Positive Amphetamine effects on daily life?

[parma_sean_cheese3]

SWIM is interested in the long term effects on people's daily that was caused by amphetamines, including dextroamph and methylphenidate, not really meth. SWIM wants to hear some success stories of amphetamines and hear if they have changed peoples live's for the better. Include depression relief, school and financial success and any other ways that normal daily amphetamine use for people with and without adhd. Please include and negative effects that SWIY has experienced. Also Include any famous stories or people that SWIY knows used amphetamine for positive use, not necessarilly abuse. SWIM is wondering because he feels he has much more potential than he expresses but isn't technically adhd.

Reputation Comments on this post:

good thread

[heyheyguy]

SWIM has only been taking amphetamines for 3-4 months, but has noticed significant improvements in SWIM's everyday activities, from general enthusiasm and joy when waking up, to success in school, to stronger relationships with friends. SWIM has been able to open up in situations that would have once made him anxious to the point of illness. Amphetamine has helped SWIM find incentive to do things he previously put off, such as exercise (SWIM's lost about 20 pounds since he started amphetamines), go about artistic endeavours, and study.

However, SWIM hardly gets any sleep any more, generally around 3-5 hours a night. This is usually forced, to go to school, but even on weekends, SWIM wakes after just 6 or so hours of sleep, compared to 8-10 hours of sleep, on weekends, before using amphetamines.

SWIM finds the positives of amphetamines to have greatly outweighed the negatives.

[enquirewithin]

Originally Posted by heyheyguy

SWIM finds the positives of amphetamines to have greatly outweighed the negatives.

Over the long term, few people find that the positive effects of amphetamines outweigh the negative effects.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by enquirewithin

Over the long term, few people find that the positive effects of amphetamines outweigh the negative effects.

Agreed 100%..

SWIM realizes this generalization may seem over the top, but he believes that for many people (or at least for SWIM) once you go down the road of stimulants, knowingly or not, you can never turn back. It's like they have found the ultimate enhancement of emotions, something that takes your best personality traits and multiplies them... Once you have experienced something so powerful, its hard to turn back. Even if you can manage to not do them again, the experiences on speed will never be forgotten, and over time the positives really do start looking pretty tiny next to the huge stack of negatives..

SWIM believes amphetamines are not to be taken lightly, and does not see long term usage having a positive effect..Even for people with ADD (SWIM has it btw).

SWIM would also be very interested in hearing other SWIYs stories about past or present long term amphetamine use, a very interesting topic indeed

Reputation Comments on this post:

right way to use amph

[TheFonz]

Originally Posted by heyheyguy

SWIM has only been taking amphetamines for 3-4 months, but has noticed significant improvements in SWIM's everyday activities, from general enthusiasm and joy when waking up, to success in school, to stronger relationships with friends. SWIM has been able to open up in situations that would have once made him anxious to the point of illness. Amphetamine has helped SWIM find incentive to do things he previously put off, such as exercise (SWIM's lost about 20 pounds since he started amphetamines), go about artistic endeavours, and study.

However, SWIM hardly gets any sleep any more, generally around 3-5 hours a night. This is usually forced, to go to school, but even on weekends, SWIM wakes after just 6 or so hours of sleep, compared to 8-10 hours of sleep, on weekends, before using amphetamines.

SWIM finds the positives of amphetamines to have greatly outweighed the negatives.

Please come back and post how SWIY feels about daily usage once SWIY hits his/her 1 year aniversary of being on adderall daily......SWIM has a feeling it will be different....


As far as giving children these drugs....Do we really think a 12yo child can handle the emotional rollercoaster that is adderall? What a tragedy it must be for a child to look at his peers showing such emotional and freedom, yet he/she can't and doesn't know why..... Parents and doctors should be ashamed of themselves!!

[svenghali]

Agreed, enquirewithin. SWIM has been using various forms of amphetamines and methylphenidate since he was SEVEN years old. To be honest, SWIM has a really hard time feeling anything but apathetic about most things, and most of his emotions must be feigned to make others more comfortable. Slowly his emotions have come back, as he dabbled in things like MDMA and psychedelics, but not entirely, and he doesn't expect them to. The time between seven and eighteen years old is a long and extremely formative time for a child's body, mind and persona.

[hh339]

SWiM has no bad things to say whatsoever about his semi-daily use of amphetamines, except for a bad experience from taking Methylphenidate which caused itching and weird pain in the chest. Such a thing never happened with Amphetamine though.

Focus, energy and relaxation only. He normally takes about 0,05 grams (50 mg's) twice a day when he's on it, and has never had any nasty comedowns and stuff. Except when he parachuted about 2 grams at once a couple of times, but this is not something you are supposed to do anyway, as it is just plain stupid and unnecessary. Overall, amphetamine(s) lets him enjoy the simple things in life as they are, without losing his temper over insignificant matters. I agree though, that feeding children with stimulants is probably not the best of ideas in many cases.

