[N]o other class of medications in virtually all of medicine inspires more baseless fears, intentional disinformation, and wild beliefs as do the stimulants used to treat ADHD.
Interestingly, these fears are almost entirely an American phenomenon that hardly exists elsewhere in the world.
[H]aving ADHD lowers a person’s estimated life expectancy by 12.7 years.
From other articles on the site:
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ADHD medication use lowers risk of death by 19%, risk of overdose by 50%, and it reduces hospitalizations
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[T]he risk of substance abuse decreases substantially when [ADHD] patients are treated with stimulant medication
You and MouthyHooker are totally right. I feel bad for shooting my mouth off on a topic where folks are being much more meaningful with their comments. I had been prescribed a lot of meds that made me feel shitty when the stuff I bought off the street and dosed myself was actually very helpful in getting through school and starting/managing my career. (I know this is not a good idea.)
If I were making a better comment I’d say that Concerta was a weird drug that made me super suicidal, but that might have been a weird side effect/rare case.
I wouldn’t feel too bad about it. I know psychiatry is a lot worse for some people than for others. I’m sorry you had such a rough go of it. I was just trying trying to point out it wasn’t universal in case any third party was on the fence about trying meds.