I have taken Adderall now for about a year, and while I have reduced appetite it is not all that bad, I still eat the necessary amount of food, in reality it has been helping me lose weight healthily since I stopped eating while bored ... since I am bored less and can focus on the task at hand. I take 10 mg twice daily.
I can go on and off Adderall with minor issues. The only issue when I go off Adderall for a day or two (they call them holidays, doctor recommended) is that I lose the effects it gives me (ability to focus) and it makes me feel slightly depressed (it helps regulate dopamine). Besides that no ill-effects, and I am aware after going off the Adderall that I will feel slightly depressed.
I've also gone entire weeks to a month without, when I am not required to focus then I can choose not to take it.
Although I do understand where the addictiveness comes in, that feeling of slight depression after going off it can be enough for most people to want to continue taking more, but I don't have an addictive personality (I've been able to start/quit smoking/drinking/soda (sugar/caffeine)/gambling/gaming (WoW) without issues). There are definitely people I know that do have addictive personalities that wouldn't be able to stop themselves.
Without it I simply wouldn't be able to function as well as I do now and I am pretty sure that I would have lost my job. It has given me a way out of the brain fog, a clarity of mind. I feel free from my mind at the end of the day and no longer have trouble falling asleep. I sleep better, much better. I worry less, and am able to prioritize and put less important things to the back of my head to process or deal with another time. With my ADHD that would always be problematic, I wouldn't be able to pay attention in meetings or conversations because I'd be working on two or three other things. I'm more aware when I am not paying attention or elsewhere and am able to voice it, something my friends/colleagues appreciate since it means they don't have to repeat the same thing over and over to me =).
Yes, Adderall gives me an energy boost as well, but it is actually less of an energy boost than from all the coffee and soda I used to drink while I was in college.
I am not saying Adderall is the end all be all drug, I wouldn't even recommend it for most people, I won't sell or give away the drugs I have, not only for the penalties it carries, but also because I know how drugs can be addictive and how those can destroy a person. If I could function properly in society without it, I would drop it in a heartbeat.
The extended release (XR) formula would help me for the first half of the day, but after about noon all effects would have worn off. Asked my doctor to change from 20 mg XR to 10 mg twice daily.
And no, it is not a whole lot, and I am trying to keep it that way. As mentioned before, if I could do without it, I would.
Why do you presume to know what is/isn't good for me, my ADHD, and my employer with only that what I have written above.
Adderall occasionally wouldn't help me complete the tasks I have to complete. I take it as the doctor has prescribed it to me. I make sure to take breaks from it (and I schedule those with work, so they know that during that week/two weeks I am going to be distracted, have trouble concentrating and it is best to let me be and bite into a hard problem and figure it all out). I have been taking the same dose for a year now, I know its effects, I know how it affects me.
I don't use Adderall as a pick-me-up, or to cram for an exam, I use it as a daily medicine because it helps me do my work. Please don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do, or that my job is not for me. I love the work I do, I enjoy working with the people I work with and learn more than I could have ever imagined. Adderall helps me through the non-exciting parts, it helps me keep focused in design meetings, it helps me keep focused on finishing the last part of the project where there is no challenge left, it helps me be able to think clearly and reason without being distracted by other projects and things I enjoy.
The only reason I think that without Adderall I would have lost my job is that it allowed me to do all those other tasks that were not interesting that still need doing. A worker that can do the hard tasks but leaves projects unfinished is useless. When a worker can't even stay focused long enough on work to be a participant in a meeting regarding new features/design that is a problem, especially when writing new software. I can learn new technologies and pick things up almost instantly, I can see my code, see how things fit together, but once the hard part is done and the rest is just rote coding, my mind goes onto new and better things. Adderall lets me focus on writing good API documentation, it lets me focus on designing the last 10% of a library to be excellent.
I don't know how to explain it to you. You have your notions of Adderall and how it should be used, and I doubt a comment from a fairly faceless person will persuade you one way or another. What I do know is that Adderall has helped me tremendously, and has helped me accomplish things I didn't think I was capable of before.
I can go on and off Adderall with minor issues. The only issue when I go off Adderall for a day or two (they call them holidays, doctor recommended) is that I lose the effects it gives me (ability to focus) and it makes me feel slightly depressed (it helps regulate dopamine). Besides that no ill-effects, and I am aware after going off the Adderall that I will feel slightly depressed.
I've also gone entire weeks to a month without, when I am not required to focus then I can choose not to take it.
Although I do understand where the addictiveness comes in, that feeling of slight depression after going off it can be enough for most people to want to continue taking more, but I don't have an addictive personality (I've been able to start/quit smoking/drinking/soda (sugar/caffeine)/gambling/gaming (WoW) without issues). There are definitely people I know that do have addictive personalities that wouldn't be able to stop themselves.
Without it I simply wouldn't be able to function as well as I do now and I am pretty sure that I would have lost my job. It has given me a way out of the brain fog, a clarity of mind. I feel free from my mind at the end of the day and no longer have trouble falling asleep. I sleep better, much better. I worry less, and am able to prioritize and put less important things to the back of my head to process or deal with another time. With my ADHD that would always be problematic, I wouldn't be able to pay attention in meetings or conversations because I'd be working on two or three other things. I'm more aware when I am not paying attention or elsewhere and am able to voice it, something my friends/colleagues appreciate since it means they don't have to repeat the same thing over and over to me =).
Yes, Adderall gives me an energy boost as well, but it is actually less of an energy boost than from all the coffee and soda I used to drink while I was in college.
I am not saying Adderall is the end all be all drug, I wouldn't even recommend it for most people, I won't sell or give away the drugs I have, not only for the penalties it carries, but also because I know how drugs can be addictive and how those can destroy a person. If I could function properly in society without it, I would drop it in a heartbeat.