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
This is a topic I actually never thought about it. Drugs aren’t really something I’m very aware of so I had honestly forgotten Adderall was a popular thing among college kids. I do know how dangerous it can be though. I found this blog post from the New York Times written by someone who became addicted to Adderall. The author first tried it their senior year at UCLA while cramming for exams and writing papers. Exactly what you did actually! It was a little bit sad and very eye- opening.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/the-last-all-nighter/?_r=0
Hey man your blog post is extremely interesting.I myself have never used adderall but have heard of people who have used adderall and have done school work for almost 24 hours. I believe that drugs like adderall people shouldn’t be able to have easy access to them. There are people who need a drug like this to focus and some people who use this drug when they have a lot of work to do or have procrastinated for too long. I agree with you that adderall is a drug that individuals who aren’t prescribed to it should stay away from. I Adderall can have some really bad side effects for non prescribed user; here’s an article that talks about the side effects. http://www.livescience.com/41013-adderall.html
Very relevant topic now that finals are among us, a must reply under the circumstances that I am experiencing the effects of Adderall as I type this. I have always felt that I suffer from ADHD and did my research about the medication for it but never got tested because the one time I brought it up to my mother she just passed it off as me having a drug problem, crack to be exact. After explaining to my mother that i would be the world’s fattest crackhead, I just figured to never bring it up again. Until college brought me to my first adderall. I agree that it does make you feel like the king of the world and through my personal experience it does tunnel my focus to what I am doing. I have done more successful work and more efficient studying while on it, but only use it when I absolutely need to avoid addiction and complacency. This CNN article http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/17/health/adderall-college-students/ follows the rise of the uppers throughout college and explains how it effects different demographics within the college sector.
I am not prescribed Adderall nor do I take it. Everyone talks about how it helps with concentration but the point I bring up regarding someone who is not prescribed is how they are compared to someone who is prescribed. If I were to make a hypothesis I would say that someone who is prescribed Adderall and takes it concentrates on a more normal level, meaning that the pill helps block out the ADHD and helps he or she to focus like everyone around them. Someone who is not prescribed has nothing to block out so that’s why all these reactions of how focused and glued they were to doing their work, and you have to believe that if you are a student who has been in this situation and wants to succeed you are going to want more and that’s the point they become a problem. One rumor that everyone has always talked about that I believe is false is how Adderall makes you smarter, it’s the “smart pill.” I found an article that discussed these matter and it says that it doesn’t make you smarter, but the feeling makes you feel like you are. And you have to think that this feeling is coming from the non-prescribers because they are functioning differently from those who are prescribed.
http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/21/adderall-may-not-make-you-smarter-but-it-makes-you-think-you-are/