[heyheyguy]

Originally Posted by hh339

I agree though, that feeding children with stimulants is probably not the best of ideas in many cases.

Perhaps carefully controlled administration isn't such a bad idea, though? Like sven said, the childhood years are very important to the results of a person. If amphetamines can be used in a careful way, I believe they could help a person work past negative character traits. Just theoretically speaking.

Ironically, about a day or two after I left that post, Swim told me his growing tolerance had made his habit a little less helpful and enjoyable, and more needy. Swim seemed disappointed that his habit had turned ugly, but realizes he allowed this to happen. Swim told me that, like any drug, careful, moderate usage is probably the best way to go. Swim is currently trying to kick his habit, for the moment.

I'm very sorry for Swisvenghali. I'm interested in hearing his experience with amphetamines effects on emotions and personality, if Swisvehghali doesn't find it too personal. It's something Swim has told me he's worried about. I'm also interested in how psychedelics helped him recover some, specifically if Swisven used salvia or mushrooms to help. Swim's been interested in trying those to recover from psychologically traumatic events.

[Bajeda]

Originally Posted by heyheyguy

Perhaps carefully controlled administration isn't such a bad idea, though? Like sven said, the childhood years are very important to the results of a person. If amphetamines can be used in a careful way, I believe they could help a person work past negative character traits. Just theoretically speaking.

Who decides what are or aren't negative character traits?

Maybe the kids don't have some sort of disorder or illness, maybe.... maybe they are just being kids?

Don't mean to be a nag here, but I think that for use with children, amphetamines should be very restricted until more is known about how the mind develops and how it interacts pharmacologically. Then I think it would be best limited to actual cases where medicinal need is evident, for serious cases where there is an obvious problem lets say. Just because a kid is acting out doesn't mean they should be medicated. Its a form of social control that seems to be blowing up in the US as parents want better behaved children who can peform well in school and go on to have successful careers and schools want less hassle with discipline and keeping kids in line. The intentions may be good, but does anyone really know what they are doing when the prescribe a young kid stimulants? Is there good objective logic behind the decision to do so? What will be the consequences of this trend over time?

I'm all for people using amphetamines in a responsible manner to help them get through their life, though I think its best to stay away from consistent daily use. I believe that you should have a mind developed past adolescence and be able to rationally make your own decision regarding whether or not to use amphetamines, rather than have zealous parents and school administrators push it on you when you are young and very suggestable.

[heyheyguy]

Originally Posted by Bajeda

I'm all for people using amphetamines in a responsible manner to help them get through their life, though I think its best to stay away from consistent daily use. I believe that you should have a mind developed past adolescence and be able to rationally make your own decision regarding whether or not to use amphetamines, rather than have zealous parents and school administrators push it on you when you are young and very suggestable.

That's not how I was looking at the situation, though. Perhaps my case is rare, but my parents and doctor gave me quite a bit of freedom to go about adderall however I thought best. Now that's led to something of an addiction, which I wish my parents or doctor would've paid closer attention to, but it's also led to quite a positive change in my life.

Just for the record, I'm cutting back to cut down on that addiction.

[IntrepidTraveler]

Go read my post on the adderall board about SWIM's positive experience with long term adderall abuse.

SWIM also has some interesting personal stories about his (forced) stimulant use as a young child (he was perscribed to adderall and ritalin before he even learned cursive writing). His experience with stimulants as a juvenile included confusion, paranoia, loneliness and alienation. A family dispute about his perscription even caused a rift between his parents. He won't go into further detail about it today, but, according to his personal experience, SWIM adamantly opposes the use of stimulants by children who are too young to appreciate their positive and negative effects. Children are too young and inexperienced to harness the potential positive effects of drugs.

[izzy31]

SWIM has been on stimulants since he was SIX. He has never tried living life without them. He wasn't even aware of emotions until he first started drinking. it definetly fucks you up.

[IntrepidTraveler]

Originally Posted by izzy31

SWIM has been on stimulants since he was SIX. He has never tried living life without them. He wasn't even aware of emotions until he first started drinking. it definetly fucks you up.

Stimulants made you emotionally insensitive? In SWIM's extensive use of adderall and ritalin, he has never felt like his life lacked intense emotion. Perhaps the long-term effects of stimulants on the mind are more devastating and pronounced if the user takes them before his brain has reached a certain level of maturity.

Can you expound anymore on the problems you've had? SWIM is interested.

[svenghali]

Originally Posted by izzy31

SWIM has been on stimulants since he was SIX. He has never tried living life without them. He wasn't even aware of emotions until he first started drinking. it definetly fucks you up.

