Is Adderall bad for you? This is a question that you probably asked yourself in college after being up for a couple of days after your classmate provided you with a little pink pill, a pill that almost felt as though you had superpowers and could cram all of your studying in without sleeping for 3 days
This drug is typically prescribed to people that suffer from ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADHD, which is similar, but it throws Hyper Activity on top of the Attention Deficit. A question commonly asked, probably due to Adderall being an amphetamine in a pill form (almost identical to methamphetamine), is this: is this particular medication bad for you?
Adderall Is Everywhere
You can find Adderall at every single college campus in the United States. Even if you do not suffer from the disorders I have mentioned, students often are prescribed this particular medication on a fairly regular basis.
There is a lot of controversy around what we might consider what is “bad” versus what is “good.” I want to dissect this medication and go over the most typical side effects, and I will let you be the judge on whether or not this drug is good for you or bad for you.
Some people consider cigarettes to be good, so this is where I’m kinda coming from. I personally have been prescribed this medication so I have some first-hand experience on what or how these side effects begin to manifest.
Loss of Appetite and Compulsive Behaviors
With Adderall being very similar chemically to meth, basically making it legal meth, one of the first side effects most people experience is a loss of appetite. It is not uncommon for people on this medication to begin to rapidly start to lose weight.
Some people get on the medication solely for that reason alone. It definitely works. When I stopped taking Adderall, I gained about 30 pounds in 6 weeks.
Another side effect from daily Adderall use is the manifestation of obsessive-compulsive behaviors, much like what a person would experience on meth.
While I was on Adderall, I had to completely avoid popping zits in the mirror, or else I would end up going down a zit popping rabbit whole, which led to huge sores on my face (I know—gross).
Like I said before, you get to be the judge of what is good and what is bad. This makes this drug look pretty bad in my book. Let’s continue.
Dehydration and High Blood Pressure
Much like methamphetamine and ecstasy, Adderall has a tendency to cause severe dehydration as well as completely taxing your adrenal glands. If you take Adderall daily and are not drinking the maximum level of whatever half your body weight is in ounces of water, well, hopefully, you don’t have to find out about that the hard way what dehydration can do to a body—it can cause pretty severe health issues.
Another common side effect of Adderall is causing a person’s or patient’s blood pressure to get raised through the roof, having a synergistic reaction that will get your adrenal glands involved, giving you high blood pressure and depleted adrenal glands.
Doesn’t sound like fun to me. You will see these side effects become especially bad if you’re taking Adderall daily.
Adderall and Addiction / Recovery
I would like to mention the safety issues around a person in recovery being prescribed this particular medication. Rarely do you find people in recovery who can handle being on Adderall.
It’s not uncommon for an addict on Adderall to fall right back into addiction (if they don’t become addicted to the Adderall itself). People who have never experienced addiction and don’t have Substance Abuse Disorder (as it is defined in the DSM-5) can still get addicted to Adderall.
Usually, people without SAD can stop taking Adderall after they start experiencing negative side effects and/or negative consequences, whereas an addict will not be able to stop until a bottom is hit.
You Have to Decide if Adderall Is Bad for You
So there are definitely unwanted side effects that come with taking Adderall on a regular basis. If I were you, I would not take it every day. Maybe every other day at the most, or even no more than 3 days a week.
That gives your brain and body a chance to recover from the amount of physiological stress that comes with even the lowest dose.
Learn more about how addictive Adderall can be.