Adderall, also sold as Mydayis, is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the world.
In fact, with over 3.6 million people holding a prescription in the United States, it’s the 22nd most commonly prescribed drug in the country.
This mix of amphetamine salts is commonly abused and can be dangerous.
Many people take Adderall recreationally—either to enhance focus and as a “study drug”, or for the euphoric highs you can get when taking the drug in very high doses.
Whether you’re using Adderall because of a prescription to treat ADD or ADHD, using it as an illicit study drug to improve performance, or using it recreationally, it will show up on a drug test.
That’s unavoidable.
If you’ve been using Adderall, it’s important to discuss your history of the drug with the clinic doing the tests, so they know what to look for and why.
What is Adderall?
Adderall is an amphetamine drug used to treat Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy.
The drug is made up of a mix of amphetamine salts, dextroamphetamine, and levoamphetamine, in a 3:1 ratio.
This is similar to many illicit amphetamines but has a lower level of the euphoria-inducing levoamphetamine.
The drug is typically prescribed in pills with the intent to help users focus, improve energy, and improve cognitive control.
This makes it extremely useful for treating attention disorders because it can allow increased focus and attention span.
However, it also makes it popular with students and professionals in demanding jobs, because it can increase productivity and focus at work.
However, long-term use and in larger doses than prescribed can also cause changes in dopamine regulation resulting in symptoms of depression.
And, significant doses of Adderall can cause impaired cognition with psychosis, panic attacks, anxiety, and inability to sleep.
However, Adderall also causes euphoria in larger doses, much like its well-known street counterpart, methamphetamine.
This means Adderall is frequently abused, and people using it illicitly may take very large doses to get the high they want.
How Long Does Adderall Show Up on a Drug Test?
Amphetamine normally shows up in a drug test for 1-3 days after the last usage. However, actual positive results depend on the type of test. For example:
Urine: 2-3 days
Blood: up to 3 days
Hair/Nails: Up to 90 days
Adderall has a half-life of 11.5-13.8 hours. This means that every 11-13 hours, the amount of Adderall in your system halves.
That progresses at an even rate, meaning that a standard 30 mg dose will break down like this:
Dose: 30mg
13 hours: 15 mg
26 hours: 7.5 mg
39 hours: 3.75 mg
42 hours: 1.875 mg
55 hours: 0.95
68 hours: 0.475
The lower the amount of Adderall in your system, the harder it is to detect.
However, many tests will also look for metabolites of drugs, meaning that a drug test can be as effective 3 days after a test as on the day of usage.
What Affects How Long Adderall Shows on a Drug Test?
Your metabolism and the number of drugs you take are the most important factors impacting how long Adderall will show up on a drug test.
For example, if you’re obese, have poor liver health, and a slow metabolism, you might find that you can test positive for more than 3 days. That’s especially true if you’re taking Adderall more often.
Age: Younger people typically have faster metabolisms. Persons between the ages of 14 and 25 will normally metabolize drugs the most quickly.
Liver Health: If you frequently abuse drugs, your liver may not process and filter drugs as quickly. This means you could show positive urine tests more quickly.
And, people with fatty liver disease may retain Adderall metabolites for several weeks after using.
Body Fat: Body fat retains amphetamines, sometimes for months after the original dose. This means that the drug could be released back into your system and shown on a urine screen at any time.
Frequency of Use: The more often you use, the more drugs are in your system. This means that it takes longer for amphetamines to metabolize out of your system.
Therefore, you’ll have a positive drug test result for longer. If you use it once, you can expect to show positive results on a urine screen for about 3 days.
On the other hand, if you’re using it daily for months, you might find that you have up to 2 weeks of positive urine analysis results.
Essentially, there are a lot of factors that can impact how your drug test shows up. The longer and the more you’ve been using it, the more likely it is you’ll get a positive result for longer.
Adderall and False Positives for Amphetamines
Adderall is an amphetamine drug. This means that if a clinic tests you for drugs, Adderall will show as an amphetamine.
Without the context of a prescription or Adderall usage, the clinic doing the test has no way of knowing if you’ve tested positive for a prescription drug or methamphetamine usage.
Therefore, if you have an Adderall prescription, it’s important to disclose the prescription and discuss how that will impact your test results.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a prescription and are using Adderall anyway, you’re still breaking the law.
You could still get in trouble and could be fired from your work—even if you’ve only used the drug a few times.
Here, ramifications will typically depend on your workplace and its policies toward recreational and illicit drug use.
Getting Help
If you or a loved one is abusing Adderall, it’s important to get help.
Adderall is an amphetamine drug. This means it’s addictive, can be extremely harmful, and can result in people making extreme changes to behavior, personality, and physical health.
At large doses, Adderall causes mental and physical health breakdown, literally breaking down muscles and causing deterioration in how the brain processes dopamine and serotonin.
That can result in psychosis, extreme weight loss, anxiety, paranoia, and depression.
Adderall is an amphetamine and carries the same risks as other amphetamines in high doses.
Help means getting detox and medical support withdrawing from Adderall.
From there, you can move into behavioral therapy and counseling, identifying the symptoms and problems caused by Adderall, tackling the underlying problems that started the drug abuse, and learning skills and coping mechanisms to improve life without the drug.
Asana Recovery is located in Orange County, California, and offers detox, residential, and outpatient addiction treatment services in our modern and comfortable addiction treatment facilities.
Please contact us today to speak with one of our experienced addiction treatment team if you have any questions about our programs.