Ah, finally!
Yes, SWISven seems to have the same problem. He is well known for speaking in a monotone voice and rarely displays or feels any emotions (he doesn't know how!). In person, he is highly critical of others. SWISven recently had a personality test done at the behest of his school. They determined that he thought so differently than most people that a projected outcome of his life was an inability to relate to other individuals, and a complete loss of touch with reality. It was recommended he halt all drug use (yeah, right) and avoid solitude.
SWISven's friend who has been swallowing the colored pills from an early age is very similar to him (in terms of emotions and eccentric trains of thought), and has a similar command of the English language that SWISven has (SWISven is eighteen), possibly due to the amount of books him and his friend read over the years.
I feel at this point this description of SWISven is getting to be silly and frivolous.

[izzy31]

SWIM meant that he was OVER-MEDICATED

[svenghali]

SWIizzy, I would be interested in seeing if you can draw any similarities between what SWISven wrote and SWIizzy's experiences. SWIM is a writer, and has written a great deal of memoir material- this would be a wonderful contribution, let alone the understanding SWISven would gain in knowing himself that much better.

[izzy31]

Thanks for all the off topic advice, and as I'm getting over it, I'm understanding that it was all stemming around a fear I had when I started. I thought logically instead delusively and the situation really doesn't seem that bad. Most of it is frusteration and anxiety I've always had, and coming to terms with it each anxious thought at a time feels alot better from my anti-depressants. Still, I've got to stay on top of it as long as I wish to use it.

Now moving on I'd like to accurately state my opinion of it. Amphetamines as a young child has made me paranoid but it's in and of myself to choose to continue using them. I've just never stopped using them long enough to know who I am.

Happy?

[Jiggles]

Just a little background information first.. SWIM started stimulants for inattentive ADD (not ADHD) when he was about 16 (SWIM is currently 22, his birthday info somehow got messed up in registration). Before this he was always a very empathetic person, and had a very very strong sex drive when puberty hit. Then at 16, he realized he had pretty deep attention problems, and soon started taking Adderall every day, which wonderfully allowed him to finally accomplish those once impossible tasks.

The longest term SWIM ever did any kind of amphetamines (adderall, dexedrine, etc.) was 6 months straight, about 20mg a day and sometimes SWIM would recreationally go higher on the weekends. After that long of use, it really took its toll on SWIMs emotional capacity AND sex drive, and he would find himself being very apathetic towards life in general, and was more prone towards depression. The only time SWIM was able to be empathetic and wanting to engage in sexual activity was during the short duration that the amphetamine was coursing through his bloodstream, and usually by night time he was just drained emotionally (this was even with lower doses sometimes). He felt like a speed freak, and realized he really was "addicted".

Upon stopping taking it, he fell into deep apathy about life, which eventually just led to depression. He missed the feelings he used to get as a "kid" just a few years back, and fell deeper and deeper into depression when he thought that those emotions might never come back. Finally after about 3 months of abstinence, he slowly regained the ability to feel the things he used to, albeit slightly.

Point is, even at the age of 16, the mind is still developing, and can be a very fragile thing. Even with controlled dosages of stimulants, and even in short term, they really can have a large impact. In SWIMs case, it may have been more extreme due to genetic predisposition, as both sides of his family have a far reaching history of mental "problems" along the lines of depression and anxiety. Yes, stimulants can be that wonderdrug catalyst that helps with ADD, but is there no other way to treat this problem? Just because something works and doesn't seem to have short term problems or even very noticeable long term ones, DOES NOT mean it should be the first route to take. The real truth is, noone has any idea what kind of damaging effects this can have on the brain and development.

Sorry SWIM ranted so much, he just got his dexedrine refilled for the first time in a long time, and unfortunately found himself taking one to survive work today.

Reputation Comments on this post:

excellent post, thank you for sharing

[Pondlife]

The mathematician Paul Erdos used amphetamine for much of his life, and he beleived that it greatly enhanced his creative ability.

Many of his friends were concerned about his amphetamine usage, because they considered him to be addicted. To prove that he was not, he stopped for a month, but later complained that this had set back his mathematical progress by the same amount of time. He said "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was filled with ideas. Now all I see is a blank piece of paper". When the month was up, and his friends convinced, he started taking amphetamine again.

He only took about three hours sleep each night, and he lived to age 83, so he probably spent twice as much time awake as the average person. He was also always working, so it's not surprising that he was one of the most prodigious mathematicians of the twentieth century.

My knowledge of Erdos comes from reading "The Man Who Loved Only Numbers". I'd recommend this book if you're interested to find out more.

Obligatory wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s

Reputation Comments on this post:

	informative, nice contribution
	Very cool and interesting info, thanks very much for sharing.

[stoneinfocus]

I wouldn´t confuse the action of dexies with a "Normal" state of being, you can be fooled easily with that... swim has(had) the same ADD along with astham and thus a greatly hindred sleep... he also has a family history of depressions and the age of 21-22 is usually, as swim´s seen it withn his mates, too, a steppingstone once again, thatßs not easily mastered...

