Adderall as a Weight Loss Drug

I take Adderall right now as a weight loss drug and yes, it is perscribed to me as such. I had ashtma for about 15 years and I was on steriods for all my teen years, which made me balloon to 345. I used to be 60 pounds when I was 8 before I started the meds. I tell ya what, I'm damn happy that I started the pills, I'm loosing weight and I'm feeling better about myself. I tried dieting and excercise, which i still do and it does nothing for me.

I've been taking adderall to stay focused for school with the end of the year coming up. I've read the "serious effects" of it. I've been experiencing some of the more serious ones, but normal one's as well. The serious one's being increased heart beat and dizziness/light-headed. Normal one's such as dry mouth. What does this mean? Should I be concerned and go off of it?

Heres my views on all this. I am a genius, at least thats what they classify me since i have an IQ of over 150. Up until high school i was a straight "A" student, but then i came down with depression and my ADHD started kicking in, i made it through 9th grade with decent grades, except English(D average), but i struggled for them and they still werent up to where they should have been (C averages). 10th grade i had to live with my aunt and uncle for about 7 to 8 months due to my parents Crack addiction( an addiction im proud to say they kicked :D ). Anyway I did pretty good through 10th due to a mixture of:
1) my uncles "no missing assignments" rule that he had and
2) it was a much better environment than home
but i still had a helluva hard time, harder than it should have been. I was able to go back home after 10th grade after my parents cleaned up their act. It wasnt till junior year that i finally went to the doctor and got started on anti depressants and adderall, and that wasnt till halfway through the school year on getting the adderall, started the depression meds at beginning of school year. So in the six months ive been on adderall( was off depress medicine when i started them) they've done wonders. from the time of starting them(end of 2nd quarter) till the end of 3rd quarter things were shaky, but i made improvements, and last quarter i only had 1 absence and had straight A's. The one absence is crazy considering during the first 3 quarters i missed a full quarter(45+ absences).I would procrastinate to an extreme and then just say "f*** it" when it came to actually doing the assignments, then i missed because i didnt have the work done, it really sucked. But what Im getting at is that some kids, even smart ones can struggle because of ADHD, and Adderall can be a major assest in helping kids like me. Ill admit though, Ive slimmed up alot since starting them, but yes, the rewards definitly outweigh the risk, especially for me considering I'm the type that just loves to learn about anything, and that just wasn't happening anymore. So I just want you all to know, that just because someone might seem and act like they don't care, it doesn't for sure mean that they don't, it can be tougher than people think to overcome ADD and ADHD.

I am 17 years old and have just recently graduated from high school - barely. On this subject, I'm somewhat torn. On the one hand, Adderall can and will make you lose weight. On the other hand, the side effects can make you miserable and can also be dangerous.

I first began taking Adderall when I was 15, after I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and an accompanying ADD. The doctor prescribed me to take 20mgs per day to avoid dependency. In the six months following the prescription of Adderall, I lost over 40 pounds. For a while, I stopped taking Adderall because I ended up moving and could no longer see my doctor - my appetite came back, I gained some of the weight again, and overall could not focus worth a damn without it when I began my senior year of school.

It wasn't until I was in danger of not graduating (this coming from someone who would have graduated early pre-ADD) that my mother decided to take the initiative and get me back on Adderall. Again, my appetite was literally destroyed, I began losing weight again, and my focus came back quickly enough for me to graduate.

Overall, my personal opinion is that yes, this is a drug that can cause weightloss. That much is obvious. But I also think that if it's going to be prescribed for weightloss, people need to understand what they're getting into. The effect of Adderall differs person to person, but the decreased appetite can be enough to the point where you can't even look at food without feeling ill, and you have to force yourself to eat in order not to just wither away.

There's also the fact that one of the side effects that people tend not to account for when they start taking it is a rapid heartbeat and in severe cases, even arrythmia - and anyone can tell how dangerous that is. If that is a side effect for people NEEDING the pill... how much worse will it be for someone who DOESN'T need it?

I know that nothing will stop people from taking this drug for weight loss or focus even if they're not prescribed it. My only hope is that they do their research FIRST.

Of course Adderall makes you focus--you're taking speed. It makes you euphoric and speedy and suppresses your appetite. Most people are going to like how this feels.

ADD/ADHD is not a physiological disorder with an easily treatable underlying cause. In other words, it's not like you're calcium deficient, so you should take these supplements. Speed helps everyone focus, gives everyone a buzz (at least initially) and causes tolerance to develop in everyone regardless of whether or not a psychiatrist "diagnosed" you with ADD/ADHD. I know I'm not ADD, but I've taken Adderall before and it turns me into a focused, working machine. I experience all of the same benefits many of you have described. I get so annoyed by people who say things like: "well I have ADD, so Adderall magically has no negative/unintended side effects on me." It baffles me that people think this when ADD/ADHD people are not chemically different than anyone else.

