“High doses and long-term use of amphetamines are associated with erectile disorder and other sexual dysfunctions.”

Adderall XR Side Effects and Warnings

• Brand Names: ADDERALL and ADDERALL XR
• Generic Name: amphetamine mixed salts
• Category: RESPIRATORY AND CEREBRAL STIMULANTS

DEA Schedule II Substance

DEA Schedule II Control Substance means this drug has a “high potential for abuse” that “may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence,” and the federal government sets limits on the amount that may be manufactured each year.

FDA “Black Box” Warning

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires the following “black box” warning on all amphetamine drugs, including Adderall, which means that medical studies indicate Adderall carries a significant risk of serious, or even life-threatening, adverse effects.

WARNING

AMPHETAMINES HAVE A HIGH POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE.

ADMINISTRATION OF AMPHETAMINES FOR PROLONGED PERIODS OF TIME MAY LEAD TO DRUG DEPENDENCE AND MUST BE AVOIDED. PARTICULAR ATTENTION SHOULD BE PAID TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SUBJECTS OBTAINING AMPHETAMINES FOR NONTHERAPEUTIC USE OR DISTRIBUTION TO OTHERS, AND THE DRUGS SHOULD BE PRESCRIBED OR DISPENSED SPARINGLY.

MISUSE OF AMPHETAMINE MAY CAUSE SUDDEN DEATH AND SERIOUS CARDIOVASCULAR ADVERSE EVENTS.

Description

Adderall XR (and Adderall) is a blend of four (4) amphetamines, as shown below.

Each ADDERALL XR Tablet Contains	5 mg	7.5 mg	10 mg	15 mg	20 mg	30 mg
Amphetamine Aspartate	1.25 mg	1.875 mg	2.5 mg	3.75 mg	5.0 mg	7.5 mg
Dextroamphetamine Sulfate USP	1.25 mg	1.875 mg	2.5 mg	3.75 mg	5.0 mg	7.5 mg
Amphetamine Sulfate USP	1.25 mg	1.875 mg	2.5 mg	3.75 mg	5.0 mg	7.5 mg
Dextroamphetamine Saccharate	1.25 mg	1.875 mg	2.5 mg	3.75 mg	5.0 mg	7.5 mg
TOTAL AMPHETAMINES	3.1 mg	4.7 mg	6.3 mg	9.4 mg	12.6 mg	18.8 mg

Used For

• Attention deficit disorder
• Narcolepsy
• Depression
• Obesity

How Does Adderall Work?

Adderall (as with all amphetamines) works by initiating the acute stress response (“fight or flight” response). The central nervous system prepares the body for physical action by creating physiological changes as if it were stressed or under threat. These changes include:

• The release of adrenaline, raises cortisol levels and other stress hormones
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Redirected blood flow into the muscles and away from the brain

In small doses Adderall can banish tiredness and make the user feel alert and refreshed. However, the burst of energy comes at a price. A “speed crash” always follows the high and may leave the person feeling nauseous, irritable, depressed and extremely exhausted.

Do Not Use Adderall If

You have not tried other psychotherapy, have high blood pressure or any form of heart disease, are very nervous or have severe insomnia, have a history of addiction to drugs or alcohol, or have Tourette syndrome. Do not combine with monoamine oxidase inhibitors.

Common Side Effects of Adderall

• Dry Mouth
• Loss of appetite
• Headache
• Difficulty falling asleep (insomnia)
• Nervousness including agitation, anxiety and irritability
• Addiction

Less Common Side Effects

• High blood pressure
• Rapid pulse rate
• Tolerance (constant need to raise the dose)
• Feelings of suspicion and paranoia
• Visual hallucinations (seeing things that are not there)
• Depression
• Cocaine craving
• Dermatoses (infected or diseased skin)
• Urinary tract infection
• Infection or viral infection
• Elevated ALT enzyme levels in the blood (signaling liver damage)

