<p>EK, re energy drinks – only the delivery system is new. Thirty five years ago, my boyfriend always popped No-Doz to prep for finals.</p>
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<p>That’s what I was asking since the article seemed to be based this. Mark McGwire can enhance his size and performance with steroids, but if I took them, I don’t think I could hit a baseball out of the park (any park ;)). I assumed that it makes it somewhat easier to focus and concentrate, but you’d still have to be capable of doing the math and knowing your vocabulary for the SATs. In other words, you couldn’t just snort some Adderal instead of taking a prep course, could you? And how about for just an hour long test, would the drugs really make much difference?</p>
<p>Makes me wonder what percentage of students taking the MCATs and LSATs are on these drugs. Scary stuff!!</p>
<p>Yes I have heard of caffeine pills.
Now we have caffeine water, caffeine mints, caffeine energy bars…
No-doz was targeted to truckers and others with long hours, energy drinks are marketed to kids.
[Teen</a> girl dies of ‘caffeine toxicity’ after downing 2 energy drinks - TODAY Health](<a href=“http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/21/10780958-teen-girl-dies-of-caffeine-toxicity-after-downing-2-energy-drinks?lite]Teen”>http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/21/10780958-teen-girl-dies-of-caffeine-toxicity-after-downing-2-energy-drinks?lite)</p>
<p>I’m wondering if this might be regional. </p>
<p>I asked my kids about this sort of drug use in their schools. One just graduated from a highly selective HS where a certain portion of the population feels a great deal of performance pressure. The other one is at a suburban, highly tracked, very diverse public high school with a reputation for a certain propensity among the kids for illegal drug use, and whose high achievers, while a smallish group, are very, very high achieving.</p>
<p>Now, admittedly, I have very straight-laced, naive children (though the one in our local suburban school is a LOT more observant). But neither had seen this sort of drug use going on among her peers, and neither had been given the option to participate. The older is certainly very active in her caffeine usage (in the form of tea and coffee, not energy drinks).</p>
<p>Neither school have a large population of over the top wealthy kids (though both schools have a wide range of family incomes, including kids at both the bottom and the top – both schools have a wider than normal range of family incomes than the vast majority of high schools). So I’m wondering if this is a phenomenon of very wealthy communities. I have no illusions about the morality of the kids. I’m just thinking that the drugs aren’t as widely available and too expensive for this to be an issue in either community.</p>
<p>EK, you’re absolutely right about the marketing.</p>
<p>I don’t see how this is a wealth thing. If you have Medicaid or insurance through your parent(s), you can go see a psychiatrist, say you have ADHD, and have your insurance pay for the stimulants. Not every psychiatrist will readily prescribe you stimulants, but there are doctors out there who take out the prescription pad the moment you walk in.</p>
<p>I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Modafinil. It doesn’t quite pep you up like other stimulants, but it will keep you awake.</p>
<p>There was an article recently in the New Yorker that addressed the off-label use of stimulants among adults, most of whom are high achievers. [The</a> underground world of neuroenhancing drugs](<a href=“http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/27/090427fa_fact_talbot]The”>http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/27/090427fa_fact_talbot)</p>
<p>My daughter’s roommate used Adderall a lot. Her brother had a 'script for it and somehow, she came to school with a big bottle of it. She would pop one and work all night long, sometimes going two or three days with almost no sleep, then she would crash and not get out of bed for a couple of days. </p>
<p>Her grades were really good, always getting slightly higher than my daughter got, without drugs, but putting in lots and lots of time and effort.</p>
<p>The energy drinks seem to be a concoction of caffeine, B vitamins and herbs. Glad they dont try to call them health food!!!</p>
<p>I have no idea why anyone is surprised. These drugs have been around and prevalent for almost two decades and parents, many of them, don’t think twice about allowing kids to take them. Kids model parents and if you have a kid who doesn’t need them but all three of best friends take them and no one is telling them they are amphetamines and a class two drug what kid would they think it’s ‘dangerous’ to take them at college during exams or midterms. It naive to think these pills are “difficult” to get. They are widely available and not expensive. Ask your kids.</p>
