Adderall to do it all?

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Sorry, I didn't see this was an old thread........buy anyways, I drink coffee. I didn't start drinking it for caffeine; I just like the taste. I do find that I study more efficiently with it though.
 
Sheeeeeet...when I was young if I didn't bring in good grades or behave in school this was my remedy.
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F^&^% Adderall! (Unless you have a documented disability/serious condition). We all know the vast majority of A users on SDN are those obsessed with shortcuts and unfair advantages. Funny that so many people complain about URM advantage, yet have their parents provide them with $2000 MCAT classes, designer suits for interviews and unlimited Adderall.
 
orbicularisoculi said:
F^&^% Adderall! (Unless you have a documented disability/serious condition). We all know the vast majority of A users on SDN are those obsessed with shortcuts and unfair advantages. Funny that so many people complain about URM advantage, yet have their parents provide them with $2000 MCAT classes, designer suits for interviews and unlimited Adderall.
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$2,000 doesn't buy you a 30 on the MCAT......you still have to put the work in. And I seriously doubt that an acceptance to medical school has been decided over whether or not the applicant was wearing a designer suit. But yeah, don't do Adderall......
 
Gregor Wiesmann said:
$2,000 doesn't buy you a 30 on the MCAT......you still have to put the work in. And I seriously doubt that an acceptance to medical school has been decided over whether or not the applicant was wearing a designer suit. But yeah, don't do Adderall......
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I agree just sayin'...I was sitting next to a guy in ochem last year with a HUGE tendril of blue snot coming out of his nose in class and he wouldn't stop tapping his foot. Disgusting and he looked like a freaking crackhead. Gross.
 
ILikeCox said:
It's funny because if you have ADHD adderall makes you stop tapping your foot.
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Yeah, what's with the foot tapping thing? I had a class and like literally 1/3 of the people in the room had their foot tapping the entire time......is that from ADHD?
 
ILikeCox said:
I feel compelled to respond to this thread because of my personal experience.

I have ADHD. Before I was treated, I was scoring in the bottom half of my classes at a top 10 university. Also my personal life was in shambles.

I got a 41 on the MCAT.

Now that I am treated I finish my work on time and appropriately. I'm also less likely to blurt out stupid things. There are a lot of people who take adderall who are getting a "boost", fine, I don't care. I take a low dose to function so I can reach my potential in addition to exercising daily and sleeping regularly. I wasn't screened for awhile because I skated by on intelligence and a good memory. ADHD is real and potentially devestating. I could say more but it's too personal so I will leave it at that. The benefits of adderall for people with ADHD far outweigh the risks of taking it. Again, for people with ADHD. People who use it for a "boost" are pathetic.
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Did you have symptoms at an early age, before college?
 
orbicularisoculi said:
F^&^% Adderall! (Unless you have a documented disability/serious condition). We all know the vast majority of A users on SDN are those obsessed with shortcuts and unfair advantages. Funny that so many people complain about URM advantage, yet have their parents provide them with $2000 MCAT classes, designer suits for interviews and unlimited Adderall.
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Another URM whiner. Wonderful. You and EMDO2018 should really create a club.

You bet they complain about the URM advantage as the AAMC released statistics CONFIRM this fact. Any normal person would complain if their standard to get an acceptance into medical school is higher than that of a URM. You either believe GPA and MCAT are indicative of success in medical school or you don't. Don't say for one race it's a marker of success and for other race that it's not a marker of success. It smells of bs and premeds can smell it from a mile away.
 
ILikeCox said:
Yes but I never really had to work because everything came naturally to me so I never was screened for it. In college when I had to work it was like hitting a wall.
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Was it bc the material was easier you think? What symptoms were you having that you knew something was wrong? That's great that it's working out for you. Any side effects?
 
ILikeCox said:
I found out something was wrong the hard way when I would try to study for hours on end, was isolated and basically had no life and was doing poorly in school that something was wrong.

