Health Forums  

Go Back   Health Forums > Health Disorders > Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Why would Adderall help a hyperactive person?
Old
  (#1 (permalink))
Junior Member
 
flagatorgirl08's Avatar
 
Offline
Posts: 15
Join Date: Dec 2008
Default Why would Adderall help a hyperactive person? - 12-21-2008, 10:35 PM

why would a hyperactive ADHD person benefit from Adderall (amphetamines) if they are already hyper? Amphetamines just make you more hyper and twitchy, they perscribe this medicine for people with narcolepsy to help them stay awake. wouldn't giving a hyperactive person Adderall just be like giving them an energy drink injection?So if you have ADHD you wont get more energetic? just more focused? still confused...I really don't want a chemistry lesson lol, can we simplify that answer?
   
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Old
  (#2 (permalink))
Junior Member
 
GUYUTE's Avatar
 
Offline
Posts: 17
Join Date: Jan 2009
Default 01-02-2009, 10:43 AM

Because Adderal and other similar psychostimulants cause a release of Dopamine (and norepinephrine and serotonin to a lesser degree.) The chemical dopamine is related to the ability to focus and carry out prolonged tasks. It is thought (but not known conclusively) that people with ADD/ADHD don't produce as much dopamine as people without ADD/ADHD. The psychostimulants boost dopamine, thus returning the ADD/ADHD sufferer to a state of normalcy and allowing them to focus.People without ADD/ADHD get high because they already have enough dopamine, so adding stimulants causes a huge amount of dopamine to circulate in the brain, causing a"high."People with ADD can get high off of Adderall and the like, but many don't like the feeling, for whatever reason.EDIT: That's about as basic as your going to get in regards to the chemistry of Adderall and the brain. As for giving people with ADD more energy, it's not so much that. It should help calm them down, and it often does. Sometimes it doesn't, too - depends on the individual person. Remember, ADHD patients are considered"hyperactive,"they already have a lot of energy. ADD folks simply can't focus and aren't hyperactive.Many people with either disorder say that Adderall calms them down, even"zombifies"or"emotionally flatlines"them. I took this medicine as a kid, and robbed me of my energy. I could focus better, but at a terrible cost. I quit taking it soon after I began, and I've done fine in life.I'm actually a pharmacist now - this stuff is tightly controlled, because it is overprescribed and people abuse it. We actually sometimes fill methamphetamine tablets for people who found Adderall or Ritalin didn't work. So, I guess non-ADD people get high off of it. Some people that have been diagnosed with ADD (but may not actually have it) are prescribed stimulants and develop serious addiction problems from abusing it. It's terrible, and I feel bad for them. Happens more than I would like. Some doctors need to stop handing this stuff out like candy.
   
Reply With Quote
Old
  (#3 (permalink))
Junior Member
 
ripriles's Avatar
 
Offline
Posts: 18
Join Date: Jan 2009
Default 01-05-2009, 12:32 AM

Basically if you have ADHD you are hypoeractive because the part of your brain that helps you control your activity level is slow and underfunctioning, this makes you hyper because that part of the brain is suppossed to calm you down.Amphetamines will speed up this part of your brain and it will help you control your activity level more.
   
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes



Similar Threads for: Why would Adderall help a hyperactive person?
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Anyone know anything on hyperactive thyroids? Heidi Thyroid Disorders 5 06-21-2013 03:30 PM
ADD, ADHD, Hyperactive Disorders?? Alternatives to Medicines? blah blah blah Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) 4 07-05-2023 01:08 AM
What is Attention-Deficit-Hyperactive Disorder? carlyanne_01 Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) 3 02-18-2009 02:25 AM
Do you have any hyperactive kid? Josef Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) 2 02-07-2023 08:28 PM
what is medicine or remedy for hyperactive salivation.? kenssupreme Thyroid Disorders 5 01-02-2024 06:05 AM