Update: check out Part One and Part Three of the Crystal Meth Series of posts
More on the missing (in the public media at least) ADD connection with crystal meth.
The Journal of Addictive Diseases has an article called “Cognitive deficits among methamphetamine users with ADHD symptomatology.”
The preliminary data suggests that executive function deficits and some of the symptoms associated with long-term MA use may be due to the fact that a large proportion of MA addicts had ADHD symptomatology as children.
Here’s a word document that lists various articles. Do a search for the one called “Patterns of Initial Methamphetamine Use ” where they talk about a study of 95 meth users
“One third of the subjects (32%) who began using between the ages of 10 and 15 reported doing so because of the calming effect that methamphetamine had on them. These participants were classified using the Wender Utah Rating Scale as having ADHD symptomatology. No other age group included such a large number of participants with ADHD symptomatology.
It also helped the ADDers focus. Well that’s what ADHD stimulant medications also do, only they aren’t made from drano and paint thinner and while they have some side effects, becoming psychotic, and schizophrenic aren’t part of them.
This detailed clinical article on Emedicine discusses the toxicity of Meth and mention it affects not only dopamine but 2 other neurotransmitters involved with ADD, norepinephrine and serotonin see the Pathophysiology section.
Here’s what Wendy Richardson, an addiciton specialist and the author of When Too Much Isn’t Enough: Ending the Destructive Cycle of AD/HD and Addictive Behavior 
says
The problem is that self-medicating works at first. It provides the person with ADHD relief from their restless bodies and brains. For some, drugs such as nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, diet pills and “speed” enable them to focus, think clearly and follow through with ideas and tasks. Others chose to soothe their ADHD symptoms with alcohol and marijuana.
The problem is that self-medicating brings on a host of addiction-related problems that over time make our lives much more difficult. What starts out as a “solution” can cause problems including impulsive crimes, domestic violence, addictions, increased high risk behaviors, lost jobs, relation-ships, families, and death. Too many people with untreated ADHD, learning and perceptual disabilities are incarcerated, or dying from co-related addiction.
Self-medicating ADHD with alcohol and other drugs is like putting out fires with gasoline. You have pain and problems that are burning out of control, and what you use to put out the fire is gasoline. Your life may explode as you attempt to douse the flames of ADHD.
Here’s some articles on ADD and addictions. For more info on meth see this site which has clinical articles, and presentations on it. Here’s a former users’ meth site with articles, recovery sites
I’m not suggesting that all or even a majority of meth users are undiagnosed or untreated ADDers self medicating.
What I am suggesting is that there probably is a sizeable percentage of them who are. The mainstream media, health authorities and criminal justice system should realize this and start addressing it.
It’s also a wake up call for parents who don’t want to get their kids diagnosed for ADHD or don’t want to give their kids ADHD medication when they’re diagnosed and don’t really give them much other treatment. Not saying everyone must have meds but if you don’t use meds you need to use something else and it’s probably going to be a longer and harder road.
If your child has ADHD and you don’t use meds or deal with it effectively with some other methods, ADHD coaching, cognitive behavioural therapy, diet, exercise, tutoring, etc, you risk them dealing with it in a negative way through alcohol, tobacco, pot, or drugs like meth. There can be a heavy cost to denial.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Pete,
Thanks for making this important connection between crystal meth and ADHD. A lot of food for thought there.
You’re welcome Jessica, hopefully someone in the media will make the connection too.
Pete
Yes, thank you for bringing up an issue that has long been on my mind when I’m looking for answers. As someone who was most likely an undiagnosed child with ADD and who has grown up in times before much attention was given to ADD, I was forced to adapt in whatever ways I could, and always felt the struggle of trying to appear normal to others. However, the very first time I used methamphetamines, I experienced not only an immediate sense of calmness but the very same sense of control that I had sought for years…and people honestly thought I was more sober than they’d ever known me to be! My focus improved so drastically that it took me literally half the time it used to to accomplish just about anything. Of course, all of this has made getting off of the drug extremely difficult and I long for people with some knowledge of dealing with the co-occurring disorders of ADD and addiction to methamphetamine. So many of my cravings and symptoms might be better managed if I could just get my ADD addressed. So thanks for bringing it up…we just have a long way to go yet to make a difference.
You’re welcome Christina, you might want to check my listing of ADD support groups for people in you area that might know of local ADD resources.
http://www.addcoach4u.com/internationaladhdsupportgr.html
Hopefully you can let others know about your experience (possibly the media ) so they can learn from it instead of repeating it. People will give more consideration to someone that’s actually gone through it than just a researcher.
Pete
Thank you for validating what had been a longtime observation of mine. My ex co-users used to comment about how meth had the entire opposite effect on me as it did on them. While the rest of the group escalated into tweaking frenzies, I was on the couch, half-asleep.They attributed it to my race but I knew better.
