Adderall Abuse Can Lead To Psychosis, Suicide

The May suicide of Vanderbilt student Kyle Craig shocked his friends and family. Described by his father as "focused, happy, achieving and social," Craig held down a 3.5 GPA, played in a band on campus and looked to a career in investment banking.

But during his junior year, he started using Adderall to keep up with his responsibilities, eventually obtaining a prescription for the drug. And now the pills, used legally and illegally by scores of students nationwide, are being blamed for the downward spiral that lead to Craig's death.

ABC has more:

By junior year in 2009, Kyle told his parents he had lost interest in the fraternity parties that used to be so much fun, they thought perhaps this personality change was a sign of maturity, but only in retrospect did they realize these were the earliest signs of a growing psychosis caused by Adderall abuse.

After his death Kyle's classmates and friends told his parents, "Everyone takes Adderall."

The Craigs make no excuses for Kyle's choices, but they believe the effects of Adderall abuse, coupled with a cluster of suicides in his hometown that year, likely created the "perfect storm" that lured him to the train tracks.

Read Kyle's full story here.

According to a study released earlier this year, it is easy for students in want of Adderall to obtain a prescription by faking symptoms of ADHD. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that "even someone with a cursory knowledge of the disorder could simulate the symptoms."

What do you think? Have you taken Adderall? Has it affected you in a negative manner? Weigh in below.

Comments

[GinaPera]

01:27 AM on 11/20/2010

All the good experiences with Adderall reported here notwithstanding, I have to point out there are many better choices with lower side effect profiles.

Adderall IS more likely to create agitation, irritability and even manic-like symptoms, compared to methylphenidate formulations or even some newer extended-release amphetamine formulations (such as Vyvanse). In ten years of hearing hundreds of stories from adults with ADHD, these side effects are not uncommon.

While Adderall might work the best among all stimulants for some individuals, I wish MDs would stop prescribing it as a first-attempt and save it for last resort. Between the diversion problem (being sold on college campuses and elsewhere) and the higher side-effect profile, it just makes no sense to make it the first choice.

Unfortunately, many of the MDs who prescribe it don't know about the problems.

[GinaPera]

01:19 AM on 11/20/2010

Sorry to say, some college students make a habit of risking their health and even their lives.

Fraternity hazing with alcohol poisoning.
Alcohol/caffeine drinks.
Unprescribed Adderall in reckless amounts.
Even cold medicines taken in too-large amounts or with any of the above.

The kids who are lucky enough to survive such stunts can suffer lasting brain damage, not to mention damaging sperm and eggs.

Those who don't survive -- who push these activities to the limit -- are pretty certain to have underlying psychiatric problems that have been long ignored by their parents, many of whom have been scared away from learning the facts about ADHD and other conditions by reading stories like this out of context.

It's not Adderall that killed. It was the recklessly tragic use of it.

[Lily99]

04:23 PM on 11/09/2010

People who fake ADHD make life a helluva lot harder for those of us who really do have it. I have no sympathy for this guy. I'm sorry he died, and I feel very sorry that his family has to go through this loss, but ADHD meds are powerful drugs and, like all other prescription drugs, shouldn't be taken by people who don't legitimately need them.

Don't even get me started on the doctor who misdiagnosed him.

[GinaPera]

01:32 AM on 11/20/2010

I wondered if there might have been some red flags for bi-polar in Kyle Craig. To me, there are several in this article, including this from his mom:

“If he’s into something, he’s in all the way — to take it to the next level.”
http://www.eduinreview.com/blog/2010/11/adderall-to-blame-for-college-suicide/#more-13244

Whether it's the ADHD or bi-polar disorder that provides that "something extra" in a person -- over the top energy, drive for perfection, "taking it to the next level" -- too many people tend to miss the signs and instead romanticize the "something extra."

[Toonguy]

04:09 PM on 11/09/2010

My prescription program does everything it can to deny me access to treatment my doctor and I agree upon. Silly me, I should have just gone to campus.

[AGooglyMinotaur]

01:01 PM on 11/09/2010

There are a surprising number of people on this thread saying, "This didn't happen to me, therefore it doesn't happen," which kind of misses the point of the article, and demonstrates a fairly poor understanding of the concept of side effects or individual variability in brain chemistry.

Adderall, like all psychoactive drugs, is distributed with a warning. An excerpt:

"Dextroamphetamine and amphetamine may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

nervousness
uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body
weight loss
fast or pounding heartbeat (tachycardia)
chest pain
slow or difficult speech
dizziness or faintness
weakness or numbness of an arm or leg
seizures
motor tics or verbal tics
believing things that are not true (delusions)
feeling unusually suspicious of others (paranoia)
hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)
mania (frenzied or abnormally excited mood)
aggressive or hostile behavior
changes in vision or blurred vision
swelling of the eyes, face, tongue, or throat
difficulty breathing or swallowing

Dextroamphetamine and amphetamine may cause sudden death in children and teenagers, especially children and teenagers who have heart defects or serious heart problems.

