Drug information Comprehensive adderall information

There really is no thread that outlines basic Adderall questions, so I figured I'd start one. A lot of the questions on general Adderall information that get asked on this forum can probably be answered if we put together a good FAQ. I realize there is another thread but the information is limited and very scattered around, so my goal is to organize what we have, add what we don't, and keep it updated. Any contributions are definitely welcome, and credit will be given where credit is due. Also, feel free to leave suggestions for more sections, more information, and grammar corrections as I update this as much as I can.

Disclaimer: The following guide will be under constant revision. The information is not guaranteed to be accurate and I take no responsibility for whatever you decide to do with this information. I am neither encouraging or discouraging the use of Adderall in any form. I am merely providing the best information I can in order to allow people to make educated decisions.

Note: I received a suggestion to include sources. For the most part, I found my information on Wikipedia (article on Adderall, using the links inside for more info). I also used Erowid a bit and used Google to fill in the gaps (mainly with rxlist.com and drugs.com). As for oral administration information, I used that from my own personal experience since I legally possess a prescription. If you guys want more specific citations just let me know.

General Information


Adderall is a pharmaceutical stimulant amphetamine used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. It is also sometimes used in the treatment of severe depression. Adderall was first introduced in 1996 by Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, a British pharmaceutical manufacturer. Originally only available as an instant release tablet, Adderall is also now available in an extended release formulation (Adderall XR). Adderall instant release tablets are available in a generic version, "mixed amphetamine salts." Shire will retain its patent on Adderall XR until 2007. Until the patent expires the extended formulation will only be available from Shire.

Adderall and Adderall XR are both available in doses of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mg. Adderall is classified as a Schedule II drug in the United States which means posession and use of it is illegal without a prescription.

A psychiatrist has told me that Shire is currently developing an even longer variation of their extended release formulation. This new formulation will include three types of beads in order to deliver three doses throughout the day instead of two. This is because many psychiatrists and patients feel that a single XR pill isn't enough to keep someone treated for an entire day, just for 8 hours in either school or working, requiring an instant release dose in the early evening to treat their ADHD in the evening. If anyone has more information on this please let me know.


Chemistry


The active ingredients of Adderall are dextroamphetamine and dl-amphetamine (levoamphetamine) in equal amounts. These amphetamine salts are in a racemic mixture of equal amounts of left- and right-handed [SIZE=-1]isomers. Because of this, there are four different amphetamine salts in total, all in equal proportions. These amphetamine salts are;

• Dextroamphetamine Saccharate
• Dextroamphetamine Sulfate
• dl-amphetamine Aspartate
• dl-amphetamine Sulfate

Shire claims that this provides a smoother climb and decline in effects when compared to a single salt due to the fact that the different salts are metabolised at different rates. The average elimination half-life for dextroamphetamine is 10 hours in adults, while the average time is 13 hours for levoamphetamine. However "there is little evidence to support this claim for immediate-release. A recent patent application for Adderall (USP #6,384,020) was a pharmaceutical composition patent listing a rapid immediate release oral dosage form. No claim of increased or smooth drug delivery was made. A recent double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, conducted among children, indicated that patients behaved similarly to other immediate release amphetamines. The authors found that sustained-release dexamphetamine (the main isomeric-amphetamine component of Adderall) had a longer duration of action, and cost less than Adderall, though dexamphetamine was less effective in the first few hours." (Wikipedia) Despite this, both claims lack enough evidence to say with certainty if the mixture provides smoother onset and decline of effects.

The ingredients and proportions of Adderall XR are the same as instant release Adderall. However the dose is delivered via the Microtrol delivery system in order to provide for an extended release action. This system consists of a capsule full of beads, each of which contain a share of the medication. Half of the beads are designed to dissolve immediately, while the other half is released four hours later. Through this mechanism, maximum plasma concentration is achieved in seven hours. In comparison, immediate release Adderall achieves maximum plasma concentration by three hours.


Effects


Adderall's effects are similar to other central nervous stimulants. While Adderall's exact mechanism is unknown, it is is believed that it works by blocking the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine and increasing their release from the presynaptic neuron into the extraneuronal space. The increased amount of dopamine and norepinephrine in the extraneuronal space causes the brain to experience a more intense level of concentration. This simply means that these neurotransmitters are both being released and not being reabsorbed, creating an abundance of them and causing an increased ability to focus for extended periods of time, and a heightened interest in performing focus based tasks.

