Labeling something as an Addiction requires compulsive use of a substance that is harmful to your health, your relationships, or your ability to function in society.
People with ADHD taking their medications as prescribed meet none of those defining characteristics.
A lot of medications come with an increased risk of substance abuse, that is totally different than claiming someone has an addiction.
Your original claim was similar to saying everyone who has ever drank a soda has an addiction to caffeine.
Having ADHD doesn’t change that
It does moderate it to a significant degree, especially when used as prescribed. The whole reason people with ADHD do better on stimulants is because they either lack dopamine or cannot transport it efficiently. Stimulants increase the amount of dopamine to normal level everyone else experiences. Meaning instead of getting a euphoric high, they just feel normal.
ADHD and amphetamine medication, and had a meth addiction in the past.
That’s definitely not the same as a doctor prescribing medication…
You were self medicating and probably overdoing it to the point where you were overloading dopamine pathways, making it just as likely to get addicted as anyone else. However, I bet it took you more meth than a person without ADHD to get the same high.
Don’t project your personal baggage onto everyone else.
Some people will be more susceptible than others, just like with any drug. Overall people with ADHD will not be as susceptible to people who do not have ADHD.
Claiming it is addictive to everyone in the same way is the same as saying everyone is just as susceptible to addiction as anyone else. If that were true everyone would be an addict.
The only other way to interpret this is that you are simply claiming the drug utilizes the same pharmacological pathways in everyone…which would be idiotically redundant.
While it’s true that stimulant medication still has addiction risk for people with ADHD, the addiction risk is dramatically lower than the NT population(for ADHD stimulant medication specifically, NOT addictive substances in general). Recommendations for people with SUD/ADHD suggest concurrent treatment of both, including stimulant medication due to the big reduction of relapse risk when medicated versus unmedicated. Obviously there’s caution on a case-by-case basis when using stimulant medication with concurrent treatment of SUD, but the sheer effectiveness of stimulant medication on the reduction of ADHD symptoms can be worth the risk.
No, it isn’t. And saying things like this can be harmful because you’re telling people that their medication poses less addiction risk to them than it does to others. It doesn’t. The medication is just as addictive whether a person does or does not have adhd.
Proof of what? That addictive chemicals are addictive even if a person has adhd? It’s point blank stupid to think otherwise. Feel free to search online and see things saying that when used as perscribed at low doses adhd medication doesn’t typically result in addiction. That isn’t saying the chemical itself is somehow different, or that people with adhd are somehow immune to addiction. People with adhd can abuse stimulants just as easily as anyone else can.
ADHD leaves you with a deficit of dopamine in some form or fashion, usually associated with structural inadequacy in parts of the brain. The dopaminergic affect is usually going to be one of the bigger factors in addictive behavior, and the dopaminergic affect works differently in people with ADHD versus a Neurotypical. For the NT, they will usually have a euphoric experience as a result of the dopaminergic release, whereas someone with ADHD is much less likely to experience this euphoric affect. Hence, the lower risk of addiction.
Sure, the risk isn’t zero. And boy are them college kids abusing the shit out of stimulant medication right now regardless of ADHD diagnosis. But the consensus is that prescribed stimulant medication is low risk versus the consensus of high addiction risk for the general population.
Congratulations, you have the ability to Google terms and grab links to things that you think support your point. I’m very proud of you.
Your first link posits that low dose stimulant medications may decrease odds of substance abuse disorder, however it flat out shows that untreated ADHD carries an increased risk of substance abuse including abuse of stimulants.
Your second link… derp. It’s saying that when a person takes a measured dose of a medication with high potential for abuse from childhood on they’re less likely to abuse that medication.
Neither of those say people with ADHD are magically immune to addiction or the addictive effects of stimulants. They’re not.
“But the consensus is that prescribed stimulant medication is low risk versus the consensus of high addiction risk for the general population.”
I never said otherwise. People try to portray those with ADHD as being immune to addiction, or having brains wired so very differently that stimulants effect them in entirely different ways when compared to people without adhd. That’s what I’m arguing against. It isn’t true, and it’s a dangerous, stupid attitude to have about any addictive substance.
Labeling something as an Addiction requires compulsive use of a substance that is harmful to your health, your relationships, or your ability to function in society.
People with ADHD taking their medications as prescribed meet none of those defining characteristics.
It’s still an addictive medication. Having ADHD doesn’t change that. I have ADHD and amphetamine medication, and had a meth addiction in the past.