This medication also may cause sudden death, heart attack, or stroke in adults, especially adults with heart defects or serious heart problems."

None of the serious psychological side effects happened to you? Congratulations. That doesn't mean they never happen...

[katiek2o]

03:25 PM on 11/09/2010

this is listed on every medication.. it's called being paranoid.. warnings are all over.. doctor's don't deserve the authority to preach what is right for each person/ and neither do you. personal experiences from real people is the closest thing to real advice.. there will always be exceptions/ like the person in this article.. adderall saved my life.. if i stopped taking it i would suffer immensly.,.( been prescribed to 10 mg twice a day for almost three years). have never upped the dosage/ i was miserable and suicidal prior to taking at 18

[AGooglyMinotaur]

05:31 PM on 11/09/2010

I take it too and it's very helpful for me as well. I'm not railing against it. I'm saying that the people on this thread *cough cough* who refuse to acknowledge the well-established risks of psychiatric medicine might be suffering from amphetamine delusions. Lol.

[katiek2o]

03:29 PM on 11/09/2010

those are the side affects of an overdose

[AGooglyMinotaur]

05:29 PM on 11/09/2010

Not always. Look it up. Anyways, the article's about abuse, so even if they're usually overdose signs it's completely relevant to the article. Troll.

[tgibson]

11:09 PM on 11/08/2010

What everyone is missing here is that if you make Adderall and drugs like it illegal, you are punishing people who really need it because of the mistakes OTHER idiots made. Therapy helps, but there is no replacement for medication. True ADHD is the result of a genetic abnormality, resulting in low dopamine levels and abnormal function in the prefrontal cortex. ADHD is serious, and its only because of the surge of truly terrible parents hoping to replace parenting with a pill that its become a joke to most.

Some college student buys a bunch of pills illegally and ODs? Thats their fault, and the fault of the idiot who sold it. Not mine.

Horror stories are irrational appeals to fear. Bad things can happen with any prescription med, even worse if your not prescribed it. The blame should be focused on the doctors who give meds to people who shouldn't/can't take them, and the people who sell/use them illegally. Focusing on the medicine itself just hurts the people who honestly need it.

Adderall is a Schedule II substance-- as restrictive as it can be while still being prescribed. Vyvanse, the drug I am prescribed, is a dextroamphetamine like adderall, but its bound to a protein, so it can only be processed in the small intestine, at a consistent, level rate. Ever year they find a way to make these drugs safer.

Point your fingers at the real source of the problem, not the medicine.

[Lily99]

04:25 PM on 11/09/2010

Exactly, Adderall and other similar medications help thousands of legitimate ADHD patients live a relatively normal life. Why should they be punished just because some idiot thinks he can abuse them?

[GinaPera]

01:21 AM on 11/20/2010

Well, the poor kid might not have been an "idiot." He might actually have had ADHD and just wasn't paying attention to how many pills he was taking, taking undue risks and not thinking of consequences. Or, maybe he had bi-polar, which increases the chances of abusing these medications.

[Charles Elk]

10:53 PM on 11/08/2010

This is purely a ploy to demonize adderall so that doctors will instead prescribe the new add/adhd drugs. Which have less testing through use by the population prescribed them and are more expensive because there is no generic version on the market. So don’t fall for this crock and for all the people who claim that this drug is a problem it’s not. The problem lies with the user not the substance.

[tobynsaunders]

09:19 PM on 11/08/2010

I ruined months of life with amphetamine via psychosis, addiction, withdrawal... I dropped out of university, went to rehab, came down for months... no pleasure for months... worse thing ever... it was terrible, it went on for such a long time. I've had immense pleasure with amphetamine, like "I never want this feeling to go away, I want to live forever like this" sort of total ecstasy, but I after a year & a half of heavy use my brain was damaged, I was psychotic & the recovery time was about a year; it got to be like a living nightmare. I knew it caused psychosis, but I didn't know how long it would take: it took about a year & a half. SO bad...

[katiek2o]

10:55 PM on 11/08/2010

are you completely off it now? do you stil feel terrible or better clean if so?

[LeftyJen]

08:06 PM on 11/08/2010

I was prescribed Adderall XR four years ago. I only take the recommended dosage every day and I've only upped my dosage once. I can honestly say that it has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. While I know how much it gets abused, especially on college campuses like mine, it still bothers me when people talk about what a terrible drug it is. ADD is something I have always suffered from and because no one would give me the help I needed as a child I payed a huge price, especially with my education. When I turned 18, I sought out help for my attention problems and I DON'T CARE what anyone says, my life is SO MUCH BETTER. Just my experience.

[jencanfield7]

07:26 PM on 11/08/2010

As a college student, I do not think people fully comprehend how prevalent adderall abuse is on college campuses. During finals and midterms people with prescriptions can sell one pill for $15. However people are not just using adderall for an academic advantage. Girls take adderall incessantly so they will not want to eat and can still have the energy and stamina to work out. Even more worrisome is that college kids are using adderall with a combination of alcohol to party on the weekends.

