<p>I took the test today with 30mg of Adderall after experimenting once a week for about a month to see how my body would react. Anyways, the focus was amazing. I have not taken the SAT before, but did take the ACT last year, and found it difficult to concentrate throughout the Science portion and on the final essay. I had no such symptoms while taking the SAT today, perhaps it is how the test was structured. Any other opinions or expierence?</p>
<p>No, it was definitely your pills since I couldn't concentrate at all. it was just painful</p>
<p>wow, that's so weird lol. i was about to make a topic about aderol/adderall or concerta use.</p>
<p>i've been looking into it lately; i first heard about it last year & i was interested at the thought that there could be something that was way more effective than caffeine. i haven't tried it yet 'cause i'm in a moral dilemma with myself :(.. but i was thinking that if i did decide to use it, i'd use it 2 weeks before the AP exams (that's when we start AP review at my school) so i could cram as much as i could. and for the SAT's & during both tests as well.</p>
<p>do you experience any after effects? depression / headaches?</p>
<p>i'm hesitant about trying because it's not like me to resort to drugs for anything, even prescription. especially studying. but there's so much competition & all the pressure is seriously getting to me, lol.. and now i'm debating whether i should use adderall or not.</p>
<p>btw, i'm a sophomore. how sad is that.</p>
<p>are each of your pills 30mg? my friend is willing to sell it to me for $3 per 30mg pill. but i'm looking for smaller doses 'cause i don't wanna get messed up lol.</p>
<p>and yeaah. i'm just basically at a point where i don't know what to do -_-.</p>
<p>is there anything to know about it? like if it's bad/good, etc..</p>
<p>btw: i don't have ADD / ADHD</p>
<p>As i understand it, adderrall opens up the neurological receptors or re-uptake inhibitors or something</p>
<p>When one side of your brain cell fires off signals, the other side receives them without a gate blocking the signals. </p>
<p>So you don't have to overcompensate any more to do same. Like not having a heavy door to push open each time you want to finish a thought.</p>
<p>end of mental fatigue from all the overcompensating</p>
<p>and also, that's why it should only be under doctor's prescription. if you didn't have the neurological obstacle in the first place, you're just taking it like "speed" so that's a problem with unprescribed adderall</p>
<p>i'm not a doctor, just a parent. I believe that for those the dr. prescribes to, there have been psychological tests performed indicating these "gates" are somehow more stuck in the brains of some and they are the worthy candidates for adderall. </p>
<p>Anyone who sells their prescribed pills to you is...don't even get me started on how many ethical, legal abuses that represents.</p>
<p>if you think you need some, see a doctor. Your "friend" ready to sell to you isn't such a good friend about this situation. A doctor also can give you a more correct dosage, or pills that are either extended release all=day, or the kind you can break in half or take in smaller doses for just half a day..gives more personal control. </p>
<p>Tell your friend to take a long walk on a short pier, and call a doctor to see if you're a candidate. Yo9u might be!</p>
<p>Don't take adderall in HS to cram... that is abusive and lead to addiction, in fact MTVs first TRUE LIFE ever covered adderall addiction. Adderall has similar effects to cocaine and speed, but the medical application makes it legal. It has effects similar to the neurotransmitter NO, popular for workout drinks these days, DONT EXCERCISE 24 hours after taking adderall. It speeds up your heart, and frankly without a prescription you don't know how you will react. Some have died from heart attacks, although many take it daily and excercise with ease. I personally don't see it being worth the risk. SAT is perhaps the most important test you will take in your life though, isn't it worth the risk?</p>
<p>30mg XR was fine for me...5'7 170lb. Make sure you experiment a few weeks beforehand though...i.e. get up at 7 and take a practice test with it. Also, stay hydrated throughout the test. most proctors could care less if you take sips inbetween sections, even though collegeboard says not to.</p>
<p>wow, it does? what same effects? wow.. i never knew all of that (the 3 posts above). that's pretty scary, actually. i don't want to be doing something that's so similar to cocaine or speed. </p>
<p>and yeah, to me it's worth the risk. i guess it's just me that's messed up or something, but i'm just so afraid of failure, so i'll go through extents like these just to have something like a back-up that'll give me reinforcement for when i study or take the exam. i know it's wrong, and ugh.. i don't even know why i'm CONSIDERING all of this. it even sounds crazy to me, lol..</p>
<p>it's to cram for the AP tests though. i'm taking 4 this year as a soph & they're going to be my first AP tests too (we're not allowed to take any 9th grade). towards the end of last semester i kind of slacked off & therefore didn't retain any of the AP material we studied. so i know i have to some MAJOR CRAMMING for these AP tests.. and i thought i needed the help of adderall. and i'm still not sure, ugh.</p>
<p>is concerta the same as adderall pretty much? my friend was going to sell me concerta because he said it was safer & adderall at one point made him suicidal and he felt like crap when he was on it apparently. he told me he'd only sell it to me if i followed his 'instructions' 'cause he didn't want me getting hurt or something. aghh.. scary.</p>
<p>i know i don't have ADD; i think it's just my dislike for studying that makes me wander off when i start studying haha. or america's next top model or something. and if i did go get tested, i'd probably be BSing to the doctor & making up symptoms. do i have to go be tested for a doctor or can i just see a pharmacist?</p>
<p>sorry for all the questions. one more!
