Galindo 1

Luis Galindo
ENC 1102
Dr. Taylor
Annotated Bibliography
Effects of Recreational use of ADHD Medicine on Students Health and Performance
"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder." NIMH RSS. National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.
Web. 04 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficithyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml>.
In Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder breaks down what ADHD is, the signs and
symptoms that someone with ADHD can have, and the side effects of the medicine. ADHD
medication does not treat ADHD but instead it helps reduce peoples hyperactivity, impulsivity,
and their ability to focus, work, and learn. ADHD medication affects everyone differently and a
certain medication might work for one person but not another. There are many different types of
medication out there such as pills, liquids, and capsules. All types of mediation are released
differently in someone body and some medication might have a longer acting affect so that
people only have to take the medication once. With the medication there come side effects, the
most common types of side effects which are decreased appetite sleep problems, anxiety, and
irritability. Most of these symptoms can be resolved by lowering the dose the patient takes or
stop taking an afternoon or evening dose. The article also mentions that in 2007 the FDA started
to require all makers of ADHD medications to develop guides that explain patiently risks that
people can have. The FDA started to require these guides after new data was found that showed

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that ADHD patients with existing heart conditions had a slightly higher risk of strokes, heart
attacks, and sudden death when taking the medication. Atomoxetine, a type of ADHD
medication, can cause one of the more serious side effects that other medication are less likely to
cause which is suicidal thoughts. This article will help me give some background of the disorder,
some of the many different side effects that ADHD medication can cause, and the serious
dangers that the medication can pose to certain people.

Bhandari, Smitha. "Types of ADHD: Inattentive, Hyperactive-Impulsive, and Combined Types."

WebMD.

WebMD,

May

2015.

Web.

04

Mar.

2016.

<http://www.webmd.com/addadhd/guide/types-of-adhd>.
In the Article Types of ADHD it talks about the three different types of ADHD. The three types
of ADHD are Inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and a combined type. When someone has the
Inattentive type they usually cannot pay attention to detail, make simply and careless mistakes,
get easily distracted, etc. When someone is hyperactive-impulsive type they usually cannot stay
seated, talk too much, interrupt constantly, talk out of turn, and there are a couple more. The
most common type of ADHD is the combined type which people show symptoms of inattentive
and hyperactive-impulsive. This article helps me explain the reasons people that are prescribed
ADHD medication need it and the different types of ADHD.

Bren, Linda. "ADHD: Not Just for Kids Anymore." PsycEXTRA Dataset (n.d.): n. pag. ADHD:
Not Just for Kids Anymore. FDA Consumer Magazine, Nov.-Dec. 2014. Web. 04 Mar.

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2016. <http://cookspharmacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ADHD_NotJustforKidsAnymore.pdf>.
According to the article ADH: Not Just for Kids Anymore people with ADHD can face more
serious consequences then people without. Children with ADHD have more emergency visits and
adolescents are more likely to be involved in risky behavior. In the article they mention that they
spoke to Raymond Woosley, a clinical pharmacologist and vice president for the health and
sciences at the University of Arizona, and he advises people with ADHD and are prescribed
stimulants to get checked out and notify their doctor of their total medical condition to make sure
they are not at risk due to the medication. Woosley also urges that parents should get their kids
checked out by a qualified pediatrician and should not insist on getting their kids a
stimulant/medication based only on experiences of friends children because if a child is not
given a right diagnose it can make them worse. The article also talks about the maybe different
types of treatments people with ADHD can get such as emotional counseling and health
professionals. From this article I can show the serious health issues that ADHD medication pose
and the importance of making sure people only take the right dose or type of medication for them
because if they dont it can make them worse off.

Hom J, Elaine. "Adderall: Uses, Abuses & Side Effects." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 06
Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2016. <http://www.livescience.com/41013-adderall.html>.
In the article Adderall: Uses, Abuses & Side Effects it explains what Adderall (ADHD
medication) is, the side effects, and the danger of taking the medication. Adderall is a
combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine which are meant to stabilize the brains

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neurotransmitters. Adderall should not be taken by people with history of glaucoma, severe
anxiety, or a personal or family history of Tourette syndrome. Adderall is a schedule II controlled
substance which means that it is a drug with a high risk for addiction or abuse. Symptoms of
abuse of the drug could vary all from a severe rash, insomnia, and irritability to more severe
symptoms such as psychosis. In colleges some students tend to abuse the drug to help them
perform better on tests or papers. They do so because Adderall can help some people become
more focus, alert, and improve their memory. However, taking Adderall or other ADHD
medication can cause some serious problems to students or people that are not prescribed to them
because of the vast amount of side effects and the risk of becoming addicted to it or even
overdose on it. When someone overdoses on Adderall or similar medication usually become
fatigue, depressed, and have cardiovascular or gastrointestinal symptoms. With the information
from this article I will explain some of the reasons why students take ADHD medication illegally
and how ADHD medication such as Adderall are highly dangerous due to the fact that they are
highly addicting.

