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Adderall and School, Have You Used It?

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Mully

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I've never been a part of dorm life in college, but whenever I visit my friends a few weeks prior to finals or midterms, I constantly hear them mention using Adderall as a means to write papers and prepare for exams.

I personally feel like it's cheating, but I can understand it's uses for someone who's not prescribed it.

Have you used and how do you feel about it's use on college campuses?
 
Yes, tried it for a semester and it didn't help at all. It just made me agitated and sent my mind spinning at 100 miles an hour. I just wound up getting really distracted and anxious, it didn't help me focus.
 
i've never personally tried it.

i overheard a guy in front of me during bio say he was on it in order to concentrate better during the lecture. he ended up watching wrestling videos on youtube, so i don't know if it is particularly effective.
 
that1dude24 said:
i've never personally tried it.

i overheard a guy in front of me in my bio course say he was on it in order to concentrate better during the lecture. he ended up watching wrestling videos on youtube, so i don't know if it is particularly effective.
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deandouglas.jpg
 
I've never used it, don't plan to either. I'd rather build my focus naturally throughout the semester and be able to push myself at the end.
 
I've never tried it, but I know a bunch of people who do. I don't think it necessarily works for those people, but eh. I'll let them do what they want.

EDIT: These are people who aren't on a prescription, by the way.
 
Adderall was extremely prevalent on my college campus when I was there. Pretty much everyone I knew was taking it when finals rolled around (myself included when I was in a crunch) and most everyone knew someone they could get it from when they needed it. It's probably also why everyone on campus looked like zombies by the end of finals. I know very few people from college that didn't at least use it once during some point in school. I never thought too much of it, it's not like it made me smarter. Just made it easier for me to concentrate on economics for eight hours straight.
 
I don't use it and I feel that it's incredibly sad to potentially get yourself addicted (both mentally and physically) to a drug in order to do better at something that generally requires sustainable performance for long-term success.

For example, say Adderall allows you to cheat a GPA that's higher by 0.3 points. You may get a slightly better job out of college, but you will inevitably underperform based on what's expected of someone of your calibre. That's more of a career-limiting move than starting in your rightful entry point in the workforce.

Add in the chance of Adderall addiction (which renders normal cognitive function useless), and you've fucked up your life for a little bump in your GPA.

At the end of the day, Adderall use says more about the character of the person taking it illegitimately than doing "average" in the first place: foolish, shortsighted, lazy, and looks to cut corners at whatever cost.
 
I'm in the school library on it right now. Taking a fiver to browse GAF and fb while mulling over what I just studied. When you can get it for 3$ a pop (which is less than a cup of Joe at Starbucks which is downstairs and both lasts 10x longer and is magnitudes more effective than caffeine) there's really no reason for me to not take it during crunch time.

I find it just makes me lose interest in anything that's not relevant to what I'm studying. I'm getting a little bit bored and agitated writing this post because I want to go back and learn more organic chem. I don't get euphoric on it like some people do however.

Got two exams this week and it is definitely a crutch. Only take it in dire situations such as these.
 
My friend in med school said EVERYONE used it.

I tried it for a few papers in college and it worked well. Just depends on how much you take and how you tolerate the drug.
 
I used it once and actually was able to read through nearly an entire psychology textbook in a night. I honestly think it would only work if you were using it habitually as it's tough for the brain to absorb all that knowledge, regardless of drugs. I think if people were habitually studying, though, there would probably not be any use for the drug to begin with. I don't consider it cheating though, because who knows maybe you actually continue to use the drug and end up using it throughout your working career.
 
I take methylphenidate, which is similar. I actually need it though. My grades drastically improved when I started taking it. I've got the attention span of a gnat and the pills help me focus.
 
Had a friend in High School swear by adderral for a semester. He told me that it kept him focused for extended periods of time, so he could get shit done, but that he felt that it was fairly addictive and didn't recommend it afterward.
 
as someone who finds it incredibly difficult to concentrate on anything, I should probably try it

just lost another semester
 
Yeah.. I have a prescription for amphetamine, I take it a lot for exams and studying. Don't see why a lot of people seem to dislike it here, but each their own. It helps me concerate on some rough classes. Plus premed field..yeah. I have taken up to 50 mg Xr before, manage to ace everything, the only Downfall is I tend to stay awake for periods over 24 hours. And I know a lot of med students who are prescrip to 20-30 mg in the morning and 10 mg at night.
 