<p>I didn’t realize a thread had already been strated it was also posted on a psychiatrists forum.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1351277-risky-rise-good-grade-pill.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1351277-risky-rise-good-grade-pill.html</a></p>
<p>I am not in favor of the change in age of “onset” criteria, and think it is important to document impairment in two settings, preferably before age eight, or at least before middle school. I know not everyone will agree.</p>
<p>S1 said Adderall was more prevalent than weed on his campus. D does have ADHD and significant short term memory issues. It has been a nightmare to get prescriptions filled since last Sept. since manufacturers aren’t meeting demand. That’s a huge unintended consequence of so many HS and college kids abusing it.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t blame it all on underage kids. In my experience, it is much more prevalent among adults. I never even heard of stimulants until a few years into college.</p>
<p>Just want to address the comments on using stimulants for depression and also the use of stimulants by those with mood disorders.</p>
<p>I do know of a neurologist who occasionally uses a stimulant for depression (sometimes with an SSRI). He also uses T3 (thyroid supplementation) and hormones (progesterone cream).</p>
<p>However, what I hear is that using a drug like Adderall often results in a crash, meaning depression and fatigue, the next day(s).</p>
<p>For those with bipolar disorder, stimulants can be a disaster. They can trigger mania and the after-effect can be horrible depression. In either case, the mood effect does not stop when the drug’s action stops but can continue for awhile.</p>
<p>Making this even more of a problem is that 95% of people with bipolar 1 also have ADHD.</p>
<p>^That is a much higher number than I am familiar with.</p>
<p>I’ve read this;
"Not withstanding this ambiguity and the lack of large epidemiological studies, there is general agreement regarding the co-occurrence of BPD and ADHD.47 In a recent review, Singh and colleagues48 found a bidirectional relationship between the 2: ADHD occurred in up to 85% of children with BPD, and BPD occurred in up to 22% of children with ADHD. The authors further explored 4 hypotheses:
• BPD symptoms lead to overdiagnosis of ADHD in youth.
• ADHD is a prodromal or early manifestation of childhood BPD.
• ADHD is treated with psychostimulants that trigger the onset of childhood BPD.
• ADHD and BPD share an underlying biological mechanism (ie, common familial, genetic, or neurophysiological).
Despite limitations, current literature best supports the second hypothesis—that ADHD may be a marker of the development of early-onset BPD…</p>
<p>But I’m pretty sure those kids aren’t BAD 1, and would suspect most don’t become adults with BAD 1. </p>
<p>Ok, sorry about going off topic.</p>
<p>My son found someone had broken into his dorm room. Computer was still there (had a security cable), bottles of alcohol still there (he was over 21 and it was allowed), but someone came in to steal his meds. Whoever did this must have made a lot of money.</p>
<p>^^^Yes, S2 said adderal was a big seller at his college. Two years his roommate gave him some during finals week when S2 had three exams in one day. S2 said it was amazing how well it worked. S2 said his roommate got the prescrip. easily…just told his MD that he was having a hard time concentrating at college.</p>
<p>Shrinkwrap I got the 95% from MGH’s pediatric bp clinic, which, as you probably know, is controversial for its diagnosis rate. However, I think the statistic was for all forms of bp and I made a mistake in specifying bp1. Is BAD1 another term for bp1?</p>
<p>I would bet that the blurred lines between ADHD and bp will result in different statistics in different studies, but 85% is high enough to make the point.</p>
<p>I would think there is validity to all 4 explanations.</p>
<p>Originally, I just wanted to make the point that adderall is a risky way to address depression, because someone mentioned that earlier on. Will now get off the tangent…</p>
<p>I’m totally unfamiliar with adrenal. Can someone explain to me how this helps with finals?</p>
<p>D1 has ADHD & the regulations make it harder to get that Rx filled than any other. It’s a black box drug. We can only get a 30 day supply, I have to physically get the Rx from the Dr. (no faxing, callling in or electronic transmittal) and take it to the pharmacy. If my pharmacy is out, they can call to see if one of their other locations has it, but then I have to drive over there to give them the physical Rx.</p>