long term effects of ritalin and aderall

[gsg909]

Is anyone familiar with the long term effects of Ritalin or Add.erall if you take them for years? I'm talking about people who really do have ADHD and need to be on these type of medications to function in life.

I'm reading a little on Ritalin and that it causes some areas of your brain to receive less oxygen and can cause holes in your brain. It depletes calcium from your bones and teeth. Seems like it could cause more problems in the long run... Just scary stuff. I'm still looking for the long term effects of Add.erall but it seems to be the lesser of the 2 evils. I'm also reading if you are truly ADHD even after the stimulant effects wear off and you become tolerant the focusing effects will still be there, you just may need to take the medications for life since the way they effect the brain after long term daily usage.

Anyone know more on the long term effects of these 2?

[sophie30]

I was prescribed Ritalin grade school through college, with plenty of gaps where I didn't take it, its been about five years since and I've had no visible effects.

[Palchod]

I'm not sure on the sourcing for the "hole in the brain" hypothesis, but I have been unable to find anything that would back that up.
Maybe post-up a link.
Long-term side-effects of these drugs vary, and there are few long-term studies available.
What is known is that there is of course the usual post-synaptic receptor-down regulation (your body wants to stay at homeostasis) which is one cause of desensitization.
Other long-term side effects are a psychological dependence, as the Dopamine pathway that ritalin and Aderrall act upon is the exact same pathway that is activated by a variety of addictive drugs such as nicotine, cocaine, etc.

As far as mineral/vitamin deficiencies, those are most likely caused by the elevated level of urination which prevents a normal amount of reabsorption of said minerals/vitamins in the nephron of the kidneys.
Take a multi-vitamin and drink enough fluid and I wouldn't be to concerned.

A big part of long-term use of ADHD medication, is the elevated energy levels that these drugs provide. Take the drugs away, and lethargy, depression, lack of motivation, etc can become pretty commonplace. This is as much a physical thing as it is a psychological thing.

More extreme side-effects include psychosis, psychotic breaks, schizophrenia, etc. These are rare and almost only ever happen in people who were pre-disposed to mental disease in the first place.

Anyway, I have a prescription for Aderall that I use on and off, never taking it more than 2 days in a row, and always taking less than I was prescribed. This has allowed me to maintain a normal response to it (as normal as can be) and a heathy sensitivity to its effects.

Anyway, hope this helps, and good luck.

[LiveFree]

A big part of long-term use of ADHD medication, is the elevated energy levels that these drugs provide. Take the drugs away, and lethargy, depression, lack of motivation, etc can become pretty commonplace. This is as much a physical thing as it is a psychological thing.

This X10. You can experience this even taking it for a relatively short period of time, such as a few months.

There is also speculation that amphetamine could cause neurological damage (even at prescription doses), but this is only speculation and has not been proven.

[Stillgoingstrong]

Ritalin is somehow dangerous to me. It can really knock me over. After 1½ year I had to quit. Even though the good effects were there, the sideeffects were just too immense. I literally passed out in the end, enormous headaches, followed with coughing up blood. Yeah, that sounds really bad. I havent touched it in 3 years.

I've searched about identical cases on the net, but somehow I must be quite unique to have my body react in this way. Clearly telling me to lay it off.

But I've heard from others that they are happy with Ritalin and being taking it for 10-15 years. For them life cannot go on without it.

[Cgreen]

I have adderall for my ADHD, and have been on it for years. I'm not sure if there any holes in my brain, haha, but I still can definitely tell the difference if I'm missed a dosage in my concentration levels. So can my spouse who has said "whoa, did you take your adderall today"? But after years you definitely don't feel different when you take it, but your brain goes nuts when you don't.

[Palchod]

I have adderall for my ADHD, and have been on it for years. I'm not sure if there any holes in my brain, haha, but I still can definitely tell the difference if I'm missed a dosage in my concentration levels. So can my spouse who has said "whoa, did you take your adderall today"? But after years you definitely don't feel different when you take it, but your brain goes nuts when you don't.

Yeah, I can concur.
After I take it for a week straight (for exams or some other arduous academic exercise), and then come off of it, I find myself low-energy, with the focus of an 8 week old puppy.
Makes sense, as the brain is most likely dependent on the drug to achieve even a normal level of NT release.
Along with habituation, comes a biochemical dependence.
I usually find a couple days of extra rest and good food set me right.

Haven't been on it fro years straight, so can't comment on how that feels exactly.

Anybody else have similar experiences?

