According to the FDA, some online retailers sell harmful, ineffective, and unsafe Adderall to patients. Real Adderall pills contain a combination of four amphetamines, but fake pills contain other ingredients that differ from the real ones. Instead, the counterfeit drugs contain acetaminophen and tramadol.
The counterfeit pills come with no markings and are white and round. On the other hand, natural Adderall pills come with a 30 and DP marking on both sides and are peach orange and round. When it comes to packing the tablet, real Adderall pills arrive in a 100-total bottle, while the fake ones come with a blister pack.
The counterfeit Adderall label has some misspellings, such as NDS, noted as NDC on the actual tablet. Other misspellings that can help you differentiate between genuine and counterfeit pills are Amphetamine Aspartate, spelled as Amphetamine Aspartrte in the fake drugs.
Remember, if you notice that you have purchased a fake drug, the best action to take is to contact the FDA’s office immediately. However, it is crucial to learn how to identify counterfeit medicines, including Adderall, for various reasons. And the most significant reason is to guarantee drug safety.
What Is Adderall?
Adderall is a prescribed medication that doctors use in treating ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This controlled medication combines stimulants such as amphetamine and dextroamphetamine that augments the self-control, focus, and concentration of ADHD patients. Doctors sometimes use this drug to treat narcolepsy, a neurological condition that affects your sleeping and waking up abilities.
Adderall contains amphetamine, a stimulant that enhances your ability to stay focused, pay attention, and control behavior issues. It may also play a significant role in improving your listening and organizing skills. And although this drug has a very successful rate in terms of therapeutic intervention, it also has a negative fallout due to abuse.
And because of its extremely addictive nature and abuse levels, the United States Government Drug Enforcement Administration considers this drug a Schedule 2 controlled element similar to cocaine. Hence, if you require this drug, you must have a new prescription from a doctor since you cannot refill it.
However, many people, especially youths, are abusing these drugs and might find it challenging to quit because of the brain damage caused by the drug. If you have a friend or family member experiencing this issue, therapy paired with medical detox can enhance the odds of recovery and calm physical distress.
How to Identify Adderall Drugs
Adderall tablets come with a different look, depending on whether they are extended or immediate release pills, whether they are generic or brand name pills, and depending on their dosage and type. In terms of dosage, Adderall tablets range from 5 mg to 30 mg, and the dose prescription relies on the patient’s age and symptoms.
If you want to identify immediate-release Adderall pills, a 5 mg pill comes with a round and white appearance, while a 7.5 mg comes with an oval-shaped and blue appearance with an AD 7.5 stamp on the side. A 10 mg pill comes with a round and blue look with an AD 10 imprint. A 20 mg pill comes with an orange and rounded appearance, stamped with an AD 20 at the side.
On the other hand, extended-release pills have a capsule shape with one clear end. They come in orange and blue color with the drug’s strength and name printed on the capsule. However, the main difference between extended-release and immediate pills is that the latter comes in a tablet form, while the former comes in a capsule form.
How Does Adderall Work?
As we said earlier, doctors use this drug to treat patients suffering from ADHD and narcolepsy. Patients who are anguishing from ADHD experience lower levels of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a chemical messenger or a brain stimulator that links nerve cells. It plays a massive role in how we feel, think, plan, focus, and find things exciting. Low dopamine levels can affect different parts of your physical and behavioral functions, including learning, sleep, attention, motivation, and movement.
When patients take Adderall, it binds to the epinephrine in the adrenal glands and dopamine and norepinephrine receptors in the brain glands. This increases the production of dopamine, improving the patient’s focus and concentration skills.
Besides treating ADHD, some people use Adderall pills as a tool for losing weight. When used correctly, this drug can help suppress appetite and boost focus and energy. However, there are possible side effects of using Adderall; they include sleep turbulences, vision change, headaches, and nervousness. Other rare side effects include a difference in sex performance and drive and slowing children’s growth and development.
Is Adderall Addictive?
If a patient takes Adderall as prescribed by a medical expert, the chances of becoming an addict are low. However, the drug is now accessible in many pharmaceutical stores across the country due to the rise in the country’s number of prescriptions. And people who are not suffering from ADHD are taking this drug in large doses to increase their energy, boost their self-confidence, and get high.
The amphetamine stimulant present in Adderall causes hyperstimulation in the body and brain, making abusers feel energized, healthier, and more self-assured. This extra energy and confidence permit abusers to complete tasks they cannot do off Adderall. And because of this, Adderall abuse has become popular among people who want to boost their physical and mental performance.
Besides using it to boost their energy levels, some people abuse Adderall by using it as a weight-loss tool. However, appetite suppression wears off when the drug wears off, causing rebounding hunger. Many campus students claim that Adderall is a study drug. Most of them use it to enhance their concentration and attention skills while studying or doing homework.