The material definitely was easier.

I've always found it incredibly hard and next to impossible to focus and do things that other people find easy. I also have a good memory and can look at something and remember what it looked like (photographic?) A lot of ways I would study for tests involved remembering images and even images of pages but if I was asked to talk about it in depth I would not be able to. So basically, I was a good crammer.

Side effects, no, I'm at a really low dose. When I get off it I feel down though but it goes away quickly.

Someone like me could have half-assed it through life and probably not have fallen through the cracks. But I kid you not when I say that I have problems doing the simplest things. I don't want to say most of them here because it's too identifiable but it's crazy how poor of decisions that would really make anyone wonder that someone can make when they have focus problems. For example, I have thankfully never been in a car accident yet but I've had too many near misses to count. It's those kinds of things that really make ADHD a serious problem that interferes with daily life (hey, a disease!) and that's why it upsets me when people on a pre-health forum make jokes about it.
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So you were good at memorizing before Adderall (seeing the words on the page, etc.) but you couldn't understand it in depth? The adderall helped your cognitive ability to understand?
 
ILikeCox said:
Ultimately, yes. I couldn't teach a lot of the stuff but I would do OK on the tests. I'm a good test-taker too. It's a horrible way to "learn."
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Well, glad it's worked for you. I've heard some people say they feel "smarter", but don't know if it's bc it gives you a sort of high (it is an amphetamine derivative after all) to where you just feel smarter - the literature isn't clear cut on this. Of course, if you're already a good standardized test-taker, then you'll do great. I've always been curious it it truly actually changes anything or it just makes someone feel like they are in terms of actual long-term retention of information.
 
ILikeCox said:
Well I feel more like myself because I'm not constantly stressing/worrying about the things I can't do and also have time to have a life. So if general well-being makes you smarter, I am smarter.
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Interesting as I would have thought adderall would increase your anxiety (since it's a stimulant), but that may only be in people who already have an anxiety disorder. Of course it's all a chicken-and-egg thing as to what is first: not doing well --> making you anxious or anxiety --> not doing well. I know some people have said that eventually you get tolerant at that dose without the intended effect, and thus have to go at higher doses.
 
ILikeCox said:
Yeah there are a lot of chicken/egg issues and my psychiatrist made it a point to tell me that we don't know everything about the disorder and definitely not its relation to anxiety but we do know that the drugs improve functioning. Why are you dermviser? You sound like psychviser to me.
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LOL. Actually I very much liked my Psychiatry clerkship in medical school - it's also an outpatient specialty that really does truly help people in their lives.

I've always been interested in how real the effect of these cognitive enhancing pharmacotherapy is for people or whether they just THINK it helps, but not really: http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/...e-you-smarter-but-it-makes-you-think-you-are/

I think part of the problem with so many people taking it when they don't have ADHD (which has now caught national media attention), people are 1) less likely to think they actually have it or downplay it or 2) if they do go to a psychiatrist, providers are less likely to prescribe it due to bad media coverage.
 
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Definitely can do more harm to a person who has anxiety. I was more focused on the things that are kept me from studying.
 
Kochanie said:
Definitely can do more harm to a person who has anxiety. I was more focused on the things that are kept me from studying.
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So the Adderall didn't help you concentrate or it helped you to concentrate on the wrong thing? Or the anxiety which was heightened bc of adderall, had you focus on something else, rather than actual studying?
 
DermViser said:
So the Adderall didn't help you concentrate or it helped you to concentrate on the wrong thing? Or the anxiety which was heightened bc of adderall, had you focus on something else, rather than actual studying?
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Helped me concentrate on the wrong thing, never saw any positive side effects.
 
If it's hard to study, that's because it's supposed to be. The point of undergrad for aspiring doctors is to have them work on discipline, work ethic, and study strategies that will work in med school. No one said it would be easy, but I went through that boot camp and I went from 2.7 GPA freshman year to a steady upwards trend and finishing with a 3.9. Adderal cheats you of learning how to study. No pain no gain.