[pestolover]

There are a lot of studies on the long term effects of ritalin.

An easy way to find them is to go to google scholar and type in a simple query such as "ritalin long term." Even though these results are from peer-reviewed, scientific journals, they are not hard to interpret.

There are also plenty of popular sources that summarize these studies. Also, methodology is super important. A lot of those "hole in the brain" type studies are done on rats, or have small sample sizes, or things like that.

A new article in Neuroscience News says our brains adapt to long-term ADHD medication use.

[davyjones]

Ive taken ritalin from 5th grade till highschool then was switch to Adderall, now currently 27, and have not experienced any negative health affects. Other then the mentioned couple days of extreme lethargy and zero attention span if your coming off of it. Also the occasional jaw ache from clinching your teeth and maybe a tension headache, tight muscles.

[catfish]

The entire 'holes in the brain' scare story now seems to be applied to a completely different class of drugs than the original research looked into. Doh.

Bit of history - the 'holes in the brain' refer to Olney's lesions - a case study in rat brains exposed to VERY high levels of dissociatives (ketamine, PCP, dextromethorphan etc.). IIRC, the 'holes' were the result of the death of primarily dopaminergic neurons, which were 'burnt out' by the increased activity caused by the drugs.

So usually the old 'holes in the brain' scare is brought out to dissuade kids from abusing DXM (found in cough syrups), and also to dissuade anyone from recreational use of ketamine or PCP.

But Olney's rats received dosages that would be borderline impossible to achieve in humans, or at the very least *difficult* and obviously dangerous. AFAIK, Olney's lesions haven't been seen in human brain autopsies. I'm no doctor though, so do your own due diligence.

As to the possibility of *methylphenidate* causing Olney's lesions? Well the dosage level used in the rat model to cause such damage to dopaminergic neurons would require a lethal dose of methylphenidate - MPH does have dopaminergic activity (like cocaine) but is more of a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, giving it stimulant properties (whereas most phenethylamine stimulants release rather than inhibit reuptake).

Even heavy methylphenidate use is primarily performance-enhancing... and reuptake inhibitors should be less damaging than release agents, but that's just my intuition and not any neurochemistry education speaking.

Given the number of kids on long-term Ritalin in the USA, plenty of longitudinal studies have been done, as referenced above. I'd say that even non-prescribed use of methylphenidate (i.e. self-medication for mental performance enhancement in non-ADD subjects) would be safe, just make sure your diet contains plenty of the necessary neurotransmitter precursors (relevant amino acids and pro-drugs).

If you're that worried about over-stimulation causing brain damage, use a nootropic protectant like one of the racetams (piracetam being the model, but newer high-potency variants are available).

I'd also be careful directly comparing Adderall to Ritalin, and indeed any amphetamine-based drug to Ritalin. Adderall is a mixture of amphetamines, whereas in blunt terms, Ritalin is more akin to cocaine in its pharmacological properties. You may be able to relate the harmful effects of heavy overuse of Adderall as similar to other types of amphetamine abuse (methamphetamine users, for example... indeed the end-of-the-line ADD drug is pure methamphetamine - Desoxyn).

Ritalin is different and discourages binges with a 'ceiling effect'. However any heavy use of stimulants can cause bruxism (as noted above) and the development of tolerance, along with psychological dependence if misused (e.g. insufflation of crushed pills). Lethargy on discontinuation is a given - more of a danger is the potential of rebound depression for those predisposed to it.

Highest risk profile is probably the case of patients suffering from depression who self-medicate with Ritalin. It works, and is a miracle cure for a certain type of depressives - the only problem being its anorectic effects, because the increased performance needs fuel! However, this case nearly always results in addiction, because the prospect of returning to even *lower* mood and lethargy, and especially demotivation, is extremely undesirable to depressive high-function types when the drug brings back motivation and energy to *use* the natural brainpower...

[loveoften]

I have been on adder all for years and try to take a "drug holiday" on the weekends. I find this makes the meds more effective. I am definitely tired over the weekend but I try to make them low stress and without taxing my brain.
K.

[slick76]

I can attest to the low energy, no motivation, I just wanna sleep and be left alone feelings when off stims. I take 70mg Vyvanse and try to take weekends off. I'm depressed as it is but taking the Vyvanse away makes everything worse. I feel totally worthless, emotional etc. but I really think that my body needs a break and I shouldn't become so dependent on any medication. Yes, it's prescribed for my ADHD but still...it's not natural to feed your body speed every day.

