why quit? are there any long term side effects?

[jonny9]

hey guys

i have been using concerta (not exactly adderall but i think same point) for the last 2.5 hours (i'm 31 years old) taking a pill 3-4 days a week. i love the feeling i get when i'm on concerta, i feel like i have super powers on it, can do insane amount of work while on it (i'm a freelancer billing by the hour..), nothing gets me bored, i'm more creative and i feel i can do just about anything i want. even being home, even just watching tv, i feel i am better on it.

only downside i felt so far, is that in a day that i took the concerta (it affects for 12 hours), when the pill effect is gone, i feel like my battery is dead so to say, as if i crunched all the hours of being up into 12 condensed hours, and i need to go to sleep right after. i would have liked it to not be like this, but it's not the worst thing.

i only take it 3-4 days a week because i feel taking it every day has to be wrong, health-wise.. usually its 0-1 pills in the weekend, and the rest in work days (if i have a day of errands i won't take it because it will be a waste for me). the fact that the pill lasts for 12 hours is a good thing in that sense i can't take it mid-day, since i won't go to sleep at a normal time. that means i have a window of say 4 hours from the moment i wake up till i can take it, which means i only need to resist the urge for 4 hours

 

searching the net for long term side effects, i haven't found any, and i was wondering if i'm missing something. i don't mind the short term side effects, like the one i described, or little mood swings, i am only worried about the long term effects. if you told me its 100% safe, and nothing will happen, i think i would take the pill almost every day

what do you think?

[Cassie]

The most obvious long term effect is addiction, and if you love the way speed makes you feel (especially in regards to it being a boredom-buster), then you're well on your way there. Whatever a drug gives you in the beginning stages (confidence, energy, creativity, etc.), it will deplete as time goes on. That's the nature of any drug.

[JustinW]

I'm assuming that "2.5 hours" should be "2.5 years"?

 

The people here probably won't be much help for your question as we are all here because we quit adderall for one reason or another (souless zombies).  There is a point where the benefits of the drug will no longer be evident so you will continue to up your dose to feel like you have "super powers".  Experience has taught us that those feelings are a lie and we realize that the product that we put out while on adderall was garbage (look at your typo).  If you decide to quit, we are here to help.

[quit-once]

Jonny9, if you can not answer your own question, there is really no point in even considering quitting stimulants.  You have been using concerta  for 2.5 years and are still able to take it on your terms.  You are using it responsibly as an effective tool in your life.  I can relate to your relationship with this stimulant, as I took Adderall as a tool for about seven years.  At that point, the addiction took over and I could no longer take it on my terms.  My addiction progressed to a daily usage of over 100 mg per day, every day.  It took me two more years to kick the habit.  I realized it was an unsustainable addiction that I could not possibly keep feeding for the rest of my life.  So I had to quit. 

I would like to share with you a few of my truths about addiction:

*Stimulant drugs are addictive by their very nature.

*People with addictions develop tolerances to their substances, requiring increasing dosages and frequencies to get the same effect.

*Addictive substances can cause the user to become a drug abuser.

*Abuse leads to increased consumption, beyond the control of the addict, and high dosages of anything, even food, can become harmful or even lethal over the long term.

*Once you have crossed the line from controlled use to abuse and addiction, there is no return to controlled use.  Ever.

*At some point in your life you will need to quit the addiction, or simply resolve to take it to your grave.

 

I highly suggest you read this post "http://forum.quittingadderall.com/topic/879-8-stages-of-amphetamine-useabuse/".  It is entitled "8 Stages of Amphetamine Use"  Please let us know at what stage you believe you are currently at and if you believe it is sustainable.

[jonny9]

thanks for all the respones guys.

now, to my point. i came here because i'm looking for long term side effects. 

i have no problem with the psychological issues - "i know i'm better only with the pill". that's fine by me.

reading the article about the stages, i would say i'm in stage 3, altough i have exprienced some depressions + Nihilism, mainly the feeling i sometimes have is - "ok i have all this power, but it won't last forever, sometime in the future i will die, and what does it matter". i think i had 2-3 panic attacks about death in the last 2.5 years, but i think it was something i already thought about before using. its kinda like the pill makes me feel so good, all worries are gone, and the only worry left is death

 

now, as for things declining, i am not a person to take more then the dosage i'm supposed to, snort it or whatever. i'm a little hypochondriac so no worries there (if a supermodel would come and say lets fuck, but without a condom, i wouldn't do it).

for example if you told me right now, there is a research from a creditable univ, that shows taking concerta will increase the risk for brain cancer by 40% when i'l be 70, i will throw all the pills right away. now, as this community probably knows a thing or two about the pill, perhaps someone can direct me to such metarial, if it exists.

[gettingmylifeback]

Hello all.

