Yes, essentially, most stimulants don’t create the same effect in people with ADHD as they do with neurotypical people. Or at the very least it takes a significantly higher dosage. So, the psychological addiction to stimulants rarely forms.
Now, some stimulants also have a physically addictive property as well as the psychological addiction. That may or may not be as reduced in people with ADHD, but at least for me, I do get headaches when I don’t have caffeine for a couple of days, but I still forget to have it sometimes because the psychological addiction isn’t there I guess. But I have no such effects from forgetting to take Adderall. Not sure if Adderall is less physically addictive in general than caffeine or if it’s just me. I use a combination of Adderall and caffeine to normalize myself. They have different effects that together work well for me.
As an aside anecdote, I also tried some illicit stimulant drugs when I was younger, before I knew I had ADHD and I never got the significant stimulant effects or got addicted. Though in the moment I did feel the craving for more.
Not sure what all that means, but there are definitely significant differences in how stimulants affect people with ADHD including addictive responses.
Anyway, the reason ADHD meds are regulated so heavily is due to the flawed logic in drug-war-centered policy that prioritizes fighting illicit use despite valid medical use. But as anyone who has ever had kids knows, telling people they can’t do something without giving them the knowledge and freedom to decide for themselves, just encourages them to do it even more. Not even accounting for the fact that many illicit drug users are actually self medicating and better healthcare systems tend to reduce illicit use more than severe punishments. But at least in the US, the private prison system greatly profits from the drug war and funds a lot of politicians with that money, so it’s unlikely to change.
This is nonsense. I don’t know why people keep saying this. I’ve been medicated for 30 years and you definitely get a euphoria boost when the meds kick in, and you definitely get withdraws on days you don’t take them. They aren’t bad or anything. Just feeling a bit tired and crazy hungry, but the idea that the pills don’t have the standard upper effects on people with adhd is just wrong.
Everyone is different. It’s a mixture of several disorders afterall. For me this is how it works. Same with my girlfriend who is also ADHD like me.
With Adderall, no euphoric upper effect from stimulants unless we use a very high dose. No physical withdrawal symptoms, just back to how we are unmedicated, e.g. easy to get mentally exhausted from anything mentally taxing, difficulty paying attention to a single task, reduced executive function, etc. But it’s not something that happens immediately. It’s once the tasks become overwhelming that we notice we didn’t take our meds. There is not really an immediate sign assuming I had a good night’s rest and I’m not already burnt out.
Caffeine on the other hand has more of a physical withdrawal for me if I don’t have it. And, especially if I’m also on Adderall, and I really load up on it, I do sometimes get that high, “tweaker” feeling. And if I have too much too late in the day, it can keep me from sleeping. (Though, some people with ADHD I know actually use caffeine to fall asleep since it helps them avoid the mind wandering so much.) Besides the same issues as above, I do get headaches late the first day and if I had been overdoing it for several days and stop, cold turkey, I can get migraines around the second or third day.
But I never have a psychological desire to have the medication or caffeine nagging at me like true addiction. I do get what that feels like such as from not having an orgasm for a while like if I travel and don’t bring a vibrator and really end up turned on from hormones. But I’ve never had anything like that from stimulants. Even crack cocaine that I tried a few times, many, many years ago.
Well, the studies out there disagree. While it varies from person to person, it is indeed true that people with ADHD are much less likely to experience euphoric affect when taking stimulant medication than Neurotypical people. If you take something like Adderall or Desoxyn, then the potential for euphoric affect is higher due to the faster dopaminergic release. So some people with ADHD can and do sometimes have that euphoric affect, but it’s definitely less common than for Neurotypicals.
Yes, essentially, most stimulants don’t create the same effect in people with ADHD as they do with neurotypical people. Or at the very least it takes a significantly higher dosage. So, the psychological addiction to stimulants rarely forms.
Now, some stimulants also have a physically addictive property as well as the psychological addiction. That may or may not be as reduced in people with ADHD, but at least for me, I do get headaches when I don’t have caffeine for a couple of days, but I still forget to have it sometimes because the psychological addiction isn’t there I guess. But I have no such effects from forgetting to take Adderall. Not sure if Adderall is less physically addictive in general than caffeine or if it’s just me. I use a combination of Adderall and caffeine to normalize myself. They have different effects that together work well for me.
As an aside anecdote, I also tried some illicit stimulant drugs when I was younger, before I knew I had ADHD and I never got the significant stimulant effects or got addicted. Though in the moment I did feel the craving for more.
Not sure what all that means, but there are definitely significant differences in how stimulants affect people with ADHD including addictive responses.
Anyway, the reason ADHD meds are regulated so heavily is due to the flawed logic in drug-war-centered policy that prioritizes fighting illicit use despite valid medical use. But as anyone who has ever had kids knows, telling people they can’t do something without giving them the knowledge and freedom to decide for themselves, just encourages them to do it even more. Not even accounting for the fact that many illicit drug users are actually self medicating and better healthcare systems tend to reduce illicit use more than severe punishments. But at least in the US, the private prison system greatly profits from the drug war and funds a lot of politicians with that money, so it’s unlikely to change.
This is nonsense. I don’t know why people keep saying this. I’ve been medicated for 30 years and you definitely get a euphoria boost when the meds kick in, and you definitely get withdraws on days you don’t take them. They aren’t bad or anything. Just feeling a bit tired and crazy hungry, but the idea that the pills don’t have the standard upper effects on people with adhd is just wrong.
Everyone is different. It’s a mixture of several disorders afterall. For me this is how it works. Same with my girlfriend who is also ADHD like me.
With Adderall, no euphoric upper effect from stimulants unless we use a very high dose. No physical withdrawal symptoms, just back to how we are unmedicated, e.g. easy to get mentally exhausted from anything mentally taxing, difficulty paying attention to a single task, reduced executive function, etc. But it’s not something that happens immediately. It’s once the tasks become overwhelming that we notice we didn’t take our meds. There is not really an immediate sign assuming I had a good night’s rest and I’m not already burnt out.
Caffeine on the other hand has more of a physical withdrawal for me if I don’t have it. And, especially if I’m also on Adderall, and I really load up on it, I do sometimes get that high, “tweaker” feeling. And if I have too much too late in the day, it can keep me from sleeping. (Though, some people with ADHD I know actually use caffeine to fall asleep since it helps them avoid the mind wandering so much.) Besides the same issues as above, I do get headaches late the first day and if I had been overdoing it for several days and stop, cold turkey, I can get migraines around the second or third day.
But I never have a psychological desire to have the medication or caffeine nagging at me like true addiction. I do get what that feels like such as from not having an orgasm for a while like if I travel and don’t bring a vibrator and really end up turned on from hormones. But I’ve never had anything like that from stimulants. Even crack cocaine that I tried a few times, many, many years ago.
Well, the studies out there disagree. While it varies from person to person, it is indeed true that people with ADHD are much less likely to experience euphoric affect when taking stimulant medication than Neurotypical people. If you take something like Adderall or Desoxyn, then the potential for euphoric affect is higher due to the faster dopaminergic release. So some people with ADHD can and do sometimes have that euphoric affect, but it’s definitely less common than for Neurotypicals.
Which studies?