Focusing on information or life events is an aspect of mental connection to activity. The fit mind and body naturally makes an invisible link between the desire and activity or task and result.
Mental Fitness and Focus
Some adults in their middle years feel their attention is deficient and they lack the connnectiveness between thought and being. They believe they need a drug to focus their attention on tasks at hand. Linking the mind and body in harmony through training and concentration is a lengthy process. Possibly this process can be expedited by pharmaceutical prescription.
Adderall, Drug Abuse, ADD, and Adults
When does Adderal for a diagnosis of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) in adult over 30 years of age become a drug of abuse for an adult? Is it when the adult blames loss of job on improper dosage and increases the amount on his own? Is it when irritation at the spouse is blamed on an ADD diagnosis and explains why the garbage wasn’t taken out or the coat picked up from the cleaners? Is it when the adult realizes weight loss is a side effect that is a pleasant distraction to issues at hand and takes a little more before a big dinner or is it when the plus side of a drug which keeps him awake to complete a task becomes a reason to take more when important tasks are present? Maybe it’s when the adult takes a few more pills before a party to ensure a good time. Or is abuse only when the adult chops it up and snorts it?
Children who can’t sit still in class and learn seem to focus better once on medication. The learning curve has expanded so that adults who can’t hold a job can be diagnosed with ADD and be prescribed a drug to focus better on the job. Some adults truly benefit from medication that allows them to function, as they believe they should.
Side Effects of Adderall
Adderall is a stimulant drug based on an amphetamine composition. A psycho pharmaceutical, it is also used to treat narcolepsy and depression as well as Attention Deficit Disorder. Adderall works on neurotransmitters such as dopamine. It can give a false sense of well-being, making it appealing to an adult with other unaddressed issues. Adderall has side effects, including the following:
- weight loss or loss of appetite
- hypertension
- arrhythmia
- headache
- psychosis
- sleep problems
- dry mouth
- mood changes
- libido and orgasm problems
- diarrhea or constipation
- paranoia
- drug withdrawal
Side effects are diminished with proper dosage and follow up.
Drug Cocktails or Adderall Interactions
Many drugs have interactions with this potent medication. Adults may be prescribed different medications from different providers. The abuser will experiment to augment the effect. Among those medications or supplements that affect the result of Adderall are pain medicines such as Percocet and codeine, sleeping pills such as Ambien, anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax or Valium, antihistamines, and alcohol. Adderall reduces some of the somnolent effects or depressive effects of alcohol. A person therefore can consume more alcohol without realizing intoxication. That person may then be severely intoxicated with altered response control.
Urban dictionary describes a drug cocktail of 30 mg adderal and 10 mg Valium. This is considered a balance between cocaine and ecstasy. This is now a person who has no internal locus of control.
The difference between prescribing this medication to a school child versus an adult is the potential for adult abuse.