedrine, Concerta are the names of drugs used to treat ADD. These drugs are more often than not end up being misuse for some reasons. It was even shown in one episode of the Desperate Housewives where Lynette, the character that had hyper boys end up taking their medications so that she can keep up with them. This is a common scenario of ADD medication abuse.
Example of an ADD abuse case.
Mike is a successful attorney with a very hectic schedule. More and more demands are being made on him, and if he wants to make partner at his firm in record time, he has got to find more hours and more energy.
Mike told one of his friends about his trouble of keeping up and even putting more effort. His friend has offered his solution. He suggested that Mike gets himself prescribed with ADD medication such as Adderall just as he did a few months back. Mike's friend told mike that even if the medication did make him feel a little edgy, it did a lot to improve his energy level. To get this medication prescribed, mike only needs to tell the physician that he had trouble paying attention and stay organized at work.
Mike took his pal's advice and was easily able to score his very own prescription for Ritalin. For the first few weeks, Mike thought he felt better. He didn't seem to tire as easily and he was winning his cases like crazy! Moreover, he had lost those extra 8 pounds he'd never been able to shed. Mike thought he'd found the perfect solution.
Three month down the road, Mike began experiencing problems. He was loosing sleep and had often slept for no more than three hours at night. His moods became unpredictable and he was also becoming bad tempered. He had often taken this out on his wife and kids for no apparent reason and refuses to listen to his wife when she tries to point this out to him.
Meanwhile, at work, Mike's coworkers began to observe some paranoia. Mike was positive that attorneys with whom he previously professed to have a close working relationship were now gunning to get him fired and trying to sabotage his cases. No one seemed to know what he was talking about.
Mike finally went to a physician and it needless to say the cause was unveiled. He was immediately taken off the medication which was causing these symptoms and a few weeks later things went back to normal for Mike.
First, you need to know that chemically, the drugs prescribed for ADD are very similar to cocaine. And like cocaine, they increase the amount of dopamine available to receptors and that translates into a calming effect on the body. These drugs are dangerous, not only for those who don't have ADD, but also for those that do!!
Even if the main objective of using these drugs is to get the calming effect as experienced by those who suffer from ADD, the effect is actually completely opposite.
The two top users of these drugs without proper medical prescription are college students and housewives. Bet you didn't expect the latter. The top reasons for use are to gain more energy, more attention, and of course to get high. The drugs can be taken normally or crushed and snorted in which it increases the drug's effect.
It is essential that long term effects of these stimulants be made known to all as the number of users of these stimulants are gradually increasing.
Even if the drugs are used for a short period of time, it can still can have significant effect on brain and its chemistry. For instance, drugs that are used to produce calming effect can actually destroy dopamine receptors thus making it less effective for calming. Here are more side effects:
- Communication between the two hemisphere of the brain will gradually become ineffective. This is due to the significant loss of the grey matter, a substance that surrounds the corpus callosum which carries the responsibility to do so.
- Deficits in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that takes care of functions like feeding, drinking, activity level, etc.
- Develop abnormal brain structure akin to deficits in early dementia and schizophrenia seen on MRIs.
If that's not enough to scare you, there are even more side-effects that shouldn't be ignored.
- Paranoia
- Insomnia
- Extreme feelings of hostility
- Anorexia
- Depression
- Short temper
- Poor attention span
- A feeling of "being on the edge"
- Psychosis
- Memory loss
- Hallucinations
- Severe mood problems
Once you are using these drugs, you will find that you will gradually need to increase the amount of intake in order to get the same effect. It is in a way a loosing situation for you if you do decide to use these drugs.
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Jimmy Brownen is a leading expert in the field of ADD /ADHD and has years of experience in the treatment of it. For more information on the disorder or for alternative means of curing ADHD , please visit his site.
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