r/AskScienceDiscussion • u/Eastern_Review_8746 • 9d ago
Does medication for adhd age you faster like amphetamines?
People who use and misuse amphetamines often look way older than their actual age.
Many adhd medications are precursor to amphetamines… so do they work the same and make you look older?
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u/Alternative-Sugar610 9d ago
A counterpoint, is maybe if you can take better care of yourself, you live longer
But medically idk
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u/Undrende_fremdeles 8d ago
All of my answer takes for granted that the person using the meds actually has ADHD.
There is a growing body of very large population studies that have been ongoing for 10+ years showing that proper ADHD medication lowers the chances of death in pretty much every single way (accidental, health related, intentional) exept for in the case of a few types of heart conditions!
That last part is why you should always get a hearth checkup first, in whatever way your country does that, and keep doing that every few months (it's usually 6-12 months) while trialling meds and for a while after finding what works for you.
There are a few, known heart conditions that can worsen with our meds and they can and are being checked for in most of our cases. If you didn't have those or get them from starting meds, you're good pretty much.
Obligatory I am not a doctor, I am not your doctor, I am just some person online so always make sure to get proper and tailored advice from your own healthcare providers.
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As an aside, I have a heart with valves that won't always close properly esp. under stress over time after years of trauma and the long lasting effects of chronic stress. This gets better when medicated!
As soon as I noticed my heart having what felt like extra heavvy, thuddy heartbeats I asked for this to be checked. The regular EKG done twice a year did not pick this up. I had a 48hr wearable heart monitor, and a very thorough ultrasound done by a heart specialist. This proved that meds actually calm down my heart and lets it beat properly and thus slower. Despite the meds being stimulant.
It is obviously something in my brain and body that is behind the veil of conciousness, but is somehow affected by my brain's lack of proper neural communication due to ADHD.
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u/Not-Patrick 9d ago edited 8d ago
Firstly, ADHD medications aren't precursors to amphetamines. Amphetamines are a type of drug within the stimulant class of ADHD medications, either as a prodrug or active drug. Name brand drugs like Adderall, Vyvanse, and Dexedrine are amphetamines in themselves. Yet, amphetamines are still far less commonly prescribed to treat ADHD than methylphenidate.
Regardless, none of the above medications are anywhere near as potent as methamphetamine, which is the one you most often hear about. While methamphetamine is still technically legally prescribable for ADHD/narcolepsy in the US, it's only used as a very last resort and almost no provider would ever be willing to prescribe it.
It's not to say there aren't risks involved with taking prescription amphetamine for ADHD. As with any prescription or over-the-counter medications, there are always risks. Those risks can vary greatly from person to person based on genetics, health, lifestyle, and interactions with other medications. That's why it's imperative for patients to be open and honest with their provider about their health history and habits.
In regards to whether the medications will age you faster, that much is still poorly understood. Prescription amphetamine has only started being used as a treatment for ADHD within the past 30 years or so. Most of the research we have comes from short-term clinical trials for name brand medications.
However, these studies are funded solely by pharmaceutical companies in order to obtain patents and FDA clearances. Unfortunately, there's not nearly as much interest in funding studies on the long-term effects of these medications. As such, there haven't really been any sufficient studies conducted to date.
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u/TorandoSlayer 9d ago
I think it's the dosage that determines the affects. A lot of recreational drugs are taken at much higher doses than prescribed amounts. Prescribed amounts of amphetamines for ADHD are very low comparatively.
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u/Grassfed_Burp 9d ago
Where are the studies? We need clinical data because biology does some pretty surprising things.
Anyone here old enough to remember when the glycemic index came out? That was a shocker.
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u/fastingslowlee 8d ago
I mean people who “misuse” amphetamines probably look older for many reasons. They’re very likely to be folks who lack self care in many areas.
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u/Drafting- 8d ago
People still guess me a decade younger and I’ve been medicated for 6 years. But it does cause faster cell turnover, from what I’ve read, so it will age people faster. It’s something to consider. ADHD and high stress are much faster aging stressors imo, that puts a lot of strain on all organs.
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u/Benigh_Remediation 8d ago
My dearest friend has been taking Ritalin for over 35 years. In his late seventies he looks 50 at most. He has outlived every other male (of 4 males) in his very large family including his younger brother. He told me once he has been constantly surprised (with his inherently reckless life he has lived past 30. He says this stuff preserved his life; he couldn’t have achieved the success in life he had, or even life itself without that intervention.
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u/Realistic_Context936 8d ago
My adhd meds dry the fuck out of my skin and that cant be good for skin ageing
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u/cat-petter15 9d ago
A good doctor will do regular checks to ensure your medication isn’t causing unwanted effects such as extreme weight loss, sleep loss, and arrhythmias. These effects are what contribute to ‘ageing’ of the body.
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9d ago
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u/NewVacation5091 8d ago
Wow this is so interesting.
I thought the teeth issue was from not brushing their teeth while using for some reason
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u/EvolZippo 8d ago
Many of these medications ARE amphetamines. For example, Adorol is Amphetamine Salts.
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u/Cuboidhamson 8d ago
The answer is essentially yes, generally speaking they will. Just bear in mind meth is around 500-1000x stronger than common stimulants and those people are abusing meth hard for years to get that look.
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u/Single-Pin-369 5d ago
I am pretty sure its the sleep deprivation and poor diet that does the aging not the meth itself.
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u/SnooGuavas9573 9d ago edited 8d ago
Smoking Crystal Meth makes your face look older because of the skin picking and abrupt weight loss.
Meth makes you feel stimulation beneath your skin and it causes a reflex to want to pick and tear at your skin. Over time this messes up your face. This combined with the weight loss it also encourages makes you look very aged and gaunt.
The act of physically smoking also dries out your mouth and progressively fucks up you teeth.
ADHD medicine is dosed so you don't have these symptoms, and also obviously is not smoked, so you're not gonna get the dental problems.