Counteracting effects with Adderall and atypical antipsychotics?

Medications
1

Hello!

I read that stimulants like Adderall increase dopamine activity and atypical antipsychotics tend to block receptors in the dopamine pathways and suppress dopamine activity (although abilify is unique amongst atypical antipsychotics in that it’s a partial dopamine agonist). It seems like they have counteracting effects, so I’m curious why it’s so common that people with ADHD & schizophrenia symptoms are prescribed both at the same time. Perhaps they work on different regions/receptors of the brain? Have any of you taken both in isolation and then taken them together and observed any counteracting effects?

I also read about “stimulant psychosis.” Apparently, high doses of adderall can (albeit rarely) cause or exacerbate schizophrenic-like symptoms due to excess dopamine activity and the whole controversial dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. A few websites recommended that adderall not be taken by people with a history of psychosis. However, I read that atypical antipsychotics often only alleviate the positive symptoms and don’t necessarily significantly improve negative symptoms, so any cognitive issues with concentration/organization might not benefit as much as with adderall. So that’s probably why people are prescribed both, but does taking stimulants counteract the effects of atypical antipsychotics or vice versa?

Thanks!

2

Sttimulants like ADHD Meds can make the SZ and bipolar picture worse!

I would be very careful using stimulants, especially when you suffer from psychosis or bipolar type 1

3

This explains everything…this is why i’m schizo. I used to snort so many adderall pills in one day it’s not funny.

4

I think if your trying to make things for yourself better while on antipsychotics i think it would be a mistake. You would be better off slowly reducing your dose of antipsychotic. What I think when I think of drugs is that i don’t want a mood disorder to go along with my paranoid schizophrenia (sorry to all those who have both).

5

Here’s an article I just found for anybody else interested in this topic:

“THE DOPAMINE DILEMMA: Using Stimulants and Antipsychotics Concurrently”

@dras1:

From the article above: “One in 400 children will experience psychosis with therapeutic doses of stimulant treatment, and stimulants will produce psychotic symptoms in any patient at high enough doses”