[katiek2o]

11:02 PM on 11/08/2010

there are many out there that have benefited from this drug.. all the examples you mentioned are of people that are going to abuse thier situation no matter what.. college is full of young people making mistakes/ with or without substances. at least the hippie 60s weed thing is over with.. now that is wasted youth.. girls that abuse themselves with amphetamines/ if you took it away from them/ they would just do something else..

[acejillian]

05:14 PM on 11/08/2010

When I was about 15, I seemed to have changed my attitude overnight. Once a bubbly young teenager turned into a bratty, suicidal, hypersensitive individual. My grades went from As and high Bs to Fs. I slept through every class after this dramatic change without any memory of even falling asleep. The doctors thought it was depression and treated it as such without much luck. I had every kind of medicine thrown at me- Prozac, Abilify, Lamictal...nothing worked. If anything, I got worse. I ended up seeing a new psychiatrist out of desperation- this would have been the 5th one I had seen. She noticed a pattern in my behavior that no one else had noted- a thing called absent seizures. I was then diagnosed with a low level of epilepsy and very severe adult ADHD. I was prescribed Adderall, and after reluctantly trying it, it ended up making a world of difference. I agree that Adderall isn't the miracle drug that will everything better for everybody and I am well aware that it can be dangerous when not used properly- however, it made a very big difference for me.

[fem56]

04:35 PM on 11/08/2010

Kids must start feeling like they can't compete at highly selective colleges-and then begins the vicious cycle. I have read that people properly prescribed ADHD medication are on very low doses and are closely monitored. I recently read that there are training programs that help people with ADHD focus better on school work. Our kids'college had them read a bunch of articles on prescription drug abuse before school started. I would much prefer a less perfect record drug free. College should do their part by not glorifying timed tests and excessive committments by the students. How about awards for the students who led the healthiest and most balanced lives-8 hours of sleep, balanced diet, exercise or sport, healthy social life, spiritual practices, community service, reasonable academic and work schedule.

[Lary9]

04:30 PM on 11/08/2010

I wrote a long comment about my own experience (just like yours) and it got dumped accidentally into the ozone w/o posting it! Anyhow I agree with just about every post here. And my daughter, living on her own, just got a prescription for it and I'm trying to share my own understanding of its dangers when used by someone with an addictive personality. It's the exact same thing as Valium. Remember? Doctors used to dispense it like candy for everything. I expected to get a Pez dispenser with my scripts at my local VA medical ctr.! Doctors are fools about this vital area of human medicine.

[Lily99]

04:32 PM on 11/09/2010

If your daughter genuinely needs ADHD meds then she shouldn't get addicted to them as they won't have the euphoric effect on her that non-ADHD sufferers will get from them.

[Yeom]

03:54 PM on 11/08/2010

Our education system does not accommodate the large portion of the population that suffer across the ADHD spectrum.
For the most part teachers teach in classes where students are made to sit for 45 plus minutes at a time and are learning in a mostly auditory mode. This is a set up for failure.
Most people learn visually and actively and these modes of learning are rarely used in the classroom.
It is no wonder so many people resort to ADD meds. The current education system guarantees the underachievement of many smart students who will not be able to acquire the necessary GPA's to get into decent colleges without taking Adderall and the like.

[Toonguy]

04:12 PM on 11/09/2010

ADHD is not the same thing as a child with the fidgets. It's sad that people still equate the two and assume the educational and medical communities simply want to drug every active child into a stupor.

[AGooglyMinotaur]

02:09 PM on 11/08/2010

I've been prescribed ADHD medication since I was about 7 years old. I needed it then-- without it I would never sit still, interrupt the teacher and other students, act impulsively. Even once I took it, the teachers always gave me a ball of clay to play with to keep my hands occupied, which also worked pretty well.

I went off the meds for a couple years at the end of high school, but as a college junior, I got a prescription again. As classes got harder, I started to seriously abuse it, staying up for days at a time while writing papers and sometimes taking more than 100mg in a 24 hour period. A couple times my blood pressure went so high that the veins on my legs would throb and hurt, and I'd have to lie down to relieve the pressure. I ended up losing a lot of weight, and by the end of senior year I was depressed, irritable, and unstable.

I still take a 5mg time release in the morning, so little that I barely feel it but there's still a good effect. Adderall is a dangerous medication. There's always a short-term benefit, but when you're using it abusively, it takes a serious toll over time. Colleges should do more to educate their students about the dangers of getting too close to these "study buddies."

[tobynsaunders]

09:29 PM on 11/08/2010

I've done 210 mg & worried about having a heart attack... then I masturbated for hours... too much info, sorry, but that was the attraction for me to speed!... the sex effects really drew me in... I hate the stuff... 'always short-term benefit', eh, not really

[katiek2o]

10:52 PM on 11/08/2010

omaoo sounds like fun.. i guess ya can't give yourself to much gas to much... i think its a good question to wonder whats more worthwhile.. mediocre maintainence/ or high hgihs/high lows. id rather have a high high every once in a while ha/ than living a long time with nothing but mediocre shiz