 

I want to say that first of all, I joined because I felt I had to contribute to this discussion in particular. I am 32 years old, and I took adderall as prescribed for nearly four years. During that time, my father was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Does this mean I am genetically predisposed to Parkinson's? Possibly yes, possibly no. What I do know for sure is that, even before my father was diagnosed, I noticed a strange tremor in my left hand. At first, it was only happening during the crash phase. Then, it started to occur every time I took the medication. Over time, it became worse, and eventually my left eyelid began to twitch nearly continuously. As time went on, the tremor got worse, until finally it had evolved into a resting tremor, which is associated specifically and only with PD. I have been off the drug for nearly three months, and still experience this tremor when I am sleep deprived or in times of stress. Now, it can be stopped if I steady my hand, but before it would not go away no matter what I did. The twitch in my eyelid has only lessened, and has not gone away. I have since found out that there is a great amount of research that connects long-term Adderall use to Parkinson's disease. Knowing that I have always been perfectly healthy prior to Adderall and that while I was on the drug, I developed this persistent eyelid twitch and this resting tremor in my hand is something I find profoundly disturbing, to put it mildly.

 

Now, if you talk to most doctors and pharmacists, they are likely going to say that what I am telling you is not plausible, but google Parkinson's and Adderall and you won't have to go far to find that there is a real cause for concern here. Considering PD is caused by a lack of dopamine production in the brain, it makes perfect sense to me that overstimulating the cells that produce dopamine is bound to be a problem long-term. There are a host of other neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's, that are caused by similar damage to the brain.

 

Obviously I am not a medical professional. I can only speak to my experience. But I think the bottom line is that we just do not know enough about this drug's long term effects, nor do the people who are prescribing it. When I think about how much medical school research and education is funded by drug companies, it's not hard for me to imagine why.

 

This is just my two cents, but I thought you might like to hear what I've experienced. At the very least, I have a very annoying problem that as of yet, has not resolved itself. And I suspect there are a host of other possibilities out there, depending on the individual.

[jonny9]

thanks for the response man.

i remember i also had one the feeling of tingling in my arm, and the eyelid thing.

before i went to the doctor to get a prescription (got 36mg) a friend gave me a 54mg pill to try (i weight 66kg), so i guess it was the extra dose.  perhaps the eyelid thing happened to me again one or two times, don't remember exactly but that's it.

do you have a link to refer me regarding the connection to pd?

[gettingmylifeback]

Here are some links that cite the study:

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110220193013.htm

 

http://amphetamines.org/adhd/drugsbrain.html

 

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/boomer-health/articles/2011/02/20/can-prescription-amphetamine-use-raise-parkinsons-risk

 

 

And here is someone else who was taking the drug and reportedly developed PD symptoms:

 

http://www.addforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-79853.html

 

 

Aside from the logical connection one can make between dopamine production and the onset of neurological disease, this study is pretty compelling...especially because it lasted nearly 40 years. If you google it, you'll probably find a lot more info. There are concerns being raised about connections to Alzheimer's and Restless Leg Syndrome, as well as a number of other neurological conditions. The verdict still is inconclusive, but I suspect one of the reasons more studies of this nature haven't emerged is because the drug industry has such a stranglehold on the medical community. That, and studies like this take so much time...I bet we will be hearing more about this in the coming decades. I just know that I don't want to be on any drug that causes motor symptoms such as the ones I have been describing short term, because it's not a stretch for me to think that given time, the results could be far more devastating. It's interesting that you experienced some hints of similar symptoms. It seems from reading these forums they are far more common than doctors would have us believe.

[Cassie]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2670101/

 

The book "On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine" is a good historical account of amphetamines as well.

 

I don't think you're going to find the specific long term (human) studies you're looking for, as they are too costly and time consuming for the drug companies to undertake, and the FDA does not require long term studies to approve a drug. Amphetamines are banned in most countries though - only a few Western nations deem them safe for consumption. So, consider yourself a pharmaceutical guinea pig. And keep in mind these universal truths:

 

1) What goes up must come down

2) If it seems too good to be true, it probably is

[quit-once]

This is a valuable discussion, and I appreciate the contributions from our newest members on this topic.  Last night I also googled "parkinsons disease amphetamine" and I was amazed at what turned up.   I knew of the association and historical documentation (i.e. Hitler) between amphetamines and parkisons disease.  I did not know there were also some long term studies done.  The fear of developing parkisons disease was one of the overwhelming reasons why I quit.  In fact I read some forum posts from other web sites of people who had quit but the muscle twitches in their faces continued long after quitting.

 

I quit stimulants about 2.5 years ago.  Before Adderall, I was neurologically sound.  Before quitting, I had muscle tremors and twitches, most notably in my legs and feet, but really in all parts of my body including heart palpitations.  Also my hands would shake when I would try to keep them steady (but I blamed it on too much coffee, lol).  Since quitting, they have lessened but not gone away.  Steadiness has returned to my hands.  My feet have these deep muscle tremors that are barely noticeable but they are still there.  These tremors seem to get worse when I gain a little weight.  I have no family history of parkisons. 

 

Thank you again to all of the participants in this discussion.