Lakhan, Shaheen E., and Annette Kirchgessner. "Prescription Stimulants in Individuals with and
without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Misuse, Cognitive Impact, and
Adverse Effects." Brain and Behavior. Blackwell Publishing Inc, 23 July 2012. Web. 04
Mar.2016.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3489818/#!

po=0.297619>.
According to the article Prescription Stimulants and Adverse Effects talks and explains why
high school and college students take ADHD medication even though they are not prescribed. A

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study conducted by Wilens in 2008 reported that 16% to 29% of students with prescriptions to
ADHD medication have been asked to give, sell, or trade their medication. In another study
conducted by Low and Gendaszek in 2002, they surveyed a single US college and found out that
35.5% of undergraduates reported using simulants without a prescription. It has been reported
through various amounts of surveys and studies that the main reason students misuse ADHD
medication is to help them study and prepare for upcoming exams or projects. In a recent study
conducted by McNiel in 2011 found out that 70% of dental and dental hygiene students used a
prescription stimulant to improve attention and/or concentration. According to a recent study
conducted by Kadison in 2005, one of main reasons students misuse stimulants is due to the
pressure to succeed academically, poor sleep habits because of large workloads, and the social
and financial demands that students have. The issue of students faking ADHD and or getting
stimulants illegally to help them focus has become such a wide spread problem through out
Universitys, that some Universities including Duke University have enacted a new policy stating
that the use of unauthorized prescription medication for the use of academic performance has
been added to the definition of cheating. In a recent study by Vitiello in 2011, they tested if
ADHD medication has long term effects causing high blood pressure and they found out that
there seems to be no increase of high blood pressure, but the effects of the stimulants on heart
rate can be detected years after its use. With the information in this article I can explain and give
creditable studies of the amount of students that misuse ADHD prescription medication, some of
the main reasons they take the medication, and studies showing if the medication actually does
help people without ADHD.

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Loria, Kevin. "21 Startling Facts That Everyone Should Know About Adderall." Business
Insider.

Business

Insider,

Inc,

09

May

2014.

Web.

04

Mar.

2016.

<http://www.businessinsider.com/how-adderall-affects-your-body-and-brain-2014-5>.
In 21 Startling Facts That Everyone Should Know About Adderall article it talks about some
serious problems that have occurred recently involving the use of Adderall or other ADHD
medication. It states that in last couple years that the diagnosis for ADHD medication has risen
41% in over a decade. In 2007, there were 5.6 million monthly ADHD prescriptions for people
aged 20 to 39, but by 2012 that number grew too close to 16 million. In recent years, according
to the New York Times, the FDA has state multiple times that every major ADHD drug has been
false and misleading advertising since 2000. They have also noted that the sales of stimulants
have quadrupled since 2002 due to the fact of misleading quizzes that placed more than half of
the 1,100 adults that participated in the study under the range that says they will most likely
suffer from ADHD. This article can help me explain the seriousness of understanding ADHD
medication and how easy companies that make the medication make it so that people can get
prescriptions to their drugs.

Oremus, Will. "Are ADHD Drugs Dangerous? Can They Make You Smarter?" Overachievers
Are Popping Adderall to Get Ahead. Is That a Good Idea? Slate, 27 Mar. 2013. Web.
23 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/superman/2013/03/adderall_ritalin_vyvanse_d
o_smart_pills_work_if_you_don_t_have_adhd.html>.