Hi, I am doing a research paper on the connection of ADD or ADHD and self medicating. I was wondering if you have come across a study that didn’t just focus on Meth but other substances? I need all the help that I can get.
Thank You!
Jessica J.
click on the above link that says “Here’s some articles on ADD and addictions. “
with having adhd, i find myself addicted to meth to reduce stress and allows me to be more focused. Im tring to find other means and is it true that adults with adhd use meth. thank you.
I also used crank back in 1980’s. I also found that I could concentrate and that it slowed everything down for me. I was a heavy user for about 2 years. But, the weird thing was that when I quit using meth, i didn’t have withdrawels or any problems. I just stopped. I understand that for someone using it as much as I didn this is unusual.
Actually from what I’ve read it is rare Ruth. Seems like meth is harder to kick than heroin, but like any other drug i guess not everyone responds the same to it.
I’m 43 and last year learned from my doctor & family that my siblings and I were mis/undiagnosed with untreated ADHD since we were kids.. It explains many things but especially why my fellow PnP meth users tell how they feel on it and how it affects them – and it’s completely different for me – calming even – like the eye of the storm. They’re high and horny and I’m calm and focused… Their party goes on (right) – and I’m looking for support/treatment to quit self-medicating… I won’t say that meth isn’t a drug or I’m not addicted…We’re both at the same dance but there’s two different bands playing… Thanks for helping me (and others) understand this better…
You’re welcome, you might consider passing this info on to your doctor and drug and alcohol treatment centers so others won’t slip through the cracks too.
I can’t believe I came across this website and how it completely pertains to my situation. Meth for me was a calming effect and never a “party drug”. Besides reading the comments listed here, I have encountered maybe 2 people who have used meth that felt the exact way I did when used. Thanks to all who shared their thoughts and experiences here!
I just wanted to share with you my quick thoughts. I used meth for 5 years and then I realize as well as others including my doctor that I had ADHD. I started with Concerta now take Adderall and I stopped using meth cold turkey. I was looking for this connection and finally google lead me to this article. I feel strongly in a correlation between people with ADHD who never delt with it and learned to self medicate with meth. I also think that it’s feeling telling how I started getting legit treatment for ADHD and stopped taking meth cause I didn’t “need” it to feel like I was acting like everyone else.
Bravo on discussing this and I really hope we pursue this question further.
I, for many years now, have searched the web for meth topics. I am a self medicating meth addict and have been for around ten years. I’m in my 40’s now and wish I could find help but if you even suggest that you need to use a stimulant to get by ,people, doctors, just think your making an excuse for your using. I have cronic Hep C and the everyday fatigue has made me unable to have any sort of quality life. I just keep getting put on different anti-depressants. They help with my depression but not for fatigue.
Why is it so hard for the medical prof. to understand? I have been trying to find a way to buy adderall on the web because I have at least 75% of the symptoms for ADD as well. What the heck am I going to do?
Hi Debbie,
that’s too bad. Some in the medical profession do but not enough and people with ADHD need to help raise awareness and demand services or things won’t change. Perhaps you might try to find a dual diagnosis clinic ie http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dualdiagnosis.html
or someone that knows addictions and ADHD. They are hard to find but they are out there.
I finally found it! The info I have been looking for! I started using meth around a year ago (im 37 and struggled with every other addiction) and the effects on me were: calm, focused, finally slept through the night (I could smoke meth for 8 hours straight and fall asleep in 2 minutes because it “shut my mind off” from the B.S. that kept me awake), my bowels were finally regular after having irritable bowel syndrome for the past 10 years (so this is what “being regular” is!), I eat so good and am always hungary, my relationship with my girlfriend is awesome now (if she knew I was using she would leave me, how sad, that it has helped us out so much), everything feels like it did when I was in high-school – normal!
I know one other friend that is like me and everyone else is a “tweeker”! Running around everywhere, shaking, knocking on my door to get more at 3 in the morning with eyes coming out of there head. It’s sad that nobody understands where I am at! I lost my job after somehow they found out just a month ago and now am searching for answers, and sadly I was the best worker they had ever had, and even better since being able to focus! So sad.
What can I do? When not on meth my mind goes crazy and will not shut down, thinking about this, that, and this and that, and everything in between. I have quit for a week before and did not really have any withdrawls but I felt tired and my mind started to fire up at 100mph again. I would love to be able to take something from the doctor cause I’m blowing so much money on this stuff!
Thanks for the site and your help!
