Long term effects of adderall

[Cham845]

Any long term affects of adderall use? How can it affect brain in long term?

I was on adderall briefly and my doctor just discontinued it because of side effects. I feel less overwhelmed and irritable lately. Motivation is better but still low.

[Phoenixashes13]

I am interested in long term side effects as well. I just started Adderall a few days ago, and so far I do not like how it makes me feel. I was already on extended release 30mg of Vyvanse but I started having a crash mid afternoon. My psychiatrist prescribed Adderall 10 mg as a short acting boost I can take in the afternoon. For the past few afternoons and evenings, I have had a considerate increase in my anxiety with heart rate increased, feeling tight and on edge, and also having even more racing thoughts and difficulty concentrating than usual. I also haven't been able to go to bed until 1 AM or later since I started it. I have only been on it for 3 days, today will be the 4th day. Did you have some of these similar symptoms? Did they go away at all for you or what was your experience?

[Gettingittogether]

How bad were the side effects? Side effects often decline after three weeks or so. Immediate side effects for me rarely last. Sometimes I have to cut the dose for a bit and then slowly increase.

I haven't seen anything horrible about long-term effects of Adderall. And frankly, I'm of the view that the long-term effects of ADHD are all detrimental and do in fact lower our life span. Addictions, job stress, relationship problems, failure, withdrawal, missed appointments, missed follow through, bad attention to health and eating and exercise and on and on ... accidents, falls and so on ... So the long-term effects of ADHD are terrible. So I would have to compare the risk of Adderall vs the risk of being untreated.

I had a family member who was untreated. He died early. I saw it coming. Life just overwhelmed him and he couldn't get himself to stay on top of his health and blood pressure and all of that. If you can't stay on top of say, blood pressure, through consistent medical appointments and consistently getting the med and taking it (and not running out--as he often did), sometimes because he ran out of money ... then you will suffer. That's just one condition.

You can google this. I think I have in the past and found nothing warning about long-term effects. I've seen maybe long-term bad effects of people using bootleg Adderall and taking ridiculously high doses that a doctor would never prescribe. But not with controlled use under supervision of a doctor.

[Gettingittogether in reply to Gettingittogether]

Here is an article about the long-term effects--shorter life expectancy of untreated or poorly treated ADHD ... it's really bumming--and shocking for people with the worst cases. ajmc.com/view/psychologist-...