<p>In particular I was noticing that amphetamines were classified as having not just an overall stimulant effect but specifically an increase in attention to repetitive tasks – not just in ADHD-types.</p>
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<p>I mentioned this in my post (#2), but no one else seemed to respond to it. Glad to see I’m not the only one who thought about that.</p>
<p>I go to a top 20 school and kids pop adderall left and right. I have some friends at other good schools and they say adderall abuse is rampant. It must suck for the few kids who do get caught and punished in med school admissions while most users (who do get in) are untouched.</p>
<p>The incidence of drug abuse among physicians is similar to that of the general population.</p>
<p>Physicians, however, have greater access to a wide variety of drugs. See the article entitled “Substance Abuse Among Physicians: What You Need to Know” <a href=“http://www.turner-white.com/pdf/hp_jul03_know.pdf[/url]”>http://www.turner-white.com/pdf/hp_jul03_know.pdf</a></p>
<p>Among anesthesiologists, overdose of narcotics is a prominent cause of death. [||</a> DukeMedNews || Anesthesiologists’ Substance Abuse Constant Despite Efforts](<a href=“http://www.dukemednews.org/news/article.php?id=5876]||”>http://www.dukemednews.org/news/article.php?id=5876)</p>
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<p>No, the punished kids are getting exactly the even end of the bargain. You commit a crime, you get punished.</p>
<p>The fact that other kids get by without consequences doesn’t impact the fairness of the consequences of the official bargain.</p>
<p>What “sucks” is for the kids who don’t commit crimes while they study, to whatever extent they’re harmed by those that do.</p>
<p>I wish I drank coffee, but they taste so bad. I feel like im at a disadvantage though by not drinking coffee, esp. since i have an 8 am class.</p>
<p>Coffee is not the only drink with caffeine. Tea, most colas, and the “energy drinks” all have caffeine. A little research will tell you how much. All are 100% legal, and the traditional formulations in coffee, tea, and colas are perfectly safe. Some of the energy drinks mix in other stimulants to unknown effect.</p>
<p>BDM, </p>
<p>That improvement in concentration is a stimulant effect, in no way unique to amphetamines or Adderall.</p>
<p>Some, perhaps many, medical students who take Adderall without a prescription probably have ADHD, but no diagnosis. They are behaving foolishly by risking their careers to do illegally (obtain and possess the drug) what they could do legally with a legitimate prescription. Their willingness to do this raises lots of concerns about their future behavior as physicians. </p>
<p>Those students who do not have ADHD and use Adderall as a simple stimulant are also behaving foolishly since they could get the same effect with no health or career risks by switching to caffeine. Same concerns about them as physicians.</p>
<p>I think it’s a bit inane to keep comparing the use of adderall to a cup of coffee. Certainly, the gist of either one is the same, but we’re talking about some very different pharmacology and magnitude of effect. I mean, adderall is given to those with narcolepsy…and with a half life of 9-14 hours, it’s a once or twice a day dose, not every couple of hours like coffee…</p>
<p>Obviously, this long lasting effect is part of the draw to the drug, enough of a benefit to make it worth the risks. </p>
<p>Again, I’m not defending the use of the drug, just pointing out that the comparison to caffeine is not justified.</p>
<p>I have never taken it because I haven’t needed to. But by all means don’t think that other kids wouldn’t take it because its “unethical”. If it works for you than I would say take it.</p>
<p>It’s illegal…not worth the risk.</p>
<p>“It’s illegal…not worth the risk.” </p>
<p>What do you mean by risk? If you’re talking about possible side effects, then I agree. I too wouldn’t do anything detrimental to my health. But, if you’re talking about the risks of getting caught. Then I have to say, look at marijuana and it’s usage in college dorms. There are plenty of college students the have at least tried it once, let alone all the regular users. Just take a look a UC Santa Cruz. There are plenty of people there that get away with smoking weed. And that is just one of many colleges that exemplifies this. What about alcohol? Surly, its illegal to consume as student underage student. Yet look the plethora of keg parties thrown by college students all across the nation. These are considered social norms(at least in college). No one is going to call the cops just because they heard that one of the frat boys is throwing a keg party across the hall. The point is that people can get away with illegal substances very easily, whether morally correct or not.</p>
<p>Unlike marijuana or alcohol, your classmates have an incentive to turn you in for performance enhancing drugs.</p>
<p>Then they should keep it to themselves.</p>
<p>I agree there is nothing immoral about taking a stimulant, be it Adderall or coffee. However, as noted above, for a future physician the willingness to traffic in illegal drug use is a huge red flag. </p>
<p>Get caught as a college student-slap on the wrist perhaps for simple possession. Get caught as a medical student, God forbid, and I would hope one would be expelled. Ignoring drug laws for physicians is a career-ending move. We only want people who care enough about their work not to risk it all for whatever they get from the drug. </p>
<p>If the case of Adderall, if you don’t have ADHD, it is simply a stimulant. </p>