what's extended-release all day etc?</p>
<p>i just don't wanna be up like 23432432234 hours if i'm on it, lol.. i need my sleep.</p>
<p>dont take adderall to study, it is abusive and can lead to reliance..it is taken for the SAT because it makes you focused during the almost 4 hour test.</p>
<p>Regardless of how it's taken, if it wasn't perscribed, it's drug abuse. I'm not saying that next week you're going to be on cocaine, but if you haven't been diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, or some form of test anxiety, there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON for you to take perscription drugs (that you brought from your friends) so that you can do better on a test.</p>
<p>If you take once in awhile just for the SATs you will not even come close to dependance. All these people who say it can lead to dependance are wrong...unless you take it every day. Thirty mg is good enough for most people, anymore is unnecessary, but I know people who have taken 90+ and are fine. I say if you feel that it'll boost your SAT score, go for it.</p>
<p>ohhh kay. thanks guys lol</p>
<p>im considering this for the june test. and for ap cramming. but i don't want to die. lmao.</p>
<p>same here haha.. sat ii bio & ap bio, euro, spanish, psychology</p>
<p>GODDD DILEMMMAAAAAAAAAAAA</p>
<p>Wouldn't that be what the college board calls 'an unfair advantage'? Meaning cheating? Unless its prescribed and you actually need it.</p>
<p>no you could still be focused and be really dumb.</p>
<p>You would still be attempting to give yourself an unfair advantage if you took them and you really didn't need them/weren't prescribed them.</p>
<p>Please, please do not be misled this post:
[quote]
If you take once in awhile just for the SATs you will not even come close to dependance. All these people who say it can lead to dependance are wrong...unless you take it every day. Thirty mg is good enough for most people, anymore is unnecessary, but I know people who have taken 90+ and are fine. I say if you feel that it'll boost your SAT score, go for it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Don’t listen to this guy. It will lull you into a false sense of security; ignore it. I urge you to reread posts 5 and 8 by 1MX. Do not take Adderall as a study aid. I'm going to tell you my personal story because I do NOT want anyone to turn out like me. Please, read it, if you are considering using Adderall as a study aid. (I am not going to address the "cheating" or "ethical" aspect of the situation because that's between you and your conscience.)</p>
<p>I am a good student. I have perfect SAT scores (both SAT I and SAT II). I have perfect grades and have gotten 5s on all the APs I have taken. I've been accepted to top colleges, the ones many of you want to get into with your top SAT scores.
I am not trying to be arrogant when I say I’m one of the “naturally smart” people. I never had to try really hard to get good grades; I was always interested in schoolwork so I never had issues with attention either. I have, however, always been a dabbler in <em>illegal substances.</em> I tried a variety of drugs throughout high school and never really had issues. I did not try Adderall until the last part of my junior year of high school, after the majority of my stressful work was done.</p>
<p>At first, I tried it as mostly a “social steroid.” I took the tiny 5 mg pills (not the 30s). I didn’t even snort them, just popped them. They were nice, nothing special--I called them "social steroids" rather than recreatioanl drugs because all they did was make me a bit more talkative and social. But then, someone in school mentioned that they were useful as study aids. I tried it. I took a couple 5 mg pills one morning before a long English essay. The effects were phenomenal. I could write, focus, and correct my paper—I didn’t feel like moving at all. I wasn’t tempted to open internet explorer even once during the entire 2 hours on the computer. Anyway, my Adderall hookup moved and I forgot about Adderall soon after this incident. I’m more of a recreational user, anyway, and Adderall wasn’t my drug of choice in that regard. I was done with Adderall, or so I thought. I certainly wasn’t addicted (it won’t addict you the first few times or at a low dose).</p>
<p>Fast forward to second semester senior year. I’m suffering from senioritis. A new friend shows up, and she happens to come with a 20mg prescription of Adderall. I remember how useful the Adderall was last year, and I go ahead and try it once more since I'm a restless senior. I feel invincible, because by now I’ve tried cocaine and various prescription drugs without any dependence. I have a surprisingly high tolerance for my small frame and don’t get addicted to much of anything. I feel safe (“I didn’t get addicted to coke—I’m obviously safe from Adderall, it’s just amphetamines.”) So, I bought about 20 Adderalls from my friend and took them over the course of the next few months (max of 2-3 pills per week, just enough to keep me focused on double period class days or heavy homework nights). I didn’t take loads of pills; I didn’t even take one daily. Half the time I didn’t even snort them (as is my custom); just popped them for breakfast.</p>