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BLACKMD said:
I've heard a ton of premed students are flocking to local shrinks seeking Adderall. I conducted my own online research and it's stunning how many really depend on this. So, here is the question, what substances (if any) do you use to pull the grades? I've used caffeine pills plenty but never a script. I can't come here and say I've never thought of it though. So, rather than breaking laws, lying to the medical community I expect to join, what other tangible substances boost performance?
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Don't start on Adderall. A few of my classmates in med school use it, particularly during the time approaching block week. Many have legit and obvious ADHD. Watching them come down off of it is horrible- I've got a friend that can't get out of his bed for two days and suffers from crippling depression when he stops taking it. It's bad news dude.
 
Mad Jack said:
Don't start on Adderall. A few of my classmates in med school use it, particularly during the time approaching block week. Many have legit and obvious ADHD. Watching them come down off of it is horrible- I've got a friend that can't get out of his bed for two days and suffers from crippling depression when he stops taking it. It's bad news dude.
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If they have legit ADHD why do they come off of it? I was prescribed 30mg a day to "make me function normally".
 
I do have ADHD, largely unmedicated. I think that having adderall might have made school a lot easier in a lot of ways. But I've adapted, and learned how to learn my own ways. I do take a low dose of wellbutrin, which works for adult adhd as well as seasonal depression issues. And I like my nootropic supplements: Sulbutiamine, DMAE, 5-htp. I don't use them all daily, but when I really need to study, they help me not feel burned out so quickly. Is it just placebo? I don't think so, obviously. There are some really crazy nootropics available on the market, but I stick to pretty much those three because I think they are reasonably safe and beneficial when used in low doses. The first is two thiamine molecules connected in a way that makes them able to cross the blood brain barrier. The other two are neurotransmitter precursors.

They don't make me feel speedy or euphoric, or really much of anything special... except that I don't get exhausted and distracted as easily when I take them as when I don't. I think of it as a supply and demand problem. Adderall and other stimulants let you over exploit your supply of neurotransmitters, and you crash once the drug is gone. Also, you risk down-regulating your receptors so that your brain isn't as efficient as it was before you used the stimulant. The nootropic supplements that I use increase the supply of materials available to make more neurotransmitters out of, but they don't force excess to be produced. So there is no high... just more capacity.

These statements not evaluated by the FDA. YMMV.
 
DermViser said:
Another URM whiner. Wonderful. You and EMDO2018 should really create a club.

You bet they complain about the URM advantage as the AAMC released statistics CONFIRM this fact. Any normal person would complain if their standard to get an acceptance into medical school is higher than that of a URM. You either believe GPA and MCAT are indicative of success in medical school or you don't. Don't say for one race it's a marker of success and for other race that it's not a marker of success. It smells of bs and premeds can smell it from a mile away.
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This from someone who has never been followed around Nordstrom's while trying to buy interview clothes, been chosen last as a lab partner even though he has the highest GPA in the class, or been pulled over simply for being a minority and having the audacity to be out on a Friday night. Your ignorance is palpable and I gather you have led a very sheltered life. I feel sorry for your future patients (if you ever get that far).
 
orbicularisoculi said:
This from someone who has never been followed around Nordstrom's while trying to buy interview clothes, been chosen last as a lab partner even though he has the highest GPA in the class, or been pulled over simply for being a minority and having the audacity to be out on a Friday night. Your ignorance is palpable and I gather you have led a very sheltered life. I feel sorry for your future patients (if you ever get that far).
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Hear hear!
 
ILikeCox said:
So your life sucks? What does that have to do with the color of your skin? There are happy black people and unhappy white people. What gives? Why are you special?
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No I am special because my life DOESN'T suck, despite the adversities I've faced and the ignorance I've had to deal with my whole life.
 