~”geno”
I was diagnosed aug2008. I have known for a long time that i was slow in some things and as I got older it was getting worse. I used from age 19-22 and i knew i was addicted and wanted to stop because i knew i was hurting my body, but i had never felt so clearminded and normal and being able to focus at the same time. I hated being so spaced out all the time. It took me 2 years after I quit to even mentally get over that drug. I am 31 now and am on adderall with prozac(have been on that since 2001), and the amphetimines help but i don’t feel like i have to take it and i don’t on the weekends. I feel much better just being diagnosed, makes so many things make better sense to me. i thought i was stupid but i was smart at the same time. The only thing that has not improved is my memory. My short term memory is getting worse. I believe my daughter who is 11 has it as well but i didn’t realize it until I was diagnosed. She does great at school but at home is completely in her own world and her biggest prob is finishing tasks and paying attention to details, she gets so tuned out. She is getting older now and I know that she has to learn to dicipline herself if she is going to get just the simple things done, like cleaning up her room. She can be in there for 3 hours and just gets distracted by something and gets nothing accomplished. I need to get her seen by the doctor but i am afraid of giving her meds but you are right…if I don’t deal with her problem, she may deal with it the wrong way. Sometimes it scares me how much she reminds me of myself. Right now i grounded her for losing track of the time(again) while walking the dog and talking to her friends. I said she will be grounded until she puts in more effort and I start seeing her get things done on her own without me telling her 5 times. Its been 2 weeks and she has improved on her chores in the past 2 days, she is learning its best to “just do it now before you forget it, do it fast and get it done”. I am proud of her, I want her to know that she can do it on her own first. If she might need meds for a little extra help then fine but I don’t want her to become dependent on them.
Thanks for putting this site up, it is nice to know that I am not alone
I am 23yrs old and have been using meth every single day for almost 7yrs. I quit completely for two years without a problem in order to support my boyfriend in his efforts to comply with his probation. now he has finally been sentenced, and i found myself right back on the stuff now that i don’t need to be supportive. I know i have adhd, though not diagnosed with it correctly as a teen. they said i was bipolar, which I’m not…. I just had a f-ed up family situation that still tends to cause me to fly off the handle. anyway, I have an appointment in a few days to see a doctor about getting treatment for my adhd. my question is should I stop using meth before i go in? is it going to effect the diagnosis? i fear if i go in on the stuff that they will say i am not add. but then if i quit, i am afraid I might be too tired and then they will say i am not. i can not tell them i do meth because i fear they will not treat me, that’s how people are toward meth users. i don’t know what to do. i can’t keep using it costs to much and i am not looking to go to jail. i am in college and everything is all messed up! what is my best route?
Hi Vanessa, first congrats on being willing to seek a diagnosis and seek change, that takes courage.
That’s a tricky question and since I’m not a doctor or drug and alcohol counselor, I think in your particular case you want to talk to someone first who has experience in this matter.
I’d suggest phoning your local city/province/state official drug and alcohol help line (or whatever name they use) and ask for their advice how to approach the problem. They should be in the front of the white pages or you can phone your local crisis line and I’m sure they’d have the number and you can ask them.
Some people DO treat meth users. There are resources out there, doctors, psychiatrists, narcotics anonymous etc.
But do go in, it’s worth the effort. Good luck.
I wish I’d seen this type of site eight years ago!
I was also a meth addict for five years while struggling with study and work etc. and undiagnosed ADHD. Like others here, it made me feel calm and clear-headed. The first time I tried it at a dance party, I left my frantically dancing friends to go home and clean the house! We self-medicating ADDers know how to have a good time
I did get diagnosed with ADHD just before I quit using (one look at my school report cards and the psychiatrist practically begged me to be an ADHD poster child). However, so many years on such an intense drug has made me really wary of the Dexamphetamine I’m now supposed to be taking daily. I take it twice a week at most and kind of have a love/hate relationship with it. I get things done (great!) I get antisocial (bad!) I can do boring and repetitive tasks (woo!) but I lose my adrenaline seeking childlike enthusiasm (bugger!).
I don’t know if other adult ADD/ADHD types who’ve experienced meth addiction feel as ambivalent about meds as I do. I do know that if medication alone was THE answer, ADD meth addicts would have no problems (after all, it makes us think clearly). And if abstinent recovery was THE answer, we’d be fine in NA, where ADD meds are considered as being ‘off the wagon’ and ADD’s just an excuse for an addictive personality anyway.
If there is an answer, it’s got to be carefully monitored medication combined with support groups. Once one ADD person tells another “you’re not crazy and not alone”, it tackles stigma. And stigma is the beast that keeps the ADDer addicted to toxic chemicals, alone in the bathroom wondering why the hell they have to shoot up twice a day to get through tasks others do before breakfast. Sorry I’m so dramatic, but I really hope meth-addicted ADDers reach out to others and get non-judgemental and useful help.
Best of luck to those struggling with addiction now.