For those it helps more than it harms, I say go for it. There are legitimate ADD/ADHD cases where the quality of life these people enjoy would be greatly diminished without treatment. But we need to call it what it is.

The fact is, Doctor's are prescribing a schedule II amphetamine to our kids like it's going out of style. It's a big deal for everyone and the possible long term side effects and high potential for abuse should make anyone think twice--even if they've been diagnosed.

When I was in highischool I was Diagnosed with adhd
and treated with adderall. I took it through college,
I graduated college at 22. 4 years later my husband
was hit by a train and is in a nursing facility
now because I cant care for him and my three
children 4,5,and 7. The docters I have seen will
not allow me to take it anymore because of my severe
depression, wich is makin my life even more Kaotic!!
Why? If anyone could give me advise on a doctor in Florida
that can help me get my life back Please e-mail me???
I strongly agree that it would be easier to go back to taking
a medication that truely works,(adderall) rather than 50 diffrent
Anti-Depressants............Sincerely RebaH@aol.com..

When I was 8 years old, i was diagnosed with ADHD, my parents put me on Ritalin till i was about 12 or so then they put me on Concerta. When I was talking those 2 I didn't have the lost of appetite and i was still growing (gaining weight and such), but the crash was somewhat harder. When i was 15 my parents put me on adderall and I had the lost my appetite at school, and continued to weight 125lbs. at 5'8"(its average for my age then, but i never gained or lost weight) i didn't like it so i stopped taking it when i was 16. I do agree it helped with school, once i got off it my grades slipped....i barley graduated...I'm almost almost 20 now and i just recently started taking them again to see if they still gave me the same effect. But because of taking ADHD meds my whole life, in the long term effect, I'm 5'9"-5'10" and still weight about 125-130, even when i was off it, i still weighted the same and was still the same height. Take it from someone who's been on ADHD meds his whole life, I advise all the parents out there that have kids with ADHD, when your children are in school put them on either Concerta or Ritalin till their a little older like 17 or 18. All 3 pills help counter-balance ADHD, but without the lost of appetite or weight lost. Difference between the 3 is Concerta and Ritalin are the same drug, but Concerta is a time release capsule where 1/3 of the dose gets released immidiately and peaks within 2 hours and the remainder 2/3 gets released later and peaks roughly 5 to 6 hours after taking. Where adderall is a long acting capsule that is slowly released throughout the day with the peak 5 to 6 hours after taking. I also recommend this, when school ends, take your child off the med for the whole summer and start back up when school starts again.

I hope my story and info helps :)

I just learned about adderall last week. Today is my 3rd day to take it and have to admit I am amazed how fast it works! I have been diagnosed with OCD, Bi-Polar, PSTD, BPD, major depressive disorder as well as ADD and have been overweight most my life.
Health wise I have been diagnosed with more than a dozen health problems and weight loss surgery is out of the question. Just in the 3 days of taking the adderall I can hardly believe how well I can focus, concentrate, and I have not had any depression.
I'm uncertain how long I will be taking adderall, but there is a risk in any form of medication as well as a risk of untreated medical and mental health matters.

I am 18 years old and for as long as i can remember iv always been the kid who cant ever seem to follow directions correctly and no matter how hard i tried to do good in school it never showed... about a year ago my mom decided to take me in to see the doctor and he ended up diagnosing me with ADD... but that wasnt all he also said i had depression... so he prescribed me not only ADDERALL but also ZOLOFT. one in the morning and one at night... this totally threw me off it made things worse!!! i ended up skipping school because i couldnt stand to be there or focus... so i stopped taking both and ended up gaining 16 lbs!!! i dropped out, got a job, and got my GED but i still find i have trouble focussing and this weight gain has left me depressed and hopeless... I want to go to college and be able to be happy and focussed, so i went to see my doctor and he put me right back on adderall but after reading all these horrible side affects of adderall im terrified... WHAT SHOULD I DO???

I stop adderall last july...even after my lipo,i already gain 20 pounds..OMG!3 MONTHS I GAIN 20 POUNDS..AND I CANNOT FINISH WHAT I START....I NEED GO BACK,MY PROBLEM NOW IS:NOT INSUARANCE...ANYBODY KNOW WHERE I CAN BUY WITHOUT PRESPICTION?

I want to start adderall, but I dont have ADD/ADHD. I want to lose weight badly. Im a high school student, that's over weight. I know your thinking "taking adderall for weight loss is stupid" but Im desperate. How could I get adderall?