As someone who was diagnosed with ADD later in life, and unknowingly missed a huge portion of life struggling learning and being baffled how people learned so easily when I couldn't, people who abuse stimulants are some of the worst kind of people around. You make it harder for people like me who actually have the condition to be taken seriously and understood because you're being drug-seeking *****s. If you could actually take responsibility for your own actions instead of relying on something else that isn't meant for you, then you'd do fine.
 
I have ADD. I took Adderall for a month, and this is my (admittedly short) experience.

1. Adderall was not difficult to obtain. I see a neurologist a few times a year for a medical problem. I simply told him at one of my visits, "I think I have ADD." His response was, "Why don't you try adderall and see how it works? If it works, then you probably do have ADD." Then, he wrote me a script for way more than I needed (to be able to give me enough to last me through a year of college).

2. It works - too well. I felt like a different person. When I was on it, the world felt very clear, things were easy to get done, and I was at the top of my classes with very little concerted effort. However, I felt that my personality and behavior was changing along with my study habits. It was really weird, but I went from being an introvert to a total extrovert.

3. Guilt for being 'on drugs.' This thread alone is proof that adderall has a heavy stigma associated with it. I never told anyone I was taking it, if only to preserve my reputation.

4. Side effects. After a few weeks, the side effects started. I noticed that my appetite was absolutely gone. I could go a whole day without eating and not feel hungry at all. I lost a ton of weight. While on the adderall, I would feel focused and alert, but just 3-4 hours after taking it, I'd go in the totally opposite direction. I'd have more energy than I knew what to do with, and I was less focused/in control than before I took adderall.

I think it was good for me to try the adderall. It really showed me what my full potential was. When I came off of it, I decided to search for ways to deal with ADD that didn't require a medicine that messed with my brain (better sleep and eating habits, regular exercise, not procrastinating, etc). This has been far more successful for me and has not come along with all the unpleasant baggage of amphetamines.

I do understand that some people feel like they really need adderall to survive pre-med, and that's fine. This is my experience, though.
 
orbicularisoculi said:
This from someone who has never been followed around Nordstrom's while trying to buy interview clothes, been chosen last as a lab partner even though he has the highest GPA in the class, or been pulled over simply for being a minority and having the audacity to be out on a Friday night. Your ignorance is palpable and I gather you have led a very sheltered life. I feel sorry for your future patients (if you ever get that far).
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Like I said, you and EMDO2018 should form a support group and exchange the chips on your shoulders. If anyone is sheltered it's you if you think you're the only one with adversity in your life. Most people with such a "hard life" like yourself don't even have the option of shopping at Nordstrom's or have the highest GPA in the class. But please continue on - you're fulfilling the victimhood role perfectly. Great job on invoking Burnett's Law as well.
ILikeCox said:
So your life sucks? What does that have to do with the color of your skin? There are happy black people and unhappy white people. What gives? Why are you special?
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More importantly, what does it have to do with Adderall?
 
G_Marker said:
I have ADD. I took Adderall for a month, and this is my (admittedly short) experience.

1. Adderall was not difficult to obtain. I see a neurologist a few times a year for a medical problem. I simply told him at one of my visits, "I think I have ADD." His response was, "Why don't you try adderall and see how it works? If it works, then you probably do have ADD." Then, he wrote me a script for way more than I needed (to be able to give me enough to last me through a year of college).

2. It works - too well. I felt like a different person. When I was on it, the world felt very clear, things were easy to get done, and I was at the top of my classes with very little concerted effort. However, I felt that my personality and behavior was changing along with my study habits. It was really weird, but I went from being an introvert to a total extrovert.

3. Guilt for being 'on drugs.' This thread alone is proof that adderall has a heavy stigma associated with it. I never told anyone I was taking it, if only to preserve my reputation.

4. Side effects. After a few weeks, the side effects started. I noticed that my appetite was absolutely gone. I could go a whole day without eating and not feel hungry at all. I lost a ton of weight. While on the adderall, I would feel focused and alert, but just 3-4 hours after taking it, I'd go in the totally opposite direction. I'd have more energy than I knew what to do with, and I was less focused/in control than before I took adderall.

