Elon Musk is once again sharing his perspective on the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug, Adderall, a stimulant the tech billionaire and father of 10 considers an “anger amplifier” that’s “best used sparingly or not at all.”
Musk posted the comment Sunday on Musk-owned Twitter in response to a tweet by author Ashley St. Clair about the “very weird stuff going on with Adderall right now.” Adderall and generics have been difficult to find in the U.S. People have been rationing their pills, kids are struggling to keep up in class, adults are struggling to keep up at work, the Atlantic reported. Demand for ADHD meds has increased due to an “explosion” in telemedicine, virtual prescribing and aggressive marketing during the pandemic, the Washington Post reports. COVID had a lot of people feeling wired and restless, and psychologists in Canada saw an uptick in requests to evaluate people wondering if they might have ADHD. Already, the global ADHD treatment market reached US$20 billion last year, and is expected to grow to US$32.6 billion by 2032, reports Polaris Market Research.
In January, Musk, who doesn’t have a medical degree, called Adderall “low-grade speed” that “greatly amplifies your inner a—hole!” — which is similar, one follower remarked, to what Twitter seems to do. Here is what you need to know about ADHD and Adderall.
What is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?
ADHD is a chronic, neurodevelopmental disorder that affects about five to nine per cent of children, and three to five per cent of adults, or 1.8 million Canadians, according to the Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada.
There are three types: hyperactive, inattentive, or a combination. It’s highly hereditary and impacts people from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Symptoms can include problems staying focused on work or activities, being easily distracted, often forgetting things, fidgeting, or squirming when seated, talking excessively or daydreaming. About two-thirds of children with ADHD will continue to experience symptoms as adults.
What ADHD is not, according to ADHD Awareness Canada, is a behaviour disorder due to bad parenting, nor is it caused by too much sugar.
Although aggression is not specifically a symptom of ADHD, “the disorder is often diagnosed in young people who behave aggressively,” according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Other behaviours that, while not specifically a symptom of ADHD, have been associated with it, include temper outbursts and stubbornness, according to CAMH.
What causes ADHD?
There’s no consensus about what, precisely, causes ADHD. Some have suggested that ADHD traits gave early humans a survival advantage, by keeping our ancestors hyper alert and vigilant to threats.
What is known is that children with a family history of ADHD are more likely to be diagnosed with it than children with no family history of the disorder.
How is it treated?
Treatment can include behaviour therapy and medication.
A national parent survey in the U.S. from 2016 found 62 per cent of children aged two to 17 with ADHD were taking ADHD medication.
Parents weren’t asked to specify which drug, but there are generally two types — stimulants, like Adderall, and non-stimulants.
Stimulants contain various forms of methylphenidate and amphetamine. Though it seems counterintuitive, they can have a calming effect on hyperactivity, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drugs act on dopamine and other chemical messengers in the brain that help regulate mood, thinking, learning and memory functions.
Stimulants increase attention, alertness and energy, and decrease the desire to eat, which is why they’re also often used inappropriately for non-medical purposes, including to get high, reduce appetite and enhance “academic performance,” according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction.
In a 2019-2020 survey, 12 per cent of post-secondary students in Canada surveyed reported using prescription stimulants in the past 12 months. Of those, 60 per cent reported “problematic use.”
Adderall — street names “beans,” “dexies” and “amps” — contains two drugs, amphetamine and dextroamphetamine.
Other ADHD medications, including Ritalin and Concerta — known as “vitamin R,” “skippy,” “rids,” “uppers” — contain methylphenidate, another central nervous stimulant. Ritalin has been used for ADHD since the 1950s. The drugs work in different ways in the brain, but have similar effects.
What are the risks of ADHD meds?
“At low doses, prescription stimulants narrow blood vessels in the body, which causes a decrease in blood flow and oxygen to the heart,” which, in turn, causes an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, according to the centre on substance abuse and addiction.
“Other short-term effects can include sweating, dilated pupils, restlessness, aggressive behaviour, dizziness, tremors, increased ability to concentrate” and, in higher doses, paranoia or hallucinations.
Adderall comes with a warning that amphetamines have a potential for “abuse, misuse, dependence,” as well as street drug diversion, and that those misusing amphetamines may experience “serious cardiovascular events,” including sudden death.
There are limited, high-quality studies on the long-term effects of stimulants.
Doctors have been criticized for being too lackadaisical in prescribing ADHD meds. Others, like Edmonton NDP MP Heather McPherson, whose 15-year-old son has ADHD, are lobbying for a national strategy to better “recognize, understand and manage the disorder.”
How have people responded to Musk’s Adderall critiques?
“Not cool,” noted Futurism. Adderall is a “first-line treatment for ADHD and can be very helpful when used as prescribed,” child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychopharmacologist Dr. Tyler Black, of the University of British Columbia, said last May, in a tweet pushing back against Musk’s “uninformed opinions.” On Reddit, people who have benefitted from Adderall have urged Monk to “please shut up.”
Undiagnosed and/or untreated ADHD can have “dire consequences,” reports the Centre for ADHD Awareness. It’s poorly understood, highly stigmatized, and treatment should be tailored to individual needs, the organization says, with an emphasis on programs to teach coping strategies.
National Post
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