It is a “Schedule II Stimulant,” a designation that the Drug Enforcement Agency uses for drugs with a high potential for abuse. Other Schedule II drugs include Dexedrine, Ritalin, and cocaine. People with a history of drug abuse should use caution when trying this medication. Taking the medication exactly as prescribed can reduce potential for abuse. Adderall has the same potential side effects as all stimulant drugs. The most common are decreased appetite and trouble falling asleep at night.
You should limit the amount of caffeine you consume while taking Adderall. Talk with your doctor before stopping Adderall treatment. To help prevent withdrawal symptoms, your doctor will likely reduce your Adderall dosage slowly before stopping your treatment. Neither form of Adderall should cause long-term side effects. If you have side effects with these drugs, they usually get better as your body gets used to the medication. Or they’ll likely get better quickly after stopping treatment.
Adderall can lead to sudden death in people with preexisting heart conditions. Adderall is the brand name for the combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine. It’s a prescription stimulant approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating ADHD or narcolepsy. Keep a list of your or your child’s medicines with you to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you or your child get a new medicine.
What May Interact With This Medication?
Adderall dosage can vary depending on the reason for the prescription, the form of medication, and other conditions and drugs that you may be taking. People with depression also commonly sleep too much, and stimulant medication can help promote daytime wakefulness, improving the quality of sleep at night. Even over-the-counter medications may contain ingredients that raise or lower the level of the medication in your blood to a dangerous level. In fact, stimulant drugs can make anxiety worse in a small percentage of kids with ADHD.
Health Conditions
Read an expert’s advice for helping kids with ADHD wind down at night. Adderall is a well-known drug that’s been in the spotlight in recent years. If you’re considering it for your child, you may have questions about how it works, and how it might affect your child. Here are answers to common questions parents ask about Adderall. Before having any laboratory test, tell your doctor and the laboratory personnel that you are taking dextroamphetamine and amphetamine. Do not store the applesauce and medication mixture for future use, and do not divide the contents of one capsule into more than one dose.
- Adderall is an ADHD stimulant medication that’s been in use since 1996.
- (With off-label use, a drug is prescribed for a condition it isn’t approved to treat.) Some research indicates stimulant medications such as Adderall may improve some symptoms of depression.
- Amphetamines are sympathomimetic amines that stimulate the central nervous system (CNS).
- Here’s a list of some of the mild side effects that Adderall can cause.
- However, if you have trouble swallowing capsules, you can open Adderall XR and take the contents with a spoonful of applesauce.
Generic Adderall
- The typical duration of action is around 4-6 hours for Adderall and 8-10 hours for Adderall XR, according to information provided by the drug manufacturer.
- People with a history of substance abuse should discuss this with their doctors before taking any ADHD medication.
- Below are answers to some commonly asked questions about Adderall’s dosage.
- Adderall can be valuable for a wide range of purposes, including concentration, energy, and mood.
- Adderall® XR is used to treat ADHD in adults and children 6 years of age and older.
Your healthcare provider should check you or your child carefully for heart problems before starting treatment with ADDERALL. Tell your healthcare provider if you or your child have any heart problems, heart disease, or heart defects. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.
Adderall Side Effects FAQs
Generic versions of Ritalin also come in other dosage forms, including a chewable tablet and an oral liquid solution. These forms may be a good option for people who have a hard time swallowing pills. (Drug misuse is also called abuse.) However, Vyvanse may be less likely to be misused. This is because Adderall has a more immediate and intense effect when taken, which might be attractive to people who want to misuse it. Fatigue may occur in 2 percent to 4 percent of people who take Adderall XR in commonly prescribed dosages. This side effect may decrease with continued use of the drug.
This can lead to negative symptoms like restlessness, losing your appetite, and difficulty sleeping. Using Adderall without a prescription can lead to misuse or dependence, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) database for prescription and nonprescription drugs. Weight loss in adults can be a temporary side effect of Adderall, and appetite should increase as your body adjusts to the medication. In this case, Adderall contains amphetamine, which raises the level of norepinephrine and dopamine and prevents these neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed. The other component, dextroamphetamine, is another version of amphetamine with slightly different molecular properties. This class of drugs helps boost mood, alertness, attention, and energy by raising the levels of certain chemicals in the brain.
Treating ADHD
The Loverbois online drug trafficking organization sold and shipped pills to undercover law enforcement officers in the Southern District of Ohio in a series of transactions. Dang packaged pills for shipment and delivery and helped move and launder cryptocurrency. Guzman had a pill press and industrial mixer at his apartment in Houston, where Phung also lived for a period of time. Harris also lived in the Houston apartment, where he pressed his own pills for distribution. Pray aided Guzman by helping obtain, pack, and ship the pills.
Drug Abuse And Dependence
Before taking Adderall XR, discuss all other active prescription medications with your doctor. Adderall XR can have a dangerous, possibly fatal, interaction with antidepressants, including MAOIs. Adderall XR should not be taken off-label to help you lose weight.
Take it as directed on the prescription label at the same time every day. However, many women find that their ADHD medication is not as effective in the four to five days before their menstrual flow. Raising the dose of Adderall does not increase its level of benefits.
Withdrawal Symptoms
Adderall tablets are also approved for treating narcolepsy in children ages 6 years and older. While these uses aren’t approved by the FDA, doctors may prescribe Adderall to treat other conditions besides ADHD and narcolepsy. This means a drug that’s approved to treat one condition is prescribed by a doctor to treat another condition that’s not approved. If you’re taking Adderall without an ADHD or narcolepsy diagnosis, this could be an off-label use. Adderall and modafinil, a generic drug, are both stimulant medications, but they affect the brain in slightly different ways.
Even though it is a stimulant, it has what is called a “paradoxical effect,” meaning it can help calm people who have hyperactive symptoms. ADHD medicines improve attention by helping normal brain chemicals work better. Adderall may cause mental health issues such as mania and psychosis. If you already have a mental health condition, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, you may have a higher risk of these side effects. In those dependent on amphetamines, severe withdrawal can occur when the medication is abruptly stopped. Withdrawal symptoms can include extreme fatigue, depression, and sleep disruption.
Talk with your doctor if you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant. This medication should be used during pregnancy only if the benefit justifies the potential risk. The half-life of a medication refers to the time it takes for half of the medication to be inactivated or removed from the body. Half-life is used as a measure of how long the medication will work or stay in the body. Treatment of overdose will partly depend on the symptoms you have. In many cases, people who have overdosed will be agitated.
Either drug can cause side effects ranging from mild to serious, such as headache and nervousness. The typical starting dosage of Adderall XR for children ages 13 to 17 years is 10 mg taken once per day in the morning when they first wake up. Your child’s doctor may increase their dose to 20 mg after a week if their symptoms aren’t managed with the initial 10-mg daily dose. The typical Adderall XR starting dosage for adults with ADHD is 20 mg taken once per day in the morning when you first wake up. Your doctor may adjust your dosage based on various factors.
