Side effects of Adderall

 

As we move towards the end of the semester with finals just around the corner many students will turn to stimulant drugs such as Adderall to aid in their last-minute studying efforts. Adderall is taken typically for its ability to help with attention-deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Once ingested it helps with focusing for longer durations of time. Making it one of the most abused prescription drugs among college students(Alsberge et al., 2022).  Adderall is a mixture of 3:1 d- and l-enantiomers of amphetamine salts. Two of the common side effects of consuming Adderall are loss of appetite as well as increase urination.(Fairman et al., 2021)

Adderall works by increasing the activity of the neurotransmitters (NT) norepinephrine and dopamine by way of amphetamine salts. These salts increase the release of the NT and decrease the reuptake of these NTs once in the synaptic cleft. The stimulation of these two NT helps increase a person’s focus and makes for more efficient studying by using the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). As we learned in class, these two NT are part of the SNS. The SNS upregulates processes like increasing heart rate, constricting blood vessels, and sweating. The SNS also inhibits actions of the digestive processes in the small intestine. The increased release and duration of these NT is the reason people don’t feel hungry while on Adderall. In particular, dopamine is the neurotransmitter that is released at the start of consuming a meal and signals to the body that it is full or soon to be full. The increased dopamine tricks your body into thinking it is full and explains the decrease in a person’s appetite.

The increased activity of SNS does not explain the increased need for urination. In fact, SNS does the opposite facilitating urine storage in the bladder. The exact mechanisms for how Adderall acts as a diuretic are not well understood. Two theories include inhibiting aldosterone and the body’s natural regulation to an increase in blood pressure. Aldosterone helps regulate the water and sodium balance in the body. When aldosterone is active it retains sodium thus retaining water. When inhibited, increased levels of sodium are excreted along with water resulting in less reabsorption and more excretion. (Chiu et al., 2014) Another possible mechanism is the fact that Adderall is a stimulant that increases heart rate and blood pressure. This increase in blood pressure may result in increased excretion of fluids by the body to try and counterbalance the increase in blood pressure naturally and return to homeostasis. However, at this point, no single mechanism has been identified as the primary culprit in the increased need to urinate while trying to cram for exams. Adderall has other side effects like weight loss, dry mouth, and insomnia that would make for great further investigation questions. 

 

References

 

A

lsberge, J. B., Lee, D. Y., & Jumper, J. M. (2022). Central serous chorioretinopathy associated with Adderall (dextroamphetamine-amphetamine) and topical steroid use. American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports, 26, 101482. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajoc.2022.101482

Fairman, R. T., Vu, M., Haardörfer, R., Windle, M., & Berg, C. J. (2021). Prescription stimulant use among young adult college students: Who uses, why, and what are the consequences? Journal of American College Health, 69(7), 767–774. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1706539

Chiu, H. F., Cheng, J. K., Lin, P. H., Chang, J. C., Chen, I. M., Lin, C. I., Chang, W. P., & Lin, C. H.    (2014). A mechanistic study on urine retention in d-amphetamine addicts. The Chinese journal     of physiology, 57(4), 171–181. https://doi.org/10.4077/CJP.2014.BAC198

Khan A, T. B. (2021). Routine Use of Prescription Adderall Leading to Non-cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema and Respiratory Failure. Cureus 13(7): e16371.

National Center for Biotechnology Information (2022). PubChem Compound Summary for CID      3007,    Amphetamine. Retrieved November 28, 2022                               from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Amphetamine.