So Adderall is an amphetamine salt. Not a methamphetamine. Not that they don’t have methamphetamine drugs that are prescribed for ADHD. But they are drastically different drugs.
I do think their prescriptions are over dosing, but to say that over prescribing is preventing those that need it is the wrong conclusion. If there is that much need, then there should be increased production. However the federal government restricts the productions to a certain level.
Like most drugs to treat mental illnesses, it’s a lot of “try this and report” to determine the effectiveness and the dosage. We don’t truly understand the neurotransmitters or how they affect mood and mental health. We work on correlation. It’s only by how the patient self reports the effects that they can adjust the dosage and potentially change to different drugs.
Lumisal@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Meth analogue. It’s not straight up meth but works on the same receptors, much how synthetic opioids do. It’ll still perk up and focus a normal burnt out person too.
Two things can be true. If it’s being over prescribed, then technically production meets need, but need has also been artificially raised. That said, there at least was a shortage due to over prescription, and in some places still are.
Except a lot doesn’t try basic things first when unsure to rule out other possible causes. Not even blood tests in many cases to see if it’s not some other illness or deficiency. Or just overwork. I know correlation isn’t causation but that Americans especially seem to be diagnosed much higher than Europeans with ADHD despite the healthcare not being socialized seems to correlate with the extreme work culture Americans have. There’s basically no vacations, a consumerist culture that encourages debt, and high work schedules. When you work that much, it’s not unreasonable your brain starts to complain about not having fun and refuses to easily concentrate anymore and instead prefers seeking dopamine. Combine that with dopamine hitters that require a short attention span like TikTok or much of social media in general and that’s a recipe for a burnout very similar to ADHD. But giving Adderall to someone burnt out is the same as giving coffee to someone sleep deprived - it’s only getting you through the symptoms but not actually fixing the problem. And the American mental health system seems to extremely easily give drugs rather than figure out if you actually need them first, or if there’s another way to actually fix the problem.
Actually, that’s the American health system in general. Mild hypertension? Don’t bother encouraging the patient to just go for an evening walk every other day for some mild exercise first to see if that helps, just take some calcium ion channel inhibitors! A bit overweight with some slightly elevated blood glucose levels? Let’s not get them to consult a nutritionist first, just go straight for the ozempic.
To me the current over diagnosis of ADHD and over prescription of medication in general is more a sign of the private healthcare system and runaway capitalism in general in the USA, rather than extremely significant prior under-diagnostics.