Prescription stimulants
Prescription Stimulant Addiction Treatment
Prescription stimulants help people with ADHD when used as directed — and become addictive fast when they are not. Treatment addresses the crash as well as the habit.
About this condition
Prescription stimulant addiction
Prescription stimulants — amphetamines like Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse, and Dexedrine — are prescribed to treat ADHD. They are also widely abused, especially by college students chasing alertness, energy, or weight loss. Research shows students who abuse them actually do worse in school, while sharply increasing their odds of addiction.
Like all stimulants, these medications raise dopamine levels in the brain. Taken as directed, the increase is slow and steady; abused — swallowed in excess or crushed and snorted — tolerance develops rapidly, requiring ever-larger doses for the same effect and setting up a punishing crash-and-burn cycle.
Full-time college students between 18 and 22 are twice as likely to abuse amphetamines as their peers who are not in college — and stimulant abuse rarely travels alone, which is why Ambrosia's assessment screens for other substance use and co-occurring conditions before treatment begins.
Health effects of stimulant abuse
Short-term effects include increased alertness and energy, raised blood pressure and heart rate, narrowed blood vessels, increased blood sugar, and malnourishment. In high doses, dangerously high body temperature, irregular heartbeat, heart failure, and seizures can be fatal. Combined with alcohol, stimulants mask alcohol's depressant action — raising the risk of alcohol overdose.
Long-term abuse brings heart problems, psychosis, anger, paranoia, convulsions, and addiction. The physical toll includes oversleeping, excessive hunger, shaking, dehydration, and in severe cases seizure or cardiac arrest; psychologically, the crash cycle produces irritability, cravings, extreme mood swings, hallucinations, and even suicidal ideation.
Stimulant withdrawal
Withdrawal from prescription stimulants can drag on — sometimes for months. Common symptoms include:
- Powerful cravings
- Sleep disturbances, from insomnia to oversleeping
- Intense hunger
- Anxiety, irritability, and panic attacks
- Fatigue
- Depression and suicidal thoughts
Who is most at risk
Stimulant abuse concentrates among college students: full-time students aged 18 to 22 are twice as likely to abuse amphetamines as peers the same age who are not in college. Non-medical use rarely happens in isolation — students who misused amphetamines were far more likely to have also used marijuana, cocaine, or painkillers non-medically, and most reported binge drinking.
Treatment for prescription stimulant addiction
When prescription stimulants are used properly, they remain a beneficial part of treatment for severe ADHD — the problem is abuse, and the answer is treatment. Real, lasting recovery involves intensive therapeutic addiction treatment that tackles the physical, emotional, and spiritual sides of the addiction.
If you or a loved one has become addicted to prescription stimulants, our admissions team can walk you through what treatment would look like and get the process started.
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