[Dr-Feel-Good]

For every up, there is a down. I have been taking ADHD medication (Adderall XR 20mg 2X-Day) for about four years now. I can attest to the lethargy reported by other users upon sudden cessation of the medication, aka after an exam. The main route this medication uses is the dopamine pathways (the reward pathways), thus you feel good while using the medication and can trick yourself into believing biochemistry is an exciting area of study lol... I have asked my neurologist about the long term effects of Adderall, and he shared with me that he has had patients on the medication for 30+ years with no side effects seen by him. I do not know if I believe him... It is common knowledge that receptors in the brain can "burn out" due to long term stimulation from exodogenous substances. I just hope that I’m not putting my dopamine receptors in danger by taking this medication. It has been proven though that long term users of Adderall have marked increases in the size of the brain responsible for concentration. Until more scientific research comes out we are stuck with each other’s stories of how the medication has affected our lives. One last note, I have noticed my fluid intelligence has decreased over the years, not sure if it is due to the medication or the aging process.

[drumm3r27]

Is anyone familiar with the long term effects of Ritalin or Add.erall if you take them for years? I'm talking about people who really do have ADHD and need to be on these type of medications to function in life.

I'm reading a little on Ritalin and that it causes some areas of your brain to receive less oxygen and can cause holes in your brain. It depletes calcium from your bones and teeth. Seems like it could cause more problems in the long run... Just scary stuff. I'm still looking for the long term effects of Add.erall but it seems to be the lesser of the 2 evils. I'm also reading if you are truly ADHD even after the stimulant effects wear off and you become tolerant the focusing effects will still be there, you just may need to take the medications for life since the way they effect the brain after long term daily usage.

Anyone know more on the long term effects of these 2?

While these drugs affect the brain, one should also take note of cardiovascular problems. They can lead to heart trouble for example. Also, I believe methylphenidate is considered to be safer when compared to amphetamines due to it inhibiting the reuptake process of neurotransmitters rather just causing them to release.

These drugs will reduce levels of neurotransmitters in your brain and this can contribute to lethargy and lack of mental clarity if one stops taking the drug. It will take time for the levels to balance out depending on how long one has taken the drug. Certain supplements can help reduce some of the negative effects and help combat tolerance.

[lttlmrmade]

I have been on Ritalin for years. I don't have any health issues related to the Ritalin and I'm pushing 40. I do grind my teeth to the point where I now have to sleep with a nightguard (which helps immensely). Headaches can be from too much computer, reading, etc. I have not been on Adderall!

[kcfunguy50]

I'm taking Wellbutrin for adult ADD. It definitely gives me more energy, but there is one long term consequence I am currently dealing with: clenching/grinding teeth. I have worn some enamel away and now much use an EXPENSIVE mouth guard thing when I sleep at night. So realize some long term affects are not just mental, but physical as well.

[punkadore]

I started on Ritalin about 5 years old then Adderall as a teen now in my 30's Focalin RX and I do not have any issues health wise. But then again google Cat Marnell she writes an article for Vice now use to be a beauty editor but she writes on Adderall use and her past with it. I take it for A.D.D. not for fun but some times I do admit to binging and staying up a night on it every so many months.

[andyli]

Anyone who has taken stimulants should know the negative side effects caused when abusing the drug. When taken like how it is prescribed, it shouldn't cause any holes in the brain or any serious negative side effects, unless your one of the few who don't respond well to rits or addies. But just like all drugs, if you take it long enough, you will develop some negative side effects, especially when you decide not to take it any more.

[speff104]

I took adderall for about 5 years, it started out innocent to treat adhd, but it quickly escalated into abuse. At one point I was taking about 100 mg a day, eating not much more than 150 calories and day and barely sleeping more than an hour each night because I couldn't stop the urge to get up and 'do' something. My body would literally shake from the drugs, hunger and lack of sleep, but I'd continue to push myself until my vision got spotty and i had to lay down. I spent about a year in this messed up addicted state. Its been 3 years since then, and my body will never be the same - I have neck and back pain from constantly working, my eyesight is shot from staring at computer screens and not blinking, my teeth are ground to stumps from grinding my teeth and my jaw clicks when i open it now from constantly clenching it. AVOID ADDERALL

[Binky]

Hello @speff104.I am so sorry for you that you have experienced such a tough time with the adderall.I was on it for a short time but I didn't like the side effects.My psychiatrist switched me over to Dexedrine & it's been very helpful to me with none of the side effects that I experienced with the Ritalin & Adderall.Perhaps your doctor would let you try something else?I hope that you feel better real soon.Hang in there.