adderall after High School
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Do you think your DC will take adderall for the rest of their life?
MY Ds is 19 and his going to go to the army next year so , he can no longer take pills. His doing alright without them. MY DD is 16 and is much better attitude and behavior when she on her meds, should she expect to take them for the rest of her life? |
Anonymous
| Absolutely. If they need it in high school, they will ABSOLUTELY need it in college. Your brain doesn't outgrow ADD. If it helps you reach your potential, then why not?? Its not a bad thing at all. My DC took it in high school, college, and now at her job. |
Anonymous
| Adderall is highly regulated and not every health insurance co is still on board with paying for it. I think there is a chance it will become harder and harder to get the script and fill it, but there are plenty of other drugs on the market deemed safer. |
Anonymous
| I am a 36 year old women who has been on adderall since I was 16! Insane to think about how long I've been on it. As others said you do not outgrow ADD. I have learned throughout my years and all the wonderful services my parents provided me, tons of techniques to help me focus. They do help but to me adderall is like wearing glasses. It's necessary for me in my everyday life to stay focused. |
Anonymous
|
I was told by DS's psychiatrist that 2/3 of kids with ADHD lose their ADHD diagnosis by their mid twenties. DS with ADHD, combined type, needs it mostly for his hyperactivity. The ADHD does not seem to affect his academics.
Similarly, I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult so was not medicated when I went to school including a top five law school but I won't hesitate to medicate DS as long as it is needed. It makes his life so much better. |
Anonymous
| I think a lot of kids stop meds as they grow older are able to use other coping strategies. I have a cousin who took it in high school but then stopped in college and did fine. Actually he did better than fine and got into a top business school and hasn't taken it since. He told me during the holidays that on some days he still has trouble focusing or loses things but that he's mature enough to be able to implement strategies for dealing with this like using lists, taking scheduled breaks etc. |
Anonymous
Have you tken it every day for 20 years? I ask because I am concerned about my own tolreance for the drug... |
Anonymous
| 20:46 here... I have taken it pretty much mon-Friday every day for the past 20 years. I stopped taking it when I got pregnant of course. My dosage has fluctuated a bit through the years and now I'm down to 20mgs every morning. I'm monitored by a doctors every three months and my blood pressure and heart rate have always been normal. I realize that we do not know the long term effects of adderall but the difference it makes for me is pretty remarkable. I was off of it for my entire pregnancy and then for 15 months while I was nursing and I was happy to be back on it. I'm so much more productive and work so much better on it. |
Anonymous
Did you take ritain before that or no add |
Anonymous
| Does the army know about the meds? Our friend's son was rejected from the Air Force because he had been prescribed ADHD meds but maybe the army is different. |
Anonymous
|
20:46 here. I was on Ritalin, Cylert, Dexedrine and finally adderall as that seemed to work the best for me with the least amount of "side effects".
I have no idea about the army and meds. |
Anonymous
How frequently did your dose change over the years? |
Anonymous
| 20:46 here... It increased after high school to me taking 10mgs 2 times a day. Then after college it stayed the same for a while until a new doctor (after mine from high school/ college retired) tried me on time release and then when I didn't like the time release increased me to a 20mg in the morning and 10 mgs after lunch. I then went back down to 20mgs. Stopped while pregnant and nursing. After pregnancy and nursing my doctor started me on 10mgs two times a day but we ended up just doing 20mgs in the morning and nothing in the afternoon and it works best for the moment. |
Anonymous
Thanks, that's helpful. When the dose is too low, is it just that it doesn't work at all or that it wears off quickly? As a parent with a younger child on Adderall (and a low dose of only 2.5mg), it's hard to know how some of this goes. |
Anonymous
| 20:46 here... so when the dose was too low I noticed that the medicine just didn't have the same effect it once did. It would work but certainly for shorter periods of time. I think that is why the dr. wanted to try time release which I hated. I also found over the years that taking the medicine with breakfast helps a lot and that small meals seemed to help the medicine last longer as well. Don't think there is anything scientific about that but just what I had found to help. |