Overdose Side Effects

Adderall has been extensively abused. Extreme psychological dependence and severe social disability have resulted. Abuse of Adderall may cause a sudden heart attack even in those with no signs of heart disease. Symptoms of overdose that require immediate medical assistance include:

• Restlessness
• Tremor
• Aggression
• Hallucinations
• Panic states
• Hyperreflexia (overactive reflexes, which can include twitching or spasms)
• Personality changes
• Symptoms of depression
• Seizures or abnormal EEGs
• High blood pressure
• Rapid heart beat
• Swelling of hands/feet/ankles (for example, numbing of the fingertips)
• Delusions
• Sweating
• Vomiting
• Dehydration
• Unexplained muscle pain
• Lower abdominal pain
• Rhabdomyolysis and kidney damage
• Chronic abuse can manifest itself as psychosis, often indistinguishable from schizophrenia

Adderall produces gross reductions in blood flow to the brain. Decreased blood flow to the brain plays a major role in cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer's.

Adderall-Induced Anxiety Disorder

The onset of amphetamine-induced anxiety disorder can occur during amphetamine use or withdrawal, according to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as cited in the best-selling psychiatry text, Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry.

“Amphetamine, as with cocaine, can induce symptoms similar to those seen in obsessive disorder, panic disorder, and phobic disorders,” states Synopsis of Psychiatry.

Adderall-Induced Psychosis

Induction of schizophrenic-like states in children on prescribed doses of stimulant medications, including Adderall, have been observed, though not as well documented as with amphetamine abusers, according to The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine in an article entitled, “Adderall-Induced Psychosis in an Adolescent.”

Adderall-Induced Sexual Dysfunction

The American Psychiatric Association’s Manual of Mental Disorders, Synopsis of Psychiatry states: “High doses and long-term use of amphetamines are associated with erectile disorder and other sexual dysfunctions.”

FDA: Links Between ADHD Drugs and Priapism and Sexual Dysfunction

In a 2013 drug-safety announcement, the FDA announced that drugs containing methylphenidate must including warnings about the risk of priapism. It's a serious problem. Priapism is a persistent, usually painful, erection that lasts for more than four hours and occurs without sexual stimulation. If the condition is not treated immediately, it can lead to scarring and permanent erectile dysfunction.

The safety warning also raised concerns about links between priapism and amphetamine drugs, which include Adderall.

Dependence, Tolerance and Withdrawal

It is possible to build up a tolerance to amphetamines (Adderall), which means the person using the drug needs to take larger doses to achieve the same effect. Over time, the body might come to depend on amphetamines just to function normally. The person craves the drug and their psychological dependence makes them panic if access is denied, even temporarily.

Withdrawal symptoms can include tiredness, panic attacks, crankiness, extreme hunger, depression and nightmares. Some people experience a pattern of “binge crash” characterized by using continuously for several days without sleep, followed by a period of heavy sleeping.

If It Doesn't Work

The drug should be stopped gradually. Withdrawal symptoms are psychological and stopping suddenly can cause extreme fatigue and severe, even suicidal, depression in adult patients.

Abrupt cessation of Adderall and Adderall XR can cause extreme fatigue and severe, even suicidal, depression in adult patients.

If It Does Work

“In the treatment of ADHD for children and young adults, Adderall XR is now prescribed frequently, often as a first-line drug. This is, in my opinion, a very serious mistake,” states Jack M. Gorman, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and deputy director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. “Adderall is now abused throughout college campuses, where it is bought, sold, stolen, borrowed, snorted and injected. It is a very powerful drug that undoubtedly works for ADHD, but there are alternatives with less abuse potential that should be tried first.”

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20 Sudden Deaths Linked to Adderall XR

Adderall XR, a widely used drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, was pulled off the market in Canada after regulators linked the drug to 20 sudden deaths and 12 strokes. Fourteen of the deaths and two of the 12 strokes were in children.

