how prescribed stimulants (adderall, vyvanse, etc.) work relative to methamphetamine?

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Prescribed stimulants and methamphetamine both seem to do the same thing, like make the “happy” or “reward” chemicals stay in your brain longer. People commented on the other recent methamphetamine post, saying they still don’t feel the same since getting sober. Would someone on adderall/vyvanse/etc. feel similarly if they were taking the drug for years, then decided to stop taking it?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

That’s a tough question since we don’t know exactly how or why MDMA does what it does, but basically amphetamines are a stimulant so speed you up via your sypathetic nervous system. This makes you feel sped up. There are chemicals in your brain that make this happen which is why people with ADHD have a chemical imbalance same as someone suffering from depression. It slows those people down. To do this it tells the brain build up neurochemicals in your neurons which when released cause a flood. That flood is important because the amount of these chemicals make you feel a certain way. To put it simply, dopamine makes you happy and seratonin makes you sad. Amphetamines build up these chemicals but do it all the same by blocking transmission equally. MDMA does the same thing but the methylenedioxy part of MDMA causes the neurons to block more seratonin than dopamine so when a neuron fires the release is mostly dopamine. The flood of mostly dopamine causes the euphoric sensation. But, this is why coming off MDMA is so bad. When it wears off and the brain goes back to normal but instead of dopamine there is a flood of backed up seratonin causing intense feelings of sadness.

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