That's an unfair and incredibly dangerous description of ADHD medications.
First off there are multiple types of ADHD drugs. I presume you are referring to stimulant drugs which are the most commonly prescribed for ADHD, but there are many non-stimulant drugs available for ADHD particular in the USA.
Second stimulants are only party drugs if you abuse them. At prescribed doses they're very safe long term, so long as you've no heart issues. You often get a mild euphoria when you first start or increase a dose but it stops after a few days of use. The same applies to a lot of medications, they can get you high when abused but that's no reason not to use them at the prescribed doses.
Third there's plenty of evidence to suggest that the end effect of stimulants is different for many with ADHD and that they're less likely to abuse them due to this. The drugs do the same thing to everyone but due to lower levels of dopamine and/or higher sensitivity to dopamine many people with ADHD don't get high the same way if they abuse their meds.
Fourth there are lots of long last slow release meds which are difficult to abuse. Vyvanse in particular is almost impossible to abuse as it metabolizes into amphetamines after you take it and there's no way to speed up the reaction enough to abuse it.
Fifth to get diagnosed with ADHD your symptoms have to be having a severe negative effect on you life in multiple areas. I can't find the stats atm but life expectancy for undiagnosed and untreated ADHD sufferers is significantly lower than average mostly due to risky behaviour, mental health and bad consumption habits (food and self medicating with other far more dangerous substances). So the risk of any stimulant medication (which is extremely low for most people) has to be weighed against the risks of being untreated.
That's not to say there aren't any potential issues with ADHD meds. Everyone reacts differently so you should be careful and only take them under the supervision of a trained Psychologist. They're also not sufficient on their own. But they're well studied, extremely safe when used correctly and statistically the most effective individual treatment by far for a very serious condition. So please don't post misleading things like this and put people off of seeking potentially life changing treatment.
> You often get a mild euphoria when you first start or increase a dose but it stops after a few days of use.
Anecdotally, green tea or just L-theanine extracted from it helps. Even mild euphoria is unwelcome as it can reposition dopamine (and possibly serotonin) baseline and lower effects from following doses.
> plenty of evidence to suggest that the end effect of stimulants is different for many with ADHD and that they're less likely to abuse them due to this.
Unmedicated ADHD person is even more likely to seek dopamine hits and get addicted. We are commenting a post titled "I'm an addict" which seems to be written by someone undiagnosed (I'm not a specialist).
First off there are multiple types of ADHD drugs. I presume you are referring to stimulant drugs which are the most commonly prescribed for ADHD, but there are many non-stimulant drugs available for ADHD particular in the USA.
Second stimulants are only party drugs if you abuse them. At prescribed doses they're very safe long term, so long as you've no heart issues. You often get a mild euphoria when you first start or increase a dose but it stops after a few days of use. The same applies to a lot of medications, they can get you high when abused but that's no reason not to use them at the prescribed doses.
Third there's plenty of evidence to suggest that the end effect of stimulants is different for many with ADHD and that they're less likely to abuse them due to this. The drugs do the same thing to everyone but due to lower levels of dopamine and/or higher sensitivity to dopamine many people with ADHD don't get high the same way if they abuse their meds.
Fourth there are lots of long last slow release meds which are difficult to abuse. Vyvanse in particular is almost impossible to abuse as it metabolizes into amphetamines after you take it and there's no way to speed up the reaction enough to abuse it.
Fifth to get diagnosed with ADHD your symptoms have to be having a severe negative effect on you life in multiple areas. I can't find the stats atm but life expectancy for undiagnosed and untreated ADHD sufferers is significantly lower than average mostly due to risky behaviour, mental health and bad consumption habits (food and self medicating with other far more dangerous substances). So the risk of any stimulant medication (which is extremely low for most people) has to be weighed against the risks of being untreated.
That's not to say there aren't any potential issues with ADHD meds. Everyone reacts differently so you should be careful and only take them under the supervision of a trained Psychologist. They're also not sufficient on their own. But they're well studied, extremely safe when used correctly and statistically the most effective individual treatment by far for a very serious condition. So please don't post misleading things like this and put people off of seeking potentially life changing treatment.