Common side effects include;

• Increased energy
• Insomnia
• Increased alertness
• Increased motivation
• Positive mood/euphoria
• Dry mouth/lips
• Increased heart rate
• Decreased appetite (loss of weight)
• Change in libido

Other, less common, side effects include;

• Increased urination
• Urinary retention
• Pupil dilation
• Upset stomach
• Anxiety/Nervousness
• Bruxism (teeth grinding)
• Fever
• Rapid heart beat
• Heart palpitations
• Vertigo
• Headache
• Tics (repetitive, involuntary movement such as scratching neck)
• Hives
• Blunted affect (lack of emotional reactivity)
• Growth impairment in children

Rare side effects include;

• Amphetamine psychosis (usually in the event of an overdose)
• Psychotic episodes (rare, but at recommended doses)
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Sudden death
• Stroke

Drug Interactions


Amphetamines, Adderall included, have a number of interactions you should be aware of. They are;

• Acidifying agents - Gastrointestinal acidifying agents (guanethidine, reserpine, glutamic acid HCl, ascorbic acid, fruit juices, etc.) lower absorption of amphetamines.
• Urinary acidifying agents - (ammonium chloride, sodium acid phosphate, etc.) Increase the concentration of the ionized species of the amphetamine molecule, thereby increasing urinary excretion. Both groups of agents lower blood levels and efficacy of amphetamines.
• Adrenergic blocker - Adrenergic blockers are inhibited by amphetamines.
• Alkalinizing agents - Gastrointestinal alkalinizing agents (sodium bicarbonate, etc.) increase absorption of amphetamines. Urinary alkalinizing agents (acetazolamide, some thiazides) increase the concentration of the non-ionized species of the amphetamine molecule, thereby decreasing urinary excretion. Both groups of agents increase blood levels and therefore potentiate the actions of amphetamines.
• Antidepressants, tricyclic - Amphetamines may enhance the activity of tricyclic or sympathomimetic agents; d-amphetamine with desipramine or protriptyline and possibly other tricyclics cause striking and sustained increases in the concentration of d-amphetamine in the brain; cardiovascular effects can be potentiated.
• MAO inhibitors - MAOI antidepressants, as well as a metabolite of furazolidone, slow amphetamine metabolism. This slowing potentiates amphetamines, increasing their effect on the release of norepinephrine and other monoamines from adrenergic nerve endings; this can cause headaches and other signs of hypertensive crisis. A variety of neurological toxic effects and malignant hyperpyrexia can occur, sometimes with fatal results.
• Antihistamines - Amphetamines may counteract the sedative effect of antihistamines.
• Antihypertensives - Amphetamines may antagonize the hypotensive effects of antihypertensives.
• Chlorpromazine - Chlorpromazine blocks dopamine and norepinephrine receptors, thus inhibiting the central stimulant effects of amphetamines, and can be used to treat amphetamine poisoning.
• Ethosuximide - Amphetamines may delay intestinal absorption of ethosuximide.
• Haloperidol - Haloperidol blocks dopamine receptors, thus inhibiting the central stimulant effects of amphetamines.
• Lithium carbonate - The anorectic and stimulatory effects of amphetamines may be inhibited by lithium carbonate.
• Meperidine - Amphetamines potentiate the analgesic effect of meperidine.
• Methenamine therapy - Urinary excretion of amphetamines is increased, and efficacy is reduced, by acidifying agents used in methenamine therapy.
• Norepinephrine - Amphetamines enhance the adrenergic effect of norepinephrine.
• Phenobarbital - Amphetamines may delay intestinal absorption of phenobarbital; co-administration of phenobarbital may produce a synergistic anticonvulsant action.
• Phenytoin - Amphetamines may delay intestinal absorption of phenytoin; co-administration of phenytoin may produce a synergistic anticonvulsant action.
• Propoxyphene - In cases of propoxyphene overdosage, amphetamine CNS stimulation is potentiated and fatal convulsions can occur.
• Veratrum alkaloids - Amphetamines inhibit the hypotensive effect of veratrum alkaloids.

General Usage

Adderall is widely used both by people with prescriptions and people who obtain it illegally. Those who obtain it illegally do so for any combination of reasons, not limited to the euphoric 'high' that amphetamines provide, the increased mental activity, the ability to stay awake for long periods of time and not feel tired. Adderall has a high potential for abuse and can be dependence forming, so care should be taken in dosing, especially with illicit use.

Adderall and other pharmaceutical stimulants are popular among students as academic steroids. Many students specifically request Adderall from their doctors or buy it illegally because of its academic performance enhancing qualities. Students use Adderall to stay awake and study, remain focused, and stay interested in the material they have to study. A less common use by students is using Adderall at parties to continue staying awake and alert despite consuming alcohol. Using Adderall to party longer is not uncommon amongst all recreational users, not just students. Extreme care should be taken when consuming alcohol with Adderall. Because Adderall offsets some of the less-desirable effects of alcohol, alcohol poisoning can be a risk for those not keeping track of how much they drank. In addition, alcohol poisoning or sickness will probably set in sooner due to the fact that both alcohol and Adderall will dehydrate you. Combining the two can be done safely, but only if extreme care is taken to not take too much fo either.




