ABUSING ADDERALL

EATING, BEHAVIOR DISORDERS COMMON

The second time Katie Severson took Adderall, she ingested almost
three times the average amount for a woman with moderate attention
deficit disorder.

One of her friends gave her the pill. She took another and ended up
with 50 to 70 milligrams of the drug in her body.

"My heart was beating out of my chest," said the pre-veterinary
medicine student.

And Severson should not have taken even a small amount of the drug --
she doesn't have a prescription and has not been diagnosed with ADD or
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by a doctor.

Severson is part of what experts say is a growing trend -- college
students illegally using Adderall as a stimulant.

Adderall is a stimulant medication used to counteract the symptoms of
ADD and ADHD. Some college students -- who aren't diagnosed with
either disorder -- say the drug helps them "focus" and "concentrate."
Health experts say the drug may do that -- but the benefits are not
worth the costs.

A study that will be published in the January issue of the Journal of
College Health reports that the use of drugs with similar effects to
Adderall has increased across the country.

"It's a trend that appears to be growing dramatically," said Baton
Rouge clinical psychologist Dr. William Gouvier.

Gouvier, who also is a University psychology professor, said
Adderall's purpose is to help people focus and concentrate. But it's
an amphetamine, and amphetamines can be addictive.

Severson said she uses the drug during finals week and before "big
tests."

"It helps me concentrate and stay focused," she said.

Doctors say this usage is not uncommon.

"Adderall gives many people the ability to concentrate -- whether
[they] are ADD, ADHD or not," Gouvier said.

But that doesn't mean students without prescriptions should take it
,he said.

Although Gouvier said it can improve concentration, he also said
students may experience vulnerability to seizures, "nervousness,
anxiety, sleep impairment and high blood pressure or other cardiac
complications."

Students who take Adderall without proper medical oversight are taking
"a very serious risk," he added.

But Severson said she thinks that even some of the people who are
prescribed the medicine don't really need it.

"I heard that all you have to do in order to get prescribed is answer
their questions and tell the doctors what they want to hear," she said.

But Dr. Timothy Honigman, a physician at the Student Health Center,
said students must visit a mental health professional and go through
an interview and testing process before being prescribed the drug.

That's what Patrick Guelfo had to do.

Guelfo, a construction management sophomore who has ADHD, has been
taking Adderall for 6.5 years, since he was in eighth grade.

Guelfo said he was prescribed the drug because he had a short temper
with his teachers and could not sit still.

He began taking the drug at a low dosage -- five milligrams. That
dosage has increased over the years, and he now takes 30 milligrams.

The drug does help him concentrate, Guelfo said, but not all its
consequences are beneficial.

Guelfo said Adderall makes him so jumpy that he said he has to drink a
beer at night to help him fall asleep. The drug also makes him easily
irritated and frustrated he said.

Dr. Claire Advokat, a biological psychologist and psychology
professor, said these are signs that Guelfo is over-prescribed. She
said doctors are supposed to start patients at a low dosage and
increase it slowly.

"Start low and go slow," she said.

If a patient experiences "unacceptable side effects," such as
over-irratibility, that's probably a sign that they are taking too
much Adderall.

Advokat said students who are not diagnosed with ADD but take the drug
are taking a risk.

"They need to know what they are doing," Advokat said. "Students
should be aware that it can cause anorexia, bipolar disorder, insomnia
or even addiction."

Gouvier said other potentially dangerous long-term effects include
undesired weight loss, stunted growth and anxiety disorders.

Taking the drug without a prescription is also "habitual criminal
activity [that could lead] to possible arrests and prosecution,"
Gouvier said.

Selling Adderall is a felony. So is possessing the drug without a
prescription.

"Not only is it a felony if you sell it, but it can be potentially
harmful to someone who does not need it," Honigman said.

Instead of Adderall, Gouvier suggested "the judicial use of coffee or
caffeinated beverages and planning your study schedule in advance."