WiggyWild said:
Hey everyone this is my first post. I used to be real into bodybuilding in highschool when you could still buy GHB - gamma hydroxybutyric - - gamma hydroxybutyric - as "sink cleaner" legally on these boards, but I got away from it. I'm now graduating college with a degree in biotechnology and will hopefully go on to graduate school in physiology or neurobiology.
Anyways, finals are coming up and I got my legal script of adderall, and I was wondering if there were any adverse side effects to muscle loss that you were aware of. I did a search on pubmed and most of the references were to side effects like tachachardya and blood pressure.
I suppose it could disrupt the sleep cycle which could throw off my gh - growth hormone (somatropin) - - growth hormone (somatropin) - production. I'm also pretty sure abuse can cause break down of the muscle tissue, but from what I've read, any cutting agent has the potential to due this by interfering with skeletal muscle ATP use.
Thanks for your help!
The Wild One
I guess I'll take a stab at this. I've been on adderall xr for a while.
First things first - adderall is primarily indicated for children (and adults) who suffer from attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder. But it is also secondarily indicated for weight loss by obese people.
Adderall's effects are certainly not limited to the realms of the mind. Indeed, adderall itself is actually a fairly complex compound, made up of four amphetamine salts: dextroamphetamine saccharate/sulfate, and a racemic mix of levoamphetamine/dextroamphetamine aspartate/sulfate.
With all of that chemistry mumbo-jumbo out of the way, let's move on to what they do.
Amphetamines in general induce a fight-or-flight response in your body (more on that in a second) by dumping a flood of important neurochemicals into your brain (namely dopamine, serotonin and acetylcholine). These chemicals in turn create the effects we perceive.
When people describe the euphoria, the singularity of focus, and general drive that adderall creates, they are referring mostly to the effects of dextroamphetamine.
The physical, central nervous system stimulation, on the other hand, is largely the work of the levoamphetamines. What happens when the central nervous system is stimulated? Usually, heart rate increases, blood flow quickens, and in general, metabolism rises. If you do not sufficiently increase your caloric intake (as is so easy to do, since amphetamines kill appetite in some people. luckily not me though.) you will indeed lose muscle mass, as well as probably some fat. Amphetamines are neither anabolic nor catabolic, and I don't think it has a particular preference for what it inspires your body to burn for energy. Aside from that, it shouldn't destroy your muscle. I take 40mg/day, and it didn't for me.
If you're truly, truly worried about losing muscle, try to get switched to dexedrine or dexedrine spansules. It's pure dextroamphetamine, and thus is kinder on the central nervous system. It by no means completely spares the CNS, though.
As far as growth hormone, studies say pretty conclusively that it does lower growth hormone. Not really enough to be worrying, but it does. That said, I remember seeing another study that actually stated the contrary (that it raises GH, and decreased testosterone). I can't find it atm, but I will try to find it later.
Certainly don't take it every day. Give yourself breaks, use common sense, etc. and you'll be fine.
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