[Michelle125]

I guess I'll post this here in our PCOS forum, since it also addresses the issue of what is more dangerous- being overweight and infertile with PCOS, or losing the weight via a drug and reversing the symptoms of PCOS? Now, these articles I'm going to talk about do not mention PCOS.

So the first article is one in my recent issue of Allure magazine. I was VERY surprised that the article WAS NOT NEGATIVE. It spoke about Hollywood's obsession with being thin (old news), then it talked about many women obtaining Adderall (the ADD drug) illegally or through doctors to keep thin. Adderall usually has the side effect of reduced appetite, increased energy, and thus weight loss. The only negativity in the article was a portion that described some of those in Hollywood becoming addicted so much so that they were crushing the pills then snorting them (yikes, crazy). But the rest of the article painted popping these pills in an almost positive light. I was shocked, then curious.

The article then led me to an article on CNN.com about a doctor who is prescribing Adderall "off-label" to his pediatric obese patients. He's treated 800 children with Adderall and 90% of them lost the weight. His claim is that as long as he moniters them closely, the benefits of taking the drug and losing the deadly obesity outweighs Adderall's potential side effects.

Now, many of you know I don't trust pharmaceutical companies and have rejected the PCOS medication offered to me at the time of my diagnosis. And Adderall is a drug that is two molecules away from cocaine. It is dangerous in many ways... it can be addictive, and cause psychotic episodes, if not heart failure.

But in the Allure article they described professonal women in Hollywood using small dosages to keep thin and focused on their work. The woman they interviewed raved about it.

I know it's a bad idea, but my desire to be thin almost took over, and I considered it for a moment. Just a moment. *sigh* why do we want it so badly? Me, of all people, with my beliefs in that drugs aren't (usually) the answer, let my desire to be thin overpower my logic for a moment. I wanted to pick up the phone and find a doctor who would prescribe it 'off label'. But I know it's a bad idea.

But, can we also ask... if Adderall is prescribed to so many people with ADD, then why is it unethical (to quote CNN) to prescribe it for weight loss? Lots of the kids kept the weight off after they stopped the regimen. In my opinion, though, it's dangerous. But so is being infertile, developing diabetes, or cancer. Hmm.

Here are the article links:
(can't find a link to the Allure article- it's in the issue with Victoria Beckham)
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/03/21...all/index.html

[KateB]

Let me tell you about my experience with Adderall. It was perscribed to my son for ADD, and it worked well, at first. then we experienced side effects, weight loss being the first. the kid wouldn't eat. He was in 5th grade, 5 feet tall and weighed 72 pounds. but that was minor compared to what happened next. Psychosis. It was horrible. He thought he had a "Big Scarey Man" living inside of him. Had I not witnessed what my son went though I would never believe it. The "man" would tell my son to hurt (or kill) other family members, in an attempt to silence the "man" my son attempted suicide. It was awful.

To be fare, my son has since been diagnosed as bipolar. But the doctors are sure the psychosis was caused by the adderal. I am sure it has helped many people with ADD, but I really don't think the risks it poses are worth the weight loss benefit.

[Michelle125]

It's very shocking that the article didn't mention things like that. I was so surprised the tone was positive. Thank you for sharing that- and I'm so sorry your son went through that!

[LetsGoMets]

Just to chime in on Adderall, my husband (age 42) and son (about to be 12) both take it. It has helped them both very much. For my husband, he finds he can concentrate on his work much better - he's able to start a project and see it through to completion without getting sidetracked by a million other things.

As for my son, he's been on it for 4 years - 10 milligrams once a day. It has been great for him! His teachers noticed a big change within a month. He's able to stay on task and like his dad, can begin a project and stick with it to the end. He's said that it "quiets things down in his head," and lets him focus. It's helped in his sports as well - he can really concentrate. It has cut his appetite a little - mostly midday, he really eats very little for lunch - but he does eat heartily for breakfast and dinner. He's just about 5' tall and weighs about 110 pounds. We monitor his health very closely and he sees a wonderful child psychiatrist on a regular basis, so although there's no doubt that Adderall is a potent chemical, we are having success with it on many levels. Still, I myself, who has PCOS, would not consider using Adderall as a weight loss option.

[Michelle125]

Right, I'm positive that someone like your hubby and son, who have that chemical imbalance, will benefit from Adderall correcting that imbalance. I think when people take it just for weight loss, since their brains are already in balance, that it could completely wreak havoc.

[Loriann7]

I'm gonna jump in here. I have ADD. Recently I started taking Michaels multi vitamins for women, and an Iron supplement as I am also Anemic. In just two weeks time I've noticed a huge difference. I'm able to concentrate (anemics and pcos have that concentration effect), I'm not eating out of boredom. I've gone from 188 two weeks ago, this am was down to 176! So with natural (not something that has powerful drugs) and right diet/exercise you CAN lose the weight... How bad do we really want it?

For years the school and I fought, wanted my son to go on drugs for add... I changed his diet and he was able to focus, made sure he ws getting outside exercise....

Let's think about a dog for instance. If you keep your dog cooped up most the time in the house, out for potty and not much exercise, said dog gets "pent up" energy. Take that same dog for a nice long walk, and guess what.... the best behaved dog in the world! Same with us... exercise does help with concentration!!!!!!!!