Adderall Side Effects: What To Expect & When To Be Concerned

Many children and teens with ADHD just take Adderall on school days and take a break on the weekend to lessen some of the side effects such as insomnia. You’ll need to check with your or your child’s doctor. College students and other people who need to stay awake and focus on work or study often take Adderall without having ADHD. These can be mild, such as dry mouth, or more serious, such as rapid heartbeat or a psychotic episode where you start hallucinating.

Weight loss

It belongs to a group of medications called stimulants. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. Be sure to tell your doctor about all your medications before taking Adderall and ask about the possibility of drug interactions. With extended release, the active drugs (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine) release slowly into your body over a period. Sharing your experience helps make medications safer for everyone by giving doctors and researchers more information about how the drug works in real life.

This medication requires a new prescription from your care team every time it is filled at the pharmacy. Tell your care team if your symptoms do not start to get better or if they get worse. Also tell them if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs. Adderall has been linked to serious side effects, including heart attack and stroke, in people with heart defects. But Adderall and other stimulants also have side effects. It may help people with ADHD maintain their attention and focus and decrease hyperactivity.

• The most common side effects of amphetamine/dextroamphetamine are listed below.
• Misuse and abuse of Adderall can result in overdose, heart problems, and death.
• Concomitant use of MAOIs and CNS stimulants can cause hypertensive crisis.
• When doses were not based on body mass, the amount of one amphetamine type in Adderall that a woman processed was 20%-30% more than a man processed.
• It’s important to take these side effects seriously and to consult a healthcare professional if any severe symptoms occur.

What side effects may I notice from receiving this medication?

In fact, some research suggests that treating ADHD may reduce a person’s risk for substance use disorder. Stimulants also carry a risk of addiction. Boosting these neurotransmitters helps manage ADHD symptoms. Stimulants increase brain levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, which are linked to focus and attention. Stimulants can increase a person’s energy, alertness, and attention and are available in short-acting and extended-release formulas. Stimulants are the oldest and most common type of medication used to treat ADHD.

(With misuse, a drug is taken in a way other than how it’s prescribed.) These included erectile dysfunction and frequent or long-lasting erections. Females and males typically have the same side effects from Adderall treatment.

Antidepressants are also non-stimulants. Both drugs are alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonists, which act on norepinephrine in the brain. Clonidine and guanfacine have been used for years to treat health conditions like high blood pressure. Strattera (atomoxetine) is the oldest non-stimulant medication that’s specifically approved for ADHD. However, that risk is low when taken as prescribed for the treatment of ADHD.

Amphetamine/dextroamphetamine may worsen certain mental health conditions. Tell your health care provider if you or anyone in your family has had mental health problems, including psychosis, bipolar disorder, mania, depression, or suicide. Ask your pharmacist or other health care provider if you are not sure how to throw away this medicine safely. If you have any questions, talk to your health care provider. Keep amphetamine/dextroamphetamine out of the reach of children. Do not share amphetamine/dextroamphetamine with other people, even if they have the same condition as you.

This can help determine whether starting the stimulant is safe and whether other precautions are necessary. If a person has a preexisting heart condition, the psychiatrist may require a cardiology consultation. In some cases, Adderall can further interfere Adderall side effects with blood circulation. This is a medical emergency and requires prompt emergency medical treatment.

Types of ADHD Medications

• This will help them determine if amphetamine/dextroamphetamine is right for you.
• Taking Adderall may also make you feel euphoric, which people often describe as feeling “high.” However, euphoria is more common with Adderall misuse.
• Contact your health care provider if you think you are having a side effect of a medicine.

Amphetamine/dextroamphetamine passes into breast milk. Do not breastfeed while you are taking amphetamine/dextroamphetamine. It is not known if or how amphetamine/dextroamphetamine could affect pregnancy or harm a fetus. Amphetamine/dextroamphetamine is a controlled substance and may be misused. This will help them determine if amphetamine/dextroamphetamine is right for you. Amphetamine/dextroamphetamine may affect the results of certain lab tests.

Managing Adderall Side Effects

Some people do better on one drug than another. There are simple things you can do to make taking these medications less of a problem. Your doctor likely needs to make changes with your medication.

ADHD Nutrition

Before taking Adderall, discuss your health history with your doctor. If a side effect continues during treatment, talk with your doctor. This is because certain side effects can continue for as long as you take the drug, and Adderall is typically a long-term treatment for ADHD or narcolepsy. Specifically, it may cause growth delays in children who take the drug long term.

Adderall Side Effects in Children

You should not drink alcohol while taking some amphetamine/dextroamphetamine products because it may cause a faster release of your dose. Some forms of amphetamine/dextroamphetamine can be taken with or without food but may need to be taken the same way each time. There are no known interactions between amphetamine/dextroamphetamine and foods or drinks.

Common Adderall Side Effects

These chemicals play a role in attention, alertness, and wakefulness. Common side effects include decreased appetite, trouble sleeping, dry mouth, or nervousness. MedicineNet does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Time to maximum concentration (Tmax) of amphetamine is decreased compared to when administered alone. In cases of propoxyphene overdosage, amphetamine CNS stimulation is potentiated and fatal convulsions can occur. Urinary excretion of amphetamines is increased, and efficacy is reduced, by acidifying agents used in methenamine therapy.

They’ll advise whether to continue Adderall treatment. If you continue to lose weight or have trouble managing your weight, talk with your doctor. Keep in mind that appetite loss and weight loss can be temporary for some people.

Management

Adderall can raise your blood pressure or heart rate. Exposure to the amount of amphetamine in Adderall can be higher for women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB). Expect to see a heart doctor (cardiologist) first. A 2023 study found a link between long-term use of ADHD medicines (including Adderall) and an increased risk of heart attack or stroke, though the risk was quite small. But if you get other symptoms, such as pain when you pee, you should tell your doctor right away. Some Adderall side effects, such as dry mouth, don’t need medical treatment.