The adverse reactions were not associated with overdose, misuse or abuse of Adderall XR, Canadian regulators said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory to alert providers to the withdrawal. But the agency also said it had evaluated the same reports as Canadian regulators and did not think the data warranted pulling the drug from the U.S. market.

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NY Times: Children's A.D.D. Drugs Don't Work Long-Term

The NY Times, in an op-ed article by L. Alan Sroufe, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development, stated the following:

“Attention-deficit drugs increase concentration in the short term, which is why they work so well for college students cramming for exams. But when given to children over long periods of time, they neither improve school achievement nor reduce behavior problems. The drugs can also have serious side effects... Many parents who take their children off the drugs find that behavior worsens, which most likely confirms their belief that the drugs work. But the behavior worsens because the children's bodies have become adapted to the drug. Adults may have similar reactions if they suddenly cut back on coffee, or stop smoking.”

Parents might want to consider another approach.

What are the differences between the various Amphetamines?

BRAND	GENERIC
Adderall	amphetamine plus dextroamphetamine [instant release]
Adderall XR	amphetamine plus dextroamphetamine [extended release]
Benzedrine	amphetamine [instant release]
Biphetamine	amphetamine plus dextroamphetamine
Desoxyn	methamphetamine [instant release]
Dexedrine	dextroamphetamine [instant release]
Dexedrine SR	dextroamphetamine [extended release]
Dexedrine Spansule	dextroamphetamine [extended release]
Dextrostat	dextroamphetamine [instant release]
ProCentra	dextroamphetamine [immediate release, bubblegum flavor]
Vyvanse	dextroamphetamine with lysine (lisdexamfetamine) [extended release]
ALTERNATE NAMES: amphetamine = amfetamine = dl-amphetamine dextroamphetamine = dexamfetamine = dexamphetamine = d-amphetamine methamphetamine = d-methamphetamine

“The effects of amphetamines and methamphetamine are similar to cocaine, but their onset is slower and their duration is longer.”

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Do psycho-stimulants impair creativity?

Stimulant drugs may have subtle impacts on cognitive and intellectual processes. Both parents and researchers have noticed that children taking Ritalin sometimes answer questions in ways that seem overly compliant or narrow, suggesting the drug might restrict creative thinking. One study found hyperactive children taking Ritalin offered less varied answers to open-ended questions.

How much do the “neuro-enhancing” drugs really help? And there's the question of what we mean by “smarter.”

The psycho-stimulants help students bear down on their work, but with odd effects. One college student says he spends “too much time researching a paper rather than actually writing it.” Another student looked back at papers he'd written while on Adderall and found them verbose: “I'd produce two pages on something that could be said in a couple of sentences.”

Could enhancing one kind of thinking exact a toll on others?

All these questions need proper scientific answers, but for now much of the discussion is taking place furtively, among an increasing number of Americans who are performing daily experiments on their own brains (or their children's brains).

“Amphetamine, as with cocaine, can induce symptoms similar to those seen in obsessive disorder, panic disorder, and phobic disorders.”

Amphetamines, Neurotoxicity and Brain Decay

A clinical study funded by the National Institutes of Health found amphetamines damage brain cells needed for cognitive speed and function.

Academic Doping: Adderall Advantage or Dangerous Delusion?

Like athletes who use steroids, students who use Adderall to enhance academic performance are in many ways victims.

Vyvanse is an Amphetamine

Although Vyvanse is referred to as “pro-drug” of dextroamphetamine, it's still an amphetamine, meaning that it's easily abused and can cause insomnia, agitation, anxiety and sometimes psychotic symptoms like seeing things or becoming paranoid.

How Safe is Ritalin?

Many think methylphenidate (Ritalin) is safe, or mild, because so many children use it. However, the government classifies the psychoactive drug with cocaine and morphine because it's highly addictive.

Strattera Side Effects

Most people may not know that Strattera (atomoxetine) appears to cause unsatisfactory sexual function (decreased libido, ejaculatory problems and impotence).