Do you know anyone diagnosed with ADHD, or are you diagnosed with ADHD? If so, you know that there are many struggles a person with ADHD might experience, which stretch from social and mental troubles to academic problems. To prevent these problems, medication has been made, so that diagnosed people have it a bit easier for themselves. But what if I told you that, overtime, the effect starts fading away, whether it’s in a matter of months or days?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, has infinite symptoms, but there are three main ones: hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. Oftentimes, children especially will find it difficult to focus in class when they aren’t interested in the topic or when they don’t fully understand what they have to do. On the other hand, when they do enjoy the activity they’re given, they can spend hours focusing on it.
According to an article on Understood, Cody Nelson states that ADHD was first identified in 1798 by a Scottish physician called Alexander Crichton, but the first medication wasn’t explored until 1937. This was discovered by Charles Bradly, a psychiatrist, who said that an amphetamine drug called Benzedrine sulfate could be one of the possible solutions. Benzedrine is a stimulant medication, which means it targets dopamine in the brain. Then, in 1944 a chemist Leandro Panizzon made a drug called methylphenidate. Ten years later, pharmaceutical company Ciba marketed it as Ritalin. During the mid 2000’s, many more medications were made and used, and slowly, scientists and psychiatrists started to see a major difference between before and after the introduction of the medications.
But going back to the main question: do all these medications start to fade away as time goes by? Do we really start to build a tolerance against the effect?
Kyle Lakey from Psyclarity Health explains that it’s true – you might start to notice the effect fade away, and the reason behind this is not just the exposure to the drug over time. There are numerous reasons for why it starts being less effective, such as diet and supplements in adderall. According to the article, depending on your diet and hydration, the metabolism in the body changes. Supposedly, some foods will either enhance or inhibit the absorption of the drug. Acidic foods and drinks will decrease the absorption, meaning that a higher dosage will be needed. In shorter words, having a balanced and healthy diet is crucial to manage the tolerance against ADHD medication.
Another problem causing the build in tolerance for ADHD medication is an increase in one’s symptoms. Camille Noe Pagàn from WebMB shows examples of how the symptoms will be more severe. One of the examples was a change in live events: in stressful situations, people with ADHD find it harder to focus even while on medication. Another reason why the medication might not be as effective anymore is because of a different health problem. The article shows that 81% of adults diagnosed with ADHD have at least one other condition, like anxiety, depression or a mood disorder.
Some ways to prevent the tolerance building is by going to therapy or doing exercise and activities you enjoy. Some doctors even say that dropping the medication for some time is also an option, and depending on how much tolerance the body has against the medication, it might be the only option.
Bibliography
Works Cited
Miller, Caroline. “Long-Term Effects of ADHD Medications: What We Know.” Child Mind Institute, 10 July 2025, https://childmind.org/article/know-long-term-effects-adhd-medications/. Accessed 29 September 2025.
“National Library of Medicine.” Tolerance to Stimulant Medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Literature Review and Case Report, 22 July 2022, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9332474/. Accessed 29 September 2025.
Nelson, Cody, and Jodi Gold. “A history of ADHD medication.” Understood.org, 8 April 2025, https://www.understood.org/en/articles/history-adhd-medications. Accessed 29 September 2025.
Pagán, Camille Noe. “My ADHD Meds Don’t Work Anymore.” WebMD, 2 April 2025, https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/adhd-meds-stop-working. Accessed 29 September 2025.
“When your ADHD medication is not working anymore.” Moleculera Labs, https://www.moleculera.com/adhd-medication-not-working-anymore/. Accessed 29 September 2025.
Yazbek, Carl, and Kyle Lakey. “Understanding Adderall Tolerance in ADHD Treatment.” Psyclarity Health, 5 January 2024, https://psyclarityhealth.com/understanding-adderall-tolerance-in-adhd-treatment/. Accessed 29 September 2025.