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The article Are ADHD Drugs Dangerous? Can They Make You Smarter? it talks about how
people in colleges view ADHD medication some of the differences that the drug has on people
with ADHD and people do not have ADHD. According to the article one in three students on
major college campuses has used ADHD medications illicitly and the most common reason is to
help them study. Alan DeSantis, a sociologist at the University of Kentucky, has recently done a
study that shows that many college students dont see Adderall or similar ADHD medication as a
drug but instead as a study aid and that more than 50 percent of the upperclassman at the
University of Kentucky have reported that they have used ADHD medication at least once.
ADHD medication help control the brains pleasure and reward centers and for people with
ADHD it helps them by helping them concentrate on tasks that would bore them and for people
without ADHD it could have the same effect. Scott Kollins, director of the ADHD program at
Dukes medical school, said that when people with ADHD take a stimulant it helps them get
back to n even playing field and when someone without AHD takes a stimulant it boots them up
a little. Martha Farah, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted a study where
she found out that some students who took ADHD stimulants saw no performance gains on tests
that measured things like creativity and or a working memory and she explain it by saying They
only thought the drug was helping them. This article helps me explain the controversy on
whether or not ADHD medication actually helps people without ADHD or not and to what extent
does it help. The article also helps me explain a little more on how the drugs are viewed by the
public and how common they are at Universities.

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Nazeer, Ahsan, Miriam Mansour, and Kathleen A. Gross. "ADHD and Adolescent
Athletes." Frontiers in Public Health. Frontiers Media S.A., 17 June 2014. Web. 04 Mar.
2016. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4060024/>.
In this article it talks about how sports and physical exercise help children with ADHD and can
potentially improve their symptoms. In recent studies it has been reported that if children with
ADHD exercise regularly it improves their behaviors and also academic performance as well.
Regular exercise increases levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, two vital neurotransmitters
that are deficient in individuals with ADHD. Other methods to help maintain and improve the
symptoms of ADHD would include medication, therapy, and academic help. The most common
form of treatment for ADHD is stimulant medications. Medication has been proven to be the
most effective form of treatment but over the last couple of years it has been debated whether the
drugs can cause some serious health problems. It has been proven that stimulant medication
possess the risk of increasing someones heart rate and blood pressure. ADHD medication causes
ones heart to increase its workload due to the increase demand for oxygen causing the persons
heart rate to increase. ADHD medication could cause someone heart rate to increase but at the
same time it has been reported that it has helped some athletes excel over their peers that are not
on the medication. It has been reported that even though some athletes lack creativity and
spontaneity behavior they end up having better participation and outcome in sports. The
stimulants improve concentration and boost performance which is why some athletes consider
the medication beneficial and sometimes use them to gain an advantage. This article will help me
describe some of the other methods people have seen to help people with ADHD and also some
of the reasons athletes consider taking the medication.

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Szalavitz, Maia, and Maia Szalavitz. "ADHD Medications Improve Decision-Making, But Are
They Being Over Used? | TIME.com." Time. Time, 26 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
<http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/26/adhd-medications-improve-decision-making-butare-they-being-used-properly/>.
In this article it talks about the some cases studies done which reported that people that were
taking ADHD medication were less likely to break the law and that they reported that the
medications improved their ability to make good decisions. Many critics say that they fear that
stimulant medications are drugging children into submission turning them into robots. Ilina
Singh of Kings College London performed a case study where she interviewed American and
British children that were taking ADHD medication and she found out that the children reported
that the drugs improved their moral thinking and that they felt that the drug just helped them
control themselves better. According to a Swedish study they discovered that ADHD has long
been linked with an elevate risk for crime and for drug addiction which explains why people that
take ADHD medication seem to assess their actions more clearly and avoid criminal behavior.
This article can help me explain some of the effects that ADHD medication has on some people
by helping them make more clear decisions and avoiding doing criminal acts.

Stone, Larry. "Adderall Has Become a Popular Drug for Athletes Trying to Gain an Edge." The
Seattle Times. The Seattle Times, 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/adderall-has-become-a-popular-drug-forathletes-trying-to-gain-an-edge/>.

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This article talks about why professional athletes are starting to abuse ADHD medications such
as Adderall. Adderall has been banned by virtually every sport including NCAA, MLB, NFL,
and many more. In all sports some players are allowed to take the drug without penalty only if
they apply and are granted permission to do so. In 2011 the MLB granted 105 players permission
to use ADHD medication which for some doctors is an eye opener because they claim that they
have not seen that many patients recently that absolutely need the medication to be able to
function normally. Dr. Don Catlin, the founder and former director of the UCLA Olympic
Analytical Lab, says that Adderall helps athletes by making them faster and is equivalent to
drinking 25 to 30 cups of coffee. This article can helps explain the seriousness of ADHD
medication where Sport leagues are banning the use of ADHD medication and making sure that
the drugs are not abused for the wrong reason by players to gain an advantage.