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Methods of Administration

Standard Oral Administration: The way Adderall is intended to be taken is orally, at doses anywhere between 5-30mg (measured in instant release). Recreational users do use more, however it is not advisable to go above 30mg if you are not experienced and tolerant to the drug. Effects can be felt anywhere from 30-90 minutes, with a maximum plasma concentration at 3 hours with instant release tablets and 7 hours with extended release capsules. Most of the effects from instant release tablets will be worn off after 4-5 hours, while XR will last about 9-10. The strongest effects of the instant release tablets will probably be felt at 90-120 minutes after ingestion. This holds true for XR, despite the second dose. The second dose won't really cause a noticeable 'peak' but instead extend the effects at a constant level after the peak.
Parachuting: This is a variation on oral administration. The idea behind parachuting is that the Adderall will be rendered to a power in order to facilitate faster absorption. In order to parachute Adderall the pill must be turned into a power. With instant release tablets this is just an issue of crushing the pill up. However the extended release beads can be quite difficult to crush. The best method is a mortar and pestle, but a piece of paper and something hard can be equally as effective if done properly. The powder is then either wrapped in a small piece of tissue or toilet paper, or if it was XR placed back in the capsule, and consumed. In the case of XR pills this will obviously destroy the XR mechanism and you will receive the entire dose at once.
Insufflation: Adderall can also be insufflated if it is crushed into a powder. Again, the XR beads are difficult to crush, so this method is easier with instant release pills. Generally insufflation doses tend to be around oral doses. The effects will be felt, at most, within a few minutes from administration. The effects will be stronger than equal oral doses, but they will last shorter. In addition, the crash will be more abrupt. Insuffulation is a good way to conserve Adderall as small doses (~5mg) can keep someone awake and alert for a few hours.

• Just a tip, when insufflating Adderall, the type of pill is very important. While it can be done with any type of pill, one kind might be easier for a specific person. For example, name-brand, instant release Adderall is a very small pill, which means the amount of powder that would need to be insufflated is very small. Generic, instant release Adderall is a much larger pill. (two 20mg name brands are less powder than one 10mg generic) This means that there will be more powder, however the generic pill filler is some sort of sugar, so some users prefer this formulation for the sweet-tasting drip. As for XR pills (which can only be obtained as name brand), they are difficult to break up, but will be less powder than a generic, instant release pill.

Rectal Administration: Adderall can be absorbed through the rectal membrane. The most popular method when taking this route of administration is to dissolve crushed adderall in water and insert the solution with a syringe (no needle, of course). There isn't much information on the duration and intensity of the effects for this route. Given that the rectal membrane is more absorbent than the membrane in the nose, I would expect that it would hit quickly, strongly, and last short, similarly to insufflation, but with less duration the stronger it is. If anyone has more information on this it would be appreciated.
IV/IM Injection: Adderall can be injected, but I can't find much information on the practice. I also do not know how safe the binders and other things in the pills are in your muscle tissue and bloodstream. Would appreciate more info on this.


Adderall & Other Drugs

Recreationally, Adderall can be combined with a number of drugs for those looking for specific effects that can only be achieved through such a combination. Information on such combinations is very scarce because it can really only be based on user experiences. Combining Adderall with any other drug can be potentially dangerous so make sure you know what you're doing before attempting something. I will compile as much information on other combinations as possible, but please keep in mind that there probably won't be much scientific research on them. This means that any or all of these combinations can have risks we don't know about. Use common sense and make sure you know what you're doing before combining Adderall with any other drug. The following drug combinations are provided by information on these forums and contributed user experience. This information is not based on any one specific person's experience, including my own. It is merely a collection of information.