A lot of medications come with an increased risk of substance abuse, that is totally different than claiming someone has an addiction.
Your original claim was similar to saying everyone who has ever drank a soda has an addiction to caffeine.
It does moderate it to a significant degree, especially when used as prescribed. The whole reason people with ADHD do better on stimulants is because they either lack dopamine or cannot transport it efficiently. Stimulants increase the amount of dopamine to normal level everyone else experiences. Meaning instead of getting a euphoric high, they just feel normal.
That’s definitely not the same as a doctor prescribing medication… You were self medicating and probably overdoing it to the point where you were overloading dopamine pathways, making it just as likely to get addicted as anyone else. However, I bet it took you more meth than a person without ADHD to get the same high.
Don’t project your personal baggage onto everyone else.
“Your original claim was similar to saying everyone who has ever drank a soda has an addiction to caffeine.”
Please point to where I said that.
Someone said: “It’s addictive to non-ADHD people.” I replied: “Nah. It’s addictive to everyone in the same way.”
Seems fairly simple.
It’s not though…
Some people will be more susceptible than others, just like with any drug. Overall people with ADHD will not be as susceptible to people who do not have ADHD.
Claiming it is addictive to everyone in the same way is the same as saying everyone is just as susceptible to addiction as anyone else. If that were true everyone would be an addict.
The only other way to interpret this is that you are simply claiming the drug utilizes the same pharmacological pathways in everyone…which would be idiotically redundant.
People with ADHD can become addicted to and abuse stimulants just like anyone else. It’s both dangerous and stupid to try to claim otherwise.
While it’s true that stimulant medication still has addiction risk for people with ADHD, the addiction risk is dramatically lower than the NT population(for ADHD stimulant medication specifically, NOT addictive substances in general). Recommendations for people with SUD/ADHD suggest concurrent treatment of both, including stimulant medication due to the big reduction of relapse risk when medicated versus unmedicated. Obviously there’s caution on a case-by-case basis when using stimulant medication with concurrent treatment of SUD, but the sheer effectiveness of stimulant medication on the reduction of ADHD symptoms can be worth the risk.
No, it isn’t. And saying things like this can be harmful because you’re telling people that their medication poses less addiction risk to them than it does to others. It doesn’t. The medication is just as addictive whether a person does or does not have adhd.
Proof or stfu already…
And not the anecdotal proof that has made up your mind.
Proof of what? That addictive chemicals are addictive even if a person has adhd? It’s point blank stupid to think otherwise. Feel free to search online and see things saying that when used as perscribed at low doses adhd medication doesn’t typically result in addiction. That isn’t saying the chemical itself is somehow different, or that people with adhd are somehow immune to addiction. People with adhd can abuse stimulants just as easily as anyone else can.
I don’t know what to tell you, what I’m saying is coming from actual relevant research on this very topic.
Stimulant medication does indeed reduce substance abuse risk: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9097465/
Stimulant medication use from childhood shows reduction in substance abuse risk: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12164
ADHD leaves you with a deficit of dopamine in some form or fashion, usually associated with structural inadequacy in parts of the brain. The dopaminergic affect is usually going to be one of the bigger factors in addictive behavior, and the dopaminergic affect works differently in people with ADHD versus a Neurotypical. For the NT, they will usually have a euphoric experience as a result of the dopaminergic release, whereas someone with ADHD is much less likely to experience this euphoric affect. Hence, the lower risk of addiction.
Sure, the risk isn’t zero. And boy are them college kids abusing the shit out of stimulant medication right now regardless of ADHD diagnosis. But the consensus is that prescribed stimulant medication is low risk versus the consensus of high addiction risk for the general population.
Congratulations, you have the ability to Google terms and grab links to things that you think support your point. I’m very proud of you.
Your first link posits that low dose stimulant medications may decrease odds of substance abuse disorder, however it flat out shows that untreated ADHD carries an increased risk of substance abuse including abuse of stimulants.
Your second link… derp. It’s saying that when a person takes a measured dose of a medication with high potential for abuse from childhood on they’re less likely to abuse that medication.
Neither of those say people with ADHD are magically immune to addiction or the addictive effects of stimulants. They’re not.
“But the consensus is that prescribed stimulant medication is low risk versus the consensus of high addiction risk for the general population.”
I never said otherwise. People try to portray those with ADHD as being immune to addiction, or having brains wired so very differently that stimulants effect them in entirely different ways when compared to people without adhd. That’s what I’m arguing against. It isn’t true, and it’s a dangerous, stupid attitude to have about any addictive substance.