What is Adderall?
It’s currently used mainly to treat the symptoms of ADHD in children and adults but its history is actually closely tied to weight loss solutions.
Adderall, first introduced to the market in 1996, is a combination of four chemicals in particular:
- Amphetamine aspartate monohydrate
- Amphetamine sulfate
- Dextroamphetamine saccharate
- Dextroamphetamine sulfate
Rexar’s Obetrol, a weight loss pill marketed in the 1970s, was recalled after it was proven ineffective by the Drug Efficacy Study Implementation program. Rather than abandoning the product altogether, the manufacturers decided to simply replace two of the drug’s components with amphetamine and dextroamphetamine.
For several years the product continued under the same branding for the same weight loss purpose. In 1994, however, Obetrol pivoted and began being marketed as a treatment for ADHD as it is today, changing its name to Adderall along the way.
Reasons for Taking Adderall XR
Prescription Adderall is used to treat a number of conditions but the most common one is undoubtedly ADHD. According to the American Psychiatric Association, this condition (also known as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is one of the most common mental disorders among children but also affects a large number of adults as well.
In fact, it’s estimated that ADHD affects 5% of all children and 2.5% of all adults. To put those numbers into perspective, that’s around 3 million children with ADHD and 6 million adults in the United States alone.
There are three main prescription medications used to treat ADHD today, each of which is a combination of the dextroamphetamine and amphetamine compounds listed above. These prescriptions, according to MedlinePlus, are:
- Adderall – used to treat ADHD in adults and children 3 years and older.
- Adderall XR – used to treat ADHD in adults and children 6 years and older.
- Mydayis – used to treat ADHD in adults and children 13 years and older.
- Adderall is also sometimes used to treat the symptoms of narcolepsy as well.
Effects of Adderall on the Brain
Adderall, along with Adderall XR and Mydavis, all affect the brain in the same way – they act as a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant. In general, this class of drugs increases the activity of the body and mind. A few other CNS stimulants are:
Adderall has two main mechanisms of action. On the one hand, it helps stimulate the production and release of three key neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These chemicals are instrumental in maintaining focus, improving mood, and having increased energy.
The more of these neurotransmitters you have floating around in your brain, the better the odds are of them pairing up with receptors on your neurons and causing the effects above.
Adderall also intensifies the effects of these chemicals by preventing them from being absorbed back into the cells. So rather than a molecule of these neurotransmitters only being able to affect your cells once, Adderall lets them work over and over again, intensifying the effects even more.