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<p>So what? Keep having another cup.</p>
<p>My libertarian rant: The government, and the current medical profession, has absolutely no right whatsoever to limit a person’s intake of any substance. What people put in their bodies is their business, not the nanny state. Some might look at this as simply a tool to protect people from their own bad decisions, but all it really amounts to is a reduction in an individual’s right to make their own informed choices. As well, some of the policies in regards to substances are simply not grounded in logic in this country. The current federal government has marijuana as a schedule I drug while alcohol and tobacco are completely legally. Obviously from this scenario alone you can tell that substance policies are not always made with sound scientific facts. </p>
<p>My medical rant: Coffee and adderall are worlds apart in what they do. Tolerance to coffee can build up relatively quickly (we are talking weeks), where adderall, if taking the same amount every day, will take years. I’d also like to know what SERIOUS COMPLICATIONS could arise while taking adderal in moderate doses daily without prescription? Sure there are contraindications with other medications, but anyone who cares enough can look those up on google in 5 minutes. More damage is probably done by those 6 or seven beers had on Friday night, than 20mg per day of adderall.</p>
<p>My anecdotal rant: At my school a 30mg Adderall XR pill will sell for roughly 5-10 bucks a pop. There is a vast underground market for it, and I’m sure at heigher tiered schools it’s even bigger and more costly. Many of my friends are pre-med and come from ‘medical families’ who will give them the Rx for low doses of the stuff to help out during the semester. Hell my friends mom, a psychiatrist, is using adderall right now to study for her boards. </p>
<p>It is not legitimate to compare Barry Bonds and his steroid use to a college student’s use of adderall. Barry Bonds is a professional who makes money COMPETING in an athletic profession. The very nature of his work necesitates a level playing field. College on the other hand, despite what many of you think, is not a competition. Students’ primary reason for attending college is to learn information and develop their cognitive abilities. Simply because some students decide to take drugs that aid in this and some don’t, does not mean anyone is being cheated out of anything. If anything, the kids who don’t take “study drugs” because they abhor everything illegal are being cheated out of the right to even make their own informed choice about drugs because the government is so restrictive.</p>
<p>Also I think you guys don’t fully understand how easy it is for students to get an adderall prescription from their doctor. Most general docs are less than thorough when it comes to properly diagnosing ADHD, and from pharmacies like Wal-Mart a 30 day supply can be had for 30 bucks or so. </p>
<p>Simply put, it’s no longer necessary to put yourself in legal or academic jeopardy at all because getting a legal prescription is almost as easy as buying it from the guy down the hall. And that is exactly what some of the more “responsible” users do at my school.</p>
<p>In curved classes, students are competing against each other in a very direct fashion. In that case, performance enhancing drugs have the externality of pressuring other students to choose between grades and potentially harming themselves physically.</p>
<p>“The very nature of his work necesitates a level playing field. College on the other hand, despite what many of you think, is not a competition. Students’ primary reason for attending college is to learn information and develop their cognitive abilities.”</p>
<p>I’ll have to agree with this. If Adderall can help with a person’s cognitive abilities, then hell why not? I’m sure that even doctors can benefit. After all, if doctors, specifically residents are usually sleep deprived. Let them take Adderall. It can’t hurt them. It will only make them work with a clearer mind and thus reduce careless errors. Also, it should be able to make better med students. That is the purpose of medschool right? For medschools, the only thing they should be concerned about is creating the best doctors. They shouldn’t let these culturally determined norms impair their decision. To do so would be to go against logic. Even if they can’t use Adderall because of political pressures, med-schools, especially doctors should acknowledge its utility, and not make up some bs moral reason for not using it. The only objective reason to not take it is because it’s illegal. As to why it is immoral is beyond me.</p>
<p>Can you cite me something specific about adderral that is damaging to your health with reasonable usage?</p>
<p>Cardiovascular: Tachycardia (up to 6% in adults), palpitation (2% to 4%)</p>
<p>Central nervous system: Emotional lability (2% to 9%), agitation (up to 8% in adults), anxiety (8%), dizziness (2% to 7%), nervousness (6%), fever (5%), somnolence (2% to 4%)</p>
<p>Dermatologic: Photosensitization (2% to 4%)</p>
<p>Endocrine & metabolic: Dysmenorrhea (2% to 4%), impotence (2% to 4%), libido decreased (2% to 4%)</p>
<p>Gastrointestinal: Nausea (2% to 8%), vomiting (2% to 7%), diarrhea (2% to 6%), constipation (2% to 4%), dyspepsia (2% to 4%), tooth disorder (2% to 4%)</p>
<p>Genitourinary: Urinary tract infection (5%)</p>
<p>Neuromuscular & skeletal: Twitching (2% to 4%), weakness (2% to 6%)</p>
<p>Respiratory: Dyspnea (2% to 4%)</p>
<p>Miscellaneous: Diaphoresis (2% to 4%), infection (2% to 4%), speech disorder (2% to 4%)</p>
<p>Uptodate 2007</p>