Adderall is usually prescribed to people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. If someone is hyperactive, wouldn’t an amphetamine make it worse? Obviously doctors know what they’re doing, so can someone please explain it to me?
I’m curious because I’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder of the hypomanic/dysthymic nature. One of my social workers got to know me pretty well after many, many hour-long visits we had last year, and she told me that a lot of the problems I describe remind her of her husband. We were both easily distracted by ambient noise, neither of us could tolerate the random sounds that young children in the house generate, neither one of us can bear shopping at the grocery store because it’s too overwhelming, and when a myriad of tasks are on a list, we stand there in a stupor and mentally shut down. Yet she noted that her husband & I both showed some signs of brilliance in ideas we had. And both her husband & I were diagnosed with hypomania.
I said all that because her husband tried one of his daughter’s Adderall pills (she has ADHD) and he said it made him feel stabilized and functional again. He talked to his doctor about that, and his doctor agreed to prescribe him Adderall (although his official diagnosis didn’t meet the prescription criteria for Adderall). He’s been doing great with the Adderall. He’s successful at his career, etc.
So I told my doctor all about this, but she absolutely refuses to prescribe me Adderall because it clashes with manic episodes. My manic episodes aren’t actually manic though. My manic level is what most people are normally. Productive and healthy. I feel that way about 3 times a year, for just a couple days at a time. Otherwise I am in the doldrums.
So if mania is my doctor’s one concern against prescribing me Adderall, then: 1) why did that other guy’s doctor let him have it; and 2) why are hyperactive people prescribed it?
