[meowface]

Yes, it is far more complicated than you're describing. I'm going to assume you're taking Adderall (an amphetamine salt mixture), but this also applies to methylphenidate.

First: Stimulant drugs typically release or inhibit reuptake of both dopamine and norepinephrine. Dopamine actually converts into norepinephrine in the brain, complicating things further. L-DOPA, which is described in this article, is not a stimulant drug: it only raises dopamine concentration, and nothing else. It's the direct precursor molecule for dopamine.

Raising norepinephrine along with dopamine can create a focused and patient effect in some people (and sometimes a somewhat euphoric effect); raising just dopamine will generally create a euphoric, relaxing, reward-seeking effect. I don't know the entire pharmacology behind why that is. I seem to recall that DA and NE may be able to directly modulate each other.

Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine), another ADHD medication, has a higher dopamine:norepinephrine ratio than Adderall does (i.e. it releases proportionally more dopamine). It doesn't work for some ADHD sufferers, because they become too euphoric.

Second: Stimulant medication is also more about trying to maintain steady levels of dopamine in the brain at all times, rather than constantly or intermittently fluctuating levels. If you were to take Adderall just once per week, for example, you would probably not get a lot of chronic relief. Taking small doses of L-DOPA every day could maybe help some ADHD sufferers after a week or two (though this is mostly just a theory on my part), for example, but this can lead to psychosis and many other dangerous problems, so is highly discouraged.

Someone please feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong here. I don't have formal education in medicine or neurobiology.

[chrischen]

Adderral provides symptom relief almost immediately.

[meowface]

Sure. But it probably doesn't give relief for more than 12 or so hours, right?

When I said "not get a lot of symptom relief", I meant regarding general life functioning, not short-term response. Obviously Adderall will provide quick relief for an ADHD sufferer; it just won't help them in the long-term unless they take it regularly.

[runesoerensen]

> it just won't help them in the long-term unless they take it regularly.

Which is why many ADHD sufferers take stimulant medication regularly. However, that doesn't mean the medication doesn't provide relief that improve general life functioning.

Similarly, chronic pain may be treated with morphine, which provides short-term pain relief and improves general life functioning when taken regularly.

> Stimulant medication is also more about trying to maintain steady levels of dopamine in the brain at all times

I don't think this is accurate. Rather, it depends on the attention and performance requirements of the sufferer. Children may only need symptom relief while in school, whereas adults may need relief through most of their waking hours.

It seems unlikely that someone would really need relief from ADHD symptoms while sleeping.