• Nicotine - While the effects of nicotine are generally considered to be mild when compared to any other drug, if you smoke cigarettes you will fiend for them while on Adderall. It is not uncommon for someone who is just a social smoker to go out for a smoke and end up chain-smoking three or four cigarettes just because of how enjoyable they are on Adderall. If you're a social smoker and use Adderall somewhat frequently I would be very careful about combining the two if you don't want to start an addiction. If you're not a new smoker, you probably don't feel much of an effect from nicotine without Adderall, and you definitely won't feel much of an effect with Adderall. You'll just be compelled to smoke more cigarettes. That being said, if you're a smoker and you like being a smoker, you'll love smoking cigarettes on Adderall.
• Marijuana - Marijuana is generally believed to be safe to consume with Adderall. Those who have tried such a combination report that the euphoric effects of marijuana, including the body high, are added to that of the Adderall. The Adderall seems to cancel out the mental "dumbing" caused by marijuana, including the sensation from a heavy, sleepy high. In addition, some recommend the use of marijuana on Adderall if one is in a situation where they are studying but thinking faster than they work. That is, having a hard time to write a paper, for example, becuase they're thinking of ideas faster than they can type them out, or can't stay on topic. It is also reported to be useful to calm someone down if they're jittery or can't sleep. Marijuana tolerence increases greatly when one is on Adderall, so don't expect to get very high. It is possible to increase the strength of the unique high the two provide, but it is a kind of high that really wouldn't make you feel like you need to stop smoking. While studying on Adderall it is possible to smoke too much that you cancel out the positive mental effects of Adderall and render the drug useless for studying. It is fairly easy to do this or at least slow yourself down a little more than you may have wanted, so make sure you know how much to take before trying to combine them the night before an exam.
• Alcohol - Alcohol is probably one of the most popular combination choices, perhaps surpassing marijuana. Many people use Adderall to offset the negative aspects of alcohol and partying. However, combining Adderall and Alcohol can be potentially dangerous so extreme caution should be used if such an attempt is made. Adderall will dampen your body's natural response to being tired, too intoxicated, and a combination of both. You won't be able to use "how you feel" to gauge accurately if you've had enough. Users report being able to stay up, drink, and party without getting too drunk or getting tired. As such, particular care must be taken to prevent alcohol poisoning. The effect of Adderall on alcohol tolerence isn't particularly well documented, but as a rule of thumb you shouldn't drink near your regular limit. Adderall and alcohol will both dehydrate you and if you throw partying into the mix the physical activity will dehydrate you even further. Make sure you consider the fact that you won't know how tired you are and that you'll be putting physical strain on your body before deciding how much to drink. If Adderall is being used to supplement drinking, a high dose is generally not needed to achieve the desired effects.
• Benzodiazepines - Benzodiazepines include drugs such as Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin. It is not uncommon for these drugs to be prescribed with Adderall in the treatment of just ADHD or ADHD and general anxiety disorder. When prescribed to a patient with just ADHD it is usually used to treat the negative aspects of the crash such as anxiety, agitation, insomnia, and depression. When prescribed to a patient with ADHD and general anxiety disorder the patient will take the benzodiazepine either with or during an Adderall dose in order to treat their anxiety and ADHD. It is commonly accepted that combining uppers and downers is not an advisable practice, but a psychiatrist will allow a patient to use both simultaneously in situations that require it. As for the recreational value of combining the two, there is not much information available (I would appreciate more). Benzodiazepines definitely have some effect on Adderall, but it would seem it wouldn't be too far from both drugs if it could be prescribed. That is, if the combination made the benzodiazepine not prevent anxiety or the Adderall not treat ADHD than they wouldn't be prescribed together. Of course I have no information on doses of both, so I can't say how much of either would be sufficient or safe. As such, I strongly recommend not combining Adderall with a benzodiazepine unless you know something I don't or a doctor tells you to do so.
• Kava - Even though Kava is somewhat similar to benzodiazepines, it seems to be safer to take as it is not nearly strong as a pharmaceutical. People report that using Kava with Adderall can be particularly beneficial if studying. The effects of the combination are somewhat similar to that of marijuana. However reports generally claim that Kava doesn't really slow your thinking down as much as it calms you down. People who get jittery on Adderall, develop a temporary tic, or who feel too "speedy" to focus can benefit from Kava. It can help them settle down and focus on their task. Doses of Kava seem to be typical size when combining, and it is quite a safe substance so you can play around with doses until you find what works well for you.
• Cocaine - Combining Cocaine with Adderall is very dangerous as both are stimulants. Combining the two will put tremendous strain on your heart and could be potentially damaging to your cardiovascular system. There is not much information on the effects when combining both because it is pretty obvious that combining the two is dangerous. I know people have combined the two before so it can definitely be done safely, but it would probably be easier to screw up and do something dangerous than get it right. Should you choose to combine the two please exercise extreme caution and do the proper research first. Also make sure you start small, maybe 5mg of Adderall and one or two lines of Cocaine. The point is be safe and don't overdo it.

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I don't really like the quartered paper method because powder tends to come out and the beads have worn through the paper before. Also crushing them can be difficult because they spread around. If you use a good size mortar and pestle you don't have to worry about the beads flying out. I use the back of a screwdriver and a shotglass, fits perfectly.

 

Changes in libido are listed as a symptom of Adderall. Otherwise it could be the amphetamines giving You the chills and the scrotum constricting thinking it needs to warm up since thats what its function is.

 

Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I've been interning at a large internet marketing firm over the summer in NYC and either didn't have the time to do so or the motivation to spend more hours a day doing "work" on the internet. Fortunately that internship just ended because I'm going back to school in 2 weeks so I'm going to make any necessary revisions when I get a chance. Once I'm settled in at school I'll be back at my regular posting capacity as well. I've amassed some more information that could be useful in general so as soon as I get a free moment to add the information I'll do so. Until then feel free to add suggestions, requests, or questions for the thread and I'll make sure they get addressed.