Summary of long term effects of Adderall


There are a large number of long term effects for those taking Adderall.

  • Mental:

    Increased focus, attention, motivation. Reduction of ADHD symptoms.

  • Heart:

    Use of Adderall or related stimulants for more than a year increases your diastolic blood pressure by ~ 3-5mm HG, systolic blood pressure by ~ 2-5mm HG and your heart rate ~ 3-5 beats per minute. Additionally, it is possible that ECG testing will show slight electrical activity differences.

  • This is almost always not good (except possible in someone with initial low blood pressure), but is it bad? Some argue that these increases don’t have any direct health implications, while others argue that they can show a 20% increase in emergency room use for heart issues in kids who use stimulants.Before using stimulants, it may make sense to get some basic cardiac testing.

  • Brain:

    Some studies have shown that stimulant use in people with ADHD may increase the size of certain parts related to controlling focus, motivation and attention. This is very positive. Some studies we’ve looked at of students on long term use of stimulants showed improvement in overall academic performance as well. On the other hand, some animal models have hinted at the possibility that use of stimulants can increase the build up of free radicals in the brain. Even if this is the case, it might be amenable by healthy consumption of anti-oxidants.

  • Appeptite/weight:

    Amphetamines like Adderall are among the best appetite suppressers. This led to their wide abuse as diet pills and may cause unwanted weight reduction in people who use them. Long term use in kids has been shown to be associated with slight weight loss and even possibly slight height reduction.

  • ADHD Treatment Effect:

    Many people taking stimulants ask the question – will they stop working? The news seems to be good, however.

    • Researcher Doctor Biederman reports that in a study of several hundred patients over 1-2 years, for most, stimulant medications continued to work well at a steady dose.

    Doctor Hallowell, coauther of Driven to Distraction, reports that in almost all cases, tolerance to ADHD medication does not develop, but is possible. Dr. Paul Wender, a noted researcher into ADHD, reports that tolerance is rare, and most patients can take stimulants for many years without problem.

    Dr. Ari Tuckman, a clinician who has treated hundreds if not thousands of people with ADHD, reports in an interview with us that most often, ADHD meds can be used at therapeutic dose daily for years without losing efficacy.

    Of the dozens of research papers reviewed, very few mentioned that developing long term tolerance was a limiting factor in treating ADHD. Even then, it is almost always the case that tolerance can be reduced or removed by temporarily stopping treatment.

    That said, there could be more research and data on this subject.