I actually have ADHD and yet my shrink refuses to prescribe it to me. Tried a different shrink, same reaction. Alas, I am currently unable to change my shrink due to legal reasons for the next few months.
Fuck.
 
that1dude24 said:
i've never personally tried it.

i overheard a guy in front of me during bio say he was on it in order to concentrate better during the lecture. he ended up watching wrestling videos on youtube, so i don't know if it is particularly effective.
Click to expand...

damn, I already do that without the drug
 
iRAWRasaurus said:
Yeah.. I have a prescription for amphetamine, I take it a lot for exams and studying. Don't see why a lot of people seem to dislike it here, but each their own. It helps me concerate on some rough classes. Plus premed field..yeah. I have taken up to 50 mg Xr before, manage to ace everything, the only Downfall is I tend to stay awake for periods over 24 hours. And I know a lot of med students who are prescrip to 20-30 mg in the morning and 10 mg at night.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm usually up for 24 hours on a dose of 20mg. I like to take 10mg and another 10 four hours later. Last semester I took a 30 and couldn't sleep for two days, shit sucked. Was up for 50 hours and felt like shit for the last ten. I don't take it enough to get any form of tolerance so it really gets to me if I taken too much.
 
Well adderall is already over prescribed to kids, so why not everyone use it?!?

I'd prefer one of the non-amphetamine alternatives personally. Amphetamines are messed up.
 
People are stupid. I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid and first began taking Ritalin then doctors had me on Adderall all the way through Middle and High School. It works but I couldn't wait to get off of it. It destroys your (at least mine) appetite. Who the fuck takes drugs to study?
 
Have tried it and methylphenidate and they worked for a period of time but now I just take them once or twice a semester max when I really could use an extra boost. Taking them everyday was not for me.
 
Mully said:
I've never been a part of dorm life in college, but whenever I visit my friends a few weeks prior to finals or midterms, I constantly hear them mention using Adderall as a means to write papers and prepare for exams.

I personally feel like it's cheating, but I can understand it's uses for someone who's not prescribed it.

Have you used and how do you feel about it's use on college campuses?
Click to expand...

recently got ritalin, haven't used it for study yet

but damn does it make me feel pumped/energetic/focused, especially so in high doses

should've gotten this quite some time ago, would've been in a way better position now probably ...

as for people without ADHD/ADD symptoms using it ; might be more of a placebo ... already plenty of people here are mentioning they get distracted/anxious which indicates they don't have ADHD or anything like it. Might work in small amounts?
 
I aced an exam last semester thanks to adderall. I only use it in dire circumstances though. I don't think it is cheating since you are still putting all the time and mental power in to the subject. Adderall just lets you stay focused and not bored.
If adderall is cheating then so is caffeine.

Even better, now that I have experienced total concentration and sponge-like mind with adderall, I can almost mimic the effect without it.
 
Mordeccai said:
Yeah I'm usually up for 24 hours on a dose of 20mg. I like to take 10mg and another 10 four hours later. Last semester I took a 30 and couldn't sleep for two days, shit sucked. Was up for 50 hours and felt like shit for the last ten. I don't take it enough to get any form of tolerance so it really gets to me if I taken too much.
Click to expand...
Yep, been through that before, it's the lack of sleep and lack of eating. I tend to not take it when i dont have anything coming up. Well caffeine is a drug... Anyways I take drugs to learn about drugs and their effects :p
 
so for how long is Adderall active ? does it depend on the amount you take ?

because Ritalin works for about 4 hours, and the amount influences the intensity not the duration
 
Mordeccai said:
Yeah I'm usually up for 24 hours on a dose of 20mg. I like to take 10mg and another 10 four hours later. Last semester I took a 30 and couldn't sleep for two days, shit sucked. Was up for 50 hours and felt like shit for the last ten. I don't take it enough to get any form of tolerance so it really gets to me if I taken too much.
Click to expand...

