[nobodyandproud]

I take phentermine (another legal amphetamine; partial doses), and this doesn’t surprise me at all.

The bipolar-level manic highs and depression/lows are very real.

The feelings of suicide and hopelessness creep up; I have enough personal awareness and grit to ignore it but it feels awful.

To avoid that creep-up, the best thing I found is to have “break” days at least once or twice a week. That is, no pills.

I doubt your daughter or others with ADHD have that luxury though.

[mrtranscendence]

I’ll be honest, I’ve been on adderall (with occasional periods off the drug) for almost 20 years now, and I’ve never experienced anything remotely approaching mania or severe depression (as distinguished from rare bouts of sadness). And I’ve not always been the most careful taker of the medication, frequently alternating between taking too much or lowering my dose.

I’m not saying it’s not possible to have those side effects, I just haven’t experienced them.

[aidenn0]

Everyone is certainly different; I know people on Adderall (or Vyvanse, which is similar) that have great outcomes, but Adderall gives me manic episodes, raises my resting heart rate by 20bpm, prevents me from sleeping, and causes mild hallucinations. I took it exactly once. Vyvanse had the same side-effects, but much milder and it lasted longer. I ended up on Focalin, which works and the only side effect is mild interference with my sleep.

[jobu]

> The bipolar-level manic highs and depression/lows are very real.

I've had to be very careful about NOT using those terms when talking to doctors and psychiatrists. As a layperson that description seems to fit, but it causes huge red flags for medical professionals and they freak out, resulting unnecessary tests and evaluations for my kid.

The key term for the "manic" phase after the meds wear off is "Rebound Effect". Also when the dose is too high the generally accepted term is "zombie mode" or "zombie-like". Calling it an "overdose" will really cause people to freak the fuck out.

[andybak]

There's big differences between drugs in the same family. Personally speaking Methylphenidate is much less intense and easier to fit into my normal life than the Lisdexamfetamine (which are probably closer to phentermine)