Amphetamine salts what is it used for

Children may catch up with growth over time; therefore, it should not be a concern for most children. Height, weight, and eating habits should be discussed before treatment starts and regularly during treatment. Medications used to treat depression can interact with amphetamine medications resulting in serious reactions including high body temperature, high blood pressure, and seizures convulsions.

Tell your healthcare provider if you are beginning or have recently discontinued any of these medications. Taking stimulants with or within 2 weeks of MAOIs can result in seizures, fever or dangerously high blood pressure that can lead to death. Although you may experience beneficial effects from stimulants within a few days of starting the medication, it often takes several weeks to get the full effect of the medication.

Your healthcare provider may also need to gradually adjust the dose to find the dose that works best for you. Amphetamines have a high potential for abuse. Prolonged use of amphetamines may lead to drug dependence. Particular attention should be paid to the possibility of subjects obtaining amphetamines for non-therapeutic use or distribution to others. They should be prescribed or dispensed sparingly.

Last Updated: January This information is being provided as a community outreach effort of the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists. This information is for educational and informational purposes only and is not medical advice. This information contains a summary of important points and is not an exhaustive review of information about the medication.

Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding medications or medical conditions. Never delay seeking professional medical advice or disregard medical professional advice as a result of any information provided herein.

The College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists disclaims any and all liability alleged as a result of the information provided herein. Search Close Menu. Sign In About Mental Illness. About Mental Illness Treatments. About Mental Illness Research. Your Journey Individuals with Mental Illness. Your Journey Family Members and Caregivers. Your Journey Identity and Cultural Dimensions.

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Read the information carefully and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. The combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine Adderall, Adderall XR, Mydayis is used as part of a treatment program to control symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD; more difficulty focusing, controlling actions, and remaining still or quiet than other people who are the same age. Adderall is used to treat ADHD in adults and children 3 years of age and older.

Mydayis is used to treat ADHD in adults and children 13 years of age and older. Dextroamphetamine and amphetamine Adderall is also used to treat narcolepsy a sleep disorder that causes excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden attacks of sleep in adults and children 12 years of age and older.

The combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine is in a class of medications called central nervous system stimulants. It works by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain. The combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine comes as an immediate-relase tablet Adderall and as an extended-release long-acting capsule Adderall XR, Mydayis to take by mouth.

The immediate-release tablet Adderall is usually taken 2 to 3 times daily, 4 to 6 hours apart, with or without food. The extended-release capsule Adderall XR is usually taken upon awakening with or without food.

The extended-release capsule Mydayis is usually taken upon awakening and must be taken consistently either with or without food.

Dextroamphetamine and amphetamine combination should not be taken in the late afternoon or evening because it may cause difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take dextroamphetamine and amphetamine exactly as directed.

Swallow the extended-release capsules whole; do not chew or crush them. If you are unable to swallow the extended-release capsule, you may open the capsule and sprinkle the entire contents on a teaspoonful of applesauce.

Swallow this mixture right away without chewing. Do not store the applesauce and medication mixture for future use, and do not divide the contents of one capsule into more than one dose. Your doctor will probably start you on a low dose of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine and increase your dose gradually, not more often than once every week. Your doctor may tell you to stop taking dextroamphetamine and amphetamine from time to time to see if the medication is still needed.

Follow these directions carefully. The medication in each product is absorbed differently by the body, so one dextroamphetamine and amphetamine product cannot be substituted for another product.

If you are switching from one product to another, your doctor will prescribe a dose that is best for you.

The combination of dextroamphetamine and amphetamine should not be used to treat excessive tiredness that is not caused by narcolepsy. This medication may be prescribed for other conditions; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. If you miss your dose of the extended-release capsule the morning, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time the next day. Do not take a dose later in the day.

Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one. Dextroamphetamine and amphetamine may cause sudden death in children and teenagers, especially children or teenagers with heart defects or serious heart problems.

This medication also may cause sudden death, heart attack or stroke in adults, especially adults with heart defects or serious heart problems. Call your doctor right away if you or your child has any signs of heart problems while taking this medication including: chest pain, shortness of breath, or fainting. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking this medication.

Dextroamphetamine and amphetamine may slow children's growth or weight gain. Your child's doctor will watch his or her growth carefully. Amphetamine activates receptors in the brain and increases the activity of a number of neurotransmitters, especially norepinephrine and dopamine. Dopamine is associated with pleasure, movement, and attention. Amphetamine has been trialed for a wide variety of conditions. Now, it is mainly used to treat ADHD, and, rarely, depression.

In the past, it has been used to treat narcolepsy and to help with weight loss, but this is less common now. ADHD is characterized by hyperactivity, irritability, mood instability, attention difficulties, lack of organization, and impulsive behaviors. Amphetamines reverse some of these symptoms and have been shown to improve brain development and nerve growth in children with ADHD.

Long-term treatment with amphetamine-based medication in children appears to prevent unwanted changes in brain function and structure. Scientists carrying out a review of 20 studies concluded that stimulants are probably helpful for people with ADHD. They found that the brain structures of people who took stimulants for ADHD were more likely to resemble the brain structures of people without the condition than to resemble those with ADHD who did not use the drugs.

A review published in Cochrane in suggested that adults with ADHD might benefit from short-term use of amphetamines, but that they were unlikely to persist with the treatment because of adverse effects. Those who use mixed amphetamine salts, however, were more likely to continue with the treatment. In a person with this condition, strong emotions can trigger a sudden loss of muscle tone, or cataplexy, which causes a person to collapse and possibly fall down.

It also involves frequent and unexpected bouts of sleep. Due to concerns over their side effects, however, amphetamines are increasingly being replaced by modafinil, a medication that promotes wakefulness. Under the name Benzedrine, amphetamines were first used to treat obesity in the s, due to their appetite-suppressing capabilities. In the s, reports of malnutrition , psychosis, and depression on withdrawal caused doctors to stop prescribing amphetamines for weight loss.

Currently, medical professionals do not recommend using amphetamines and their derivatives to help reduce obesity. They proposed a 6-month use of the drug to help people who have not responded to other treatment to improve their diet and increase exercise levels. This, they say, could help curb obesity and related complications, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. From the s, amphetamine was used to treat affective disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD , and schizophrenia.

However, in the s and s, amid growing concern about its adverse effects, it was replaced by newly available antidepressants. In rare cases, amphetamines are used alongside standard antidepressants to treat some types of depression that do not respond to other treatments, especially in people who also experience fatigue and apathy.

Physical side effects include :. People who follow the prescribed, therapeutic dose are unlikely to experience severe adverse effects.