umd

First, let me start off by saying that I have no intention of taking anything discussed here.

Somebody at work proposed a study of these supplements and suggested me as a "volunteer" for some reason... why I have no idea (other than that he seems somewhat obsessed with me). I politely declined. I also did some searching and found that these drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall are on the in-competition banned substance list... basically they are stimulants.

So let me remind everyone that I have no intention of taking these, but am curious what everyone's take on them is, from a racing perspective.

dmotoguy

I have add... havent taken the adderall for a while... but i could see it having similar effects to a couple large cups of coffee before a race... but it would last the whole time... haha.

AlexTaylor

There's a legal one made by reflex called 'the edge' but not a clue if it works or not. Supposed to increase 'mental acuity and focus'...

CastIron

Provigil.

Second Mouse

Ten bucks sez umd "volunteers" for the study by the end of the year.

tbrown524

We're in SoCal.. Just a 2.5 hour drive to Tijuana...

Ritalin.

Ritalin was derived from Dexedrine in the 1950?s, initially to minimize the side effects of appetite suppression and insomnia. Ritalin is now the most frequently prescribed stimulant drug for Attention Deficit Disorder ADD ADHD, and the focus of much of the controversy about stimulant drugs.

Ritalin is available in both a short and long acting form. The short acting form generally begins working about 30 minutes after it is administered, peaks at two hours and is gone at four hours. It must be taken several times daily. Ritalin sustained release tablets last about eight hours.

Ritalin affects children in the same way that related stimulants like Cocaine affects adults. It sharpens the short-term attention span when the drug kicks in and produces equally predictable valleys when Ritalin wears off.

Common Ritalin side effects are headaches, abdominal pain, nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, cardiac arrhythmia and weight loss. Long-term use has also been linked to abnormalities in brain development similar to those found with Cocaine.

I'll stick with being Cat 4 pack fodder.

caloso

I had a professor who told me he took up smoking in law school because he'd read that nicotine works as a PED for mental processes. Basically, it makes the synapses fire faster. After the bar exam, he simply stopped. Freak.

jfmckenna

I don't think it's a good idea. Drugs give but they also take away.

92degrees

err. coffee.

snoboard2

research is what college students are for. pay them $1500 to sit in a room for 5 days strapped to every monitor available, then record the results. hell, sign me up

umd

I have a few things with some coffee or small amounts of caffeine in them, but I don't drink coffee.

cat4ever

I could certainly see how Ritalin, et al could help in some aspects of cycling. Number 1 would be focus during mind numbing trainer rides. Number 2 would be time trials. Back when I was young, I was put on a drug like Ritalin for ADD (before the added the H in the name). Gave me scary, laser like focus and the ability to actually read a text book for more than five minutes.

As for it becoming an abused, performance enhancing drug for sport, you need a prescription for it. Therefore, you would need to A) have a doctor who will lie for you or B) figure out a way to convince a Psychiatrist that you have ADHD, C) Black market or d) steal it from your next store neighbor's kid. I can get EPO much much easier anyway so why bother?

transplant

i couldn't imagine taking Adderall or similar drugs before a race. they've helped me before, but for more academic pursuits.

umd

I guess I wasn't asking about taking them "before a race", so much as if someone was taking them for "cognitive enhancement", if that would also affect cycling performance (since it is a stimulant), and what the ethics of that would be.

transplant

if it's on the banned list it would seem the ethics of that are clear cut. as far as enhancing cycling performance... eh, i'd guess you're better off with caffeine.

caloso

Yep. And as a bonus, it comes in a delicious delivery system.

Creakyknees

I've seen a few blips that phd / researchers / programmers etc have been getting into drugs like these (and others), for professional enhancement. Just like an athlete would dope for professional performance enhancement, these knowledge workers in very competitive demanding jobs are looking for the slightest edge.

God knows, we American love our right to self-medicate.

kudude

hell yeah, it does.

rankin116

I lived with a kid who was in law school, and during finals and when he was studying for the bar he and his friends would pop adderall and ritalin like candy. I'm studying for a final now and I wish I had some.

ottsville

I was just reading something that testing done to determine effects of caffeine use caffeine pills and that similar tests done using coffee don't produce the same results. Haven't had time to verify it though.

Treefox

I did psychological testing while at grad school for money. I drew the line at medical stuff that put things in me though. I just did stuff like sitting in sensory deprivation tanks clicking buttons when I heard beeps and stuff like that.

Could've gotten £2000 for malaria though!

92degrees

I've seen that mentioned. That said, I'm always mentally sharper and have better concentration after coffee. I drink mostly decaf (70/30) all week so that I get the full benefit of high-test on the weekends.

neurocycler

..?

VosBike

I have a friend who would use his legally prescribed and academically-required(one of those genius who doesn't do any work types) adderall for RR's. Said it made it easier to deal with long races.
He'd never take it for crits(the races he won) and always looked bad when he was on it.

queerpunk

i've never raken ritalin or adderall, but my experience with them is seeing how friends have reacted to them. i've been close with a bunch of people who, in order to get work done, had to be on them. their add/adhd was strong enough that it was such a trial for them to focus without it, so they'd pop one and settle down to do some work.

but it's not a stimulant in a fun way - they actually became kind of externally numb, they were so internally focused.

looking back, it's not something that i would want to try in combination with bike racing.