I don´t think that the mind is that fragile and amphetamine at a moderate dose would cause any irreversible damage, but a possibilty of dopamine depletion as well as with some sex-steroids within the adrenal galnds and the hypothalmic-pituitary-gonadal axis might be resposible for less empathy, lack of emotin and sexual desire as well as feelings like love and desire to someone.. some testosterone did wonders to swim like unfolding the spectra of his existing feelings and empathy like a sun-sail of a satellite in space.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by co-incidence

I wouldn´t confuse the action of dexies with a "Normal" state of being, you can be fooled easily with that

Isn't the entire point of prescribed dexedrine/adderall to allow children with ADD to feel "Normal"? As a kid up until about 14ish years old, SWIM didnt have any noticeable signs of ADD and was generally quite able to concentrate. The emotions he felt naturally were quite strong and he never had anxiety or depression. Even when his ability to focus started going down and it was physically VERY hard for him to concentrate, the rest of his personality remained the same. Then when he started taking dexies/addies, his concentration was regained and his emotions still stayed pretty much the same, a tad enhanced sometimes. After using them for a while, his natural emotions were more suppressed when he wasn't under the influence of Adderall, and soon was taking the Adderall just to feel "normal".. Maybe SWIM is misunderstanding SWIco-incidence's post?

[stoneinfocus]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Isn't the entire point of prescribed dexedrine/adderall to allow children with ADD to feel "Normal"? As a kid up until about 14ish years old, SWIM didnt have any noticeable signs of ADD and was generally quite able to concentrate. The emotions he felt naturally were quite strong and he never had anxiety or depression. Even when his ability to focus started going down and it was physically VERY hard for him to concentrate, the rest of his personality remained the same. Then when he started taking dexies/addies, his concentration was regained and his emotions still stayed pretty much the same, a tad enhanced sometimes. After using them for a while, his natural emotions were more suppressed when he wasn't under the influence of Adderall, and soon was taking the Adderall just to feel "normal".. Maybe SWIM is misunderstanding SWIco-incidence's post?

Sorry; I think I´ve misunderstood you ;-)

But, yes, in fact some dopamine is what your body needs to connect emotional feelings with your soul or remind them as a positive or a plus to regain them and even deepen them.

@svenghali

Swim took testosterone as Sustanone @500-750mg/week plus methandrostenolone 25g/eod (which I think is the real pusher in making him relaxed and cool).. it´s anti- dopressive as hell, goves you strength and it was like swim felt the first time, what emotions people were having or putting in their talk and that swim had emotions like love and desire to others. (maybe or highly probably hypogonadism in swim of unknown genesis or a too low of testosterone for swim to live in a healthy, conscious way)

More than that, he had a rock hard circadian sleeping pattern so he didn´t even need an alarm clock to wake up totally refresehd at sunrise, ususally, or a bit later and sleep the best sleep of his life at nights.

His logical thinking improved, he was protected against illness, his asthma improved as did the healing of his polytrauma and he could, for like the first time in his life, fight back when he was offended, because now he knows when someone is offending him and he´s able to react in an intellectual and whatsoever manner.

Reputation Comments on this post:

thanks for the insight and good advice

[svenghali]

Originally Posted by co-incidence

some testosterone did wonders to swim like unfolding the spectra of his existing feelings and empathy like a sun-sail of a satellite in space.

I'm curious, piqued and intrigued. Was it pure testosterone SWIY took, or a precursor such as DHEA?
I'd like to hear more about this, in general.

[angela20377]

Swim doesn't mean to be redundant but she knows several people (including her little brother) who are constantly experiencing the positive effects of amphetamines on their daily lives. Swim's litte brother has intense adhd and his grades suffered for years before he was perscribed strattera (which did not work,perhaps because it isnt an amph.) and then adderall which has amazing effects on him and his grades in school. Swim also knows someone else who has several types of add (and adhd probably) who would literally pass out in class before she was perscribed concerta.
(both of these circumstances are quite convienent for swim because both people mentioned before sometimes find themselves with extra pills..haha)
Anyways, swim believes strongly that add/ adhd is highly over-perscribed here in the US but has found situations in which amphetamines have been used to great success and people who's lives have been changed by the chemical.

[Son of Axeman]

Regarding the amphetamine use causing emotional insensitivity, I think that's more a causation fallacy. Event A happens before Event B, therefore Event A must have caused Event B.

Regarding the GentleSWIY who was talking about being on amphetamines since age six, SWIM suggests that maybe the reason he was on amphetamines for such a long period of time might have contributed more to the emotional insensitivity than the amphetamines themselves. Of course, SWIM knows that he is not a medical professional, but he would ponder that thought before jumping to conclusions, blaming the amphetamine use and not the underlying condition that caused it.