Jesus. That must be a nightmare being up for so long.
 
n0n44m said:
so for how long is it Adderall active ? does it depend on the amount you take ?

because Ritalin works for about 4 hours, and the amount influences the intensity not the duration
Click to expand...
Depends on the dosage and the person taking it. I would say a 10 mg ir would last 4ish hour. While the ex tends to last 11ish hours.
 
I've never used it, but I probably should have. My brother and I are extremely similar, but he goes to the doctor for just about everything. He got prescribed Adderal so I'd probably get it to if I went in to get diagnosed.
 
Take 40 mg a day (20 mg IR morn, 10 mg IR noon, 10 mg IR evening), prescribed.
I've always had horrible study habits, time management, and organizational skills but would get by on intellect, at least in high school.
Life has been nothing less than chaotic and I've dealt with excessive anxiety and bouts of depression.
The adderall counteracts my deficits to an extent, but more so it enables me to make the necessary changes in order to be successful.
The idea is to form sustainable healthy habits.
Adderall bonus: I sleep peacefully at night now, becoming tired at a reasonable hour.
 
Yes. Usually limited to finals/midterms/holy shit I have a paper due tomorrow. I wouldn't say I've felt any addictive qualities or lasting brain damage, but then again, I still use it so what do I know.
 
As a sophomore in college, I will almost never take more than one 70mg of Vyvanse (for those who are not familiar, that is roughly equivalent to 35mg of Adderall) every week, but sometimes I only take half in order to take it twice in a week. I was "prescribed" with ADD some time around Freshman year of high school, but my parents refused to put me on the pill. Pretty damn good parenting if you ask me, seeing as I was such a piece of shit at the time and had more or less developed an addiction from taking my best friends pills regularly since around 5th or 6th grade. Disturbingly enough, we would snort them in our private, 20 kid, Catholic middle school both in class and in the bathroom. I remember my buddy's nose gushing blood one particular time, but hey, we were just some shithead kids I guess that got our "druggie punk" phase out really early. So uhh that aside...

Vyvanse is a bit too good in my opinion. As an English major, it really bothers me when I procrastinate on my papers to the point where I need to take a Vyvanse and write for 8-12 hours straight the day before the due date, yet this tends to be the route I always take. Some other bothersome things with it are the complete lack of appetite and sleeplessness associated with it. I already can never sleep - I didn't sleep a minute last night and took about 50mg of Vyvanse at 6am today. I proceeded to read 80 pages of William Faulkner's The Sound and The Fury, half of Quentin's section and te entirety of Jason's, and I must say the book totally clicked with me for the first time after about five hours of thorough reading. The pill allows me to focus on each and every word and interpret them in ways I sometimes wonder if I would, or even could, when off the pill.

So I'm not quite sure what my stance is on Adderall ... I used to take a shitload of them when I would be grounded in High School and just play video games literally all day, and would have no problem with it really. But now I most always use it in an academic sense and it really is incredibly effective. I would never get prescribed seeing as I would quite probably form an [even more] unhealthy addiction, but I don't see much reason to stop taking it altogether.
 
Sure.

It was prescribed, and it did help me concentrate. It is also a great weight loss tool. I dropped down to 110 pounds on it, and it made me monomaniacally focused on the first thing that caught my interest that day and made me highly irritable.

I stopped taking it
 
Raptomex said:
People are stupid. I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid and first began taking Ritalin then doctors had me on Adderall all the way through Middle and High School. It works but I couldn't wait to get off of it. It destroys your (at least mine) appetite. Who the fuck takes drugs to study?
Click to expand...
this this this. I was on the shit for over 7 years. I was a teenage, didn't know any better and my parents thought they were doing what was best. To this day I still think it fucks with my sleeping habits years later (no science to back that up, just a personal observation)

Anyone who calls it a "miracle drug" is extremely ignorant. Attention span isn't some unchangeable thing you cant improve. Its a mental process that can be worked on, the results of which last a lifetime
 
Nope, I never felt the need for it. If I ever had a big crunch time, I'd just get a red bull or two and stay up most of the night to finish a big paper or something. But I'm really good at writing papers I think, so I just never felt the need to use it.

And I haven't had a true "final" for a class since freshman year. All my tests and finals were basically group projects or 20-30 page papers. I prefer that.
 
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