adhdeveloper

I rarely think to drink water, because I rarely feel thirsty. When I do, I usually drink coffee.

It took a trip to the doctor to find out I was chronically dehydrated. I used to only drink 1 - 3 glasses of water a day.

To others reading this, keep in mind that it's very much anecdotal. I've taken Adderall XR for several years, and can confirm that it is far, FAR more powerful than coffee:

- I experience an extremely severe crash in the evenings (attention issues worse than my baseline, depression, anxiety, and lethargy to the point that it's difficult to start any non-trivial task) which I manage with anti-depressants and beta blockers.

- I become physically dependant on the drug after about 5 days of constant use. After discontinuing use, it takes approximately 4 - 6 weeks for the withdrawal symptoms to go away and to return to baseline.

- Excessive dosages (can be caused by not taking my medication for a few days then restarting) cause symptoms similar to mania, aggression, anxiety, social withdrawal, sweating, and racing heart.

My medication helps me live a normal life as a software developer, but I respect it for what it is - a powerful, physically addictive narcotic with potentially severe side effects. I know that it's become in vogue for professionals and students to take prescription stimulants as performance boosters, but it's important for these people to know that these medications can be very dangerous if abused, and are certainly no where near the safety and side effect profile of caffeine.