Abusing Adderall causes the user to build a tolerance towards the drug. And if the person continues to use the drug to stimulate alertness, lose weight, and increase concentration, the more the brain and the body will start to depend on this drug for these actions. Eventually, if the user begins depending on these drugs to do some activities, they cannot function and concentrate without the drugs’ help. This physical and mental dependency is what leads them to become addicted to Adderall.
Effects of Adderall Addiction and Abuse
When people abuse Adderall, they can encounter various side effects. Some common short-term side effects are loss of appetite, irritability, restlessness, unhealthy weight-loss, and loss of sex performance and drive. However, abusing these drugs for an extended period can cause long-term and dangerous side effects such as dizziness, headaches, insomnia, depression, tremors, anxiety, and hallucinations.
Abuse or repeated use of Adderall can increase heart rate, body temperature, and blood pressure. Furthermore, taking massive doses of this drug can cause medical issues such as heart attack, seizure, and stroke. It can cause enormous damage to the cardiovascular and heart system when an addict uses it for an extended period or uses it in excess. Common cardiovascular disorders associated with Adderall addiction include tachycardia and hypertension.
Warning Signs of Adderall Abuse and Addiction
Adderall triggers the brain by heightening the chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine. These two chemicals create a happy feeling known as euphoria. If you abuse Adderall or use it for a long time, it may cause dependency or tolerance. Thus, you will require to use more Adderall to experience the same effect. And when you cut back or stop using it, you may experience withdrawal signs such as depression, extreme tiredness, and sleeping troubles.
When the drugs depart from the bloodstream, the user experiences drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms that might indicate emotional or physical addiction to the drug. And how the user abuses it, in conjunction with the period and amount of abuse, can affect the drug’s dependency level. For instance, the addict can opt to crush the tablets and inject them to have a quick reaction rate, rather than consuming them and letting them go into the bloodstream through the digestive system.
Addiction is a health disorder that affects people independently, and biological and environmental factors may aggravate it. An addict may experience concentrating and sleeping problems, feel depressed, tired, or lethargic when it’s eradicated from the bloodstream. And sometimes, abusing this drug for a long time may increase the risks of suicidal thoughts and aggression.
However, the top telltale sign that shows someone is addicted to Adderall is a deep thirst for the drug. Sometimes, stimulants such as Adderall can cause schizophrenia and psychosis signs such as hallucinations, paranoia, and other mood and behavioral disturbances. Long-term use of Adderall can also result in panic and anxiety attacks. If you have a patient with an Adderall prescription and finish their medication early, it can be a sign of abuse or addiction. The patient might be taking more pills than prescribed, or a close friend or family member might be stealing the drugs for recreational use.
Is Adderall Dangerous?
When taken at the required dose and prescribed by a doctor, it is safe to use. Nevertheless, those who are addicted to Adderall for recreational purposes are at a higher risk of overdosing. Symptoms of overdose include fever, nausea, stomach pain, rapid breathing, and aggressiveness.
Getting Help for Adderall Addiction and Abuse
If you or a family member struggles with drug addiction or abuse, you must know the necessary steps to take. Acquiring an ideal treatment plan is the best way to recover from this problem. However, intervening is the first step to take if you want to persuade an addicted family member or friend to seek help.
Enacting an intervention for a family member or friend with addiction issues can look like a radical approach. However, this small act can help save one’s life since most of them don’t realize they are addicted to Adderall until it’s too late. Remember, Adderall addicts have a high chance of using other drugs such as meth and cocaine. And if your friend or family member is a polydrug addict, you must seek treatment immediately.
An intervention specialist can help you come up with the right words to tell your addicted loved ones if they fail to accept medication and therapy. However, it is essential that you plan for a worst-case set-up since Adderall-addicted people can be self-destructive and violent.
Treatment and Withdrawal
Withdrawal consequences associated with withdrawing from Adderall can make it challenging for an addict to quit using it. And when someone stops using these drugs, they can experience reduced heartbeat, loss of concentration, and fatigue.
There are various treatment options meant for Adderall-addicted people. However, inpatient rehab is one of the best choices for drug addicts and abusers since treatment occurs in an area free of temptation. At Granite Recovery Centers, we have different treatment options meant to help patients suffering from drug abuse, including Adderall addiction. Our treatment options include sober living, medical detox, medication-assisted treatment, and outpatient and inpatient counseling. Granite Recovery Centers provides medical detoxification for people who do not need immediate medical intervention, are not a danger to themselves, and are capable of self-evacuation in the event of an emergency.
Taking a pill to enhance productivity either at school or the workplace can turn into an addiction resulting in severe effects. With the help of an excellent team of specialists trained to handle and treat people suffering from drug addiction and abuse, recovery is possible. If you have a family member or friend suffering from drug addiction and abuse, including Adderall, contact our team today to direct you to a center that suits your needs.
