No, really. I’ve been prescribed Adderall, which is just a fun name for amphetamine. My shrink put me on it to keep me from sleeping all day, which I had been doing thanks to an increase in antidepressant. I don’t like it. This is not just a philosophical dislike (which I also have), but a physical discomfort. I’m not sure why, but sometimes it makes my head cloudy and my brain not work (something I don’t understand given the purpose of the med), in addition to the ever-present balance and coordination problems. And when it starts to wear off–ugh, I get queasy, have the shakes, and get hot flashes. It feels very much like hypoglycemia, but worse because of the mental weirdness. I told the doctor that I don’t like it, but all he did was lower the dosage, so that my “body can get used to it.” I don’t know about most people, but I don’t really have any desire to get used to amphetamine.
UPDATE (1/31/08): My doctor took me off of it! Apparently my body couldn’t tolerate it. It was making things worse rather than better, so I’ve started back on something much milder and more pleasurable: caffeine.