I think it was good for me to try the adderall. It really showed me what my full potential was. When I came off of it, I decided to search for ways to deal with ADD that didn't require a medicine that messed with my brain (better sleep and eating habits, regular exercise, not procrastinating, etc). This has been far more successful for me and has not come along with all the unpleasant baggage of amphetamines.

I do understand that some people feel like they really need adderall to survive pre-med, and that's fine. This is my experience, though.
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It's funny as SSRIs have many of the same effects (although more weight gain, rather than weight loss). Just a warning is that if you need Adderall to survive premed, that might be a little red flag (vs. needing it for med schoool).
 
I didn't "need" adderall to survive, but I certainly appreciated the ability to focus as well as my peers. It didn't make me smarter or improve my memory. It did stop me from getting jittery while studying and feeling the need to constantly move around.

It was very easy to get it.

I don't feel guilty, but I've wondered whether now I focus as well as my peers, or if it makes me focus better than them. I hope only just as well, because I don't want some added advantage--just want my brain to do what its told.

Side effects: increased sweating, decreased appetite (but no weight loss). The first few months I had trouble sleeping if I dosed in the afternoon. Whatever I'm doing after taking it is normally what I'll end up doing for the next few hours. So if I take it while cleaning up my house, but intended to study... instead I'll be super-focused on cleaning and will end up with a sparkling clean kitchen. That's easy enough to manage but was annoying at first. It makes me more talkative if I'm not focused on studying.

I take it prn. If I'm mowing the lawn --> no addy. If I'm at work and need to pay attention --> addy.
 
Gregor Wiesmann said:
Yeah, what's with the foot tapping thing? I had a class and like literally 1/3 of the people in the room had their foot tapping the entire time......is that from ADHD?
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Maybe but it's ironic because when I told my doctor I couldn't concentrate if someone was chewing/foot tapping in class, he told me it was common with people who have ADHD.
 
ILikeCox said:
I found out something was wrong the hard way when I would try to study for hours on end, was isolated and basically had no life and was doing poorly in school that something was wrong.

The material definitely was easier.

I've always found it incredibly hard and next to impossible to focus and do things that other people find easy. I also have a good memory and can look at something and remember what it looked like (photographic?) A lot of ways I would study for tests involved remembering images and even images of pages but if I was asked to talk about it in depth I would not be able to. So basically, I was a good crammer.

Side effects, no, I'm at a really low dose. When I get off it I feel down though but it goes away quickly.

Someone like me could have half-assed it through life and probably not have fallen through the cracks. But I kid you not when I say that I have problems doing the simplest things. I don't want to say most of them here because it's too identifiable but it's crazy how poor of decisions that would really make anyone wonder that someone can make when they have focus problems. For example, I have thankfully never been in a car accident yet but I've had too many near misses to count. It's those kinds of things that really make ADHD a serious problem that interferes with daily life (hey, a disease!) and that's why it upsets me when people on a pre-health forum make jokes about it.
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Just wanted to chime in and say that I had a nearly identical experience with undiagnosed ADHD. I had zero problems in high school, crammed for tests/just remembered everything, graduated top of my class on top of a crazy amount of extracuricculars. Then in college, I hit a serious wall, f***ed up a bunch of classes, and had no social life because I was trying to fix my awful GPA. I was a psych major and I remember learning about ADHD and thinking to myself, "Ha, this can't be real, I have all of these symptoms and I don't have ADHD..."

Then I got tested (fairly rigorously, it seems, compared to a lot of other folks--over an hour each of computer tests and interview with a psychiatrist.) I'm primarily inattentive, which apparently is often underdiagnosed especially in girls, since ADHD is more commonly associated with hyperactivity which is more likely to be noticed during childhood, especially with boys. I got put on a low daily dose of Dexedrine and it made a tremendous difference (made Dean's List every semester after diagnosis, MCAT BS score went up 5 pts, was able to take on ECs again).

