Growing up with a brother who has ADHD, adderall was always in the medicine cabinet. Until college I have always heard that adderall really helps you focus and get a ton of work done but have never gave it a try. Also I heard that there were many effects of adderall towards people who were especially not prescribed such as headaches and heart contusions since it speeds up the heart. College is exactly what I expected; a ton of work and a lot of late nights of studying. So, one night I knew I had a 5 page paper to write and 2 exams the following day and I was already exhausted so I gave adderall a chance and let me just say WOW, I was never so into writing an essay and studying till 6 in the morning with having no intentions on stopping.
Adderall and what it does?
Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant that usually is prescribed to people who have ADHD(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). The main use of adderall is to increase concentration and decrease impulsiveness. I have tried adderall like I said and I am not prescribed it sure does increase concentration but does entail a few hazardous side affects. According to Dr. Pino (toxicologist at a medical school in NYC) adderall increases the dopamine by blocking out the absorption of the neurotransmitter, mainly stimulating the nervous system. Also according to Drugs.com and Livestrong.com since adderall contains amphetamines; to people who are not prescribed it is highly addictive with serious side affects, Dr. Ogbru claims some side effects include seizure, and irregular heart beats. While using adderall there are instant changes to your body as soon as you swallow the pill like increase in heart rate and very high blood pressure.
Above is a bar graph that hold data of a young girl taking adderall, if you look closely there was 3 different tests done on her the first was without an dose, the second was with 10mg, and the last was done with 20mg, the higher dosage of adderall take by this girl has a direct correlation with the better results.
Adderall Epidemic
Unprescribed use of adderall is becoming a very big problem across the united state with adults and with college students, it continues to increase on an annual rate. Doctors are working to find better alternative for the drug but haven’t had a breakthrough yet, hopefully in the near future we will see this innovation come to fruition.
To go along with what I was saying about this highly addictive drug here is a video of Dr. Fruitman explaining what adderall does to our brain.
Conclusion
A rational Penn State student, after reading this blog and recognizing all of the health scares and side affects would very likely not take adderall. The question “Does adderall have any negative affect on someone who is not prescribed” the null hypothesis would be rejected. Adderall is a very dangerous as well as very addictive drug that I would say people should stay away from unless advised by a doctor or physician.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/234805-what-does-adderall-do-for-people-that-do-not-have-adhd/
http://www.livescience.com/41013-adderall.html
http://www.recovery.org/topics/adderall-facts/
http://www.rxlist.com/adderall-side-effects-drug-center.htm