Adderall, Adderall is a drug, a stimulant, yet people take it everyday, whether it is prescribed for them or not. Some people don’t know what side effects Adderall really has.

But I do, I have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Adderall is what was prescribed for me to help me concentrate and pay attention in school.

The Adderall does help, my attention span has gotten a lot longer, my grades have improved, and I can remember what happened in class, even a few days ago. Before I started taking Adderall, my attention span was that of a five year old, and I could barely remember what happened twelve hours ago.

It has helped me a lot, but that isn’t all it has done to me. These are a few side effects that I have had to deal with:

First: One side effect that I encountered was something I wasn’t warned about. Every night right before I went to bed, a million ideas, thoughts, problems, anything you could possibly think of went through my head. They would seem to go so fast, nothing I did could make them go away. It was like every night I would go through a slideshow of my entire life in my head. This made sleep very hard. Just lately this problem has subsided, but it lasted for about five and a half months.

Second: Occasionally I will get awful dizzy spells. When I get one, I have to stop in my tracks. If I don’t stop, everything goes black for a minute or so. When I get them I feel like I am going to faint. A few times I almost have.

Third: Doctors say one of the side effects of taking Adderall is “mild appetite suppression, for a short period of time”. What’s happening to me is a little more severe.

I take thirty milligrams of Adderall every morning, because of it I don’t eat anything for lunch. Most of the time I don’t eat dinner either. The only meal I eat is breakfast. I have lost at least 10 lbs. since I started taking the Adderall. This has been going on for about six months (so far). If you ask me, that isn’t a very short period of time.