‘It’s So Messed Up’ – Woman Put on Adderall Aged 7 Beats 28-Year Addiction

“I always felt different from everyone else when I was growing up, but instead of being embraced for the differences that come with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – I was punished and put on medicine at such a young and pivotal age.”

Indeed, Ricki Friedman was just 7 years old when she was first given commonly prescribed ADHD drug Adderall – and she is far from alone.

Nearly one in 10 children suffer with ADHD in the U.S according to Statista, and from 2016 to 2019, the age group with the highest rate of ADHD diagnoses was those aged 12 to 17 years. Recent studies show that roughly three percent of children in grades 8, 10 and 12 had been prescribed Adderall within the previous year.

“I was your poster child for ADHD, energetic, creative, outspoken, always getting into trouble at school,” Friedman, now 35, tells Newsweek. “I think my parents thought they were doing the right thing by putting me on it at seven years old because it was really the only ‘solution’ then.

“But I barely understood my ADHD at the time, and losing my mom to cancer at 13 made it even less of a priority.”

What Is Adderall?

Adderall is a prescription psychostimulant medication that includes amphetamine compounds and is used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy, and also prescribed off label for other conditions such as obesity and as an adjunct for treating depression in certain circumstances.

Children who have been diagnosed with ADHD often have difficulties with the production and utilization of the hormone and neurotransmitter dopamine, which acts on areas of the brain to produce feelings of satisfaction and motivation.

“Adderall’s mechanism of action is complex, but simply put it works by increasing the levels of certain neurotransmitters leading to an improvement in concentration, motivation and focus,” Dr. Lawrence Weinstein, Chief Medical Officer of the American Addiction Centers (AAC) told Newsweek.

Adderall And ADHD In Children

But one issue with prescribing prolonged use of a drug such as Adderall to younger children is that they go through important physical and mental developmental years dealing with the side effects of the drug, making it difficult to distinguish between the medication and themselves.

Friedman found being made to feel she needed medication to be ‘normal’ at such a young age skewed her understanding of her own identity growing up.

“I was put on Adderall when I was seven years old, and when I was eight my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She died when I was 13,” she said.

“Her loss changed my life and played a huge role in the ways I self-soothed. I binge ate, and had an intense ten year addiction to weed that started in my early twenties because I was in so much pain. Despite this I was always very high-performing, but the medication certainly stopped me from feeling what I needed to feel, and hugely delayed my healing from my mothers death.”

Friedman describes it as constantly chasing highs to run away from the lows.

“I can only look back now and say that Adderall took away from my personality and played a role in the way I wasn’t able to process the loss of my mom properly. Adderall felt like part of who I was.”

And concerningly, while it can be a life enhancing treatment for many suffers, it also has serious side effects.

“Headaches, difficulty sleeping, irritability, a reduced appetite and increased heart rate can all be side effects caused by usage of the medication,” explains Weinstein, “and a dependency on such drugs can lead to misuse and addiction.”

Addiction into Adulthood

This is something Friedman can speak to all too well.

“It’s hard to truly understand how much it affected me as I’ve been on it for four fifths of my life,” she said, “But I know that it made me someone who felt incredibly disconnected to their own body and it also cause me to have multiple other addictions, such as food and weed because I was constantly over stimulated and needed a high. I was addicted to weed for over ten a years.”

The methamphetamine compounds in Adderall make it highly addictive, and prologued use can encourage a dependence, which can manifest in to an addiction, Weinstein explained to Newsweek.

“That’s why it’s so messed up,” agrees Friedman, “Because when you’re on something for so long you don’t see it as an addiction, but taking a medicine for 28 years, especially stimulants, you overlook the addiction part. It got so bad that I was buying it from the streets because I could only get a certain dose from my doctor. I don’t blame my doctor for this, but I do resent them for not trying to get me off this medication earlier in my life.”

Coming Off Adderall

Deciding to come off an addictive substance can feel like the biggest hurdle, but physically the challenge has just begun.

Finally, early this year and after almost three decades on Adderall, Friedman decided it was time to try quit.

“Withdrawal was really hard,” recalled Friedman. “But I was now more scared to stay on the medication that to walk away.”

Going cold turkey off Adderall is not as dangerous as quitting alcohol or benzodiazepines, but the severity depends on the extent of the misuse, according to Utah based recovery center Recovery Ways. According to Recovery Ways, symptoms of Adderall withdrawal include “fatigue, insomnia, headache, seizures, anxiety, cravings, trouble concentrating, irritability, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Some of these symptoms may last for months.”

Friedman refused to work with doctors during her detox, due to lack of trust in the system.

“I’m pretty stubborn and also knew in my heart that they wouldn’t agree with my hopes to have a more holistic approach and honestly, I lost a lot of faith in doctors,” she explained. “I knew they would want to send me to a detox center and pump me up with more medicine, and there was no chance in hell I was doing that. I created my own plan, changed my diet, and worked on my mindset. I had faith in myself that i could do this on my own and.”

“I actually lowered my dose from 90 mg to 40 mg a day within a month and made a big effort to eat as healthily as possible and then once I had that in place, I stopped fully. I was then in bed for eight days straight and it took a full month to feel somewhat normal. But I slept a lot, walked a lot, danced a lot and created routines to move me through. I’m now eight months off and I still have gut issues. I gained eight pounds but I’m happier, healthier and more stable and present than I’ve ever been.”

Since coming off the drug earlier this year, friends and family have been supportive, telling her positive affirmations such as “You’re so much calmer now” and “You’re so engaged and present these days”.

Reliance on Prescription Drugs in the U.S

“While studies indicate the safety of long-term Adderall use, it is evident by this young woman’s case that this does not ring true for each person prescribed this medication,” said Weinstein, “I encourage her to continue to speak out about their experience with proper Adderall use to offer a varied perspective of its prolonged use.”

And while the number of adults using Adderall can be difficult to discern, Weinstein noted: “According to research conducted on the prevalence and correlates of prescription stimulant use, the 2015-2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health determined that approximately 6.6% or 16 million adults in the US age 18 and older used prescription stimulants.”

“Prescriptions are handed out like candy,” said Friedman. “Educate children before you medicate them. Try lifestyle changes like a low carb and low sugar diet to regulate their dopamine and other hormone levels. Regular exercise, less electrical stimulants and trying out supplements are all good first steps before putting them on a life altering drug.”

Friedman lives in Los Angeles, now works as a motivational speaker, and is creator of the Steps Forward with Ricki podcast – mentoring others in how to walk away from addiction.

“This reliance on drugs to fix problems creates so many addicts who have no idea who they are, and who are living in a constant state of fight of flight mode,” she continued. “I am not against getting support or help with medicine, but as someone who came off Adderall after 28 years my biggest lesson is this: you can live without the thing you never thought you could live without and you can live even better without it.”

[[INSERT ADDICTION HELP PARA – IF YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM ADDICTION ISSUES…]]