I don't like to let people know about it though, partially because of stigma, partially because the reaction is too often "Oh yeah, stimulants? I've been thinking about going to see a doctor so I can get some of those to help me study...I heard it's super easy to get." That attitude is really frustrating to me because it doesn't/shouldn't work that way.
 
Im calling bull**** on everyone on here who says they don't drink coffee
 
SSSMDt said:
Im calling bull**** on everyone on here who says they don't drink coffee
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I don't drink coffee...

...I take caffeine pills... Usually 100mg (~8oz of coffee) is plenty if I'm having trouble being productive, and I do 200mg before tests. I like how carefully I can regulate my intake/tolerance this way. Typically I don't take more than 200-300mg per week, which is probably less than a lot of people's daily intake. I avoid mentioning this in real life though, because people lose their minds. They don't think of caffeine as a drug when it comes in liquid form, but if you're taking pills you have a problem.

Caffeine pills are also orders of magnitude cheaper, and can be stored in your car, backpack, pocket, etc, for whenever you're feeling a bit drowsy at an inopportune time.
 
Never pulled an all nighter
Never took drugs
Never smoked


Just sleep and tea. Lots of tea.

GPA (a and c): 3.83

THIS is what separates the men from the boys.
 
kthxbai said:
Never pulled an all nighter
Never took drugs
Never smoked


Just sleep and tea. Lots of tea.

GPA (a and c): 3.83

THIS is what separates the men from the boys.
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I outscore all the adderall kids too, and I've seen my fair share of abusers using it for tests. Never seen a good student take it, it's always the bad students that are trying desperately to do well but want an easy way out. Just have to put in your time studying, kids never get it.
 
IL Pre Med said:
I don't. Excercise wakes me up and makes me feel euphoric too, gotta love that endorphin release!
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my man right here. Lol @ everywhere here taking caffeine pills, ADHD medication, coffee, etc. That stuff is for the weak minded and turns you into a drug addict.

On a side note, ADHD medications are BS and just a money scheme for pharmaceuticals. The truth sometimes hurts.
 
kthxbai said:
Never pulled an all nighter
Never took drugs
Never smoked


Just sleep and tea. Lots of tea.

GPA (a and c): 3.83

THIS is what separates the men from the boys.
Click to expand...

Tea has caffeine in it 😉

chillinillinkillin007 said:
my man right here. Lol @ everywhere here taking caffeine pills, ADHD medication, coffee, etc. That stuff is for the weak minded and turns you into a drug addict.

On a side note, ADHD medications are BS and just a money scheme for pharmaceuticals. The truth sometimes hurts.
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:wideyed:
 
ILikeCox said:
That's just your opinion.

There are people whose lives are dramatically improved by medication. You may want to look into it and learn something.
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I'm not denying that peoples lives are dramatically improved by the medication. You should look into it from a non-bias angle. The reality is that pharmaceutical companies making billions off adhd and a lot of other drugs such as oxycodone, painkillers, etc. It's sad because the patients suffer and they believe they NEED the drugs. Being prescribed a drug doesn't necessarily mean it is good for you. Ever heard of the words, "money makes the world go round"?

Someone being prescribed ADHD medication and someone taking it without a prescription are both the same. Legality is just a technical term. Let me ask you this, what is the difference between someone smoking marijuana illegally and someone with a medical marijuana card? Nothing. Adderall is an amphetamine like meth. Those drugs make you feel hyped up and make you think life is better and you need them to function. That's what a lot of drugs do.

It's your choice to take whatever substance you wish, but don't act like you need the drug and its some miracle pill to your problems. Anyone can get an ADHD prescription. I know I'm gonna receive a lot of flame but it's because most people on this forum are too closed minded to see how the issue really is.
 
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