<p>4orce is right about the dependence: I didn’t get addicted to Adderall until the last few weeks of the semester, when I had been taking it for quite a few weeks. Even then, it wasn’t truly addiction. It was just like chocolate; I could live without it, but I would much rather live WITH it, and I couldn’t imagine life without the occasional indulgence at the very least. It didn't seem scary. It seemed fine and dandy. I agree with 4orce: you can take tons of Adderall and feel safe and healthy (and really happy and excited) on it. You won't get addicted unless you take it repeatedly for a long time.</p>
<p>So, really, addiction/dependence is not the reason you should refuse Adderall as a one-time SAT aid. If it really is one-time, you may very well escape addiction. But that isn't the end of the story. Keep reading:</p>
<p>The part that should make you turn away is the permanent side effects. The thing about these is—you don’t have to take Adderall for very long for them to show up. It’s the worst part for me because I feel ****ed up even when I’ve been off Adderall for weeks. My brain is skittish. I can’t concentrate like I used to. Anyone who has taken Adderall will confirm that when you are coming off of the drug, you can’t concentrate anymore. You can’t focus. Your mind can’t grasp the words or numbers on the page as well. It’s as though you can’t touch the words as you usually can; they are farther distanced from your mind and you don’t have as much control or grasp over them like you used to. It’s very worrying, but for the most part it goes away. Your appetite comes back (lack of hunger is a side effect of Adderall) and you go back to your normal self. But a little bit of it stays with you. And with every Adderall you take, the comedown gets more and more permanent. And I’m the kind of person who doesn’t even notice a Ritalin or Vicodin (don’t get me started on liquor tolerance.)</p>
<p>I’m not trying to scare you. I’m still “smart.” My IQ didn’t go down. But there's no escaping the fact that Adderall f***ed me up. Over the course of this last semester, I took 20 Adderalls (20 mg pills), as I said before. Also, as I mentioned above, I had not taken a single Adderall since junior year. All this semester, I took a max of 3 per week, thinking I was escaping tolerance and side effects. But I knew my brain was getting more and more skittish, and it was getting permanent. I joked about it with friends. But then 2 things happened.</p>
<p>First, I got my report card for 2nd semester senior year. I had earned my first B and C grades in classes in my entire life. I had procrastinated, I couldn’t focus anymore, it was making me f*** up, and now I couldn’t deny it anymore.</p>
<p>The 2nd thing, was when I weighed myself. I could barely believe it: I now weighed 93 pounds. I hadn’t been eating lunch for months because the morning Adderall killed my appetite (and it made me less inclined to eat even on the days I was off it) and it gave me energy to work out every night. In junior year, I had weighed a healthy 110 lbs for my 5’3 frame. I knew I was losing a little weight, and I joked about that with friends too—what girl doesn’t look good skinny? But then I realized...losing 17 pounds isn’t a f<strong><em>ing joke. Doing my characteristic Adderall fidgets after WEEKS off the drug isn’t a f</em></strong>ing joke. Not being able to read or write with the same solid control that I used to have isn’t a f<strong><em>ing joke. Moral of the story? Don’t f</em></strong> around with Adderall.</p>
<p>The sad thing is, I had a friend who took Adderall on a MUCH smaller level (I think she had taken it a max of twice) and she stopped after the 2nd one because the lasting effects bothered her. In retrospect, I can't believe it took me a whole semester of school, almost 500 milligrams of speed, and a lot of dead concentration powers to learn the same lesson.</p>
<p>My story is kind of long and poorly written. You might be a little confused now. After all, didn't I take Adderall safely and briefly during junior year and experience only positive effects? Well, the answer is yes. But also, no, it wasn't brief. If my Adderall hookup had not moved away immediately, or if my senior year hookup had shown up at that time, I would have been tempted to take another Adderall once in a while. And then I would have gone the route of my 2nd semester senior self. I escaped the bad effects the first time around because I got lucky; eventually, though, it came back around and I did have to face it. And you will too.</p>
<p>Don’t think you’re invincible. And don’t think you can take Adderall “safely.” Sure, you might avoid addiction. But the mental effects are a tough, tough bargain. Know what you’re f***ing around with. If it’s not a price you’re willing to pay, don’t take Adderall. Seriously, if you’re looking to raise your SAT score, look somewhere else.</p>
<p>Why in the WORLD would the SATs be a sufficient reason for DRUG ABUSE. Forget it being an unfair advantage! No matter how it's worded, no matter whether you are immediately addicted or not, it is DRUG ABUSE and as WorriedSenior07 said, it can mess you up. If you really wanted that high SAT score, then study! I assure you that a few points will not compensate for the lasting effects of drugs. Don't be foolish enough to try.</p>